My book, Never Too Late, My Love, is available in print! It's my first in a print edition.
You can order your copy through Amazon.com or Barnes and Nobles.
Here's an excerpt:
Elisa lay next to Henry listening to his soft snoring, still in wonder at what they had done. Their joining had been perfect, but she felt sad. She knew it was wrong. They were so wrong for each other, and it broke her heart. She knew it was time to leave before they got so involved they couldn’t break it off. She didn’t belong here, and he had made his life in this desert community.
She leaned up on her arm and gazed at his strong face and committed the sight to memory. She knew she couldn’t stay. She wanted his love but knew he could never give her his heart totally. She craved his warmth and realized she would never be completely happy if he wouldn’t give her his total love.
She kissed her fingers and gently placed them on his mouth, being careful not to wake him. Her eyes caressed his body, and she smiled at the sweet memory of their lovemaking. He had been kind and gentle, taking care to please her before himself. She sighed as she pushed those thoughts from her mind. She couldn’t stay. It wasn’t right. He didn’t want to be in love.
Life with Henry would be hard, and Elisa wasn’t sure she could live in this desert town, and even if she could, she wasn’t sure how long she could take the roller-coaster ride their life together would be. One moment he was kind and gentle. The next moment, he withdrew and became cold and unfeeling. She wanted the loving, gentle person but didn’t know if she could accept the other side of Henry.
Moving slowly, Elisa got out of the bed and picked up her clothing. She paused at the door and looked at the sleeping form covered with light from the bright stars. She blew a quiet kiss and tiptoed back to her room where she dressed hurriedly, put her things into her suitcase, and made her escape. Once she got into her little car, she took one long, last look at the old ranch house that had become so dear to her. Before she drove out of the driveway and down the deserted lane, she once again pondered the enigma of the sleeping man, the man she had just lain with and made love to. What had caused him to run away and resist letting someone into his heart and his life? Why would he fight letting someone love him the way she was willing to love him?
Elisa shook her head, took one last glance at the old farmhouse, the dilapidated barn, the mountains, and the large fields, then drove her car down the lane.
The sky was full of stars, and a bright moon shone in the dark night. It was easy to find her way, and she didn’t turn on her headlights until she was well away from the house. She couldn’t take the chance of waking Henry. If he came after her, she would never be able to leave him.
Just as she stopped at the stop sign before turning onto the long road toward Wendover, she felt the presence of something and turned to look around. A prickle of unease filled her, but there was nothing, only the sensation of being watched.
She pulled the car onto the highway and drove away from Henry. Once she left the community for the deserted road, the feeling of being watched filled her again. She looked around once again. This time, two golden eyes shone eerily in the blackness of the night. The wolf spirit.
“Oh, go away,” Elisa cried out. “Why are you here? What do you want? Stay away from me.”
She kept driving, but the sensation that someone or something was out there stayed with her. She kept looking around. She knew the two golden orbs that reflected around her were just her imagination. There was no such thing as a wolf spirit, and she refused to allow it to change her mind about leaving.
At the next stop sign before pulling onto the main road to Wendover, the eyes were there in front of her, shining stronger and brighter than ever. She sat staring back at those eyes, trying to understand. Didn’t Chief Mountain Eagle tell her if she listened, the wolf spirit would tell her things? She couldn’t hear anything. She didn’t believe in spirits anyway. It was absurd, and she needed to get away. She was tired of the ghost lore. The desert was getting to her. Everywhere was quiet peacefulness, and yet her heart was crying with the knowledge she would never see Henry again.
“Oh, God, help me.” She put her head into her hands once again and let the tears flow. Her soul craved what it couldn’t have. Her body still burned for the touch of Henry. Her mouth was still swollen from his kisses, and her breasts still tingled from his touch. But it would never work. He was too old and stubborn and set in his ways. She didn’t need to feel the unease of wondering what had upset him and made him pull away from her. She couldn’t continue to live like this anymore. He had said the same thing. He wasn’t ready for love. He didn’t want a woman in his life. He liked being an old bachelor, alone on his farm. There was no choice. She had to leave. She couldn’t put either of them through it again. They had slipped and let their bodies love, but she knew it couldn’t happen again. It wasn’t right. They were two opposites.
Elisa pulled the Mustang onto the highway and headed away from Ibapah, away from the wolf spirit that haunted her, away from the gentle people she was learning to love, away from the man who had captured her heart, and toward her home, her life alone.
