Gavin had never driven so fast in his entire life. He gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, praying and begging anyone listening to keep his daughter safe.Emma had to be safe. She was most likely hiding somewhere, and they just hadn’t found her yet. Rage at the school bubbled over, and he didn’t realize he’d accelerated until he almost ran himself off of the road. He forced himself to slow down, even as it felt like hours before he’d reach the school when it was only across town.After Gavin had left River’s Bend, Adam had assured him that he’d follow behind him as soon as he found Joy so she could help in the search. Gavin had hardly listened to his brother. Adam could bring the entire family if he wanted, but Gavin wasn’t about to wait around for them all, either.How had the school lost his daughter? Again? He wanted to throttle someone. He wanted to demand why everyone at that damn school couldn’t keep track of one little girl. If she had gotten hurt, or worse…He to
Everything seemed to move at lightning speed after that. The police had already arrived by the time Kat had gotten off the phone with Gavin, and they were collecting any information before forming search parties.With the school day ending, parents had begun to pick up their kids. When they saw the police presence, Principal Layton had done her best to explain the situation while the police had helped form search parties for everyone who wanted to help.Next to the school was a large wooded area, about two acres wide. Kat had this feeling deep in her gut that Emma had disappeared into it. Why she’d run away, she didn’t know. She just prayed they found the girl before it got dark—and before this storm broke.“Have you seen Silas?” said Mrs. Gentry to Kat as they all waited for instructions.Kat had completely forgotten about him. “No, not since earlier this afternoon. Why?”Mrs. Gentry frowned. “He told me he’d find me near the south restrooms, but he never showed up.”“Weird. May
Gavin heard the yells and ran as fast as his feet could carry him. How had Kat managed to get so far ahead of him? Fear coalesced in his gut that he’d lost her in the woods.But he soon heard voices and went toward the sounds. Even then, it felt like an eternity before he arrived in the clearing where Kat had stopped. But the sight in front of him instantly arrested him: Silas Fraser holding Emma captive. Gavin was still far enough away that Silas hadn’t heard him approach.Before Gavin could react to the tableau in front of him, Kat launched herself at Silas, screaming at Emma to run for it. A moment later, Gavin caught his daughter in his arms and breathed in her sweet scent.But he didn’t have time to be relieved. Silas now had a gun to Kat’s temple. Gavin’s heart almost burst out of his chest at the horrifying sight.Turning to Emma, he said, “I need you to get out of here and get help. Can you do that?” He handed her his flashlight. “Keep the river on your left and it’ll take
When Gavin awoke, the first thing he noticed was the astringent scent of his surroundings. He didn’t understand why the woods would smell like that, but when he opened his eyes, he slowly realized he was no longer in the woods. He was in the hospital. The hospital? Why was he in the hospital?“You’re awake.” Kat touched his arm, her eyes shining as she looked down at him. “Jesus Christ, Gavin.”He saw that she was crying, and he reached up to wipe the tears away. “What happened?” His voice was croaky.“You were shot, but the bullet just grazed you. You bled quite a bit, though.” She sniffled. “Scared me half to death, too.”In a rush, it all came back to him: the woods, Kat, Silas, Emma. Emma. He lurched upward, but groaned as his wound smarted. “Emma? Where is she? Is she all right?”Kat grabbed his hands to still him. “She’s okay. She found help, just like you told her to. She was so brave. They arrested Silas. It’s over.”“How did he get Emma? How did this even happen?”Kat s
Two months after what was eventually termed The Incident, everything seemed to return to normal. Mostly normal, at any rate, Kat reflected with a wry smile. Gavin had told her in no uncertain terms that there was no way she was going to get away from him again, and she’d moved in with him the day he’d returned home from the hospital. And neither of them had looked back.Silas awaited his trial, sitting in jail for the foreseeable future. The judge had denied him bail since he would still be a real threat to Kat, Gavin and Emma. Silas had tried contacting Kat to apologize, but she’d refused all contact. He’d told the judge that he’d done everything because he loved her. She didn’t understand it, but she was glad he couldn’t hurt anyone else.The past two months had been ones of healing. Gavin had mostly healed from his bullet wound, although he still had pain in his side if he worked himself too hard. More than once, Kat had had to convince him to rest. It didn’t help that he’d been u
It was still dark when Matt awoke to a noise that he first thought was one of the dogs fretting to get out. He opened his eyes, trying to make anything out in the gloom, when he realized that it wasn’t one of the dogs. It was Holly. She whimpered and moaned, pushing against his chest, and she kept saying something.“Please don’t,” she pleaded, pushing and pushing. “Please. Sam, you can’t. Please!”Matt froze. Did he wake her, or let the dream play out? He didn’t want to startle her. But when she started trying to hit him, he didn’t have much of a choice.He shook her. “Holly! Holly, wake up! It’s a dream, sweetheart.” He didn’t even realize the endearment had fallen from his lips, but it felt right for some reason. “Holly, wake up. Wake up.”She moaned. He almost thought she’d fallen back asleep, but her lashes fluttered and then she looked up at him like he was a stranger. He couldn’t make out her expression in the dark, so he switched on the flashlight.They both blinked at the
Say You’re MineAll I Ask of YouMake Me YoursHold Me CloseOopsie DaisyHe Loves Me, He Loves Me NotPetal PluckerWar of the RosesincludingThen Came YouTaking a Chance on LoveAll I Want Is YouMy One and OnlyThe Nearness of YouThe Very Thought of YouIf I Can’t Have YouDream a Little Dream of MeSomeone to Watch Over MeTill There Was YouI’ll Be Home for Christmas
A coffee addict and cat lover, Iris Morland writes sexy and funny contemporary romances. If she's not reading or writing, she enjoys binging on Netflix shows and cooking something delicious.Stay in touch!irismorland.comIris Morland’s MermaidsNewsletter Facebook Twitter BookBub Goodreads Instagram
A coffee addict and cat lover, Iris Morland writes sexy and funny contemporary romances. If she's not reading or writing, she enjoys binging on Netflix shows and cooking something delicious.Stay in touch!irismorland.comIris Morland’s MermaidsNewsletter Facebook Twitter BookBub Goodreads Instagram
Say You’re MineAll I Ask of YouMake Me YoursHold Me CloseOopsie DaisyHe Loves Me, He Loves Me NotPetal PluckerWar of the RosesincludingThen Came YouTaking a Chance on LoveAll I Want Is YouMy One and OnlyThe Nearness of YouThe Very Thought of YouIf I Can’t Have YouDream a Little Dream of MeSomeone to Watch Over MeTill There Was YouI’ll Be Home for Christmas
It was still dark when Matt awoke to a noise that he first thought was one of the dogs fretting to get out. He opened his eyes, trying to make anything out in the gloom, when he realized that it wasn’t one of the dogs. It was Holly. She whimpered and moaned, pushing against his chest, and she kept saying something.“Please don’t,” she pleaded, pushing and pushing. “Please. Sam, you can’t. Please!”Matt froze. Did he wake her, or let the dream play out? He didn’t want to startle her. But when she started trying to hit him, he didn’t have much of a choice.He shook her. “Holly! Holly, wake up! It’s a dream, sweetheart.” He didn’t even realize the endearment had fallen from his lips, but it felt right for some reason. “Holly, wake up. Wake up.”She moaned. He almost thought she’d fallen back asleep, but her lashes fluttered and then she looked up at him like he was a stranger. He couldn’t make out her expression in the dark, so he switched on the flashlight.They both blinked at the
Two months after what was eventually termed The Incident, everything seemed to return to normal. Mostly normal, at any rate, Kat reflected with a wry smile. Gavin had told her in no uncertain terms that there was no way she was going to get away from him again, and she’d moved in with him the day he’d returned home from the hospital. And neither of them had looked back.Silas awaited his trial, sitting in jail for the foreseeable future. The judge had denied him bail since he would still be a real threat to Kat, Gavin and Emma. Silas had tried contacting Kat to apologize, but she’d refused all contact. He’d told the judge that he’d done everything because he loved her. She didn’t understand it, but she was glad he couldn’t hurt anyone else.The past two months had been ones of healing. Gavin had mostly healed from his bullet wound, although he still had pain in his side if he worked himself too hard. More than once, Kat had had to convince him to rest. It didn’t help that he’d been u
When Gavin awoke, the first thing he noticed was the astringent scent of his surroundings. He didn’t understand why the woods would smell like that, but when he opened his eyes, he slowly realized he was no longer in the woods. He was in the hospital. The hospital? Why was he in the hospital?“You’re awake.” Kat touched his arm, her eyes shining as she looked down at him. “Jesus Christ, Gavin.”He saw that she was crying, and he reached up to wipe the tears away. “What happened?” His voice was croaky.“You were shot, but the bullet just grazed you. You bled quite a bit, though.” She sniffled. “Scared me half to death, too.”In a rush, it all came back to him: the woods, Kat, Silas, Emma. Emma. He lurched upward, but groaned as his wound smarted. “Emma? Where is she? Is she all right?”Kat grabbed his hands to still him. “She’s okay. She found help, just like you told her to. She was so brave. They arrested Silas. It’s over.”“How did he get Emma? How did this even happen?”Kat s
Gavin heard the yells and ran as fast as his feet could carry him. How had Kat managed to get so far ahead of him? Fear coalesced in his gut that he’d lost her in the woods.But he soon heard voices and went toward the sounds. Even then, it felt like an eternity before he arrived in the clearing where Kat had stopped. But the sight in front of him instantly arrested him: Silas Fraser holding Emma captive. Gavin was still far enough away that Silas hadn’t heard him approach.Before Gavin could react to the tableau in front of him, Kat launched herself at Silas, screaming at Emma to run for it. A moment later, Gavin caught his daughter in his arms and breathed in her sweet scent.But he didn’t have time to be relieved. Silas now had a gun to Kat’s temple. Gavin’s heart almost burst out of his chest at the horrifying sight.Turning to Emma, he said, “I need you to get out of here and get help. Can you do that?” He handed her his flashlight. “Keep the river on your left and it’ll take
Everything seemed to move at lightning speed after that. The police had already arrived by the time Kat had gotten off the phone with Gavin, and they were collecting any information before forming search parties.With the school day ending, parents had begun to pick up their kids. When they saw the police presence, Principal Layton had done her best to explain the situation while the police had helped form search parties for everyone who wanted to help.Next to the school was a large wooded area, about two acres wide. Kat had this feeling deep in her gut that Emma had disappeared into it. Why she’d run away, she didn’t know. She just prayed they found the girl before it got dark—and before this storm broke.“Have you seen Silas?” said Mrs. Gentry to Kat as they all waited for instructions.Kat had completely forgotten about him. “No, not since earlier this afternoon. Why?”Mrs. Gentry frowned. “He told me he’d find me near the south restrooms, but he never showed up.”“Weird. May
Gavin had never driven so fast in his entire life. He gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, praying and begging anyone listening to keep his daughter safe.Emma had to be safe. She was most likely hiding somewhere, and they just hadn’t found her yet. Rage at the school bubbled over, and he didn’t realize he’d accelerated until he almost ran himself off of the road. He forced himself to slow down, even as it felt like hours before he’d reach the school when it was only across town.After Gavin had left River’s Bend, Adam had assured him that he’d follow behind him as soon as he found Joy so she could help in the search. Gavin had hardly listened to his brother. Adam could bring the entire family if he wanted, but Gavin wasn’t about to wait around for them all, either.How had the school lost his daughter? Again? He wanted to throttle someone. He wanted to demand why everyone at that damn school couldn’t keep track of one little girl. If she had gotten hurt, or worse…He to
Kat tried her best to throw herself into her work. She couldn’t let her heartbreak over Gavin keep her from being a good teacher. But her students were certainly old enough to have heard about her house being vandalized, and being just kids, she had to volley tons of questions every single class.Finally, it go to the point that Kat made a blanket rule that if anyone talked about the subject, they’d get a demerit. That had nipped the discussion in the bud—at least when Kat was present. She obviously had no power to keep the kids from talking about it when she wasn’t around.Two weeks after Gavin had broken her heart, Kat was grateful that there hadn’t been any more threats against her. The police hadn’t found any leads despite their best efforts, though. Kat had a feeling, being such a tiny police force, that they didn’t exactly have the capability to track down somebody like this. And now that the threats seemed to be stopping, there wasn’t as much focus on it as before.On Wednesd