All Chapters of If I Can’t Have You: The Thorntons Book 3: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be constructed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.If I Can’t Have You (The Thorntons Book 2)Published by Blue Violet Press LLCSeattle, WashingtonCopyright © 2017 by Iris MorlandCover design by Resplendent MediaAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

After arriving home, Abby wanted a drink and then to sleep for the rest of her life. She was beyond exhausted: not only because of her run-in with Mark, but the three patients who'd taken all her concentration and training afterward.The worst patient had been the homeless man who had shouted at her when she wouldn't tell Dr. Smythe to get him more painkillers. He'd stumbled out of the hospital before they'd cleared him to leave. Abby knew he'd return before long.She smiled when her two cats, Darcy and Wentworth, were at the door when she came inside. Both black cats, you could only tell them apart because Wentworth had a smudge of white on his chest. They always came to greet her when they heard her car pull up.Wentworth stood on his hind legs, his paws on her knee, begging for an ear scratch. Darcy swished his tail, acting aloof, but when Abby scratched his chin, he started purring."Come on, let's go get something to eat," she said to the cats, who followed her into the kitche

Mark had never had a woman over. Well, not at his ranch. Things with Tina had ended as he was starting the ranch, and he'd never wanted to bring any woman back with him.Any encounters he had were in town, or on the road for business. Nothing serious, only casual. Most were one-night stands that had no expectations beyond mutual pleasure and a farewell in the morning.Waking up right as dawn peeked over the horizon, Mark had wondered what the hell he'd gotten himself into. And how did you prepare for a woman staying at your place anyway?He had a guest room, but no one had used it. He frowned when he realized the room smelled stale. He opened a window, changed the sheets and comforter, and then winced when he saw how bare the room was."Jesus Christ, this isn't a hotel," he muttered to himself.Abby would have her own bathroom as well, which was also rarely used. He placed clean towels and toilet paper inside the cabinets, wondered for a moment about soap (didn't women have lots o

After taking a shower and getting dressed for bed, Abby sat in her room and tried to read. Then she tried to watch TV, but she couldn't concentrate on anything. Finally, she tried to go to sleep, but Darcy and Wentworth decided that it was time to run around like demons, almost knocking over a lamp in the process.She shooed them out when they darted over her head. "I do not need a claw to the eyeball," she groused at them as they sprinted out into the dark hallway. Hearing a thump, she winced, hoping they didn't damage anything during their nightly play sessions.Leaving the door open a crack so the cats could come back in, she got into bed and stared at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep, though; not with everything she'd learned about Mark whirling in her brain. How did he manage to anger her one moment and pique her curiosity the next?The self-conscious part of her brain scolded herself, telling her that a man like him would never want her. Mousy nurse, remember?And yet, despite

Abby folded the last of her clothes, shooing away the cats when they tried to climb inside her suitcase. She'd have to leave early in the morning if she wanted to make it to work on time after dropping off the cats."You two make my life more complicated, you know that, right?" she said fondly before giving each cat a good scratch. Wentworth meowed and stretched while Darcy yawned and rolled over onto his back.She sat on the bed and stroked both cats, her thoughts still in turmoil. She needed to leave because she was very much afraid that if she stayed any longer, Mark Thornton would break her heart. Even if he hadn't kissed her out of pity, she had to protect herself.She sighed as she ruffled Darcy's fur."What am I doing?" she whispered. "I've never felt this lost before."Even when she'd made the decision to break up with Derek she hadn’t been this torn up. She felt like one part of her was tugging her to stay, to uncover more of Mark, to discover the vulnerable center of a m