Red in the Hood

By Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

Tamara’s known far and wide as the girl in the red hood. Red is not only her favorite color but a way to express everything from anger to love. She hates her mundane existence. After tragedy destroyed her family life, Tamara’s become a loner who shuts out everyone, even her one-time lover, Wulfric.

Wulfric refuses to give up on Tamara, and when she yields to him, her life seems to shift back on track. But when danger hits, Wulfric steps in to make the ultimate sacrifice to save her. His life and their love hang in the balance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evernight Publishing
• Release date: Aug 4, 2012
• ISBN: 9781771300766

Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

Growing up in historic St. Joseph, Missouri, Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy scribbled her stories from an early age. Her first publication – a poem on the children’s page of the local newspaper – seems to have set her fate. As a full time author, she has more than twenty full length novels published along with assorted novellas and short fiction. A contributor to more than two dozen anthologies, her credits include Chicken Soup For The Soul among many collections of short fiction. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Missouri Writers Guild, and the Ozark Writers League. Lee Ann earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Missouri Southern State University as well as an Associate Degree from Crowder College. She has worked in broadcasting, retail, and other fields including education. She is currently a substitute school teacher. As a wife and mother of three, she spends her days penning stories, cooking, reading, and other daily duties. She currently makes her home in the Missouri Ozarks, living in what passes for suburbs in a small town.

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Published by Evernight Publishing at Smashwords

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2012 Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

ISBN: 978-1-77130-076-6

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor: JC Chute

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

For Sophia Sontheimer Wineland, who helped teach me women are strong and can do anything. Thanks, Aunt Sophie!

RED IN THE HOOD

Romance on the Go

Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

Copyright © 2012

Chapter One

Red happened to be her favorite color––warm and bold––so maybe it wasn’t such a surprise Tamara wore a red hooded jacket almost everywhere. Somehow, it went from being something to keep out the cold to a fashion statement and then became part of her identity. Red warred against the teams most everyone in the ‘hood followed, and opposed her former high school’s colors, green and white. It burned with the power of fire in the night and screamed rebellion. It whispered love with the romance of crimson roses and hinted at blood. Red suited Tamara, with her anger simmering just below boiling point. And everyone knew the girl in the red hood, even if they didn’t know her name.

Sometimes Tamara loved her jacket, but just as often she hated it. She’d hang it over the worn lamp in her tiny bedroom in the little house where she’d been raised and still lived. Sometimes while AC/DC played on the stereo, the rough and rugged sound cutting through the night like a heartbeat, Tamara’d think how life might have been if she’d been born in a different neighborhood or another city. If she could’ve been a rich girl, if she’d owned red satin dresses, crimson silks, real ruby jewelry and a red fox fur that wasn’t faux. If her life turned out one of wealth and privilege, she might not be angry or on edge. As someone else, she probably would’ve opted for college and a career instead of just a job at the supermarket. Another woman might’ve kept a significant other, or at least a lover, and wouldn’t be so lonely.

All day long, five and often six days a week she stood in her worn Nikes at the checkout stand, ringing up groceries with a