Straight From The Heart

By Janelle Taylor

Two passionate novellas and the story of the author's own happily-ever-after romance.
STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART
Kimberly Harden is a recently divorced mom just looking for a quiet weekend at a friend's cabin, only to find that a mistake in arrangements has brought her husband's divorce attorney there too. Sexy lawyer Stephen Wright was secretly on Kimberly's side, and when a sudden flood strands them in the cabin together, he decides to prove that he has her best interests at heart.
WINDS OF CHANGE
The love between Dorry Sims and Luke James is strong enough to best the Wyoming wilderness where they've made their home. But a greedy neighbor wants their ranch and Dorry, too, and he'll get rid of Luke anyway he can, including framing Luke for a crime Luke didn't commit.
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
Janelle Taylor shares the story of falling in love with her husband, Michael. A true-life treat for romance fans.

Janelle Taylor is the multiple-award-winning author of nine New York Times bestselling romance novels. Visit her at www.janelletaylor.com.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BelleBooks
• Release date: Jul 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781611941814

Book preview

Two passionate novellas and the story of the author’s own happily-ever-after romance.

STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART

Kimberly Harden is a recently divorced mom just looking for a quiet weekend at a friend’s cabin, only to find that a mistake in arrangements has brought her husband’s divorce attorney there too. Sexy lawyer Stephen Wright was secretly on Kimberly’s side, and when a sudden flood strands them in the cabin together, he decides to prove that he has her best interests at heart.

WINDS OF CHANGE

The love between Dorry Sims and Luke James is strong enough to best the Wyoming wilderness where they’ve made their home. But a greedy neighbor wants their ranch and Dorry, too, and he’ll get rid of Luke anyway he can, including framing Luke for a crime Luke didn’t commit.

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

Janelle Taylor shares the story of falling in love with her husband, Michael. A true-life treat for romance fans.

Straight from the Heart

by

Janelle Taylor

Bell Bridge Books

Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events or locations is entirely coincidental.

Bell Bridge Books

PO BOX 300921

Memphis, TN 38130

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-61194-181-4

Print ISBN: 78-1-61194-165-4

Bell Bridge Books is an Imprint of BelleBooks, Inc.

Straight from the Heart © 1997

Winds of Change © 1996

Love at First Sight © 1985

Winds of Change was originally published in a mass market edition as part of the LOVE’S LEGACY anthology from Leisure Books.

Straight from the Heart was originally published in mass market paperback as part of the SUMMER LOVE anthology from Zebra Books.

Love at First Sight was originally published in hardcover as part of the MY FIRST REAL ROMANCE anthology from Henry Holt & Co.

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

All 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 permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

We at BelleBooks enjoy hearing from readers.

Visit our websites – www.BelleBooks.com and www.BellBridgeBooks.com.

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Cover design: Debra Dixon

Interior design: Hank Smith

Photo credits:

Heart ribbon (manipulated) © Robertsrob |Dreamstime.com

:Ehs:01:

Straight from the Heart

One

Thunk! Ka-bang!

Kimberly Harden clamped onto the suddenly spinning steering wheel and held hard as her little compact shimmied through a yawning rut outside Betsy’s rustic mountain cabin. Rain poured so heavily over the windshield she felt as if she were in a car wash. Kim held her breath, her heart hammering painfully. She half expected some new awful thing to happen. When all remained still except for the harsh tattoo of the rain on the roof of the car, she exhaled on a deep sigh.

She’d made it here in one piece!

A smile quirked her lips. So, okay, the weather was a total nightmare. So what? She needed this weekend away like she’d never needed anything before. Life could be pure hell, and since her less-than-amicable divorce, she’d experienced that side of it more than she’d believed possible.

Her ex-husband was a lying louse. The vision of him gloating in the courtroom as his attorney denounced her in the most wickedly awful and untruthful terms was so indelibly etched in Kimberly’s mind that it could still bring tears to her eyes and quicken her heartbeat.

And yes, she’d won custody of Bobby because all of Alan’s lies had proven to be just that—lies. But those untruths had scraped against her heart and soul, leaving little wounds which couldn’t quite seem to heal over.

Digging in the backseat for her bag, Kim tried not to think of the custody trial. There were so many things about it that still hurt. Her disillusionment was complete. And it certainly hadn’t helped when Stephen Wright of Jackson, Wright and Smith Associates—and an extremely attractive divorced father to boot!—had taken Alan’s case. Okay, so he wasn’t the actual trial attorney—rat-faced Robert Jackson won those honors. But it had been Stephen who’d referred Alan to Robert. Stephen who’d believed all Alan’s lies. Stephen whose green eyes had made Kim drift into romantic school girlish dreams that still had the power to make her blush.

Beast, she muttered between her teeth.

It was good to get away from all that. Darn good.

When Betsy, Kim’s good friend and mother of Bobby’s best friend, Chad, had offered a free weekend at her parents’ cabin, Kimberly had jumped at the chance. She knew the cabin. Remote, yet cozy. Miles away from civilization, but close enough to make the trip back to Portland in half a day. Kim had been here before, and all her memories were warm and wonderful, the kind that brought a smile to her lips and a sense of well-being that was soul deep. Powerful medicine. A much needed tonic.

To hell with Alan, she thought as she gathered her purse with her overnight bag and climbed from the car. Now all she had to do was negotiate this terrible weather until she got to the front door. Then she was home free.

Placing her bunchy leather purse atop her head, she ran for the front door. A light shone from somewhere inside, dim and yellow, and Kimberly’s radar went on alert. Oh, no! Was someone here? She was supposed to have the place to herself.

The tail end of a red Jeep Cherokee peeked from the side of the house. Heart sinking, Kimberly wondered what was up. Raising her hand to knock, she was startled when the door swung open on its own, and a man stood silhouetted in the light.

I’m sorry . . . she murmured, stepping back.

His intake of breath was a warning, standing the hair on her arms on end. Mrs. Harden? he asked in that rough, smooth voice she’d come to loathe.

Alan’s attorney! Stephen Wright!

Oh, my God! Kimberly, reacting on pure instinct, dropped everything and ran for her blue compact as if the devil himself were at her heels.

A series of swear words crossed Stephen’s mind, unspoken but vehemently uttered nonetheless. What was she doing here? Wait! he yelled. When she didn’t heed him, he ran through the pouring deluge, catching up with her at the car door. He made the foolish mistake of trying to grab her arm. She jabbed an elbow in his solar plexus that turned his next words into a sharp gasp. Kimberly!

Don’t touch me, she shot back. Let go!

Since he was practically doubled over and clutching his chest, her words were unnecessary. I’m—not—

Well, you were. I can’t believe you’re here! What are you doing? Stay away from me.

Don’t worry, he managed to answer, annoyed. He drew a deep breath and glared at her. I was just trying to keep you from getting soaked to the skin.

Too late.

Yeah, well, whose fault is that?

Stay—there, she said, when he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

Stephen shook his head. Unbelievable! Throwing up his hands in mock surrender, he glared at her through the curtain of rain. Instantly his mood lifted. She looked like the proverbial drowned rat.

What are you smiling at? she demanded suspiciously.

You, he admitted.

Well, I’m glad you see something funny in this.

I do. As a matter of fact, I think this is a damn riot. I came up here for a weekend of sun and fun in the mountains, and look—a summer storm like you’ve never seen! And we’re both standing out here as if there’s not a torrential downpour likely to drown us in ten minutes flat!

Her hand was on the car door. She clenched it over the handle and pulled several times. Water poured over her as if the heavens above were already flooded and spilling the overflow onto Mother Earth. I’m locked out, Kim said.

Stephen threw back his head and laughed. Her car keys were in her purse which she’d thrown down just outside the cabin door. Well, then come inside. You can dry out, and we’ll figure out what’s going on.

Oh, no! I’m leaving. I’ll get my keys.

You can’t leave, he told her.

That earned him a glare that could cut through steel. Watch me!

The roads are flooded at the base of the mountain, he explained. They closed them about an hour ago.

They? she repeated blankly, blinking against the rivulets of water that ran down her face. Her blond bangs pressed limp and dark against her forehead, and raindrops starred her lashes.

Stephen scowled to himself. He’d known Kimberly for several years, and he’d always found her attractive. A small surge of warmth ran through him, then his good mood rapidly evaporated. The Highway Patrol. This flash storm’s created a hellish mess. I take it you weren’t listening to the radio.

Kimberly didn’t hear him. Flooded? What does that mean?

Well, in layman’s terms— he began, but she cut him off.

"Are you saying I’m—stranded—here? She thrust her bangs from her face, staring at him in dismay. Is that what you’re saying?"

For a while, at least.

What about you? she asked, aghast.

Well . . .

Her dawning look of horror said she’d grasped the consequences. You can’t be here. You can’t be staying here. One of us has to leave!

There’s nowhere to go, he pointed out reasonably.

There has to be. I won’t—I can’t stay here. We can’t be here together, she added, as if he were completely dense and she was working hard to explain the situation.

Stephen’s patience snapped. He could understand her hostility toward him, but it wasn’t helping anything. Since I didn’t bring my ark with me, I’m stuck. Maybe you’ve got a better idea.

Oh, funny.

I’m going inside, he said, turning away.

He would have liked to grab her arm and propel her with him, but her harsh words

Reviews for Straight From The Heart

[darla_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

** "Straight from the Heart" by Janelle Taylor.O. M. G. If this were a play, I'd say the actors were chewing the scenery. Horribly overdone. It's an okay premise--the hero's law firm represented the heroine's ex-husband in a custody battle, and a mutual friend sets them up to be stranded in a cabin together. But the story goes downhill from there. Every reaction is exaggerated--frex, at one point the hero throws his head back and laughs... at something mildly amusing. And what was up with the "wheat bread"? Am I missing something? They've got bread, and it's mentioned multiple times, and there's only one kind of bread, but every time it's mentioned it's always "wheat bread." Really started to drive me nuts. We won't mention the exclamation marks.*** "Summer Fantasy" by Jill Marie Landis.TV screenwriter's agent sends her to Kauai to relax and get over writer's block. The handsome Hawaiian B&B owner is the hero. The descriptions were very nice. I saw the "twist" coming from the first assumption the heroine made about the hero. Too much Fred (authorial intrusion) took away from the story. And the heroine... first, she's a the pinnacle of her profession at age 25. I thought we'd given that up in the 80s. And then she's all hot for the hero, so she's hostile toward him, comes on to him and then gets mad at him for responding.*½ "Early in the Morning" by Stella Cameron.WTF moment #1: we have a couple who's on the eve of getting married, and they've--or rather she's--just now decided they ought to discuss sex. WTF moment #2: so he repeatedly changes the subject, avoids the question, and finally accuses her of being sex-obsessed. WTF moment #3: she doesn't actually dump his sorry butt. I have zero problem with a couple deciding to wait until marriage for sex. But I do think it's something they would/should discuss before, you know, the night before the wedding. And his reaction? That really doesn't bode well for a happy marriage. WTF moment #4: we get the reason for his reluctance--his ex-wife told him he wasn't any good in bed. Isn't that pretty much standard? Don't an awful lot of divorcing people accuse their exes of being bad in bed? WTF moment #5: the aliens show up. And.... Oh, god, I can't go on. It gets worse from there, if you can believe it. It's a complete mess. What the aliens want, how they communicate, how the couple plans to get away, and then how things change at the end--none of it makes any sense. Okay, I've got to add one last WTF moment because I just can't believe it: WTF moment # whatever: they don't want to have actual sex where the aliens can observe them. BUT they have no problem with getting completely naked and having oral sex.***** "Sultry" by Anne Stuart.This is why I bought the book. And it made it worth it. Stuart's an exceptional author. From the first page, I felt myself relax and sink into the story of a saloon owner and the town's new sheriff. She packed a ton of story into a novella length, and I still didn't feel rushed or like things were left out. Emotional, lush, descriptive, even suspenseful. She makes it look so easy. Quite possibly, the contrast between this story and the others in the anthology account for a half a star here, but it deserves it for being stuck in a book with duds.