Alert!

By Pauline Quenneville

Following the disaster of her failed common-law marriage to Justin, Monica must now adapt to her unwanted single life. The pain in her heart is so great that everyday living is a challenge.

At work, men are a constant problem which she must learn to cope with diplomatically in order to advance. With the help of her assistant and devoted friend, Edith, she learns how to excel at her job. Although she finds men useful in her quest to achieve as much success as possible at work, she believes that she can live without them, or so she thinks!

To keep herself from getting hurt by another man ever again, she makes up rules that she uses as a guide to keep from falling into bad relationships. Will these rules still work for her when changes to her family life and a sudden health condition threaten to derail her carefully planned life and her future?

Will a man eventually conquer her damaged heart and make her feel loved again? Alert! follows Monica on her journey to find the life of love and romance that she has always wanted!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Sep 17, 2009
• ISBN: 9781426989315

Pauline Quenneville

Pauline Quenneville resides in the small town of Blind River, Ontario, on the shores of Lake Huron. Pauline holds a B.A., and a C.H.R.P. certificate. She started writing after her retirement from the Canadian Federal Government. Since her retirement, Pauline has published two books, Vrit? and La Vrit?.

Book preview

Pauline

Quenneville

ALERT!

Pauline Quenneville

Book Two of

Monica LeBlanc’s Saga

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

References made to "Kewadin Casino in Michigan is being used by written permission.

Order this book online at www.trafford.com or email [e-mail]

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© Copyright 2009 Pauline Quenneville.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

Note for Librarians: A cataloguing record for this book is available from Library and Archives Canada at www.collectionscanada.ca/amicus/index-e.html

Printed in Victoria, BC, Canada.

ISBN: 978-1-4269-1453-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4269-1454-6 (dj)

ISBN: 978-1-4269-8931-5(ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009933791

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Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Epilogue

Author Notes

Thank you to my readers, great

friends and family who persuaded me to

write a sequel to "Vérité ?»

This book is dedicated to my family.

Thank you all for letting me use your problems and your

experiences as my own to make this novel come to life.

Also by Pauline Quenneville

Vérité ?

La Vérité ? (en français)

Prologue

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Starting over! A chance for a new beginning; to make things right! Sounds good doesn’t it? Well how could I start a new life when memories of the old one continually flashed through my mind like a slide-show. Even those memories would have been bearable had it not been for the intolerable pain which accompanied them; the sensation that a huge hole had been punched through my chest, leaving ragged, unhealed gashes that continued to bleed, forcing me to curl inward, to grip my ribs to try to hold myself together. When would this pain go away? What if this hole would never mend? If the raw edges never healed?

I had thought I had it all. A fairy-tale life. A wonderful man to share my life with, a beautiful little house, a doll house cottage, Brutus, the best behaved black lab in the world and a loving, supportive family. A perfect life! Or so I thought, until Justin’s infidelities were such that they could no longer be ignored.

After years of believing him and being made to believe that I was imagining things, I had had enough and decided to catch Justin at his game. I had proven to myself and my family that Justin had been cheating on me with my niece, only to have my wonderful existence come crashing down around me.

Thinking of starting over is a good idea, doing it is another matter altogether, because the past is not easily forgotten. If you are lucky enough to make it through one hour without thinking of what you had, what you’ve lost, then, you are very lucky indeed. Regardless, one hour is very short when compared to one day, especially when one hour can seem like an eternity. Just the thought of spending the rest of my life fighting this obsession was totally devastating. Maybe someone should invent a patch to help naive women get past the pain of a broken heart.

Ever so slowly I had started putting the pieces of my life back together. Work was a temporary plug, an ill fitting seal over the gaping hole, but I could feel the leaks which always developed and enlarged as each work day neared its end. The evenings were the worst. I had no appetite, so food items were never on my shopping list, but a bottle of wine helped to fill the void; helped to make me fall asleep or at least numb the pain so that I felt nothing. Between pain and feeling nothing, I chose nothing. The next morning would be similar to every morning when one gets up after drinking too much wine. Hours passed! Days passed! Months passed! Was the damage permanent?

Chapter 1

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Spring! The grass was sprouting up everywhere through the remaining patches of wet snow. Here and there the remnants of winter were quickly disappearing to make way for the early flowers of spring, so welcomed after a long cold winter.

I’m five foot one. My ideal weight has always been one hundred and five pounds, with an old fashioned build-large chest, small waist and shapely hips. My auburn hair, cut to the nape of my neck, emphasized my hazel eyes and my winning smile. I could draw the attention of many men without even trying, but for the last twelve years, my heart had belonged to only one. In my misery, I had forgotten how to smile and the twinkle was gone from my eyes.

It was Saturday and today I would force myself to go outside and get some fresh air. I took a shower and got dressed, ready to stretch my legs. As I searched for my favorite hiking boots, the door bell rang. Very few people came to visit me these days, because truthfully, I was not the best of company. I knew that all the signs in the lobby with regards to no soliciting were totally ignored, so I took my time answering the door, hoping that whoever was out there would tire and leave. Slowly, I looked through the peep hole, but all I saw was flowers, roses to be exact. I still had a resentment of roses so I couldn’t believe someone would actually have roses delivered to me. I opened the door ready to tell whoever was delivering these awful flowers to give them to someone who cared when I spotted Cleo hiding behind the flowers. Cleo was one of Justin’s many friends.

What on earth are you doing here? I inquired as I noticed he was also holding a couple of brown paper bags.

I’ve been out of the country for the last four months, and just heard about all the commotion. It’s about time you clued in and gave Justin his walking papers. he replied as he attempted to move forward into my small sparsely furnished apartment.

Cleo is about five foot eight, slender, lanky build, with golden blond hair, blue eyes and totally perfect white teeth. The perfect Robert Redford look.

I was so surprised to see Cleo standing at my door that I almost missed his reference to my finally being smart enough to have left Justin.

Are you going to invite me in? he asked, as I stood there gaping.

Come in. I replied for lack of something better to say.

"What on earth are you visiting me for? Did he send you to see how I was making out? Are you here to spy on me?" I asked, unable to keep all my questions from spewing out of my mouth.

I was not allowed to mention his name. Doing so automatically caused my arms to wrap protectively around my torso to keep from falling apart.

No…I happened to stop by Justin’s place and Mia was there. They told me what happened. I couldn’t believe you had finally left him. Couldn’t believe he actually left you for a kid young enough to be his daughter. Actually I have to hand it to you for catching him in the act…He always boasted that you would never be able to prove he was cheating on you even if you suspected he was. he volunteered.

This revelation really threw me for a loop!

How long have you known that he was cheating on me? I asked.

I’ve known him longer than you have so I guess I can safely say I’ve known all along he replied, picking up on the fact that the mere mention of Justin’s name sent electric shocks through me like someone being tasered.

Why didn’t you tell me? You could have stopped me from wasting so many years? I replied, not believing that Cleo would keep something like that a secret.

Let’s face it gorgeous, men stick together! he said as he put the flowers on the counter and pulled out a bottle of wine from one of the bags he was carrying.

As I closed the door, still in shock that Justin’s friend was actually taking the time to visit me, I couldn’t help but feel intimidated by his visit. Cleo lived in one of Sudbury’s snob hill residences and to have him in my home, in Sudbury’s ghettos, did not help my already shattered pride. I took a seat in the first chair I came to so that my legs would not betray me and Cleo did the same as he nonchalantly took a seat on the sofa, stretching his long legs, seemingly out of place in his blue denim jeans and red striped t-shirt. Every time I had seen Cleo, he was always dressed to kill, in a suit, dress shirt and tie. He looked pretty good in his relaxed attire.

So tell me the whole story. Justin just said you caught him and left! How did you actually catch him? Cleo was looking at me intently, staring as he continued to ask Did someone tell you what was going on?

I was suspicious. I still believed that he had come to check the other side so he could report back to Justin; revealing to him what a terrible state he had found me in. After all, Justin believed that a woman needed a man in her life just to survive. Did Cleo have the same beliefs?

As I stared at him, something in his eyes seemed to tell me that he was not happy with what he saw. My not eating habit had slimmed my figure from a size ten to a size six and since I had just gotten out of the shower before he arrived, my reddish auburn hair was simply pulled back in a pony tail revealing a total lack of makeup, and imperfect skin. Having planned to go for a walk, I had on my new jeans and a baby blue blouse with lace at the collar and at the sleeves, so at least I hadn’t been roaming around in a pair of loose sweat pants which was my usual attire on my days off. I was still unconvinced that he was here of his own accord.

"Really Cleo, you can go back and

inform him that I have every intention of surviving without him!" I volunteered, deciding that I wanted to strike back at him before he had a chance to see that my resolve was not as stringent as I was letting on.

That statement took him by surprise and he jumped up from the sofa coming to stand in front of me. Grabbing my hand he said, "No, you don’t understand! I’m not here to spy on you! I think the jerk got what he deserved! He never treated you right! He never cared for you! You just looked good on his arm! Once Justin conquers, he doesn’t care what happens after that! I’m just happy that you finally gave him back some of the same, Monica. You were always too good for him, too beautiful and too smart. I just

wish I had met you first, then, you would know what it feels like when someone really cares."

I sat there totally at a loss for words. The loneliness I had been feeling since my life fell apart seemed to be bottled up inside me, ready to burst out at any moment, so I squeezed my ribs harder, again to keep myself together. My eyes filled up with tears. My tear ducts had become hotwired to the hole in my heart when my love… my life had ended. As he took my hands in his, I couldn’t help but wonder how it was possible to still have tears left in me after all these months. With my shaky hands in his, he stared into my eyes and I felt him looking deep into my soul.

I jumped up and pulled away from his mental and physical hold and still crying I yelled, just go…you have what you came for…go tell him I’m a mess! Get out! I was so angry at myself that I had faltered, that I had fallen into his spy trap so easily. But Cleo had always been so good at getting what he wanted. After all, he was Justin’s friend.

I expected him to start laughing at me at any time. I expected to see a sly grin on his face, but all I saw was pain. Was that my pain reflecting in his eyes, or was that really his pain? He didn’t laugh! He came closer to me and took me in his arms, so tightly that I had no choice but to lean on him as he slowly rocked me back and forth like I was a fragile

porcelain doll.

I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to upset you! I should have known it’s too soon for you to talk about this. Please, let me help you through this. Let me be your friend. he coaxed.

"You can’t be my friend, you’re his friend. Don’t you know that now you have to take sides? Isn’t that the way it goes?" I asked. I wanted him to leave, but I didn’t want him to leave. I wanted him to take a side, my side. But that was stupid. He was Justin’s friend.

Rest for a while. I have to go out, just lay here and close your eyes. I’ll be back in one hour and then we’ll talk. He whispered as he helped me to the sofa, putting my legs

up, a pillow under my head and pulling my old brown second hand afghan over me. Then he was gone.

Alert!

Chapter 2

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Sleep was such a wonderful reprieve. In my dreams I was never alone. Brutus, my beautiful dog was always curled up beside me. My life was full and happy. In my dreams I was living in my house with Justin by my side and everything was in the proper place. It felt good. My heart was whole; not broken and bruised, I felt no pain. Sleep was what I wanted to do forever…

No! I didn’t want to wake up! No… Someone was ringing my door bell over and over again trying to pull me away from my fantasy? How dare anyone interrupt my peaceful existence? So comfortable under my old afghan, I didn’t