This Time Around

By Lynn Stevens

Six years ago, Julianna Markum left Hartfield to discover the truth about the death of her parents. She had every intention of returning.

Until a fateful phone call changed her mind.

 

Within minutes of arriving back in her hometown, Julianna runs a stop sign. And Pace Carter pulls her over. She knew she'd run into him eventually, just not until she'd figured out what to say. The fifteen-hour drive from Savannah hadn't been enough time.

 

She never had enough time. Pace had been her best friend, her closest confidant, and she left without even saying goodbye. Julianna knew it would break his heart, especially after events at graduation.

 

But she's not back for Pace. He's moved on. She's there to help care for her elderly aunt.

 

Hartfield is a small town, and avoiding Pace is nearly impossible. She needs to make things right between them.

 

If only she could find the words to explain why she left and why she didn't tell him goodbye.

 

Enjoy this sweet, small town, second chance romance novella.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lynn Stevens
• Release date: Apr 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393307372

Book preview

This Time Around

Lynn Stevens

Lynn Stevens

This Time Around Copyright © L.S. Murphy 2013

Originally published as A Reason to Stay by L.S. Murphy in 2013

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form without written permission except for use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Published by Lynn Stevens

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

Contents

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1. Chapter One

2. Chapter Two

3. Chapter Three

4. Chapter Four

5. Chapter Five

6. Chapter Six

7. Chapter Seven

8. Chapter Eight

9. Chapter Nine

10. Chapter Ten

11. Chapter Eleven

12. Eplogue

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Chapter One

The flashing red bounced off my windshield as I sat at the only stoplight in Hartfield. Nothing had changed in the six years since I left except the growth of trees and the make of cars parked along Main Street. Even the pharmacy seemed to avoid time with its original porcelain sign and fifties style. They continued operating a soda fountain after all these years. I could see a few old timers throw the glass, sitting on the red vinyl padding of the chrome stools at the long countertop. A memory wanted to surface of happier times, but I fought it down.

A horn beeped twice politely, jarring me back into the moment. I turned left toward the high school for no other reason than to see if it was still there. Hartfield High was nothing special to look at and my need for nostalgia overwhelmed me. The bad times outweighed the good, but they were my memories. It was time to own them.

As I suspected, the three story brick building hadn’t changed with its aging oak tree filling the front lawn. Nobody was on campus because of summer vacation, but it had its own ghosts to keep it company.

Two blocks later, I ran a stop sign where there never used to be one. I only realized it when the red and blue lights of a police cruiser flashed in my rearview mirror, bouncing off the windows of McVay’s Grocery. The stop sign was clear then. Cursing under my breath, I pulled over and had the information ready as the cop walked to my window.

License… a vaguely familiar voice began.

I didn’t bother to look at him as I handed everything over before he could finish. Out of my peripheral vision, his tanned hands held my license in one and my proof of insurance in the other. Forcing myself to be patient, I waited as he looked at my ID longer than necessary. Maybe he’d never seen a Georgia license before, or maybe he thought it was fake. Maybe he was just being a jerk because I was out of state. Either way, this was taking too long. I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel, hoping I would get a fine and be done with it. Sometimes these small towns made court appearances mandatory. Running a stop sign was a criminal offense, which I knew all too well.

He reached through the window and let my information drop into my lap. The watch on his left wrist glinted in the sun. I’d given it to him for his sixteenth birthday. Panic welled in my chest. This couldn’t be happening. I wasn’t ready for this yet. If ever.

My heart skipped when I heard his voice again. You could’ve said goodbye, Jules.

Only one person ever called me Jules. It cemented the fear that I’d buried when I decided to come back here. He knelt beside the door, resting his forearms on the window frame. A breeze brought his spicy cologne into the confined space of my car. I forced myself to look him in the eye.

Pace Carter hadn’t changed much since the last time I saw him. His brown eyes and short brown hair were still touched with flecks of gold. He filled out his deep blue uniform more than he would’ve been able to when he was eighteen. There was the air of authority that came with being a cop, a job he’d always wanted. But there was something else there that I didn’t recognize in his expression. I’d seen it a thousand times in other people, but never with Pace. Complete disappointment.

I opened my mouth to say something, but no words could convey what was going on in my mind except I’m sorry and that wouldn't be good enough. Nothing would ever be good enough after what I did. I needed to say something, though. As usual, words failed me.

He shook his head, sadness weighing him down. No, I guess you couldn’t. Or wouldn’t.

Still, my voice left me. Everything I’d ever wanted to say ran through my head, but none of it made it to my lips.

Watch where you’re going, Jules. He patted the door twice and stood. Not everything’s the same as it used to be around here.

Pace strolled to his cruiser, opened the door, and drove away. If he looked back, I had no clue. I waited until he was out of sight to pull onto the street. My hands shook against the wheel. If I was honest with myself, Pace Carter was the last person I thought I’d see in Hartfield. If I was honest with myself, he was one of the reasons why I hadn’t come back sooner. If I was honest with myself, that little encounter shook me to the core.

I skipped the tour and headed the opposite direction. It took me less than four minutes to get to Aunt Helen’s house on the south side of town. Not that Hartfield was that big to begin with, but I navigated the streets like it was my first time driving. I didn’t want to run into Pace again, or anyone else I knew. Truth be told, I wasn’t ready for any of this.

Aunt Helen’s Victorian sat at the end of Mercer Avenue where the wealthy once lived. Most of the other