Pivotal Moments

By Cheryl LaBruzzo

Chanel Ryan weathered a hardship in her life and decided it was time to make a drastic change. Her soul in tatters, she moves from her sunny hometown in Florida to Alaska. As she adjusts to a completely different climate and lifestyle, she notices changes in herself for the better. She finds herself evolving into a stronger more confident image of her former self.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524655129

Cheryl LaBruzzo

Cheryl LaBruzzo lives with her family in Florida where she is gathering ideas for her second novel. Her goal as a writer is to write books to help us remember that whatever life has in store, there is a reason, and despite the difficult times we must keep moving forward because good things are waiting, right around the corner.

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AuthorHouse™

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This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons is entirely coincidental.

© 2017 Cheryl LaBruzzo. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 12/16/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-5513-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-5511-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-5512-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016920822

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

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

Epilogue

I would like to send special thank you’s to;

My daughters-Nic, Jess and Meagan (you inspire me)

Fire Ant (my love) RIP

Chris and Tam Fondell (for bringing me to Sitka)

Megan, Gabby, Ashleigh, Martha, Jessica, Nicole, Steve and Jesse

(for all of the wonderful adventures I had while I was there)

Carley, Heidi, Rachel, Nick, and Rosa

(for proof reading and encouragement)

Claudia (for your editorial advice and encouragement to keep writing)

You all have my endless gratitude. I could not have done this without you.

Chapter 1

S eriously? When had she become so incredibly boring ? Honestly, it was almost impossible to recall the last time she had been even remotely impulsive. For too long now, she had been labeled as the practical, reliable, dependable—and oh yeah, let’s not forget to mention incredibly boring— Chanel Ryan.

Chanel leaned back in her chair when it dawned on her that she was never impulsive anymore. What had happened to her inner child? The one who was full of fun and had such a delightful sense of adventure? Somehow she must have gotten kicked to the curb when the responsibilities of Chanel’s life had taken over.

Well, not anymore.

Leaning forward again, Chanel grabbed the pen, and without hesitation signed on the dotted line.

Oh, yeah, not so predictable now, am I?

Okay, maybe it was impulsive, but that was what made it fun. From now on, Chanel decided, she was going to be more impulsive and trust her instincts. She was simply going to have faith that her life would work itself out. Besides, being the responsible one all the time was exhausting.

Closing the door behind the real estate agent Chanel turned and stepped back into the massive hallway. Crossing the downstairs living area, she opened the French doors to her balcony, stepped outside, and gripped the railing while leaning forward to take a deep breath of the cool, fresh air.

Drinking in the view from her newly purchased home, Chanel was certain she had made the right choice. She loved this house, and even though buying a house on impulse was completely out of character for her, in a crazy way, she felt more in control of her life than she had in a very, very long time.

The midmorning sun was warm as it caressed her skin, and she leaned farther out to allow her eyes to drift lazily over the boats in the harbor before they slowly wandered up to the snow-dusted mountains in the distance. Her view was simply breathtaking. Basking in its splendor, she allowed herself a few more delightful minutes of complete bliss before turning to go back inside.

Realizing that she had put it off long enough, she decided it was time to call her mother and fill her in on her latest, well, as her mother would say, Shenanigans.

As she searched for her phone, Chanel silently rehearsed her lines and mentally braced herself for a scolding. Without a doubt, this kind of ridiculously crazy behavior would cause her mother to wonder if she’d completely lost her mind, therefore guaranteeing a lengthy lecture.

Oh, well, I might as well get it over with.

Just then her cell phone buzzed, identifying its location on the corner table, and the caller ID showed her mom’s face smiling at her from the screen.

As usual, her timing is perfect.

Hi, Mom, she said trying to sound carefree and cheerful but not quite succeeding.

Chanel, what’s going on? Where are you?

I’m in Sitka, Mom. Hey, guess what? I bought a house!

You bought a house? In Sitka? Where is that? Isn’t it over by Marco Island?

Chanel couldn’t hold back the small nervous chuckle that bubbled out. No, Mom. Sitka’s not in Florida, it’s in Alaska.

Alaska!? her mom chirped in a high, anxious pitch.

There was a brief pause and then Chanel heard her mom call out, Clifford, do you know where your daughter is? Do you have any idea what she’s up to now?

Chanel adjusted her grip on the cell phone and briefly considered hanging up.

Oops. Sorry, Mom. Bad reception and all.

But of course, that just meant that her parents would jump on board their private jet and head out of the Sunshine State on their way to the Last Frontier. Nope, the best thing to do was just deal with it right now and get it over with.

Chanel turned her attention back to the phone when she heard her mother squeal, Is Alaska even in the United States?

Even though she tried to hold it in, a very unladylike snort escaped before she could reply, Gee, I think so, Mom. Let me go check my map.

Her mother was not amused. Clifford, you need to go and get your daughter. Right now!

Mom, relax. I’m a grown woman. I can make my own decisions. You raised me well. She paused before adding proudly, Remember, I am the CEO of my own company.

CEO? What are you talking about? You sell spices over that Internet thingy.

Chanel rolled her eyes and patiently replied, We sell herbal remedies, Mom. She added smugly, I’ll have you know that C.R. Botanicals sold more than 2.7 million dollars of products last year alone.

Either her mom didn’t hear her, or she simply chose to ignore her.

Does Grant know you bought a house in Alaska?

Oh, okay, just change the subject. As if I want to talk about that pig.

Honestly, Mom, I don’t give a shit what he knows.

Well, okay, so that part might not be true. Truth be told, she would be ecstatic if Grant thought she had run off to Alaska with some handsome, rugged mountain man, but the sad fact was that it simply wasn’t true.

While that lying, cheating, son of a bitch strutted around Palm Beach with his new toy—the twenty-year-old yoga instructor—she had the pleasure of enjoying this quaint little seaside town all by herself.

Language, her mother said. What just came out of your mouth I wouldn’t hold in my hands. She paused momentarily before asking, Are you and Grant still having problems?

Not anymore. I filed for divorce.

Chapter 2

A fter her husband’s first affair, Chanel had been naïve enough to think he would change, that somehow their relationship was just as important to him as it was to her. But she was wrong. It seemed she was the only one determined to save their marriage. In fact, it was Chanel who insisted that they try again. She was confident that he had simply made a mistake, and that in time, he would rediscover his love for her, and for the first few months it seemed to be working.

Grant showered her with attention, giving her jewelry, roses, and sappy promises about a lifetime together. She was ridiculously happy for a while, believing that by some stroke of luck, they had survived the near nuclear fallout of their marriage. She honestly believed that he felt the same way about her as she did about him. They were in love, and sometimes when two people are together long enough, they make mistakes, but you can learn from them and move on, can’t you? After all, we’re only human, and mistakes are simply about learning lessons and are meant to be forgiven. Right?

Her mind reflected on one of her father’s famous pearls of wisdom.

Shortly before she married Grant, her dad had sat her down to inform her that if she was looking for the perfect man in Grant, she was bound to be disappointed. She wasn’t going to find him because, as he put it, the perfect man didn’t exist. He then went on to explain that Grant was just a man, and that men, quite frankly, were less than perfect.

Grinning, he pulled her in for a hug before adding, On that note, if Grant is looking for the ‘perfect woman’ in you, he too will be disappointed, because he isn’t going to find her in you either.

Chanel had gasped dramatically and pulled away while ferociously batting her eyelashes in her dad’s direction. What!? You don’t think I’m perfect?

Her dad had kissed her on the cheek. Of course I do, sweetheart, but I’m smarter than he is. He then tapped the tip of her