Hooking a Firefly

By Dawn Brower

Dr. Ashlyn Penn has lived a rigid life. It's how she deals with her special gifts. Any deviation and her life turns to chaos. So when Harrison Thoreau enters her life it is no surprise she doesn't handle it well and pushes him away.
​​​​​​​
Harrison falls hard for Ashlyn, but respects her wishes and moves on. He is offered a spot on the Sparkle City Fireflies as their new goalie and throws himself into the game, but he never forgets about her.

When Harrison's best friend marries Ashlyn's sister everything, once again, changes and they are thrown together again. This time Ashlyn wonders if she made a mistake, and starts to plan a way to once again hook her firefly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dawn Brower
• Release date: Oct 19, 2021

Book preview

Hooking a Firefly

Hooking a Firefly

Hooking a Firefly

Sparkle City Book Two

Dawn Brower

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Hooking a Firefly Copyright © 2019 by Dawn Brower

All rights reserved.

Cover Art by Victoria Miller

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 written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

For my mom…every day I wish you were here and I never stop missing you.

Sometimes falling apart is the bravest act of all.

Sarah Hackley

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Afterword

About The Author

Also by Dawn Brower

Acknowledgments

Excerpt: Passion and LIes

Prologue

Excerpt: Desire and Jealousy

Prologue

Excerpt: Seduction and Betryal

Prologue

Prologue

Ashlyn Penn never did anything foolish. Every action was carefully thought out and performed with perfection in mind. If she could remove spontaneity from the world, she would. It was her firm belief that impulsiveness led to the cornerstone of chaos. With her gifts, she couldn’t embrace anything so irrational.

She also realized that most people would think her the unreasonable one. Visions should make her life easier. They would be wrong. Those visions were the very epitome of chaos. The future was fluid and changeable, and what she saw didn’t always come to fruition. Her predictions still had over an eighty percent success rate, though. That was why she didn’t believe in impetuous behavior. Fate was fickle, and she didn’t want to give that bitch any reason to destroy Ashlyn’s carefully laid plans.

She hadn’t wanted to give her sister Scarlett bad news. Ashlyn loved both of her sisters, but she had to warn her. JD was the fickle one in their relationship. Ashlyn could tell he would be the one that would bolt—even without the vision that explained it all. She wished with her entire heart that her vision would be wrong, and for that reason, she hadn’t wanted to go to Scarlett’s wedding. She almost hadn’t…

What if she’d been wrong and had read the situation erroneously? Then she would have missed her sister’s big day. She hadn’t made it to the church when a motion from one of the side entrances caught her attention. Harrison Thoreau strolled out, and he didn’t have a cheerful expression on his face. His sun kissed chocolate brown hair was disheveled. She couldn’t see his eyes, but she had a feeling that she’d see sadness if she were closer.

Ashlyn moved toward him and stopped in front of him. He looked so handsome in his tuxedo. She almost lifted her hand up to smooth down his waistcoat, but held back. What happened?

He yanked at the tie at his neck and unraveled it, then slid it out and shoved it inside his pocket. He unbuttoned the collar and took in long, slow gulps of air. Are you all right? she asked him.

She didn’t know what to do for him. Ashlyn didn’t do well with emotional upheaval. That was one of the reason’s she had been determined to stay away. She feared her vision had come to pass. Why else was JD’s best friend so overwrought?

I’ll be fine, he said after a moment. Harrison stared at her for several seconds. I thought you were not going to attend.

Heat creeped up her cheek. She had to be as red as her hair. The joys of being a ginger. Ashlyn sighed. I hadn’t realized anyone noticed I was missing.

He shook his head. Faith mentioned something to me a little while ago. He took another fortifying breath. Did you really have a vision this wedding would not happen?

Sometimes she really hated her gift. It was more of a curse than anything else. She hated some of the things she saw. I did.

And that’s why you were not going to come. He nodded absentmindedly. Why did you change your mind?

She glanced away from him. I didn’t want to disappoint Scarlett. She sighed. But it appears as if that part won’t matter. JD has already done more damage than I ever could.

He’s an asshole. I can’t believe he did this to her. He shoved his hands into his pockets. I love him, but I am so disappointed in him.

He will regret his decision, she said with more of a knowing than anything to substantiate the feeling inside of her. One day he’ll look back and realize this was when he lost the best thing in his life and once he does he’ll be willing to lay everything aside to have it again, but by then it may be too late.

Harrison nodded. That’s the root of regrets. We all have them. Though some are much larger and more intense than others. This will be the one that tops JD’s list.

Yes, she agreed. Then glanced up at him. What are you going to do?

He shrugged, then met her gaze. Want to get out of here?

Ashlyn thought about his question. This was spontaneity that she hated. She had not planned for this, and she didn’t know if she should go with it or not. It would have been better if she had stayed home. Going with Harrison might take her down a path that she might regret. He was three years older than her sixteen years. He’d been at college for a year now. There were several girls in school that would have jumped at the chance to spend some time with him.

He was handsome, and a hockey player at the college he attended. Harrison Thoreau probably had no problems finding girls to hang out with him. Why would he want Ashlyn to be the one at his side? This was uncharted territory for her. Where would we go?

He shrugged. Does it matter?

Harrison didn’t know her at all. Of course, it mattered. She hated surprises and not knowing where they were headed…it might cause a panic attack. So, it shocked her a little that instead of declining she found herself saying, Let’s go.

For the first time since she walked up to him, his face lit up with a smile. That charming grin sent shivers up her spine, and that should have been a warning. One she would have normally heeded, but Harrison brought out a side of her she didn’t know existed.

He slid his arm around her shoulder and led her to his red truck, and helped her inside. She slid her seatbelt on and prayed she wasn’t making a mistake. Ashlyn glanced back at the church and felt a little guilty. She should have checked on Scarlett. Hopefully, Faith would help her through her emotional turmoil. Ashlyn’s twin was better at helping others than she ever could be. This was for the best. At least that was what she kept telling herself.

Harrison still couldn’t believe JD had stood up Scarlett at the altar. When he next talked to him, he would tell him how much of an asshole move that had been. When he had found that letter instructing, he give it to Scarlett… He hoped he never had to go through something like that ever again.

He glanced at the girl sitting next to him. Ashlyn Penn’s was a beautiful girl with wavy red hair and green eyes that bewitched him. She’d always been so remote and cold. That should have turned him off, but something about her had always appealed to him. Maybe he was a bit of a masochist… He’d been surprised she had agreed to come with him.

She wore a pretty green dress that matched her eyes, and simple white flats. He didn’t know where to take her, but he knew he wanted to be alone with her. Harrison needed to learn more about her. What made her tick, and why was she always so distant with those around her.

Was it her visions?

He