Charlotte
Winston had the perfect life. Doting husband. Wonderful son. On one fateful
day, in a matter of seconds, everything changed. Heartbroken and alone,
Charlotte is left to pick up the remaining pieces of her shattered existence.
Only to find that some pieces were not what they seemed, which not only
threatened any chance for true happiness…but also her life. David Lyons vowed
to never let another woman under his skin. Bitter and resentful, he never takes
a woman to bed twice. He learned that lesson the hard way. But everything he
stood for dissolves when he meets a green eyed beauty from the city. Can two
people, so beaten down by life, so broken, move on from the past? Can love
restore their light after being blanketed in darkness for so long?
I love the town of Glenview. I absolutely adored David in book one of the series and the author made me fall head over heels in this book. O.M.G. The mouth on that man! I love a good alpha and David definitely fits the bill!
Charlie suffered a great loss. She lost her husband and her son in a tragic accident. Come to find out, it wasn't an accident at all. Her husband was in business with some shady people and Charlie had to live with the effects. When it becomes too much, she runs away to Glenview.
The first time she meets David, he is a total a**. I wanted to slap him! However, he quickly redeems himself in one of the sweetest, alpha ways possible. It doesn't stop there. He just keeps being his hot self. Charlie doesn't stand a chance at resisting him. When her husband's trouble follows her to her new home, David will stop at nothing to protect her. *Sigh*
I absolutely love this story. The author kept it fairly light even though the character had gone through tragedy. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of emotion in this book, but as a whole, it was light and fun. I can't wait to see where the author takes me next!
I had to drive.
I never drove, but Jared was running behind schedule and
wanted to use his electric razor in the car to save a little time. He despised
being late. I stood in the entryway doing a happy dance to taunt my husband
because I was ready long before him. Jared was always on top of his game,
organized and ready. It was downright comical to see him flustered and in a
rush for once.
“What are you grinning about?” he teased as he playfully
slapped my behind to scoot me out the door.
“Oh, nothing really,” I replied. “It’s just funny to see
you so out of sorts.”
“Har, har,” he laughed sarcastically before yelling up the
stairs. “Matty! Get a move on, buddy. We’re out the door in two minutes.”
“Coming, Dad!” Matthew gracefully bounced down each step,
grabbed his shoes and headed for the garage. “Whoa, wait up. Mom is driving?” he asked as he entered the garage and saw me
standing in the doorframe on the driver’s side. He walked around the vehicle to
sit directly behind his dad.
“Please explain what is so
wrong with my driving?” I demanded. “I am a perfectly good
driver, thank you very much.”
Jared
rolled his eyes. “Sure you are, Charlotte. We wouldn’t dare question your exceptional
driving skills,” he teased. “Now let’s get going. We’re already running late.”
Shaking
my head, I backed out of the garage, slowly rolling down the driveway and into
the street.
It
was the fifth of July. We were headed to a barbeque with our dear friends near
Lake Michigan. The party, always held the day after the Fourth, was a tradition
that I looked forward to every year. Long after the last firework exploded in
the Chicago sky, the excitement of the holiday hung around a bit longer as we
gathered for a day of fun. I was eager for an afternoon of soaking up the
sunshine with my family and friends, surrounded by love and eating as much
delicious food as possible.
Just
as I pulled onto Michigan Avenue, I noticed a sleek, black SUV slide up behind
our sporty Lexus. They were so close our bumpers almost touched. I moved to the
other lane so they could get by and ride someone else’s tail.
“Jerk,”
I whispered as he changed lanes, still driving entirely too close behind us.
“What’s
the matter?” Jared asked, shutting down his razor.
“This
guy behind me is right on my ass. Seriously, come on!”
I
moved again into the right lane. The SUV pulled around to the left like he was
going to pass me.
“Finally,”
I muttered.
Just
as he pulled even with our vehicle, he crowded into my lane like I wasn’t even
there. I swerved into the shoulder on the right side to avoid being hit, but he
continued to push.
“Honey,
there’s an exit up ahead. Try to get in front of him and take it.”
I
pulled onto the off ramp, trying to calm my nerves as much as possible. Jared
didn’t appear to be affected by the strange occurrence one bit.
“What
the hell was that?” I asked.
Jared
looked at me sideways and shrugged his shoulders. “Some people are nuts, I
guess. Haven’t you ever heard of road rage?” He pulled the visor back down to
continue shaving but something seemed off. There was tension around his eyes
and mouth. I peeked back at Matty who was engrossed in playing his Nintendo DS.
He didn’t have a care in the world.
After
sitting at the stoplight to get off Michigan Avenue for what felt like forever,
I drove a few blocks before pulling up to a four way stop. I looked around,
trying to familiarize myself with the area and decided the best way to get back
on track was to fire up the GPS.
I pushed
the button and waited as the satellite found our location. There was no one
behind me, so it wouldn’t matter if we sat there for a minute while it
calculated our shortest route.
“Proceed
ahead,” the little robotic voice said from the dashboard.
As I
pulled into the intersection, Jared yelled a terrifying, “NO!”
I
turned to look at him just in time to see the black SUV barrel into the
passenger side of our vehicle at full speed. Glass exploded into my face along
with the multitude of airbags positioned inside the car.
The
next few seconds were a complete blur. I heard the sounds of tires screeching
against the asphalt, metal twisting, glass breaking, and the screams of my
family as we spun around and around
.
We
finally came to a stop, the Lexus landing on its side so my door was up in the
air. I blinked a few times and winced at the pain. A throbbing ache radiated
from my left arm, the pain shooting into my elbow when I tried to move my
fingers. I slid my eyes down and could see the bone protruding through the top
of my skin.
Blood
was splattered on the dash and all over my shirt. I could taste it in my mouth
and feel it running down the side of my face.
Slowly,
I pulled my head back away from the air bag. My neck seemed to be okay and I
wanted to check on my boys. Other than the gentle hum of Jared’s electric
razor, it was eerily quiet in the vehicle.
As I
turned my head, I had a sinking feeling that this was a crucial moment. This
point in my life would forever live in my memory, burned into my brain no matter
how hard I tried to forget. This was where everything changed.
Rachel Smith was born and raised in small town Iowa. After spending a few years in the "big city" she now lives with her husband and two children in Clear Lake. She works part time from home and spends the rest of her days exercising, reading and taking care of her family. Having always had a vivid imagination, Rachel decided to bring her characters to life. This is the second book in the Glenview Series.
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