In celebration of the July Fourth holiday, I’m going to share an excpert from TALIA & RYAN’S STORY, Beach Chaos and Romance,
which is set over the Fourth of July Holiday.
Blurb:
Talia Johnson is living her dream in Door County, WI. But, being a Park Ranger comes with sacrifices.
Deputy Ryan Larson loves his job but worries about the attraction he feels for the surly Talia Johnson.
When pandemonium breaks out, Talia’s life becomes endangered. Ryan races to help her. Will her stubbornness prevent Ryan from saving her?
Excerpt:
The nurse returned. “Let’s get this tube out of you now.”
Reactively, Talia coughed and gagged as the nurse removed the tube from her throat.
“How you doing?” the woman asked.
Talia swallowed hard. Her sore throat itched. “Groggy.”
“That’s to be expected. It will pass soon. By the way, you have some men anxiously waiting to see you. We’ll get you to them shortly.”
Men? Plural?
She assumed one would be her dad, but could the other be Ryan? She willed him to be here.
Lights flashed overhead as the nurse wheeled her into another room, similar to the one she’d just left. The quick rushes of light made her stomach queasy. She swallowed hard a few times to tamp it down. Slowly but surely it began to work.
Within minutes, her dad bounded through the doorway. Her heart panged at the concern in his red-stained eyes.
He flew to her side. “You gave me quite the scare. The doctor said everything went well.”
Talia didn’t have enough breath to speak.
“They repaired the puncture in your lung.” He brushed a strand of hair off her cheek. “You’ll be fine in time.”
“Men,” Talia whispered gruffly.
“What?” He leaned closer.
“Nurse said…men here.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “Ryan’s here. Just waiting for the go ahead to come in and see you.”
“Wh-why?”
“Do you really need to ask that, honey?”
She closed her eyes. Tears escaped the corners and slid down her face.
“Talia.”
She opened her eyes.
Her dad’s sober gaze grabbed hold of hers. “You can’t be afraid to love someone out of fear of losing them. I know what it did to you when your mother died, and you saw what it did to me. But don’t block your heart off like this. Yes, I lost your mother way too soon, and as painful as that was, is…I wouldn’t hesitate to love her all over again, even knowing I’d lose her too soon. Our time together, our love for each other, was worth every heartbeat, far outweighing my pain now.”
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