Just My Luck

Since this blog has been seeing a lot of action lately, my manager (a.k.a. husband) said it would be a lot easier for people to share my books from this page if they had an actual post to just click "share" on at the bottom.  So, here's the info for Just My Luck, which you can buy here on Amazon:

About the book:

When Gabby went heli-diving for the first time, she never imagined the real adventure she embarked on: a luxury summer vacation with the handsome Adam Tucker and his family, but how would they react knowing about her hideous and terrifying past?

Gabby uses extreme sports to hide from the pain of her haunting past, but her trip to the Bahamas after high school graduation turns out to be more than she bargained for...staying with the Tucker family who offers her compassion and acceptance at every turn. Adam seems to be falling for Gabby, but will he still care for her after he knows the darkest secret from her past? From her mother's past? Gabby’s path towards learning to trust and love is filled with obstacles, and before she can move on and heal, she must face the demons that fill her nightmares.   

Here's a sample:

Everyone saw me as a bookworm, even though that couldn’t be further from the truth.  That façade was necessary, however, if I wanted to keep my scholarship and stay off the streets.  I grabbed another handful of books and limped over to their appropriate shelves.  My rock climbing adventure last weekend had been amazing and the gash on my leg was totally worth it.  It was almost healed now, but the limp was taking its sweet time to go away.  The raucous laughter coming from three aisles down was getting on my nerves.  The rich jock and his buddies were having a “study session.”  Thinking an outsider’s presence would quiet them down, I took another handful of books to shelve near the idiots. 

              The middle of the library contained four large, round tables that students could use to study.  Quietly, I kept my eyes glued to the floor and my head down as I passed them.  The limp in my step caused me to walk slower than normal, but there really wasn’t anything I could do about it now.  It worked – their conversation paused as they watched what I was doing.  Pretending not to notice the group, I continued with my job and made sure each book was exactly where it should be.  The tallest jock, the blond one, smirked, “Yeah, take all the time in the world.  We weren’t busy or anything.” 

              I ignored him and kept my snarky reply silent as I tucked a strand of long, brown hair behind my ear.  I had learned a long time ago to hide my feelings.  The rich jock’s sister was sitting on Blondie’s lap and started giggling, “Guys, she probably can’t hear.  That’s why she’s always studying – she can’t hear what everyone is saying about her.”

              Gritting my teeth, I reminded myself that high school was almost over.  Two more days until graduation and then I was home free.  I couldn’t care less what any of these Georgia losers thought of me, but I was excited to leave the state and disappear.  The jerks behind me had started laughing again, probably at me, and I hurried to finish putting the books away.  I shelved the last one and was surprised as I turned the corner to hear Rich Jock sternly say, “Knock it off, guys.”  The conversation faded as I went back to the front of the library to clock out; time to start job number two.

              Working as a janitor at my high school wasn’t completely horrible.  Cleaning didn’t bother me and my supervisor let me sleep in the supply room on a borrowed cot.  The girl’s locker room had a shower, so all of my basic needs were met.  I showed up to class the next morning and it was only half full.  Tomorrow was Senior Skip Day and most of the students here didn’t care what their GPA was when they graduated – just as long as they did, in fact, graduate.

              Being in a private school with all the spoiled kids who came from money was a nightmare.  But as long as I was here, I could put anyone I wanted to on a “do not enter the premises” list, which was ideal.  I could take all the crap that these jerks could dish out, as long as I could be protected.

              Throughout the day, I struggled to keep my focus in the classroom.  I’d saved almost every penny I’d earned for the last two years of two full-time jobs and was going to have the most amazing start to my summer.  I’d read about heli-diving a couple of years ago and dreamed of it ever since.  Jumping out of a helicopter to some remote location to scuba dive?  Where do I sign?!  I’d been scuba diving for the last three years off of the coast of Georgia, but adding in a helicopter just seemed too perfect.

              I reported to the library for my last day of work after school.  Not surprisingly, I was the only person there, which was just how I liked it.  No one would be coming in, so I turned on some of the hard rock music I liked and quietly sang along while tidying up.  “That’s a good band,” I heard his deep voice behind me and gasped.  My hand hit the pause button at lightning speed as I turned around to face him.  Rich Jock wore an amused smile and held some books in his hand.

              “Can I help you?” I asked quietly, my blue eyes fixated on the desktop separating us.  One more day and I was free of these stupid, gorgeous jocks. 

              He hesitated, “Uh, yeah.  I just need to return these.”

              I nodded and held my hand out.  He carefully placed both books in my outstretched hand and I hurried to check them back in.  For some reason, he just stood there…waiting.  The books checked back in under his sister’s name, so I softly said, “You can let Ann-Marie know that her account is clear now.  Thank you.”  I hated sounding so formal – like a servant. 

              Jock nodded, “Thanks.”

              Why was he still here?  I wanted to turn my music back on and he was just standing there like an idiot.  “Can I help you with something else?” I asked briskly.

              His thick head of dark brown hair tilted slightly, “Actually, I was going to ask if you need any help putting those away.  I wasn’t sure if you should be up and about on that leg of yours.”

              A million scenarios ran through my head of what his ulterior motives to this act of kindness could be, and none of them appealed to me.  Why on Earth would he want to help me?  Probably had some plan in mind to make fun of me. 

              “No, I’m fine.  I’ll do it,” I said quickly.

              “Are you sure?” he asked. “It’s not a prob–”

              “I don’t need any help,” I interrupted.

              His green eyes looked confused, but he recovered nicely, “Well, if you’re sure.  I’ll see you later.”

              I nodded and he left.  I was still confused about why Adam Tucker would ever offer to help me with anything.  The Tucker family was known all throughout Georgia.  Adam’s great granddaddy had been the biggest oil tycoon in all of Texas for decades, and then they sold the company for more money than any one family should ever legally have and moved to Georgia.  Hurray for us.

              I closed up the library for the final time and hobbled off to clean the school.

              Graduation day couldn’t have come soon enough.  I didn’t actually want to be there with all of my classmates, but I needed to have that diploma on hand for wherever life took me.  The ceremony was long and boring with the usual cliché speeches about how this is “only the beginning” and we have the “rest of our lives ahead of us.”  Blah, blah, blah.  Can I leave yet?  The audience politely applauded as I crossed the stage in full cap and gown, but there was no particular section that went into over-the-top cheering for me like the other kids’ families did.  I let my eyes briefly scan the crowd, then focused on the ground again and found my seat quickly.

              When the last of the pomp and circumstance was over, everyone took their time trickling out of the large auditorium.  There was an all-night party hosted by our school for all of the graduates, but it held no interest for me.  I needed to pack.  It was a ten hour drive to the Miami International Airport.  The plane ticket to Nassau was cheaper from Miami, so even though I’d have to hitchhike there, it was all going to be worth it.  I packed my few belongings in my duffle bag and set out towards the interstate. 

              I knew I’d be good walking for at least ten miles, and hitching a ride with strangers was nothing new to me.  A nice older couple offered me a ride to I-75, then apologized profusely when they were going north and had to drop me off at a rest stop.  I tried to reassure them that I’d be fine and refused their repeated offers of money.  After walking about five miles on the 75, I guessed it was close to midnight.  I needed to get to Miami by noon, so I’d have to get a ride soon.  An hour or so later, a trucker pulled over and let me know that he was headed to Fort Lauderdale.  Clutching my Taser closely, I climbed in the cab of the semi.  The man tried to make small talk, but I simply responded with nodding or shaking my head.  He soon understood I’d rather not talk and he cranked up the radio.  As hard as I tried not to fall asleep in this strange man’s truck, it didn’t take long for my own weariness to lull me off to sleep.

              I awoke to a throbbing pain in my leg.  Walking that much on a not quite healed leg wasn’t smart, but I really didn’t have any other choice.  We arrived in Fort Lauderdale at 9:00 AM.  I thanked the man without looking at him directly and hurried off to find a way to Miami.  We were about thirty miles from the airport I needed to be at in three hours – I knew there was no way I would make it on foot.  I decided to use my breakfast money for a bus ticket.  I’d be there in half an hour now.

              After checking in at the gate, I found my terminal and collapsed on one of the chairs.  It had been an exhausting night, but still far better than so many in my memory.  Excited butterflies filled my stomach as the passengers began boarding the plane.  Two long years of saving were finally going to pay off!

              Once the plane was at cruising altitude, we were offered beverages.  I gratefully accepted a Coke and pretzels.  The flight attendant must have thought I looked hungry, because she slipped me two extra packs of pretzels.  I stuffed them in my bag for later.  The hour long flight felt like five minutes as we touched down in Nassau.  I grabbed my bag from the overhead bin and headed towards the best summer I was sure to ever have.