All She Never Wanted
By
Carolyn LaRoche
Author Bio:
Carolyn LaRoche grew up in snow country
but fled the cold and ice several years ago. She now lives near the
beach with her husband, their two boys and one sweet kitty. When she
is not at the baseball field cheering on big hits and home runs, she
is busy teaching science to unwilling teenagers.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolynLaRoche
Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7734909.Carolyn_LaRoche
Twitter: @CarolynLaRoche
Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Carolyn-LaRoche/e/B005OKHIDI
Blurb:
One moment changed everything…
Evie Ward had everything she’d ever
dreamed of. An action-packed job where no two shifts were ever the
same, the best friend a girl could ever want, and a fairy tale
wedding just days away. Her life was absolutely perfect. Until one
bullet—one horrible choice—left her with a broken heart and
shattered dreams. Fleeing the city she loved and a lifetime of
memories, Evie took a job in the Outer Banks of North Carolina in the
hopes that the ocean air and fresh beaches could somehow restore her
soul. Falling in love again wasn’t part of the plan.
Landon Reed was on top of the world.
The money, the women, the status—he had it all until one bad
decision nearly cost him his life. His father gave him three months
to get his act together or be cut off from the family fortune and
business. No house, no job and no money. His will and his patience
are tested further when his father hires a nurse to whip him into
shape. She may be little but she's mean and it looks like Landon has
finally met his match.
With her shattered heart and his broken
spirit, the road to recovery will be long. Can they help each other
heal or will their fractured pasts be too much to overcome?
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Excerpt:
“Good
morning, Landon!” Amelia hummed a little tune quietly as she set up
the bedside table. “It’s a beautiful day, today. Perhaps you’d
like to go down to the beach after your physical therapy
appointment?”
I
pulled the covers over my head. “I changed my mind. I’m not going
to any appointment.”
“Come
on, Landon. You can’t spend the rest of your life sitting here in
this room.”
“Yes,
I can.”
“You
are going to physical therapy.” The covers disappeared from my face
as I looked up into the smiling grey eyes of Amelia. “Rise and
shine!”
“I’m
not getting up.” I buried my head under my pillow.
Amelia
walked toward the door. “Maybe you’ll have better luck with him.”
“Good
morning, Mr. Reed. Do you plan to stay in bed all day?” A different
voice, one thick with the distinctive accent of New York City
replaced Amelia’s soft southern sound.
“What’s
it to you?”
“Well,
it’s all the same to me if you want to rot away in that bed. I get
paid either way.” I heard soft footsteps cross the room toward the
little sitting area.
Rolling
over on my side, I shifted the pillow enough to peek out. From my
vantage point, all I could see was a pair of canvas shoes. The
television turned on. I heard her flip through channels, finally
settling on that home improvement show with the twin brothers. Every
woman I knew loved them.
“Nobody
watches those stupid shows anymore.”
Either
she didn’t hear me or she was ignoring me.
“Those
shows are ridiculous.” I made sure to project my voice from under
the pillow.
“No
more ridiculous than a grown man hiding under a pillow and acting
like a two-year-old.”
I
threw the covers off and shot up to a sitting position, ignoring the
burning pain in my leg. “What the fuck is your prob…” Holy
shit.
The woman sitting on the couch looking at the television and
completely ignoring me wasn’t hideous or horrible. In fact, she was
fucking hot. “Who the hell are you?” I knew exactly who she was.
She
looked over at me, boredom in her expression, before returning her
attention to the television. “The nurse your father hired. Who do
you think I am?”
“I
don’t need a nurse.”
“I
agree.” She flipped the channel to a news program and grimaced.
“The way you’re acting, you need a nanny.”
“What’s
that supposed to mean?” I turned so I could swing my legs over the
side of the bed, my knee making my movements jerky not angry and
pronounced like I’d intended.
“It
means, you can’t even dress yourself so how can anyone expect you
to do anything?”
I
followed her glance down to my lap. “See something you like?
“Nope. I’m a
nurse. I’ve seen worse. Of course, I’ve seen better too. Much
better.” She clicked to another station. I could have sworn I saw
her lip twitch as I growled over her insult.
“Just
get out. I don’t need you. Tell my father to go to hell.”
She
tossed the remote control on the coffee table and checked her watch.
“You have ten minutes to get ready for physical therapy or I’m
taking you the way you are.”
I
pulled the sheet onto my lap and crossed my arms over my bare chest.
“I already told Amelia, I’m not going.”
“You
are
going to get dressed.” She stood and looked me in the eye. “You’re
down to nine minutes.”
“And
just how do you expect me to get down all of those stairs?”
“The
same way you got up them. Walter showed me the elevator.”
Damn
it. I was hoping she hadn’t found that yet. “Are you planning to
watch?”
“Watch
what? There’s nothing to see.” She dropped her gaze to my lap and
gave me a little smile that was way more taunting than friendly.
“Fine.
Suit yourself.” I whipped the sheet back and reached for my
wheelchair. Instead of turning away, she stayed right where she was
with that little smile dancing around on her lips. With about as much
grace as a bull in a china shop, I managed to get from the bed to the
chair while she just stood there and watched.
“I
thought you were supposed to be here to help me.”
“You
didn’t say you needed my assistance.”
“Really?
I had to ask?
Isn’t that what you are here for?”
“Let’s
get something straight, Mr.
Reed.”
She put her hands on her hips and glared at me. “I’m a trauma
trained RN. I am not your maid or your gopher or any other thing. It
is my job to get you back on your feet both literally and
figuratively. I’ll handle your medical care and your personal care
as needed but I am not at your beck and call.”
“Just
get out of my way so I can get dressed.” I pushed past her to the
large walk-in closet and started grabbing clothes. Dragging a pair of
sweats, some boxer briefs and a t-shirt into the bathroom, I
struggled my way into them. The doctors had promised me that things
would get easier once the pain wasn’t so excruciating but my knee
just refused to bend like it used to.
When
I was done, I ran a comb through my wild hair, mostly so I won’t
have to see the look on Amelia’s face when we leave the house.
“Come
on, we’re going to be late!” The nurse called.
“I’m
coming already!” I whipped open the bathroom door and scowled at
her. “You never told me your name.”
She
shrugged. “You never asked.”
She
was fucking infuriating—despite the way her long brown hair tumbled
in sexy waves over her shoulder from the pony tail it was secured in.
“Fine.
What is your name?”
“Evie.”
“What’s
your real name?”
“That
is
my real name.” She stepped behind me and turned the wheel chair
toward the door. She stopped and grabbed a pair of tennis shoes from
the floor, placing them in my lap.
“I
meant, is Evie short for something?”
“Yes.”
She pushed the chair down the hall toward the door at the end and
pressed the button for the small service elevator—the number one
reason I had chosen the beach house as my home base after the
accident.
“Are
you going to tell me what it is?” The elevator opened and Evie
pushed me inside.
“Nope.”
“Why
not?”
“It’s
none of your business. You can call me Evie or nurse. That’s all
you need to know about me.”
“Anyone
ever tell you that you can be a real bitch?”
“Honey,
I grew up in New York. They teach a class on that in high school.”
The
door opened at the ground level. Evie pushed me out of the elevator
and down the ramp Walter had constructed to get me in and out of the
house.
“I’m
going out on a limb here but I bet you aced that class.”
“You’re
smarter than you look, Mr. Reed.”
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