Bridge to Forever Read online

  “Hi, Gage.” I knew little more than his name, though we’d talked on numerous occasions. The rumor around town said he was an ex-con, recently released from prison, though no one seemed to know what he might have been in prison for and were either too lazy or unbelieving to research it. My mother had at least checked with the local police to make sure he wasn’t on any child predator list, which he wasn’t, but she still would have taken up a petition to force him from the neighborhood, had it been possible. I was glad she’d deemed it a waste of time. Over the months of talking to him and observing his gentleness with Serenity, I doubted the rumors were true. I suspected only his shaggy appearance kept the gossip alive.

  “I saw Serenity, and she was looking kind of nervous. Thought maybe you’d had a fall.”

  “Ah, Gage, she’s not even wearing a saddle, and I don’t ride bareback. Not usually.”

  He looked at the sorrel. “Oh, right.” He gave me a tentative smile, which didn’t have much effect on his face under all that hair. “Well, as long as you’re okay. But shouldn’t you be shopping or at the hairdresser or something? You’re still getting married Saturday, aren’t you?”

  I closed my eyes for a painful moment. I wondered if he’d heard the rumors about Julian, and if he felt sorry for me. “I don’t know.”

  An emotion I couldn’t define passed over his face. In a swift movement, he squatted down beside me. “What happened?”

  “What makes you think something happened?”

  He gestured to the grass. “Because you’re sitting in a bunch of weeds two days before your wedding, looking like you wished a hole would open up and swallow you.”

  A hole would be nice, except then how would I help Lily? My father had hundreds of applications for each job opening in his factory, and other companies were just as flooded. No one would want to pay me what I’d earned with my father, and my degree in liberal arts now seemed rather useless. Of course, I’d never thought I’d actually have to find a job outside the family business.

  A burst of anger blotted out the despair. How could I have been so stupid? Lily had at least tried to become independent, while I’d stayed reliant on my family. Now they controlled my life—and they wanted me to marry Julian.

  No!

  For a moment the hurt and betrayal were too great to endure. Yet I didn’t die, and after a moment the pain receded enough to breathe again, and I knew what I had to do. I arose, brushing my hands on my pants. “I’m getting married,” I said, “but not to my fiancé.”

  Gage’s eyes narrowed as he stood. “What are you talking about?” At that moment he looked hard, like a man who actually might have served time.

  “He’s a liar and a cheat, and I’m getting out, even if I have to hitchhike my way to Las Vegas and marry the first man I meet.”

  “That’s crazy.”

  “So is marrying someone who doesn’t love you.”

  “At least you know him. Don’t you think marrying some stranger in Las Vegas would be even worse?”

  “Not if it’s a business arrangement. Temporary.” Take that, Mother. I was a quick learner. I’d find a way around the trust fund requirements because I knew if my grandfather were alive, he’d be the first one to help Lily, and he certainly wouldn’t see me married to a man who would betray me. He’d been faithful to my grandmother not only for all the time they were married, but for twenty years after she was gone.

  I stuck out my hand to Gage. “It’s been nice knowing you, Gage. I hope you have a wonderful life.”

  His hand swallowed mine with a strength that made me slightly uneasy. “What about Serenity?”

  Serenity had been a constant in my life for seven years, but I couldn’t see walking down the Las Vegas strip with a horse in tow, looking for a likely marriage candidate. If I managed to get the trust fund, I could move Serenity to wherever I ended up. Maybe I could buy the field next to Lily’s house. That is, if my parents didn’t sell the horse first.

  I bit my lip, tears smarting in my eyes. “She’ll be okay here for now.”

  I turned to go, but Gage’s hand shot out to grab my arm. I felt a momentary shiver of fear, and he must have seen it in my eyes because he dropped his hand instantly. “Sorry. I just—are you in trouble? Is there something I can do to help?” He was uniquely appealing at the moment, a mix of little boy and wild-looking ex-con. I hadn’t noticed how tall he was before or how broad his chest, and I wondered what he looked like under all that facial hair.

  I forced a smile. “How about a ride to Las Vegas?” My old car had been sold, and the new one, a wedding gift from Julian’s parents, wasn’t scheduled to arrive until after Julian and I returned from our honeymoon. “I’m kidding. Look, thanks for your concern, but everything is fine. I’m not the first woman to have her heart broken.”

  He arched a brow, and I noticed he had nice ones. Expressive. “You look more mad than heartbroken.”

  He was wrong. My heart did hurt. I hated knowing that I wasn’t enough for Julian, that he didn’t love me the way I loved him. Yes, I was also furious at him, and at my parents, but most of all at myself. I was the reason I was in this mess, the reason Lily was in danger. I’d trusted the wrong man.

  “Then you don’t know me very well,” I told Gage. “Good-bye. It really has been nice knowing you.”

  I could feel his eyes on me as I left. Grabbing Serenity’s mane, I pulled myself up on her bare back and let her take me to the other side of the pasture.

  “I’ll miss you more than anyone here,” I whispered, giving her the last cube of sugar in my pocket. “But I’ll be back some day. I promise.”

  END OF PREVIEW. If you would like to purchase Tell Me No Lies, please visit your ebookstore. Or turn to the next page to learn more about Rachel Ann Nunes including her pen name novels.

  About the Author

  Rachel Ann Nunes (pronounced noon-esh) learned to read when she was four, beginning a lifetime fascination with the written word. She still reads everything she can lay hands on, from children’s stories to science articles.

  She began writing in the seventh grade and is now the author of over thirty published books, including the popular Ariana series, The Huntington Family series, Eyes of a Stranger, and Saving Madeline. Her novel Before I Say Goodbye won the 2011 Whitney Award in the general fiction category. Imprints, An Autumn Rain Novel (2010), Fields of Home (2008), and The Independence Club (2007) were all Whitney Award Finalists. Her picture book Daughter of a King was also voted best children’s book of the year in 2003 by the Association of Independent LDS Booksellers.

  Rachel and her husband, TJ, live in Utah Valley and are the parents of seven awesome children—three boys and four girls. Rachel writes Monday through Friday in a home office, but she takes frequent breaks from writing to read or swim with her kids.

  Rachel also writes mainstream romance under the name Rachel Branton and urban fantasy under the name Teyla Branton. To learn more about these titles, please see the list of books below or visit TeylaRachelBranton.com. You can join her pen name mailing list here. To read about upcoming Rachel Ann Nunes titles, visit http://www.RachelAnnNunes.com or join her emailing list here. Member of Tip My Author, where readers can connect with and encourage their favorite authors.

  BOOKS BY RACHEL ANN NUNES

  Autumn Rain Novels (Paranormal Romance)

  Imprints

  Shades of Gray

  Final Call

  Line of Fire

  Blinded

  Romantic Suspense

  Eyes of a Stranger (Autumn Rain series prequel)

  Women’s Fiction

  Flying Home

  Fields of Home

  Saving Madeline

  Before I Say Goodbye

  The Gift of Angels (novella)

  A Greater Love

  A Heartbeat Away

  Huntington Family

  Winter Fire

  No Longer Strangers

  Chasing Yesterday

  By Morning Light
<
br />   The Independence Club

  Ariana Series (and Spin-off)

  Ariana: The Making of a Queen

  Ariana: A Gift Most Precious

  Ariana: A New Beginning

  A Glimpse of Eternity: The Story of Ariana’s Daughters

  Rebekka Series

  This Time Forever (also Mickelle #1)

  Ties that Bind

  Twice in a Lifetime

  Mickelle Series

  This Time Forever (also Rebekka #1)

  Bridge to Forever

  Deal for Love Series (Romantic Suspense)

  A Bid For Love

  Framed For Love

  Love On The Run

  Deal For Love: 3 Book Set

  Romance

  To Love and to Promise

  Tomorrow and Always

  Where I Belong

  A Greater Love

  This Very Moment

  In Your Place

  For Children

  The Problem With Spaceships: Zero G

  Daughter of a King

  The Secret of the King

  UNDER THE NAME RACHEL BRANTON

  Romantic Suspense

  Tell Me No Lies

  Your Eyes Don’t Lie

  UNDER THE NAME TEYLA BRANTON

  Unbounded Series (urban fantasy)

  The Change

  The Cure

  The Escape

  The Reckoning

  The Directive (coming July or August 2015)

  Unbounded Series Novellas (urban fantasy)

  Ava’s Revenge

  Mortal Brother

  Lethal Engagement

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Book Description

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek! Where I Belong

  Bonus! Preview of Tell Me No Lies

  About the Author

  Books by Rachel Ann Nunes

  Under the name Rachel Branton

  Under the name Teyla Branton