FEARLESS FRIDAY
Thank
you, Brenda, for having me as a guest for “Fearless Friday”. I signed up to be
a guest on your blog thinking, ‛I’ve done some pretty brave things’, and I
have. I’ve bungee jumped and lived to tell about it. I stood in front of my
graduating class and gave the valedictorian speech. I’ve even performed in
front of crowds playing an accordion. Those were all scary at the time, but I
didn’t wonder later how I managed to accomplish them. Looking back, I had been
nervous, yes—but not fearful.
After
searching in all the dark corners for the bravest thing I’ve done, I would have
to choose the point where I took up the reins of my life and said, “This isn’t
working—things need to change.” Walking away from a broken marriage with two
kids in tow wasn’t brave, it was self preservation. The fearless part came
later. It came when I realized I couldn’t raise my kids on minimum wage and
minimum child support. That the only chance I had to become independent would
be to move away from family and friends and begin a new life in Texas.
After
the move, I cleaned house and cooked to pay room and board while I went to
school. But there were other expenses, so I worked part time drafting to make
ends meet. Eventually, I graduated with an Associates Degree in Computerized
Architectural Drafting and Design (CADD). I found a good job, saved my money,
and after four years of sleeping on a friend’s couch, my children and I moved
into a home of our own.
I
bought a magnet when I first came to Texas that said, “Bloom Where You’re
Planted.” I put it on the refrigerator as a reminder that I couldn’t go back.
Moving forward was my only option. I’ve been in Texas for twenty years now, and
I realize those first four years away from friends and family were the most
terrifying and lonely years of my life. Somehow, I moved through them as though
I was fearless. One foot in front of another. One day at a time.
Eventually,
life took another turn and I found I had the opportunity to chase an old dream
– to publish the stories I kept locked in my heart. This latest adventure has
just begun, and I hope I can face this challenge as fearlessly as I faced my
struggle to bloom in Texas.
Passage
- blurb:
After a car accident, Courtney Veau has a “near death” experience,
and returns to her past-life in the post-Civil War west. When she wakes in a
present-day hospital, Courtney realizes she’s returned to her own hollow
existence. Heartbroken, she knows she left behind not only a family she loves,
but life with the man who shares her soul, a man she’ll love forever, Merril
Shilo.
A carriage accident nearly takes beautiful Nichole Harris’s life,
stealing her memories completely. Plagued by amnesia, she is confused by
flashes of memory that are out of time with the world around her, and seem to
belong to someone else. Only Nichole's own strong emotions remain to guide
her—and as others try to take control of her life, she fights a desperate battle
to survive. Merril Shilo is someone she should know, and though her memories
fail her, she is stunned by her passion for him—and the remembered agony of a
broken heart.
Merril Shilo is the love of Courtney’s life—no matter when
that life might be. The memories and emotions of her life as ranch heiress Nichole Harris consume Courtney’s
mind—and her heart. Courtney soon finds her desire for Merril threatens her
sanity, as he beckons from a past she can no longer reach. She would give her life to return to
her soul-mate, if she could only find the passage back to him.
Excerpt from Passage:
The long shadows faded into
twilight. She'd found what she came for—proof this house existed. There was no
longer a reason to stay; and yet, just the possibility she might hear his voice
again kept her waiting one more day.
Outside the window, night took
final possession of the day. A few porch lights came on down the block.
Headlights swung around the corner as a car turned onto the street and
illuminated the pavement. The headlights winked off and a car door slammed.
Behind her, the room took on a
familiar chill. She turned from the window and pressed her back against the
heavy drapes as the echo of boots pounded up the back stairs. She gasped when
he raced into the room, vaguely luminescent in the darkness. He was dressed in
denim trousers and cotton shirt, with a silk scarf tied loosely around his
neck. Where's his hat? Had he lost it in the dash up the stairs? That
wide-brimmed cowboy hat was such a part of him he seemed naked without it. His
hair had come loose from its binding, and he shoved it out of his face with a
familiar motion. She stood close enough to read the emotion play across his
face, a mixture of fear and bewilderment. His breath was labored, and his
anxiety tangible as he stopped and looked right at her. Her mouth fell open in
surprise and her heart tightened in her chest. Does he see me?
He took a hesitant step toward
her. “Nichole?” His voice filled with horror, he whispered her name from
another life.
“Yes! Merril, it's me.” Courtney
stepped toward the specter.
His head turned. His attention
called away from her open arms. “Oh, sweet Jesus.” Merril fell to his knees and
reached for something no longer there. “Nicki, please don't go. Stay with me.”
“Merril, I'm here.” Her heart
ached for him and for herself, but her plea went unheard.
Sobs shook his wide shoulders.
Her heart clenched to witness his
despair. She longed to comfort him, to assure him she was there, but could not.
In defeat, she sank to her knees beside the grieving apparition.
“Nicki, don't leave me. Look at
me—” His hushed voice, choked and broken.
“I'm right here, my love,” she
whispered, but the room grew warm and Merril Shilo faded back into the past.
Courtney hung her head in the darkness and fought back tears. One question was
answered, at least for now.
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