The Man She Knew
(By Way of the Lighthouse, #1)
by Loree Lough
Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 384 pages
June 1st 2017 by Harlequin Heartwarming
Don't they both deserve a second chance?
Fourteen years ago, one reckless act cost Ian Sylvestry everything, including the girl he planned to marry. Since then, he has fought hard to turn his life around. Returning to his Baltimore town after serving a prison term was the first step. Winning back Maleah Turner's trust is a far more daunting challenge. From their first sparks-flying reunion, it's obvious they still have powerful feelings for each other. In fact, they might be even stronger together now. But if their second chance is going to work, Maleah has to believe that Ian is a changed man. She really wants to believe…but she simply isn't convinced.
Book Excerpt
While Eliot poked candles into their grandfather’s cake, Maleah placed napkins, dessert
plates, forks, and a book of matches on a wooden serving tray.
“Grab the ice cream, will you?”
“Nice try out there,” he said, opening the freezer door, “but you can’t keep me quiet
forever.”
She’d had about enough of his superior attitude. Years’ worth of attitude, as a matter of
fact. Maleah faced her older brother head-on.
“Look. I know you mean well. And I appreciate that you think you’re protecting me from
my fickle self. But trust me. I don’t need your protection. Besides, there’s a time and place for
everything, and this is Grampa’s night, not yours or mine. So for his sake, keep your lips zipped,
okay?”
His mouth formed a thin, grim line as he lit the candles. Then he picked up the tray, and
marched into the living room singing the first line of the Happy Birthday song. The others joined
in, and although her heart wasn’t in it, so did Maleah.
Eliot didn’t say much—and neither did Maleah—as they devoured cake and ice cream.
Fortunately, no one seemed to notice the tension between them. Or, if they did, had decided to
keep the observation to themselves.
“You guys are great,” Grampa said after unwrapping his last present. “But y’all went to
way too much trouble and spent way too much. Especially you, Maleah.”
He’d been dropping hints since last Christmas about wanting an e-reader, so Maleah had
ordered one and downloaded half a dozen of the books he’d talked about reading while he and
Grams were in Florida.
She patted his bony knee. “We all love you to pieces, so it wasn’t any trouble at all.”
“Speaking of trouble,” Eliot said, “there’s something important we need to discuss as a
family.”
Maleah’s mouth went dry. “Eliot. Please. Don’t…”
He held up a hand to silence her. “They have a right to know. It affects them, too.”
Ann Turner’s eyes widened and her husband’s brow furrowed.
“What affects us?” her parents asked together.
“Quit beating around the bush, son.” Grampa scooted to the edge of the sofa cushion.
“You’re worrying your mother.”
Eliot used his chin as a pointer. “Li’l miss party maker over there is still sweet on that
felon.”
Maleah’s cheeks went hot and her heart beat double-time. Which of them would be the
first to take her to task for holding on to that photograph? Her father, if she had to guess.
“Maleah, what on earth is he talking about?”
She aimed a narrow-eyed glare at Eliot.
“It’s nothing, really, Mom. He found an old picture hidden away in a drawer, and as
usual, jumped to conclusions and decided it means I’m still involved with Ian.” Straightening her
back, Maleah threw back her shoulders. “I’m not, and that’s the truth. But you know Eliot…”
“True or not,” her grandfather said, “you have to admit that boy is trouble. Even after all
these years, the mere mention of his name is enough to get everybody’s bloomers in a knot. Told
you he was no good.”
“We all told you. But would you listen?” Eliot put in. “No-o- o. You hung in there like a
suckerfish, right up until the sheriff’s deputies dragged him away.”
Those final moments in the courthouse were as vivid now as they had been that dreary
morning: Ian, looking like a terrified boy as one guard slammed the prison van’s side door and
another put the vehicle into gear. He’d raised a hand to wave goodbye, but the chain connecting
handcuffs to leg irons stopped him. Tears filled his eyes, and unable to watch, she’d closed her
own. By the time she opened them again, the driver had already made the first turn onto
Lombard Street and started the hour-long trip Lincolnwood Correctional of Central Maryland…
Bestselling author
LOREE LOUGH once sang for her supper, performing across the U.S. and Canada. Now and then, she blows the dust from her 6-string to croon a tune or two, but mostly, she writes novels that have earned hundreds of industry and "Readers' Choice" awards, 4- and 5-star reviews, and 7 book-to-movie options.
The Man She Knew, #1 in her “By Way of the Lighthouse” series, her 3rd for Harlequin Heartwarming, is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Harlequin.com.
The Man She Knew
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