In Your Honor (54 page)

“
You're right, that's when I would
describe you as breathtaking.”

She blushed and slapped his shoulder
lightly. “My, aren't you the charmer.”

“
I'm hoping I get lucky and we can get
out of here.” He bit his bottom lip and raised an eyebrow so she
wouldn't miss his meaning.

Her smile said it all and he held her
tighter, pushing his face into her soft hair and inhaling the
glorious smell of honeysuckle.

Mike cut in, asking for a dance with Lucy.
Blake moved aside and watched her glow from the edge of the dance
floor. She was more than he had ever deserved and he was never
letting her go again.

He was going home to Oklahoma with his bride
after this. He still had a hard time believing this was his life.
It was amazing how good it felt not to hold onto past regrets. To
embrace the wild beauty of his youth and crash headlong into the
future.

She caught him looking at her and she
smiled. Oh, he loved her. Wild, crazy, unrestrained, dangerous
love. She would forever be the song in his heart.

###

The Double Blind Study series continues with
the story of Shane Brookings in Fault Lines.

This story holds a special place in my
heart. It truly felt like bleeding all over the keyboard every time
I sat down to work on it. I want to give a special thank you to
those of you who came beside me during the writing of this and
encouraged me to finish even when I felt like giving up.

Charles. What can I say that I haven't said
a thousand times? You are the most reckless and most wonderful
decision I have ever made. I want to take all my adventures with
you.

Tara, my editor. You are extraordinary and
you made this story more beautiful than I would have thought
possible. Your talent is exceptional and I am blessed beyond words
to have you in my life. Thank you for so calmly and easily talking
me down during my freakouts. And also, thank you for not killing me
when my mistakes were so horrendous and repetitive that you must
have wondered if I was torturing you on purpose.

Scott Colby and the women of FFP (and Jon!)
for holding me accountable and pushing me forward. Y'all rock. I
wouldn't have made it without you.

Laura, Emily, Des, Mama Amy, Marissa, and
Steven for reading the first draft and loving the characters as
much as I did. I am so thankful for your interest, your insight and
you feedback. Laura especially for keeping me away from the burn
pile.

And finally, thank you, Dave Grohl. Just for
being awesome.

Heidi Hutchinson was born in South
Dakota and raised the exact right distance away from the Black
Hills. She had an overactive imagination very early on, and wasted
no time in getting most of her friends in trouble due to her
unrealistic and completely ridiculous ideas. Seeing as she was so
lazy and also afraid people would think she was bonkers, she didn't
write down any of the story lines that played out in her
daydreams.

During her high school years, she took pen to
paper and filled more notebooks than she is proud of with angsty,
depressing, self-depreciating poetry. This led to her writing down
more things: notes, ideas, character bios, plot twists that had no
plot yet to twist. After years of cleaning up her own scraps of
imagination with nothing solid to hold on to, she sat down and
wrote the story that had been in her head the longest. Fueled by
coffee and her unwavering and perfectly normal devotion to Dave
Grohl, she discovered a writer living inside of her.

She still lives in the Midwest, though not as
close to the Black Hills as she would prefer, with her alarmingly
handsome husband and their fearless child. They eat more pizza than
God intended and she listens to her music the same way she lives:
loudly.

You can contact her on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/heidirhutchinson