Bouquet: Sequel to 'In Full Bloom': The Trilogy of the Rose (Volume 3)
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Authors: B. A. Beers
BOUQUET:
Sequel to “IN FULL BLOOM”
By
B. A. Beers
Bouquet: Sequel to “In Full Bloom”
Copyright © 2012 B. A. Beers
All rights reserved.
ISBN:
ISBN-13:978-1478187165
ISBN-10: 1478187166
DEDICATION
To the Arizona side of the family
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Like the first two books in this series, this book was completed thanks to the countless hours of mind-numbing editing, readings, re-readings and feedback from my sister, Patricia, my mother, Margery, and my brother, William. Without their love, encouragement, and dedication, I would have lost my way. I am eternally blessed to have these wonderful people in my life.
Dear Reader:
Although the text has received many layers of editing, typos and/or errors may still exist. Help me rid this book of these reader irritants by sending me your "finds". Contact me at: [email protected]
Future readers of this book will be forever grateful, as am I.
Yours in reading,
B.A Beers
Summer 2012
Prologue
*
Author’s Note:
This is the third book in the ‘The Trilogy of the Rose’ series. “Book One: The Crying Rose”
chronicles
Dr. Mark Stevens’ entry into Samantha Carter’s world. In this Prologue, I have included a brief summary of “Book Two: In Full Bloom, The Sequel to The Crying Rose”
as a lead-in for this continuing story. You may want to read Book One and Book Two to grasp the entire storyline before reading this book.
As
The Trilogy of the Rose
series continues in “In Full Bloom: The Sequel to The Crying Rose
“
, Dr. Stevens knows that his journeys to mend the broken spirit of Sami Carter have only begun.
His detective mode kicks into high gear. Fully aware that he has barely scraped the surface of her fractured spirit, he forges ahead with determination and single-minded purpose to reassemble the pieces of her tortured soul. Driven by a force more powerful than any he has experienced before, he recruits a support team to aid him in overcoming the obstacles in his path, namely Sami.
Sami’s brush with reality sends her racing for cover only to encounter the painful reminder of the consequences of her flight. Injured not only mentally but now physically, Sami needs Mark’s professional skills and his team’s efforts to balance her delicate state. Needing to tip the balance in his favor, Mark grants Sami’s wish to be taken to her mountain cabin. There, Mark discovers the reason for her need to hide from her emotional suffering – the history of her deceased twin, kept hidden by her well-meaning, yet emotionally-wrought mother.
ONE
D
r. Mark Stevens frowned at the awareness of Samantha Carter’s deathly-still body in his arms. Her cleansing-cry had ended abruptly. Warning bells sounded in him as he involuntarily tensed. Quickly reviewing the last few moments, he could find no clue for the reason for her rapid change. Sensing he was not going to like the reason, he braced himself mentally and asked, “What is it?”
“Sweetheart?” Sami blasted out of Mark’s embrace and pressed herself against the headboard of her bed.
Crap
, Mark thought as he recalled his whisper to her. His heartfelt directions had awakened ‘Mrs. Carter’.
Poor, sweet, lost Sami was overridden once again by this witch-side of her
. He sighed deeply, not wanting to play this game. He wanted more time to celebrate the small victory they had achieved. He cursed himself for his lack of professionalism, knowing this personality of Sami had thorns. He had to toughen his skin around her or his injuries would only get worse. Needing to put distance between them before revealing his feelings verbally, he rose from the bed. His movement resulted in the framed poem, written by her mother for Sami’s deceased twin, to crash to the floor. The sound of the cracking glass echoed throughout the room. “Damn it,” he uttered, breaking eye contact with Sami and seeing the cracked glass of the frame. Bending forward to retrieve the broken frame, his head collided with Sami’s. The impact was jarring as both reached for the sore spot where their heads met. The aftermath of their collision should have been filled with apologies, but the room was silent as they glared at each other.
Viewing her pained expression did little to calm his self-anger. Fearful of voicing his frustration, he shook his head and turned to the closed door. With his hand still rubbing his sore head, he opened the door and exited the room swiftly.
His charge down the hall and across the living room to the outside door was made without comment. He felt Grandma Jo’s eyes on him as he blasted out the front door and slammed it. The extremely-cold wind from the snowstorm hit him in the face. Dropping his hand from his face, he fought the wind and moved to the edge of the front porch, gripping the railing with both hands. As his bare hands crushed through the snow that blanketed the railing, he shook — not from the cold which encased his jacketless body, but from the emotional surge he was experiencing. He knew that his actions were immature and even childish, but he couldn’t stop it. Every fiber of his body was impacted. His ever-present, common sense was telling him to control his thoughts. . .to be logical.
Logical?
he laughed. He needed to detach, to rid himself of his emotions in this case. He knew he was asking for the moon, but at the moment he wished for it to happen.
’Baby steps, Mark
,’ Pat voiced in his head.
’You are not a good fairy. You don’t own a wand to magically bop on her head and make all your dreams come true
.’
Mark chuckled at his deceased wife’s voice in his head. “I would like to bop her over the head, but not with a wand,” Mark answered the voice.