Firefly Hollow (35 page)

Sarah barely remembered to speak her lines, and the ceremony itself was a blur, but the image of Owen’s smile, radiant and happy, would be with her forever. The feel of his hand around hers, the moment he slid the ring onto her finger and she gave him his ring, the quiet reverence in the room as they pledged their lives to one another, those were the memories she wanted to preserve.

That night, as she and Owen made their way to the top of the mountain and their new home together, she asked to stop at the pool. The moon was full, shining down on them from the dusky sky as though in blessing.

“Here’s where it started,” she said. “It’s incredible to think about, almost too hard to believe. We’ve come so far.”

Owen kissed her with deep passion, and Sarah could feel the love in his touch.

He rested his head against her forehead. “And this is only the beginning. Just imagine the stories we’ll have that we can tell our grandchildren.”

Sarah laughed, happier than she had ever thought possible. Owen picked her up and twirled her around and around. When they were both dizzy, he put her back on her feet with another kiss.

She kissed him again. “You’ll have to write everything down so we can pass our story on to our children.”

And he did.

Author’s Note

G
ROWING UP IN PERRY COUNTY, Kentucky, I was surrounded by tales of supernatural beings, of ghosts or ‘haints,’ as they were called, witches, legends, and beasts. Mixed with the family history were stories that seemed too unbelievable to be real. And yet, as strange as some of those stories seemed, I think they had some basis in reality. My grandmother’s great-uncle, he’s still talked about in neighboring Leslie County, Kentucky, to this day.

So I’ve wanted for several years to be able to put those tales to use, to draw them out, explore them, share them with the world. As much as the outside world seems to disregard Appalachian culture, it’s something worth protecting and preserving. It is a unique culture, one that’s incredibly difficult to describe to an outsider, and I hope I’ve done a decent job here of communicating how special it is.

A few things that I did take liberties with was the geography of the area. The holler and mountain Owen and Sarah live on are entirely fictitious, as is the drugstore Gilly’s parents run. The hospital, the library, and most of the other places, however, are real. I did take some artistic license in the dates these places came into existence, though, as well as some of the finer details. The high school Sarah attends is a combination of M. C. Napier and C. Dilce Combs High School, which was my alma mater. I hope readers won’t mind too much, though.

Secrets in the Shadows

S
ECRETS CAN KILL, SOMETHING LAUREN Grant was finding out the hard way.

Thirteen years ago, she had been the innocent victim of a crime that still shaped her life to this day. Just as she is starting to build a new life for herself and her daughter, the past comes calling with a violence she could not have imagined. Her shop is vandalized, another female business owner is brutally murdered, and Lauren can’t shake the feeling that the past is catching up to her. Will she have the strength to finally face her demons and fight for the future, or will the past overwhelm her once and for all?

Secrets in the Shadows is the first book in the Shadows Collection, standalone Romantic Suspense novels set in small-town Indiana. Other titles include Under the Moon’s Shadow, Shadows from the Grave, and Hidden in the Shadows.

Note for Readers: This book does deal with the issues of incest and sexual abuse, more with the effects on the victims than the abuse itself. Reader Discretion Advised.

Under the Moon’s Shadow

J
OURNALIST BETH HUDSON KNOWS HER
hometown. When disappearances are coupled with strange nighttime events on local farms, she puts two and two together to make a terrifying picture. She turns to her friends, family and a mysterious, handsome stranger for assistance in rooting out the truth, determined to solve the mysteries before another person disappears.

As if that weren’t enough, her contentious relationship with Detective Ethan Moore takes an unexpectedly tragic turn. Will Beth be able to figure out what is going on in time to stop a dangerous killer, or will she be the next victim?

“Under the Moon’s Shadow” is the second book in the Shadows Collection, standalone Romantic Suspense novels set in small-town Indiana. Other titles include “Secrets in the Shadows,” “Shadows from the Grave,” and “Hidden in the Shadows.”

Shadows From the Grave

W
HEN IT COMES TO MURDER,
the past is never really dead...

For ten years, Chase Hudson has carried the weight of his college girlfriend’s unsolved murder on his shoulders.  When a ghost from the past comes calling, Chase’s friends and family become the targets of a serial killer who’ll stop at nothing to make Chase suffer. Now, Chase is in a race against time to convince the authorities of his innocence, and catch the real killer.

Annie Jameson-Tucker has been burned more than once.  Afraid to get her heart broken again, she is careful to keep her lovers at a distance… until Chase Hudson manages to slip inside her walls. Terrified of being hurt, Annie has to choose whether to let Chase stay, or to close him out and let her insecurities destroy their chance at happiness.

“Shadows from the Grave” is the third book in the Shadows Collection, standalone Romantic Suspense novels by T. L. Haddix. Other titles include “Secrets in the Shadows,” “Under the Moon’s Shadow,” and “Hidden in the Shadows.”

Hidden In the Shadows

E
VEN THE GOOD GUYS SOMETIMES
have secrets they don’t want revealed to the rest of the world....

For thirty years, Wyatt Dixon had worn a badge. Sworn to protect and serve, he’d done just that for the people of Olman County, Indiana. He’d even sacrificed his first marriage on the altar of the office of Sheriff. But then the blackmail letter came... And everything he’d worked so hard to build threatened to crumble around him.

Wyatt wasn’t the only one to receive a letter, either...

Fighting a deep attraction to a woman he should know better than to become involved with, Wyatt’s professional frustration also grows as the investigation is thwarted at every turn by a master extortionist who has the citizens of Olman County, Indiana, in an uproar. With decisions to make that will affect his life and the sheriff’s department for a long time to come, Wyatt has to choose—to reach for personal happiness and risk it all, or to walk away from what could be his soul mate.

Come to Leroy, and see just how dangerous small-town living can be. “Hidden in the Shadows” is the fourth book in the Shadows collection, standalone but linked Romantic Suspense novels by T. L. Haddix. Other titles include “Secrets in the Shadows,” “Under the Moon’s Shadows,” and “Shadows from the Grave.”