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.
“So...you were...you were dreaming? About me?”
A remark like that from the old Maleah might indicate that she felt flattered. But the new Maleah had changed a lot, and Ian couldn’t get a read on what she meant now.
“I guess you could say that.”
A tiny smile lifted the corner of her mouth. “Don’t know if I’ve ever been the star of a guy’s dream before.”
She’d stood center stage in hundreds of dreams during his years at Lincoln. What would she say if he admitted that now?
Only one way to find out...
“It probably won’t surprise you to hear that I thought of you a lot while I was...away.”
Her smile disappeared. Maleah began to fidget, another telltale sign she felt uncomfortable. He searched his mind for a topic to divert the conversation.
A two-note chime interrupted them.
Saved by the bell.
Once upon a time, my Psych 101 professor taught a lesson I’ve never forgotten.
“The class clown cracked a joke, and his fellow students laughed like crazy. When he repeated it, fewer laughed. He told the joke again, and no one laughed.” He paused, then said, “If the same joke stops being funny when we hear it more than once, what makes us think anything good will come of dredging up past hurts over and over?”
We all have a past. But what if our mistakes still shame us to the core?
As a teen, Ian Sylvestry found himself incarcerated after his reaction to his mother’s abandonment sent the dominoes toppling. Upon his release, it took time to convince others that he’d turned his life around, but Ian succeeded—or thought he had—until a chance meeting with the girl he’d left behind.
Confronted with the man he has become, can Maleah Turner forgive the irresponsible behavior that took him from her?
Why is it so hard, I wonder, to cope with the sins of our past? Perhaps we need to make this our life motto: “The future is stardust, because you can dream it; the present is clay, because you can mold it; but the past is stone, because you can never change it.”
Be sure to look for the next book in my By Way of the Lighthouse miniseries. And if you enjoyed The Man She Knew, write me c/o Facebook, Twitter or www.loreelough.com!
Wishing you nothing but happy memories,
Loree
The Man She Knew
Loree Lough
LOREE LOUGH once sang for her supper. Her favorite memories of days on the road are the hours spent singing to soldiers recovering in VA hospitals. Now and then she polishes up her Yamaha guitar to croon a tune or two, but mostly she writes. With more than one hundred books in print (eighteen bearing the Harlequin logo), Loree’s work has earned industry accolades, movie options and four- and five-star reviews, but what she treasures most are her Readers’ Choice awards.
Loree and her real-life hero split their time between Baltimore’s suburbs and the Allegheny Mountains, where she continues to perfect her “identify the critter tracks” skills. A writer who believes in giving back, see the Giving Back page of loreelough.com for details. She loves hearing from her readers and answers every letter. You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
This novel is dedicated to my family, whose love and support make writing—even on the tough days—so much easier. I love and appreciate all of you!
Acknowledgments
Heartfelt thanks to those who so willingly shared hours of time, expertise and experiences to assure accuracy and authenticity in this story: Attorney Dee Lawrence (former writing student turned successful author in her own right!) for her savvy legal advice; Linda O’Dell (Letters for the Lord prison ministry) for providing details about incoming and outgoing mail in federal penitentiaries; Marty* and George*, reformed convicts who explained prison life and the hardships and prejudice so often faced upon release; Lance*, prison guard who shed light on ex-cons’ struggles to avoid recidivism; Suzanne*, whose long-standing relationship with a convict helped me better understand the dynamics of supporting a man convicted of a felony.
(NOTE: * denotes names have been changed at the request of these helpful individuals.)
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