Forever After

by Catherine Anderson, Robinson

Overview

THE PROTECTOR

From the moment Heath Masters lays eyes on Meredith Kenyon, he knows there's something mysterious in this pretty woman's past. True, she seems like a good mother to her little daughter, but as local sheriff Heath has seen his share of liars ... and Meredith is certainly hiding something. But though his romantic gestures are met with suspicion, Heath can't help but be drawn to his vulnerable new neighbor. He doesn't entirely trust her, but he sure does want to kiss her

THE WOMAN ON THE RUN

About to lose her child in a devastating childcustody case, Meredith transformed herseIf from urbanwidow to small town mom, escaping the clutches of her abusive late husband'smanipulative father. Fleeing across America, she ran stright into the armsof the lonely lawman. Heath's persistence melts her misgivings, making her wonder if she could overcome her traumatic former life. But could his love protect her from her past—now and forever

THE PROTECTOR
From the moment Heath Masters lays eyes on Meredith Kenyon, he knows theres something mysterious in this pretty womans past. True, she seems like a good mother to her little daughter, but as local sheriff Heath has seen his share of liars. . .and Meredith is certainly hiding something, But through his romantic gestures are met with suspicion, Heath cant help but be drawn to his vulnerable new neighbor. He doesnt entirely trust her, but he sure does want to kiss her.

THE WOMAN ON THE RUIN
About to lose her child in a devastating child custody case, Meredith transformed herself from urban widow to small town mom, escaping the clutches of her abusive late husbands manipulative father. Fleeing across America, she ran straight into the arms of the lonely lawman. Heaths persistence melts her misgivings, making her wonder if she could overcome her traumatic former life. But could his love protect her from her past—now and forever?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780380791040
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	10/28/2007
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	85,966
Product dimensions:	4.18(w) x 6.75(h) x 1.08(d)

About the Author

Catherine Anderson is a bestselling American romance novelist. She resides in the pristine woodlands of Oregon, is married to her high school sweetheart, and has authored more than 30 award-winning historical and contemporary romances. Throughout her career, she has made numerous bestseller lists, such as the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Ingram, Waldenbooks, and Barnes & Noble. She has received nominations for the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Awards, as well as being a RITA® Award finalist, and was given a Career Achievement Award by Romantic Times for Contemporary Romance.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

A volley of shouts jerked Heath Masters' attention from the report he'd been filling out. Tension bunched the muscles across his shoulders as he stared down the steep embankment. When he saw that his deputies were still combing the thick brush, he relaxed slightly. Not another body, thank God. Evidently, his men and the ambulance attendants had merely been talking back and forth, their voices raised to carry over the roar of the rushing water that ribboned the canyon floor below them.

Three-quarters of the way down the slope, a blue Ford pickup lay upside down at the base of a massive pine tree. The vehicle's body and framework had crumpled like so much tin foil, and the rear axle had snapped like a toothpick.

A sudden gust of wind kicked up from the ravine. As the updraft molded his khaki uniform shirt snugly to his torso and cut through the heavy denim of his Levis, Heath caught the faint smells of burned rubber and gasoline. Trying to ignore the odor, he braced his booted feet wide apart and welcomed the refreshing coolness.

For almost a week, it had been unseasonably warm for early May, and this afternoon was no exception. 'Mere were few trees to cast shade over this section of the road, and with the eastern Oregon sun baking his shoulders, he was starting to sweat. When the breeze buffed softly under the brim of his brown Stetson, tousling strands of sable hair into his eyes, he only blinked, letting the air caress his hot face.

As if to remind him he had work to finish, the wind also ruffled the sheets of paper attached to his clipboard. Half blinded by the glare of sunlight, he squinted toread his writing. His aching eyes teared in protest. Damn, but he was tired. The kind of tired that went clear to his bones. He'd been working too hard, he guessed. Three weeks running with no days off, pulling twelve- to fourteen-hour shifts.

That's what happened when there were budget cutbacks. He'd been forced to lay off deputies, and now he was running himself ragged to take up the slack. Not that he minded the hard work. No. What really wore him down was the sense of defeat that dogged him. He couldn't be everywhere at once, and when he wasn't, things like this happened. A year ago, he would have had two deputies patrolling this area when the weather turned warm. Now he could only assign one. As a result, at least two kids had slipped through the cracks, and all Heath could do was pray his men and the paramedics didn't find others.

After making another unsuccessful attempt to bring his writing into focus, he decided it was time to give his eyes a short break. After securing his pen to the clipboard, he trailed his weary gaze over the slope that yawned below him, searching the bushes and tall grass for anything that looked out of place. lie wanted to believe he would see nothing. But after ten years in law enforcement, he knew better than to get his hopes too high. When high school boys cut classes to go down to the river and guzzle a few beers, they usually went in groups. Unless he missed his guess, there had been at least three youths in the cab of that truck and others riding in back. Without restraints, those in the back could have been thrown quite some distance from the vehicle: It only remained to find them.

Eventually, Heath's attention came to rest on the pickup again. As he studied it, he could almost hear the scream of tires grabbing for traction, then the crunch of metal as the truck plunged over the embankment and flipped end over end. He tried to shove the images from his mind, but they seemed to have a root system equal to that of the lofty pine, that clung so tenaciously to the slope below him Memories. They always haunted him at the scene of an automobile. accident, but never quite so cruelly as when he looked at that old Ford truck with its chipped blue paint.

A flare on the asphalt behind Heath emitted a soft hissing sound that reminded him of compressed air seeping slowly from a tire. Kaleidoscopic flashes of red and blue came from the light bars of the county vehicles parked on the shoulder of the road. Diluted by sunshine, the rhythmic rotation of colors blurred together to create an ethereal, muted mauve that lent a strange, pink brilliance to everything. It was like staring through heat waves with rosecolored glasses.

A burst of voices from one of the radios snapped Heath back to the moment. If he meant to get this accident report finished before the news hounds arrived, he needed to get cracking.

Bracing the clipboard on his left palm, he used the information on the driver's licenses he'd found inside the two victims' wallets to fill in their names, ages, and physical descriptions. In the photos, neither youth looked old enough to shave, let alone die. His hand shook slightly as he recorded the last entry, the tip of his pen squiggling below the line. Emotional detachment. Every lawman knew it was necessary to perform his job. Unfortunately, it wasn't always easy to turn off your feelings.

Sighing, he returned the pen to his shirt pocket and set the clipboard on the bumper of one of the cars so it would be handy later. After fishing a tape measure and piece of chalk from his trouser pocket, Heath signaled down to Tom Moore, the deputy closest to him. "I need a hand up here!"

What People are Saying About This

Elizabeth Lowell

An amazing talent.
—(Elizabeth Lowell)

Editorial Reviews

Unfortunately, a really good book often brings pressure on a writer to produce another and quickly. It's usually a formula for failure and seems to be what happened with Anderson's latest (after Simply Love). The author seems obsessed with the topic of verbal, sexual, and physical abuse in her uneven tale of abuse—victim Meredith Kenyon who defies a court order and flees New York City with her four-year-old daughter, Sammy. She rents a run-down house in the wilds of Oregon, only to discover that her neighbor is the county sheriff, Heath Masters, and his retired canine cop, Goliath. The flaws begin with Goliath, who alternately terrifies and endears himself to Meredith and Sammy, and ends with Heath arresting Meredith, then tossing his career out the window (literally) to join them in their flight. With so many character flaws and unbelievable plot twists, the book feels as if it had been penned under duress.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

A protective, heroic Rottweiler, a fugitive mother and child, and a savvy country sheriff come together in a sensitive story of abuse, pursuit, and renewal. Anderson gives the old custody-battle plot an unusual twist as she infuses it with her compassionate, emotionally involving brand of literary magic. Heartwarming humor, beautifully handled sexual tension, and exceptionally well-developed characters add to this poignant, compelling story. Noted especially for her portrayal of wounded protagonists and their ultimate healing through the power of love, Anderson (Simply Love, LJ 5/15/97) has won a number of awards, including the prestigious Janet Dailey award for romances dealing with serious social issues. She lives in Sutherlin, Oregon.

Library Journal