Ellie blushed, and she couldn’t hold back her smile. “I’m still getting used to my new last name.”
He was still getting used to being married again. It was so strange, and yet so natural.
“I love you, Ellie,” he whispered. “I’m so grateful we found each other.”
He reached for her hand, and the new ring on her fourth finger pressed against his skin as she squeezed his hand. She turned and stood on her tiptoes, tilting her head up toward Michael’s face. He looked down into her dark gray eyes then brushed his lips against hers.
“I love you, Elizabeth May Tang,” he whispered.
More than he ever thought would be possible after a devastating loss. He couldn’t pretend he understood the direction his life had taken, but it brought him to this moment, his hope renewed, his love for Ellie so strong. Once again, he had faith in the future. But most of all, he wanted to hold on to this moment right now. He wanted to savor every minute of this joyful day.
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Keep reading for an excerpt from Crime Scene Secrets by Maggie K. Black.
Dear Reader,
I have always loved amnesia stories. As I read, I’m on the edge of my chair, looking for clues about the characters’ pasts. Writing an amnesia story got me to explore more deeply what this experience would be like. The idea I kept coming back to was this: I would be terrified if it happened to me! Our experiences and memories are how we make sense of the world, so without them, every moment is a step into the unknown.
Ellie must negotiate this fear of the unknown as she figures out who is chasing her and why. Luckily, she finds someone she can trust in Michael. He is struggling with the opposite problem: how to live with the crushing weight of his memories. Neither Ellie nor Michael is looking to fall in love, but maybe love is exactly what they both need...
Happy reading!
Rebecca
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Crime Scene Secrets
by Maggie K. Black
Chapter One
The sweet scent of yucca flowers filled the warm June air as Ophelia Clarke pulled her car up the narrow Sangre de Cristo Mountains road on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico. An early sunset spread across the endless sky above her, in a breathtaking array of orange, pink and purple brushstrokes. To her left, a playful goat-shaped sign beckoned her to visit the Cherish Ranch Petting Zoo. Tempting. Instead, she turned right through a large archway that welcomed her to the ranch’s wedding venue and the marriage of her second cousin Jared Clarke to his new bride, Gabrielle Martinez.
Rustically elegant adobe buildings seemed to cascade across the mountains ahead of her, their soft, clay-colored walls punctuated by dark wooden beams called vigas. A handful of people mingled, chatted and nibbled on appetizers in a huge courtyard underneath strings of patio lights. A large barn lay beyond it. She parked her small car at the main building, in between two far more lavish vehicles, each of which Ophelia guessed cost more than she made in a year in her job as a crime scene investigator for the Santa Fe PD’s Crime Scene Unit. Then she took a deep breath. As much as she loved her cousin Jared, their personalities had never really meshed. She’d always felt far more comfortable stepping under yellow police tape in a full-body white protective jumpsuit than she did standing around hobnobbing with his wealthy friends in a sundress and sandals. Not to mention her beloved great-aunt Evelyn, who was like the grandmother she’d never had, also had an incredible and accidental knack for making her feel inadequate.
Lord, please protect my heart and my mind from getting all hung up on what other people think of me. Even the opinions of well-meaning people I love.
She tossed her long blond hair out around her shoulders, stepped out into the hot, dry air—and heard a voice screaming her name.
“Ophelia!” The woman’s panicked voice seemed to be coming from all directions at once. “I’m so glad you’re here! There’s been a terrible crisis and I need your help!”
Ophelia yanked her phone from her pocket and was about to dial 911 when she saw Gabrielle running down a narrow flight of steps toward her.
“What happened?” Ophelia hastened to her. “Everything okay?”
“No!” Gabrielle shook her head and bell-shaped, yellow yucca flowers tumbled from her intricately braided black hair. “Chloe didn’t show up!”
“Who’s Chloe?” Ophelia asked. “Is she okay?”
“She’s my roommate from Albuquerque!” Gabrielle’s well-manicured hand grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her up the steps toward one of the buildings. Words poured from the bride-to-be’s lips so quickly Ophelia could barely catch them, let alone make sense of what she was safying. “The rehearsal starts in thirty minutes, but when Nolan went back to the hotel to pick her up Chloe still hadn’t checked in yet—”
“Who’s Nolan? I don’t understand.”
“And then I got a text from Chloe saying she wasn’t coming to the wedding at all!”
“So she’s not here?” Then where was Gabrielle dragging her so quickly? What was she so panicked about? “Where is she? What happened to her?”
“I have no idea!” Gabrielle said. She stopped before a door that seemed to be made of four horizontal planks of wood with huge metal hinges. The sign on it read Wedding Party Only. Gabrielle pushed it open. “Thankfully Jared’s grandmother said you’d be happy to rescue me.”
“From what?” But the words had barely left Ophelia’s lips when she stepped through the doorway and saw the ruffled monstrosity of lavender chiffon that hung alone on a clothes rack in the middle of the room.
