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    On My Own
    On My Own
    On My Own
    Ebook77 pages1 hour

    On My Own

    By Rhonda A. Marks

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Can love be revived after a devastating betrayal?
    Dirk Benedict is on top of the world. As the most valuable player of last year’s championship football game and the league’s top quarterback , he’s welcomed almost everywhere. Except his birthplace. When the network decides to film a piece on his early life, he must go home and face the music.
    Caroline Jackson has her hands full with a full-time job and raising a rambunctious son. Oh, and keeping the child’s existence secret from his father. But as with all well laid plans, this one falls apart in spectacular fashion and life as she knows it is about to change. Big time.
    After suffering a blow harder than one delivered by a four hundred pound tackle, will Dirk be able to recover and forgive Caroline?
    Excerpt:
    “These people are bat-shit crazy!”
    Dirk simply crooked an eyebrow at his personal assistant, Monique Ross, and gave her a slight nod of his head. His assistant’s assessment of his hometown was spot on. “Told you.”
    “But, I mean, you’re the most famous quarterback in the league, and I couldn’t get one of them to acknowledge that you even lived here. What’s the deal with that?”
    Without saying a word, Dirk sank into the softness of the hotel limo’s leather seat and closed his eyes. This was not how he wanted to spend the week before the big game against Pittsburgh. His plan was to hang out downtown in the team’s hotel and avoid Devinne altogether. There was nothing or no one here for him. He learned that hard fact years ago. The network broadcasting the game had other plans though. They wanted a story for their pre-game about him returning home, the townspeople welcoming him with open arms. He all but laughed in their faces and told them no way, not going to happen. He didn’t want to go home. Too many bad memories, but he didn’t tell them that or even give them a reason for his refusal. Didn’t think he needed to provide them with one. But when Coach cornered him and confessed the higher ups were putting pressure on him, Dirk relented.
    So here he was, wasting his and Monique’s time. It didn’t look like his hometown wanted to see him, and he sure had no desire to be here.
    Time had not been kind to Devinne, Pennsylvania. As they drove into town, he was amazed at the lack of cars in the steel mill parking lot. Used to be that workers had to arrive an hour before their scheduled shifts to get a good spot. The once thriving Main Street was a ghost of its former self. Boarded up storefronts lined the streets. Groups of men gathered on the corners, hands in pockets and hopelessness on their faces. Yeah, a lot had changed in ten years-time.
    “This is awful,” Monique muttered. “How are we going to film a program about the life of Dirk Benedict without something about where you grew up?”
    He opened his mouth to respond, but a woman with curly red hair rushing down the street caught his attention. It couldn’t be? Before he could stop himself, he opened the limo door and began to run after her. Only one person had hair like that, as if he could ever forget. It had to be Caroline Jackson.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRhonda A. Marks
    Release dateMar 25, 2014
    ISBN9781311855480
    On My Own
    Author

    Rhonda A. Marks

    Attorney, mother, wife and compulsive planner, Rhonda Anderson Marks has always been an avid reader of all types of fiction. After many years in the courtroom, she’s decided to put her vivid imagination to work and down on paper. Tag along on her publishing journey as she spins tales of romance and suspense. You can reach her at rhonda@rhondamarksbooks.com, Twitter/@rhondamarks and Facebook/ramarks. Her website is www.rhondamarksbooks.com

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      Book preview

      On My Own - Rhonda A. Marks

      ON MY OWN

      Rhonda A. Marks

      ON MY OWN

      by Rhonda A. Marks

      Copyright 2014 Rhonda A. Marks

      Smashwords Edition

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Cover by http://www.coverfreshdesigns.com

      ISBN 978-0-9889770-3-7

      This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

      All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the author.

      Attorney, mother, wife and compulsive planner, Rhonda Anderson Marks has always been an avid reader of all types of fiction. After many years in the courtroom, she’s decided to put her vivid imagination to work and down on paper. Tag along on her publishing journey as she spins tales of romance and suspense. You can reach her at rhonda@rhondamarksbooks.com, Twitter/@rhondamarks and Facebook/ramarks. Her website is www.rhondamarksbooks.com.

      For LaTammie. Thanks for all your help. You’re the best!

      Prologue

      Dirk Benedict angrily punched at the button on his phone and disconnected the call to his girlfriend, Caroline. Standing underneath her bedroom window, he could hear the phone ringing over and over again, but she wouldn’t pick up. He glanced at the time and saw he needed to get on the road soon for his long, lonely drive to California. Why wouldn’t she answer?

      Two days ago he was on top of the world. His transfer to USC had been approved and the love of his life had agreed to move to California with him. Yeah, he’d have to sit out a year before playing football for the team, but in the end he was sure it’d be worth it. Being on such a big time team would almost guarantee him a high draft pick. Nothing and no one could get him down. That was until Caroline came to his dorm room and told him she wasn’t going with him. He remembered sinking onto his bed, spots in front of his eyes, as she explained why she couldn’t go. Some bull about her dad having an incurable disease and possibly dying soon. The only thing that ass was suffering from was an over inflated ego, nothing else. He pleaded with her to reconsider, but she refused. She couldn’t leave her father in his time of need. In the heat of the moment, he said some things he now regretted and wanted to make sure she understood he still loved her. Needed her in his life.

      So here he was, on the verge of a new beginning, with a heavy heart. He had to speak to her one more time, to make sure, so he dialed her cell again and let out a loud sigh as it rang and rang.

      Resigned to the fact that he would not be able to talk to her before getting on the road, he ripped a sheet of paper out of a notebook and scribbled a message for her. I love you, Caroline, and always will. Please change your mind and come to California. I’ll be waiting to hear from you. Love, Dirk. He stuffed it into an envelope and placed it into the mailbox in front of the house. With one last look at her window, he climbed into his car and motored away.

      As soon as Dirk was out of sight, a man exited the house and scampered over to the mailbox. With a sinister grin on his face, he pulled out the note and quickly read it. Chuckling to himself, he methodically ripped the letter into tiny pieces and let them flutter to the ground. You’ll never have my daughter, Ty Jackson sneered. Not as long as I live.

      Chapter One

      These people are bat-shit crazy!

      Dirk simply crooked an eyebrow at his personal assistant, Monique Ross, and gave her a slight nod of his head. Her assessment of his hometown was spot on. Told you.

      But, I mean, you’re the most famous quarterback in the league, and I couldn’t get one of them to acknowledge that you even lived here. What’s the deal with that?

      Without saying a word, Dirk sank into the softness of the hotel limo’s leather seat and closed his eyes. This was not how he wanted to spend the week before the big game against Pittsburgh. His plan was to hang out downtown in the team’s hotel and avoid Devinne altogether. There was nothing or no one here for him. He learned that hard fact years ago. The network broadcasting the game had other plans though. They wanted a story for their pre-game about him returning home, the townspeople welcoming him with open arms. He all but laughed in their faces and told them no way, not going to happen. He didn’t want to go home. Too many bad memories, but he didn’t tell them that or even give them a reason for his refusal. Didn’t think he needed to provide them with one. But when Coach cornered him and confessed the higher ups were putting pressure on him, Dirk relented.

      So here he was, wasting his and Monique’s time. It didn’t look like his hometown wanted to see him, and he sure

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