A patch of black ice is all it takes for Ryan “Preach” Armstrong’s perfectly planned future to skid out of control. The car crash shatters his hockey dreams…and injures Woodhaven’s newest student, Grace Milner. As much as this feisty track phenom gets under Preach’s skin in all the best and worst ways, she might just be his path to redemption…
Grace can’t believe that all it took was seriously bad timing and a hot but prickly hockey player to threaten her lifelong dream of joining the Air Force. Now, instead of prepping for the track season and upcoming start of basic training, she has to complete community service with the absolute last person she would ever want to be stuck with—the guy who shattered her future.
When two fierce competitors collide this hard, the only result is heartbreak…or an epic victory as they cross the finish line together.
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EXCERPT:
“Preach!” Jessa said.
Something pushed me at the shoulder, sending a flare of pain up my neck.
“Preach!”
I batted at the hand pawing my shoulder as the scene fell into focus.
“Are you okay?” Jessa’s gray eyes were wide and her blond hair wild. Tears streamed down her face as her jaw tensed.
“Yeah. Yeah. You?” I sat up, fighting the urge to scream at the pain streaking down the side of my neck. “Is the girl okay? Where is she?”
“You’re cut.” Jessa reached for me.
I grabbed her hand. “Are you okay?” Jessa was one of my best friends. I couldn’t handle it if she was hurt.
She nodded. “Let’s go check on the girl.”
My stomach hollowed out. I’d hit someone. I hit a person.
What if I killed her? This was not happening. Could not be happening. I yanked my seat belt off and shoved the deflating airbag to the side enough to find the door handle. My head swam, and my vision tilted, but I blew it off. I had to help the girl.
She was all that mattered right now.
“What was she doing in the middle of the road like that?” I yelled.
“I don’t know! Come on!” Jessa said.
My head spun as I fumbled with the door handle, and a wave of nausea threatened to pull me under. Finally, I managed to get out of the Jeep and hustled around the front. My hood was right up against the car the girl was standing near, so I was blocked. I bolted around the back end to find Jessa leaning over a sprawled-out girl.
“Hey. Are you okay?” she asked.
The girl was lying on her back, auburn hair splayed all over the ground, a deep contrast to the thin layer of white snow coating everything. The girl held something furry in her left arm tight to her chest.
She was wearing a maroon GORE-TEX jacket, tight black leggings, and what looked to be running shoes. She couldn’t have been out here running, could she? No, no way. It was freezing and the streets were coated with ice.
“Is she dead?” I asked, praying like hell that she wasn’t. Please don’t be dead. Please…
Her eyes flung open, and she gasped.
The bundle in her arms wiggled and let out a high-pitched bark. How the heck had she held onto a freaking dog while getting hit by a car?
“Oh my gosh!” Jessa gasped.
“You’re okay,” the girl said, looking at the dog. “Thank goodness.” She stroked the dog, then sat up suddenly. “Wait, where’s my car?”
Jessa pointed to an embankment to my left. “Is one of those yours?”
“Son of a bitch!”
I’d collided with both vehicles, but the Ford SUV got most of the damage. The front end had crumpled and the windows were smashed.
“You wrecked my car!” She sat up, holding the dog, her glare ripping a hole through my chest.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“Well, I don’t see any blood.” She held up a hand and wiggled her pointer and middle fingers. “Oh, ouch! I can’t move my wrist.” She held it close to her chest, her fingers directly next to the little dog’s face. “I can’t feel my fingers. They’re tingly.”
My gut clenched. A wave of jittery energy coursed through my legs, and I was pretty sure they were going to give out. The adrenaline crash was hitting hard, and the world tilted slightly. A headache bloomed at the base of my skull. It knocked, hard, too, like Wind was taking slap shots at my head.
“I’m going to call 911,” Jessa said.
Jessa helped the girl, who looked like she was about our age, to a seated position a few feet away from me. We were on the shoulder of the road, next to my Jeep, so Jessa propped her against the front passenger-side wheel. The bundle of fur wiggled in her grasp.
“This little guy needs some attention. Found him on the road.”
“Ryan, your head!” Jessa was suddenly in my face, examining me. “Let me see.”
Author Bio:
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author, Lynn Rush, is a full-time writer, wife, and trail runner living in the Sonoran Desert, despite her fear of rattle snakes. Known as #TheRunningWriter, Lynn can't resist posting epic sunrise pictures while running in the desert with her trail sisters, even if she has to occasionally hop a scorpion.
When she's not running or writing, she's watching movies that fuel her everlasting love of superheroes, vampires, and all things Supernatural. The books she reads usually carry the same theme, but this former college athlete loves reading sweet sports romances as well.
She's madly in love with her Ironman husband of 20+ years who is the inspiration for what true love is. You can find her on social media as @LynnRushWrites and her website is: www.lynnrush.com
—KELLY ANNE BLOUNT is a USA Today bestselling author of young adult novels. She loves to alternate writing sweet romances, gritty thrillers, and fantasy books. She's a firm believer in balancing light with dark.When she's not writing, she's probably lost in a book, watching Twilight, or having an adventure with her sweet family, which includes her handsome husband, their darling daughter, and their five furry loving rescues.
After living in a palace in Scotland, across from the Caribbean Sea, and in the snowy land of Wisconsin, Kelly and her family reside in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina. She draws inspiration from the places she's lived while world building in her books.
Kelly loves connecting with readers on social media! Stop by and say, "Hi!" or ask a question. You can find her everywhere @KellyAnneBlount.
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