The Key to Her Heart sneak peek!

Hi Guys!

Hope's starting to mend.  As you may have noticed September passed, and though my goal was to get The Key to Her Heart out online, it didn't happen.

Well-- We ran into a few snags, but The Key to Her Heart I am pleased to say is on the mend also.  Meg and I should have it for sale as an e-book by --of all days-- October 7th --my anniversary.  This makes perfect sense to me since this was the day eighteen years ago that the heart of this family began, and the series I am writing is called The Heart of a Family.  So what better day to first publish my first novel?

Well, to give you a little sneak preview I thought I would post Chapter 8.  I hope you enjoy, and get ready for the great unveiling!  Yes!  I am so excited!  I hope you are too.

The Unwanted Guest

It had been two hours since Patrick had left.  Anna acutely watched the clock.  She had been back from Cheryl’s for two weeks. Though Grace had asked several times why she had been gone she couldn’t bear to talk about it.  So after a few days the questions stopped and Anna was alright with that.

Now it was late June, and still she didn’t feel comfortable with anyone.  Quietly, she wrapped her arms around herself and held back the panic that wanted to come.

No longer could she wear a watch nor have her grandmother’s key hang from her wrist, so she wore it around her neck as her grandmother had.  Anything coming near her wrists made her jump and sent her back as if she was still in that horrible bedroom tied up and unable to escape.

Groups of people were the most uncomfortable.  Tonight she was suppose to be helping to get ready for a party here at Gracie’s apartment.  A ‘summer get together’ she called it, but she knew her friend well enough to know it was a party.  There would be fifty people here in another hour or so.  She would gladly escape, but what frightened her more than anything else was Wolffe finding her alone and defenseless again.  She wanted safety even though she didn’t want to deal with how ever many people would be arriving shortly.

“Are you ready?”  Gracie asked as she came back into the room.  Anna glanced down over herself.  Slim fitting faded jeans and a bright pink tunic tied with an equally bright orange sash making a statement of its own.  With her short nails painted with the same pink as her shirt and her hair hanging loose down her back and down to her waist; there was no doubt of the rebellious streak that had taken root in the last weeks.

“Do I look ready?”  Her hands perched on her hips.  Grace arched one brow quizzically. 

“You look ready to slam me for asking such a stupid question.”

“Good guess.”

“Gosh, you are different in the last few weeks.  You disappear and come back like another person...”

Anna walked away from her friend instead of giving any kind of answer.  She was a different person.  Wolffe’s violence had killed who she was.  She’d realized since there wasn’t a prayer of resurrecting the person she once was, she had to embrace this new person.  She wasn’t even sure how she would face her church or the youth once she was home in Chicago.  What would her brother think?  She shook her head as if she could make all the uncertainties shake right out.  They stayed and she walked back from the hallway into the living room once more. 

Gracie was staring out the window with a grimace. 

“What’s wrong?”  Quickly she turned back to her, then looked up to the wall where the clock was.  Anna snuck a peak out the window and noticed who was walking close to the apartment.  She barely held back the tremble inside of her.

“Tonight we’ll be sisters.”  Gracie informed as if it wasn’t a choice, but a fact.  Here we go again.  Anna didn’t let her thoughts be known.

“But Patrick will be here, won’t he?”  With a flip of her hand, Gracie dismissed the worry.

“You know Patrick will play along with us, and no one else knows the difference.” She grasped the door handle.  Anna stewed over what was happening in front of her.  Then she knew.  Gracie never gave out her real name.  Why was that?  What did she fear?

“What, the Paige name again?”  Anna asked.  It was one thing using a different last name so no one would connect her to her life back in Chicago.  It was entirely different just using the name on a whim at a party with people that were supposed to be ‘friends’.

“Why can’t we just be who we are?”  Though she in no way wanted anyone to know anything of her other life. 

“Of course, the Paige name.”  Grace piped up, ignoring Anna’s question. 

“At the gallery I never give my last name to my customers. You know that.  So, some of these people know me from the gallery.  I just feel safer, Anna.”

“Yes, I see.  You don’t feel safe around the people you allow in your life.  If you ask me it’s stupid.  Why invite people you don’t trust into your home?”  Anna retorted.  She was learning though, not to trust people with her true feelings.  Right then she was slightly glad for Gracie’s deception.  Grace nodded. 

“Tonight we’ll be the Paige sisters.  Tomorrow I’ll clean up my act.”

“Paige again.”  Anna groaned.  She was tired of the double life.  Why had she even stayed this long?

“You know some of these people, Anna.  They already know you as Anna Paige.”

“They will see right through us!  We don’t look anything alike!”  She complained.

“A smile always keeps people from seeing insecurities.  Just smile and introduce yourself as Anna Paige.  Here’s your chance.”  The doorbell sounded and Gracie opened the door.  Sure enough, there was Wolffe.  Nausea threatened.  Her soul shook.

“No.” Even for Gracie she could not, would not, stand there and pretend everything was alright.  With that thought, she spun and walked away.  She stood alone on the small balcony outside Gracie’s dining room as she listened to the door bell time and time again.  She’d purposefully left the sliding door open, even though it let in the hot summer air from outside.  Why did closed doors freak her out now?  She stood out there until Gracie found her. 

“Oh, here’s my sister!”  Grace exclaimed.  Anna groaned. 

“I think I’ll go back to my friend Cheryl’s house, Gracie...  I’m not good company tonight.”

“Nonsense!  Come meet...”  Gracie pulled her away from the balcony as the name she spoke was part of the wind.  She introduced her to half the people there.

“Are you THE Anna Paige?  The World Stage model?”  Anna wanted to groan, but instead smiled.

“Yes, Anthony Wolffe was a good friend of mine before he passed.  He will forever be missed.”  Every chance she had she turned the conversation away from who she was.  The last thing she wanted to talk about was herself. 

“His creations were incredible weren’t they?”  Then they were talking about the newest line scheduled to come out at the end of summer.  She smiled.  She remembered the days when she, Cheryl, and Anthony had worked on it last Christmas, but she said nothing.  That was her own secret and none of these strangers needed to know about her life.

“Do you think his son is as gifted as he was?”

She shook her head as she swallowed the choke inside of her. The question reiterated the large consuming void created by Anthony’s absence.

“No.  No one could be as gifted as Anthony.”  Not seeing Wolffe, Anna spoke boldly. 

“Matthew tries to imitate his father’s genius.  It’s not possible to do.”  A gasp went up in the crowd she was standing in the middle of.

“Would you say that to his face?”  Anna groaned. 

“Why?  Is he standing behind me?”  A couple of the people nodded.  Slowly she twirled around to face Matthew Wolffe.  He stood tall and formidable with his arms crossed.  But she had already faced him at his worst.  He’d already done the damage, and so there was nothing that could scare her about him now.  She looked up to him without flinching away.

“You’ll never be the man your father was.  It doesn’t matter what you steal.  It doesn’t matter who you get rid of.  It doesn’t matter what the rest of the world thinks.  I know the truth.  I know just who you are.”  Matthew shook his head and started to turn away. 

“You are so full of--”

“And what scares you more than anything, is you know that I’m right.  You can’t measure up to Anthony.  You never have been able to.”

The people standing around gasped as if shocked to hear her speak so bluntly.  She didn’t care.  The one thing he could never take away was the truth, and what none of them knew was the company he claimed no longer belonged to him.  Anthony gave her the provision before his death, and she had followed through three weeks ago.  He was stiff and silent.  Anger blazed in his gaze.  She didn’t care about that either.  Walking away, she left everyone around her stunned.  Without stopping, she walked into the kitchen.  It was the only quiet place in the apartment.  A moment later Wolffe stormed into the room. 

“How dare you!”  He grabbed her arm, but she yanked herself away.

“No!  How dare YOU!”  Taking a step toward him, she stared him down. 

“I will speak out against you every chance I get.  I will do all in my power to bring you down.  If I were you I would stay away from me, because there are no lengths I won’t travel to serve you back your own medicine... TIMES TEN!”  His hand came up. 

“What?  Are you going to hit me?  There.  That’s another difference between you and your father.  The only power you have is violence.  And you know what?  You can only scare people for so long!  So go for it!  What’s another bruise when I’ve had so many?”  Anna stepped back to regain her composure before returning to truly show him who he was.

“But you...”  Her gaze flashed angrily at him.

“You will never be anything but a snake.  So don’t compare yourself to Anthony-- You aren’t even close!”  He raised his hand up again resorting to what she knew was his only defense.  She barely kept herself from flinching before the kitchen door opened.

“Excuse me?”  A dark haired man gingerly peeked into the room.  Exasperation filled Matthew, but he kept his cool, bringing his hand back down to his side. 

“This is a private conversation.” He explained with as much control as possible.  The man didn’t seem to really notice his warning or him as much as he did Anna as he continued to enter the room.  The intruder’s presence seemed to cause her rage to dissipate, an unwelcome change in emotional climate.  Her frenzy sustained him and he always loved how a simple word could rile her up.

“Anna is everything alright?” She nodded, but a slight remnant of fear remained.  Was she afraid of him?   Was that what drove her into her tirade?  As the stranger reached toward Anna, Wolffe interceded before he had the chance.

“Hi, I’m Matthew Wolffe.”  He reached out a hand.  The man gave a strong handshake.

“Patrick Rueschel.”  Matthew watched as Patrick’s clear green gaze stayed on Anna.  His longing for her was apparent, but that would disappear if he knew she had already been claimed by another man.

“A pleasure, I’m sure.  Listen, Anna and I were just leaving here…”

He wrapped a hand around her small waist, fondly remembering their night together. She would always be his and no one could take that away from him.  Her attention suddenly yanked back to him.  Her eyes flavored with renewed anger that he basked in.  He loved knowing that the vehemence he could inspire was incomparable to that of any other bloke.

“Keep your filthy, no good hands off of me!”  She yelled. Patrick moved himself between him and Anna.  Did he really believe he could protect her?  This little boy actually wanted to play war with a seasoned veteran.

But of course… let’s play your game.  Patrick could calm her, perhaps, but only he could cause her heart to beat wildly, whether it be from fear or anger.

“My father could get you to stick around.”  He taunted with calm words as her blue eyes radiated with deep hatred.

“Your father was my friend.  You’re just a bastard.”

“Oh, that I am, but a bastard that has what no one else ever will.”  Leaning back into his stance, a secret joy filled him.  She was closer than she thought to giving in.  This Patrick Rueschel did not comprehend, but he was just a simpleton.  The dark haired man looked to Anna, trying to understand what he meant, while desperately trying to deny what he already knew.

“How much does it cost?”  He goaded. 

“That’s enough.”  Patrick held his hand against Matthew’s chest, keeping him from Anna.  The touch of someone so far beneath him made his skin crawl, but he pushed past him.  He had no rights, and they both knew that.

“What does it take, Anna? I won’t take no for an answer...”  He slinked behind her, drawing closer to her, feeding on her crescendo of emotion. 

“I came here for you.  You must know that, of course.”

“That’s enough, I said.  Go sleep it off, or whatever.”  Once more Patrick intervened quickly pushing him away from her.

“I’m not for sale, asshole!  Not obtainable or stealable! Get out of my face!”  The sound of her resorting to such crude idiolect kissed him like a sweet breeze.  It was a level to which he had never driven Anna to before.  Her defenses were crumbling and he knew she could never erase their bond. 

“You were almost an exclusive for World Stage Clothing.  You were paid for your attention and you loved it, Anna.” Matthew thought aloud.  Anna gasped.

“You can’t have me! You will never have me!”  She yelled. 

“What was the senior Wolffe better in the bedroom?  He definitely had more experience.”  Anna jumped around to him, as her hand came up in a loud slap across Matthew’s face.  Patrick leaped in between them, only to be met eye to eye.  For a moment the piercing eyes stirred a quiver of panic in Matthew, but he swiftly disregarded it.  What he and Anna had was private and he knew he had time for her to come to him.

“You can protect her this time, but she’s mine.  I had her first and you won’t always be there.”  He turned his attention to Anna.

 “Will he Anna?” 

Patrick’s fist curled, but she quickly pulled Patrick and herself out of the room before they both took out all their rage on Wolffe.

“He’s scum... not even worth it.  Just get me out of here, alright, before I deck him!”  He nodded and then turned her to face him.

“Are you o.k.?”  She took a deep breath and then hugged him. 

“I’ve never seen you like that.  You were ready to attack him.  You’ve never become that angry-- ever.”  She just raised her brows then let them drop and said nothing. 

“Anna, are you alright?  I want an answer...  Why did you disappear?  Then you come back like someone I don’t know.  Nothing adds up.”  Groaning, she pulled him with her as she attempted to leave the apartment.

“First we get out of here.  I’ll tell you all about it, but not here.”  Grace ran up to them as Anna grabbed her keys from the small table by the door. 

“Where are you going?”

“Go deal with your guests.  I can’t do this.  I told you that earlier.”

“I’m getting her out of here, she almost punched some guy--” Patrick intervened once more. 

“It won’t be pretty if she stays.”

“Patrick...  You should be talking her down, not encouraging her further.”  Patrick looked around the apartment as if searching for a quiet corner.

“No place to do that, Grace.  Not here.”  His tone was the most sarcastic Anna had ever heard from him. 

“Too many people.  Bye.”  He waved quickly, and then the two of them escaped.  Anna laughed as they ran to her car.  All along the street, on both sides, cars were parked. They were all there for Gracie’s party. 

“I can’t believe you!  You are just incredible!”  She reached up to him and kissed his lips then hopped over to her car and quickly unlocked the doors. 

“Get in; I know a quiet place where we can talk.  Beside there is someone you need to meet.”

He got in the car, and shut the door.  Then she started the engine and sped down the street.  A minute later she was on the freeway heading south.  He carefully stretched the seatbelt over him and clicked it.  She’d never dared to drive with such a vengeance in Sheldonburg.  Something in her had changed, and it had happened just recently.  As she drove he studied her.  She had an anger in her that did not dissipate even when the target was gone.  What was it?