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Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella Chapter 1
When Officer Matthew Haldon saw the flash of orange-red in his rearview mirror, he first thought it was a fox running about in this blizzard. When he peered more closely, he realized it wasn’t a fox: it was a person. A person most decidedly stranded in a ditch on the side of the road.Matt had been on the police force for five years now, four of those here in the tiny Missouri town of Heron’s Landing. At the moment, he wanted to get home safely, put his feet up, and maybe drink some spiked cider. Sighing, he knew that wasn’t going to be happening any time soon. He slowly did a U-turn, the snow falling so hard that you couldn’t see more than foot in front of you. Living in a place like Heron’s Landing made driving in the snow both a blessing and a curse: a blessing, because you were often alone on the road; a curse, because you were often alone on the road.After what seemed like an hour, he finally got to the car and the person trying to dig themselves out. He turned on his lights so
Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella Chapter 2
Holly Cook stared into the darkness of Matt’s house and reflected—rather wryly—that her thought that the night couldn’t get any worse was being proven wrong with gusto.She heard Matt curse, a dog woof, and then the sound of him hitting the corner of the coffee table.“Dammit, Arya, Sansa, whoever you are, stay!” Matt practically growled. “I’m going to get a flashlight.” He tromped off, the click of the dogs’ nails following him.When she’d left Louisiana two days ago, she hadn’t had any destination in mind beyond getting away. She’d packed up her car and driven off, no course set, no idea of where she’d end up. She’d just gone north. Driving through Arkansas and then Missouri, she’d arbitrarily decided to stop in Kansas City when she’d gotten a flat…and then the blizzard hit.What rotten luck, she thought with a sigh. Could she ever do anything without screwing it up? The answer was definitely no, she couldn’t. Holly had dropped out of college her junior year, never finishing her
Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella Chapter 3
As the night waned on, Matt was aware of two pressing things: one, they were going to be out of firewood soon and the power hadn’t come back on yet; and two, he was becoming more and more unwilling to part with Holly in the morning.He watched as the fire slowly waned down to a mere spark, and he cursed himself for not getting more firewood before tonight. But who would have thought that the power would go out—and be out—this long? It had been close to three hours now, and the house was beginning to get colder, but nothing dire yet. He glanced at Holly, wrapped up in her blankets, and his very stupid mind told him he wouldn’t mind sharing body warmth with her if necessary.Leave her alone, he told himself. She’s been through hell and back again. She doesn’t need you getting handsy.This was what Matt told himself, but it didn’t stop the thoughts from pouring into his mind. He couldn’t sleep now. How could he sleep with her sitting next to him, smelling of flowers, her bright red hai
Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella Chapter 4
Holly shut the door to the guest bedroom and promptly collapsed in front of said door, her heart pounding so hard she felt dizzy. She still had one of the blankets wrapped around her shoulders, and she shrugged it off and tossed it into a corner somewhere. The heat blazed through the house now that the power had come back on; it was so loud that Holly could almost imagine she was alone.Of course, she wasn’t alone—not even slightly. She thought about Matt: about his kisses, and touches, and how he smelled so good. Why did he have to smell so good? It wasn’t fair. She wished an old man with two teeth and who smelled like fish had picked her up out of that stupid ditch. Then she wouldn’t be sitting here, her hand over her heart, wanting to return to Matt’s room and kiss him again.I can’t let this happen, she told herself. Matt didn’t need to get caught up in her drama, and besides, she had terrible judgment in men. When she’d first met Sam, she’d thought he was the sun, the moon, and
Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella Chapter 5
When Matt drove Holly back to her car, he’d wrestled with what he should do. Should he let her go, never see her again, and hope for the best? He had a feeling that was what she thought she should do. What claim did she have on him, and vice versa?But his honor clawed at him, and he knew that he couldn’t let her go with her ex out there, the ex that could—and very likely would—hurt her given half the chance. Matt was a police officer and had access to things that a normal citizen wouldn’t. What kind of a man would let a woman like Holly leave as he sat back and did nothing?So after he’d changed her tire and they’d driven back to his place, he told her that he wouldn’t let her leave until she was safe to do so. The look of surprise on her face had both amused and frustrated him. It also saddened him that she automatically expected that people wouldn’t help her, at least nothing beyond the essentials.He watched as she went back inside his house. He decided to make some calls, find
Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella Chapter 6
As Holly got ready for bed and wondered what the hell she was going to do next, she heard her phone ring. The number was Unknown; seeing it, her heart pounded. She’d changed her number a second time since leaving Louisiana, but had Sam found her anyway?She let the call go to voicemail. They didn’t leave a message, but they kept calling. And calling. Then the texts started pouring in. Where the fuck r u, what the fuck is wrong w u, do u rly think ur getting away?She knew exactly who it was. Sam. He’d found her. She didn’t know how, but if he’d gotten her phone number, could he find her location, too? She didn’t know what he was capable of.Her phone rang once again, but she didn’t pick up. She was about to turn her phone off and toss it into the snow when she got another text message: I know where u r. U can come back, or u will be sorry. U and everyone around u.She started trembling. If Sam had found out about the restraining order, she was in deep, deep shit. He’d take that as
Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella Epilogue
Christmastime meant two things to Holly Haldon: decorating the tree, and celebrating the day she and Matt became an official couple.It had been an interesting year, given the trial (Sam was now in jail for at least twenty years), and then the engagement, and then their marriage three months ago. Matt hadn’t wasted anytime in making Holly his wife, although she’d balked a little at the speed at which things had progressed. Shouldn’t they date a while, she’d argued? But Matt, in his calm, Matt kind of way, had asked her why they should wait.Since she couldn’t give an answer, she eventually decided her boyfriend was right.Now she gazed at the Christmas tree, smiling as she sipped her cup of eggnog. Who would’ve thought they’d both end up here after she’d gotten stuck in the snow one year ago?“How are you feeling?” Matt sat down next to her, his arm around her shoulder. He leaned down to touch her abdomen, which had only just started to show the baby growing inside. “Feeling good t
Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella Enjoy this exclusive excerpt
When a figure appeared from the shadows only feet from her door, Rose reached inside her jacket to pull out her gun. Until she realized it was Seth.“Now you must be stalking me,” she groused. She was halfway tempted to point her gun at him anyway.He had his hands up, although he didn’t look scared. Of course not. Rose was fairly certain nothing scared Seth.“What are you doing out here?” she asked when he said nothing.He shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep. It’s nice out. I thought I’d say hi to my neighbor when she got home. The usual.”“Uh-huh. Well, you’ve said it, and now I’m saying goodbye. I need to let Callie out before I go to bed.”“Then I’ll walk with you.”She wanted to stomp her foot, she was so frustrated, but she had a feeling that would only make it worse. Sighing, she went to get Callie, ignoring Seth even as he walked alongside her.Callie, to Rose’s annoyance, decided she was not going to do her business quickly. The dog wanted to sniff every bush and every mailbox
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- Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella About the Author
- Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella Also by Iris Morland
- Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella Enjoy this exclusive excerpt
- Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella Epilogue
- Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella Chapter 6
- Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella Chapter 5
- Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella Chapter 4
- Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella Chapter 3
- Hold Me Close: A Heron’s Landing Novella Chapter 2
