The New Hope Caf,Used

Product Description Welcome to New Hope, AZNew Hope? Not from where Cara Price is standing. Miles from her destination, a car that won't run and a daughter she can protect only by moving, lingering in this town is not on Cara's plan. And the harder she pushes to leave, the more things conspire to prevent that. There's the slow mechanicthere's the caf in need of a waitressthere's its owner in need of a friend.There's also the very tempting Jonah Gold.Cara's plan is all about survival with no room for romance. Yet, Jonah's charm and the easy way they work together has her wanting to make space for him. The promise of what they share is so different from the life she's escaping. Maybe this caf, this town and Jonah are all the hope she needs! About the Author Awardwinning Blaze author Dawn Atkins has published more than 20 books. Known for writing funny, touching and spicy stories, shes won the Golden Quill for Best Sexy Romance and has been a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice finalist for Best Flipside and Best Blaze. She lives in Arizona with her husband, teenage son and a butterscotchandwhite cat. Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Drive faster. Move. Go. Fly.No. Slow down. If you get a ticket, he can track you.Choosing the wiser impulse, Cara Price eased her foot off the accelerator. She glanced at her daughter, hoping she hadn't picked up on Cara's panic. Beth Ann stared ahead, clutching her stuffed rabbit close to her chest. At nine, she was too old to cling to a comfort object, but the therapist had warned Cara that abrupt changes might set Beth Ann back.Cara had been as upbeat about the move as possible, calling it an adventure, a chance to meet new people, see new places, take new names.They'd had to run. Her exhusband would come for them the moment he was released from prison and he wouldn't stop until he had them.Cara would not allow that.She'd counted on Barrett's sixyear sentence for the time she needed to get her teaching degree, buy new identities and safely start new lives.But prison overcrowding and legal maneuvers had gotten Barrett released three years early.Three years.He would be out any day now. Any. Day. Now. The thought made her catch her breath."What's wrong?" Beth Ann jerked her gaze to Cara."Nothing. I'm just thinking." She forced a smile. "You sure you want to go by Bunny? Won't that be confusing?" Bunny was her rabbit's name."Not to me," Beth Ann said."Then Bunny it is. I'm CJ, remember? It's my initialsCara Julietteso it's easy. And our new last name starts with the same letter as PricePeyton.""CJ sounds like a man's name. I hate it. I hate new names. I hate moving. I don't want a new home or new people. I want Grandma Price and Serena and my teacher and my school. You made me miss Water Day and the class play and the awards. I was going to get the reading prize." Her voice broke, but instead of crying, she stiffened, lifted her head and locked her jaw. Beth Ann refused to cry, refused to let Cara comfort her and it broke Cara's heart every time.Beth Ann didn't trust her. Not since Barrett had put Cara in the hospital."I know it's hard. I had to leave my teachers in the lurch," Cara said.It was midMay, two weeks shy of summer break, so Beth Ann wouldn't lose any academic ground, but the end of the school year was hectic for the teachers at the middle school where Cara was an aide.She'd left a familyemergency note and fled. Her cheeks burned with shame. She'd always been a goto person, someone people could count on. She was the onewoman sunshine committeeplanning baby showers, potlucks and birthday celebrations. She'd let them all down. Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel.Cara had come so far these past three years, become more selfconfident, more sure of what she wanted, of who she could become.But the moment she'd heard about Barrett, she felt lost again, timid and uncertain, the way she'd been when she'd married the man at eigh