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SAVANNAH SUMMER
Secondhand Hearts Series
By CHARLENE TESS & JUDI THOMPSON

BLURB

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SAVANNAH SUMMER
Secondhand Hearts Series
By CHARLENE TESS & JUDI THOMPSON

EXCERPT

Chapter One

Devin Tunsil stretched out his long legs on the park bench while enjoying the early summer morning in Savannah, Georgia. The moss-draped live-oaks shading Savanna’s streets whispered promises Devin hadn’t dared to believe in years, and for the first time since his divorce, he felt like his luck was about to change.

He looked down at the long vertical scar on his knee from an injury he incurred while playing football in college. It was hardly noticeable now. At the time, he thought it was the end of the world since it put a nail in the coffin of his promising career as a wide receiver in the NFL. It was a hard pill to swallow when he realized he could not regain the agility needed for the intricate cutting motions that separated a defender from a competitive receiver in the business.

Now, he realized how fortunate he was that the injury had not left him crippled or unable to run and work out. Since then, he’d realized the old saying was true: When one door closes, another one opens.

After graduating from college, he had worked for several years now with his best friend, Ethan Carter, restoring historic buildings. He enjoyed the travel his job required, and drove all over the country while doing something he’d come to love.

He would be in Savannah for most of the coming year while refurbishing a historic building that had once been a library. Now, it stood boarded up and vandalized. The abandoned library sat practically crying for help, its collapsed shelves scattered across the floor like the bones of some ancient creature that had once breathed life into curious minds.

He pushed his hair back from his face and kept it out of his eyes with a skull wrap while finishing his stretches before his morning run. It would be a scorcher on this early June day, and he wanted to get his workout done before the humidity and temperature climbed any higher.

He took off on a jog around the Forsyth Park trail. The wide, tree-lined pathways along the 1.8-mile route made it a pleasant way to start his day. Rounding the first turn, he noticed a beautiful woman running in the opposite direction. She wore dark sunglasses and a green baseball cap with a banana logo.

She looked familiar, and it took him several seconds to realize he knew her—or at least he thought he did. He turned around and jogged behind her for several feet, all the while taking in her tall, slender but athletic figure and shapely backside.

If the woman was who Devin thought she was, he remembered her lovely, heart-shaped face and espresso-brown eyes that twinkled with gold flecks. He sped up, hoping to reach her side without frightening her.

Devin started to call out her name but hesitated. He’d look like an idiot trying to pick up a woman at the park if he was wrong. Taking a chance, he jogged beside her and said, “Kelly? Kelly Farrow?”

She turned her head in his direction, and then he saw her face break into a radiant smile as recognition dawned on her. She slowed and moved into the grass by the trail, pulled her earbuds out, and said, “Devin?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“What are you doing in Savannah?” Her voice held a touch of wonder.

“Working. I knew you were from Savannah, but I didn’t know how to contact you.” He leaned over to put his hands on his thighs while catching his breath and looked up at her.

“You have a job here in Savannah? You moved here?” she asked.

“No, it’s temporary. I’ll only be here until I complete the job. I knew you got married and possibly changed your name, but …” He paused, waiting for an answer.

“My name is Sullivan now. How long has it been?”

“How long have we been out of school?”

She took off her sunglasses and wiped her brow with her wrist. Laugh lines crinkled around her pretty brown eyes. He remembered that about Kelly. She smiled and laughed a lot.

“Six years. Can you believe that?” She looked at her watch and frowned. “Listen, I really want to catch up and find out what you mean by temporary, but I’ve got to get to work. Can we get together later? Maybe you can come by my house tonight? It’s close to here, and we can talk then unless you have plans?”

“No other plans. Sure, I can do that. I’m a stranger here in a strange town.” He took out his phone and asked for her number and her address. “What time?”

“How about seven? Come for dinner?”

“Perfect, I’ll see you tonight,” he said. He waited to watch Kelly go and then jogged off in the opposite direction.

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For the past several weeks, walking into work had felt like a game of roulette. Kelly never knew what to expect. Would her colleagues walk on eggshells, avoid the topic, or offer unwanted comfort after her split with Bradley?

Bradley was a handsome man with sharp facial features and perfect hair. In fact, almost everything about her soon-to-be-ex-husband was perfect. Sometimes, she felt like the ugly duckling when they were together. He constantly reminded her she was too tall. Too thin.

For her part, Kelly had left the announcement of their separation and impending divorce up to Bradley. She quickly assumed he had already said something because a few days later, she’d noticed a change in people at the office.

Thank Heaven that tension had eased since Bradley was no longer working in the Savannah office. He had been promoted to Claims Director at the Chicago office, and now Kelly didn’t have to worry about running into her narcissistic cheating husband.

They’d met after she’d graduated from college with a business degree and moved back home. The job she found was at the same insurance agency where Bradley worked. He was a few years older and well-established at the company. He was handsome, confident, and meticulous. When they’d met, he’d already charted out his entire life. Until recently, she’d been a part of that life.

Kelly put her purse away and switched on her computer. After her run, she’d skipped her morning coffee and settled for only a piece of toast. She put her hand on her queasy stomach, hoping she wasn’t coming down with the stomach flu that had been going around last week.

 She always arrived at least thirty to forty minutes earlier than the clerical staff and enjoyed that time to gather her thoughts before the workday began. Today, her pleasant thoughts focused on her friend from college whom she had unexpectedly run into at the park. What were the odds? Maybe she should have stopped and bought a lottery ticket on the way to work. The thought made her giggle.

Devin Tunsil. Wow! He was as good-looking as she remembered. Maybe even more so. His light brown hair was thick and tussled, settling just above his shoulders, as if ruffled by a gentle breeze.

She always thought he could be a body double for a young, clean-shaven Brad Pitt. Admit it, Kelly, she thought. The man is still gorgeous. And tall. She had forgotten how tall he was. He was at least six foot three or more because she had to look up, and at five-nine, she was tall for a woman.

While in college at Clemson University in South Carolina, Kelly was one of the cheerleaders, and Devin was the football team’s star receiver. Unfortunately, he’d been hurt in the final game of his senior year. After graduation, she knew he was still heavily involved in physical therapy and rehabbing his knee. Since he was in Savannah for work, she assumed his dream of playing in the NFL had not come true.

Besides being a good player, Devin had been an excellent student and an all-around nice guy. Everyone liked Devin. Peyton Butler, one of the other cheerleaders, had set her sights on him, and the curvy blonde usually got what she wanted. She made it clear to all the other girls that she wanted Devin, and they better steer clear.

At the time, Kelly wanted to tell Devin what Peyton was really like, but she didn’t. He wouldn’t have believed her, just as no one could have convinced her that Bradley would turn out to be a controlling, narcissistic liar.

Her musings were interrupted by a soft knock on her door, and she saw her assistant poke her head in. “Come on in, Lanelle,” Kelly said. “I’m off to a slow start today.”

“Good morning,” the other woman said with a look of concern on her face. “Are you feeling alright? You look a little peaked.”

“I’m fine. I went for my usual run this morning and might have overdone it. I don’t look that bad, do I?”

“No, I’m sorry I mentioned it. I was worried about you after yesterday’s chaotic confrontation with the employee who got fired. How did he get hired to work here in the first place? I could hear him yelling all the way out at my desk.” Lanelle put her hand out in a stopping motion and said, “Never mind, I know you can’t talk about it.”

“All is well. He was upset with me because I was the messenger. It comes with the territory.”

“I think you were a lot nicer than you should have been. If he’d spoken to me that way, I would have called the cops.”

“Believe me, I would have if he hadn’t left when he did. So, what have you got for me today?”

“Here are the latest resumes you asked me to go through. I left my notes in the margins.” She put a stack of folders on Kelly’s desk and said, “And I must remind you of your meeting with legal at ten this morning and a staff meeting at one.”

“Got it,” Kelly smiled. “Thank you, Lanelle.” She turned to her credenza and opened the computer to check emails before she began her day. She tried to concentrate, but her mind returned to her morning surprise. For the first time in weeks, she had something to look forward to. It would be nice to reconnect with an old friend.

She finished the day and left right on time, which was unusual for her since Bradley moved out. With nothing to go home to, she usually worked late. Today, she was going to stop by the store and pick up all the fixings for a good, down-home Southern dinner.

The thought of chicken and dumplings and all the fixings had carried her through the long afternoon. But when she stepped into the dim parking garage and spotted her car, her heart sank.

One side sagged low, slumped against the pavement like a rubber pancake. A jagged slash grinned at her like a predator waiting for its prey.

So much for dinner plans. 

About Authors Charlene Tess & Judi Thompson…

Links to Charlene’s & Judi’s websites, blogs, books, #ad, etc.:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4pq3aNt

Kindle | KU | Print
Free to read on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon Author Page:
www.amazon.com/author/charlenetess

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