Book 2: Crashing into Love

An unfortunate accident brought them together...but would an ardent admirer tear them apart forever?

A nurturer by nature, Shannon Gerard loves her motherless family, her atypical pets, and her career as a physical therapist.  So how can she live with knowing she might have single-handedly destroyed someone's lifelong dream?

Dylan Talbot doesn't understand why she'd entered his life, wreaking havoc from day one.  But as their professional relationship morphs into a personal one, he's determined to show her how much they belong together.  Especially when she continues to focus on his welfare and ignores threats to her own...

This is the story of Crashing into Love.  A woman who grew up caring for everyone else discovers she has caused possible irreparable damage to someone's way of life.  And a man who is torn between hating her and wanting her...ultimately falling in love with the one who changed his life in a way he'd never envisioned.

As I was writing Love's Road Home, I had to have a few months of physical therapy.  There, while I was being poked, prodded, stretched, massaged, and questioned by the wonderful PTs at Columbia Physical Therapy, the idea for Crashing into Love was born.  Take a guy who loves both the outdoors and his career as a musician and have those two areas of his life intersect in a bad way.  Then, to top it all off, have the woman who caused his dilemma in the first place be the one assigned to solve it and get him back on his feet.  I loved the idea from day one!  My PTs thought it was a little weird, but they still provided me with all the medical/therapy information I needed.  Thanks again to Eric and Adrienne, and I hope everyone likes the final product!

From "Crashing into Love"...

The brace on his left ankle captured Shannon’s interest first.  It was neoprene, meant to give support to a weakened joint.  Good.  That meant the man’s doctor was right on track with his treatment plan, according to the time of injury she’d seen in his file.

A brief glance at the crutches leaning against a nearby chair, then a longer look at his healthy leg, fully exposed by the navy shorts and white high-top sneaker he wore.  Long and muscular, it had a darkish hue that seemed odd in Savannah’s early weeks of spring.

The leg she was staring at flexed beneath her gaze, and she quickly looked up to see if she’d been caught acting so unprofessional.  Nope.  He was just shifting his weight.

Shannon focused on his face, most of which was still hidden by the sports magazine he was reading.  A broad forehead was framed by thick black hair that hung past his ears.

Normally a fan of traditionally short haircuts on men, Shannon somehow knew the long style this man wore only enhanced his looks.

Wait.

After rapidly running through the mental images of dark-haired men she’d seen before, Shannon caught her breath.  Because she realized she’d only seen that color and length on one man.

Her gaze once again dropped to his injured leg.  Yup.  That was the same side she recalled from two months ago.

Please, no...

Shannon’s eyes closed tightly before she looked down at the clipboard she was somehow still holding, to the information written on the top sheet.

Dylan.  His name was Dylan.  And he’d broken his leg while on vacation in Vermont.  Date of injury again?  Oh, yeah, she was in trouble.  February 3.

“Are you going to treat the man or what, sweetie?  You’ll be running behind schedule if you don’t start soon.”

Letting out a long sigh, not knowing how long she’d been standing silent by Marnie’s desk, Shannon tried to pull herself together.  After all, coincidences did happen, right?

“I’m going, I’m going.”  Another deep exhale and Shannon turned toward her new patient with a hesitant smile on her face.  “Dylan? Are you ready?”

He dropped his magazine onto a table and grabbed his crutches before lifting himself out of the chair.  As he turned to follow her toward the evaluation room, Shannon finally got a look at his face.

Two thoughts raced, almost simultaneously, through her mind.  The first?  Tall, dark, and handsome described this man to a tee.  And the second?

Oh, crap.