In Pursuit (30 page)

At the corner where Rush and Oak streets meet, I’m not paying attention to where I’m walking, and I stumble into a brick wall of a man.

“Oh!” I groan as I spiral backward, wobbling under my large shoulder bags. His hand shoots out to steady me.

“Ed?”

Our eyes meet, and the breath is stolen right from my lungs.

“Dad,” I say when I start breathing normally again. “What are you doing here?”

He has the grace to look uncomfortable, swiping a hand through his dark brown hair.

“You called me and you sounded upset…”

“And you didn’t call me once since I moved here.” I’m angry. No, furious. My boyfriend sort of dumped me
again,
and now all of a sudden Dad is here to save the day?

“You’re right,” he says simply. “But you’re still my daughter, and it sounded like you needed some support.” His words deflate my mood instantly.

How long have I wanted him say that?

How long will he feel this way?

Do I have any other options, other than to be thankful for his sudden appearance? No.

I gulp audibly. “Help would be, um, helpful.”

“May I?” He reaches for my weekend bag.

“Please,” I whisper, gratefully passing my burden to him.

“So.” He’s awkward again. “Where are you going?”

“I don’t know,” I admit.

“Well, I’ve got a hotel room. That could be a start,” Dad suggests.

There’s a sudden screech of tires, then the sound of a door slamming.

“Edith! Edith, wait!”

Dad and I both turn to look from where the shouting comes. His beautiful Bentley, the same one I saw him driving when I broke down and called my dad, blocks traffic.  Angry horns blast all around, a cab driver leans out from his window and swears at my brooding Harris. But he pays no mind. He’s dead set on reaching me.

“Please, talk to me,” he says breathlessly as he jogs over.

My eyes flicker back to Dad who is watching the scene with his police lieutenant eyes, fierce and protective.

What do I do?

We all notice it at the same time, a persistent buzzing coming from the cell phone in Harris’ hand. Her face grins on the screen, happily waiting for her brother to answer. Claire calls.

I take a step away from Harris, shaking my head.

           
“No,” my voice barely above a whisper. “No more.”

            “Baby, wait,” he begs, grasping on to my elbow.

            I flinch at the contact. The electricity flows between us, stronger than ever.

            “Watch your hands,” my dad barks, taking a menacing step closer.

            Harris’ eyes narrow dangerously and he turns to glare at my father. As soon as he realizes who’s standing behind me, growling just as fiercely, he immediately releases his grip.

            “Dad.” I turn toward him, barely muffling my sob. “Can we please go?”

            He immediately places a hand on my arm and steers me away, propelling me forward. Half a block away, I turn back over my shoulder.

            Determined. Fierce. His expression reminds me of an animal stalking its prey.

            “I’m not giving up, Edith!” he shouts.

            A solid arm curls protectively around my shoulder.

            “Let’s go figure out what’s next,” Dad says stoically.

            But I’m not listening. I’m remembering the last time Harris told me he wasn’t giving up on us. This time, I’m not sure that I want him to fight for me.

Stay tuned for the final part of Eddie and Harris’ story in their next book, Of Happiness.

I
f it weren’t for my husband, I would have never had the courage to write this book. To the man who encouraged me, supported me, propped me up when I felt down, and read In Pursuit a zillion times, thank you is not nearly enough, but I’ll start there.

Thank you to my loving parents for sitting around my dinner table listening to my dreams and pushing me to pursue them.

To my thoughtful and inspiring beta readers, thank you first and foremost for your honesty. You kicked my butt when I needed it and were my cheerleaders when I needed that too. I think (hope) your feedback made In Pursuit all the better.

To Ari at Cover It! Designs, you blew me away with your creativity. Thank you for turning some bullet point descriptions into a fantastic cover that I’m so proud of. You gave a face to my dream.

I am so thankful to the proofreaders and editors that reviewed In Pursuit and gave fantastic feedback. Thank you for finding repetitive language, pesky typos that my eyes missed, and questioning my word choices.

Bloggers – where would authors be without you? To the bloggers that let me take over their Facebook pages, shared my posts, sent their followers my way, and helped me without asking for anything in return, thank you. I am forever grateful for your unending support and friendship. 

Without Jade at Black Firefly there would be no In Pursuit. Dear Jade, I cannot thank you enough for your patience with my endless emails and help navigating the self publishing world. You connected me with wonderful resources to help my book become the best it could be. I am forever thankful for your guidance.

Lastly, to the community of bloggers, readers, authors, editors, betas, promoters, tour hosts and friends, thank you for welcoming me into your world. I have met so many wonderful and encouraging friends through this process.  Thank you, thank you, a million times, thank you!

Olivia Luck lives in the middle of America with her loving husband and her obsession with writing. She wrote her first romance novel at age eight. When she’s not reading, editing, or writing, you can find her in the kitchen learning to cook. Olivia loves to travel and spend time with her family.

Get in touch with Olivia, she adores emails:
[email protected]

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