Eternal (Paradise Place Book 4)
Eternal
Natalie Ann
Copyright 2020 Natalie Ann
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without a written consent.
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Contents
Author’s Note
Also by Natalie Ann
Where to Find Natalie Ann
Blurb
Prologue
1. Cynical Cousin
2. In His Blood
3. The Uniform
4. Justice
5. Completely Dysfunctional
6. No Comment
7. Being A Fool
8. Worth It
9. A Curse and A Blessing
10. Day By Day
11. More Than Nice
12. No Stopping It
13. Jump That Fast
14. A Great Thing
15. Intimidate Me
16. More Attention
17. Meets The Definition
18. Gold Mine
19. Just Payback
20. More Complicated
21. Black and White
22. Feel Special
23. Love Shack
24. Glory Story
25. Choices and Decisions
26. Something Changed
27. Fear Was Crazy
Epilogue
Also by Natalie Ann
Where to Find Natalie Ann
Author’s Note
Author’s Note
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Also by Natalie Ann
The Road Series-See where it all started!!
Lucas and Brooke’s Story- Road to Recovery
Jack and Cori’s Story – Road to Redemption
Mac and Beth’s Story- Road to Reality
Ryan and Kaitlin’s Story- Road to Reason
The All Series
William and Isabel’s Story — All for Love
Ben and Presley’s Story – All or Nothing
Phil and Sophia’s Story – All of Me
Alec and Brynn’s Story – All the Way
Sean and Carly’s Story — All I Want
Drew and Jordyn’s Story— All My Love
Finn and Olivia’s Story—All About You
Landon Barber and Kristen Reid- All Of Us
The Lake Placid Series
Nick Buchanan and Mallory Denning – Second Chance
Max Hamilton and Quinn Baker – Give Me A Chance
Caleb Ryder and Celeste McGuire – Our Chance
Cole McGuire and Rene Buchanan – Take A Chance
Zach Monroe and Amber Deacon- Deserve A Chance
Trevor Miles and Riley Hamilton – Last Chance
Matt Winters and Dena Hall- Another Chance
Logan Taylor and Kennedy Miles- It’s My Chance
The Fierce Five Series
Gavin Fierce and Jolene O’Malley- How Gavin Stole Christmas
Brody Fierce and Aimee Reed - Brody
Aiden Fierce and Nic Moretti- Aiden
Mason Fierce and Jessica Corning- Mason
Cade Fierce and Alex Marshall - Cade
Ella Fierce and Travis McKinley- Ella
Fierce Family
Sam Fierce and Dani Rhodes- Sam
Bryce Fierce and Payton Davies - Bryce
Drake Fierce and Kara Winslow – Drake
Noah Fierce and Paige Parker - Noah
Wyatt Fierce and Adriana Lopez – Wyatt
Love Collection
Vin Steele and Piper Fielding – Secret Love
Jared Hawk and Shelby McDonald – True Love
Erik McMann and Sheldon Case – Finding Love
Connor Landers and Melissa Mahoney- Beach Love
Ian Price and Cam Mason- Intense Love
Liam Sullivan and Ali Rogers - Autumn Love
Owen Taylor and Jill Duncan - Holiday Love
Chase Martin and Noelle Bennett - Christmas Love
Zeke Collins and Kendall Hendricks - Winter Love
Troy Walker and Meena Dawson – Chasing Love
Jace Stratton and Lauren Towne - First Love
Gabe Richards and Leah Morrison - Forever Love
Blake Wilson and Gemma Anderson – Simply Love
Brendan St. Nicholas and Holly Lane – Gifts of Love
Paradise Place
Josh Turner and Ruby Gentile – Cupid’s Quest
Harris Walker and Kaelyn Butler – Change Up
Philip Aire and Blair McKay- Starting Over
Nathan Randal and Brina Shepard – Eternal
Ryan Butler and Shannon Wilder – Falling Into Love
Amore Island
Family Bonds- Hunter Bond and Kayla Rivers
Family Bonds- Drew Bond and Amanda Moore
Where to Find Natalie Ann
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Blurb
Brina Shepard is who she is. She’s strong, independent and a do-gooder. She’s always out for the underdog and will fight for what she believes in. She won’t fall in line and she won’t conform with the majority. If it means she can’t climb the ladder in her career fast, then so be it. She feels the same way about her personal life. A man? Who needs one? Been there and done that, and it’s not worth it in her eyes.
Nathan Randal has a sense of justice that won’t bend for anyone. He carries around the guilt of a family tragedy on his shoulders and the destruction of his family would forever cloud his thoughts. A relationship or happy ever after hasn’t been experienced in his life and he figures at this point it never will be. Not unless he could find someone who thought the same way as he does...if she exists.
Prologue
Brina Shepard looked in the side view mirror, saw it was clear, put her blinker on and passed the car. She glanced down at the number on her dash. She was going twelve miles over the speed limit. On this stretch of Central Avenue people went even faster so she’d be fine.
And if she wasn’t fine, too damn bad. She needed to be in court in twenty minutes. It was going to take her fifteen minutes to get there. That didn’t count traffic or finding a parking spot.
Damn her for being caught up meeting her client. She should have put it off until after court, knowing she’d be sucked in like she always was. She had a bleeding heart at times and couldn’t walk away.
She was just getting ready to turn off onto Wolf Road to get to the Town of Colonie courthouse when she noticed the red lights flashing behind her. No!
Maybe they weren’t for her. She hoped. She prayed.
It didn’t help when the state trooper car got on her rear bumper and turned the siren on.
She put her blinker on again and turned on Wolf, and then pulled into the first parking lot, the trooper right behind her.
Her head dropped back against the seat. Since she was in a hurry she opened the glove box up and was pulling out her registration, while she hit the button to roll down the window.
She waited for the trooper to come to the window, knowing she was definitely going to be late now. The judge hated when people were late in his courtroom and she knew that.
“Do you know why I pull
ed you over?” the trooper asked. She hadn’t even heard him walk up to the car and almost jumped out of her seat.
“Sorry,” she said. “I’m in a hurry to get to court. The judge doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
“You’re a lawyer?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow.
She put a smile on her face. “I am,” she said back. She had her registration in her hand along with her license now but was hoping she wouldn’t need it.
“Then you won’t have any problem getting out of a ticket,” he said, his hand held out.
Her smile dropped when she placed the documents in his palm.
Shit, shit, shit. When would she learn? Instead of being most likely to succeed in her senior year of high school she should have been voted most likely to be late to her own funeral.
The trooper came back faster than she expected. She looked up and couldn’t really see much of his face with his sunglasses on. He was tall, at least she thought he was since she was in an SUV and he was bent over to talk to her.
He smelled good. What the heck? How could she tell that when she was in a parking lot on a summer day?
“Here you go,” he said, handing her back her registration and license and another piece of paper.
“My ticket?” she asked.
He tilted his head and, damn, if he wasn’t extremely hot too. She should be completely annoyed right now, not noticing how good-looking he was. If it weren’t against every principle she had, she’d flirt with him.
Nah, she’d said she was going to the courthouse and he didn’t care. Not that she said it to get out of the ticket because she didn’t really want to do that either.
“You broke the law,” he said. “Lawyers know all about that.”
“Yes, I do,” she said, tossing it all on the passenger seat. “Have a great day.” She wanted to add, “jerk” to it but wouldn’t. Like he’d said, she’d broken the law. She may be a lawyer but she was an honest one.
“You too,” he said, smiling...no, it was a smirk.
She rolled her window up, put the car in drive, and pulled back into traffic.
She was running into the courthouse eight minutes later and through the doors. At this point she was just shy of being ten minutes late. She supposed it could be worse.
“Counsel Shepard,” the judge said. “You’re late.”
“I am. I’m sorry. I was rushing to get here and, well, I was pulled over by a trooper. I was trying, I really was, to get here on time, but traffic is crazy today.”
The judge smirked at her like the trooper did. “Did you get a ticket?”
“Yes, sir, he gave me one.”
“Did you tell him you were an attorney?”
“I mentioned I was on the way to the courthouse and the judge didn’t like me to be late.”
“And you still got a ticket?” the judge asked, laughing this time.
“I did.”
“Can I see your ticket or is it in your car?”
She pulled it out of her briefcase where she stuffed it when she grabbed everything moments ago. “Sure,” she said, wondering what was going on. Was he going to take care of it for her? Not that she’d ask that.
“What’s the name of the officer?” he asked when she moved closer to the bench. She felt like she was the main act at the circus right now with all eyes on her.
“Trooper N. Randal.”
The judge took his pen out and wrote something down. “Good to know for future reference if he’s ever in my courtroom.”
“Why is that, Judge?”
“Because he isn’t swayed or doesn’t back down. I like men like that. It reminds me of a younger me. Now, can we please get on with your case and client?”
“Yes, sir,” she said, walking back to the desk where her client was waiting. She hoped she didn’t chip her tooth with as hard as she was grinding her teeth. The only way this day could get worse would be if she lost her case.
1
Cynical Cousin
“So you had a bad day?” her cousin Blair asked her.
“It wasn’t just a bad day,” Brina argued. “Aside from being late, getting a ticket that is probably going to raise my insurance rates and the judge making a spectacle of me in the courtroom, I lost my case. I thought it was a slam dunk.”
“You should know better than to assume anything,” Blair said, picking up her wine glass. The two of them were sitting on Blair’s deck relaxing. There was something about Blair’s house in Paradise Place that drew Brina in.
Maybe it was the flowers and herb gardens surrounding the property. Her cousin Blair owned The Healing Touch and made lotions and candles using herbs and flowers in gardens. Her workshop was right in the backyard and it always seemed wonderful and calming here.
“I know. My client lied to me. I hate when they do. I always ask them to be honest with me. I don’t care what they tell me, but I can’t help them fully if I don’t know the truth.”
“And lying has always been the one thing that you can’t stand.”
“One of many,” she said, sipping her wine. “Where is your fiancé tonight?”
“He went to dinner with Livi. They were just going to have a father daughter night.”
Blair had recently gotten engaged to single father Philip Aire and his sweetheart of a daughter, Livi. They lived in the house behind Blair’s. Pretty soon they’d be moving into Blair’s house.
“That’s nice.”
“It’s very sweet,” Blair said. “Admit it.”
But Blair was a romantic, Brina anything but. “I guess. I know I’d like having my time away, but you probably wish you were with them.”
“When I can spend time with you?” Blair asked. “Please! Who needs a sexy man when I’ve got a cynical cousin?”
“Very funny. I’m not cynical.” At least she didn’t think she was. Just because she didn’t believe in happy ever after or love at first sight. Maybe not even love at all at this point in her life.
Years ago she had, but those days were long gone.
Her career was first. She’d always said that and she was sticking to it. If a guy couldn’t accept the time and dedication she put into it, then too darn bad.
“I’m not sure what you are,” Blair said. “You’ve got this unrelenting belief in right and wrong which most lawyers don’t have. Or most live in the gray area, where you are pretty much black and white.”
“What’s wrong with being black and white?” she asked.
“Nothing at all. Only you know that is part of the reason you struggle so much. You can’t be Rudolph and not join in the reindeer games.”
Brina laughed. “They don’t exclude me like Rudolph. Or they didn’t in the beginning. Most know me by now.”
Colleagues knew she didn’t play the whole “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” game. She didn’t ask for favors and she didn’t make too many deals unless it was in her client’s best interest.
“You’ve always had your own code, Brina. It’s what makes you such a great person.”
“Not everyone thinks that way,” she said.
“Not everybody is an asshole either,” Blair said back.
“You swore. You never swear. That would be me.”
“I love it when you swear. In this case I felt the need to. I still think Ben is the one that turned you into a sourpuss.”
She narrowed her eyes at her cousin, picked up her wine, and downed it. “Don’t ruin my night even more by bringing his name up.”
“Sorry,” Blair said. “I told you all along he wasn’t for you.”
“Don’t start on your dreams again.”
She stood up and walked into the house to the sound of Blair’s laughter. Blair always had weird dreams that came true. Or usually did. The family was used to it by now, but Brina hated it when Blair would tell her about those dreams.
More so when they ended up true. Like when her ex-boyfriend turned out to be the douche that everyone in the family told her he was. That he lie
d, he cheated, he manipulated, he threw it in Brina’s face that she wouldn’t ever be good enough for him and no man would want to be saddled with her. That was when she realized she was better off alone. No reason to burden any man, like Ben had said.
She’d been so hurt hearing those words and wondered if it was true now considering her pathetic dating life.
In the kitchen, she opened the fridge and grabbed some sliced cheese and fruit that Blair had put together and told her to get when she was ready. She was ready for the conversation they were having to be over more than needing food, but it was as good of an excuse as any to walk away.
When she came back, Blair had filled both of their wine glasses back up. “No more for me,” Brina said.
Blair picked up Brina’s glass and put half in her own. “You’ll be here long enough for it to wear off before you drive. Or are you afraid of another ticket?”
“Don’t be cute.”
“I can’t help it,” Blair said. “I am cute. So tell me about this trooper that pulled you over.”
“What? What about him?”
“Was he cute?”
“Not really. I guess rugged would be a better word to describe him.”
“Why? Was he big?” Blair asked.