COVER REVEAL
Title: Echoes in the Storm
Author: Max Henry
Genre: Military Themed Contemporary
Cover Design: Max Effect
Release Date: September 12, 2017
BLURB
โBehind those eyes, a battle rages. One thatโs not fought
overseas with guns and tanks, but one that wreaks havoc in the homeland with
harshly spoken words and misguided beliefs.โ
One week is all we were supposed to share. One week as
strangers. Yet you became so much more.
You were the echo in my storm.
All the little things you did differently irked me. I
thought it meant we couldnโt get along, that there was no chance weโd work out.
But when it came time for me to leave, you know what I figured out?
They were the faint call of home, lost on the wind and
the roar of thunder. It was you calling me, hoping Iโd hear you and find my way
out of the dark that I had lost myself in when I shut off to survive.
You were my echo. My call back.
And fuck it all if I didnโt find home in the end.
PRE-ORDER LINKS
EXCERPT
ECHOES IN THE STORM
Chapter One
Eleven hours in the
office, and this is what I have to come home to. I close my eyes and focus on
my breathing, trapped in the naรฏve thought that maybe, just maybe, if I wish
him away hard enough, it could truly happen.
Nope. Still there.
Blondie belts a tune out
on my car radio, the beat going some way toward helping me find my zen. Three
years on, and the sheer sight of him still pisses me off the same as it did
when he told me โI donโt think I could ever love you again.โ
Yeah. Because loving me
meant accepting the fact it wasnโt my fault, and he refuses to believe that.
I refuse to believe
that.
Drawing a deep breath, I
reach for the door handle and promptly cut Blondie off mid-sentence as the
crisp evening air rushes into my safe haven. With my leather tote snatched in
my other hand, I rise and plaster on as natural of a smile as I can manage when
my back aches and my feet throb from overuse.
โEight months, Jared.โ
My ex leans a shoulder
against the side of the house, tucked under the veranda as though he had hoped
to blend into the shadows and catch me by surprise.
โAnd yet, it hasnโt
dulled your attitude any.โ
โWhat do you want?โ I
shut and lock the car, pining for that first dip in a hot bath.
โYou ignored my calls.โ
He frowns as I walk right by him. โDid you think Iโd be that easy to brush
off?โ
โHardly.โ There was a
reason he used to be saved in my phone under โCockroachโ. โIโve been busy.โ
โYouโre not the only
one,โ he bites, inviting himself into the house behind me. โBut then again, you
never did understand that concept, did you?โ
โCarry on, Jared,โ I
snap louder than intended. โSee how long this wee conversation lasts if thatโs
the way youโre going to steer it.โ
He pinches the bridge of
his nose and sighs. โIโll make it quick.โ For a fleeting second, I see the
vulnerable man I fell in love with ten years ago. โI want you to sell the
house.โ
Until that.
โWhat?โ I throw my tote
on the side table with more zest than necessary.
We were married for
barely two years, not enough time for the property to have increased
substantially in value. So it was decided when we split that Iโd stay in it,
paying the mortgage on my own, and the little that he had put in over the
course of our relationship would be repaid when I sold.
When I sold.
โIf you need the cashโโ
โI need an end to this.โ
He waves a hand between us as I slump against the hallway wall. โI need to cut
ties from you, Cam.โ
โI thought we were doing
that just fine,โ I whisper as I run my eye over his carefully put together
outfit.
Fuck, he unfriended me
on Facebook the minute he split. I donโt even know where he lives now, just
that itโs in the city, and judging by the threads heโs got on heโs doing well
for himself.
Of course, he doesnโt
need the money. Heโs never needed anything from me. Makes sense then, that he
wants me to sell to ensure he has no reason ever to see me, let alone talk to
me, again.
โIf you want closure,
Jared, I can get my lawyer to send yours the settlement amount when and if I
sell in the future. You donโt have to deal with me.โ
He shrugs. โExcept I
would. Youโd still be there in the back of my mind every time I have to list
assets, Cam. Or if Kell and I want to apply for another mortgageโitโs still in
my name, too.โ
โSo we change it.โ I
push aside the reference he made to the whore who stole him away. โMake a time
at the bank, and Iโll meet you there.โ
Silence hangs thick,
choking the air in the houseโthe very reason for this conversation. I push off
the wall with the flat of my hand and take a couple of steps toward the lounge
room.
โHow long?โ
He hangs in the entrance
hall. โAs soon as we can agree on a realtor.โ
โNo.โ I drop to the edge
of the armchair, bracing myself with both hands on the cushion. โYouโve got to
give me longer.โ
โWhy, Cam?โ He ventures
as far as the open doorway, ever reluctant to get too close to me. โYouโve had
three years to get what you need out of being here. Staying in the house wonโt
change anything.โ
โExactly,โ I whisper.
I never stayed in the
hope it would settle the past, or that the memories the house held could ever
ease the pain. I didnโt stay to heal. I stayed to keep the wound open and
festering, to never forget.
I chose to remain in the
home we shared so I would be reminded every day of what I did and why I donโt
ever deserve to have that kind of love again.
โYou need to move on,โ
Jared murmurs as he retraces his steps toward the door. โItโs not healthy,
Cam.โ
โI know.โ
He twists the handle and
opens the front door a fraction, resting his shoulder against the edge as he
drives the nail home a little harder.
โYou need to own up to
what you did.โ
AUTHOR BIO
Life with two young children can be hectic at
times, and although she may not write as often as she would like, Max wouldnโt
change a thing.
In her down time, Max can be found at her local
gym, brain-storming through a session with the weights. If not, sheโs probably
out drooling over one of many classic cars on show that she wishes she owned.
AUTHOR LINKS
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