Page 1 of Long Hard Fall

Chapter 1

Abbi’s eyelids fluttered open. Sunlight poured through the drab drapes of her low-end motel room. She inhaled a slow breath and let her lids drift shut again. Her mission in Moore, Minnesota, could wait until she had more rest. It’d been a late night.

Soft inhales and exhales resonated from behind her. Her eyes flew open.

Oh, shit. Abigail Daniels, what have you done?

She froze, too afraid to roll over and witness her epically bad decision from the night before.

Think, think, think. She’d come to town with one goal—to find a man. Not just any man, but the one who’d been with her brother when he’d died. But she hadn’t started her search. She had reached town, rented a room, and gone out for a bite to eat.

So why was she in bed with a dude who wasn’t her boyfriend?

She suppressed a groan and squeezed her eyes shut. That’s right. As of yesterday, she was single. Her solid, responsible boyfriend had gotten tired of dating a sad sack and argued her trip to Moore was mind-bogglingly impulsive.

Not even her threat of breaking up with him if he couldn’t respect how important the trip was had swayed his opinion. And it hadn’t been a threat.

There went four years of her life she couldn’t get back. Her relationship with Ellis had weathered the death of her brother and her subsequent mourning, but one little trip and Ellis had bailed. Maybe it was for the best. He could be such a downer at times. Most times.

She opened her eyes and stared at the wall, ignoring the stranger slumbering next to her.

What did she remember?

Too much to drink. She was known as an uptight prude in her circle of friends, but that was because they hadn’t gone to college with her. Ellis had forbidden her from having more than two drinks because after they’d gotten serious he’d grown tired of holding her hand the next morning when her raging hangover took over. He’d gotten tired of explaining the stupid shit she’d done, too.

But it was college, wasn’t that what she was supposed to do?

What was her excuse now?

Her body throbbed in all the right places. Whoever her bedmate was, he must’ve been satisfying.

Abbi’s stomach clenched. No matter how wild she used to be, she wasn’t that girl anymore. She’d have to adult the hell out of this.

Steeling herself, she pushed up. It wasn’t the first time she’d had to face the morning and piece together the previous night, but it’d been a long time, and it was damn well going to be the last time.

She scanned her body—naked. A few love bites decorated her breasts. Whatever she’d done with the mystery man had been active. As the fog of sleep faded, she had a hazy memory of a deep voice and a body to die for.

With a gulp, she twisted to look at her hookup.

She was caught between a gasp and a laugh.

Just her luck. She’d hit the jackpot and couldn’t recall more than a minute of it.

He was as hot as they came.

Okay, Abbi. You’re forgiven for taking him home.

Mussed, sandy-blond hair swept over his forehead, and dark-blond eyelashes rimmed his eyes.

Blue eyes, she remembered. Startlingly blue, and they’d wiped out all thoughts of Ellis when they’d been aimed at her. She remembered that but not his name, dammit.

She bet the sex they’d had was incredible. At least for her. She had enough pride to hope she’d pleased him, too. And pray they’d used protection.

With as much stealth as she could muster, she rolled out of bed. Two condom wrappers lay at her feet.

Good. At least there was that.

But two?

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