The Heart's Choice. Joyce Livingston
The darkness. The tunnel. The hospital room. An older couple who said they loved her and prayed for her. None of it made any sense.
Slightly turning her head, Tavia peered into the face of yet another stranger. A handsome man in a wheelchair with a small vase of white daisies balanced between his knees.
“Hi. They said you were awake. I’ve been so worried about you.” He placed the vase on the nightstand. “I want you to know how sorry I am. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn't have been injured. I did everything I could to avoid the accident, but there wasn’t anything I could do.”
Accident. This must be the man she heard earlier. Beck. She tried to speak, but the tubes prevented her.
“I shouldn’t have mentioned that. I didn’t mean to upset you—I’ll leave now.”
Bewildered, Tavia watched him go. All her life no one had cared if she lived or died; now three strangers were concerned about her.
JOYCE LIVINGSTON
is a Kansan who has held many dream jobs, from being a television broadcaster of eighteen years, to owning her own retail clothing store, to lecturing on quilting and sewing, to writing magazine articles, to being a part-time tour escort, to having over twenty inspirational romance novels contracted, eleven already published. Her books have won numerous awards: Favorite Contemporary Book of both 2000 and 2002, and in 2003 she was named Author of the Year. Her lifetime dream came true last fall when she got word from her agent that Love Inspired wanted to buy this book, The Heart’s Choice.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of
my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
—Isaiah 49:16
Oh, my, where do I start?
I owe so much to so many.
Family, friends, other authors. My editor,
Krista Stroever, who really knows her stuff. My hands-on agent, Carolyn Grayson, who has great confidence in me and continually spurs me on. And most of all, my husband, Don, for being so supportive of my writing, loving leftovers and putting up with all my idiosyncrasies. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Tracie Peterson, who has been a real mentor to me and taught me much about writing, and to Rebecca Germany for taking that first chance on me and publishing my first book.
Then, there is Morgan Chilson, who so capably
copyedits for me, and Jean Buchanan, who volunteers to be my reader. And I can’t leave out my writing group, the wonderful Kansas Fiction Writers.
But, in addition to the above, I want to acknowledge
you—the reader who has purchased this book. I hope you enjoy The Heart’s Choice, my first book for Love Inspired. I loved writing it, and hope to write many more Love Inspired books to share with you in the future.
Dear Reader,
Hello! Let me introduce myself. My name is Joyce Livingston and it has been my pleasure to write this book, The Heart’s Choice, for Love Inspired.
The Heart’s Choice is the story of Tavia MacRae and Beck Brewster, two lonely people who are thrown together in the most unlikely of circumstances. Sometimes, life throw us a curve, and it certainly threw one at Tavia and Beck. What happened to them could happen to any of us at any time. Has life ever thrown you a curve? How did you handle it? Did you turn the reins of your life over to God, or did you muddle on through yourself, running into one insurmountable obstacle after another? I hope you enjoy reading how Tavia and Beck responded when their world fell apart.
Although I have had a number of inspirational romance books published, this is my very first book for Love Inspired. Writing inspirational romance for you, the reader of Love Inspired, is a dream come true. A number of years ago, God called me to be an encourager to women everywhere, but I never dreamed it would be through my writing. Yet, He has given me this wonderful opportunity, and I praise Him for it.
I’d love to hear your comments about The Heart’s Choice. If you’d be willing to pray for me as I write these books, I invite you to become a part of my prayer team. E-mail me at: [email protected], or visit my Web site at www.joycelivingston.com.
Till next time,
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
Chapter One
The woman in the passenger seat quickly rolled down the window as the SUV careened to a stop, its tires making a crunching sound as they left the Colorado highway and rolled onto the uneven shoulder. “What’s the problem?” she called out to Tavia, who was standing at the edge of the road, dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved print top, both insufficient to ward off the chill of the late afternoon.
Tavia MacRae blinked hard and tried to appear calm, although inside she was a jangle of nerves. “My—my new boyfriend dumped me out of his car. I—I need a ride.”
The nice-looking young man behind the steering wheel frowned as he sized her up from head to toe. “I don’t know. I usually don’t pick up strangers.”
Disappointed by his comment and afraid her boyfriend might return, Tavia allowed her jaw to drop. “Then why did you stop?”
“I asked him to.” The pretty brunette in the front seat gave her a warm smile. “You looked like you needed help.”
“His hands were all over me. He tried—” Tavia dipped her head and swallowed hard but couldn’t hold back a sob as the tip of her finger touched her swollen lip. “Wh-when I wouldn’t—you know—he got really mad and started pushing me around and hitting me with his fists. I—I was afraid he was really going to hurt me, but instead he reached across and opened the door and shoved me out.” She hunched her shoulders and shivered as she rubbed at her skinned elbow. “He wouldn’t even let me have my jacket. He—he just drove off and left me here.”
The man raised a brow. “He was your boyfriend?”
Tavia shook her head. Her lip hurt, and so did her arm and her wrist. But what hurt most was the embarrassment she felt at having to admit she’d been so gullible. “He wasn’t really my boyfriend. This—this was the first time I’d been out with him. He—he seemed real nice when I met him.”
The woman winced at Tavia’s words. “Maybe you should have gotten to know him better before deciding to take such a long ride with him.”
Tavia lowered her eyes, knowing the woman was right. “I don’t have the opportunity to meet men that often. I guess I was persuaded by his good looks and his nice car. I’ve learned my lesson.”
The man continued to eye her suspiciously, as if he half believed her story but wasn’t quite sure she could be trusted. “I don’t know. Maybe it—”
The nice brunette slapped at the man’s arm. “Adam, come on. Don’t be such an old worrywart. Can’t you see she needs help? We can’t leave her stranded out here