Unforgettable You Read online

  New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak returns to Silver Springs, where no past mistake is so big the heart can’t find a way to fix it.

  Jada Brooks couldn’t have known how her life would change when she fell for bad boy Maddox Richardson back in high school. She couldn’t have known his troubled brother would leave hers forever crippled. Or that she’d be forced to shun Maddox completely—only to discover she was carrying his child.

  Although Maddox was devastated by the events that transpired that fateful night, losing Jada was the worst of it. He’s back in Silver Springs, ready to make amends and provide the kind of youth outreach that once saved him. If he’d known Jada was in town, too, he would never have come.

  Jada has returned to Silver Springs to be with family after her father’s death. But when she sees Maddox, every tough decision she’s made concerning their now twelve-year-old daughter begins to haunt her. Falling for him again is so tempting, but not only does she stand to alienate her family—if he finds out about Maya, she could lose what matters most.

  Praise for the novels of Brenda Novak

  “Fascinating characters, powerful conflicts and complex emotions make any Brenda Novak book a must-read for me.”

  —Sherryl Woods, #1 New York Times bestselling author

  “Once you visit Silver Springs, you’ll never want to leave.”

  —Robyn Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author

  “Heartwarming, life-affirming, page-turning romance.

  I can always count on Novak to make me weep, laugh and fall in love!”

  —Jill Shalvis, New York Times bestselling author

  “Brenda Novak is always a joy to read.”

  —Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author

  “Brenda Novak doesn’t just write fabulous stories, she writes keepers.”

  —Susan Mallery, #1 New York Times bestselling author

  “The perfect read to cozy up to on a long winter night.”

  —Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author, on Before We Were Strangers

  “The author deftly integrates topics such as coming to terms with one’s past and the importance of forgiveness into another beautifully crafted, exceptionally poignant love story.”

  —Library Journal on Discovering You

  “This Heart of Mine had such beautiful details that it captured my full attention—and had me sniffling and smiling while waiting to board my plane.”

  —First for Women

  “This Heart of Mine is a potently emotional, powerfully life-affirming contemporary romance.”

  —Booklist (starred review)

  Also from Brenda Novak and MIRA Books

  BEFORE WE WERE STRANGERS

  RIGHT WHERE WE BELONG

  UNTIL YOU LOVED ME

  NO ONE BUT YOU

  FINDING OUR FOREVER

  THE SECRETS SHE KEPT

  A WINTER WEDDING

  THE SECRET SISTER

  THIS HEART OF MINE

  THE HEART OF CHRISTMAS

  COME HOME TO ME

  TAKE ME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

  HOME TO WHISKEY CREEK

  WHEN SUMMER COMES

  WHEN SNOW FALLS

  WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES

  IN CLOSE

  IN SECONDS

  INSIDE

  KILLER HEAT

  BODY HEAT

  WHITE HEAT

  THE PERFECT MURDER

  THE PERFECT LIAR

  THE PERFECT COUPLE

  WATCH ME

  STOP ME

  TRUST ME

  DEAD RIGHT

  DEAD GIVEAWAY

  DEAD SILENCE

  COLD FEET

  TAKING THE HEAT

  EVERY WAKING MOMENT

  And look for

  CHRISTMAS IN SILVER SPRINGS,

  coming soon from MIRA Books.

  For a full list of Brenda’s books, visit BrendaNovak.com.

  Brenda Novak

  Unforgettable You

  To the packing crew that comes to my house

  two days a month to pack Brenda Novak’s

  Professional Reader Boxes, a subscription box

  service run by my daughter through my website

  featuring autographed copies of my books—

  and other authors’—as well as fun reader-related

  goodies. Thank you to Theresa Atashkar,

  Janice Bechtel, Marilou Frary, Cindy Gabriel,

  Yolanda Gliko, Leslie Henning, Dana Kelly,

  Patricia King, Danita Moon, Stephanie Novembri,

  Jan Plott, Jeri Ramos, Liz Schneider-Cheyne

  and Brittany Walton for the hard work,

  the good company, the great stories and the

  many laughs. The professional reader boxes

  wouldn’t be possible without you!

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Before We Were Strangers by Brenda Novak

  1

  Jada Brooks was pushing her brother in his wheelchair at the farmers’ market on the second weekend in June, a Saturday morning that inspired the cliché “picture perfect,” with nothing but blue skies and the usual mild Southern California weather, when she caught a glimpse of something that made her stop dead in her tracks.

  “What’s wrong?” Atticus twisted around in his seat to look up at her. It’d been thirteen years since he’d been shot, so he was accustomed to the paralysis in his lower body and could propel himself with his arms—he was adept at doing almost everything, including driving now that his truck was properly equipped—but it was more relaxing and easier to stick together in a crowd if she took over. Visiting the market while Maya, Jada’s twelve-year-old daughter, helped her grandmother at the cookie store was something they’d become accustomed to doing every now and then since Jada had divorced her husband and moved back to town three months ago.

  “I just...” Jada shook her head to clear it of the image that stubbornly remained. Surely, she was wrong about who she thought she’d seen. Maddox Richardson had left town right after she’d gotten pregnant, and there was nothing to draw him back. It wasn’t as if he had family in the area, like she did. The only reason he’d moved to Silver Springs in the first place was because he’d been sent by the courts to attend New Horizons Boys Ranch, a boarding school for troubled teens. And when he left, it was because he’d been enrolled at a different school somewhere else, somewhere she was never even told. After that terrible night, Maddox had essentially been banished at the request and expense of her parents, which hadn’t been an easy thing to accomplish given all the red tape his mother had had to go through in order to accommodate them.

  Whether forcing Maddox to go somewhere else was fair to him was another subject entirely. Jada tried not to think about that. She tried not to think about Maddox at all.

&nbsp
; Too bad she wasn’t more successful at it. So many little things brought him to mind, especially now that she was living where she’d gotten to know him. Someone who slightly resembled him or laughed like him or had the same cerulean blue eyes. Even a particular song or smell could bring him back to her. His life had intersected with hers in a way she would never forget—both for good and bad.

  “Jada?” Atticus prompted.

  She blinked, realizing she’d let her words trail off, but continued to study the crowd around her. Maddox wasn’t there. It must’ve been someone of his general size and shape with the same jet-black hair, but she couldn’t see anyone who resembled him now. Whoever it was had melted back into the crowd jostling around them.

  “It’s nothing.” She forced a smile and started pushing again. She couldn’t mention Maddox’s name to Atticus, regardless.

  “Should we get some kale for our morning smoothies?” Atticus asked.

  He still lived with their mother, had never even been in a serious relationship and talked as though he had no plans for that sort of thing. Although Jada had spent all the years since she’d had Maya in LA, she hadn’t rented a place of her own since returning to Silver Springs, so she and Maya were currently living with her mother, too. She’d been trying to find the right situation to be able to move out, but there weren’t a lot of homes for rent in this artsy, outdoorsy, spiritually focused community, and with her mother sick so often these days, Jada was needed at home.

  It’d be different if her father was still around, but...

  She steered her mind away from Jeremiah. Losing him earlier in the year to a stroke when he was only fifty-five had not been easy, especially because she felt she’d let him down so terribly and never had the chance to make it up to him, as she was trying to do with her mother and brother.

  “Sure,” she said about the kale. “Maybe it’ll boost Mom’s immune system. It’s supposed to be really good for you.”

  Pausing in front of the closest stand, she chose a particularly healthy-looking bunch of leafy greens and was just handing the vendor her money when she heard her name.

  She turned to see Tiffany Martinez, a friend she’d gone to school with from fifth grade on, hurrying toward her in a short-sleeved, button-down blouse, sandals and shorts, similar to what she was wearing herself. Because Jada had had a baby just as everyone else was going off to college, her life had taken a completely different course, one that had put her out of sync with the group of friends she’d grown up with. For the first several years after moving to LA, she’d felt overlooked, abandoned, left behind, while everyone else went away to college and documented all the fun they had on social media. Watching them on her computer while struggling to raise a child when she was barely more than a child herself had only made that period of her life harder. But Tiffany had always been supportive and remained in touch. And everything was changing now that so many of their other friends were getting married and having children. Jada had been able to reconnect with several who still lived in the area.

  Tiffany would always be her favorite, though. She was also the only one who knew Jada’s most guarded secret.

  “Hey, Tiff.” She put the kale into her reusable tote and hung it on the back of Atticus’s wheelchair. Jada had told Tiffany she was going to the farmers’ market when they spoke on the phone last night, which was what had prompted Tiffany to come, too. Like Jada, she was recently divorced, only she didn’t have any kids, so she was always looking for things to do when she wasn’t working at the regional hospital as a nurse. They would’ve come together—they did a lot together—but Tiffany hadn’t wanted to change the chemistry of Jada’s morning with Atticus. “Glad you made it.”

  “I’ve been here for a while. I was just leaving when...” She tucked her curly red hair behind her ears as her eyes—so green and clear they were almost startling—darted to Atticus, a captive audience in his chair. “When I saw something that... Well, that reminded me of you and made me wonder if you were still here.”

  So Tiffany hadn’t accidentally spotted her and come over to say hello? She’d come looking for her? “What was it?”

  Again, Tiffany glanced uncomfortably at Atticus. “A person actually. Someone we knew a...a while ago.”

  Jada’s heart began to pound as her friend’s behavior connected with the scare she’d had only a few minutes earlier. With the way Tiffany was acting, so flustered and overly aware of Atticus listening in... “Atticus, would you mind grabbing some purple onions while I talk to Tiffany?”

  “Sure. No problem.” Seemingly relieved to escape the girl talk, he rolled away as Jada led Tiffany a few feet in the other direction, just to be safe.

  “What is it?” she whispered. “Why do you look as though the world’s about to come to an end?”

  Tiffany grabbed her forearms. “You don’t know? You haven’t seen him?”

  Suspicion turned to outright fear. “Him? You don’t mean Maddox...”

  “That’s exactly who I mean!”

  Shit. She had seen him. The question was...had he seen her? And why was he in Silver Springs?

  Jada swallowed hard. Had he returned because he’d learned about Maya?

  That couldn’t be, could it? Her family had kept her pregnancy so quiet. She had easily been able to hide her rounding stomach beneath baggy clothes as school came to an end. Her parents had kept her home throughout the summer, her final trimester, so almost no one saw her looking unmistakably pregnant. And then she moved to LA with her newborn. Other than Tiffany, the few friends she’d kept in contact with over the years, and loosely at that, knew she’d married almost right out of high school, that she had a child and had recently divorced. But they didn’t know exactly when she’d met her husband or had Maya. Most assumed Maya belonged to her ex.

  But if anyone really pressed for details—when and where Maya was born—they could possibly put two and two together...and Jada was afraid Maddox might do exactly that.

  “Are you okay?” Tiffany asked.

  Jada felt dizzy, faint. “Why?” she asked instead of answering. “Why is he back?”

  “I don’t know. But he is. I just saw him.”

  “You’re sure it was him.”

  “Positive. There could be no mistaking Maddox Richardson.”

  Maddox had always stood out, been unique, charismatic, appealing—and sexy as hell. She’d never met a man who could make a woman feel warm and tingly simply by looking at her.

  Tiffany had also known him in school, and she clearly remembered what he was like, as well. She’d been interested in Maddox’s brother, Tobias, who wasn’t as enigmatic and appealing as Maddox but came awfully damn close, despite his terrible reputation and the behavior that had earned it. She’d been at the party that fateful night, too.

  “Did he see you?” Jada asked.

  “He did, but I don’t know if he recognized me. Our eyes connected for a second. Then he looked away and kept moving.”

  He had to have recognized Tiffany. Not many people had her shade of hair and unique, slanted green eyes. So...what did that mean?

  Tiffany bent to adjust her sandal. “Do you think Tobias is out of prison?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “He should be. He only got eight years, and it’s been thirteen.”

  “But my father told me he did something on the inside—got in a fight or found some other trouble—and they extended his sentence. I’m not sure by how much.” That was the last thing her father told her about it before he died, and she wasn’t willing to ask her mother, wasn’t willing to go anywhere near the subject with her.

  Tiffany looked as conflicted as Jada felt. “I wonder what he’s like now...”

  “I can’t imagine prison has improved him. I have no idea what the past thirteen years have done to Maddox, either.”

  “You two have had no contact?”

/>   “None whatsoever. You know that. But I thought I saw him, too, a few minutes ago. I’d just talked myself out of it when you came up.”

  Tiffany looked back over her shoulder. “I’m sorry. You can’t be happy about this.”

  Jada was facing the opposite direction. She could see that her brother was still paying for the onions. Maddox was nowhere in sight. “I’m not,” she said. And yet there was a small, rebellious part of her that was feeling an unwarranted rush of excitement and expectation. What did Maddox look like these days? What was he up to? Had he gotten married? Was he happy?

  She’d often tried to look him up, had been dying—for years—to catch a glimpse of him or find out the smallest detail of what was happening in his life. But he wasn’t on social media.

  “What will you say to him?” Tiffany asked.

  Jada had no idea. What could she say to him? If she’d never gotten involved with him, her brother would be a fully functioning adult. “I’m going to avoid him, if I can.” Because of Maya, that was the smartest way to handle the situation. If she drew Maddox’s attention, he might figure out the truth—if something or someone hadn’t tipped him off already.

  “That’s probably for the best,” Tiffany agreed. “The mountains and hills that close off this area make Silver Springs feel like such a small town. But there are seven thousand people here. That’s not so small that everyone knows everyone else. You might get lucky and never cross paths with him.”

  That wasn’t very likely. She was running her mother’s cookie store downtown much of the time. They’d at least see each other. Unless...

  “Hopefully, he won’t be staying long,” Jada murmured, but she couldn’t be totally committed to wishing him gone. She’d loved him so much, hadn’t felt anything even half as powerful since, which was a sad testament to what her marriage had been like. She’d screwed up her life in so many ways—dating the boy her parents had warned her not to get involved with, getting pregnant at seventeen, marrying the wrong man while rushing to find the same kind of all-consuming love she’d lost. And now, just when she was putting the past into perspective and settling in to rebuild—slowly and with some caution this time—Maddox popped up in Silver Springs?