Leave the Light On E-Book

Lorhainne Eckhart

• Herausgeber: Lorhainne Eckhart, INC.
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: The Friessens
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 153

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

When the unthinkable happens. A family's life is changed forever.
Katy and Steven have settled in their new home, with a new job, a new life, and a baby on the way. Everything for this young couple is perfect—that is, until the night Steven makes a quick trip to the grocery store for his pregnant wife. As the sun rises and Katy wakes, she soon discovers that Steven never made it home

Leseprobe

Leave the Light On

COPYRIGHT © Lorhainne Ekelund, 2016. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Contact Information: [email protected]

ISBN: 978-1-928085-48-5

Leave the Light On

The Friessens

Lorhainne Eckhart

www.LorhainneEckhart.com

Contents

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Leave the Light On

The Friessen Family Series Reading order:

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

Epilogue

The Friessens are back!

What’s coming next

Other Works Available

Other Works Available

The One

About the Author

Links to Lorhainne Eckhart’s Booklist

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Leave the Light On

When the unthinkable happens a family’s life is changed forever.

Katy and Steven have settled in their new home, with a new job, a new life, and a baby on the way. Everything for this young couple is perfect—that is, until the night Steven makes a quick trip to the grocery store for his pregnant wife. As the sun rises and Katy wakes, she soon discovers that Steven never made it home

The Friessen Family Series Reading order:

Click here to download the complete Friessen Legacy Series checklist and series reading order

The Outsider Series

The Forgotten Child (Brad and Emily)

A Baby And A Wedding

Fallen Hero (Andy, Jed, and Diana)

The Search

The Awakening (Andy and Laura)

Secrets (Jed and Diana)

Runaway (Andy and Laura)

Overdue

The Unexpected Storm (Neil and Candy)

The Wedding (Neil and Candy)

The Friessens: A New Beginning

The Deadline (Andy and Laura)

The Price to Love (Neil and Candy)

A Different Kind of Love (Brad and Emily)

A Vow of Love, A Friessen Family Christmas

The Friessens

The Reunion

The Bloodline (Andy & Laura)

The Promise (Diana & Jed)

The Business Plan (Neil & Candy)

The Decision (Brad & Emily)

First Love (Katy)

Family First

Leave the Light On

In the Moment

In the Family: A Friessen Family Christmas

In the Silence

In the Stars

In the Charm

Unexpected Consequences

It Was Always You

The First Time I Saw You

Welcome to My Arms

Welcome to Boston

I’ll Always Love You

Ground Rules

A Reason to Breathe

You Are My Everything

Want to know how all the series are linked? Stop by my blog for all the details: http://www.lorhainneeckhart.com/what-is-the-reading-order-of-your-books/

Chapter 1

Maybe moving to a new home, a new place, wasn’t so bad after all. Katy seriously had admitted as much to herself and was at times now surprised by her reaction, given she’d basically put her foot down with Steven when he’d started to look for a job outside Hoquiam. She took in their house, which she still couldn’t believe Steven had been able to afford, even though it was a small two bedroom, one bath. The loft was their master bedroom, with a huge en suite, which was one of the reasons why she loved this house so much. Tiny details showed the love and care that had been put into its construction, from the open beams, to the granite counters, to the hardwood floors, to the high ceilings and large rooms. It was on a quiet suburban street with a huge cherry tree in front.

It was cute, it was theirs, and it was perfect.

She knew her dad and Dez, Steven’s father, had both stepped in to help with the down payment and cosign the loan so Steven could buy a home and not have to pay rent on some rundown shack that would have cost more than their monthly mortgage payment. Although Steven hadn’t been keen on the handout, he had taken it as a loan and fully intended to pay every penny back. That, she knew with certainty, he would in fact make his first priority. It was just who Steven was.

Her dad and Dez had both been surprised at his candor, knowing well that Steven would walk away from the deal if they refused his repayment plan. Katy, this time, after learning her lesson, had kept her mouth shut. Pride was a funny thing with men.

“Katy, I’ve got to go,” Steven called out. She could hear him on the stairs, the third one from the bottom, which always creaked. She smiled because it was becoming so familiar after four months of living there.

“In the kitchen,” she called out as he appeared in the white rounded archway. Their kitchen had tons of cupboards, lots of counter space, and a separate eating area they’d yet to buy a table for. They had sold all their second-hand furniture from Hoquiam and had bought a new bed, a used deep green sectional that appeared brand new, and a new flat-screen TV. Everything else they’d buy a little at a time. The kitchen table was on the list after the baby stuff.

“What are you doing?” Steven was staring at the mess of papers piled on the counter from the box she’d emptied.

“I’m going through this last box, the one you didn’t want to deal with that has been sitting in that corner for months.” She hadn’t wanted to, either, considering they’d tossed every scrap of paper, envelope, and piece of junk they didn’t have a clue what to do with inside. How could they have collected all this in such a short time? She couldn’t believe they had packed menus for pizza and Chinese takeout places from another state where they didn’t live anymore.

Steven leaned around her. He was so tall and filling out more and more, with his broad shoulders, flat stomach, and chest showing the heavy labor he did every day. He took in the pile of papers and junk and then looked around, seeming as interested in it as he had been two months before when they’d both argued over who was going to sort it.

“Anything in there we need?” He picked up a piece of junk mail and tossed it into the garbage. He was in work pants, the heavy cargo ones, and a long-sleeved navy shirt, with the down vest he wore every day to the site pulled over top. “May as well just dump all of it,” he said as he reached for the rest of the papers, clips and all, and dumped them into the white plastic garbage bin. “Anyway, I’ll be back at about five tonight. Should have enough time to shower and change before we have to go for dinner.”

He was giving all his attention now to what remained in the box, and he even reached in and lifted out a box of waterproof matches. Katy was staring at him because she was still stuck on “dinner.”

“Are we going somewhere?” she said.

He was distracted, staring at those damn matches. When he glanced up, his dark lashes framed his deep brown eyes. His hair was starting to curl on the ends. He needed a cut. “Yeah, Vic’s having a dinner tonight. I told you.”

Actually, no, he hadn’t. She watched him frown as he pulled out his phone and thumbed through the screen before pressing it to his ear.

“Hey, Al,” he said. “Listen, I just remembered…” Then he was walking away, his head where it always was: on work, wiring, the new job, the huge commercial building they’d been working on for the past three weeks. It was something that had excited Steven and taken him from Katy, with long hours, great pay, and the need for all his focus.

She ran her hand over her small baby bump, which was starting to stick out more and more. She was now preferring the comfort of sweats to her jeans, which were fitting a little snug.

Then he was back, leaning in. “I’ve got to go,” he said, and he kissed her. It was the quick, rushed, hurried goodbye that was becoming a pattern.

“Whoa, wait a second! You never told me about dinner at your boss’s. What the heck am I supposed to wear? Is it formal, dress up, or just jeans, and who’s going to be there?” Of course she was freaking out. Vic McCabe was tall and dark haired, and he reminded her so much of her uncle Neil, not so much in looks but in that he had the same dark brooding quality. Add to that a whole lot of mystery, and the man scared the hell out of her. He seemed to exude power and calm at the same time. Even though he was so much older, her uncle’s age, Katy was sure women flocked to him. And his eyes…the way he watched everyone and took everything in as if knowing people’s most intimate secrets and so much more, it was damn uncomfortable.

“Of course I did, last week. You must have forgot. Listen, just be ready. Wear something nice but not fancy. It’s just a casual dinner, with my boss and a few others from work, I’m sure.”

She wanted to argue with him, but he was so rushed. She could feel her jaw slacken.

“Listen, I really do have to go,” he said, then ran his hand over the swell of the baby as he kissed her again. She was pulled into how good he smelled. “What are you up to today?” he said, and it seemed so much an afterthought, something he thought he was supposed to ask. Did he really want to know?

“Looking for a job?” she said, putting it out there again. It was something she’d been doing a lot of lately with all the time she had on her hands, but her noticeable five-month pregnant bump was having prospective employers turning her away before she finished any applications, which had been mostly at coffee houses. She was still stuck on what she really wanted to do.

Maybe it was the way she said it that had him smiling. “Yeah, right. Listen, we’ve talked about this. You only have a few months until the baby is born. I make great money here with this job, you know that, so why don’t you just not? Just take it easy since you’re going to be home with the baby anyway.” Then he kissed her again, and it was so dismissive that for the first time, she stiffened her back, feeling slighted.

“Remember, be ready when I get home,” he called out to her. Then he was out the door and driving away in his small Cavalier, which was sounding rough.

Katy was still standing in the kitchen, stuck on how much his comment had bothered her. Before they were married, this had been exactly what they both wanted, but now Katy couldn’t help shaking the feeling that there was something she could be missing.

Maybe all this free time she had was making her just a little stir crazy, with no family here and nothing but an empty house, a new town.

Yeah, that had to be it.

Chapter 2

Steven loved his job. In fact, this was the first time he had woken up in the morning and wanted to leap from bed. He looked forward to getting to the job site and working under the head electrician, Al Brown. The man was a mix of Latino and Scottish, medium height and build, with hair so dark it was almost black and a mustache threaded with gray. He was direct, knowledgeable, a sharp contrast to the easy, laid-back electrician in Hoquiam, Hank Miller, whom he’d started his apprenticeship under. Steven was no longer just running wires, cable boxes, and lighting; he was learning all aspects of electrical work, which included circuits and switches and everything complicated.

His boss took time every day to teach him something new. It was challenging and exciting, and it was the first time he’d felt so important, as if the company considered his training necessary. He was still apprenticing, and he felt the company seriously took teaching him to heart, but even better was the salary he received, which he still couldn’t believe was equal to if not better than the standard rate for fully fledged electricians. His new toolset also belonged to this company and had been provided to him.

He heard a tap on the open door behind him and glanced away from the socket, lifting his screwdriver out as Vic McCabe, the owner and CEO of McCabe Contracting, strode in over the half-completed floor. He was wearing dark blue jeans and a gray sweatshirt with a team logo on the back, and he had sawdust in his thick dark hair and a dark shadow on his face as if he hadn’t shaved in a day or two. The way he carried himself, so tall and solid, hinted at his past practicing martial arts, or so Steven had been told. Either way, it showed.

“Mr. McCabe.” Steven stood up, bumping his head on a two-by-four jutting out. “Ouch.” His hand went to the spot he’d jabbed.

“Oh, you okay? And it’s Vic, remember?” The man made a face in sympathy, and Steven felt like an idiot.

“Yeah, sorry, I’m just…” What could he say? His boss had surprised the hell out of him, and he was worried he’d done something wrong. Now he was acting like he couldn’t put two intelligent words together, and Vic just stood there watching him. It was unnerving, at times, how intense he could be. He was a man who was direct, to the point, and he didn’t use a lot of words to say what he needed to. It was something Steven appreciated, but at the same time it twisted his guts into knots because he didn’t know what to expect from the man.

“And stop saying you’re sorry,” Vic finally said. “Just stopped in to check on you, see how the job is going, see if you need anything.”

Seriously? Steven couldn’t believe how Vic seemed to go out of his way with him. It wasn’t lost on him that he didn’t do the same with all his hundreds of employees, or so he suspected, and Steven was virtually at the bottom of the totem pole.

“No, I’m great. I’m really enjoying this job. Wanted to thank you again…”

Vic was already waving him off. Maybe he’d heard it too much, so of course Steven shut his mouth. Every time he had seen Vic, he’d thanked him again for this amazing opportunity.

“How’s that pretty wife of yours?” Vic asked, taking a look around at what still needed to be finished, considering it was basically still steel beams, wiring, concrete flooring, and debris from the contractors everywhere. It was a big job, a huge contract, and Vic was a man who seemed to be taking on the world one city at a time.

“Katy’s fine, looking forward to coming tonight.” That was a lie, considering she’d forgotten, or maybe he had forgotten to mention it. He was having a hard time remembering whether he’d told her two or three nights ago. Every day was starting to blur one into the next, and what the hell did he and Katy even talk about anymore? He’d put everything into this job, all his time, his focus, his attention.

“Good. Considering her uncle and I go way back, I wouldn’t want this move out here not to work out for both of you.”

The comment had Steven pausing a second and considering.

“The house is good?” Vic gestured as if prompting him to elaborate.

“Really nice! Didn’t expect to have something like that so soon. Honestly, Katy and I never have seen ourselves living in town, but we never realized how nice it is here in Salem. So yes, we’re very happy.” Good grief, he was rambling. Shut up!

Vic smiled, and it wasn’t something he did often. Maybe that was why Steven worried. Vic was a hard man to read.

“Great,” he said. “You’ll let me know if something isn’t working?”

What an odd response. Steven was about to ask whether Vic checked in with all his new employees, but even he wasn’t that stupid. “Sure,” he said.

Vic just watched Steven again for a second that seemed to drag on forever, then turned away. He took a step before turning back. “Oh, and dinner tonight, come at seven. I’ll text you my address, but just wanted to mention, don’t share it with anyone. I don’t give out my address to just anybody. I’m private and like to keep it that way.”

“Of course” was all Steven could think to say as he watched Vic walk away, now curious as to why this mysterious man seemed so reclusive. Then his phone dinged, and when he pulled it from his pocket, he noted Vic’s address, in a part of town where he’d never been. Yeah, tonight was going to be interesting.

Chapter 3

“So where exactly does your