When Hearts Collide E-Book

Lorana Hoopes

• Herausgeber: Lorana Hoopes
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Amanda Adams has always been a Christian, but she's a novice at relationships. Her first year in college, she falls for a man she believes cares about her, but he has ulterior motives. Does she miss the signs because of her toxic roommate or for some other reason?
Jess Peterson has lived a life of abuse and lost her self worth, but when she meets Amanda, she begins to wonder if there is a loving father looking down on her. Her decisions lead her one way, but when she ends up pregnant, she must make some major changes. Plus, she finds she now has to be the rock for Amanda after her faith is shaken.
The third book in the Heartbeats series, this one is a must read for mothers and girls heading to college. Though part of the series, it is a stand alone book and can be read separately.

Leseprobe

When Hearts Collide

A Heartbeats Novel

Lorana Hoopes

Olympia

When Hearts Collide © Lorana Hoopes. All Rights Reserved, except where otherwise noted.

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Dedication

When Hearts Collide is dedicated first and foremost to my family who give me inspiration daily.

To Jason, April, Amy, Beth, and Susan who read it first and gave me ideas to improve it.

To Ryann Woods who doesn’t agree with my stance but supports my writing anyway.

To my readers at eatprayvote.org who give me the encouragement to keep writing.

To Vicovers who designed my wonderful cover for this book, The Power of Prayer, and A Father’s Love- coming soon. Thank you for the amazing work.

To Lori, Shelly, Kristy, Michelle, Meadow and everyone who has read my books and recommended them to others. I thank you.

Contents

DedicationIntroduction 1. Jess - October 2016 2. Amanda - September 2016- The Arrival 3. Jess - The Arrival 4. Amanda - The First Day 5. Jess - The First Week 6. Amanda - A Chance Meeting 7. Jess - The Questions 8. Amanda - The Meeting 9. Jess - Seeds of Doubt 10. Amanda - Too Good To Be True? 11. Jess - The Change 12. Amanda - Late October - Disaster Strikes 13. Jess - Hope for Healing 14. Amanda - Not The Only One 15. Jess - The Road Trip 16. Amanda - Back Home 17. Jess - Seeking Advice 18. Amanda - Telling The Secret 19. Jess - Reality Strikes 20. Amanda - The Book 21. Jess - The Next Steps 22. Amanda - A New Beginning 23. Jess - The Past Returns 24. Amanda - Facing Your Fears 25. Jess - Making Amends 26. Amanda - Thanksgiving 27. Jess - Christmas 28. Amanda - The Trial 29. Jess - The Final MonthsAppendix

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Introduction

Thank you for picking up your copy of When Hearts Collide. I hope you love it and the rest of the books in the series. As a thank you, I’d like to offer you a free gift. I’d like to offer you an advance sample of my new series. You’ll receive the first half of When Love Returns when you sign up for my newsletter. I hope you’ll love both series, and if you do, reviews are always appreciated.

-Lorana Hoopes Be sure to check out my other full length novels:

The Power of Prayer

Where It All Began

A Father’s Love

When Love Returns

Emerging reader chapter book – The Wishing Stone

1

Jess - October 2016

Fear covered me like a blanket. The music that had been uplifting now pounded a drum of dread in my heart. Why did it have to be so loud? I pulled desperately on the arm of a nearby boy, spilling some of his beer. “Where’s Amanda?” He rolled his eyes, cursing a little at his spilled beer, and shrugged me off. I turned to another, who gave me the same response. My heart pounded like a freight train in my chest as my eyes tore wildly around the room. I had known this was a bad idea; though there had been no vision, a malevolent feeling had burned in my gut. If my past had taught me anything, it was that I was becoming a good judge of character, and something about Caleb had just seemed off.

The crowd of bodies pressed against me, surging to the beats of the pulsing music. Sweat from those around me joined my own, trickling down my back. I pushed back, fighting my way to the other end of the house where the bathroom and bedrooms lay. He had to have taken her to one of them. A hand grabbed my wrist, and I whirled on a blond surfer type with long hair. At the sight of the fire burning out of my eyes, he let go, holding his hands up in apology. A tipsy blond fell into me, and I shoved her to the side. The bathroom door loomed just ahead.

“Amanda?” I pounded on the white wooden door. “Amanda, open up if you’re in there.” The pounding of my heart was now reverberating in my head, creating a pounding headache that made my eyes hurt.

The lock clicked, and the door opened. A thin brunette in a mini skirt and crop top stumbled out. “There’s no Amanda here.” Her words were a slur, and her brown eyes barely focused on me.

I grabbed the girl’s thin shoulders and shook her. “Have you seen her? Red hair? She would have been with Caleb West.”

The girl shook her head and fell into the wall as soon as I released her. Rolling my eyes, I pushed past the girl and opened the first bedroom door. A couple was entwined on the bed, but the girl had blond hair and the face of the man didn’t belong to Caleb.

“Sorry,” I pulled the door shut and moved on the next one. Another couple was heavily involved on this bed too, but again no Amanda.

The next door was locked. This had to be the one. I rattled the handle, but to no avail. “Amanda?” I pounded on the door. “Hey, can you open this?” I grabbed the arm of a nearby male and pointed at the door.

“Sorry, I don’t live here.” The man shrugged and walked away.

“Argh!” I turned back to the door and rammed my slim frame into it. The door didn’t budge.  Perhaps a kick would work. I took a step back and planted a perfect front kick. I felt the reverberation up my leg, but not even a tremor from the door. Cursing my weakness, I looked around for anything to wedge in the door. Would they have a crowbar in the house? Would anyone have one in their car?

“Jess!” At the sound of my name, I whirled around. Jared was fighting his way to me through the crowd. Thank goodness, he had seen my text. A glance at my watch revealed ten minutes had passed since I had texted him when I’d first lost sight of Amanda. I hadn’t trusted even for a moment that she was just getting air somewhere, not with the premonition I’d had. Jared’s disheveled appearance said he’d either just woken up or thrown on clothes in a hurry or both. “Where is she?”

I shook my head, the fear constricting my vocal chords and making them sound higher than normal. “I don’t know. She was right with me, and then I ran into a friend and started talking. They said they were going to get a drink, but when I turned around again, she was gone. It’s my fault.”

“It’s not,” – he ran a hand through his sandy hair – “but we have to find her.” Anger and fear radiated off Jared in waves, and I wondered what else he knew.

“I’ve already checked those two rooms, but this one’s locked.”

“Step aside.” His eyes were wild, the eyes of a man in love.

Acquiescing, I stepped to the side, and Jared pounded on the door. Still no answer came from the other side. He took a step back and rammed the door with his shoulder. This time the wood did tremble, but the door stayed locked. Jared took another step back and rammed the door again. A wonderful terrible splintering sound of wood echoed, and the door opened.  I rushed past Jared into the room.

Amanda lay sprawled on the bed. Her shirt was open and her pants were undone, but still on. As Jared entered, I looked up long enough to yell for him to find Caleb; then I returned my focus to Amanda. Her scared eyes flicked back and forth.

Pulling on the comforter, I wrapped it around her. “Can you move?” No head shake, but Amanda’s eyes moved left and then right. “Okay, it’s going to be okay. We’ll get you out of here. Any sign?”

Jared crossed to the bed. “No, the window is open, but he’s gone.” A tear slid out of Amanda’s eyes. “Don’t worry, we’ll find him. He won’t get away with this.” Jared patted her hair tenderly and wiped the tear from her cheek. Then he scooped her up and headed back out the door. “Let’s get her to the hospital.”

“An ambulance is on its way,” I replied, ending the call to 911 on my cell phone.

Jared nodded as he pushed his way through the crowd. A few people turned to gawk at us, but most were oblivious and kept dancing to the loud beats or tipping back their drinks. I shook my head as disgust boiled inside me and followed Jared out of the house and into the cool night air. The change in temperature sent a shiver down my spine as the cool air licked up the wet sweat dripping down my neck.

The ambulance roared up moments later. The EMTs clamored out and took Amanda from Jared, strapping her onto a gurney. As they loaded her into the back, I climbed in.

“There’s only room for one,” the EMT said as Jared attempted to climb in too. “Besides, the cops want a statement.” He pointed to the police car pulling up.

“Go. I’ll stay with her, and when you’re done, we can switch,” I said.

I could see the fight in his eyes. He didn’t want to leave her, but finally he swallowed and nodded. As he stepped down, the ambulance doors closed and the movement of the vehicle jerked me to the right.  I grabbed one of Amanda’s hands and sent a prayer up. Please God let her be okay, please God. I had no other words, and as prayer was still so new to me, I could only hope God was hearing my heart, which felt like it was beating out of my chest. Though I’d only known her a few months, Amanda was quickly becoming a close friend, maybe the first good friend I’d ever had.

The ambulance braked, and I fell forward a little. Cool air rushed in as the back doors opened and doctors took over the gurney Amanda was on. I clambered out of the back and hurried to keep up with them.

“Amanda? I’m Dr. Patrick, can you tell me what happened?”

“She can’t,” I spoke up. “I’m pretty sure she was drugged.”

The dark-haired doctor turned to me. “And you are?”

“I’m Jess. I’m her roommate, and I found her. Her eyes were open and seemed responsive, but she couldn’t even shake her head.”

“Okay, we’ll take it from here. You can wait over there.” He pointed to the waiting area. I wanted to protest, but I knew from the look in his eyes that it would fall on deaf ears, so I nodded and stumbled over to a gray, vinyl chair. As I sank down, my muscles gave out and the tears started falling.

I didn’t even bother to brush them away; I hated myself too much. I should have told Amanda no. I should have stopped her. Curling my knees to my chest, I wished I could turn back the clock.

“Hey, are you okay?”

I jumped at the touch to my shoulder ready to lash out at the intrusion, but relaxed when the green eyes I saw belonged to Jared. “Yeah, I guess I’m alright. How are you?”

He sighed as he sat next to me and ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve been better. They asked me a lot of questions. I couldn’t answer most of them, so they’ll be looking to talk to you too. But I told them what little I could about Caleb. How is she doing?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “They whisked her away pretty quickly and haven’t been back out yet. I’m so worried, Jared.”

“I am too,” he nodded, “but the best thing we can do right now is pray.” He took my hand, and we closed our eyes. “Father, our friend Amanda needs your help right now. Please be with her and give the doctors the knowledge to treat her. Lord also help us know how to help her in the future.”

“Amen,” we said together. He let go of my hand and draped his arm across my shoulder, pulling me into his chest. I buried my head and the tears I thought had dried up, renewed their trek down my cheeks in military fashion. She’d better be okay, or I would never forgive myself. Never.

2

Amanda - September 2016- The Arrival

I stared at the tiny gray room and sighed. This was going to be my new home away from home, and it was kind of depressing.

“Well, it’s got a lot of potential,” my mother said with a false brightness as she looked around. I raised my eyebrows at her. Potential? Maybe for a horror movie. Boring white walls dotted with a myriad of holes boxed the room in. Two small brown dressers with two drawers each separated two bare mattresses on metal frames.

Rolling my suitcase into the room, I hoisted it onto the left bed. A groaning cacophony of creaks greeted me, sending a shiver down my spine. I crossed to the right bed and pushed on it, hoping for a better outcome, but a similar sound resounded. “Right, potential.” Crossing my arms, I let out another sigh and surveyed the rest of the room. Two small closets framed either side of the doorway. One wall held a study desk and the other held a small sink and vanity with a cloudy mirror.