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If they hadn’t lost the girl, Meg wouldn’t have found Jack...
She hadn’t hesitated to take in Sabra, her daughter’s pregnant best friend. Yet maybe that was Meg Harper’s first mistake. It was hard enough raising one teen, but two? And now the girl has disappeared. Because Meg’s the responsible adult, police suspicion falls on her. Which brings her entirely too close to Detective Jack Moore. The man’s clearly attracted to her, but she hasn’t been in a relationship in years and she doesn’t even remember how to begin. Her past is...complicated. One thing she does know: she absolutely doesn’t want Jack to be her second mistake. Her heart couldn’t take it.
The sound of footsteps was followed by a lock disengaging.
The door opened a cautious crack, letting him see the woman within, every bit as hot as he’d remembered from down at the police station. The snug, faded jeans she wore gave Jack a better look at long legs and curvaceous hips. She had a redhead’s skin with a scattering of freckles over her nose and cheeks. Cinnamon and cream.
And, damn it, he needed to quit looking.
“Mrs. Harper?”
“It’s Ms.”
Which meant...what? She was divorced? Had never been married?
Irrelevant.
He pushed back his shirt to expose the badge hooked on his belt. “I’m Detective Jack Moore with Frenchman Lake Police Department. I’d like to talk to you about the disappearance of Sabra Lee.”
Sometimes I know exactly where my stories come from—an overheard conversation, a newspaper article, even one of those aha moments. Because of a Girl isn’t one of those. It came from a note I made years ago that said something unhelpful like “missing pregnant teenager.” But if I wait long enough, my subconscious moves puzzle pieces around until...they fit!
I’ve always liked teenagers. I vividly remember the sheer irrationality, the roller coaster moods, and yet the sense of limitless possibilities. All those qualities make teenagers incredibly vulnerable.
Sabra was a fun character to create in a lot of ways. She’s a diva like her mother, yet is also a good friend and maintains her dignity and confidence under circumstances that would humiliate the average fifteen-year-old girl. She’s definitely preyed upon, but holds a whole lot of responsibility for the huge trouble she gets into. She’s only in a couple of scenes, and yet everything that happens is indeed because of her—a snotty, romantic, credulous girl who changes many other lives, including those of a man and a woman who have each been alone for too long.
Hope you wince a few times when you meet Sabra Lee!
Best,
Janice
Because of a Girl
Janice Kay Johnson
An author of more than ninety books for children and adults, JANICE KAY JOHNSON writes about love and family—about the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. An eight-time finalist for a Romance Writers of America RITA® Award, she won a RITA® Award in 2008 for her Harlequin Superromance novel Snowbound. A former librarian, Janice raised two daughters in a small town north of Seattle, Washington.
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