Contemporary Nominee: All the Way Back

All the Way Back
By Cindy Spencer Pape
A Wayback, Texas story
From The Wild Rose Press
Buy link: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=50&zenid=80060d1da8ddfcbbfca5f4c122de68b1

Blurb: Drew Lawson left Wayback for the army a long time ago. Now he’s back, a little older and a lot wiser, but the past still haunts him. Music teacher Annie Zykov had a crush on Drew when she was a kid, but what she feels for the man is something else entirely. With Annie’s help, can Drew come to grips with his past and learn to face the future? Is love what it takes to bring him All the Way Back?


Excerpt 1 (PG):
“Would you like to dance?”

The band was playing an old George Jones song, slow and sweet. Annie nodded and set her hand into his, totally unprepared for the jolt of electricity that jangled her nerves. His hand was warm and strong and rough—whatever he’d done for the military, it hadn’t been a desk job. She swallowed hard and let him lead her onto the dance floor and draw her close.

One big hand settled at the small of her back while the other clasped hers. Her head tucked under his chin and her cheek rested against the broad plane of his chest. She inhaled his scent—warm, slightly spicy, and all male.

“I haven’t done this in a long time,” he murmured. His breath stirred her hair. “I’ll try not to step on your toes.”

“It seems to be coming back to you just fine,” she replied.

His movements were sure and graceful, in perfect time with the music. She closed her eyes and began to quietly hum along to the music.

“Why didn’t I ever know you could sing?” he asked. “You must be pretty good at it to teach it for a living.”

She shrugged against his chest. “I do okay—I’m no Gretchen Wilson, but I don’t usually send people screaming, either. I didn’t really start taking it seriously, though, until high school. When I was younger, it was just something I did at Sunday school, or singing along with the radio. I sure wouldn’t have tried to sing in front of my brother or his cute friends—I was trying to hang out with you guys—not be laughed at.”

“Were we that mean to you, Little Bit?” he asked with a warm chuckle that made his chest vibrate against her cheek. “Kids can be rotten to each other, but I’d hate to think we hurt you.”

“Nah. You didn’t have a mean bone in your body, Drew. I don’t believe you have it in you to deliberately hurt anyone.”

He stopped moving. His whole body stiffened, as if she’d just belted him with a cast iron pan. His hands tightened convulsively, then he inhaled a deep breath and slowly relaxed his muscles. “You’d be surprised, darlin’, what a man like me is capable of.”