THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) * Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England * Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) * Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) * Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India * Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) * Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
“In a Heartbeat” previously appeared in
Sweet Hearts
, published by Diamond Books, a division of The Berkley Publishing Group.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are 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. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
IN A HEARTBEAT
A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with the author
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley eSpecial edition / July 2012
Copyright © 1993 by Jodi Koumalats.
Excerpt from
Wild Texas Rose
by Jodi Thomas copyright © 2012 by Jodi Koumalats.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ISBN: 978-1-101-56769-2
BERKLEY ®
Berkley Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
BERKLEY ® is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Dear Reader,
I would like to wish you a Valentine’s Day full of love and laughter.
February fourteenth always reminds me of the first time I fell in love. I was seventeen and had one goal in life: to get a date before I got out of high school. The teacher lectured that Valentine’s Day in senior English about love and marriage. She asked a tall, thin boy in the row next to me when he planned to marry.
“I don’t,” Tommy told her. “I think it would interfere with my career. I want to go to college.”
I’d been trying to talk to Tommy all semester and saw this as my chance. I leaned over and said, “Bet you ten bucks you’re married by the ten-year reunion.”
We made the bet with everyone in class as witness.
Ten years later, he paid up. I’d married Tom when we were seniors in college. He was my first love and we’ve been happily married for twenty-two years. When I started writing about love, there could be no other pen name than Thomas.
Which leads me to my story.
Texas was a lonely place for the soldiers who fought along the frontier line, and Fort Griffin was no exception. My family and I stopped by the remains of the old fort one winter day in 1990. Longhorns now graze on the parade grounds and only a few bricks from each building still remain.
A park ranger was kind enough to show us every detail of the fort.
When he seemed reluctant for us to leave, I asked, “Are we your first visitors today?”
“Lady,” he answered,
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) * Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England * Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) * Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) * Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India * Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) * Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
“In a Heartbeat” previously appeared in
Sweet Hearts
, published by Diamond Books, a division of The Berkley Publishing Group.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are 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. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
IN A HEARTBEAT
A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with the author
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley eSpecial edition / July 2012
Copyright © 1993 by Jodi Koumalats.
Excerpt from
Wild Texas Rose
by Jodi Thomas copyright © 2012 by Jodi Koumalats.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ISBN: 978-1-101-56769-2
BERKLEY ®
Berkley Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
BERKLEY ® is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Dear Reader,
I would like to wish you a Valentine’s Day full of love and laughter.
February fourteenth always reminds me of the first time I fell in love. I was seventeen and had one goal in life: to get a date before I got out of high school. The teacher lectured that Valentine’s Day in senior English about love and marriage. She asked a tall, thin boy in the row next to me when he planned to marry.
“I don’t,” Tommy told her. “I think it would interfere with my career. I want to go to college.”
I’d been trying to talk to Tommy all semester and saw this as my chance. I leaned over and said, “Bet you ten bucks you’re married by the ten-year reunion.”
We made the bet with everyone in class as witness.
Ten years later, he paid up. I’d married Tom when we were seniors in college. He was my first love and we’ve been happily married for twenty-two years. When I started writing about love, there could be no other pen name than Thomas.
Which leads me to my story.
Texas was a lonely place for the soldiers who fought along the frontier line, and Fort Griffin was no exception. My family and I stopped by the remains of the old fort one winter day in 1990. Longhorns now graze on the parade grounds and only a few bricks from each building still remain.
A park ranger was kind enough to show us every detail of the fort.
When he seemed reluctant for us to leave, I asked, “Are we your first visitors today?”
“Lady,” he answered,
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