A Defender's Heart

“It’s not for me.”

“Of course it’s for you. Couched in a client’s need, perhaps, but it’s about your win. I’m not going back down that road, Cedar.”

He swallowed. Pursed his lips so they wouldn’t open until he had himself in check. He wasn’t going to pour out his truths. Couldn’t play with her emotions that way. The turns his life had taken were personal. His alone. They weren’t to get her back. Or even to show her that he’d become a better man. He was a man who’d lost his way, and that was a shadow he would carry forever.

Dear Reader (#udc7d5650-032c-5356-81ff-d9f7219f9482),

On one hand this letter is very, very difficult to write. After twenty-five years writing for Superromance, this is my very last one. One of the very last that will ever be printed. I’m so, so thankful to all of you for your years of faithful support and following. A Defender’s Heart is everything that is TTQ and Superromance. It’s full of intense emotion—and a situation that is seemingly hopeless. And yet...there’s hope. Because that’s the bottom-line truth. Hope. It’s what I, and Superromance, have spent decades giving to you and what I pray you will take with you from our immense body of work.

A Defender’s Heart stole my heart. It’s a story of imperfect people making mistakes that aren’t just going to go away. It’s about choices. And the will to fight for what matters most, even when fighting for right might mean giving up. We’re giving up Supers; we aren’t giving up story. Love. Or hope.

And because I don’t just write fiction for entertainment, but believe wholeheartedly in the hope and love we portray in our books, I’ve got hope to leave with you! My stories are going to continue to be available to entertain you into the foreseeable future. I’ll still be right here at Harlequin, writing for Special Edition. And more great news—it looks like while Superromance is ending, The Lemonade Stand and Where Secrets are Safe are not. Stay tuned!

Tara

For Paula Eykelhof, Jane Robson, Victoria Curran and Piya Campana—I am the only one left here, and yet I take each of you, every day, into every story I write. God gave me talent, I have the will, but you made me the writer I am. Thank you from the depths of my soul. I love and miss you all.

Contents

Cover (#u212a3f44-5384-5725-8c30-eadb996176c9)

Back Cover Text (#uf01a42bc-6fc8-5921-abe0-068391506047)

About the Author (#u2be21cf2-05c9-541f-8fa4-7023b1d9fce6)

Booklist (#u01e87f3d-e9f9-58fd-a594-9feec718472b)

Title Page (#ubf641a51-d0d2-5ff3-9b2f-04fbcef42692)

Copyright (#ue5748f05-369f-5eef-82e1-4daddcb99789)

Introduction (#ua2f8e989-5dd8-5c87-96ec-5702dae5302c)

Dear Reader (#ubddcc78e-45cd-5817-a3d1-babd66d587fe)

Dedication (#u1e25cefa-29d3-5f34-8779-04fd89cfdbd1)

CHAPTER ONE (#uafd50051-8a43-53f8-a35b-33094d8c0736)

CHAPTER TWO (#u2ce1c09f-c298-5ab8-808b-01dd0ec5fbe2)

CHAPTER THREE (#u48bb3b35-193f-5341-b686-f3163eeec6fe)

CHAPTER FOUR (#ue2414375-9928-509e-aded-6f939ca2be2c)

CHAPTER FIVE (#uafd620a8-f54c-59d7-9a3c-c9d18e9bd4ea)

CHAPTER SIX (#u4c285031-e016-53fc-92ac-a878885f9fdb)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#u173bc31f-7474-5891-b9ca-f0f2f09961e2)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINETEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWENTY (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ONE (#udc7d5650-032c-5356-81ff-d9f7219f9482)