All for Hope
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Smashwords Edition
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All for Hope
Copyright © 2013 by Olivia Hardin
Cover design by © Once Upon a Time Covers
Book formatting by
JT Formatting
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above author of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Table of Contents
Fun Facts and Trivia from Olivia
This one is for Mom, who shared with me her love of the romance novel.
Thank you for being the wind beneath my wings.
I love you.
“
Are you alone?”
“
Good Lord, Hope, it's three o'clock in the morning,” Mark Terrance mumbled at the nervous woman standing in his doorway. Her hair was whipped by a fierce wind as she waited.
“
Are you alone?” she pleaded with urgent eyes.
“
Yes.”
Hope Sheffield shoved past him and pulled him out of the entryway as she closed the door. With her arms crossed in front of her, she squeezed herself to draw out the chill, then looked up into the man's confused eyes as she stomped the wet off her shoes onto the doormat.
“
Mark, I need your help.”
“
Somehow, I figured that.”
Hope clenched her eyes closed for a moment and sighed. “This is serious, Mark.”
His smile was meant to reassure her, but instead she was tempted to bolt out of the house. She shouldn't be involving him in this. It wasn't fair to him or his wife, but she didn't have anywhere else to turn,
“
I need some money.”
He looked at her as if she was a confused two-year old and shook his head. “What are you talking about?”
“
Mark, listen, I'm in trouble. I can't give you all of the details, but you have to trust me. A friend of mine is in trouble and she needs me to do something very important for her. I–”
“
What is it that’s so important?”
“
I can't tell you. You'll know about it soon enough, but now I have to hurry.”
“
What makes you think I have a lot of money here—”
She smiled for the first time. “I know everything about you, Mark. You keep at least three thousand in that safe of yours.”
Mark Terrance studied her face closely. Hope had been a dear friend to him for years, and she
did
know everything about him. She figured he could tell just by looking in her eyes that whatever she was involved in was serious.
“
Are you sure you know what you're doing?” He grabbed a key ring from the fob just inside the hall closet and moved to the office where his small fireproof safe was hidden.
“
No,” Hope admitted as she reached over and deliberately slid her hands over his desk. “But I have no other choice.”
“
Here you go,” he said and tried to close the door to the safe. Her hands stopped him. “Now what are you doing?”