Authors: Marissa Dobson

Losing to Win (Clearwater) (8 page)

BOOK: Losing to Win (Clearwater)

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Jasmine Pierce has been burned
by her family and by love. Leaving her past behind, she longs for a quiet place
to start over and raise her daughter. Upon learning about a grandmother she
didn’t know she had, she inherits not only a house, but a chance at a new
future.

Snowbound in a cottage, twelve
days before Christmas, Jasmine meets Logan Clarke. His kind personality and
loving nature has her considering the possibilities, but she’s already played
the game of love and lost.

Could this have been her
grandmother’s plan all along? For Jasmine to return home and find the missing
pieces, bringing her dream of a real family and her heart’s longing for love
finally within reach?

Chapter One

December 10

Jasmine Pierce rocked her
six-month old daughter in her arms while she waited in the hotel lobby for the
attorney. Her mind raced, trying to understand why Dave Johnson, an attorney
from Wyoming, had traveled to Virginia to meet with her. It probably had
something to do with her ex, who went missing months ago, but that situation
was over. She wasn’t going to bail him out—never again.

The lobby was near empty at
this time of day, which she was glad of. Everyone had finished breakfast and
gone on with their day. The owners’ two kids were waiting for the school bus
outside, leaving no one close enough to overhear whatever shame her ex had
gotten himself into this time and expected her to bail him out of.

“You must be Mrs. Pierce.” A
man approached her and held out his hand. She accepted his hand, giving him a
halfhearted handshake. “I’m Dave Johnson, we spoke on the phone. I appreciate
you taking the time to see me. Let’s have a seat.” He led the way into a little
nook the hotel offered, with a small sofa, two chairs, and a fireplace, giving
it a homey feel.

Jasmine sank onto the comfiest
chair the room had to offer, which wasn’t saying much. It was stiff and had a
straight back. She turned her attention to the man before her, wanting to get
this meeting over with before Alyssa stirred. “Please, call me Jasmine.” She
hadn’t been Mrs. Pierce since the divorce, but she didn’t want to get into that
conversation with a man she just met. “I don’t understand why you requested to
see me. What do you want?” She prayed it had nothing to do with her ex. She
wanted to move on with her life and to provide a loving home for her daughter.

“I’ve come from Wyoming
searching for you. I’ve been your grandmother’s attorney for years. She passed
away in September, but asked me to find you a few months prior. I had a
difficult time locating you since your mother changed your last name and then
you married.”

She leaned against the hard
back of the chair, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves.
Grandmother?
Her mother had always said she had no family left and that her own mother had
died years before Jasmine was born. “I’m sorry, but you have the wrong person.”

He scooted to the edge of the
stiff brown couch. “Let me explain.” When she nodded he continued. “Your mother
ran off with you when you were very young. She sent pictures to your
grandmother, but wouldn’t allow her to see you. They, your grandmother and mother,
had a difference of opinion that led to an estrangement.” Mr. Johnson leaned
down to pull a stack of envelopes, tied with a red ribbon, from his briefcase.
“These are letters she wrote to your mother. They were returned unopened. Your
grandmother said they explained the distance between her and your mother. She
tried for years to make things right, but your mother refused her letters and
calls. But that’s not why I’m here. I came to give you the deed to her house.
When she passed, your grandmother left everything to you.”

Marissa Dobson

Born and raised in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area,
Marissa Dobson now resides about an hour from Washington, D.C. She’s a lady who
likes to keep busy, and is always busy doing something. With two different
college degrees, she believes you’re never done learning.

Being the first daughter to an avid reader, this gave her
the advantage of learning to read at a young age. Since learning to read she
has always had her nose in a book. It wasn't until she was a teenager that she
started writing down the stories she came up with.

Marissa is blessed with a wonderful supportive husband,
Thomas. He’s her other half and allows her to stay home and pursue her writing.
He puts up with all her quirks and listens to her brainstorm in the middle of
the night.

Her writing buddies Max (a cocker spaniel) and Dawne (a
beagle mix) are always around to listen to her bounce ideas off them. They
might not be able to answer, but they are helpful in their own ways.

She love to hear from readers so send her an email at
[email protected] or visit her online at
http://www.marissadobson.com
.

Other Books by Marissa Dobson

Tiger Time

The Tiger’s Heart

Tigress for Two

Night with a Tiger

Storm Queen

Snowy Fate

Sarah’s Fate

Mason’s Fate

As Fate Would Have It

Learning to Live