Our love is indisputable.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  

Where to begin?  First of all, I need to thank my husband.  You have encouraged me from the very beginning when my dreams were nothing more than late night ramblings.  Those ramblings kept growing until the first night I sat down with my laptop and began to write.  You continued to support me through hours of helping with the kids so I could lock myself away in my room and focus on my book.  You are my love and my life.

My children, L & C, thank you for being a bright spot when I was feeling frustrated.  And thank you for having the ability to play quietly when I really needed to get something done.  Mama loves you, babies.

A million thanks to TOJ Publishing for my cover reveal, blitz, release party, and a wealth of information.  A special thanks to Kim Black at TOJ for my beautiful cover.  You have a true talent.  I don’t know how you made sense of what I wanted from my horrible description, but it’s like you pulled the image straight from my brain.  Besides making my cover, you have also been a source of information and patiently answered my questions.

Alex Grayson, I don’t even know where I’d be without you.  As soon as I decided to publish my work, you were there every step of the way.  I’m so glad I found you! Thank you for cheering me on and being so supportive.  I’m lucky to have you as a friend.

Thank you Imy Santiago for your support and willingness to listen to my questions.  Your encouragement means the world to me.

Thank you to all the bloggers who took a chance and helped me promote Indisputable.  Each time I received an email from one of you made my day.  The kind words and encouragement were invaluable in pushing me to keep going.

Thank you to all my family; to thank you all individually would take pages.  Mom, Dad, Becky, Rocky, Angela, Steve, Paul, Amber, Joe, Michael, Antonio, Gavin, Dominic, Addy, Audrey, Kevin, Jessica, and Kara—I love all of you.  Thank you for the supporting texts and phone calls, and just being who you are.  My book may not be to your tastes, but you support me nonetheless.

And finally, thank you to my readers.  Every single one of you who has picked up my book means the world to me.  You gave a brand new author a chance, and because of that, I’m eternally grateful.

About the Author  

A.M. Wilson fell in love with writing in second grade when she won a young writers’ contest.  She spent the years following carrying around a spiral notebook, which she filled with poetry and short stories detailing the dramatics of being a young girl.  When she hit her college years, she set the notebooks down and fell in love with reading romance novels.  She may have attended college four separate times, in four different fields, but always knew in her heart writing was her true passion.  She grew up in Duluth, Minnesota and spent her summers in the cold waters of Lake Superior, but relocated to the Twin Cities with the love of her life and has two spirited children who make her world go round.

A.M. Wilson loves to hear from her readers.  Connect with her on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/A.M.WilsonAuthor

Twitter: @AMWilsonAuthor

Blog: amwilsonbooks.wordpress.com

            Shatter Me

Alex Grayson

Chapter One

Jaded Hollow, OH – 6 miles ahead

I release a sigh, exhausted and nervous about my next stop on my long and tedious journey.

I’ve been driving since eight this morning, with a couple of stops in-between for restroom breaks and gas stops. It’s coming up on nine at night. I need to keep moving. I don’t want to give him the opportunity to find me. Him, being Steven, my worse nightmare, my worse fear, my husband. Unfortunately, I don’t have a choice in the matter because my gas tank is running on fumes and my pocket book is getting low. I need to find a way to make a little cash before I move on.

My arms hurt from holding onto the steering wheel for so long and my legs are cramping from the constant push of the gas pedal. I’m so hungry I fear my internal organs will dry up and turn to dust due to lack of nourishment. I’m exhausted to the point where my eyes have that sandy, papery, gritty feel and I’m worried I might dose off behind the wheel.

Needless to say I’m ready to get out of my cramped, beat up old car that I bought for five hundred dollars at the beginning of my unplanned but wanted trip. All I want to do is get a quick bite to eat, fall into bed, sleep like the dead, and not get up for a week. I know finding a place to eat won’t be a problem. I’ve seen signs for Maggie's Diner up ahead in Jaded Hollow, which state it is an All-night diner. It’s finding a place to crash that will be an issue.

With about fifty dollars to my name I can’t even afford to rent a hotel for the night. Sleeping in my cramped car is definitely not appealing, but I have done it before and am prepared to do it again. I just hope I can find work in this middle of nowhere town that is to be my home for a short amount of time. Sleeping in my car for a few nights I can deal with, but I really don't want to wake up with a crick in my neck and cramps in my legs every day for weeks at a time until I can afford a place to stay.

It is dark out so I can't really see the landscape around me. From what I can see from the light of the moon and the shine of my headlights I am surrounded by woods. The road is curvy and there are a few small hills.

I slow my car when I reach a wooden sign that welcomes me to Jaded Hollow, OH. It looks old and the scene on it represents the country town I’m about to enter; a farmhouse with silos sitting behind it and a field of corn.

I speed back up, anxious to reach my destination. About a mile past the welcome sign I start taking notice of my surroundings. It’s important to familiarize myself with where I’ll be staying just in case I need to flee again. He may come for me and I need to know where I’ll be safe.

Large houses start appearing. The only reason I can see them is because their porch lights illuminate the front stoops. Many of the houses are at least a couple hundred feet from the road and sit on large amounts of land.

Further down the road bright orange street lights dot both sides of the road. Smaller houses start popping up on either side of the road, along with businesses thrown in here and there. There’s a post office on one side and an outdoor shop on the other.

There’s also the Jaded Hollow Public Library, a red brick building with a large, colorful brick book that sits right out front. There is a gazebo that’s off to the left and a small swing set and slide right beside it. I can picture a mother sitting in the gazebo reading her book as a little girl swings close by. With the image in my head, my stomach cramps and my eyes sting. I immediately push the image away before it has the chance to cripple me.

As I slow down to a stop at what appears to be the only red light in town, I notice a building that houses three motorcycles and five cars. The building sits on the corner of County Road 14 and Big Bulge Road. There are several lit advertisement signs on the windows and front of the white building, most of which are advertising different types of beer. The largest lit sign reads ‘Jaxon's Pub’.

The light turns green and I creep along. Up ahead on the left a simple red sign shows that I have finally arrived at Maggie's Diner. There are several cars parked in front of the light blue building.

I park my car next to an old red pick-up truck, pull the key out of the ignition and lay my head back on the headrest. Not only is my car running on empty, but I am as well. With a deep breath I force myself to grab my purse and drop my keys inside. The air is nippy when I step out of my car so I grab my gray hooded sweatshirt that shows the Cookie Monster chomping on cookies, and slip it on.