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In this captivating saga, Samantha Skylar experiences undying passion and endures one horrific act of brutality that sweeps her into the arms of the second most powerful man in the country. Samantha’s journey takes her from the poverty and close-minded attitudes of a tiny, coal-mining town in West Virginia, to the estate of one of Atlanta’s oldest and wealthiest families. This epic trilogy follows Samantha from the age of 14 to 40.
Book Two opens in 1987, eight years after the events of Book One. Sam is living the life she had only dreamed of as a young girl in poverty-stricken West Virginia. She has a best friend, her own apartment and a good job. Sam fancies herself the epitome of the modern independent woman. Due to the debilitating losses Sam suffered as a young girl, she is understandably hesitant to make herself vulnerable to another person, and struggles with emotional intimacy. When she finally allows herself to love again, she suffers a heartbreak that takes years to heal.
1992 is a pivotal year for Sam. She spends two months on the campaign trail as the personal assistant to the Democratic candidate for the Vice Presidency of the United States. During her time away from Georgia, Sam realizes what, and who, is important in her life and she is confident of the direction the rest of her life will take. But the fates can be cruel … and a visitor from her past changes everything.
Excerpt:
Samantha
I
was at my desk at 7:15 Monday morning and couldn’t sit still. I’d
straightened up the outer office … several times. Finally at 8:05,
Bastian came in. I looked up at him … and did a double take. It looked
like he may have done some shopping too. He looked so handsome. He was
wearing a dark charcoal grey suit that I’d never seen before. I smiled
and blushed … his tie was pink, matching the color of my camisole
perfectly. His eyes were taking in my new outfit. He chuckled, “Well, I
see you got the memo about grey and pink today.”
“You look handsome, Sebastian.”
“And you, pretty girl, are beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, blushing like a twelve-year-old.
I
heard Chelsea before I saw her. “Hey, how come we didn’t see you this
weekend… oh my, look at the two of you! Get up, missy, let’s see the new
duds!” I stood and walked out from behind my desk. “Turn around…”
Bastian rolled his eyes at Jake and went into his office. “I approve.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” I laughed and returned to my seat.
“Don’t
even think of telling me you got that at a thrift store! Which means
that you did the unthinkable: you went shopping, at a regular store by
the way, without me! What’s wrong with you?”
Jake walked by and whispered, “Thank you.” I giggled. Chelsea did love to shop!
“I
don’t know … it was a spur of the moment thing. I just ran up to the
mall after I left the animals on Saturday.” I walked over to her desk
and looked to make sure both Jake and Bastian were in their offices and
whispered, “Does the cami make me look slutty? I’m going for
professional.”
Chelsea
laughed out loud. “You know what Sam? I would like to see you, just
once, looking slutty! No, you look very senatorial!” I walked back to my
desk, satisfied. “So, really, what’d you do this weekend? Didn’t you
get the message I left on your phone? We wanted you to go to a movie
with us yesterday.”
“I
got your message. I’m so keyed up about this lunch … look at me, my
palms are all sweaty. I’ll bet that’ll impress the heck out of him. I’m
going to have to shake his hand, right?”
“Good
Christ! He’s a Senator. Yes, that’s impressive, but you’re just going
to have lunch, talk about his event and then he walks out of your life.
It’s not like you’re going on a blind date or something.”
I
laughed, “You’re right and I keep telling myself all that, but I just
keep thinking about me and where I came from. What’ll we talk about? We
won’t have anything in common and he’ll think I’m a moron.”
“That
dumbass Joe! That’s where all this is coming from isn’t it? You are
funny … you’re well read … you love animals … you love baseball and you
stay up-to-date on politics and current issues. You’ll be fine! Besides,
Bastian will be there … stop being silly!”
“All right. Leave me alone. I’ve got work to do!”
“What time is he coming?”
“We’re meeting here at 11:15
and then going to lunch.” I stood up and walked over to her desk,
whispering again. “Does this skirt make my ass look huge? I feel like it
does.”
“Stop
it, crazy! Get back to work!” I turned my back to her and returned to
my desk. “No, it doesn’t! It makes it look good though.”
“Chels,” I whined, “that’s not what I’m going for…” She stuck her tongue out at me and we settled in to work.
“Shit!” I looked up; Chelsea was looking under her desk, holding her ear. “Get over here, Sam, I need your help!”
I got up and walked over to her desk. “What is wrong with you? What’d you lose now?”
“Shh, come here closer. The back of my earring … I think it’s back there, under the desk.”
I laughed at her. “Well, crawl under and get it.”
“Would you?”
“No!
Have Jake get it … he has pants on. I can’t crawl under there in this
skirt!” I started to walk back to my desk and she grabbed my wrist,
pulling me back. “Chelsea!” I giggled. “Stop it!”
“Listen,
I can’t have Jake do it. These are the earrings he got me for Christmas
… that I practically begged on bended knee for. He told me it was a
waste to buy me nice things, because I’m always losing them! C’mon, Sam,
crawl under and look.”
I
rolled my eyes, and leaned on her shoulder while I stepped out of my
heels. “Why am I doing this for you? Why can’t you crawl under and get
it?”
She
grinned wickedly, “Because, my little munchkin, you can practically
walk under the desk. Just duck your head a little…” her thought trailed
off into laughter.
I got down on my hands and knees, not amused. “Okay, where do you think it went?”
“It’s way toward the back, I think.”
“Of
course it is,” I muttered and crawled under her desk … seeing nothing.
“I don’t see anything. Get down here and show me where you mean.”
She
got down under the desk with me. “Good Christ, Sam!” We looked around
and she suddenly collapsed in laughter, lying down on her side. “Um,
you’d better hope Jake stays in his office. That skirt? A little short
and even shorter when you’re on your hands and knees!”
I
reached back and pulled the skirt down as far as it would go and
continued looking, ignoring her nonsense. “Is this it?” I held up the
small gold back.
She took it and crawled out from under the desk. “That is it! You’re the best friend ever. Thanks, Sam. Come on out.”
“Oh, can I come out now? Chels, how do I stand up ladylike in this? I’m going to need some help.”
“I’ll help you … back up! God, if you didn’t have to get all gussied up for your Senator…”
“Stop! If I run these nylons because of you…”
“Senator Carrington. I’m sorry, I don’t know where our assistants are.” I groaned as I heard Bastian’s voice.
“Dammit,
Chelsea,” I hissed quietly at her. Her eyes were big as saucers and
full of mischief. We both slowly backed out and looked up.
“Oh, god, you two,” Bastian groaned. “How long have you been standing out here, Daniel?”
I
looked over at the Senator and breathed a sigh of relief when he looked
at me and winked. His eyes were almost as full of mischief as
Chelsea’s. “Just walked in, Sebastian,” he said as he shook Bastian’s
hand. He then turned back to us. “You two find what you were looking
for?”
Chelsea
popped right up and shook his hand, “We did. I’m so sorry about this.
I’m Chelsea Murphy.” I sat there staring at her with my mouth wide open.
I couldn’t believe she left me down on the floor.
“Sam, you okay?” Bastian asked.
“Um, yes, just…”
“It’s
so good to see you, Sebastian,” the Senator interrupted. “Why don’t you
show me your office?” Bastian shot me another look before turning to
lead the Senator to his office. Senator Carrington looked at me and
smiled warmly. “Glad you found the back of her earring, I’ll keep the
boss busy while you get up,” he laughed. It was a nice laugh. “Nice to
meet you, Chelsea. Now, since Samantha was so kind to find the back of
your earring, you should help her up.” He disappeared into Bastian’s
office.
Chelsea
just stood there watching the Senator leave. I reached over and tapped
her on the foot. “Um, excuse me, can I get a little help down here?”
She
looked down at me and burst out laughing. “Well, Sam, at least the ice
is broken! Get up, silly.” I grabbed her hands and got up … probably
baring everything in the process. She laughed and pulled my skirt back
down to its desired length. “Besides, he went all Prince Charming on
you, giving you privacy. Instead of Bastian who just looked at us like
we’d lost our minds!”
“Well?” I shoved my feet back into my shoes and stalked over to my desk.
“Okay, be in a snit. You can’t stay angry with me for long. You’ll see the humor in this eventually.”
I stopped mid-way across the office and returned to Chelsea’s desk and whispered, “Would you do a nylon check for me?”
“Wow,
you got over that quicker than I thought you would. Turn around.” I
turned slowly while she checked the state of my nylons. “You look good …
fantastic even.” With that, she gave my behind a smack.
I
started to laugh until I heard Bastian groan again. “God, you two. Can
you pretend to be adults when we have visitors in the office?”
“I-I’m
sorry, Senator, we’re usually much better behaved.” I walked over and
extended my hand. He took it with a smirk. “I’m Samantha Skylar. I may
not have inspired a lot of confidence in you…”
“Oh, no, you’re the one that found the earring, right? Let’s go to lunch, I’m starved.”
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