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      Emory Maxwell has come home to the small town of Sweetness, Georgia, with one goal in mind—to get his childhood sweetheart Shelby Moon to marry him. They’ve been in love with the second grade, but Shelby’s father is determined to keep his daughter in Sweetness, not moving around the country as a soldier’s wife. No matter what she chooses, Shelby knows she’ll hurt one of the men she loves.

      But when a tornado rips through town, will she and Emory lose their chance to be together forever?

      Get ready to fall in love with the town of Sweetness, Georgia, in this prequel to Stephanie Bond’s Southern Roads trilogy.

      Stephanie Bond grew up on a tobacco farm in eastern Kentucky, where books were her main form of entertainment. “There were no book stores in my small hometown, and no public library. My school had a small library, which I exhausted fairly quickly. But I was lucky to have an aunt who lived out of state and who shared my love for books. When she visited every year, she would bring me bags full of Harlequin romance novels and gothic romances by Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt. I was in heaven.”

      Years later, Stephanie was seven years deep into a systems engineering career and pursuing an MBA at night when an instructor remarked she had a flair for writing and suggested that she submit to academic journals. But Stephanie was interested only in writing fiction—more specifically, romantic fiction. Upon completing her master’s degree and with no formal training in writing, she wrote a romance novel in her spare time. Two years later, in 1995, she sold her first manuscript, a romantic comedy, to Harlequin Books. In 1997, with ten sales under her belt, Stephanie left her corporate job to write fiction full-time. “In hindsight,” reflects Stephanie, “those early years of devouring a book a day instilled in me the rhythm of storytelling.”

      Today, Stephanie has more than fifty published romance and mystery novels to her name, including the Body Movers humorous mystery series, which was recently optioned by Sony Pictures Television for TV series development, and the Southern Roads romance trilogy. Read more about Stephanie Bond and her books at her website, www.stephaniebond.com.

      Contents

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter One

      Ten years ago

      Emory Maxwell tightened his grip on the steering wheel of his SUV, looked over at his longtime friend and fellow soldier, Porter Armstrong, and took a deep breath. “Will you marry me?”

      Porter considered his words, then scoffed, “Man, you can’t just blurt it out like that.”

      “Why not?”

      “Because it’s not romantic, that’s why. You have to say ‘I love you’ and ‘I can’t live without you’ and ‘I want to spend the rest of my life with you’,” crap like that. Try it again.”

      Emory frowned. “Well, you don’t have to be such a jackass about it.”

      Porter sighed and pushed back the U.S. Army cap that matched his fatigues. “You want Shelby to say yes, don’t you?”

      “Of course I do, you idget. That’s why we’re going to Sweetness.”

      “That’s why you’re going to Sweetness,” Porter corrected. “You’re the one who’s jonesing to get married. Me, I’m never settling down. I just want as much home cooking as my mother can make in the few days I’m home on leave.” Then Porter looked apologetic. “Sorry, man, I know you miss your mom. You and Dr. Maxwell can come over and eat with us any time.”

      Emory felt a pang for his mother’s absence, something he knew Porter could understand. “And I know you miss your dad. Thanks for the invitation. Will Marcus and Kendall be there?”

      “No. Marcus is in Pakistan, something about a terrorist group the U.S. is worried about. And Kendall is in El Salvador overseeing reconstruction after the earthquake earlier this year. I don’t know when I’ll see them again.” Then he frowned. “Hey, don’t change the subject. You’re going to have to say something good to convince Shelby to wake up to your ugly mug for the rest of her life.”

      Emory puffed out his cheeks in an exhale. “I’m more worried about what her pop is going to say.”

      Porter made a rueful noise. “You should be. I heard Mr. Moon is a pretty good shot.”

      “That man has never liked me.”

      “What do you expect? He wants to keep Shelby in her calico bedroom for the rest of her life, and you’ve got other bedroom plans for his little girl. She’s all he’s got—of course he hates you. I feel sorry for Shelby being in the middle of you two mules.”

      Emory hardened his jaw. Sooner or later, Shelby was going to have to choose between him and her daddy.

      Porter glanced at his watch. “What time is she expecting you?”

      “I didn’t tell her I was coming.”

      Porter guffawed. “You’ve been arguing on the phone for months. Now you’re going to just show up with a ring and propose?”

      “That’s the plan,” Emory muttered.

      Porter pulled down his cap and slumped in the seat in preparation for a nap. “Wake me up before the fireworks begin.”

      Emory frowned in the direction of the man who’d been his best friend since Little League, then pulled his hand across his mouth and turned his attention back to the interstate. Porter was right. He was taking a big chance by not telling Shelby he was coming, especially considering the last time they’d talked, she’d hung up on him. Her father had been yelling for her in the background, which had angered Emory, which in turn had angered Shelby.

      One way or another, things would come to a head today.

      Emory leaned down to study the leaden sky. They were driving into a storm, or the makings of one. But it was summer in the north Georgia mountains—thunderstorms were as commonplace as mosquitoes and lemonade. After so much sand in the Gulf desert, he wouldn’t mind a little rain, as long as it didn’t slow their progress too much.

      His heart beat faster at the thought of seeing Shelby soon. He imagined her sweet face lighting up when he walked into her father’s grocery where she worked, her immediate tears, the many kisses…the private reunion as soon as they could get alone. His body tightened involuntarily. He realized the reason they argued on the phone was because they were both frustrated by their separation. But his overseas deployment was due to end in a month, so he’d be stationed Stateside soon. And he wanted to be with Shelby. For the rest of their lives.

      His fellow soldiers laughed when he told them he and Shelby had been together since grade school, but it was true. They’d met on the playground in second grade. Bobby Taylor had been teasing Shelby, pulling her blond pigtails. Emory had pushed the bigger boy down, which had earned him a suspension from school and Shelby’s adoration.

      The suspension had been worth it.

      Their relationship had gone through the ups and downs of chicken pox, Shelby’s crush on the new boy in sixth grade, and his own preoccupation with a dark-haired cheerleader their freshman year. But when he and Shelby had been ready to relinquish their virginity at seventeen, neither one would have chosen anybody else for the occasion. Their consummated physical chemistry had cemented their childhood love and they’d never looked in