Stealing Harper (Taking Chances #1.5)(66)
VERY big thank-you to my amazing editor, Tessa Woodward from HarperCollins; and to my incredible agent, Kevan Lyon from Marsal Lyon Literacy Agency. You ladies are incredible, and I don’t know what I’d do without y’all!
Amanda Stone, not only are you my best friend, I don’t know what I would do without you being my slave driver and always getting on me to actually write this book. It’s one thing to ignore the shiny place, better known as Facebook; it’s another entirely to sit on the phone with you for five hours talking about everything and nothing and being silent as we write. Love you, Sef!
Kelly Elliott . . . I swear where would I be without our weekly lunches? Probably going insane in a corner of my office! I love you and am so thankful for your friendship and our weekly vents!
Thank you to my BRGs: Colleen, Kim, and Lisa. Y’all helped me more than you could imagine by giving me an escape, and, Colleen, everyone reading this book has you to thank for giving me the drive to write the shower scene!
A.L. Jackson—a massive thank you to you for starting our writing sprints! Those first three were what got me to finish this book, so thank you, I love you BIG, BB!
To all the bloggers, friends and amazing readers who have helped with the cover reveal and sharing teasers and pictures, THANK YOU! I love y’all so much!
Keep reading for more fabulous stories from Molly McAdams.
FORGIVING LIES
1
Rachel
“CANDICE, YOU NEED to focus. You have got to pass this final or they aren’t letting you coach this summer.”
She snorted and her eyes went wide as she leaned even closer to the mirror and tried to recreate her snort. “Oh my God! Why didn’t you tell me how ugly I look when I do that!?”
I face planted into the pillow and mumbled, “Oh dear Lord this isn’t happening.” Lifting my head slightly, I sent her an unimpressive glare. “Snorts aren’t meant to be cute. Otherwise they wouldn’t be called something as awkward as ‘snort’.”
“But my–”
“Final, Candice. You need to study for your final.”
“I’m waiting on you.” She said in a singsong voice. “You’re supposed to be quizzing me.”
I loved Candice. I really did. Even though I currently wanted to wring her neck. She wasn’t just my best friend; she was like a sister to me and was the closest thing to family I had left. On the first day of kindergarten, a boy with glasses pushed me down on the playground. While he was still laughing at me, Candice grabbed his glasses and smashed them on the ground. That’s playground love. And since that day we’ve never spent more than a handful of days apart.
By the time we started thinking about college, it was just assumed we would go away together. But then my parents died just before my senior year of high school started; and nothing seemed to matter anymore. They had gone on a weekend getaway with two partners from my dad’s law firm and their wives, and were on their way home when the company jet had engine failure and went down near Shaver Lake.
Candice’s family took me in without a second thought since the only relatives I had lived across the country and I hardly knew them; if it weren’t for them I don’t know how I would have made it through that time. They made sure I continued going to school, kept my grades up and attempted to live as normal of a life as possible. I no longer cared about graduating or going away to college, but because of them, I followed through with my plans of getting away and making my own life. I would forever be grateful for the Jenkins family.
I applied to every college Candice did and let her decide where we were going. She’s been a cheerleader for as long as I can remember, so it shouldn’t have surprised me when she decided on a university based on the football team and school spirit. And granted, she was given an amazing scholarship. But, Texas? Really? She chose the University of Texas at Austin and started buying everything she found in that God-awful burnt orange color. I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be a “longhorn” but whatever got me away from my hometown was fine by me . . . and I guess Austin was that place.
When we first arrived I remember it felt like walking into a sauna, it was hot and humid; of course the first thing Candice said was, “What am I going to do with my hair?!” Her hair had already begun frizzing, and not more than five minutes later she was rocking a fro. We got used to the humidity and crazy weather changes soon enough though, and to my surprise, I love Texas. I had been expecting dirt roads, tumbleweeds and cowboys – let me tell you I have never been so happy to be wrong. Downtown Austin’s buildings reminded me of Los Angeles, it was unbelievably green everywhere and had lakes and rivers perfect for hanging out with friends. Oh, and I’ve only seen a couple of cowboys in the almost three years we’ve been here, not that I was complaining when I did. I had also worried with Candice’s recent burnt orange fetish, people were going to be able to spot us like Asian tourists at Disneyland. Thankfully, the majority of Austin is packed with UT Longhorn gear, and its common to see a burnt orange truck on the road.
Now we were a little less than two weeks away from finishing our junior year and I couldn’t wait for the time off. Normally we go to California to see Candice’s family during the winter and summer breaks, but she was working at a cheer camp for elementary-aged girls this summer so we were getting an apartment that we planned to keep as we finished our senior year.