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Let There Be Life by Melissa Storm (39)

14 months later

She walked across the fresh grass while surveying the land. Although night had arrived hours ago, light still clung to the sky—the unrivaled beauty of an Alaskan summer.

“What do you think?” Dorian asked as he fell into step beside her.

“I think it’s every bit as perfect as I’d hoped it would be. I love it.”

“And I love you.” He swept her into his arms and kissed her for the first time at her new home.

It hadn’t been difficult to prove she was Jane Bingham, nor had it been difficult to claim the inheritance her late father, Charles Bingham, had left fully to her. The only people who knew of Ben’s crimes refused to report them, and once the prosecutors saw that Jane Bingham was, in fact, alive and well, they closed the case for good.

She still wished she had gotten the chance to know her birth father, but he had made his choice—and God had sealed the deal. She chose not to linger on what could have been, but rather to work hard toward a future that honored what they had both lost over the years.

“Memory Ranch,” Dorian said, holding her to his chest as they slowly turned and took in the expansive property. She could hardly believe this was all hers. Now that she’d completed her own journey down memory lane, she wanted to help others on their paths—people like Dorian’s grandmother who had lost their memories to sickness. People like herself who’d had them stolen away. People who were hurt by their loved ones’ inability to remember, and even people who were haunted by the post-traumatic stress of memories that refused to leave them be.

Memory Ranch would be a refuge to them all.

They could escape the pressures of their everyday life and remember on their own time. Part resort and part group therapy home, the Memory Ranch would use the therapeutic power of horses and the freedom that came with riding combined with supportive counselors and a peaceful sanctuary to recover.

She wanted to help others heal, to remember, and also to learn to move beyond the memories when needed.

“It’s really happening. It’s all yours.” Dorian kissed her forehead, and she smiled.

“Soon it will be all ours.” She returned her fiancé’s kiss on his cheek.

Just over a year had passed since their time in Charleston, and they would be married in the fall. Soon it wouldn’t matter if she called herself Bingham or Benjamin, because she’d be a Whitley.

Mrs. Dorian Whitley.

They’d both returned to school last autumn. She had originally stopped after two years of college, but was now re-enrolled as a proud Psychology student. She wouldn’t just stop at her bachelor’s degree, either. She loved learning about the human mind and all its hidden intricacies, and she planned to get her Ph.D. even if she’d be forty by the time that happened.

Dorian had already finished his bachelor’s degree, so he’d enrolled as a master’s student in Criminal Justice. It seemed to him that his entire life had been leading there—from growing up in the slums, to his PI gigs and their tangle with Bingham. He’d learned to respect justice, and his desire to keep people safe only grew as he let more and more into his life.

Bingham had taught them both about the razor’s edge between justice and vengeance and how the law needed more people to uphold not only its mandates, but also its spirit.

People like Dorian who had found her when she couldn’t even find herself.

And now Elizabeth Jane’s memories had never been so sweet, her future never so bright, and her present never so full of passion, love, and life.

As special and powerful as memories could be, she knew now that life wasn’t the sum of all the little moments that filled out your days.

It was the people you loved and who loved you in return that made this the most glorious journey of all.


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Loved how Liz and Dorian turned their initial distrust of each other into true love? Then you won’t want to miss what happens next!

The next book, Season of Mercy, is now available for pre-order. Be sure to pick up your copy today at

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Sofia Stepanov believes in right and wrong, but she doesn’t believe in following the rules. Naturally, when she finds a wolf hybrid being illegally kept and abused by its captors, she vows to come back and free him herself. Soon the exhilaration of one successful mission leads to many more, leading Sofia to set her sights on the most ambitious rescue yet.

Hunter Burke has never faced a case like this before. A serial dog-napper is on the loose and the community is up in arms, demanding justice. As he delves deeper into the string of thefts, he finds himself admiring the vigilante criminal. Still, it’s his job to capture—and punish—her, and Hunter has never questioned his duty before.

Will Sofia complete her mission, or will Hunter catch her before she can? And what happens when these two finally come face to face? Are the obstacles too great to hope for a happy ending?

Harkening to the great literary traditions of Crime and Punishment and Snow White, Season of Mercy is a new twist on the most epic of love stories.

Don’t miss the chance to lose your heart to a courageous cast of sled dogs, wolf hybrids, and the humans that love them in this tale set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Alaskan wilderness. Pre-order your copy today at