Illinois Authors

Wings ePress, Inc., Richmond, KY : 2005.

Rae Ann Lewis and Kyle Bennett want to start over but first must confront their fears and the past before having any hopes of a future together.

Beacon Books Publishing, Tovey, IL : ©2006.

During the construction of the Lost Bridge Bike Trail in Rochester, Illinois, Chief of Police, Vaughn Dexter, is confronted with the death of a ten-year-old boy. Now the town's citizens, including an eccentric psychic, a disturbed librarian, the self-absorbed mayor, a lonely single mother, the town alcoholic, a troubled teenager, the terminally ill former Chief of Police and Katrina Lawrence, a woman that has left only to return for the sake of her family, will be sent into a downward spiral when the investigation's focus takes an unsettling twist, slamming Vaughn headlong into the guilt he has carried for twenty years. Vowing not to fail another victim, he will fight for the answers alongside some preferring to keep their secrets buried. Not knowing truth from fiction, Vaughn must follow the evidence. But just when he thinks he has it figured out, an abomination of the worst kind is revealed.

Katrina Lawrence is back in Rochester, Illinois, pregnant and alone. Her family is falling apart and her brother, Walter "Bear", isn't coping well. Hoping to be in and out of Illinois before anyone discovers her secret, Katrina is devastated when her mother suffers a stroke, extending Katrina's stay indefinitely. It is home where she will encounter people from her past and will attract unwanted attention from those like the quiet librarian that lost his teaching job for unknown reasons and the troubled teen that works for her brother who carries an unnatural obsession for Katrina. Chief of Police, Vaughn Dexter, can't help but be drawn to the red-headed stranger, but won't let her get in the way of completing his job so he can resign from duty. Now another murder in the town has them both digging back twenty years for an absolution that may never come.

Just when Vaughn has convinced himself he doesn't need Katrina, her life is threatened by a murderer and he realizes that he wants her and her baby. Although her brother seems to be recovering from his own problems, Katrina knows she is still needed by her family and now wants to be needed by Vaughn. With trouble at the breaking point, Katrina is depending on Vaughn more than ever. But when the father of her baby unexpectedly comes to town, it will drive a wedge into the budding relationship. Along with the revelations of the librarian and the coroner's obsession, Vaughn and Katrina are confronted with a decision that will change their lives forever.