Just Before Sunrise

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Just Before Sunrise

By

Carla Neggers

Contents

Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen

"I'll tell you the truth. All right? If it'll—"

Garvin pivoted to her, touched a finger to her mouth. "No. Don't. Don't say a word."

His voice was raw from exhaustion, tension. He'd been out on the water all night, most of the day. Thinking, Annie expected. Debating what to do. Remembering. She thought she understood. When she'd bid against him for Sarah Linwood's painting, she'd shattered whatever life he'd fashioned for himself in the past five years, whatever shaky peace with his fate.

She had no idea what he meant to do. Ask her to leave? Fetch a tape recorder to make sure she couldn't take back what she was going to tell him?

Instead he drew his finger along her lower lip. Hundreds, thousands of sensations spilled through her, softening any resistance, overcoming any reserve. Yesterday, tomorrow, suddenly made no difference.

"Annie, Annie."

His voice was just as raw, just as exhausted, but without the edge. He took her face in his hands and kissed her gently, softly, letting his palms skim down her shoulders, down her back. She should be all right, she thought faintly. It wasn't the sort of raging, rough kiss as the other night. There was control behind it. Intention. Really, she should be all right. She wouldn't lose herself.

But she was wrong.

Critical Acclaim for Carla Neggers' Wonderful Romances

A RARE CHANCE

"With each subsequent book, Carla Neggers keeps getting better.... She is now one of the superstars of tomorrow.
A Rare Chance
is.. .an exciting tale of romantic suspense."

—Harriet Klausner,
Affaire de Coeur

"Wow!
A Rare Chance was
a dynamite read! A crackerjack story—great characters.... One of those books that keeps you turning the pages. I enjoyed it so much I didn't want it to end."

—Kay Bendall, The Book Rack

"Each page is a treasure chest of romance and intrigue.
A Rare Chance
is a must-read for anyone who enjoys mysteries. Great book."

—Margaret Stilson, Paperback Exchange

"The right blend of love and sex, mystery and mayhem, fun and fright. Light humor and a touch of serious family psychology that feels real."

—Janet Coombs, Annie's Book Stop

"An incredible story. Ms. Neggers has become one of my favorite authors because she delivers a wonderful story line, characters, and lots of suspense."

—Pamela Frango, The Book Rack

FINDING YOU

"Finding You
is a rare find.... Carla Neggers is one of the most distinctive writers in our genre."

—Debbie Macomber

"Quia Neggers at her warmest, wittiest, and down-home hilarious best.... Ms. Neggers has earned her place in the spotlight alongside such notables as Nora Roberts and Jayne Ann Krentz."

—Harriet Klausner,
Affaire de Coeur

"Finding You
showcases the award-winning Ms. Neggers' own unique blend of quirky humor, sizzling romance, and engrossing suspense, which combine to produce irresistibly entertaining novels. Perfect reading for those long winter nights."

—Jill M. Smith,
Romantic Times

TEMPTING FATE

"If you love good, funny, suspenseful contemporary romance, you have got to read this book. It's in the Jayne Ann Krentz/Nora Roberts mode; well-written, fast-paced, and tightly plotted. It is also funny, very funny, on every level. The dialogue crackles, the characters are priceless...."

—
Heart to Heart

"Talented author Carla Neggers once again demonstrates her extraordinary skill and mastery of the romantic suspense genre.
Tempting Fate
is chock-f of action, suspense, dark secrets, and dangerous romance. A terrific read."

—
Rave Reviews

"All the characters are fully developed and individually inspired, the mystery keeps the tension and pace at a high, and the romance between Dani and Zeke is passionate and caring.
Tempting Fate
is multilaycrcd and is a fascinating reading experience."

—
Rendezvous

Books by Carla Neggers

White Hot

Night Scents

Just Before Sunrise

A Rare Chance

Finding You

Published by POCKET BOOKS

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

An
Original
Publication of POCKET BOOKS

POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

Copyright © 1997 by Carla Neggers

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

ISBN: 0-7434-9636-1

POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Visit us on the World Wide Web:

http://www.SimonSays.com

To my San Francisco friends,

Neffand Paul Rotter

and Catherine Coulter—

thanks for everything!

Prologue

Annie Payne crossed the square of gravel where her cottage had been and stood on the rocks above the bay, listening to the tide coming in and the November breeze rustling in the hemlock and pine. It was just before sunrise, her favorite time of day, and the eastern horizon had taken on a deep lavender cast. Before long, the spectacular colors of dawn would spill across the sky and glisten on the quiet water. But she would be on her way by then, Annie thought. Out of Maine altogether by noon.

Otto, unaware of their impending departure from the only home either of them had ever known, bounded down onto the rocks. He was a muscular rottweiler, undaunted by Maine's treacherous coastline, but Annie knew he wouldn't get too close to the incoming tide. I Ic hadn't been much interested in water since she'd plucked him from the bay as a puppy, the victim of somebody's sick idea of dealing with an unwanted litter. He was about fifteen weeks old, gangly, friendly, not a rottweiler of stereotype and, therefore, probably not easy to sell. The vet had said it was a miracle he'd survived. Annie chalked it up to his intrepid soul. Three years later, Otto was as big and muscular and fierce-looking as any rottweiler she'd encountered, but he had a gentle, slightly goofy temperament. He seemed to understand how close he'd come to death and took each day as a gift.

Annie was trying to adopt that attitude herself. She'd gotten out of her cottage before the nameless October storm had swept it into the bay five weeks ago. She'd managed to save Otto, two photo albums, the framed picture of her parents on their wedding day, and Gran's painting. Nothing else. No clothes, no furniture, no mementos of her trip to the British Isles or anyplace else. None of her plants. Not a piece of jewelry. All of it went.

"Come on, Otto. We have to go."

He stopped on a boulder and angled his massive head back toward her, his brown eyes soft and confused. Annie felt the tears brimming. She'd promised herself she wouldn't cry. She had no real family left in Maine since Gran had died a year ago. Her job as the director of a small maritime museum had long since failed to engage her. Her friends would stay her friends, no matter where she lived. With her cottage gone, there was nothing to keep her on her little Maine peninsula, nothing to keep her anywhere.

Turning away from the bay, she walked over to the gravel driveway where she'd parked her rusting station wagon. It was packed with her few surviving treasures and the clothes and essentials her friends had given her in a post-storm party. She'd left just enough room for Otto. Her friends weren't worried about the two of them heading cross-country together. One, Otto was a deterrent to anyone who might have ideas about her or her meager possessions. Two, most figured she'd turn back before she hit the Mississippi. A few thought pure stubbornness would propel her all the way to San Francisco and a taste of life there, but when reality caught up with fantasy, she'd head back home. They gave her three months, tops.