Authors: Carmen Desousa
She Belongs to Me (46 page)
As he thought about his father, anger replaced his tears. “Typical,” he muttered in disgust, exhaling in the dark room. Maybe his father was the reason their family was so deplorable? No. He needed to stop blaming others and accept responsibility for his actions.
“Priscilla,” he heard his father’s peal of agony. “Priscilla, my God, No! Please don’t do this to me!”
Walter bolted out of bed and sprinted down the hall toward his parents’ room. His heart pounded fiercely in his chest. His legs felt heavy and sluggish as if he
were
in a nightmare. “Dear God,” he prayed. “Please…”
Rounding the corner of their doorway, he saw his father administering CPR.
“Dad?” he choked out, his voice trembling. “Is Mom—” He couldn’t frame the word.
His father’s head whipped around. “Call 911!”
Walter couldn’t move. His mother lay lifeless on their king-sized mattress, a bottle of whiskey on the nightstand alongside an empty bottle of prescription medication.
“Walter, call 911!” his father belted again.
He did as instructed but knew it wouldn’t make any difference. If his father couldn’t save her, nobody could.
63
Land of the Noonday Sun
Acknowledgements
My journey as a writer has been a long one. Though,
She Belongs to Me
took two years to write and publish, the story took twenty-five years to compile, as life tends to get in the way of dreams.
If it weren’t for my wonderful, supportive husband of twenty-two years, my writing would not be possible. He truly made me believe in a happily-ever-after. Without my husband and two wonderful sons, there would be no reason to write.
I would also like to thank a friend who has cheered me on from the beginning, Jamie Rush. Jamie’s books were an inspiration, but more so, her words of encouragement kept me going.
A big thank you to my best friend and cousin, who had to endure the first drafts of this story and provided much needed
feedback
. Without their insight, this novel would never have seen the light of day.
Many thanks to Bernadette
Soehner
—a great friend and publisher—not a day has gone by that she hasn’t communicated with me as we worked feverishly to put this novel together.
Thank you to Jan Marshall who created a masterpiece of a cover.
And lastly a thank you to my biggest fan—my son—he has stood by me longer than any other person, championing me constantly through every rough turn in the road.
I love you all.
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About the Author
Carmen
DeSousa
I love writing. As far back as I can remember I created stories—no, not to my parents—with my best friend. We would sit for hours playing with Barbie dolls, creating new adventures with the iconic toy. Then when I was eight, I actually wrote my first story. A horror story about gigantic fleas of all things, I guess I had a fear of fleas. Who knew I’d grow up to be a romantic-suspense writer?
When I was in college, I wrote my first novella. My professor wanted something that entailed drinking and fishing—he was a huge Hemmingway fan. Well, he sure received a surprise when he read my short story. It did have drinking and fishing, but there was nothing funny about it. It was sad; it was real life. Luckily, he enjoyed it, even admitted I was the first student who ever made him cry and that I had potential.
Unfortunately, it just wasn't in my future at the time. After all, I needed a roof over my head and food on my plate. At seventeen, I was on my own and a career as an author just wasn't feasible at that juncture in my life. At that time, if you didn’t live in the mecca—aka New York—you didn’t stand a chance, or at least that is what my peers insisted. So, I set out to conquer the business world, and I did. I spent the last decade and a half in sales, rising to the top of a Fortune 500 company.
Now fifteen years later, I'm back. And guess what, it's a new world where dreams really do come true. My first novel, She Belongs to Me, will be available December 2011, and from there, I have many stories waiting to share with my wonderful readers. I've waited twenty years to share my love of the written word and hope that you will be just as excited as I am.