Twelve years since Nina White’s family was taken away.
Twelve years since she’s seen her older brothers and younger sister, and she’s pretty sure they’ve forgotten about her. If they haven’t, why haven’t they found her?
Twelve years she’s lived in the system but now that she’s eighteen, she’s on her own and has control of her life.
Tennyson “Tex” Lippencott came to New York with dreams of becoming a boxer.
He’ll never make it big, but that’s okay. His dream is to remain here and one day own his own gym and he found the perfect place for his training at Miguel’s Gym, and only has a year and a half before he earns the degree necessary to move on to the next phase of his life.
Tex has known Nina for two years, since she was a smart-mouthed, tough teen working with him. Except something happened in the last six months that he is finding difficult to manage—he’s fallen in love with her. This was not supposed to happen, but he doesn’t exactly want to fight it either.
Nina has had it bad for Tex for a few months, not that she’d ever tell him. His sweet smile and heart the size of Texas is way too good for her and even if he did care, as soon as he learned the ugliness of her past, he’d distance him in a heartbeat. If it’s one thing she learned since she was taken from her family, was to build those walls and keep them reinforced so nobody can ever hurt her again.
If only he’d leave her alone and quit insisting that she find her family. The family she’s afraid had forgotten her.
Can Tex tear down her walls and will she allow him to.
Genre: FICTION / Romance / Contemporary20 Ratings on Amazon - 4.9 average
25 ratings on Goodreas - 4.5 average
“You’re eighteen today, Nina.” Mrs. Graft yells into my room. “State won’t pay for you anymore so you’ve gotta go.”
I knew this day would come, but are they really kicking me out this early? It’s like seven in the morning.
On New Year’s Day!
“Can I get a shower and food first?”
She steps into the bedroom I share with three other girls and scowls at me. “Make it quick. No point in dragging out the inevitable.”
“Thank you.” I push back the covers on my lower bunk and get out of the bed, careful not to bump my head, which I’ve done more times than I can count.
“Do you really have to go, Nina?” Ellie, the six-year-old who is on the top bunk asks, tears in her deep brown eyes.
“I’m eighteen. Those are the rules.”
A tear leaks out of the corner of her eye as she holds out her scrawny arms to me.
I lean in and hug her. She’s such a sweet little girl and has only been with us about six months.
“I will miss you,” she whispers into my hair.
“I’ll miss you too.” She still such a frightened little thing, having only been in the system a short time.
I remember all too well feeling lost and scared when I’d been taken from my family. Except I didn’t miss my parents. I missed my older brothers and younger sister. I especially remember asking why I couldn’t be with Dylan. He was the oldest and was the one who really took care of us.
“Go back to sleep,” I whisper and tuck her into bed, along with the stained and battered rag doll she keeps close. Then grab my toiletry bag and hurry off to the bathroom as I try to swallow past the lump in my throat.
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Portuguese
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Translation in progress.
Translated by Vinicius de Moraes
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Spanish
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Translation in progress.
Translated by Miriam Carvajal
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