The Heart's Choice. Joyce Livingston

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      The darkness. The tunnel. The hospital room. An older couple who said they loved her and prayed for her. None of it made any sense.

      Slightly turning her head, Tavia peered into the face of yet another stranger. A handsome man in a wheelchair with a small vase of white daisies balanced between his knees.

      “Hi. They said you were awake. I’ve been so worried about you.” He placed the vase on the nightstand. “I want you to know how sorry I am. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn't have been injured. I did everything I could to avoid the accident, but there wasn’t anything I could do.”

      Accident. This must be the man she heard earlier. Beck. She tried to speak, but the tubes prevented her.

      “I shouldn’t have mentioned that. I didn’t mean to upset you—I’ll leave now.”

      Bewildered, Tavia watched him go. All her life no one had cared if she lived or died; now three strangers were concerned about her.

      JOYCE LIVINGSTON

      is a Kansan who has held many dream jobs, from being a television broadcaster of eighteen years, to owning her own retail clothing store, to lecturing on quilting and sewing, to writing magazine articles, to being a part-time tour escort, to having over twenty inspirational romance novels contracted, eleven already published. Her books have won numerous awards: Favorite Contemporary Book of both 2000 and 2002, and in 2003 she was named Author of the Year. Her lifetime dream came true last fall when she got word from her agent that Love Inspired wanted to buy this book, The Heart’s Choice.

The Heart’s Choice

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      Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of

       my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

      —Isaiah 49:16

      Oh, my, where do I start?

       I owe so much to so many.

      Family, friends, other authors. My editor,

       Krista Stroever, who really knows her stuff.

       My hands-on agent, Carolyn Grayson, who has

       great confidence in me and continually spurs me

       on. And most of all, my husband, Don, for being

       so supportive of my writing, loving leftovers and

       putting up with all my idiosyncrasies. I also owe a

       debt of gratitude to Tracie Peterson, who has been

       a real mentor to me and taught me much about

       writing, and to Rebecca Germany for taking that

       first chance on me and publishing my first book.

      Then, there is Morgan Chilson, who so capably

       copyedits for me, and Jean Buchanan, who

       volunteers to be my reader. And I can’t leave

       out my writing group, the wonderful

       Kansas Fiction Writers.

      But, in addition to the above, I want to acknowledge

       you—the reader who has purchased this book.

       I hope you enjoy The Heart’s Choice, my first

       book for Love Inspired. I loved writing it,

       and hope to write many more Love Inspired

       books to share with you in the future.

      Dear Reader,

      Hello! Let me introduce myself. My name is Joyce Livingston and it has been my pleasure to write this book, The Heart’s Choice, for Love Inspired.

      The Heart’s Choice is the story of Tavia MacRae and Beck Brewster, two lonely people who are thrown together in the most unlikely of circumstances. Sometimes, life throw us a curve, and it certainly threw one at Tavia and Beck. What happened to them could happen to any of us at any time. Has life ever thrown you a curve? How did you handle it? Did you turn the reins of your life over to God, or did you muddle on through yourself, running into one insurmountable obstacle after another? I hope you enjoy reading how Tavia and Beck responded when their world fell apart.

      Although I have had a number of inspirational romance books published, this is my very first book for Love Inspired. Writing inspirational romance for you, the reader of Love Inspired, is a dream come true. A number of years ago, God called me to be an encourager to women everywhere, but I never dreamed it would be through my writing. Yet, He has given me this wonderful opportunity, and I praise Him for it.

      I’d love to hear your comments about The Heart’s Choice. If you’d be willing to pray for me as I write these books, I invite you to become a part of my prayer team. E-mail me at: [email protected], or visit my Web site at www.joycelivingston.com.

      Till next time,

      Contents

      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

      Epilogue

      Chapter One

      The woman in the passenger seat quickly rolled down the window as the SUV careened to a stop, its tires making a crunching sound as they left the Colorado highway and rolled onto the uneven shoulder. “What’s the problem?” she called out to Tavia, who was standing at the edge of the road, dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved print top, both insufficient to ward off the chill of the late afternoon.

      Tavia MacRae blinked hard and tried to appear calm, although inside she was a jangle of nerves. “My—my new boyfriend dumped me out of his car. I—I need a ride.”

      The nice-looking young man behind the steering wheel frowned as he sized her up from head to toe. “I don’t know. I usually don’t pick up strangers.”

      Disappointed by his comment and afraid her boyfriend might return, Tavia allowed her jaw to drop. “Then why did you stop?”

      “I asked him to.” The pretty brunette in the front seat gave her a warm smile. “You looked like you needed help.”

      “His hands were all over me. He tried—” Tavia dipped her head and swallowed hard but couldn’t hold back a sob as the