Steele Stranger (Ashley Steele Caribbean Thrillers, Book 1) by Chris Lord

Release date: April 27, 2017
Subgenre: Adventure thriller

About Steele Stranger:


Ashley Steele is coming home. Casie Steele knows because her lawyer told her so.It has been seven years since he was recruited to work in a post-9/11 Middle East, six years since the letters quit coming. But the man who walks into their house is not Ashley Steele.

They were newlyweds when Ashley chose duty over love, but Casie knows the difference between her husband and a stranger. It's his face, his body, but not his soul. She's on her own--to everyone else he's the same old Ashley.

Casie’s sanity, safety, and Ashley’s finances area at risk… everything turns into a mystery when a stranger is in the house.

Excerpt:

 

Casie's hand trembled so much she couldn't hold the tea cup. It slipped out of her hand, like so many things had slipped lately. The tea cup bounced once off the floor before it shattered on the solid oak floor. The few drops of tea that had been in the cup would be easy for her maid Maria to clean up. She looked around with panic to see if any had gotten on the photo album. Rarely today did families have a big old coffee table photo album—the type of an album that held the black and white pictures and professional pictures to store family memories. Casie only had a few of Ashley when he was a child. Some families take pictures to store the memories, some didn't; Ashley's family was the latter.

The few pictures she had of Ashley as a young boy seemed ancient, not having seen his face in so many years. There were the few she had of their marriage and then no more. It seemed it was all she had left of Ashley. She stared at the wedding portrait of him and her. It seemed to be all that was left of him.

Six years was a long time to look at the same pictures. She rearranged the photos and the furniture to give the house a different look. They didn't share many nights together in the house and then he was gone. Casie kept the yellow bow on the porch pillar in new condition, and made public how she had planned his welcome home party for the day he walked through the door. She checked the mail every day looking for a letter or official notification. She checked several times a day. The pressure had started to show in her actions, and face.

She looked down at the broken cup, and joined her hands together to stop them from shaking.

"Mrs. The phone is for you. It's Richard." Maria handed Casie the phone.

"Hello Richard." Richard, a friend of Ashley, and their family attorney, called often to check on Casie.

"Casie, how are you? You didn't look good last night."

"I'm all right. Just nerves."

"Seven years is a long time to wait."

"I know. If they'd just tell me something… Couldn't they just let me know if he's alive or dead? If's he is dead, I'll take it hard, but at least I'll know."

"Casie, there are lots of families like you now. War is hell, especially for the families at home. I want to make sure. I care for you, Casie, and you need to take better care of yourself. You need to make some decisions, and Casie, it's time to consider moving on." His voice was soft.

"Richard, I'll make the decisions I need to, when I have to."

"It's almost seven years now, Casie. Your moment is almost here."

"Richard please! This is hard for me." Her voice sounded frustrated. Richard had constantly prodded her lately to make decisions and move on with life.
"I'm sorry. I care for you and don't want to see you hurt. Six long years, and the seventh anniversary is almost here." Richard was the family lawyer and understood the legal hurdles that would come in the next few months. 

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About Chris Lord:

Chris Lord has wanted to be a writer since childhood. Sitting at a desk as a child and writing stories in a notebook in a scrawl few could read. Moving on to an IBM Selectric, writing about alien species and adventurers. Thank God for the computer when gives the ability to write anywhere.

Living the life of a verbal story teller, and making a living by using that gift, over the last many years publishing those stories has given Chris a great sense of satisfaction. It’s always nice to read the reviews and emails from readers.

Living in a suburb of Atlanta, married and with three children, Chris has had many jobs in life to get today. Chris is happy to here now and has the opportunity to share this story and many others with you. 


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