Fearless, Abby Brooks [leveled readers .txt] 📗

Praise for Abby Brooks

“Abby Brooks is a wizard with Beyond Us—entertaining and pure enjoyment!”

Adriana Locke—USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author

“A masterful blend of joy and angst.

Praise for Abby Brooks

“With just the perfect amount of angst and remarkable character development, Abby Brooks has crafted a masterpiece…”

Praise for BEYOND WORDS

"Once again Abby Brooks creates a world filled with beautifully written characters that you cannot help but fall in love with.”

Praise for BEYOND LOVE

"A lovely story of growing beyond your past, taking control of your life, and allowing yourself to be loved for the person you are."

Melanie Moreland—New York Times Bestselling Author, in praise of Wounded

“Abby Brooks writes books that draw readers right into the story. When you read about her characters, you want them to be your friends.”

Praise for Abby Brooks

Fearless

A Wildrose Landing Romance

Abby Brooks

Copyright © 2021 by Abby Brooks

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Cover image copyright © 2021 by WANDER AGUIAR PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

Cover design by Abby Brooks

WILDROSE LANDING

Fearless

Shameless

THE HUTTON FAMILY

Beyond Words

Beyond Love

Beyond Now

Beyond Us

Beyond Dreams

It’s Definitely Not You - Joe’s story

The Hutton Family Series - Part 1

The Hutton Family Series - Part 2

A BROOKSIDE ROMANCE

Wounded

Inevitably You

This Is Why

Along Comes Trouble

Come Home To Me

A Brookside Romance - the Complete Series

WILDE BOYS WITH WILL WRIGHT

Taking What Is Mine

Claiming What Is Mine

Protecting What Is Mine

Defending What Is Mine

THE MOORE FAMILY

Finding Bliss

Faking Bliss

Instant Bliss

Enemies-to-Bliss

THE LONDON SISTERS

Love Is Crazy (Dakota & Dominic)

Love Is Beautiful (Chelsea & Max)

Love Is Everything (Maya & Hudson)

The London Sisters - the Complete Series

IMMORTAL MEMORIES

Immortal Memories Part 1

Immortal Memories Part 2

AS WREN WILLIAMS

Bad, Bad Prince

Woodsman

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Epilogue

Shameless sneak peek

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Acknowledgments

Recipes

Also by Abby Brooks

Connect With Abby Brooks

Chapter One

Evie

Amelia Brown squished my cheeks so hard my lips poofed out, gave them a pat, and smacked a kiss to my forehead. “Evie. Darling. Smile for me, sweetness. Opportunity hides in every disaster. This is a chance to come back stronger. To learn. To grow.”

I mentally added an exclamation or three after each of her sentences and the smile she requested bloomed. With the jingle of jewelry and perpetual optimism, my best friend swept into the kitchen in the apartment we’d been sharing for the last several months, then returned with a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses.

She gave them a wiggle. “We’re gonna celebrate.”

“Ahh, yes.” I tucked my legs underneath me and hugged one of her many pillows to my chest. “Not only am I living on your couch because my ex is a terrible excuse for a human being, but now I’m unemployed. Definitely a reason to celebrate.” Despite my sarcasm, an odd blip of hope swelled in my heart.

Sometimes you have to burn to the ground to rise from the ashes.

That thought sounded more like it belonged in Amelia’s head than mine. Maybe I’d read it on some of her motivational wall art.

She plonked the bottle of tequila onto her coffee table and folded herself into a sitting position on the floor. “You’re inviting negativity into your life with that attitude.” She glared, which made her as ferocious as a kitten in a field of daisies. “If you listen closely,” she continued, “your higher self and spirit guides are whispering. They’re telling you what you need to know, and I promise you, losing that job is a very good thing.”

I didn’t believe in spirit guides. Or tarot readings. Or any of the woo-woo weirdness Amelia built her life around, but I loved her for it anyway. Besides, whether I believed her or not, I couldn’t ignore the feeling that my change in employment was a Very Good Thing Indeed.

Capitalized. Underlined. Bolded.

“All right, then.” I scooped up a shot glass and held it her way. “To new beginnings.”

“That’s the spirit!” With a massive grin and a twist of the cap, Amelia cracked open the tequila and filled both glasses. She tossed hers back and I followed suit, widening my eyes and huffing a breath as it burned down my throat.

“I can’t remember the last time I did shots.”

Amelia paused mid-pour. “Hmm. Me neither.” With a shrug, she downed her second shot and graced me with a grin that said we were in for some fun.

“Tonight, we’re gonna rewrite everything that jackass said when he fired you. We’re gonna build you up because, Eveline, you are so fine.” She giggled at her silly rhyme and handed me my next shot. “It’s time for you to unleash your real self on the world.”

I tossed it back as she poured another. “It’d be nice if creepy men would stop unleashing themselves on me.”

Five hours ago, my boss sat me down and broke my world by saying I was an acceptable writer, with piles of unrealized potential, but I played things too safe. The man I’d thought of as a mentor stared me in the eyes and said, “Evie, if you were a color, you’d be taupe.”

Not powerful, sophisticated black.

Not cool, calm, has-it-together teal.

Not fiery red or sweet-as-candy pink.

Freaking taupe.

“You weren’t like this when I hired you,” he’d said, then went on to tell me I blended into situations like muzak in a department store. Unobtrusive. There, but not. You could bob your head without realizing. Hum along without caring. Then leave with a song you hated stuck in your head for days.

I was boring. Bland. He said my new personality seeped into my writing. In a world that ran on drama, outrage, and preferred YouTube to newspapers, he couldn’t keep waiting for me