All Roads Lead to You

Premise

The love of his life is dead and Jason Morgan just wants out. Out of the business, out of making and keeping promises, out of town. Out of his own skin, period.

Gabrielle Williams has one rule in life. Never fall in love.

When these two strangers meet on a deserted road, both are immediately drawn to one another. Gabi quickly realizes that he's running from his life and decides to help. Can she do what she does best and fix Jason's heart without losing her own? Or will she break her only rule?

Will Jason find love where he least expects it? Or will he be forever haunted by his past? Can he ever truly let go of Sam?

Is this just a disaster waiting to happen?

Or the chance of a lifetime?

Prologue

Regrets

How had this happened? How had his life gotten so out of control? When had he become this man he hardly recognized whenever he looked into the mirror every morning? It was supposed to be a one time thing. One night between two very good friends to help erase the images of their significant others with other people.

But life apparently had other ideas. And while he was thrilled about his son he wasn't entirely sure the price he'd paid for him had been worth it. He'd lied to and betrayed the woman he loved. And why? To protect another woman's secrets. What kind of man sold out his own fiancée for another? Even if that woman was the mother of his son, how could he turn his back on Sam and the life they'd fought so hard to have?

He'd destroyed their lives. Sure she'd committed some atrocities of her own, but as a direct result of what he had done to her. She'd been hurt and angry and so full of hatred that she'd struck out in the ways guaranteed to bring him the most pain. First she'd stood by and watched as his son was kidnapped. Then she'd decided to go after Elizabeth by hiring a couple of thugs to threaten her and her sons. And as her final act of revenge she'd lured Elizabeth's husband into her bed.

In the heat of anger derived from absolute frustration, he'd made a few threats of his own. He'd stood right there in her living room, staring her down, and in the coldest voice imaginable had threatened to kill her if she ever did anything to hurt Elizabeth or her children again. Had he meant it? Would he have been able to follow through?

Never in a million years. No matter how angry she made him he could never have physically hurt her. She had been his whole world. She'd suffered enough because of him.

Had he ever told her that though? Had he ever truly apologized for what he and Elizabeth had done to her? He couldn't apologize for Jake. He regretted lying to her, hurting her, but he could never be sorry for sleeping with Elizabeth because right or wrong she had given him a son. But he was sorrier than he could ever express what that night had done to their lives.

Instead of ever telling her that though, he and Elizabeth had gotten all self-righteous, indignant, behaving as if they were the real victims instead of owning up to the truth. That he and Elizabeth had created this web of lies, deceit, and betrayal and whatever the fallout they were responsible for it.

And now it was far too late to say, "I'm sorry". To late to make things right. To late to tell her that he still loved her and that he always would. To late for that future he'd promised her and the children she always wanted with him.

Too late for everything because she was dead. Ironic how he'd once broken up with her in order to keep her safe and finally when she was well and truly away from him, she'd found herself a victim of a serial killer. Sam was gone and she was never coming back because once again he had failed to protect the person he loved the most outside of his son.

Jason forced out a sigh. Oh well, nothing to be done about that now. They had made their decisions and now all any of them could do was go on the best they could. But here? In this place? This town? Their home? The home she'd made for them. The apartment that had stopped being any kind of home the day she'd moved out.

No, he thought determinably shaking his head. He wasn't going to do that. He wasn't going to stay in this town, where every corner was filled with memories of her. Where the other part of his soul was being raised by another man because his mother didn't trust him to keep their son safe. Where he was expected to follow orders and not ask questions. Where this person and that person needed him, counted on him, to fix their lives, to advise them, to do everything for them except cut up their meat.

That man was dead. He'd died when Sam had gone over that cliff. He didn't know who he was anymore, but if he had any prayer of finding out, he needed to do it away from here. And if they had ever loved him they'd understand, they'd accept his decision to leave. For so many years he'd sacrificed so much for everyone else. It was past time for someone else to do do the sacrificing.

Walking over to the desk, he sat down behind it, and pulled paper and pen from the top drawer. An old picture of him and Sam stared back at him. He remembered putting it there the day she'd finally had enough of him and moved out for good. They had been so happy here, he mused as he traced a reverent finger over her beautiful smiling face allowing himself to get lost in the memories.

It had been early December, just before he and Sam had left his sister's wedding reception, when Emily had snapped their picture. It had been Sam's first real smile since her daughter had been stillborn the month before. She'd had more than her fair share of champagne and Jason knew she would regret it in the morning, but he'd been so relieved that she was finally enjoying herself. Her tipsy smile had enchanted him and he'd gotten so much joy from watching her.

They had come back here to the penthouse. She'd teased him about catching the garter and how much he'd smiled.

"Okay, now we are going to do it right here and right now," Sam said as she crossed over to him.

His head tilted slightly, both brows raised in inquiry. Surely she didn't mean what he thought she meant. She'd had a lot to drink but she wasn't that drunk. Was she?

"Dancing," she explained, bringing a halt to his thoughts

Immediately, he declined. "No." She'd probably have better luck with the other. He hated dancing with a passion.

"No." She nodded her head fiercely. "Yeah. Yes."

"No."

"Yes, seriously."

"No," he said sounding like a broken record.

"Come on nobody's around."

"I don't dance. I can't dance."

"Well you do now." Refusing to take no for an answer she grabbed his hands and pulled, with him resisting all the way. "That's fine. I don't want to dance."

"You put your arm here."

"Sam…"

"And then you put your arm here."

"I don't want to dance."

"And we just…"

"Okay, you need… "

She sighed. "I'm not gonna bite, please."

He tried again. "You need to get some rest."

"Please," she said again. "Jason, come on. I doubt I'm even going to remember tomorrow. So.…" She sighed in exasperation. "Please?"

Reluctantly, Jason gave in. He'd taken her into his arms and she'd rested her head on his shoulder and for a few moments the world had just faded away. Sometime later, they got tangled together and ended up falling to the floor. He'd ended up on top of her and as he'd gazed down into her beautiful eyes, he'd found himself falling in love. He'd asked if she was okay, but instead of answering, she leaned her head up and planted a kiss on him; their first. And though she'd initiated it, he hadn't resisted and had eagerly kissed her back.

Sighing wistfully, he came out of his reverie. Forcing the now painful images to the farthest corner of his mind, he picked up the pen and began writing.