Powerless

Elsie Silver is a Canadian author of sassy, sexy, small town romance who loves a good book boyfriend and the strong heroines who bring them to their knees. She lives just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband, son, and three dogs and has been voraciously reading romance books since before she was probably supposed to. She loves cooking and trying new foods, traveling, and spending time with her boys—especially outdoors. Elsie has also become a big fan of her quiet five o’clock mornings, which is when most of her writing happens. It’s during this time that she can sip a cup of hot coffee and dream up a fictional world full of romantic stories to share with her readers. www.elsiesilver.com Also by Elsie Silver Flawless Heartless Powerless Powerless Elsie Silver PIATKUS First published in Great Britain in 2023 by Piatkus Copyright © 2023 by Elsie Silver Excerpt from Reckless copyright © 2023 by Elsie Silver The moral right of the author has been asserted. All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. A CIP catalogue record for this bookis available from the British Library. ISBN: 978-0-349-43771-2 Piatkus An imprint ofLittle, Brown Book Group Carmelite House 50 Victoria Embankment London EC4Y 0DZ An Hachette UK Company www.hachette.co.uk www.littlebrown.co.uk For the ones who’ve spent their lives being just a little *too* agreeable. Here’s to getting comfortable disappointing other people to avoid disappointing yourself. The truth is we only have control over a finite number of things in life. The rest is a fucking crap shoot. — Kandi Steiner Table of Contents Reader Note Prologue: Sloane, age ten 1: Jasper 2: Sloane 3: Jasper 4: Sloane 5: Jasper 6: Sloane 7: Jasper 8: Sloane 9: Jasper 10: Jasper 11: Sloane 12: Jasper 13: Jasper 14: Sloane 15: Sloane 16: Jasper 17: Sloane 18: Sloane 19: Jasper 20: Sloane 21: Sloane 22: Jasper 23: Jasper 24: Sloane 25: Jasper 26: Sloane 27: Jasper 28: Sloane 29: Jasper 30: Sloane 31: Jasper 32: Jasper 33: Jasper 34: Sloane 35: Sloane 36: Jasper 37: Sloane 38: Jasper 39: Sloane 40: Sloane Epilogue: Jasper Reckless Sneak Peek: Coming June 2023 Acknowledgments The Elsie Silver Saloon Reader Note This book contains adult material including childhood trauma, death of a family member, and anxiety. It is my hope that I’ve handled these topics with the care they deserve. PrologueSloane, age ten My car door is open before my parents have put the Bentley in park. My feet hit the gravel driveway before they’ve even managed to get out of the car. In a whoosh of breath, my arms wrap around my cousin Violet. We almost bowl each other over onto the dirt driveway with the force of our hug. She smells like green grass, horses, and sweet summer freedom. “I missed you!” I squeal as Violet pulls away and grins mischievously at me. “I missed you too.” I catch my mom staring at us, happy and sad all at once. I look like my mom, and Violet looks like hers. Except Violet’s mom died, and my mom lost her sister. I always think she likes bringing me out here because she feels close to her sister when she’s on the ranch. It also makes it more convenient for my parents to travel to their favorite spots in Europe. My dad said something about it being good for me to “see how the other half lives.” I’m not totally sure what that means, but I saw my mom’s lips clamp down on each other when he said it. Either way, I never complain because a full month at Wishing Well Ranch with the Eaton family means I get to hang out and have fun with my cousins. The rules are lax. The curfews don’t exist. And I get to run wild for four full weeks every summer. “Robert, Cordelia.” Uncle Harvey reaches forward to shake my dad’s hand before giving my mom a tight squeeze that leaves her blinking a little too quickly as she peers out over the flat farm fields and jagged mountains behind them. “Nice to see you both.” They start talking about boring adult stuff, but I don’t hear them because my other cousins walk out of the big ranch house. Cade, Beau, and Rhett jog down the front stairs, joking and shoving and roaming like a pack. And then they’re followed by one more boy. One I don’t recognize. One who immediately has my attention. One with long, lanky limbs, caramel-colored hair, and the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. The saddest eyes I’ve ever seen. When that boy slides his gaze over to me, there’s nothing but curiosity on his face. I jerk my head away all the same, feeling hot splotches pop up on my cheeks. My mom moves beside me, patting me on the head. “Sloane, you need to remember your sunscreen. You already look too hot, and you spend so much time in the dance studio, your skin isn’t used to this exposure.” Her fussing only makes me blush harder. I’m almost eleven and she’s making me seem like a baby in front of everyone. I give my eyes a petulant roll and mumble, “I know. I will,” before taking Violet’s hand and storming off. We go inside and up to my guest room, searching for some privacy while everyone else stands around outside and makes small talk. Violet flops on the mattress and announces, “Tell me everything.” I giggle and push