The Loner

DIANA PALMER The Loner Dear Reader, This is the first of a trilogy of books about the children of Cole and Heather Everett from Heather’s Song. It features Tanner, the mercenary from last year’s novel, Notorious. The heroine, Anastasia, was named for Ingrid Bergman’s character in the 1950s movie of the same name. However, Tanner’s sister, Odalie, was named for a character in a novel written by my favorite historical author, Frank Yerby. The book was The Foxes of Harrow, which was published the year I was born, 1946, and made into a major motion picture (which gained an Oscar nomination) in 1947. He was the first African American to have a book purchased for a screen adaptation by a Hollywood studio. His list of honors is almost as long as his list of published novels, and the motion pictures they inspired. Although born in Georgia, he lived, and married, in Spain. George R. R. Martin lists him as one of the people who influenced his own writing. And Mr. Yerby certainly influenced mine! When I started writing, before I sold my first book, I actually got up enough nerve to write to Mr. Yerby, who was a very famous author. He answered my letter. It was the thrill of my life. I had asked him for advice about getting published, and he was kind enough not only to advise me, but also to send me a copy of his newest hardcover novel, his masterpiece, The Dahomean (it still has pride of place in my library). He is still my favorite historical author and, in my opinion, the finest historical author of all time. So I named Odalie for his heroine, in appreciation for the kind advice he gave me, and for taking time out of his busy life to write to an unknown author in a little town in Georgia. It was a privilege to know him, even from a distance. I hope you like the book. I really had fun writing it. Diana Palmer To all the wonderful doctors and nurses and aides in the Emergency Room and the old South Tower of the Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, Georgia, who took such wonderful care of me in August of 2021 while I fought to survive COVID, and kept me alive so that I could write more books. And thank you to the doctors and nurses and aides who took care of my Jim during his final illness with COVID, in the same place. We were only about five rooms apart during that awful time. I came home. Jim didn’t. During the writing of this book, I celebrated what would have been our 50th wedding anniversary. He was the best man I ever knew and my greatest love. And I miss him. And thank you, my readers, for your wonderful cards and letters of sympathy both online and in writing. I wasn’t kidding when I said that I read and saved every one of them. They are treasures, like all of you. I am still your biggest fan. Without you, there would be no Diana Palmer. Diana Palmer 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 CHAPTER SIXTEEN ONE Anastasia Bolton, nicknamed Stasia, was nineteen today. She looked at herself critically in her bedroom mirror, making a face at her lack of beauty. She had a pretty mouth and big, soft brown eyes. Her cheekbones were high, her ears small. She was only medium height, but her figure was perfect. She had elegant long legs, just right for riding horses, which she did, a lot. She’d done barrel racing when she was younger, but art had taken over her leisure hours. She painted beautifully. She was named after a semi-fictional character in a movie her romantic late mother had loved, Anastasia, which starred Yul Brynner and Ingrid Bergman. Her mother had loved the movie and named her only child after the unforgettable heroine. Stasia lived with her father, Glenn Bolton, on a huge beef ranch in Branntville, Texas. Her last living grandparents, her dad’s parents, had died of a deadly virus the summer before her graduation from high school. Her mother had died tragically when Stasia was only thirteen. There was no other family left, just Stasia and Dad. They were close. Glenn Bolton was only fifty years old, but he had a very bad heart and he was in the final stages of heart failure. It was treatable, but he hadn’t shared that knowledge with Stasia. He was terrified of the open-heart surgery treatment would require. He and the doctor had spoken privately the week before, and afterward, Glenn had been quieter than usual and he’d contacted his attorney. That had been a private conversation as well. Stasia worried about what was being discussed. She didn’t want to think about what her life would be like without him. She had no family except him. Well, there were the Everetts, who lived next door to her father’s ranch on their own enormous ranch, the Big Spur. They were sort of like family, after all, since Stasia had known them all her life. Cole Everett and his youngest son, John, were frequent visitors. Glenn had the only groundwater suitable for ranching in the small community of Branntville, Texas. A river ran like a silver ribbon through his entire property, so he wasn’t dependent on wells for watering his cattle, as other ranchers were. He approved of Cole and John. He wanted more than anything to see his daughter settled with one of the Everett sons, but she was only in love with one of them—with Tanner, the eldest, who was the cookie-cutter design of the spoiled rich kid. Cole hadn’t spoiled Tanner. That had been his wife, Heather, a former singing star and current songwriter. Their firstborn had been the light of her life. He