Within These Walls (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798682860265)

A 2023 Killer Nashville Reader's Choice Award Finalist.

Charity Fellner thought she had found the man of her dreams. After getting away from a would-be assailant during her freshman year of college, she thought no one would be able to break down the mile-high walls she had built around herself. Still stuck in a shell, Charity returns to campus to test the water by taking a single summer course. It was there that she found him. Professor Cameron St. James was unlike any man she had ever met before. He was forward yet gentle, kind yet demanding. He knew what Charity needed and would give it to her even if she tried to fight it. Charity, however, didn't put up much of a fight; there wasn't any denying Cameron's charm. The fact that he was temporary made him even more appealing.
Cameron only taught one summer class at the University of Southern California. Once the summer ended, he would head back to Maine, where he lived full-time. That's not how it happened. Cameron did head back to Maine, but Charity joined him.
This wasn't the life she envisioned for herself. She was going to be someone. A high-powered woman who wouldn't have to depend on anyone, that was the dream anyway. Once Cameron entered the picture and she fell in love, there was no turning back. The marriage, the move, it all happened so fast, and there was little hesitation on Charity's end.
Knowing no one and never having visited the state of Maine in the past, Charity settled into the enormous estate Cameron called home. It had been in his family for generations, built by his great-grandfather. There was no denying its beauty, but there was also something sad about the vast unused land. Hundreds of acres now surround her, the nearest neighbor miles away. Charity was never a social butterfly but being out here all alone felt wrong-almost heartbreaking.
Charity put all of her insecurities behind her and fully focused on her new life, her new husband. Without even realizing it, years flew by, and Charity had become some sort of recluse. Sure, she got out. She would visit her mother in California during the summer while Cameron worked. She hosted the occasional dinner party, but the guest were all Cameron's friends and acquaintances. She never took the time to make a life and friends of her own.
Charity made herself a promise that she would try harder. Try to fit in, try to make friends, try to be a part of the community that she has refused to accept for far too long. That promise Charity made to herself was shattered before it could see the light of day. Once she decided to open herself up, secrets started to unravel, secrets that she couldn't forget, couldn't ignore. They clawed at her like a demon in the night. She needed to find answers and started to dig.

Did she dig too far?

Author: Leigh M. Hall
ISBN-13: 9798682860265
Publisher: Independently Published
Language: English
Published: 04/22/2022
Pages: 300
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.66lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.63d