My name is Matthew Kalli and I’m not usually an angry guy. Most people think I’m the steadiest most stable of my three brothers plus Bobby Rizzo who might as well be our brother. There’s just one thing in the world that makes me as angry as I am right now and her name is Kara Cartwright.

I love my life in Riverton, New York. I had a great time growing up in the North Country and it’s still a great place to be. Or it was anyway. Until Kara came back. She took off nine years ago and I said good riddance to her. She’d left me even before that to be with one of the lowest bottom feeders in town. So – like I said – good riddance.

Okay. I’m supposed to be honest here. Tell it straight from the hip. That’s my assignment. Which I guess means I have to admit I’ve thought about her every day since she left. But that doesn’t mean I want to think about her. It only means I can’t help thinking about her.

Every time I see a certain color of blue-green I can’t keep myself from seeing her eyes. Every time I see somebody in those heavy boots she used to clunk around in I can’t keep myself from remembering how slim her ankles are when she takes them off.

It didn’t help that I never stopped visiting her Aunt Dee in the big old house on Flower Street. I called her Aunt Dee too and loved her too. Then she passed away and left the house to Kara. Now I can’t drive by the place without missing Dee and knowing Kara lives there.

Both of those things damned near split my heart down the middle. And – since I don’t seem to have a choice but to be straight up here – I’ve also got to admit I know that’s why I’m mad. What man wants to let anybody see that his heart’s split in two? It’s better to be mad as hell. That way I don’t look like a sad sorry piece of crap.

So that’s where it’s at with me. By the way my mother said from the beginning Kara would bring me loads of trouble. You should listen to your mother. She’s usually right. Now that bottom feeder I mentioned – Anthony Benton – got himself murdered. Good riddance to him too.

Discover more about Matt in A Wrong Way Home – Matt & Kara’s Story – Book #1 of the Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series featuring the Kalli family, the Kalli brothers and those who find safety and a warm welcome at Kalli Corner on Riverton Road. Buy this book at amazon.com/author/aliceorr. A Year of Summer Shadows – Book #2 out May 15.

Alice Orr – www.aliceorrbooks.com