Parker was pissed. He seldom lied to anyone, and he expected the same courtesy in return. He tried to calm down as he headed for the stable, but it was an effort in futility. He'd trusted her. When he remembered their conversation the day before yesterday, humiliation seared his cheeks. She'd made him look stupid. Correction, he'd made himself look stupid by allowing himself to be taken in by those innocent hazel eyes.

Anna was standing at a file cabinet, hands full of papers, when he burst into the office. He made a conscious effort not to slam the door closed behind him.

"We need to talk," he bit out.

Her face drained of color. "About?"

"Sit down."

She put the papers on top of the cabinet and went to sit in her chair. Today she wore a fake suede skirt that had seen better times and a sleeveless blouse with one button that didn't quite match the rest. As Parker advanced on her, he noticed that her face grew paler by the second and that the cherry surface of her work area gleamed with fresh polish.

"I don't appreciate being lied to," he said evenly.

Agitated and needing something to do with his hands, he reached for the granite paperweight on the blotter. At his movement, she flinched and jerked up her right arm to shield her face, clearly convinced he meant to strike her. Whoa. Parker was angry. He'd be the first to admit that. But he'd never hit a woman in his life, not even his little sister when they'd fought as kids.

Fingertips still resting on the paperweight, Parker studied his frightened bookkeeper with mounting bewilderment. She had a small scar on her left cheek. It still bore the pinkness of a recent wound. Now that he examined it more closely, a very unpleasant possibility sprang to his mind.

In his younger years, he had occasionally gotten into honky-tonk brawls, and he'd seen his share of cheeks laid open by the force of a man's fist. Had some jerk struck her? The question no sooner entered Parker's mind than he knew the answer. Everything about her suddenly added up—her fear of him, the countless lies on her job application, the way she shrank from his most casual touch. She had recently been involved in an abusive relationship. He saw it in her eyes—a trapped, wary look that made his heart catch. Now she was on the run, trying to stay one step ahead of the bastard who'd roughed her up. If he was wrong, he'd eat his hat for supper and his boots for dessert.

This added a totally new wrinkle. He couldn't very well blame a woman for lying to him about her references if she was trying to escape an abusive bully.

The anger that had made him see red a moment ago eased from Parker's body. Turning, he rested his hips against the edge of his desk and blocked her escape with his outstretched legs, angling them across the center aisle between the two workstations. He folded his arms loosely over his chest, hoping his relaxed posture might reassure her a little.

"You never attended Pepperdine University or Seaver College," he said without preamble. "The places of employment you listed don't even exist."

She pushed up from the chair. Parker was surprised that she could stand. Her legs were shaking like aspen leaves in a brisk breeze. She went to the file cabinet to collect her purse and then turned toward him, holding the bag to her midriff as if it were a shield. Without a word, she tried to step over his crossed boots. No way was Parker going to let her leave, not until he had some answers. He thrust out a hand to grasp her arm.

"Oh, no, you don't. I hired you in good faith. I offered you an extremely attractive employment package. The very least you owe me is some sort of explanation."

He could feel her arm muscles quivering under the press of his fingertips. He knew she was terrified. Yet still she said nothing.

"Well," he said softly, "if you've got no explanations to offer, let me venture a couple of guesses. I think some asshole beat the ever-lovin' hell out of you, and not that long ago, judgin' by that scar on your cheek." Her body jerked as if he'd slapped her. "My second guess is that your name isn't really Anna Pritchard. How am I doin' so far?"

Q. You seem to have a deep understanding of the many stages of recovery that a woman must undergo when healing from an abusive relationship. Have you done a lot of research into this topic, or are you simply able to put yourself in her shoes?

A. I have always been interested in the complexities of the human spirit, and in the past, a great number of books and talk shows painted abused women as weak, spineless individuals who subconsciously chose to be in relationships with domineering, abusive men. I found that to be very upsetting and felt it was narrow-minded, not to mention disgustingly self-righteous. That led me to begin reading everything I could find about women in unhealthy relationships and to watch interviews with them on television. I learned a great deal, allowing me to write factually about their experiences and what it's like for them once they find the courage to extricate themselves from the situation. So, yes, I have done a lot of research, and as a writer who has educated herself extensively and come to understand these women, I am also able to put myself in an abused woman's shoes.

Q. I love your male characters—they're so real yet so patient, strong, insightful, and tender. Does your understanding of the male psyche come from being married to your childhood sweetheart and raising two boys to manhood, or is there another secret to it?

A. The most frequent question that my female readers ask me is, "Do men like your heroes really exist?" My answer is always, "Absolutely! I personally know three, my wonderful husband and my two sons." While raising our sons, my husband and I also had an open-door policy for all their friends, and that holds true even now that they are both grown. As a result, I've gotten to know lots of guys and have had the opportunity to talk with them at length about life, love, and women. Their recurring question is, "Are there any halfway attractive women out there who aren't totally self-absorbed and stuck on themselves?" Women don't have a corner on sensitivity. Men have feelings, too, and most of them will bend over backward to make a woman happy. The challenge for them is finding the right woman. In my stories, I bring two nice people together, and they do the rest.

Q. Your love of animals comes through in all your novels. Can you tell us a little about the animals in your life?

A. Right now, we have three dogs, Kibbles, a darling red cocker mix that we rescued several years ago; and two male Australian shepherds, Buddy and Talili, who were littermates. Both of them seem to think Kibbles is their mom, which is understandable because they are red-tri shepherds, and Kibbles has the same coloring. She is now deaf and has cataracts, so they look after her when they go out into the forestland surrounding our home.

Buddy, featured in Summer Breeze as Joseph Paxton's dog, is a talker. It's difficult to describe the sounds that he makes, but he truly does attempt to have conversations with us. He can also open doors and enter the house after he's been out for a run. I've tried to teach him to also close the doors, but he looks at me as if I'm nuts. In the winter when we feel a cold draft, we know that Buddy has let himself and the other dogs in again.

His brother, Talili, named after a Papua New Guinean warrior, was originally our elder son's dog. My son's wife was raised on the island and often went diving in Talili Bay. Talili came to live with us when our son and his Kiwi spouse moved to New Zealand. (The quarantine over there for imported pets is torturously long.) Talili is fiercely loyal and protective. He also suffers from separation anxiety, possibly because his first family left him, so we must take him with us whenever we can. If we have to leave him at home, he gets even. One time he pulled every book and paper off my office shelves. More recently, he chewed up my husband's golf bag. He is a sweet, loving fellow, though, so we can't stay angry with him for long.

Being a writer is a solitary profession. My pets carpet the floor around me while I work and keep me from feeling lonely. My husband occasionally questions the wisdom of allowing three dogs in the house all the time, but he understands how much I enjoy their company and has never forced the issue. He's also a big softie and loves them as much as I do.

In addition to our dogs, we have a canary named Saffron who tries to drown me out with his songs when I talk on the phone. The louder I talk, the louder he sings. We also have a resident female cougar who occasionally seeks refuge on our property, countless squirrels and chipmunks, a large herd of deer, infrequent elk visitations, and a sow black bear whose tracks I sometimes see when I'm out walking. I never worry unless I see tiny cub tracks accompanying hers. Mama bears can be very dangerous if they think their babies are in danger.

Life on Cinnamon Ridge is never dull!

Q. As you were writing Star Bright, did you encounter any particular challenges, or have any especially memorable creative moments that set apart that writing experience?

A. Writing a book like Star Bright is a challenge from start to finish. My readers expect to read a wonderful love story, and they want it to be romantic as well as sensual. I believe I delivered all of that in Star Bright, but it wasn't easy. At one point, I wrote a scene in which the heroine, Rainie, has a dream about making love with Parker. I felt that it was a fabulous scene, but something about it kept bothering me. I finally realized that it simply didn't work at that point in the book and would be a betrayal of physically abused women everywhere if I included it so early in Rainie's relationship with Parker. After finishing Star Bright, I posted that scene on my website for my readers to enjoy because it seemed a shame to waste it. They loved it! It is still available for anyone who's interested in reading it. Simply go to catherineanderson.com. and click on the Bulletin Board button to the left of the homepage letter. Then select Main Board. At the top of that page, you will see an anchored message entitled Discarded Love Scene. I hope you enjoy it!