Ninety-Nine Series

Tamara Jensen is broken inside and out. On the run from an abusive father and a dangerous ex, the distressed transient is stranded in a small Washington town off of Highway 99. Though she finds a last-chance job at the local diner, a date with a customer leaves her abandoned bearing a hole in her memory…and a baby growing inside of her. Joe Phillips, the diner’s short-order cook, is rugged, handsome, sweet, and determined to push past Tamara’s walls. Tamara finds comfort in his friendship as she struggles with a past that haunts her, and a darkness she cannot shake.

While searching for her family, an online news article reveals Tamara’s childhood home was destroyed in a fire, and her younger sister, Dakota, was the primary suspect in the arson. Following this lead, Tamara learns Dakota is living in the same drug-infested hellhole she barely escaped six years ago. Propelled by guilt and fear, Tamara is determined to save her.

Following a desperate battle to save her sister, Tamara is left abandoned in the wake of her good intentions. She was promised family reconciliation and beauty for ashes, but fighting for these promises seems impossible, even more so now that she is carrying the weight of a long-buried family secret. Less than a week ago, Joe’s deepest desires were on the verge of coming true, but now with his dreams burnt to ash, and Tamara gone, he’s not sure what’s left to hold onto.