Which will she choose—her
old love or her new love?
Catherine
Killean is a woman on a mission. When her new husband disappears, leaving a
suicide note, she is determined to find out why. She follows his tracks first
to the North Woods of Maine, then to Florida, and back again to Maine. Along
the way, she meets the tall, dark, gruff Holden Taggart, a Maine guide.
In
her doubt and loneliness she is drawn to Holden, leaving her confused and
adrift. What will happen when her questions about Jonathan are finally
answered? Will old loyalty or new love triumph?
A
Widow’s Walk opens in northern Maine, on the banks of Moosehead Lake. Most of
the area was timber land and towns catered to the men who worked in lumber
camps. Like Gold Rush towns in the West, many delights awaited them—including
brothels. In this scene, the hotel in which the travelers are staying has
restored the original boudoirs with red velvet upholstery and inviting beds. In
this scene Catherine, staying in the Madam’s room, has an unwelcome visitor.
Excerpt (PG): The thief
“I’m sorry about…the kiss. I won’t trouble
you again.” He turned and strode down the corridor.
Catherine undressed slowly and got into
bed. She gazed at the ceiling, not sure where to even begin to decipher her
feelings. Holden’s scent remained on her skin, filling her senses. Ignoring her
conscience, she closed her eyes and rose to meet the fantasy. Suddenly,
Jonathan’s picture intruded and the heat dissipated. What is happening to
me? These feelings aren’t real. It’s ridiculous. I barely know the man. He has
a lifestyle totally foreign to me. He’s rough, coarse, ill-mannered. But,
she had to admit, extremely desirable. There’s something else, though. It’s
not just a physical attraction. No, it was a spark of male force different
from anything she had ever felt before, certainly not from the diminutive
Jonathan, who would have appeared so effeminate next to Holden. She considered
this new perspective. I used to think of Jonathan as fawnlike. He was a
delicate, vulnerable animal, to be protected and shielded from the wicked
things in the world. Could he instead have just been a weakling?
It took a long time to fall asleep, and
when she did, she dreamed, not of Jonathan, but of a great black bear who
appeared out of the cold darkness. It enveloped her in its huge paws and led
her gently into a cave. There the bear, which smelled oddly of lemon, began to embrace
her. She felt herself falling onto something furry, opening her body to take
the bear deep inside her, calling in her sleep, “I want you, you, you…” She
awoke with a snap.
Someone was indeed in her room. She tried
to make him out in the gloom. Shorter than Holden, and stockier. She caught a
whiff of lemon, this time real. “Who’s there?” In her fright she could only
manage a shrill squeak. The intruder let out an oath and, before she could
reach for the lamp, ran out, slamming the door behind him. Catherine flipped
the switch with trembling fingers. There on her bureau lay her jewelry case,
its contents scattered on the floor. As she knelt to gather them up, the door
opened. Harley stood there.
“I brought it back,” she said quietly. She crossed to the bureau, laid a
diamond brooch on it, and left without another word.
I Heart Book Publishing,
June 6, 2016
Ebook: words; Print: 227
p.
Contemporary romantic
suspense, M/F, 2 flames
Barnes and
Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-widows-walk-ms-spencer/1123844822?ean=2940153036274
Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/a-widows-walk-catherines-dilemma/9781311104298-item.html
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