BLURB:
When Maria and a child she says is his arrives on Jay’s doorsteps, he is in the middle of composing a musical. Though the four year old has his eyes, Jay can’t be sure this isn’t a scam.
He believes his dead wife took steps to rid herself of the child. A need for his assistance to help with childcare while she works is Maria’s reason for arriving in Fern Lake. She also believes her nephew should know his father.
Can Jay accept and learn to love his child and deal with the attraction to a woman who physically looks like his dead wife? Can Maria deal with his trust issues and a threat from her own family?
EXCERPT:
Maria walked up the steps and faced a massive wooden door. She rang the bell. Jamie danced from foot to foot. When no one answered she rang a second time. Her foot beat an impatient rhythm against the stone landing. Why was there no answer? Did Jamie’s father live alone in this imposing place? Where was the butler…or a maid? Her shoulders tensed. Other than the nasty things her sister had said and the information she’d read on the internet, what did she know about him?
As she reached to ring the bell a third time, the door opened. Maria stared at the man framed in the doorway. He was more handsome than the pictures she’d seen. Broad shoulders. Glowering. His shaggy blond hair added to his dangerous look. The rumpled shirt and slacks added to her impression. Brilliant green eyes held anger.
“What do you want?” he snapped.
Jamie squeezed her hand. “Don’t like him. He’s sour.”
She nearly laughed. Her mother had said that when Jamie had a tantrum. Though Maria’s body hummed with a desire to smooth the scowling mouth, she couldn’t. Touching him would be the wrong approach. She’d come for his help, nothing more.
* * *
Jay stared at the woman on his doorstep. For an instant he thought his dead wife had risen like a wraith to disturb his peace. Selfish, ego-centered and a thief. Delores had stormed off like a tornado ripping his emotions to shreds. His hands clenched sending arrows of pain up his arms.
“What do you want?” The sharpness of his voice made him step back.
“Don’t like him. He’s sour.”
The piping voice of the young boy diverted his attention from the look-alike. Was this woman attempting to pass off the boy as his? He knew the truth. Months after Delores’ departure and realizing she wouldn’t return, he’d sent a private detective to find her. He’d intended to present her with divorce papers. He had the report of her accident and death.
“Who are you?” he demanded.
“Maria Russo.” She pulled the boy forward. “This is Jamie, your son.”
Did she think he would fall for her line? Was she pushing her child as the baby Delores had aborted? There’d been no mention of a child in the report Amos Black had delivered. All there’d been was the article and a death notice from a small town newspaper. Delores had been the only fatality.
Jay rubbed his right hand with his left. By the time he’d read the report he’d been drunk. The scanty information had confirmed she’d had the abortion. No way was this child was his.
The boy raised his head. Jay grasped the door frame. Eyes as green as the ones he saw every morning met his. This had to be a trick.
The young woman kept her hands on the boy’s shoulders. “Jamie, no tears. It will be all right.”
“He’s mean. I don’t want a mean dad.”
“We’ve surprised him. Remember what we talked about during our trip here?”
The child toed the stone landing. “Maybe he didn’t know about me.”
“That’s right.”
And true, Jay thought. He drew a deep breath. Though the boy had the eyes and seemed the right age, this Maria was Delores’ sister. She could have known about his eyes. He couldn’t commit himself until he knew more.
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Sounds like those three are going to have a rocky road to a happy ending. Great hook, Janet.
ReplyDeleteHis concerns seem reasonable, though his grumpiness isn't. You've set up a very interesting situation!
ReplyDeleteA jarring start to any day. Definitely need to see more!
ReplyDeleteOOOh - there's a secret there just waiting to be revealed.
ReplyDeleteThat would certainly be a difficult situation to be in for all of them.
ReplyDeleteYour book is included in this week's Roost Recommendations, featuring a link to this post, a buy link, and a blurb. I share the Roost Recommendations posts on Twitter with readers looking for their next book.
https://ornerybookemporium.blogspot.com/2021/05/roost-recommendations-26-may-2021.html