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~ thoughts on romances

Romantic Reads and Such

Tag Archives: Sharon Sala

Spotlight – The Way Back to You

07 Tuesday Jan 2020

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour, Contest, Sneak Peek

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Blessings Georgia series, Sharon Sala, The Way Back to You

Fans of Sharon Sala’s book will be thrilled to see a new Blessings, Georgia book on the shelves.

*****

The Way Back to You

A Blessings, Georgia Novel

by Sharon Sala

Publication Date: 12/31/2019

Blurb:

What do you do when your whole life is turned upside down?

Sully Raines sets out to find his birth mother, and ends up in Blessings, Georgia. A new surprise awaits him here, but of the best kind—his childhood sweetheart, whom he hasn’t seen since she moved away when they were teens, is living in Blessings now. He’s not sure she’s as happy to see him as he is to see her, but it’s been a lot of years, and a lot of water under the bridge…

Sully’s heartfelt search for answers about his past might just turn out to be the key to his future…

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2jRq04K

B&N: http://bit.ly/2ppOvbJ

Apple: https://apple.co/2prI4Vy

IndieBound: http://bit.ly/31mxnkc

BAM: http://bit.ly/2YjFkXK

*****

Excerpt:

Sully drove straight to the flower shop. A bell rang as he walked in, and an older woman in a colorful floral smock appeared from the back.

“Hello. I’m Myra. How can I help you?”

“I want to get a bouquet of flowers. Do you have some made up?”

“Yes. Here in the cooler behind this stand of stuffed toys. But if you don’t see what you want, I can easily make something else while you wait.”

“Okay, thanks,” Sully said. “Let me check these out first.”

“Seeing as how fall is upon us, we have several different sizes of fall bouquets, and with different kinds of flowers. And, of course, the roses,” Myra said.

He pointed to a bouquet of red roses in a crystal vase with a ruby-colored base.

“Those, in that vase with the ruby-colored base. How much are those?”

“Well, it’s a dozen American Beauties, and the vase is crystal, which makes it a bit pricier than others. It’s one hundred and ten dollars.”

“I’ll take it,” Sully said.

Myra beamed. Her husband, Harold, had fussed at her nonstop because she’d used a vase that expensive, and now she could say “I told you so.”

“Wonderful,” she said, as she removed the bouquet from the cooler and carried it to the register. “Will this be cash or credit card?”

“Card,” Sully said as he pulled it out of his wallet.

“If you want to sign a card to go with the flowers, you can pick from these,” Myra said, pointing to the little rack on the counter.

“No card, I’m handing them to her in person.”

Myra pulled up a new screen on the computer. “Your name, sir?”

“Sully Raines.”

Myra gasped. “You’re the man who saved Melissa Dean’s life, aren’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“This is wonderful. I’m glad to meet you. Everybody loves Melissa.”

Sully smiled. “I’m finding that out, but I’m not surprised. She was a sweetheart when we were kids, and she’s only gotten better with age.”

“You knew each other! Wow. Then you must have been really frantic when you were trying to get her out of the burning car.”

“I’d only arrived in town about an hour before it happened. I didn’t know anybody here, and I sure didn’t know it was her until we were in the ER. The last time we’d seen each other, we were thirteen.”

“Oh my! What an amazing story. If these are for her, please give her our best.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Sully said, and then they finished the purchase.

He made the drive back to Melissa’s house slowly and carefully, and he was happy to see her car in the driveway when he arrived. He got out carrying the vase, and then instead of using the key she’d given him, he rang the doorbell.

When Melissa opened the door, her eyes widened in delight.

“Delivery for the prettiest woman in Blessings,” he said.

She laughed. “I think you must have the wrong house.”

“Nope. I know exactly where I am, and these are for you. Where do you want me to put them?” he asked.

“I think here on this table in the foyer. That way I’ll see them all the time, coming and going.”

He set them on the table, then turned around and hugged her.

“Does this mean Elliot gave you good news?” Melissa asked.

“He gave me news,” Sully said, and felt the knowing of meant to be when he kissed her.

Melissa’s heart fluttered from the gentleness of the kiss, but she was dying for information.

“But what news? Did he know where she was?”

“That man talks around a subject more than anyone I’ve ever met. He told me my birth father’s name, thinking I already knew.”

“Oh my gosh! What is it?”

“Marc Adamos. I never found the name on any papers, but now I know.”

“And your mom? What did he say?”

“He told me not to leave Blessings.”

Melissa frowned. “But what does that mean, exactly? That she’s here? Then where?”

“He just kept repeating, ‘Don’t leave Blessings,’ so I’m not leaving.”

Melissa laughed and hugged him. “Don’t expect me to be sad about that.”

“He also said you were my soul mate and wished us a long and happy life together.”

She gasped. “Did he really say that?”

Sully nodded.

Melissa sighed. “Well, it took us long enough to find each other again. Maybe that is why it was so easy to fall back into this.”

“Works for me,” Sully said, then kissed her again until he heard her moan. “The feeling is mutual.”

Melissa felt like her whole body was humming—like someone had turned up the energy in the room.

Sully saw her shiver. “Are you afraid? Don’t be afraid. This is not anything to act on until we’re ready.”

“Afraid? Of you? No, Sully. I just don’t know what to do with what I feel.”

“Then don’t do anything. When the time is right, there won’t be any confusion. That I can promise.” He wrapped his arms around her. “It’s all good, love. It’s going to be all right.”

“I feel like a forty-something idiot. This should not be so hard,” she muttered.

He chuckled, and when he did, she started to push away, then felt his heartbeat. Without moving, she put her other hand on her own. Their heartbeats were in rhythm.

“What’s wrong?” Sully said.

She reached for his hand and put it over his own heart, and then put his other hand on hers.

“Feel that?” she asked.

“Feel what… Oh, wow! We’re in sync.” Then he laughed. “I love this.”

“I know,” she said. “It’s pretty amazing. I adore the roses, and I adore you, too, Sully Raines.”

“Is this where I sweep you off your feet and take you to bed, or is this where we go eat pie?”

Melissa burst into laughter, and once the joy bubbled up, more kept coming, and she laughed until there were tears in her eyes.

Sully grinned and then put his arm around her and led her to the kitchen.

“I think it’s pie.”

“Just because you went to see a psychic doesn’t mean you’re turning into one.”

He stopped in the middle of the kitchen floor. “Are you saying it’s not pie?”

“Not pie. Cake!”

“You and your sass,” Sully said, and kissed the laugh right off her face.

Excerpted from The Way Back to You by Sharon Sala. © 2019 by Sharon Sala. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

*****

Author Info:

SHARON SALA has over one hundred books in print and has published in five different genres. She is an eight-time RITA finalist, five-time Career Achievement winner from RT Book Reviews, and five-time winner of the National Reader’s Choice Award. She lives in Norman, Oklahoma.

*****

Giveaway:

3 Copies of A Rainbow Above Us

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54ca7af7859/

*****

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Book Review – Forever My Hero

25 Tuesday Jun 2019

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Book Review

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Blessings Georgia series, Book Review, Forever My Hero, Sharon Sala

Forever My Hero

Blessings Georgia series

by Sharon Sala

Every storm they’ve weathered…has led them to each other

Dan Amos lost his wife and son years ago, when they inadvertently got in the way of a death threat meant for him. He’s never had eyes for anyone since, and he doesn’t want to. But fellow Blessings resident Alice Conroy sparks something inside him…

Newly widowed, Alice was disillusioned by marriage and isn’t looking to fall in love anytime soon. Then a tropical storm blazes a path straight for the Georgia coast, and as the town prepares for the worst, Dan opens his heart and his home. The tempest is raging, but Alice and Dan are learning to find shelter…in each other.

Sala is my go-to for down home, small town, feel good stories.  She gives her readers characters that may not have a lot materially but they have a ton of heart and know what it means to be part of a community.  (I will say that this one just seemed to have a bit more going on than I remember from the first stories.  They seemed to focus more on a particular couple while introducing parts of the community.  The last couple seem to be getting a little heavier with subplots and secondary characters, but it’s delivered in a way that isn’t too complicated or hard to follow, just a little bit more crowded.)

Being there with Dan and Alice as they feel out each other is all sorts of sweet.  There’s an attraction there, but both of them had a tragedy take their spouse from them so they have to decide if they are at a point where they can give their hearts again.  As if that wasn’t enough, throw in some trouble with drug dealers, mean girls, & a hurricane closing in on the town and there’s a decent amount of tension to keep things extra interesting.

Driven by the characters and their connections throughout the town, Sala’s Blessings series shows the complications and reality of life, love, and community.

(Can easily be read as a standalone but would probably be better enjoyed as part of the entire series just so you get an understanding of how everyone fits together.)

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Book Review – Come Back to Me

28 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour, Book Review, Contest, Sneak Peek

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Blessings Georgia series, Book Review, Come Back to Me, Sharon Sala

I absolutely LOVE this series and I get so excited when a new book comes out!!

*****

Come Back to Me

Blessings, Georgia series

by Sharon Sala

Blurb:

Love always endures the test of time

After a devastating fire pitted their families against each other, high school sweethearts Phoebe Ritter and Aidan Payne were torn apart. Twenty years later, Aidan is called back to Blessings, nervous about confronting his painful past. And that’s BEFORE he knows about the nineteen-year-old secret Phoebe has been harboring all this time.

As Aidan tries to make up for lost time with the family he didn’t know he had, Phoebe and Aidan rediscover long-suppressed feelings. But the past won’t lie buried, and old enemies threaten to destroy the peace they’ve fought so hard to find.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2J3i0UJ

B&N: http://bit.ly/2KRrnvO

Apple: https://apple.co/2JuiY0x

“Sharon Sala’s Blessings, Georgia series is filled with unforgettable charm and delight!”— ROBYN CARR, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

*****

Excerpt:

Seeing the porch light on as she pulled up to the house was just like old times. He’d done that since he’d been old enough to stay home alone, and she’d missed it. She grabbed her things, ran up the steps, and let herself into the house.

“I’m home,” she yelled.

“Me, too,” he yelled back.

She laughed. Just like old times. She left her purse on a table as she hurried into the kitchen, and found Lee at the stove, heating up food.

He gave her a big hug.

“I waited for you,” he said. “Go change and get comfy. I’ll set the table while you’re gone.”

“Wonderful!” Phoebe said, and hurried down the hall to her room.

She changed out of work clothes into a pair of shorts and an old t-shirt, and changed work shoes for sandals, washed up and hurried back to the kitchen.

“You cooked,” she said, eyeing the table and the inviting food.

“I just added some baked beans and fries to the ribs and slaw. Sit, Mom. Let me wait on you tonight.”

“I won’t argue,” Phoebe said, and smiled at him when he brought glasses of sweet iced tea to the table, followed by the food.

After filling their plates, they began to talk as they ate.

“My grade point for the year is 4.0 and I was accepted into an accelerated Physics program next semester,” Lee said.

Phoebe beamed. “Oh, Lee, congratulations. I’m so proud of you. I know you didn’t get that from me.”

Lee took a deep breath. “Did I get it from my father?”

Phoebe’s smile slipped a little. The sorrow she lived with was once again, evident on her face.

“Yes. He was very smart.”

Lee ate a few more bites, then took his phone from his pocket, pulled up the picture, and pushed it toward her.

Phoebe smiled. “A new girlfriend?”

He shook his head, then waited as she looked down.

Her fork clattered onto the table. She pressed a hand over her mouth, but it didn’t muffle the moan.

He grabbed her arm. “Mom. Are you okay?”

“Where did you…oh my God. That’s the store parking lot.”

She looked up. “You took this today.”

He nodded. “I saw him by accident. Wasn’t for sure, so I took a picture, then came home and compared it to yours. He’s older, but it’s him, isn’t it, Mom? That’s my father.”

She nodded, then started to cry.

~

Across town, Aidan was already asleep, more at ease in this old house in Blessings, than he was in his New Orleans home, sleeping with the best security system money could buy. But there was no way to control where sleep took him, or enough locks on a door to keep Phoebe out of his dreams.

He saw Phoebe running toward him. He’d been waiting for days and days for her to come but she had not. She’d been part of the people who’d shunned them, and seeing her now, the pain in his heart hurt so much it was hard to draw breath.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

He hardened his heart and turned away.

“Don’t leave,” she cried. “I’m sorry, so sorry.”

He remembered how soft her lips were against his mouth, and how her body curled into his when they embraced, and kept walking.

“Aidan, please,” she begged.

He wanted to bury his face against her hair and cry, but he didn’t, and then the dream hit fast-forward and they were driving away and she was running behind them, but this time she didn’t stop. She was behind their car as they drove out of town. She was running right behind their car all the way to the interstate, and then all of a sudden she was gone. He turned around in the seat, searching for sight of her, but she had disappeared.

He was screaming at his Dad, “turn around, turn around. We can’t leave Phoebe behind.”

*****

Review:

While I love Aidan & Phoebe together and how he completely embraced his son, I did have just a teeny issue with how easily Aidan accepts how Lee’s existence was kept from him.  Yes, they were young when everything went wrong but he wasn’t necessarily wrong with how he left town.  Things were seriously bad for him & his dad and I really have no problem with them packing up and leaving without looking back.  But really someone should have really let him know about his son before this.

Sala’s down-home writing is always a treat to read and everything else made up for any issues I had with how quickly Aidan got over his hurt.  Once the two of them reconnect all of their past feelings come back and deepen even more.  It’s sweet and heartwarming and, as always with Sala, a feel-good read that made me happy every page until the end.

If you love quirky small-town characters, a touching romance, and emotions galore, Sala is your girl!

*****

Giveaway:

First 3 books in the Blessings, Georgia series!

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54ca7af7673/

*****

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Book Review – The Color of Love

06 Tuesday Mar 2018

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Book Review

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Blessings Georgia series, Book Review, Sharon Sala, The Color of Love

The Color of Love

A Blessings Georgia Novel

by Sharon Sala

Welcome to Blessings, Georgia, the best small town in the South.

No, there aren’t many secrets kept there.

And yes, everybody knows your business.

But when bad things happen, good people come to your rescue.

Ruby Dye loves everything about Blessings, Georgia—she loves her hair salon, she treasures the townspeople…and now she has a secret admirer! When she finds out it’s none other than the town’s esteemed lawyer, P. Butterman (“Peanut”), she is beyond thrilled. But her ex-husband has other plans…

Ruby has been a fixture in the Blessings stories (although, like all of them, this book can stand on its own) and I’m so happy to see her finally get her turn.  And you definitely couldn’t ask for a better partner for her than Peanut.  Readers should be prepared though because from the very beginning Sala will pull you in.  And then not let go!

Over the years Ruby has done everything she could to help the people of her town … but she has kept something secret.  An abusive ex, who has decided now is the time to make an appearance.  Things don’t go well and, well, Ruby finds herself tied up & kidnapped.  It’s a harrowing few pages, for us and for her and for Peanut.  Things might get resolved pretty quickly, and in typical Ruby fashion (love that gal!), but it’s going to take a lot of courage to face the aftermath.

With Ruby’s kidnapping, Peanut realizes what his inaction might have cost him and he’s not willing to let another moment go by without Ruby knowing exactly how he feels about her.  And because Peanut is just about perfect, he does it with lots of heart, understanding, and down-home charm.  And because Ruby is Ruby, she handles it with her typical sass and spunk … eventually.  It’s not easy to take on everything that life throws at her, with barely giving her a breath, but she has the courage and spine to take on whatever she has to with style.  You have to admire how she faces things head on, even when seems like it won’t end.

The Color of Love starts off with a bang and barely manages to slow down before it gets you again.  With a bit of danger and a whole lot of heart, Sala once again shows us why she’s a master writer.

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Book Review – A Piece of My Heart

01 Monday May 2017

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour, Book Review, Contest, Sneak Peek

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A Piece of My Heart, Blessings Georgia series, Book Review, Sharon Sala

We’ve got a long sneak peek today after my review but before the great giveaway, so make sure you read all the way to the end!

*****

A Piece of My Heart

A Blessings Georgia Novel

by Sharon Sala

Blurb:

She’s never had a home 

Growing up in a troubled foster home, Mercy Dane knew she could never rely on anyone but herself. She’s used to giving her all to people who don’t give her a second glance, so when she races to Blessings, Georgia, to save the life of an accident victim, she’s flabbergasted when the grateful town opens its arms to her. She never dreamed she’d ever find family or friends—or a man who looks at her as if she hung the stars.

Until she finds peace in his arms 

Police Chief Lon Pittman is getting restless living in sleepy little Blessings. But the day Mercy Dane roars into his life on the back of a motorcycle, practically daring him to pull her over, he’s lost. There’s something about Mercy’s tough-yet-vulnerable spirit that calls to Lon, and he will do anything in his power to make her realize that home isn’t just where the heart is—home is where their heart is.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2hX9A4T

B&N: http://bit.ly/2hPklbE

Books-A-Million: http://bit.ly/2oLg8t3

iBooks: http://apple.co/2oL3qKu

*****

Review:

Mercy and Lon are absolutely adorable together.  He gets her, which she really needs in her life.  She’s been alone for so long – on her own, without any real support and feeling like she can only really count on herself.  Most of that is self-inflected thanks to spending most of her life bouncing around the foster system.  She never had the opportunity to make any real connections … except for one night almost a decade ago.  A night is all they had then but it definitely isn’t the end for them.

Thanks to that meeting when they find each other again there is a connection that they can’t resist.  Some may have a little trouble with the almost insta-love between them but they work together so well.  I love her bluntness and the way she faces so much head on.  Even when she’s nervous about meeting family after all this time she does it with spirit, like most things she does.  Lon is almost too perfect.  He’s a hardworking lawman, caring about the people in his town and understands & appreciates Mercy.

Sala is a master at the small-town romance.  Her characters are realistic and full of personality, the plots are engaging but not overly complicated, and there’s enough home-spun emotion to keep you coming back for more again and again.

*****

Excerpt:

Chapter 1

From childhood, Mercy Dane viewed Christmas Eve in Savannah, Georgia, like something out of a fairy tale. The old, elegant mansions were always lit from within and decorated with great swags of greenery hanging above the doorways and porch railings like thick green icing on snowy white cakes.

The shops decked out in similar holiday style were as charming as the sweet southern women who worked within. Each shop boasted fragrant evergreens, plush red velvet bows, and flickering lights mimicking the stars in the night sky above the city.

And even though Mercy had grown up on the hard side of town with lights far less grand, the lights in her world burned with true southern perseverance. Now that she was no longer a child, the beauty of the holiday was something other people celebrated, and on this cold Christmas Eve, she no longer believed in fairy tales. So far, the chapters of her life consisted of a series of foster families until she aged out of the system, and one magic Christmas Eve with a man she never saw again. The only lights in her world now were the lights where she worked at the Road Warrior Bar.

The yellow neon sign over the bar was partially broken. The R in Road was missing its leg, making the word look like Toad. But the patrons who frequented this bar didn’t care about the name. They came for the company and a drink or two to dull the disappointment of a lifetime of regrets.

Carson Beal, who went by the name of Moose, owned the bar. He’d been meaning to get the R fixed for years, but intention was worth nothing without the action, and Moose had yet to act upon the thought.

Outside, the blinking neon light beckoned, calling the lonely and the thirsty into the bar where the beer was cold and the gumbo and rice Moose served was hot with spice and fire.

Moose often took advantage of Mercy’s talent for baking after she’d once brought cupcakes for Moose and the employees to snack on. After that, she’d bring in some of whatever she’d made at home. On occasion Moose would ask her to bake him something special. It was always good to have a little extra money, so she willingly obliged.

This Christmas Eve, Moose had ordered an assortment of Christmas cookies for the bar. When Mercy came in to work carrying the box of baked goods, he was delighted. Now a large platter of cookies graced the north end of the bar.

The incongruity of “O Little Town of Bethlehem” playing in the background was only slightly less bizarre than the old tinsel Christmas tree hanging above the pool table like a molting chandelier.

Because of the holiday, only two of his four waitresses were on duty, Barb Hanson, a thirtysomething widow with purple hair, and Mercy Dane, the baker with a curvy body.

Mercy’s long, black hair was a stunning contrast to the red Christmas sweater she was wearing, and her willowy body and long, shapely legs looked even longer in her black jeans and boots. Her olive skin and dark hair gave her an exotic look, but being abandoned as a baby, and growing up in foster care, she had no knowledge of her heritage.

Barb of the purple hair wore red and green, a rather startling assortment of colors for a lady her age, and both women were wearing reindeer antler headbands with little bells. Between the bells and antlers, the music and cookies, and the Christmas tree hanging above the pool table, Moose had set a holiday mood.

Mercy had been working at the bar for over five years. Although she’d turned twenty-six just last week, her life, like this job, was going nowhere.

It was nearing midnight when a quick blast of cold air suddenly moved through the bar and made Mercy shiver. She didn’t have to look to know the ugly part of this job had just arrived.

“Damn, Moose, play some real music, why don’t ya?” Big Boy yelled as the door slammed shut behind him.

Moose glared at the big biker who’d entered his bar. “This is real music, Big Boy. Sit down somewhere and keep your opinions to yourself.”

The biker flipped Moose off, spat on the floor, and stomped through the room toward an empty table near the back, making sure to feel up Mercy’s backside in passing.

When Big Boy suddenly shoved his hand between her legs, she nearly dropped the tray of drinks she was carrying. She knew from experience that he was waiting for a reaction, so she chose to bear the insult without calling attention to it.

As soon as he was seated, Big Boy slapped the table and yelled at the barmaids. “One of you bitches bring me a beer!”

Moose glanced nervously at Mercy, aware that she’d become the target for most of Big Boy’s harassment.

Barb sailed past Mercy with a jingle in every step. “I’ve got his table,” she said.

“Thanks,” Mercy said, and delivered the drinks she was carrying. “Here you go, guys! Christmas Eve cheer and cookies from Moose!”

One trucker, a man named Pete, took a big bite out of the iced sugar cookie. “Mmm, this is good,” he said.

“Mercy made them,” Moose yelled.

Pete shook his head and took another bite. “You have a fine hand with baking. I’d ask you to marry me, darlin’, but my old lady would object.”

Mercy took the teasing with a grin. The men at this table were good men who always left nice tips. In fact, most of the patrons in the bar were men with no family or truckers who couldn’t get home for Christmas. Every now and then, a random woman would wander in to have a drink, but rarely lingered, except for Lorena Haysworth, the older woman sitting at the south end of the bar.

She’d been coming here since before Mercy was born, and in her younger days she and Moose had been lovers before slowly drifting apart. She’d come back into his life a few months ago and nightly claimed the seat at the end of the bar.

Barb took the first of what would be multiple beers to Big Boy’s table, along with a Christmas cookie and a bowl of stale pretzels, making sure to keep the table between them.

Big Boy lunged at her as if he was going to grab her, and when she turned around and ran, he leaned back and laughed.

Mercy returned to the bar with a new order and waited for Moose to fill it.

“Sorry about that,” Moose said, as he glanced toward the table where Big Boy was sitting.

Her eyes narrowed angrily. “How sorry are you? Sorry enough to kick him out? Or just sorry his money is more important to you than me and Barb?”

Moose’s face turned as red as his shirt. “Damn it, Mercy. You know how it goes,” he said, and pushed the new order across the bar.

She did know. The customer was always right. Trying not to buy into the turmoil, she picked up the tray and delivered the order with a smile.

The night wore on with Big Boy getting drunker and more belligerent, while Barb and Mercy dodged his constant attempts to maul them, until finally, it was time to close.

It was a few minutes before 2:00 a.m. when Moose shut down the bar. There were only three customers left. Big Boy, who was so close to passed out he couldn’t walk, Lorena, who was waiting to go home with Moose, and a trucker who’d fallen asleep at his table.

Mercy headed for the trucker, leaving Moose to wrestle Big Boy up and out.

The trucker was a small, wiry man named Frank Bigalow who fancied himself a ringer for country music star Willie Nelson. He was dreaming of hit songs and gold records when Mercy woke him.

“Frank. Frank. You need to wake up now. We’re closing.”

Bigalow straightened abruptly, momentarily confused as to where he was, then saw Mercy and smiled.

“Oh. Right. Sure thing, honey. What do I owe you?” he mumbled.

“Twelve dollars,” she said.

Bigalow stood up to get his wallet out of his pants then pulled out a twenty. “Keep the change and Merry Christmas,” he said.

“Thanks,” she said, and began bussing his table as he walked out of the bar.

Moose had Big Boy on his way out the door, and it was none too soon for Mercy.

She handed Moose the twenty when he returned. “Take twelve out. The rest is mine,” she said, and pocketed the change Moose gave her.

Within fifteen minutes, the bar was clear and swept, the money was in the safe, and Barb and Mercy were heading for the door.

“Hey! Girls! Wait up!” Moose said, then handed them each an envelope, along with little bags with some of Mercy’s cookies. “Merry Christmas. We’re not open tomorrow so sleep in.”

“Thank you,” Barb said, as she slid the envelope inside her purse.

“Much appreciated,” Mercy added, as she put her envelope in one of the inner pockets of her black leather bomber jacket. It was old and worn, but it was warm.

Then she grabbed her helmet and the cookies and headed out the door behind Barb and just ahead of Moose and Lorena. Once outside, she paused to judge the near-empty parking lot, making sure Big Boy and his Harley were at the motel across the street.

The air was cold and the sky was clear as she stashed the cookies, then put on her helmet and mounted her own Harley. Seconds later the quiet was broken by the rolling rumble of the engine as she toed up the kickstand, put the bike in gear, and rode off into the night.

The empty streets on the way to her apartment were a little eerie, but she was so tired she couldn’t work up the emotion to be scared. The streetlights were draped with Christmas garlands and red bows, but they were all one blur as Mercy sped toward home.

A city cop on neighborhood patrol saw her, recognized the lone bike and biker, and blinked his lights as she passed him.

She waved back and kept going.

When she stopped for a red light and realized she was the only person on this stretch of street, she didn’t breathe easy until the light turned green, and she moved on.

Finally, she was home. She eased up on the accelerator as she rolled through the gates of her apartment complex and parked the motorcycle beneath a light in plain view of the security cameras. She ran up the outer stairs to the second level and down the walkway to her apartment carrying her helmet and the cookies. No matter how many times she’d done this or how many times she’d moved since it happened, the fact that she’d once come home late at night to find out she’d been robbed, she never felt safe until she was in the apartment with the door locked behind her.

She tossed the helmet onto the sofa and took the cookies into the kitchen. Curious as to how much of a bonus Moose was giving this year, she was pleased to see a hundred-dollar bill.

“Nice,” she said, and took it and her night’s worth of tips to the refrigerator, opened up the freezer, and put the money inside an empty box that had once held a biscuit mix.

She wasn’t sure how much money she had saved up, but last time she’d counted it had been over two thousand dollars. It should have been in a bank, but these days, banks cost money to use, and she didn’t have any to spare, so she froze her assets.

The place smelled of stale coffee and something her neighbor across the hall had burned for dinner. She was tired and cold, but too wired to sleep, so she went to her bedroom, stripped out of her clothes, and took a long hot shower.

She returned to the kitchen later to find something to eat. One quick glance in the refrigerator was all the reminder she needed that she still hadn’t grocery shopped. She emptied what was left of the milk into a bowl of cereal and ate it standing by the sink, remembering another Christmas in Savannah, her first all on her own.

~

Mercy was nineteen years old, between jobs, and as close to homeless as she’d ever been. She had come back to her apartment after a long day of job-hunting, only to walk in on a burglar in the act. She screamed. He ran with what was left of her savings, and the hours afterward were a blur of tears and a fear that she would not be able to survive the setback. The only money she had left in the world was in her pocket.

The people in the adjoining apartments were sympathetic and curious, and a couple felt sorry for her and gave her a couple of twenties. She was standing in the hall waiting for the cops to clear her room when the neighbor from across the hall opened his door and came out. He’d moved in only two days ago, and during that time they’d done no more than nod and smile as they passed in the hall, but she liked his face. His eyes were kind, and his smile felt genuine.

It was apparent he’d been sleeping and had done no more than comb his fingers through his hair before he opened the door. The top snap on his jeans was undone, and he was pulling a sweatshirt over his head as he came out. She got a quick glimpse of a hard belly and wide shoulders before she looked away.

“What’s happening?” he asked, as he stopped beside her. “I fell asleep with the TV on. When I woke up and turned it off, I heard all this.”

“I was robbed,” she said.

His empathy was instant. “Oh no! Oh honey, are you okay? Were you hurt?”

Her voice was shaking. “My arrival scared him off.”

Without hesitation, he hugged her. The unexpected compassion undid her, and she began to cry.

And in the midst of that moment, the cops came out, and she pushed out of his arms.

“Ma’am, we’re through here. He busted the lock. I would suggest you find somewhere else to sleep for the night.”

“I don’t have somewhere else or someone else,” she said.

They shrugged and left the building.

The neighbors all went back into their apartments.

All but him.

She sighed and started for her apartment, when he stopped her with a word. “Don’t.”

She turned, anger already settling in her heart. “Don’t what? That’s everything I own in this world. They took my money. I’m not giving up what clothes I have left too.”

She walked into her apartment and closed the door.

He opened it and walked in behind her. “Get your things. You can sleep in my room tonight. Tomorrow we’ll figure something out.”

Mercy started to shake. “There is no we in my life.”

“Fine. Then you’ll figure something out. But you can sleep in my room tonight anyway.”

She stared at his face, looking for a sign of danger and seeing none. “Yes. Okay.”

“Want help gathering up your things?”

“No.”

“Then do what you need to do, and knock on my door when you have everything.”

She nodded.

He walked out.

She packed her bags while a cold anger washed through her. One more kick when she was down. It’s how her world worked. By the time she got across the hall, she had shut herself down.

“I made a bed for you on the sofa,” he said.

She left her bags by the door and then laid her coat on top of them as he locked up behind her. “Thank you,” she said.

“You’re very welcome. Oh, hey, I just realized I don’t know your name.”

She grimaced. “Oh, just call me Lucky.”

“I have a feeling that’s not your real name, but it will do. I’m L.J. but my friends call me—”

“We’re not friends. L.J. will do,” she muttered.

His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t argue. He’d seen animals trapped into a corner with no way out, and the look in her eyes was about the same. “Can I get you something to eat or drink?” he asked.

“No, thanks. Just the bed. I’m tired. So fucking tired.”

A tear rolled down her cheek, but he was guessing she didn’t know it. “Then I’ll leave you alone. If you need anything later, just knock on my door.”

She nodded, dropped onto the sofa, and began taking off her shoes.

“Good night, Lucky. Sweet dreams,” he said.

She made a sound halfway between a snort and a sob. He left the room.

She went to bed. And three hours later woke up screaming.

He came out on the run with a gun in his hand.

By that time she was sitting on the side of the sofa bed with her head in her hands. Her long, black hair was in tangles, and the sports bra and sweatpants she’d been sleeping in were drenched with sweat, even though the room was cold. His first thought was that she was sick.

“Sorry. Bad dreams,” she said, and got up. “Where’s your bathroom?”

“Down the hall, first door on your left.”

She passed by him, so close he felt the heat from her body. And when she came out, she had washed up and dried off the sweat.

“You didn’t have to wait,” she said.

“I know. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, and that you didn’t need anything…” Then he pointed at the clock. “It’s Christmas.”

Tears rolled down Mercy’s cheeks.

“Oh hell. I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he said.

“Well, you did, so what are you going to do about it?” she snapped.

L.J. flinched. “We could make love.”

Now she was the one who was startled. “What if I say no?”

He shrugged. “Then I go back to my room and sleep till daylight.”

The rage within her was choking. She wanted to feel something besides despair. “I am numb. I don’t think I will be able to feel.”

He held out his hand. “I know how to make you feel again.”

Mercy shivered, her mind racing. With a stranger? Just once. Just so she wouldn’t have to hurt.

She walked into his arms.

The ensuing hour was nothing short of magic. Mercy turned into someone she didn’t know existed. He turned her on and sent every emotion she had into overdrive. The sex was heart-stopping, and so was he. After it was over, he fell asleep with her still in his arms.

She watched his face as he slept until every facet of him was branded into her memory, but she wouldn’t sleep. An hour before daylight, she slipped out of his bed, dressed in the other room, and left without telling him good-bye.

~

A loud crash, and then the squall of a tomcat somewhere outside broke Mercy’s reverie.

She put her bowl in the sink and walked to the window overlooking the parking lot.

The neighborhood cat was prowling around the dumpster, and she saw the vague images of two people making out in a car near the back of the lot. Angry that she cared, she turned away. Exhaustion was finally catching up. It was after three in the morning when she rinsed the bowl and then paused in the doorway, making sure everything was turned off and locked up.

The silence in the apartment was suddenly broken by the distant sound of a phone ringing in a nearby apartment. The ringtone was “Jingle Bells.”

“Merry Christmas,” she muttered, and went to bed.

Chapter 2

It was nearing daylight when her cell phone began to ring. She rolled over and grabbed it as she turned on the lamp. “Hello?”

“This is Mildred Starks from the National Rare Blood Registry. Am I speaking to Mercy Dane?”

“Yes,” Mercy said, as she threw back the covers and stood up.

“Ms. Dane, we have an emergency in your area. This is an unusual situation, and we’re asking something out of the ordinary. Can you respond directly to the hospital in need?”

“Yes. Where do I need to be?” she asked, as she began grabbing clothes.

“You still reside in Savannah, Georgia, and are there at this time?”

“Yes.”

“Perfect. There is a small town about an hour south of you called Blessings. There’s no chopper available to fly you there and no time to donate in Savannah and then have it transported. Do you have transportation to get yourself to Blessings?”

Now her hands were shaking as she realized the reality of someone’s life would lie partially in her ability to get there. “Yes. Where do I go?”

“The town is small. There’s only one hospital. I’m sending GPS directions to your phone. Time is crucial. Be safe and Godspeed.”

“On my way,” she said, and dropped the phone on the bed as she took her biker gear out of the closet. Within five minutes she was out the door, her helmet in one hand, keys in the other.

The sun was only a hint on the eastern horizon as she left the complex. According to her directions, she was to take I-16 west, then connect to I-95 south. She wasn’t far from a feeder road that would take her to I-516, which then turned into I-16, so she took that route.

It was early Christmas morning and traffic was sparse. Sunrise was minutes away when she finally hit I-16, and by that time she was flying. Every mile behind her put her closer to Blessings. It wasn’t the first time she’d been called upon to donate her blood, but it was the first time she’d been asked to go to the person in need. It amped the urgency to a fever pitch, making her part in it personal.

Once she hit I-95 southbound, the northbound lane was a black ribbon of flickering headlights, while she and the Harley became a two-wheeled version of earthbound flight.

She rode with single-minded focus, keeping an eye on the traffic while making sure she didn’t get caught in the draft of passing truckers. And when the new sun was just high enough in the east that she could see the landscape through which she was passing, the glimpses of houses led her to imagining what might be going on within the walls—because it was Christmas Day.

Surely joyful families were opening presents and eating breakfasts. She pictured turkeys already in the oven, pies already baked and lining sideboards and tables, and the dough for homemade hot rolls in big crockery bowls, covered and rising in a warm place on the counter. Unfortunately, that scene was nothing but her imagination because she’d never experienced anything like it. But the closer she got to Blessings, the more she realized there was no time to dwell on what she didn’t have. Today, it was what she did have—an RH negative blood type—that mattered most.

She’d been on the interstate forty-five minutes when she reached the exit that would take her to her destination. According to the directions she’d received, Blessings was less than fifteen miles ahead. The roar of the engine beneath her was all she could hear as she leaned slightly forward into the ride and accelerated.

And just as she rode past the city limits sign, she came upon a roadblock and a long line of cars blocking the highway with rescue vehicles up ahead. Her heart sank. She didn’t know it was the aftermath of the wreck that had caused the injuries to the person in need of her blood. But waiting around for permission to pass was not on her agenda.

She rolled out around the last car in line and kept moving forward. When she reached the accident site, she rode around two tow trucks, then took to the ditch to get around a couple of police cars and one highway patrol.

Although she couldn’t hear what they were saying, she saw them shouting and trying to wave her down. She’d never outright defied a lawman in her life, but these were extenuating circumstances, and so she kept moving until she was beyond the roadblock and heading into town.

She knew she was speeding, but traffic on Main Street was almost nonexistent. Her gut knotted when she heard a siren. One glance in her side mirror, and she saw the red and blue flashing lights of a cop car coming up behind her. Stopping to explain her situation could be the difference between someone living and dying.

Led by fear, she swerved off Main Street into a residential neighborhood and accelerated. It wasn’t enough. The cruiser was still behind her and closing the gap. Then she noticed an alley coming up on her right, swerved into it and sped up, trying to get back to Main. Everything in her peripheral vision was a blur, and the sound of the siren was fading as she shot back onto Main and then down to the far end of the street to the blue hospital sign with an arrow pointing east.

She followed the arrow, saw the hospital building straight ahead, and headed toward the entrance marked ER. She slid sideways as she came to a stop and then ran toward the entrance with her helmet in her hand and her hair in tangles.

It had taken an hour and five minutes to get there.

It was thirty-seven degrees, and she was sweating.

~

Everyone in the waiting room looked up as the tall, leggy woman came running into ER, heading straight toward registration. They saw black leather, wild hair, and a motorcycle helmet, and frowned. Women in Blessings didn’t dress like that. She was obviously a stranger.

Mercy was unaware of the stares and would have cared less had she known. She stopped at the desk.

“I’m here to donate blood to—”

A nurse came out of a nearby office.

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Mercy Dane.”

The nurse threw up her hands in a gesture of thanksgiving. “Praise the Lord that you’re here. They’re waiting for you. Come with me.”

They left the waiting area with haste, moving down a long hallway, then through double doors, past the surgery waiting room, unaware of the two men who came running out of the waiting room behind them as they passed. And when the nurse took her through another set of doors, things began to happen rapid-fire.

She’d given them her photo ID and donor card and was now flat on her back, half-listening to the frantic voices around her as they began hooking her up. It was obvious whoever needed this transfusion was someone they knew—someone they certainly cared about. And she was here, so she closed her eyes, letting the chaos go on around her without buying into the panic, just glad she’d made the ride.

~

Lon Pittman clocked the biker at close to sixty miles an hour going down Main Street. He immediately hit the lights and siren as he took pursuit, and when he got close enough to ID the tag number, radioed it in. He had assumed the rider was a guy with long hair until the dispatcher radioed back. The owner was a woman named Mercy Dane. That wasn’t going to change anything when he caught her, but it did cross his mind that this woman was surely hell on wheels. He was still in pursuit when she suddenly took a right and shot up the alley that ran along the side of Ruby Dye’s home.

“Damn it,” he muttered, knowing it was too narrow to take his cruiser up that alley at this rate of speed, and had to drive to the end of the block to take a quick right, only to see her shoot out of the alley, straight across the street into another one. She was still running the alleys, one block after another.

He took off toward Main running hot, and when he finally reached it, caught a quick glimpse of the bike and rider now on Main and turning east. With lights still flashing and his siren screaming, he took the turn onto Main and followed her route.

It wasn’t until he took the same turn the biker had taken that he realized it led to the hospital. He caught a glimpse of her and the bike heading north around the hospital and floored it.

The last thing he expected to see when he drove up to the ER was the big Harley parked near the entrance. He killed the lights and siren, radioed in his position, and got out on the run.

Once again, the people in the waiting room were surprised. When their police chief entered a building running, they were curious what was going on.

None of them had expected to see so much action and excitement in the hospital ER, especially on Christmas Day.

Lon quickly scanned the room, and when he didn’t see anyone in black leather, he headed for the registration desk.

“Sally, did a woman wearing black leather come in here?”

“Oh…you mean Mercy Dane? Yes, she’s here, thank goodness. They took her straight to the surgery area.”

He frowned. “Why? Was she injured in some way?”

“Oh, no! She came for Hope Talbot. She’s the rare blood donor they’ve been waiting for.”

And just like that, all the anger he’d been feeling for the reckless way in which she’d come into Blessings was gone. He’d helped pull Hope out of the wreck. He knew she was hanging onto life by a thread, but had no idea about her blood type or the frantic call that had gone out on her behalf.

“Where did they take the Dane woman?” he asked.

“Down the hall is all I know. You might check in at the surgery waiting room. Jack and Duke are there. They might know more.”

“Thanks,” he said, and headed down the hall.

~

Jack Talbot and his brother, Duke, were still celebrating the blood donor’s arrival when Chief Pittman entered the waiting room.

Jack immediately stood up and shook his hand. “Chief! I was told you helped pull Hope out of the wreck. Thank you so much.”

“I just happened to be one of the first on the scene,” he said.

“I’m still so grateful,” Jack said. “My wife is the beginning and end of my world.”

“So how’s she doing?” Lon asked.

Jack shook his head and walked away in tears, leaving Duke to answer. “She’s hanging in, but it wasn’t looking good. She’d lost so much blood that they didn’t think she would pull through surgery without a transfusion. The problem became getting blood for her. She’s RH negative, which is a rare blood type. There wasn’t any in the blood banks that could have gotten to us time, and just when we thought it wasn’t going to happen, they found a donor who lived in Savannah. She just got here a few minutes ago. There’s no way to know how this is going to come out, but whoever she is, her presence was an answer to our prayers.”

The image of Mercy Dane’s frantic ride now made a crazy kind of sense. Now Lon was past curious. He wanted to see the woman who’d made a wild ride on Christmas Day to save a stranger’s life.

“That’s good to know,” he said. “If you don’t mind, I believe I’ll wait here with you, just to see how Hope fares after the transfusion.”

~

Mercy watched one nurse rush out with the donated blood while another took the needle out of her arm. The panic of getting here was over. Whatever happened now was out of her hands, save for the silent prayer she’d said for the woman in need. She was about to get up when a nurse stopped her.

“Wait, honey. Not so fast,” she cautioned.

Mercy didn’t argue. The room had already begun to spin when she raised her head—a combination of too little sleep, an adrenaline crash, and a unit short of blood.

The nurse helped Mercy up and walked her out, talking as they went.

“I’m taking you to the waiting room to get juice and a sweet roll from one of the vending machines before I can let you leave. I don’t know if anyone told you, but the woman needing the donation is a nurse in this hospital. We are all so grateful you came when you got the call. None of this is standard donation procedure, so thank you for going above and beyond for her.”

“I am happy I was close enough to help,” Mercy said.

“You gave her a chance, which is more than she had before you showed up,” the nurse said.

Mercy was still shaky and wanting to sit down as they walked into the waiting room. But two men who were already there stood up and came toward her so fast she took a quick step back.

However, it was the cop standing behind them who caught her eye. She thought for a moment she was hallucinating, then saw the same look of shock on his face as the one she must be wearing. Her gut knotted.

“You! You disappeared seven years ago. I never thought I’d see you again,” he said.

She shrugged. “Seven years is a long time. Neither did I.” She wondered if he’d stayed to give her a ticket for speeding, and then decided she didn’t care.

The brothers began crowding around her, all trying to talk at once.

“Miss Dane, this is Jack Talbot and his brother, Duke. Hope is Jack’s wife, and it appears they’ve figured out who you are. Jack, this is Mercy Dane. She needs juice and a sweet roll from the vending machine.”

“I’ll get it,” he offered, and ran toward the machines at the far end of the room, and then yelled back at his brother to see if he had a debit card on him while the nurse seated Mercy and introduced her to the chief.

“Mercy, this is Chief Pittman. He helped pull Hope from the wreck.” Then she added, “Ideally, you need to sit at least thirty minutes after you’ve finished eating. An hour would be even better.”

Mercy nodded. “Yes, I will, and thank you.”

“Oh no, we’re the ones thanking you. God bless you, Mercy Dane. Have a safe trip home,” she said.

Lon was in shock. Seven years ago he’d spent a week looking for this woman. She was in his arms when he fell asleep, and when he woke she was gone. He’d never forgotten her or that night, and now, fate had brought her back into his world.

“So, Lucky, long time, no see,” he said softly.

She nodded.

“You are one hell of a rider,” he said.

Her eyes narrowed. “So, Chief, is that your way of saying I was speeding?”

She watched his eyes crinkling up at the corners as he smiled.

“Pretty much, but given the circumstances, I’m gonna let that slide. I stayed because I wanted to meet the donor who willingly interrupted her Christmas Day to save a stranger’s life. I didn’t know I was going to meet an old friend.”

“We’re not friends,” Mercy said, and then blinked as she realized that was what she said before, and added, “I don’t have family. Just a job. I was happy to do it.”

He heard a challenge in her claim…as if daring him to remark about her solitary life. But he wasn’t going to give her a moment of sympathy. “Yeah, same here. Cops and family aren’t necessarily synonymous. Most days I feel like my life is the job. At any rate, you are not what you seem, and I am impressed.”

All of a sudden, a quick wave of weakness washed over her. She bent over and put her head between her knees, trying not to pass out.

Lon caught her just as she was about to slide out of the chair as Jack returned with a bottle of orange juice, a packet of mini-doughnuts, and an iced honey bun. It was pure sugar overload, but Mercy knew it was what her body needed to offset the shock of blood loss.

“Here you go, Miss Dane. If you want more to drink, just let me know,” Jack said, and then pulled out a chair and sat down near her.

Duke was drawn to the woman by her beauty, and unhappy that it appeared the chief and the woman were already acquainted with each other. He followed his younger brother’s lead and sat nearby.

Mercy took a drink of the juice and then tore back the cellophane from the honey bun and took a bite as the chief’s radio squawked. Someone was trying to locate him.

“As you heard, my presence is requested elsewhere,” Lon said, as he stood. “It was a pleasure to meet you again. Take care, Miss Dane, and have a safe ride home.”

“Thank you,” Mercy said.

She didn’t want to watch, but she couldn’t help it. The years had turned him into quite a man. One thing was the same though. His butt still looked good from behind.

Chapter 3

Jack scooted his chair closer to her. His voice was trembling as he captured her attention. “Miss Dane, there aren’t words enough to thank you for what you’ve done. Hope means everything to me, and I thought I was going to lose her. You have given her a fighting chance.”

“I was happy to help,” she said.

Duke picked up the conversation. “Well, we certainly appreciate it. Hope has no family, so there was no option of having a relative donate, which would have been the normal avenue. She was adopted out of foster care.”

“Then she was lucky to get out. I grew up in foster care and aged out,” Mercy said, and took another bite of the honey bun.

“Where do you live?” Jack asked.

“In Savannah.”

Duke pointed at the helmet that she’d put between her feet. “Did you come here on a motorcycle?”

She nodded. “I don’t own a car.”

He frowned. “Wasn’t your husband upset about you coming all this way alone?”

Mercy resisted the urge to glare. He asked too damn many questions. “I’m not married, but that wouldn’t have mattered. I make my own decisions. No man tells me what to do.”

Duke heard the cold tone in her voice and unconsciously sat up and leaned back.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to imply—”

Mercy sighed. She’d come on too strong to a family who was freaked out, and rightly so. “No. I’m sorry. I guess the defensive wall I keep between me and the world is a little steep.”

She finished off the honey bun and got up to wash the sugar from her fingers. When she came back from the bathroom, she glanced at the clock. Since it was still too early to leave, she took off the leather jacket and sat back down.

The moment she removed it, Duke saw the odd-shaped birthmark on her neck and did a double take. “Unusual birthmark you have there,” he said, pointing at the side of her neck.

“I guess,” Mercy said. “I forget it’s there.”

She drank the last of her juice and then leaned back in the chair, resisting the urge to close her eyes. It wouldn’t take much for her to go to sleep.

“Would you like a cup of coffee?” Jack asked. “I mean, you look a bit sleepy. I wouldn’t want you to have an accident going home.”

“Yes, actually I would. Coffee sounds like a good idea, but I have money to—”

“Please, let me,” Jack said.

Mercy didn’t argue. She understood his need to give back and closed her eyes rather than continue a conversation. This was a random meeting in their lives, and the sooner she was out of here, the better.

But Duke kept staring. After Jack handed Mercy the coffee and sat back down, Duke and Jack began talking in low tones.

Mercy wasn’t paying any attention until she heard a comment that startled her. “She sure looks like Hope, doesn’t she?” Duke asked.

Jack frowned. “Maybe.”

But Duke was insistent. “Same olive complexion. Same black hair and brown eyes.”

Then Duke realized Mercy was staring at them. “Sorry for talking about you like that,” Duke said. “It was rude.”

Mercy shrugged it off as Duke continued talking. She thought he talked too much, but now that he had her attention, he launched another conversation. “Hope had a little sister when she was in foster care. Her adoptive parents left her behind, and it broke Hope’s heart.”

“That’s too bad, but it happens,” Mercy said.

“She said her little sister had a birthmark on her neck that looked like a valentine heart lying on its side.”

Mercy grabbed her neck before she thought. She could feel herself flushing like she used to when a foster parent would decide she was too wild, too unwilling to conform, and her social worker would come and take her away. Why don’t you try to get along, he would ask.

She never knew what to say. She had no words to describe that she was afraid of everything. That she’d been hurt so many times that her defense mechanism had evolved to being the first to throw a punch or disagree.

“I do remember Hope talking about that,” Jack said, and looked at Mercy anew.

“She said her little sister was only three when that happened,” Duke said.

Mercy stood abruptly. “What you’re implying is impossible. Why are you doing this? You know my name. It was never changed, so obviously, that’s not me.”

“Hope said she always called her Baby Girl. I don’t think I ever heard her mention anything but that.”

Now the room was beginning to spin again, but this time from fear, not weakness.

All of a sudden she was remembering a gritty floor against her bare legs and old shoes on her feet so scuffed they no longer held color. Someone was hugging her and patting her on the back. Don’t cry, Baby Girl. I’ll tie your shoes.

She blinked, and the memory was gone, but she felt off-center and anxious. When she began gathering her things, Duke stood.

“Aren’t you curious?” he asked. “What are the odds that a donor with the same rare blood type as Hope’s, who also looks like her, has the same general coloring, and the same identifying birthmark as the missing sister, isn’t connected?”

Mercy was beginning to shake. She’d been alone all her life, and this felt scary. She was afraid to buy into something only to be disappointed again when it wasn’t true. “It’s not possible,” she said.

“Then let’s determine it right here and now,” Duke said, and pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to a friend who worked in the hospital.

Within moments he got a text back. “My friend, Mark, works in the lab. He’s coming up to get a swab for a DNA test. Is that okay?”

Mercy wanted to run, but the thought of actually having family was beyond anything she’d ever dreamed. “I guess,” she said, and sat back down.

A few moments later, Doctor Barrett, the surgeon who had operated on Hope, came into the waiting room.

Jack immediately stood. “How is she, Doctor Barrett?”

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” he said. “I just wanted to let you know her vital signs are improving. She’s not out of the woods by any means, but getting that transfusion was vital.”

“Oh, thank God,” Jack said, and grabbed both of Mercy’s hands. “And thank you again.”

“You’re the donor?” the doctor asked.

“Yes.”

“Then I’m thanking you too. Hope is a good woman and a fine nurse. What you gave her was a chance to live.”

Mercy was blinking back tears as the doctor left and fighting an urge to run. But if she left now without following through on this sister thing, she would live the rest of her life wondering what would have happened had she stayed.

A few minutes later, a short redheaded man in a lab coat came hurrying into the waiting room. “Is this the lady in question?” he asked.

Duke nodded. “Mark, this is Mercy Dane. Mercy, this is my friend, Mark Lyons.”

Mark smiled. “Hello, Miss Dane. This will only take a few seconds. I just need to get a swab from inside your mouth, okay?”

She nodded.

When he pulled the long swab out of the wrapper, she opened her mouth.

Mark got the sample and secured it. “All finished. When we get the test results, I’ll let Duke know.”

“How long will it take?” Duke asked.

“Hard to say. They’ll take all of the regular requests for people who are waiting for treatment first.”

“Okay then,” Mercy said, and headed for the door.

“Wait!” Duke said. “How can I contact you?”

She wasn’t about to give him her phone number or address. “You can reach me at the Road Warrior Bar in Savannah,” she said, and walked out of the waiting room, then out of the hospital.

The sun was bright as she headed toward her bike. The urgency of her arrival was no longer an issue as she slipped the helmet over her head, mounted the Harley, and started it up. The pipes rumbled as she rode out of the parking lot and back toward Main Street.

~

Lon was standing outside the police station talking on his cell phone when he heard the motorcycle. He ended the call as she approached, and on impulse, waved her over.

Mercy sighed. This meeting had to happen to get past it, so she turned toward the curb and pulled into a parking space. She killed the engine, took off her helmet, and cradled it in her lap as he walked toward her. “Am I in trouble again?” she asked.

“No ma’am, you are not,” he said, and handed her a card. “This is my business card, but the number on the lower left is the number to my personal cell phone. I would sincerely appreciate it if you gave me a call when you get home, just to let me know you arrived safely. I am a bit concerned about the long ride you’re going to have to make so soon after donating blood. I want to know you made it home in one piece. Unlike the last time we parted, when I worried myself sick for some time, wondering what happened to you. Wondering if that thief had come back and taken you away.”

Mercy’s heart skipped a beat as he laid the card in her palm. She’d been so beaten down and wounded by life that she never thought of his feelings when she’d left. “Are you serious?” she asked.

Lon frowned. “Yes, I’m serious. Why would you doubt that?”

She shrugged. “Nobody ever cared.”

He heard a slight tremble in her voice. “Well, I’m not nobody, and I cared before, and I care now.”

She slipped the card into one of the pockets in her jacket and then zipped it up for safekeeping. She didn’t what to think about him. “I never had to check in with anyone before.”

Lon felt like he’d been sideswiped, but didn’t let on. He’d thought it that night together so long ago, and he was thinking it again this Christmas Day. He’d never met anyone like her—a matter-of-fact woman who said what she thought and didn’t use the situation in her life to gain attention or pity.

“You’re not checking in with me, Mercy Dane. If this insults you, then don’t call. But like before, be aware that I will worry, and I will wonder if you ever made it home. I will be grateful if you call. Ride safe. Both times we have crossed paths in sad circumstances. I never got a chance to say it before, but I am truly glad to have met you.”

All of a sudden Mercy was looking at him through a veil of tears. She took a quick breath and jammed the helmet back on her head.

“Thanks for not giving me a ticket,” she said, and started the engine and rode off.

Lon stayed where he was and watched until she disappeared from view—still remembering what it felt like to come apart in her arms.

~

Mercy was shaken by the encounter and didn’t feel easy until she’d put several miles between herself and Blessings. The town was small by Savannah standards, but there was something about it. Some people might have called it quaint. But that wasn’t the adjective Mercy would have used. It took her a few moments to put a name to the vibe she’d gotten just from being there, but when the word came to her, it felt right.

There was an innocence to it. Maybe it had to do with small-town living. She’d never thought about living in a place where you knew most everyone who lived there and had known them since birth. She kept thinking about the depth of concern everyone had for the injured woman…for Hope Talbot. Everyone seemed so friendly, so kind and caring, both for her health and safety, and for Hope.

As for that cop, she didn’t quite know how to feel about him. He didn’t hit on her. He didn’t ask for her number like most of her customers did in the bar. He just wanted to know that she made it home. How had he worded it? Oh yes. In one piece. If she made it home in one piece.

Almost as suddenly as that thought slid through her mind, a car on her left in the passing lane suddenly swerved toward her. She swerved toward the ditch, certain he was going to hit her. At the last moment, he overcorrected and swerved hard to the left and drove into the center median.

She caught a glimpse of the car as it began to roll and breathed a shaky sigh of relief that she wasn’t the one rolling. She glanced in her side mirror and saw a number of cars were already stopping, so she kept on going, glad she was still upright and healthy.

About forty-five minutes later, she hit the city limits of Savannah and took an exit ramp that would take her home.

Fifteen minutes more, and she had arrived at her apartment complex and locked up her bike. She paused to stretch before going upstairs and gazed around the complex, noting the number of Christmas wreaths and big red bows decorating doors and balconies.

It was almost noon on a clear, cold Christmas Day.

She thought about the cop’s card in her pocket, and on impulse pulled it out and gave him a call. When he answered, she realized she’d been holding her breath for the sound of his voice. “Hello?”

“It’s me, Mercy. I’m home.”

“Good news! Are you feeling okay?”

She shivered as the deep rasp in his voice rolled through her. “Yes, Chief, I’m fine, and thank you for asking.”

“Thank you for calling to ease my mind. Next time we meet, call me Lon. Merry Christmas to you, Mercy Dane.”

“Merry Christmas to you too,” she said, and disconnected.

She started up the steps to her apartment with a bounce in her walk. It was a good day.

~

Lon was still smiling as he dropped the phone back in his pocket. For a day that had started out in a near tragedy, it was turning into a really good day.

*****

Giveaway:

A set of Blessings, Georgia novels!

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/54ca7af7512/

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Book Review – Saving Jake

20 Thursday Oct 2016

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Book Review

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Blessings Georgia series, Book Review, Saving Jake, Sharon Sala

cover89379-mediumSaving Jake

A Blessings Georgia Novel

by Sharon Sala

Love heals in New York Times bestselling author Sharon Sala’s newest contemporary romance

There is always hope

After eight years in the Marines, Jacob Lorde returns to Blessings, Georgia, with no plans other than to hole up in his empty house and heal what’s left of his soul. But with a charming next door neighbor and a town full of friendly people, keeping to himself is easier said than done.

As long as you can come home

Laurel Payne understands far too well what Jake is going through, after witnessing her late husband experience similar problems. She’s in no hurry to jump into another relationship with a complicated guy, but their attraction is undeniable-and perhaps exactly what both of them need.

 

Jake suffers from PTSD and survivor’s guilt after leaving the Marines.  He’s trying to figure out what he’s going to do with himself and what normal now looks like.  He’s struggling with being known as a hero and coming back to his small hometown where everyone knows everything about everyone else just exacerbates his emotional turmoil.  Then he meets a darling little girl and her beautiful mother … his life isn’t ever going to be the same  🙂

Laurel’s husband was also a veteran but he didn’t handle his troubles very well.  Widowed and raising their daughter alone, she’s very hesitant to get close to a man with so many similar issues.  It doesn’t take long for her to realize that Jake is strong enough that he just may be able to handle his problems.  And help her handle hers.

There’s some trouble caused by old enemies that add a little extra drama and danger to the story, but it doesn’t overshadow the love story.  Showing her skill, Sala does a great job of tying it all together and helping to bring closure to a few different things.

My favorite part is the slow build between Laurel and Jake.  They get to know each other, find their footing, then move from acquaintances to friends and on to lovers.  Both are carrying a lot of baggage but together they figure out a way to share their load.  Giving readers a satisfying and realistic happy ending.

(Although this is part of a series, and we’ve seen some of these characters time and again, this can very easily stand on its own.  Nothing of any importance comes from past stories and Sala does a great job keeping the characters fresh for returning readers but keeping new readers involved.)

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Book Review – I’ll Stand By You

19 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Blog Tour, Book Review, Contest, Sneak Peek

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Book Review, I'll Stand By You, Sharon Sala

I love Sharon Salas’s books – and not just because she’s an Okie gal too 🙂  

I am so thrilled to get to share I’ll Stand By You with you because I think this is going to be one of my all time favorite stories.  It is just so amazingly sweet …

*****

IllStandByYouI’ll Stand By You

by Sharon Sala

Release Date: June 2, 2015

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Blurb:

No one is alone

Dori Grant is no stranger to hardship. As a young single mother in the gossip-fueled town of Blessings, Georgia, she’s weathered the storm of small-town disapproval most of her life. But when Dori loses everything within the span of an evening, she realizes she has no choice but to turn to her neighbors.

As long as there is love to give

Everyone says the Pine boys are no good, but Johnny Pine has been proving the gossips wrong ever since his mother died and he took over raising his brothers. His heart goes out to the young mother and child abandoned by the good people of Blessings. Maybe he can be the one to change all that…

Goodreads Link

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23510410-i-ll-stand-by-you

Buy Links

Amazon: http://bit.ly/AmazonSala

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/BNSala

iBookstore: http://bit.ly/AppleSala

IndieBound: http://bit.ly/IndieSala

*****

Excerpt:

“Nothing means a damn thing if I don’t have my baby.”

“And now we get to my suggestion. Do you like Johnny Pine?”

“Yes, of course. He’s been wonderful to us.”

“No, I mean, could you like him as relationship material?”

“That possibility exists,” she said.

“Good. Now let me talk to Johnny.”

She handed the phone back to Johnny.

“Now he wants to talk to you.”

She took the baby and Johnny took the phone.

“Yeah?”

“I have a suggestion that could bring an end to your troubles.”

“Like what?”

“Do you like Dori?”

“Well, sure. She’s great.”

“Do you like her enough to consider a personal relationship with her?”

Johnny looked at Dori, then cupped her face and ran his thumb down the side of her jaw.

“Yes, I like her enough to consider a personal relationship.”

Dori shivered beneath his touch as she realized Butterman was asking Johnny the same question he’d asked her.

“Put the phone on speaker,” Butterman said.

“Just a minute,” Johnny said and then pressed a button. “Okay, you’re on speaker now.”

“Here’s the deal,” Butterman said. “You two are very young to have such adult responsibilities. You’re both trying to take care of your families on your own, and now DFCS has their nose in your business and is threatening you with removing the children from your custody, right?”

“Right,” they said.

“So this would end tomorrow if you were married.”

Johnny took a quick breath, started to speak, and then found himself staring at Dori instead, waiting for her reaction.

Dori already knew Johnny cared for her because he’d told her. What he didn’t know was that she was very attracted to him.

“Well? Did both of you faint or what?” Butterman asked.

“I’m game if she is,” Johnny said.

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep our boys,” Dori said.

Butterman chuckled. “Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials. If it were me, I wouldn’t waste any time. Go get the license and find a preacher, and your trouble with Miss Carter is a thing of the past. I assume I am invited to the wedding.”

*****

Review:

It’s the characters that are so important in this series and Sala once again brings us wonderful ones.  Not only Dori and Johnny, but Johnny’s little brothers and those people in the town who are so willing to lend a hand when needed.

Life hasn’t always been kind to Dori or Johnny, but they have never given up.  They work hard at making a good life for those they care about and when life brings them into the same sphere, that dedication expands to encompass both families.  But while life keeps throwing them punches, now they have each other and it is so very sweet watching them fall in love.  I’m impressed at how, being so young but having to take on so much responsibility, they still manage to keep a good attitude.  They aren’t naïve but they aren’t letting it turn them bitter either.  They are such a fantastic match and I was so very happy that they found each other.

As with the other books, Sala continues to bring a great cast of secondary characters … unfortunately not all of them have a good heart.  It isn’t always pretty, but Sala manages to do a fantastic job of capturing that small town feel.  There are caring people, who help and support those around them, but there are also those that only look out for themselves.  It’s both kinds of people that bring Dori and Johnny to their eventual HEA.  And while it isn’t always roses and sunshine, thee good definitely outweighs the bad in their lives, which I think is what most of us hope for.

If you haven’t read Count Your Blessings (previously titled Color Me Bad) or Curl Up & Dye, it’s OK because all of these books can stand on their own.  But it does help to give you an idea of the small Southern town charm and politics that Sala captures so well.  And as much as I loved the first two stories, I think this one is my favorite (so far, because I can’t wait to see what Sala has in store for us next).

*****

SharonSalaAuthor Info:

Sharon Sala, who has also written under the name Dinah McCall, has 85-plus books in print, published in four different genres-Romance, Young Adult, Western, and Women’s Fiction, and her Young Adult books have been optioned for film. She has been named a RITA finalist seven times by Romance Writers of America, and in 2011 they named her the recipient of the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. Her books are New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly bestsellers and published in many different languages. She lives in Oklahoma, the state where she was born.

Social Networking Links

Website: http://sharonsala.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharonkaysala

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SharonSala1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/40570.Sharon_Sala

*****

Giveaway:

Win your own copy of the book and a diamond hummingbird necklace

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/07c2363f74/

*****

IllStandByYouTeaser

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Book Review – Curl Up & Dye

27 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Book Review

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Book Review, Sharon Sala, The Curl Up & Dye

cover30442-mediumWally Lamb meets Steel Magnolias in this story of LilyAnn Bronte, the Peachy-Keen Queen, which in Blessings, Georgia, was the epitome of success. After losing her fiancé in the war in Iraq, her zest for life went into decline while added weight crept on. When a new guy arrives in town, LilyAnn embarks on a quest to remake herself from start to finish only to discover that love was always just right next-door.

I have to give a warning first – there are a couple of violent sequences (explicit and implied) that may be hard for some people to read.  I’m not at all squeamish and they bothered me.  I think, after reading Color Me Bad, I was expecting something a little more lighthearted – a Southern Belle romp – but while there are lighthearted moments and some good ol’ fashion “Bless Your Heart” charm, the story was much more serious than I thought it would be.

We start at the beginning with a history of Lily and how she got to where she is – how 11 years have past her by without her noticing.  She’s been standing still for so long it has become a habit but she’s finally decided it is time to move forward.  She’s interesting and flawed and normal and real.  Her best friend and neighbor Mike is just as engaging.  He’s loved her since they were teenagers but has been too afraid to say anything and she’s been too oblivious to notice how he feels.  Events are set into motion a storm that will rock their world and either tear it apart or bring them a happy ending.

Of course, like any worthy small-town tale, this one covers more than just Lily and her romantic fumbles.  And those secondary characters are just as interesting as the primary ones.  Full of quirkiness, fun and drama, they nicely round out Sala’s newest and leave little tidbits to possible future stories.

With colorful characters and an enticing story line, Sala’s new series proves to be amusing and appealing.  I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for more.

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Book Review – Color Me Bad

23 Monday Dec 2013

Posted by romanticreadsandsuch in Book Review

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Book Review, Color Me Bad, Sharon Sala

I’m going to share with everyone a short novella that you’ll want to pick up in preparation for Sharon Sala’s upcoming book, Curl Up & Dye.  It promises to be quirky, fun and sweet. But first let’s look at Color Me Bad.

cover34555-mediumAn original short story by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Sharon Sala links to her full-length contemporary women’s fiction novel, The Curl Up and Dye.

The novella centers around the four women who run the Curl Up and Dye hair salon and their relationships with the quirky customers of small-town Blessings, Georgia. Their meddlesome efforts at match-making run awry, but there’s always another makeover just around the corner.

This is a fun introduction to the world Sala has created in Blessings, Georgia – it is entertaining and definitely whets the appetite for Curl Up and Dye, coming out in February. It’s got all of the spunk and spice you’d expect from small-town Southern women, with their smiles and Bless You’s covering heartbreak and troubles.  Their humorous antics made me laugh, while I hurt for them at the same time.

Come join me in getting to know the fabulous citizens of Blessings and don’t be surprised if you find yourself anxious to visit again.

 

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I have received ARCs of books free from BookTrib.com to review but the majority of the stories are either bought by me or provided for free from the publisher. The opinions I share are my own and in no way are influenced by an author or publisher. There is no promise of a positive review by any party and there is no additional compensation. Unless otherwise noted, I am not affliated with any contest or other event mentioned on this blog and I do not receive a paid endorsement for any posts.

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