She sought a new beginning.
He sought what he didn’t know was missing.
Together they would discover hope in unlikely places. places.
Isabelle Rousseu must escape New Orleans and the
memory of her family’s tragic loss. With her younger brother in tow, she
accepts a position as the new schoolteacher in Briarwood, Montana. Desperate to
keep what’s left of her family together, Isabelle joins her life with a
stranger only to discover that trust and hope go hand in hand.
Gabriel Gallagher lived each day as it came believing
he had everything he could possibly want...until a determined woman and her
brother arrive with a little luggage and a lot of secrets.
It will take a
drastic choice to protect her and give them both, hope for the future.
Teasers
(please note that these were provided before final editing and the excerpts below may vary slightly in the final book)
Excerpt One:
There
was nothing left of the life she had known.
Her
slender arm wrapped around the little boy’s shoulder and pulled him closer to
his side. She could feel his slight trembling and wished more than anything
that she could take his sadness. They
were alone in the world. They had each other and she prayed that would be
enough for them both.
They
stood and listened as the priest gave the final blessing and the caskets were
lowered into the ground. It wasn’t something anyone should witness, but she
needed the closure. She needed to know that it was over. ‘A very sad affair’
everyone called it for it wasn’t every day that a man murdered his wife and
then shot himself. It wasn’t healthy to think on the possible reasons why, but
she couldn’t seem to help herself. She had truly believed that they had been a
happy family. One of the wealthiest in New
Orleans and one of the most respected and sought out
for social gatherings. The truth however, was revealed with her father’s death.
No one would speak of it to them of course, but the lawyer had made it quite
clear.
They
were penniless.
Excerpt
Two:
“You promised
Gabriel, you promised!”
Gabriel wasn’t a
light sleeper. In fact it often took a great deal to wake him from a pleasant
slumber and last night had been one heck of a night’s sleep. He enjoyed waking
with Isabelle in the room. What he didn’t enjoy was being yelled at and falsely
accused before he’d even had his first cup of coffee. Her words though, did
enough to bring him about.
“Criminy, Isabelle
it’s too early for yelling and I didn’t break my promise.” Gabriel moved around
the side of the bed until he located his boots and slipped them on. His happy
memories of holding her in his arms the night before were quickly replaced by
anger and irritation.
“What do you call
waking up next to me then Gabriel?”
“If
you’ll take a good look at yourself, and me for that matter, you’ll see we’re
both fully dressed. More’s the pity.”
Aug 13 - Aug 31st
