A second chance for Joy
While recovering at a remote cabin, Dr. Simon Walsh stumbles across Cara Amos. Injured and left for dead, Cara is harboring dark secrets. Yet Simon canât help falling for his mysterious patient. As her memory returns and her injuries fade under his gentle care, he vows to help her find her missing daughter.
At The Lemonade Stand shelter, managing director Lila McDaniels is helping Caraâs estranged father, Edward Mantle, bond with his traumatized granddaughter, Joy. And his feelings extend well beyond gratitude.
Bringing this family together seems impossible... Luckily, Christmas is the season of miracles.
âIâm sorry, Cara, I canât do it.â
Her gaze shot to his. Wide-eyed. Filled with fear.
âIâm not going to hold you hostage,â Simon quickly assured her. âYouâre free to go. But if you do leave, I have to call the authorities. To alert them to the fact that I am aware of a domestic-violence situation. As a doctor, Iâm under legal obligation to do so.â
Not technically. He wasnât licensed to practice medicine in Nevadaâhis helping her was legal only under the Good Samaritan law. And because initially it had been an emergency situation and sheâd refused outside medical care.
Her gaze hadnât wavered. The panic was there, almost blindingly so, reminding him of a deer in headlights.
âI mean you no harm,â he told her. âTo the contrary. Nor am I particularly welcoming of the company. Iâm here alone by choice. My reasons for that choice have not changed.â
She blinked.
âBut I canât let you just walk out of here.â
Dear Reader,
Welcome to a very, very special story in my Where Secrets are Safe series. If youâve never been to The Lemonade Standâplease, come in. Visitors to the Stand are transitory, so youâll fit right in with the rest of the current batch of residents, who are also new here. If youâve been here before, buckle your seat belts, because youâre in for a double treat.
This story is very different from anything Iâve done before. Itâs two full romancesâtaking place simultaneously in two statesâthat, unknown to the heroes and heroines, are intertwined. You, the reader, will see the way these people, from opposite sides of a very sad story, give their hearts and souls to try to find sense in a world that makes no sense.
Sometimes itâs hard to know what to believe. Sometimes our thoughts are born through our own perspectives that might not always be completely accurate. Sometimes we act on those thoughts with the best of intentions, and end up places we never meant to be.
Sometimes all we can do is listen to our heartsâlike we did as children. Sometimes it takes a child to show us the way...
I love to hear from my readers. Please find me at www.tarataylorquinn.com, Facebook.com/tarataylorquinn and on Twitter, @tarataylorquinn. Or join my open Friendship board on Pinterest, Pinterest.com/tarataylorquinn/friendship!
All the best,
Tara
Having written over eighty novels, TARA TAYLOR QUINN is a USA TODAY bestselling author with more than seven million copies sold. She is known for delivering intense, emotional fiction. Tara is a past president of Romance Writers of America. She has won a Readersâ Choice Award and is a five-time finalist for an RWA RITA® Award, a finalist for a Reviewersâ Choice Award and a Booksellersâ Best Award. She has also appeared on TV across the country, including CBS Sunday Morning. She supports the National Domestic Violence Hotline. If you or someone you know might be a victim of domestic violence in the United States, please contact 1-800-799-7233.
For my daughter, Rachel (Marie) Stoddard,
and her daughter, Morgan Marie. I love you both more than life.
Cast of Characters
Wife by Design (Book 1)
Lynn DuncanâResident nurse at TLS. She has a three-year-old daughter, Kara.
Grant BishopâLandscape developer hired by TLS.
Maddie EstesâPermanent TLS resident. Childcare provider.
Darin BishopâResident at TLS. Works for his brother, Grant. Has a mental disability.
Once a Family (Book 2)
Sedona (Campbell) MaloneâLawyer who volunteers at TLS.
Tanner MaloneâVintner. Brother to Tatum and Talia Malone.
Tatum MaloneâFifteen-year-old resident at TLS.
Husband by Choice (Book 3)
Meredith (Meri) BennetâSpeech therapist. Mother to two-year-old son, Caleb.
Max BennetâPediatrician.
Chantel HarrisâPolice officer. Friend to Max and his deceased first wife.
Child by Chance (Book 4)
Talia MaloneâTLS volunteer. Public-school scrapbook therapist. Student of fashion design.
Sherman PaulsonâPolitical campaign manager. Widower. Single father of adopted ten-year-old son, Kent.
Mother by Fate (Book 5)
Sara HavensâFull-time TLS counselor.
Michael EdwinâBounty hunter. Widower. Single father to six-year-old daughter, Mari.
The Good Father (Book 6)
Ella AckermanâCharge nurse at Santa Raquel Childrenâs Hospital. Member of the high-risk team. Divorced.
Brett AckermanâTLS Founder. National accreditation business owner. Divorced.