Can this single dad rise to the challenge?
Luke Travis may be a father, but heâs never really been a dad to Ben. When the nine-year-old enrolls at the boarding school where Luke works, Luke knows itâs time to step up. Except his son wants nothing to do with him. And then thereâs Kat Molloy, the child therapist whose âhelpâ conflicts with everything he believes about raising kids. Some part of him realizes they both want whatâs best for Benâand that same part of him wonders why heâs so drawn to Kat despite their differences. But Luke canât risk letting romance get in the way of his relationship with his son...
âBenâs been spoiled all his life,â Luke said. âThatâs what his behavior is all about.â
âHow do you know? How do you really know what his life has been like up to now?â Kat asked. âHeâs only nine. You need to let him learn to love you, Luke.â
Their faces were so close that Kat could feel his breath on her cheek.
âThatâs just it,â he murmured, his eyes soft with a vulnerability sheâd never seen in him before. âWhat if he never forgives me and never grows to love me? Perhaps Iâve already lost my chance with him.â
On impulse, Kat moved closer. Cupping his jaw with gentle fingers, she touched her lips to his, and when his arms wrapped around her, it felt so right. His lips closed over hers, soft and yet demanding, and for an endless moment it felt as if they were one being, a part of the vast space and beauty that surrounded them...
But they werenât alone. With a surge of guilt, Kat pulled away in panic, looking for Ben. What were they thinking?
Dear Reader,
Thank you for picking up my book, I do hope you enjoy it. There is just something timeless about the sea that draws us in. At times serene and breathtakingly beautiful, it can also be awe inspiring in its ferocityâdangerous, wild and untamed. A bit like life, really, I suppose.
I am so enjoying writing this series, Songs of the Sea, and I would love to hear your comments. You can contact me at [email protected].
All very best wishes,
Eleanor
ELEANOR JONES was brought up on a farm in the north of England and learned to love animals and the countryside from an early age. She has ridden all her life, and after marrying her husband at just eighteen years old and having two wonderful children, they set up a riding center together. This is still thriving over thirty years later, doing hacks, treks and lessons for all ages and experiences. Her daughter competes at the national level, and she is now a partner in the business and brings her adorable three-year-old son to work with her every day. Eleanorâs son is also married with two children, and they live nearby.
Eleanor has been writing for what feels like her whole life. Her early handwritten novels still grace a dusty shelf in the back of a cupboard somewhere, but she was first published over fifteen years ago, when she wrote teenage pony mysteries.
I would like to dedicate this book to my dear sister, Catherine, who lives by the sea.
PROLOGUE
NEVER HAD LUKE TRAVIS felt such guilt beforeâguilt that sat so heavy on his heart it weighed down his every movement. Waiting there for Ben, his Ben, the nine-year-old boy he had abandoned so many years ago, to arrive at Flightâthe special school where Luke workedâwas both the best and worst experience of his life. Heâd never expected and was totally unprepared for this. And the sad thing was that he had no excuse to give his son. Luke had just been young and selfish and irresponsible, simple as that.
He sat rigid on the wooden chair, drowning in memories. Benâs mum, Carly, so wild and so beautiful. When youâre young and impulsive, he told himself, sometimes you make crazy decisions, blame other people and just walk away. He knew he had and he wasnât proud of it. But now heâd been given a chance to make amends, to prove that he could be a good dad. He intended, despite the self-doubt that haunted him, to do the very best that he could for his son.
Luke glanced at the clock again and again as the time crept nearer, three thirty on a sunny afternoon. At any moment his son, the son he barely knew, the son he had left behind by persuading himself that it was the best decision for the child, would walk through the office door. And Luke had no idea what to say to him.
Then the door opened, and there he was, walking determinedly behind his grandma, Mollie, his smooth, young face an echo of Lukeâs own, but was filled with anger and aggression.