The Inn at Eagle Point

“Sherryl Woods always delights her readers— including me!” —No.1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

“Compulsively readable … Woods’s novel easily rises

above hot-button topics to tell a universal tale of friendship’s redemptive power.” —Publishers Weekly on Mending Fences

“Sherryl Woods always delivers a fast, breezy … romance.”

—Jayne Ann Krentz

“Sherryl Woods gives her characters depth, intensity,

and the right amount of humour.”

—RT Book Reviews

“Sherryl Woods is a uniquely gifted writer whose deep

understanding of human nature is woven into every page.” —Carla Neggers

The Inn at Eagle Point

Sherryl Woods

www.mirabooks.co.uk

Dear Reader,

Launching a new series is one of my very favourite things. I get to enter a whole new setting, meet fascinating, complex new characters and, hopefully, create situations and conflicts that will resonate with all of you. When I was deciding the details of this latest series, I kept coming back to the Chesapeake Bay, an area near and dear to my heart. Though I don’t actually live on the bay, my summer home is on the Potomac River just above where it enters the bay. There are few places on earth more beautiful and serene.

Setting, however, isn’t the only thing that matters. Even more important are the characters who will fill these pages, and for this I wanted a huge, complicated, dysfunctional family. Thus, the O’Briens. You’ll meet four generations of them over time, many of them with major issues with each other. There will be stories of betrayal, reconciliation and, of course, love. There will be meddling and matchmaking and tough choices. And along the way, there will be lots of laughs and a few tears.

The Inn at Eagle Point is Abby’s story, but it is also a story about sisters and how they stand up for each other without question. It’s a story of a powerful love, first lost, then found again. And of two proud men who struggle to believe in second chances.

So welcome to Chesapeake Shores. I hope you’ll come to love the O’Briens and their world.

All best,

Sherryl Woods

For Morgan and Taylor … Welcome to the world,

little girls! You’re definitely going to keep your moms and dads and big brothers on their toes!

The arguing had gone on most of the night. In her room just three doors down the hall from her parents’ master suite, Abby had been able to hear the sound of raised voices, but not the words. It wasn’t the first time they’d fought recently, yet this time something felt different. The noisy exchange itself and fretting about it kept her awake most of the night.

Until she walked downstairs just after dawn and saw suitcases in the front hallway, Abby hoped she’d only imagined the difference, that the knot of dread that had formed in her stomach was no more than her overactive imagination making something out of nothing. Now she knew better. Someone was leaving this time—quite possibly forever, judging from the pile of luggage by the door.

She tried to quiet her panic, reminding herself that her dad, Mick O’Brien, left all the time. An internationally acclaimed architect, he was always going someplace for a new job, a new adventure. Again, though, this felt different. He’d only been home a couple of days from his last trip. He rarely turned right around and left again.

“Abby!” Her mother sounded startled and just a little edgy. “What are you doing up so early?”

Abby wasn’t surprised that her mother was caught off guard. Most teenagers, including Abby and her brothers, hated getting up early on the weekends. Most Saturdays it was close to noon when she finally made her way downstairs.

Abby met her mother’s gaze, saw the dismay in her eyes and knew instinctively that Megan had hoped to be gone before anyone got up, before anyone could confront her with uncomfortable questions.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Abby said flatly, trying not to cry. She was seventeen, and if she was right about what was going on, she was the one who was going to have to be strong for her younger brothers and sisters.

Megan’s eyes filled with tears. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Finally, she nodded.

“Why, Mom?” Abby began, a torrent of questions following. “Where are you going? What about us? Me, Bree, Jess, Connor and Kevin? Are you walking out on us, too?”

“Oh, sweetie, I could never do that,” Megan said, reaching for her. “You’re my babies. As soon as I’m settled, I’ll be back for you. I promise.”

Though her declaration was strong, Abby saw through it to the fear underlying her words. Wherever Megan was going, she was scared and filled with uncertainty. How could she not be? She and Mick O’Brien had been married for nearly twenty years. They’d had five children together, and a life they’d built right here in Chesapeake Shores, the town that Mick himself had designed and constructed with his brothers. And now Megan was going off all alone, starting over—How could she not be terrified?