Title: ACT OF TRUST, Book 2 The Second Chances Series
Author: Marsha R. West
Genre: Second Chance Romantic Suspense
Book Blurb:
Kate Thompson, a widow since 9/11 and a mother of grown daughter, wants to keep her and her daughter safe, but the inheritance of land in Maine pushes her out of her comfort zone in Texas and into the arms of a Maine lawyer. Maine lawyer and environmentalist, Jim Donovan wants to protect Aunt Liddy’s land and keep it from falling into the hands of the developers, but first he has to convince Kate Thompson she should hold on to the family land when she doesn’t even want to go look at it. However, he’s unprepared for the attraction each feels for the other but denies exists.
Will they be able to settle the land deal before anyone else is killed or they break each other’s hearts?
Excerpt:
“Thanks for coming over, Addie. I hated to bother you, but I had to talk with you.” Kate paced her living room about the same place her visitor Jim Donovan had yesterday.
“You’re never a bother. Kate. You know that. I have about twenty minutes before I have to get back to the theatre.” Addie wore her usual rehearsal clothes, dark tights with a turquoise skirt thrown over her leotard.
“Gosh you’ve started on your next show. Sorry. I forgot. You don’t have to stay.”
“No, you’ve offered me a glass of wine. I’ll take one and thank you.” Addie sank gracefully onto the sofa. “Mike was supposed to take me out to lunch during the rehearsal break, but he got called into work, so I’m yours.”
“The news carried a breaking story about a shooting behind a high school.” Kate got a bottle from the wine fridge and poured Addie a glass.
“Pretty certain that was it. Don’t know when he’ll be home.”
“How do you handle the uncertainty, Addie? Don’t you just about go nuts?” She set Addie’s Sauvignon Blanc on the coffee table. “I mean he goes out and then maybe doesn’t come back.” Kate filled her own glass with her favorite Merlot. Her finger circled the top of the glass, stopping just before it sang.
“True, anything is possible. The reality for the most part is the homicide detective is there after the danger is over, unlike beat cops who get caught in tight spots all the time.”
“I don’t know how you deal with the fear.” Kate drank a large gulp from her glass.
Addie’s raised eyebrows and the cock of her head caught Kate’s attention and she put down the glass.
“So what’s going on with you? You seem hyped up––like you’d taken one of those diet pills we used to pop when we were young and not terribly smart.”
“Jim Donovan came to the house yesterday.” She raised the glass again for another sip of wine, but this one more controlled.
Addie’s eyebrows drew together clearly confused by the direction of Kate’s words. Then the blank look cleared. “Oh. The Maine lawyer? He showed up here?” She leaned back, one long leg over the other in a gentle swing.
Kate nodded, afraid to say much and give a clue about her odd reaction to the man.
“Well he’s persistent, isn’t he?”
Again, all Kate managed was a nod. This wasn’t going to work. At some point, she had to give voice to her fears. If she couldn’t tell Addie, who then? “He asked me to go up there and look at the property. Told me I owed it to John.”
“Oh, my dear.” Addie set her glass on the table, scooted next to Kate, and slipped an arm around her shoulder. “He’s more than persistent. He’s brutal.”
“I told him I don’t fly. He said Liddy told him.”
“So, he knows about John.”
It was a statement, but Kate nodded.
“Well, hon, what would be so bad about taking a look at the property?” She picked up her glass and sipped her wine. “Then you’d feel like you were honoring John’s family. My artistic director is down with the flu, so I’m handling rehearsals, or I’d go with you. Maybe Devon or Kim can get away.”
“But I don’t want him to come here again.” Kate swallowed another large gulp of wine, which brought on a coughing fit.
Again, Addie cocked her head the way a puppy does when it can’t figure out his master. “I don’t understand.”
“He made me feel…” Kate couldn’t stop her voice from trembling.
“How did he make you feel, sweetie?”
“He made me feel. He put his arms around me and rocked me. He made me feel…cherished.” Then despite her best efforts, the tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks.
Addie pulled Kate into her arms. “Oh, sweetie. That’s the place we’ve all hoped for you to reach. All the men we’ve introduced you to over the years only to have you shut them off after the first or second date. You’ve been frozen in time, raising Blair, selling houses, caring for and burying your parents, but never moving on past the tragedy of 9/11.”
Finally, Kate got herself together and pulled a tissue from a box sitting on the end table. She blew her nose and finished her wine, then rose. “You want a refill?”
“Better not. I won’t know stage right from stage left. Makes giving directions tough.” She glanced at her watch. “Sweetie, I hate to leave you like this, but I have to get back.
“Bong. Bong.”
“I’ll always be glad you let me record that. It’s been great for several shows.”
Unexpectedly, Kate laughed. “I’m sure there aren’t many people who have friends who’ve recorded their door chime.”
“Bong. Bong.”
Addie joined her laughter to Kate’s. “Well, I’ve got to leave, and you need to check on whoever’s sitting on your wonderful doorbell.”
Kate peeked out the side window. “Oh, dear.”
“What’s the matter? Someone with a gun?”
Addie’s overly dramatic question brought a smile to Kate’s face. “No. It’s Jim Donovan.”
“Great. Open the door. I want to meet him.”
“Bong.”
Kate jerked open the door. “Hello.”
“Thank God. I was afraid you weren’t home. When no one answered I feared your office must’ve been mistaken.”
“Well, you found me.” She pushed her hair off her face. No telling what she looked like after the crying jag. Odd, she never considered her appearance, especially not in connection to a man.
“I’m Kate’s friend, Addie, and I understand you want her to go to Maine to look at a piece of property.”
“That’s right.” His eyebrows drew down. “I know she doesn’t fly. My solution to that problem is to suggest we drive up there.”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
99 Cent sale runs Sept. 7-16!
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/38Rk6d
What’s your favorite thing about autumn:
Oh, my gosh! Where to start???!!! As I write this the temperature in Fort Worth is 107. You know the line from Wizard of Oz? “I’m melting!” That’s what we’re all feeling here and will for at least another two weeks. So:
# 1 is cooler temperatures. By that I mean let’s get to where we have lows in the 70s and highs below 90. I don’t ask for a lot.
#2 The leaves changing. And yes, we do have that in North Texas. However, it doesn’t arrive until late November when most of y’all are transitioning into winter. My favorite thing to do in the fall is travel to New England, to any number of beautiful states to see their beautiful leaves. Not happening this year, but in 2224, I’m going again! 😊
#3. The decorations. I pull mine out right after Labor Day because if I wait until we have real fall weather, I will have only just put them up and it will be time to pull out the Christmas decorations.
#4. Nothing Bundt Cake brings out it’s pumpkin space cake in October and November. With cream cheese icing. Ummmm Nothing better.
#5. My younger daughter was born in October and my older daughter got married in October (the same day, but many years apart. LOL)
#6 Halloween. Who doesn’t love Halloween, and it’s the birthday of one of my SsIL.
And I could go on, but you get the idea, I really LOVE FALL.
What inspired you to write this story:
My younger daughter mentioned above traveled to New York City on Sunday before Tuesday on 9/11. She and her husband were all right, but still never the same, and I didn’t know that until 3 pm that afternoon. I wrote the book to pay tribute to the courage and resilience of those who lost loved ones and managed to find the strength to keep on keeping on. Every year I send a donation to the 9/11 Museum and Gardens Homepage | National September 11 Memorial & Museum (911memorial.org)
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $75 Amazon gift card
Open internationally.
Runs September 1 – 30
Drawing will be held on October 2.
Author Biography:
The theme of Marsha’s books is always second chances, and she even has a four-part series titled The Second Chances Series. She believes in Happily Ever Afters. Her husband picked up a plaque for her on one of their several trips to Maine that states her philosophy exactly. Everything will be all right in the end. If it’s not all right, it’s not the end. The Heroines and Heroes in her books are in their 40s and 50s with their parents and children often playing supporting roles.
She’s a member of North Texas Romance Writers, Authors Marketing Guild LLC, & the WORD BY WORD Blog. She has her own weekly blog and monthly newsletter. Her books can be found on AMAZON, B & N, KOBO, and iTunes and other sites. Print books are also at Draft 2 Digital, Indie Lector Stores, and Amazon. Blurbs for each of her books with links can be found on her website.
Social Media Links:
https://authormarsharwest.wordpress.com/ Where you can also sign up for her blog and her NEWSLETTER MRW Press LLC (list-manage.com)Contact her at
marsha@marsharwest.com , and follow her on…
https://www.twitter.com/Marsharwest @Marsharwest