Title Bigalow
Author Iris Blobel
Genre Australian Contemporary Romance with a touch of PN
Book Blurb
He came out of nowhere … encouraging her to ask the right questions.
Hannah believes her life in solitude is all she wants and all she needs. She’s settled in the small town of Fermosa Bay where she’s taken over a medical practice after leaving her husband. When the enigmatic Bigalow steps into her life, turning it upside-down, she can’t hide the growing irritation inside. Yet, slowly and steadily, he reminds her what life is all about and what she’s missing out on. Especially when she crosses paths with her neighbour, Gideon.
As she begins to ask the right questions, Hannah’s fondness for Bigalow gently grows, and so do her feelings for Gideon. But is she ready to hear the answers to her questions?
Excerpt
Taken aback by his changed demeanour and what had happened during the previous five minutes, she watched as he returned to the creek and into the water. She shook her head at the fact that he hadn’t even bothered to take off his shoes. It was going to be so uncomfortable for him to walk back.
Walk back? What was he thinking? They were at least twenty kilometres away from Fermosa Bay. She blew out a breath, opened the door and got out then sauntered towards him, watching him as he tried to build a dam with the small creek rocks.
She let out a soft laugh at his foiled attempts. But he didn’t care. Singing along, he kept trying, laughing whenever the rocks fell apart. With some impatience, but also the memory returning of her childhood, building dams like these with her father while her mother prepared the picnic, she rid herself of her shoes and socks again so she could help him. She shrieked at her first step, slowly getting used to the chilly water. Within seconds she stood next to him.
She placed a hand on his arm. “Let me show you how to do this.”
“You know how to build a dam?” he asked, a grin spreading across his face.
She wasn’t able to interpret his reaction. “You seem surprised.”
He shook his head. “Not at all.”
Yet, his grin didn’t disappear. She sorted the rocks, moving the smaller ones to the side and stacking the bigger ones in a line. “Here.” She handed him some of the smaller ones. “Place them on top of the others just like that.” She demonstrated how to do it, and he followed her instructions. She enjoyed herself and after only a few minutes they’d made some progress. She leaned forward to pick up another little rock pebble, but slipped, stumbled backwards, and lost her balance. In an attempt not to fall, she reached for Bigalow’s arm, but despite her struggle and his best effort to help, they both fell into the water.
Hannah shrieked. The icy water soaked through her clothes and the initial sting on her skin, like cutting knives, took her breath momentarily. She shot up and held her dripping sleeves away from her body, about to tell him why this hadn’t been a good idea in the first place, but instead she burst into laughter. She laughed, as she reached for his arm to help him up as well, barely able to get the words, “I’m sorry,” across her lips.
He gave her one of his mischievous smiles. “You’re very welcome.”
“Pardon?” she asked, shivering from the cold as they tried to step towards the edge of the creek.
“You’re very welcome,” he repeated.
Her laugh subsided as she stared at him, brows raised. “I don’t follow.”
“You’re very welcome for making you laugh.”
She stared at him, the soaked clothes now cooling her to the point she struggled to control her shivers. “Never mind. You just killed the mood by reminding me—”
“How much fun it was.”
Nodding, she got out of the creek, desperate to find something to help her get dry. At least a little.
“Tell me, Hannah,” he said, following her, his voice still holding happiness. “Where did you learn to build dams like this?”
Shaking her head, she kept walking towards the car, tired of his questions. “Dad used to take us to this creek during the summers for a barbeque and he showed me all sorts of things. Including how to build a dam. Or build little boats out of tree bark. We had so much fun.”
“Which creek was that?”
She whirled around and huffed an exaggerated sigh. “Who cares?”
With eyebrows raised, he replied, “I do.”
The dam they’d built only minutes earlier was still solid and holding back some of the water. A smile tugged at her lips at all the memories of her family’s weekends away to this creek. Which creek had it been? And why did he need to know? She met his gaze, a smile still lingering on his face, and she said just above a whisper, “Bigalow Creek. Dad took us to a place called Bigalow Creek.”
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Author Biography
Iris Blobel writes warm, sexy, and sometimes witty Australian Contemporary Romance books for readers who, like herself, still strongly believe in love and Happily Ever Afters. And she knows HEAs. Her couples are hungry for life, done with the past, passionate about family, and emotionally hopeful for a future. The stories are mainly set in Australia but also in New Zealand and even the US, depending on where her travels take her. She loves nothing more than for her readers to join her on her journeys.
For more information, please visit her website http://www.irisblobel.com or join her on FB https://bit.ly/3CGtIk8
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