Starlight on Willow Lake (The Lakeshore Chronicles #11) by Susan Wiggs
Publisher: MiraPublished: August 25, 2015Pages: 384Find online: Amazon | B&N | Books-A-Million | GoodreadsMason Bellamy’s world is fast, loud and decorated with the most extreme risks. Nothing can tempt him to give up his high-rolling Manhattan life and high-maintenance girlfriend—not even family. When he’s called home to upstate Avalon to help his quadriplegic mother in her deepest time of need, he sets his mind on temporary, determined to craft a way to care for her from a distance.Alice Hayes is supposed to be his best solution. Hiring the gentle-hearted yet struggling caregiver as a live-in nurse gives Alice and her two daughters shelter, his mother companionship and Mason the freedom to escape to his adrenaline-pumped, no-attachments routine. But Alice’s beautiful presence promises to repair Mason’s frayed family ties. And his unstoppable attraction to Alice could lead to the most exhilarating thrill of his life.
I'm hosting excerpt number 12 from the tour, so be sure to check out the entire list of excerpts here. And come back on September 16th to see my review of Starlight on Willow Lake (or check out the other reviews from the tour here). Read on to see a glimpse of the newest Lakeshore Chronicles book.
When
the girls were asleep, that was when the demons came to visit. The
ones that promised Faith she was drowning and taking the girls down
with her. Sometimes in her more lunatic moments, she silently raged
at Dennis, as if all this were his fault. And it wasn’t, of course.
It wasn’t his fault for having a severe form of diabetes with fatal
complications, any more than it was Faith’s fault for loving him.
It
wasn’t his fault their younger daughter had the same disease.
No
one’s fault, but Faith was left to deal with it.
Late
that night—their last night in Unit 12 of Lakeside Estates—Faith
realized it was preferable to stay awake with her own thoughts than
to sleep with demons, so she got up and finished the last of the
packing. It wasn’t much. The unit had come fully furnished, so it
was really just their clothing and personal belongings, which fit
easily into the paratransit van.
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The
van was from Dennis’s final year, when he’d been in a wheelchair
that had to be raised and lowered by the van elevator. He had known
he was terminal and had made the rash decision to spend the last of
their savings traveling across the country from LA to New York,
seeing the sights of America in the midst of a long, sad farewell.
Faith had known it was a reckless move on his part, but how did you
say no to a dying man?
Most
of their mementos were digital photos, but there was one framed shot
Faith cherished, showing the four of them lying on a hill of grass
somewhere in Kentucky. A friendly local had gamely climbed a tree to
take the unusual shot. They were laughing in that moment, their faces
full of love. The joy in Dennis’s eyes was palpable. On their
unforgettable family trip, they had learned to steal moments like
this, to wring every drop of happiness from them.
She
carefully wrapped the framed photo in her favorite Dennis artifact—an
impossibly soft woven blanket in the traditional McCallum tartan from
his native Scotland. For months after his death, the blanket had held
his scent, but by now it was faded, and she couldn’t even remember
what he’d smelled like.
She
placed the wrapped photograph in an old duffel bag. The useless
laptop emitted a soft chime, signaling an incoming email.
Faith
jumped up to check it.
She
had a job interview, first thing in the morning.
“She’s
a no-show.” Mason’s mother glared at the clock on the mantel.
“That
means she’s out. Fired before she’s hired. If she can’t show up
on time for her first appointment, then Faith McCallum is not the one
we’re looking for.” Mason raked a hand through his hair. “Damn.
She was the last one on the list.” He glanced over the printed
résumé, which he’d found so impressive when Brenda sent it to
him. “Hasta la vista, Miz McCallum.” He crumpled the page in his
fist and tossed it in the wastebasket.
Regina,
who had arrived on the late train from the city the night before, got
up and walked over to him, trailing her hand across the back of his
shoulders. Her high heels clicked on the hardwood floor. She always
dressed in expensive suits, as if she had an executive board meeting
on her calendar. He found it sexy, but a bit much for a lake house.
“That’s
too bad,” Regina said. “She seemed promising on paper.”
Gorgeous, accomplished and smart, she was eager to help Mason find
someone so they could get back to the city.
He
nodded. “Yeah, now what?” He grabbed his phone and tapped out a
message for Brenda to cast a wider net as she trolled for the ideal
caregiver. “Hey, Reg, how about you stay with Mom? The two
of you make a great pair.”
The
two women regarded him with such horror and disbelief that he laughed
aloud. His mother and Regina got along all right, but the idea of
both of them living under the same roof clearly made them both
mental.
“To
be honest,” Regina said, “I wish I did have the skill set to help
you, Alice.”
“If
you had the skill set to help me, I’d force my prodigal son to set
a wedding date immediately,” said Alice.
Mason
kept a poker face, knowing his mother was trying to get a rise out of
him.
“We’re
in no hurry,” Regina said soothingly. “I always knew I wanted a
long engagement.”
“When
did you become such an adept liar?” asked Alice. “No woman ever
born wants a long engagement.”
“Mom—”
“She’s
right,” Regina agreed. “I don’t want that.” She genuflected
in front of the wheelchair. “It would be lovely to have the wedding
right away, but Mason and I want to make sure the timing is perfect
for everyone involved. Now, what can I bring you from the kitchen?”
“A
vodka martini. Dirty, three olives.”
“Very
funny.”
“Oh.
Too early? Make it a Bloody Mary, then.”
“I’m
on it.” Regina went toward the kitchen.
“She’s
too good to be true,” Alice said once she was gone.
“You
think?”
“Yep.
That’s how I know she’s a big fat phony.”
“Why
do you assume any woman who wants to be with me is a phony?”
“That’s
not what I said.”
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About the Author:
Susan Wiggs is the author of many beloved bestsellers, including the popular Lakeshore Chronicles series. She has won many awards for her work, including a RITA® Award from the Romance Writers of America.“Wiggs’s storytelling is heartwarming… [for] romance and women’s fiction readers of any age.”—Publishers Weekly
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This novel sounds memorable and unforgettable. I enjoyed the excerpt and would love to read this novel. It sounds meaningful and real. Thanks for this wonderful giveaway and interesting feature. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteThanks for entering traveler. Make sure to enter using the rafflecopter widget to have a valid entry.
DeleteThe storyline just draws you into the novel and the reviews are very good.
ReplyDeletecenya2@hotmail.com
Thanks for stopping by Marjorie! I'm in the middle of reading it now and I'm really loving it.
DeleteAs a person who will soon be a caregiver to a 91 year old, I'd be interested in reading about the real and fictional experiences even though I know each person's challenges will be unique.
ReplyDeleteSo far I've enjoyed seeing how Faith is helping Alice and her family with the challenge of needing a full time caregiver. And I'm really learning a lot about how much care is needed and why. All very interesting so far and the other plot lines are just starting up... I'm adoring Faith's daughter Ruby, she is a comic relief. :)
DeleteThanks for having me!
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