Release Date: 10 March 2020
Goodreads Link
A woman’s journey through tragedy leads to the discovery of love in a novel about hope and survival by New York Timesbestselling author Catherine Bybee.
When a wildfire nearly destroys Parker Sinclair’s family home, it’s just one more disaster to add to her mountain of stress. For the past two years, she has shouldered the responsibility of raising her younger brother and sister after their parents’ untimely deaths. Forced to leave college for a crappy job that barely pays the bills, Parker manages her family property, which consumes every aspect of her life. Now winter is coming and the forecast isn’t spreading sunshine on the dark cloud over her head. The last thing Parker needs is a mudslide destroying everything she has worked so hard to maintain.
Colin Hudson’s job as a public works supervisor is to protect Parker’s property and neighborhood from further damage. But it’s a little hard when the owner of the land is a control freak who tries to do everything herself. The hardworking, attractive young woman is far from the “hot mess” she claims to be. In fact, her tight grip of control is one of the things that attract him the most. It’s also the hardest to crack. Now Colin’s working overtime to help Parker open up her heart, trust him, and let him in.
As Parker and Colin work together to keep her home and neighborhood safe, they may be in for another disaster. Or they may just realize that sometimes it takes destruction to create something new.
EXCERPT
“Excuse me?”
Parker turned toward the sound of
the male voice and brushed aside hair that had fallen out of her ponytail. The sun glared in her eyes, making it difficult to get a clear picture of the man standing on the other side of her gate.
“Hello,” she greeted him.
“Do you live here?”
Probably a neighbor, she thought
to herself. They’d shown up constantly after the fire to see how close the flames had actually come to their homes. Many of them invited themselves in without knocking. That was until she paid to have someone come in and fix the broken gate and stop the trespassers.
“I would hope so,” she said, waving
the pruner in her hands. “I don’t think I would take this job for actual money.” The closer she got to the gate, the better the features of the man came into focus. He stood at least three inches taller than her, no easy task when she was five nine. Broad
shoulders and arms that didn’t look like they slaved in an office all day. He wore jeans. It had to be over a hundred degrees, and the man wore jeans.
And filled them out nicely, if she
wasn’t too tired to notice.
Parker forced her gaze back to his
face, his eyes hidden by his sunglasses; his thick brown hair wasn’t covered by a hat.
She stopped in front of him, the
gate to the property a clear division. The intense set of his jaw softened slightly. “Is your, ah … husband here?”
Three years ago, in a bar … or while
out with friends, she would have instantly denied a lack of a husband. Out here, with a stranger … even an attractive one standing at her front door, she wasn’t about to correct him. “Who’s asking?”
The man’s smile fell and he quickly
removed his sunglasses. “I’m sorry. My name is Colin Hudson. Colin to my friends.”
“What can I do for you,
Mr. Hudson?” She wasn’t about to call him by his first name.
“I work with the Public Works Department
and wanted to see if you’d let me take a quick look at the wash that runs through your property.” He reached into his back pocket and removed his wallet. Out came a business card that he handed her through the bars of the iron gate.
She had to move close enough to take
the card, but retreated once she had it in her fingertips.
He instantly shoved his hands in
his front pockets and took a step back.
The card looked legit. Parker reminded
herself that anyone with a computer could make a business card. “Does your department work on Saturdays, Mr. Hudson?”
“All the time.”
She peered beyond the gate, didn’t
see a car. “Did you walk here?”
Mr. Hudson looked over his shoulder,
pointed his thumb down the street. “I have a company truck. I parked around the corner.”
“Ah-huh.” She wanted to believe him.
His caramel brown eyes looked kind enough. “Even Ted Bundy was good-looking,” she said loud enough for him to hear.
Parker looked up to find him staring,
his mouth gaped open. “That’s a first.”
“Sorry.”
Not sorry.
“By-product of being a lone woman on a large piece of property with a stranger asking to come in. Business card aside, you could be anyone.”
He lifted his hands in the air. “Very
wise. I hope my sister would do the same. I was just hoping to get an eye on the canyon before Monday’s meeting. But I can wait.”
She relaxed her grip on the tree
pruner. “What meeting?”
“The city and county are meeting
to discuss the concerns of the watershed after the fire. We’re developing a plan to preserve property during the winter. If I could take a quick look it would help.”
“You mean prevent mudslides?”
“Control
mudslides,” he corrected her.
She shifted from foot to foot. “You
can do that?”
“It’s a big part of our job.” He
smiled, looked over her shoulder. “I can wait. I don’t want to make you uneasy.”
Parker looked back toward the house.
“Tell you what. You go get your company truck and I’ll grab a snake fork and show you the wash.”
His eyes narrowed with an unasked
question.
“It’s summer. Rattlesnakes are a
thing,” she explained.
“You sure?”
Yeah, she was sure. “I’ll open the
gate. You can park inside.”
My Review 5 STARS
**Copy Provided by Netgalley and Montlake Romance for an honest review**
This book is what happens when authors have traumatic weather experiences in their lives, they use their experience to create yet another very realistic set of events that the characters have to go though and survive.
Parker Sinclair is only 26, yet after the death of her parents is the guardians of her brother and sister and the breadwinner, keeping the house together.
After a wildfire however, Parker now has to content with strangers on her property and heavy rains and the County trucks helping to contain the damage the rains are going to cause.
Parker is a very strong character and deals with the day to day, not really the future, especially her future. It is when the County come to her home to do damage flood control that she meets Colin.
Colin is from a very close family and we get to meet all of them and a cousin, all of whom seem really nice. Colin is a little pushy and likes to get his own way with helping others, however Parker is no pushover and often forgets that she can ask for help, she just gets on and does things which frustrates Colin.
Colin shows that he is a constant and is always there for Parker, even when she doesn't know she needs it.
Its a brilliantly told tale and i really hope that Erin gets a happy ever after.
About the Author
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee has written thirty-four books that have collectively sold more than seven million copies and have been translated into more than eighteen languages. Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Not Quite series, the Weekday Brides series, the Most Likely To series, and the First Wives series. For more information on the author, visit www.catherinebybee.com.
Social Media Links
Website: http://www.catherinebybee.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catherinebybee/
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