Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

Well, hello there. I feel like I’m coming out of retirement by posting a short snippet today, but I wanted to share something from my upcoming book before y’all forget who I am. Without me giving away the title or cover reveal yet, I hope this makes sense to you. Trust me, it’ll be soon, very soon. Maybe Probably even this week. In fact, the post is already written.

No, Sundown on the Beach is not the title of the book. It’s only the title of this post.

Note: In a previous excerpt from this book, our little boy’s name was Tanner. It’s since been changed to Emmett.

Set-up: Wade and Sophie have previously met and had a run-in twice in the same day. See the Snippet here for one of those run-ins. We’re into that evening now for this new snippet.

Sophie held her son’s hand as they walked along the shoreline. Cool waves lapped at their feet in flip-flops. “I’m sorry you had to see Uncle Clay this way.”

“He was drunk?”

“Oh, Emmett. You know more than you should.” She glanced to the right to find Wade watching them. Why had she been so rude to him when he’d tried to help? It wouldn’t have been long before she’d ended up on the ground if Clay had his way. She nearly gave him a knee where it counted. His temper got the best of her brother. That’s what landed him in jail. Temper and booze never mixed well. “Come on, Emmett.” They headed toward Wade. The sun lit up his face, the burning glow reflecting in his sunglasses. He removed them to reveal warm brown eyes.

“Emmett, why don’t you build a sand castle. We’ll only be a minute.”

“Okay. Thanks, Mom.”

She peered at Wade. He stood, and it took a second before she reached for his hand. “Sophie Price-Daniels. This is my son, Emmett.”

“Nice to officially meet you, ma’am. Emmett.”

He had a strong grip and incredible smile. His faint leather fragrance mixed with the sea and sand. His cologne smelled like what her husband used to wear. She withdrew the memory.

“Care to have a seat? Sunset’s closing in on us. Be a shame to miss it.”

“Sure.” She took a seat beside him in the sand. “Did you find an adventurous spot for lunch or dinner?”

He glanced at her son playing in the sand then at others in the water. “Nothing special tonight. I saved adventure for another day.”

They sat in silence. Sophie was at a loss for words—so unlike her. He remained quiet, but she sat close enough to feel the warmth from his body and the dampness of the sand. Out of the corner of her eye, she viewed him sitting with his knees bent and arms resting across them, his fingers loosely entwined. She leaned back on her elbows and stretched out her legs on the warm sand. His gaze went to her legs.

“How long is your vacation?”

“More than likely this week.” He turned to her. “How about you?”

His eyes looked so caring and full of sincerity but kind of sad at the same time. “I’m heading out Saturday. Thanks for getting my money back. I would’ve had to contact my sister to ask for a loan and change my flight. She didn’t want me to come, so I’d have to grovel for years.”

“I take it your family isn’t close.”

“Well, my sister and I are, but my brother…” Sophie paused, sighing. “He’s another story.”

“Every family has one, Sophie.”

It sounded nice the way her name rolled off a stranger’s lips.

Emmett stood in front of her blocking the sun. “Mom, can I go get some water for my castle?”

“Honey, we don’t have a bucket here.”

The young boy begged, “I’ll hold it in my hands.”

“You can try, but it’ll all fall out before you get back.” She stood and brushed off her shorts and legs. “Let’s go.”

Wade got to his feet with great speed. “Here, I have an idea. Mind if I go down there with you?”

Sophie nodded her approval. “Hold on, Emmett. This is Mr. Emory.”

“Hey, mister. Come on.” Emmett took off running.

Wade ran past him, took his shirt off, and doused it in the water. He dove in the waves and came up some yards out, shirt still in hand. “Take your shirt off, Emmett. We’ll squeeze the water out onto your castle. It won’t be much, but a few trips will help.”

Emmett giggled and removed his shirt without asking. He followed Wade back to the sand castle and they squeezed out their t-shirts. Sophie laughed with them and did her best to ignore the bare-chested stranger dripping beside them.

Thanks for reading. I’ll see you all again real soon.

My book formatter lives in North Carolina and had been without power for days, but she has survived living through another hurricane. She still doesn’t have internet, so my book is a little more delayed than I’d planned. Her cable company tells her the internet should be back up today. (Saturday)  I’ll send her my manuscript as soon as she lets me know.

Readers, thanks for your patience.  ❤