Welcome back to Book Hooks, a Wednesday Blog Hop through Marketing for Romance Writers. A link at the end of this post will take you to participating authors.
We’re back with the last snippet for a while in Whispers of Forever: Mending Christmas.
The previous posts prior to this episode can be found here. Jake and his son are about to have dinner when someone called his name. Seeing his first love from thirteen years ago set his soul aflame. Previous to where this snippet starts, Jake told Beth about the situation with Paige leaving him. She told him she’d been divorced. Meet Beth:
That quick, her eyes took on an empathetic seriousness. It was like Beth to put her own issues aside to be concerned about others—a specialness about her she’d always had—one of the traits he had admired back in the day. Jake shrugged as he held his hat with both hands. “About as good as can be expected, I suppose. I tried to talk her into staying. Today, I realized why she wouldn’t. It’ll be hard on my kid. T.J. is staying with me now. At least that’s my plan.” He peeked around the corner to check on his son. “Hey, Macaroni, you have any kids?” She didn’t, but he made small talk before she rushed off. If it had made sense, he’d grab her hand to keep her from leaving.
“Still the Macaroni, huh?” Beth snickered, peering away momentarily before reaching into her leather designer purse for a credit card. “No, not yet. With what is going on right now, it’s best I don’t…I guess.”
He nodded and glanced at his son who looked back at him, straw in mouth, one hand wrapped around the cold glass. “Well, I better get seated. Do you wanna—”
Their gazes connected. “Take care of yourself, Jake. It was terrific to run into you.”
Her penetrating stare was hypnotic, and he wanted to turn away from her, but he couldn’t pull his eyes away. Guess she didn’t wanna no matter what it was. How could he let her get away? He could have a heart attack any minute and that’d make her stay. “Yeah, for sure. We’ll probably run into each other again…if you’ll be around. This town isn’t big.”
At least maybe he wouldn’t avoid her the next time like he always had when she’d arrive. He took a step away but whirled around. “Call me sometime. Let’s catch up.” Those words came out of nowhere. Beth smiled softly, and he was taken back many years. The same gut-wrenching pain from their last good-bye twisted his stomach to the point of nausea.
“Um, are you in the book?”
He held his hat against his chest, fingering the brim. “Sure am. I have a ranching business now, so yeah, you can find me in the book, online, ask a neighbor.” He chuckled. “Talk to you later.” Heading toward the booth, he peered over his shoulder. “Welcome back to town.”
“Jake?”
Oh, God. Beth. Facing her, he lifted his head in a nod as he did another once over. She looked damn good in a little cotton dress with a denim jacket atop it, but it didn’t hide a glimpse of her alluring breasts. Low ankle boots replaced the cowboy boots she’d worn as a teen. Her hair was ten times longer than he’d ever seen it. A trace of a San Antonio tan still remained. Yet, a tiredness lingered in her eyes. “Yeah?”
Beth walked up to him, and he got another whiff of her sultry perfume. “Is the Coffee Shoppe still in town?”
What can stand in their way this time?
Second chance romance.
A Double Dutch Ranch Series Spin Off Novel
Canyon Junction: Hearts in Love Series
Filled with both anguish and hope, a young boy and two lonely hearts pursue a second chance.
UNIVERSAL BUY LINK: books2read.com/u/3JKo0A
Oh, boy. It looks like Jake’s heart is not going to settle down yet. This time it’s for a different reason.
Thanks for reading! HERE’S the link to find participating Book Hooks authors.
Young couple credit: © Nolte Lourens | Dreamstime.com
I love watching movies or reading about a second chance romance! Maybe that’s why I wrote a book about a couple who met again after thirteen years of being apart. Did their love ever die? Was it meant to be? The townspeople in my small town of Canyon Junction think so, and everyone is rooting for Jake and Beth.
This week 
Y’all have a great week.
Mary J. McCoy-Dressel 
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