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One More Second Chance
Lobster Cove Series
by Jana Richards
Book Description:
Dr. Alex Campbell has an agenda—finish his contract to provide medical services in Maine, pay off his medical school debt, and head back to his real life in San Diego. But when he meets Julia, all his carefully laid plans are put in jeopardy.
Julia Stewart, Lobster Cove’s high school principal, swears she’ll never let another man drag her away from the home she loves. Her aging parents need her, and the Cove is where she wants to raise her daughter. When her mother’s illness brings her and the big city doctor closer together, panic sets in. Her marriage taught her men don’t stay.
Can she put aside the heartaches of the past and trust Alex enough to accept the love he’s offering?
Or will her fear of abandonment mean she’ll send him away forever?
Read an excerpt:
“What did the x-ray find?” she asked.
“A spiral fracture of the right arm.” He paused for a moment and took a deep breath as if trying to control his emotions. “I’ve seen this kind of injury before. A fracture like this can be the result of a fall, but it can also be an indication of child abuse. An arm as small as Ava’s will break like a twig if it’s twisted hard enough. I’m obligated to contact the authorities if I suspect abuse.”
Julia stared at him in mute shock, her brain struggling to process his words, as if trying to translate some unintelligible language. The words child abuse rang in her ears. Finally she found her voice.
“You think someone deliberately hurt her?”
“Her injuries are consistent with abuse.”
“I don’t give a damn what they’re consistent with. Ava has not been mistreated. My mother said she fell down the stairs, and if that’s what she said, then that’s what happened.”
“I believe there’s more to the story than a simple fall.”
“If it comes down to believing you or believing my mother, I’m going with my mother.”
“Perhaps you don’t know your mother as well as you think you do.”
Julia sucked in a breath and stared into Dr. Campbell’s dark, accusing eyes. The idea that her mother would hurt Ava was ridiculous. She adored Ava, would do anything for her…
She blinked and looked away, remembering an incident the other day. She’d heard her yelling at Ava about the milk she’d spilled on the kitchen floor, making such a huge deal of it that Ava had cried. It had struck her as strange, since she couldn’t remember her mother yelling at anyone, ever. She wasn’t as patient as she used to be. And how did she explain her strange phone call telling her Ava had been hurt? Of course she’d been upset, but her mother had been nearly incoherent with distress. Was something going on she wasn’t aware of? She was seventy-one now. Maybe looking after a rambunctious five-year-old was too much for her.
No. She shook her head to reject the disloyal thought. Dr. Campbell was the one who was wrong.
“I know my mother. She didn’t do this. It was an accident.”
“We’ll soon find out. Sharon is questioning Ava now.”
Julia stared at the door. “She’ll be scared, all by herself.”
“Sharon’s very good at what she does. She has a way of making kids feel comfortable.”
Julia turned on him, the anger and despair she’d been holding inside spilling out. “And you? Do you enjoy upsetting five-year-olds and turning families’ lives upside down? Does it make you feel powerful to sic the authorities on us?”
“Look, Mrs. Stewart, I take no pleasure in bringing in the authorities. But I’ve seen child abuse, up close and personal, and I can tell you it’s damn ugly. The things parents and caregivers are capable of doing to defenseless children…”
He stopped abruptly, his chest heaving. Closing his eyes, he averted his face and took a deep breath. When he turned back to her, his steely control was back in place. “So yeah, if I have even the smallest suspicion that a child has been abused, I’m going to ask questions. And I’m not going to apologize for it.”
**My thoughts**
Julia has had a lot on her plate. As the principal of the local high school, she is facing ridicule by some for her inventive idea to implement a daycare, so that young mothers can find a way to return to classes. She is a single mother, raising a five year-old daughter on her own, after her ex-husband decided to abandon them. She is essentially estranged from her in-laws. Her parents are suffering from some serious health concerns. Her best friend is having her own crises. And Julia just plain cares too much about everyone in her life. She carries the weight of the world on her shoulders, and always drives full force into whatever life throws at her. This is one of her greatest strengths, but her stubbornness is also one of her biggest challenges.
Alex was merely looking for escape. He needed a break from his family in California. He sought an easier way to repay his staggering school bills. And though a desire to stay near an ocean was part of the reason he choose Lobster Cove, he really didn't know how much he simply needed a small town to help him learn more about himself and how wonderful people could be.
The two of them were destined to meet, no matter what, thanks to the small town. Unfortunately, their first encounter is a less than positive one. If it weren't for Julia's daughter, Ava, and her innocent attachment to the good doctor, it is quite possible that Julia would have never given Alex a second thought. Children are intuitive creatures, though. This threesome learns a lot about love and life as they learn how to trust both themselves and the world around them.
While I loved the romance part of this book, I was also extremely drawn into Julia's story about dealing with her aging parents. I went through something almost identical with my own parents a few years ago. I perfectly understood her struggle to accept the diagnoses, her desire to do what is best, and the drive to protect them at all costs. Her advantage, at least, is that they are in the same town. So, that storyline really stood out for me.
A few other medical storylines are thrown in there. It seems crazy that a small town would have so much happening within it all at once, but it is possible over the length of time that passes through this book.
I really enjoyed reading this book, and am now interested in what other stories may lie within Lobster Cove.
Buy links:
Amazon * The Wild Rose Press * Chapters * Kobo * iBooks
When Jana Richards read her first romance novel, she immediately knew two things: she had to commit the stories running through her head to paper, and they had to end with a happily ever after. She also knew she’d found what she was meant to do. Since then she’s never met a romance genre she didn’t like. She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and historical romance set in World War Two, in lengths ranging from short story to full length novel.
Just for fun, she throws in generous helpings of humor, and the occasional dash of the paranormal. Her paranormal romantic suspense “Seeing Things” was a 2008 EPPIE finalist.
In her life away from writing, Jana is an accountant/admin assistant, a mother to two grown daughters, and a wife to her husband Warren. She enjoys golf, yoga, movies, concerts, travel and reading, not necessarily in that order. She and her husband live in Winnipeg, Canada with their Pug/Terrier cross Lou and several unnamed goldfish.
She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at www.janarichards.com
Blog: http://janarichards.blogspot.com
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ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the excerpt, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed all of it! this is the first I've come across this author and it's fun to discover her book :) thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI loved the excerpt thank you.
ReplyDeleteI loved the excerpt
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