Hometown Heroes: Featuring Madrona Sunset by Jami Davenport
Presenting a contemporary romance bundle of 16 novels with happily-ever-after endings, including previously published readers’ favorites and brand-new material from USA Today Bestselling Authors: Melissa Schroeder, Lucy Monroe, and Nancy Warren, NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Sabrina York along with bestselling and award-winning authors: Allie K. Adams, Destiny Blaine, Cathryn Cade, Jami Davenport, Kate Davies, Taryn Elliott/Cari Quinn, Rachel Grant, Sandy James, Adrianne Lee, Hildie McQueen, Katy Regnery and Sandy Sullivan
All proceeds for this charity bundle go to Pets for Vets—saving unwanted pets and providing support to our troops. Read on for a taste of Jami’s Story, and a chance to win the Hometown Heroes Tiara!
Preorder: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N06ORVE
MADRONA SUNSET
Welcome to Sunset Harbor, Washington, nestled on beautiful and remote Madrona Island where the main entertainment on Friday nights is a high school football game, everyone knows everyone’s business, the pace is slow, and the residents wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.
Meet a wounded warrior suffering from paralyzing guilt and woman pining for her dead husband–both damaged souls craving comfort for a moment or a lifetime.
READ AN EXCERPT!
Chapter 1—No Coincidences
“Three years is a long time to be dead.”
Mandy Walters resisted the urge to scowl at her best friend, Carolyn Phillips. Instead, Mandy held her hand over her heart. “Funny, my heart’s still beating. I’m still breathing oxygen. Worst of all, I’m eating way too much. I’d swear I’m alive.”
Caro, her blunt and nosy best friend, glared at her. “You know very well what I mean. Just because Frank died, doesn’t mean you had to die with him.”
“I didn’t.” Mandy picked up a wine glass from the commercial dishwasher and hung it on the wine rack. She scanned the bar to check on the smattering of customers. No one looked her way.
Caro arched one black eyebrow. She’d been blessed with long, glossy black hair, thanks to her Nez Perce heritage. According to Caro, she came from a long line of Shamans; and while she knew nothing about the natural healing properties of herbs, she loved to talk the talk. “It’s been three years. It’s time to move on, to date again.”
“What decent man in his right mind is going to date an overweight, dull, middle-aged woman?” Mandy stiffened and scrubbed the same spot on the bar counter, not looking at her friend.
“You’re only thirty-one. That’s not middle-aged in my book.”
“Oh, so you’re not even going to argue about the dull and overweight?”
“Well, of course, you’re not dull and you’re hardly overweight.”
“I’m hardly thin.”
“We’ve had this discussion before.” Caro sighed, clearly exasperated, and a small part of Mandy couldn’t blame her.
“And let’s not have it again. My mother, my brothers, and everyone on this island has an opinion on my single status.” Mandy hated being lectured, and her friend’s ramblings qualified as a lecture.
“You need to let go and date again,” Caro insisted, in that annoyingly superior manner she had.
“I’m happy with my life as it is. I don’t need a man to muddy the waters.”
“You need one to warm your bed. Your life is boring. You didn’t used to be like this.”
“Are you serious? I’ve always been boring. I like boring. It’s comfortable.”
“No, it’s a copout. An excuse for not living.”
“I told you. I’m dull.”
Caro snorted a very unladylike snort, stood, and walked to the door. Hand on the doorknob, she turned and, as usual, got the last word in. “It’s time.”
“Sure, whatever. I’ll think about it.” Mandy muttered under her breath. She almost smiled as she recalled the words of her Aunt Kat after her uncle died.Honey, I’m just like your mama. I had myself a good man once. That’s all I needed. Parker girls marry for life. We’re one-man women.
Her dad and her Uncle Harold died within a year of each other, shortly after Mandy had married Frank. Her mother and aunt never looked at another man. They immersed themselves in the church and their knitting club and God knows what else. They’d threatened more than once to start an internet PI service. Yeah, her mom the cyber stalker. Scary thought.
Frank should have been Mandy’s forever love. Instead, he’d chosen a dangerous profession and paid with his life, leaving her alone to pick up the pieces and try to move on. Hopefully someday she’d meet a nice guy in a safe job and live the life she should’ve lived with Frank. Only she wasn’t ready. Not yet. And some days she wondered if she ever would be ready.
Still a girl could look. It didn’t hurt to look, which explained why she’d glanced toward the door several times during the course of the evening. The Madrona Island Veterans’ Club in Sunset Harbor, Washington, where she’d worked as bartender for the last year and a half closed at one, fifteen minutes away, yet he hadn’t come in tonight.
Mandy swallowed her disappointment, as guilt sat deep in her gut. There was nothing wrong with a harmless attraction to a handsome, mysterious man. Nothing. She’d never take it any further, even if she was looking, which she wasn’t.
The tight-lipped stranger had limped into the bar for the first time two weeks ago. He came in almost every night, sat at the end of the bar, nursed one beer. He didn’t talk much despite the efforts of the club’s most gregarious members. She’d overheard enough to know he’d been injured in the Middle East and was going back as a civilian contractor in a few months, and she’d seen enough to feature his handsome face and incredible body in her late-night fantasies.
Mandy followed her last customer to the door and locked it. One-thirty AM. She thought he’d never leave, but she’d always had a soft spot for the vets and couldn’t bring herself to kick out the lonely old man who’d recently lost his wife. She’d experienced the pain of losing a spouse firsthand. Even though it’d been three years to the day, the pain pierced her heart like it was yesterday.
She wiped the tables, put the glasses in the dishwasher, and counted the till.
“It’s time to move on.”
Mandy jumped and whirled around, tipping over her cash register tray. Coins splattered all over the floor. A dollar bill floated after them. “How did you get in here? The doors are locked.”
The nondescript man smiled but didn’t answer her. He was clean cut, of average height, with medium brown hair, and dark eyes reflecting kindness and sympathy, which happened to be the only reason she didn’t hit him over the head with the nearest whiskey bottle in self-defense.
She couldn’t for the life of her recall ever seeing him, even though he seemed as familiar as the aroma of her mother’s pot roast on Sunday afternoons. But then his nondescript face looked like that of a hundred men, lined from too many hours in the sun, and softened by a friendly smile. “Sir, we’re closed. You need to leave.”
The man continued to smile at her with an otherworldly smile, which gave her shivers, even as her instincts insisted he wasn’t a threat.
“Mandy—”
Her eyes opened wide at the sound of her name. She swore she’d never seen the man before tonight. “Who are you?”
He ignored her question and continued to smile calmly, sipping on ice water she didn’t recall serving him. He pointed at her hand, specifically the wedding ring on her finger. “It’s time to let go. Time to date again. Find someone to share your life.” The man repeated his earlier words.
The hair stood up on the back of her neck. Caro had uttered those same words earlier. This was too crazy weird for her. “Please leave.” She strode to the door, unlocked it, and held it open for him.
He walked to the door with an unhurried stride. “Let go. Frank would want it. You have too much love to give.”
“You knew Frank?” Her hand froze on the doorknob. Her body shook and shock turned her cold inside.
The stranger stopped and nodded, still smiling.
“Who are you? I don’t know you.” She studied the man but couldn’t place him as one of Frank’s friends or acquaintances. She knew everyone Frank had known. After all, they’d grown up together in the same small town on the mainland an hour’s ferry boat ride away from the island.
He nodded, his expression suddenly solemn. “You’ve never met me.”
“I know all of Frank’s friends.” Mandy fought the panic that rose in her throat.
“Not all of them.” His unruffled voice unnerved her.
“Leave, please.”
The bar phone rang, and she crossed the room to answer it. Wrong number. When she turned back around, he was gone. She tried the main door. It was locked. Unlocking it, she peered out the door, looked both ways down the street. No sign of the man. Locking the door behind her, she checked the bathroom, the closet, the store room. Nothing.
Mandy queued up the number of her brother who lived on the island but vetoed the idea. Calling Case, one of her over-protective brothers, would cause all three of them to descend upon her as soon as the other two could catch the next ferry, certain she couldn’t handle her life on her own. Forget that she was older than two of them. It didn’t seem to matter since she was, after all, a mere helpless woman, and they were men’s men. Calling them would only add to their argument that she had no business living alone on this island, as if the place were teeming with criminals. Yeah, right.
Flustered, Mandy rushed through the remainder of her closing chores and slipped out the door, slamming it behind her. She looked left and right. The coast seemed clear. Sliding behind the wheel of her compact car, she started the engine and put the car in gear. Only then did she allow herself to breathe.
With shaking hands, she roared out of the empty parking lot, down the equally empty streets, and drove the mile to the Fiddler’s Cove Inn, overlooking Chinook Channel—the currently inoperable bed and breakfast she’d inherited from her eccentric great Aunt Myrna’s estate a year and a half ago. Situated on Madrona Island in Washington State’s San Juans, the large older house had once offered premier accommodations for guests seeking refuge from the hustle and bustle of their lives. The property included Fiddler’s Cove, named for the original owner who often entertained the townsfolk of nearby Sunset Harbor, the sole village on the laid-back island.
She parked the car in the empty gravel parking lot in front of the house. Sunny, her blind golden lab, greeted her with tail wagging and dogged her heels as she walked up the steps to the front porch.
Unlocking the door, she slipped inside with Sunny and turned the deadbolt.
She flipped on the light in the large entryway and left it on, then skirted around a stack of tile on the floor and trudged upstairs. It’d been a long, tiring day.
Hating herself for doing so, Mandy swallowed a sleeping pill, dressed for bed, and crawled between the cool sheets. Her cat, Marlin, took the opportunity to plop his fat ass onto the vacant pillow and curled up in a ball, purring his heart out, while Sunny slept on the dog bed on the plywood floor at the foot of the bed.
She tossed and turned. Her mind wouldn’t shut off as it ran through the night’s incidents, including her disturbing conversation with Caro and the even more disturbing conversation with the unknown customer, both of them echoing the same words all in one night.
Time to move on.
And those words reminded her of another disturbing stranger who’d been conspicuously absent tonight after occupying the same barstool every evening for two weeks. He was the first man she’d actually been attracted to since Frank, a harmless attraction meaning nothing, but proving a lot.
She was still alive. Still a woman with needs. And still lonely.
“Oh, Frank, why did you have to die?” she spoke to the shadows in the darkened room.
No one answered. Not that she expected an answer. She gathered Marlin to her and let his purring relax her until her eyes fluttered shut, her limbs grew heavy, and darkness finally claimed her.
A tone signaling a text message woke Mandy from a restless sleep sometime later. She fumbled for the phone in the darkness, scared awake, as she glanced at the large display on the bedside clock. No one called at three AM unless it was an emergency.
Unable to find her glasses, she squinted at the annoying device and held it a few inches from her face, trying to read the message.
Her blood froze in her veins as the words sank into her sleep-fogged brain.
Mandy Lou, I’m sorry. Let go. It’s time. FL
She shot up in the bed, holding the phone far away from her with shaking hands and attempting to get a grip on the turmoil rioting inside her body.
Only Frank called her Mandy Lou.
FL? Her dead husband’s name had been Frank, but her pet name for him had been Franco Loco. No one knew that. It’d been their little bedroom secret back in the days when beds weren’t for sleeping.
With trembling fingers, Mandy pressed the Call Back button. The phone squawked at her, informing her the number was no longer in service, yet it had been no more than one minute ago. She tapped out a text message: Who is this?
A red circle indicated the text wasn’t deliverable.
Holy crap.
She hugged Marlin to her chest as the tears fell. He struggled to free himself but eventually accepted his fate.
Yet this time his purring offered little comfort in a night full of too many odd incidents.
HOMETOWN HEROES–HOTTER EVER AFTER
They’re all hometown heroes, guys from small towns who’ve made a name for themselves, big or small, who’ve withstood the odds and risen to the challenge, who are heroes in their own right. Now, these sixteen stories are available in a single bundle for a limited time at the discounted price of $1.99. All proceeds from this bundle benefit the Pets for Vets charity.
A LITTLE HARMLESS SEX by USA Today author Melissa Schroeder–When Anna falls for her best friend Max, it might be true love, or the biggest mistake of her life.
CHANGE THE GAME by USA Today author Lucy Monroe–Alex is looking for revenge. Isabel is looking for a relationship without those pesky things called emotions. Neither will get what they’re looking for, but a whole lot more!
WILD RIDE (Changing Gears, Book 1) by USA Today author Nancy Warren–Trouble is piling up in the small town of Swiftcurrent, Oregon with hints of a treasure missing since WWII, a motorcycle riding bad boy history prof, a sexy librarian and a murder. It all adds up to a very Wild Ride.
HEARTBREAK ON A STICK by USA Today and New York Times author Sabrina York–When the man
who broke her heart ten years ago suddenly returns to town—a hot shot movie star—Gina Fox is determined to avoid him. But for some reason, Jason Sherwood is pursuing her again.
MADRONA SUNSET by bestselling author Jami Davenport–Meet a wounded warrior suffering from paralyzing guilt and woman pining for her dead husband–both damaged souls craving comfort for a moment or a lifetime.
BRACE FOR IMPACT by bestselling author Allie K. Adams–Bush pilot Reid Cavanaugh’s life is turned upside down when he takes a fare that ends up driving his plane into the ground and him into the danger surrounding her.
HONORABLE SACRIFICE by bestselling author Destiny Blaine–Hired to protect an affluent family with embarrassing secrets, Audra McAllister doesn’t believe in love until she reconnects with a small-town hero willing to risk everything to win Audra’s heart.
SHE’S WORTH IT ALL by bestselling author Cathryn Cade–Mase Barnett is a hometown hero with a secret. Natalie Cusco has a broken heart only a strong man can heal. Will this wounded hero risk everything to show her she’s worth it all?
DECEIVING DANTE by award-winning author Kate Davies—A stolen car on her front lawn. A sexy cop – looking to arrest her favorite student. A principal ready to fire her. Could Ellie’s Monday get any worse?
ROCK, RATTLE AND ROLL by USA Today bestselling author Cari Quinn and bestselling author Taryn Elliott–A beachfront cottage, hours of alone time, and plenty of skin-on-skin action is just what the rock star and his new wife ordered—until the future comes much quicker than they expected.
GRAVE DANGER by Golden Heart finalist Rachel Grant–An archaeologist digs up a murder victim in a Northwest archaeological site and must help the hunky local police chief solve the crime before she becomes the next victim.
TURNING THIRTY-TWELVE by award-winning author Sandy James–Jackie Delgado didn’t want a new man in her life until a dreaded blind date with police detective Mark Brennan turns out to be more exciting
than she’d ever imagined.
HIS ONLY DESIRE by Adrianne Lee–Nick Rossetti married the wrong twin sister. Will the right one ever forgive him? Not if her stalker has his way.
EVEN HEROES CRY by Hildie McQueen–War widow Tesha Washington slowly draws Adam Ford out of the shell that used to be a man, and learns there really is such a thing as starting over.
THE VIXEN & THE VET by bestselling author Katy Regnery–In a Beauty & the Beast reboot, an ambitious reporter tracks down a wounded war vet for a scoop and ends up falling in love with him instead.
TROUBLE WITH A COWBOY by Sandy Sullivan–Can some slashed tires and an ornery bull bring two hard-headed people together for some fun in the sun…and a little more?
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LEARN ABOUT PETS FOR VETS
The Pets for Vets program is dedicated to providing a second chance for shelter pets by rescuing, training and pairing them with America’s veterans who can benefit from a companion animal.
3 to 4 million dogs and cats are euthanized each year. These dogs can make excellent companion animals but never have that chance. Pets for Vets believes that companion animals can be a life-saving therapy that many U.S servicemen and women need.
ABOUT JAMI
An advocate of happy endings, Jami Davenport writes sexy contemporary and sports romances, including her two new indie endeavors: the Game On in Seattle Series and the Madrona Island Series. Jami lives on a small farm near Puget Sound with her Green Beret-turned-plumber husband, a Newfoundland cross with a tennis ball fetish, a prince disguised as an orange tabby cat, and an opinionated Hanoverian mare. She works in computer support in her day job and juggles too many balls, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Links:
Website Address: http://www.jamidavenport.com
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