Contemporary Romance, 453 pages
Cover art by Trisha FitzGerald
Blurb:
Laurel
Jenkins has no dashing Prince in her life, but given her
independent spirit, she manages well on her own...up to now. With the approach
of her fortieth birthday, she faces the dilemma of proceeding through life as
she is or adding a new dimension in the form of motherhood.
Shunning the prospect of male
friends contributing to an involvement that might not work out, she decides to
opt for medical technology. The appearance of two new gentlemen in her small
world heaves a wrench in her plan.
Excerpt:
Laurel
Jenkins lifted the pages of her
kitchen calendar and stared at the heavy black mark crisscrossing January
twenty-seventh. Her three-month goal revved tingles up and down her spine. A
soft paw on her ankle distracted her. “I know this isn’t a good time to proceed
with my plan, Jake, but if I don’t try
now, I might never find the nerve again. I’ve had enough childless birthdays.”
The cat tapped her leg a second time, but the milestone of turning forty next
year drew his mistress back to considering the obscure hormonal dysfunction
that begged changing her destiny. “I don’t need a partner. There are other ways
to become pregnant.”
Like how? Her inner voice prodded.
“Fertility clinic, anonymous sperm donation,” she murmured,
noticing her heart skipped a beat with her answer. “Great strides have been
made in fertility treatments.”
She had taken the first bold step yesterday and scheduled an
appointment with a specialist. I’m glad a cancellation allows him to see me
in two weeks, but with time on my hands, I still could chicken out.
Tired of such dithering, her inner pondering subsided. She
lowered the pages to hide the disturbing date and sagged against the counter.
For weeks she had waffled as she gauged her need to have unconditional love.
Her birthday would indeed be a defining moment.
Laurel
turned away from the reminder and scanned the interior of her Nova Scotia, harbor-side home. Although the
cottage lacked the striking presence of many other village residences, her
abode radiated cozy warmth with ample room for her and a baby.
She had moved to historic Clearwater Shores
four years earlier and had lucked out by getting hired with a local real estate
company. When the owners listed a grey shingle, white-shuttered cottage with
her agency at an affordable price, she bought it as a stepping stone to owning
one of the grand mansions facing seaward from the bluff.
A soft moan caressed her lips. The closest her cottage came to
having historical influence was in the antique furniture that filled the knotty
pine-paneled rooms and in the books on the area’s settlers lining her
bookshelves.
The current reading material on her coffee table, a history of
local eighteenth century pirates and privateers, set her heart galloping each
time she settled down to read. Her knowledge of the folklore had helped sell
many of the proud, older homes. It would do so again when the market improved. Laurel
shook her head. She needed stable, full-time employment now. In the near
future, vital expenses would drain her bank account.
The day’s heavy mood preying upon her, she picked up her mug
and took a comforting sip of steaming coffee. Strolling to the patio doors, she
slid one panel aside and slipped out onto the wood-railing encased deck. She
pulled the screened section closed before Jake
could dash for the fishermen’s paradise the feline so craved to explore. Danger
lurked at Clearwater’s
wharf across the harbor, especially for a curious tawny tomcat prowling for
tasty herring tidbits.
