“Oh no!” she screamed. She heard Will laughing behind her. When she turned, he was sitting on the bank, a big smile across his face, the flyrod pointing away at his side.
“Nicely done,” he said.
“But, I wanted a picture,” she said with a pouting grin as she splashed over to sit beside him.
“You will always have a picture of that fish in your mind, Megan,” he said, and she knew he was right. She knew she would never forget this day, or this spot, or the feel of that fish. She felt him put his arm around her and she rested her head on the side of his shoulder, looking out across the clear flow of the river to the far bank.
Later, they drove back into Charlevoix to meet Alex and Sally for dinner. Megan told Will she would like to go on through town to stop at the little cemetery first. She turned the Jeep in and they bumped along the narrow trail through the tall trees and grassy fields covered with stone markings and colorful flowers. She looked over at him. “I’d like to say one last goodbye to Uncle George and tell him there’s still a few nice trout out at Horton Creek.”
He nodded, and she pulled the Jeep over in the grass and parked. They got out and walked together across the lawn through the headstones, holding hands. Birds darted away through the branches and two black squirrels chased one another around the trunk of a tall oak.
They walked slowly around a large granite headstone and stood quietly, looking down. Megan felt Will squeeze her hand. She took a deep breath and felt the moisture of her tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. A swirl of wind swept up above them and the leaves in the tall branches rustled and then were still.
Megan and Will read the words etched into the stone and silently said their goodbyes.
George Adam Hansen
1923 – 2010
Moving on is a time of bringing closure and accountability. In those few precious moments before our eternal rest, we look to those we have loved to help guide their paths and those who have strayed to bring deliverance.
George Hansen
THE END
A NOTE FROM MICHAEL LINDLEY
Thank you for reading my second novel, THE SUMMER TOWN. I trust if you’ve made it this far, you enjoyed the story and may want to read more of my books. If for some reason, you didn’t read the first book in the series, Amazon #1 for Historical Fiction Mystery and Suspense, THE EMMALEE AFFAIRS, (previously published as THE SEASONS OF THE EMMALEE),I would like to make the book available for FREE to encourage you to continue reading my stories and to have you join my Reader Group email list to get updates and special offers on Michael Lindley novels. Here’s your link to a FREE eBook download of THE EMMALEE AFFAIRS.
CLICK HERE to download your FREE copy of THE EMMALEE AFFAIRS
AN INVITATION TO LEAVE YOUR REVIEW OF
THE SUMMER TOWN
Reviews on Amazon and Goodreads are essential for authors to continue to get their books into the hands of more readers and to get valuable feedback and insight on the stories.
I would be very appreciative of your time to write a quick review and leave a rating for THE SUMMER TOWN on Amazon and or GoodReads. The link below will take you right to the Amazon page for the book. Scroll down past the Product Details and More About the Author sections to Customer Reviews. There’s a button for Write a Customer Review. Just a few of your thoughts about the book will be very helpful.
Click here to leave a review on Amazon for THE SUMMER TOWN
AN INVITATION TO SHARE MICHAEL LINDLEY NOVELS
Please share the link below with friends and family you think would enjoy reading a FREE copy of Amazon #1 THE EMMALEE AFFAIRS. Just copy and paste the link and book cover below into an email or your social media feeds.
CLICK HERE to download your FREE copy of THE EMMALEE AFFAIRS
You can also FOLLOW me and Michael Lindley Novels on my Instagram page and Author Page on Amazon. You’ll get the latest news and blog posts about my books and thoughts on the writing life.
Follow Michael Lindley at his Amazon Author Page
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Check out my website for more information on all my books and the latest blog posts on my books and the business of writing.
https://michaellindleynovels.com/
You can reach me at [email protected]. I would love to hear from you.
ALSO BY MICHAEL LINDLEY
BEND TO THE TEMPEST (Also published as GRAYTON WINDS)
A story of lost love, betrayal and murder set in Prohibition-era Atlanta and a remote North Florida village. Mathew Coulter seeks refuge in a remote Florida beach town to escape his ruthless family who control the liquor trade in 1920’s Atlanta. He meets a ten-year-old blind girl, Melanee Dalton, who will lead him on a journey that may be the final salvation for her wayward mother and Mathew’s own haunted soul.
Buy BEND TO THE TEMPEST
LIES NEVER SEE
A HANNA WALSH AND ALEX FRANK LOW COUNTRY THRILLER BOOK 1
A South Carolina woman, struggling to endure the loss of her husband and financial ruin, finds an old journal from a distant grandmother who suffered a similar path of betrayal. Set in Pawleys Island and Charleston, South Carolina during the Civil War and in present-day, a gripping and suspenseful tale of betrayal, murder and new beginnings. A TOP 100 Amazon pick for Historical Fiction Mystery and Suspense.
2
Buy LIES WE NEVER SEE
A FOLLOWING SEA
A HANNA WALSH AND ALEX FRANK LOW COUNTRY THRILLER BOOK 2
Hanna Walsh and Alex Frank return in this sequel to LIES WE NEVER SEE, an Amazon #1 pick for Historical and Psychological Thrillers. In A FOLLOWING SEA, Hanna and Alex try to make it as a new couple as Alex has to deal with an ex-wife returning, intent on making up for past sins and his father charged in the murder of a rival shrimp boat captain.
Buy A FOLLOWING SEA
DEATH ON THE NEW MOON
A HANNA WALSH AND ALEX FRANK LOW COUNTRY THRILLER BOOK 3
The next follow-up to Amazon #1 for Historical and Psychological Thrillers, LIES WE NEVER SEE, Michael Lindley's captivating and twisting tale of love, betrayal and murder in the Low Country of South Carolina and the continuing love affair of Hanna Walsh and Alex Frank.
Attorney Hanna Walsh and Detective Alex Frank return in this follow-up to Lies We Never See and A Following Sea, stories that continue to engage readers as the couple deal with the dark forces of betrayal and murder that threaten their relationship and their lives.
Buy DEATH ON THE NEW MOON
About the Author
Michael Lindley is a #1 Amazon author for Historical Fiction Mystery Thriller & Suspense with his debut novel THE EMMALEE AFFAIRS. His subsequent novels follow this same genre with his most recent, DEATH ON THE NEW MOON, focused mostly on the present-day storyline of Hanna Frank and Alex Clark in the Low Country of South Carolina.
The settings for his novels include a remote resort town in Northern Michigan in the 1940's and 50's in the Charlevoix Summer Saga Series , Atlanta and Grayton Beach Florida in the turbulent 1920's in the first of the Coulter Family Saga Series, and most recently, 1860's and present-day Charleston and Pawleys Island, South Carolina in the Hanna Walsh and Alex Frank Low Country Thriller Series.
Michael writes full time now following a career in Marketing and Advertising and divides his time between Northern Michigan, Colorado and Florida. He and his wife, Karen, are also on an annual quest to visit the country's spectacular national parks.
"You will often find that writers are compelled to write what they love to read.
I've always been drawn to stories that are built around an idyllic time and place as much as the characters who grace these locations. As the heroes and villains come to life in my favorite stories, facing life's challenges of love and betrayal and great danger, I also enjoy coming to deeply understand the setting for the story and how it shapes the characters and the conflicts they face.
I've also been drawn to books built around a mix
of past and present, allowing me to know a place and the people who live there in both a compelling historical context, as well as in present-day.
Writers like Pat Conroy and Sue Monk Kidd grace my bookshelves along with Ian McEwen, Dennis Lehane, Amor Towles, Anita Shreve, Kristin Hannah, Lisa Wingate, William Kent Krueger and on and on. I need a lot of bookshelves!" ML
Copyright © 2018 Michael Lindley All rights reserved.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters and events as depicted are the product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or other real incidents, is purely coincidental.
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About the Author
Michael Lindley's first three novels have debuted to strong critical and commercial success, each set in an idyllic locale and compelling historical context. His stories chronicle families and relationships challenged by seemingly overwhelming forces, yet offer redeeming outcomes of enduring love and commitment.
Read more at Michael Lindley’s site.
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