Reclaiming Love
Number I of Kerrigans of Peregrine Bay
Shirleen Davies
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Tags: Romance
Romancettt
Adam Monroe is looking for a new life and second chance. Julia Kerrigan’s built a new life, pushing the painful past behind her. Adam’s reason for accepting the job as the town’s Police Chief can be explained in one word—Julia. As they begin to reconnect, a terrible scandal breaks loose with Julia and Adam at the center. Will the threat to their lives destroy their fledgling romance?
Reclaiming Love
Shirleen Davies
* * *
Tags: suspense, family, womens fiction, sisters, contemporary romance, second chance, sheriff, strong heroine, strong hero
suspensettt familyttt womens fictionttt sistersttt contemporary romancettt second chancettt sheriffttt strong heroinettt strong herottt
Adam Monroe is looking for a new life and second chance. Julia Kerrigan’s built a new life, pushing the painful past behind her. Adam’s reason for accepting the job as the town’s Police Chief can be explained in one word—Julia. As they begin to reconnect, a terrible scandal breaks loose with Julia and Adam at the center. Will the threat to their lives destroy their fledgling romance?
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Books by Shirleen Davies
Historical Western Romance Series
MacLarens of Fire Mountain
Tougher than the Rest, Book One
Faster than the Rest, Book Two
Harder than the Rest, Book Three
Stronger than the Rest, Book Four
Deadlier than the Rest, Book Five
Wilder than the Rest, Book Six
Redemption Mountain
Redemption’s Edge, Book One
Wildfire Creek, Book Two
Sunrise Ridge, Book Three, Releasing 2015
MacLarens of Boundary Mountain
Colin’s Quest, Book One
Releasing 2015
Contemporary Romance Series
MacLarens of Fire Mountain
Second Summer, Book One
Hard Landing, Book Two
One More Day, Book Three
All Your Nights, Book Four
Always Love You, Book Five
Hearts Don’t Lie, Book Six, Releasing 2015
Kerrigans of Peregrine Bay
Reclaiming Love, Book One, A Novella
Our Kind of Love, Book Two, Releasing 2015
Sign up to learn about my New Releases:
www.shirleendavies.com/contact-me.html
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Reclaiming Love
Kerrigans of Peregrine Bay
Contemporary Romance Series
A Novella
SHIRLEEN DAVIES
Book One in the Kerrigans of Peregrine Bay
Contemporary Romance Series
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Copyright © 2015 by Shirleen Davies
Published at Smashwords by Shirleen Davies
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
For permission requests, contact the publisher.
Avalanche Ranch Press, LLC
PO Box 12618
Prescott, AZ 86304
Reclaiming Love is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used facetiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is wholly coincidental.
Book design and conversions by Joseph Murray at 3rdplanetpublishing.com
Cover design by Elle Designs
ISBN: 978-1-941786-15-4
I care about quality, so if you find something in error, please contact me via email at [email protected].
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Description
Reclaiming Love – Book One, A Novella
Kerrigans of Peregrine Bay Contemporary Romance Series
Adam Monroe has seen his share of setbacks. Now he’s back in Peregrine Bay, looking for a new life and second chance.
Julia Kerrigan’s life rebounded after the sudden betrayal of the one man she ever loved. As president of a successful real estate company, she’s built a new life and future, pushing the painful past behind her.
Adam’s reason for accepting the job as the town’s new Police Chief can be explained in one word—Julia. He wants her back and will do whatever is necessary to achieve his goal, even knowing his biggest hurdle is the woman he still loves.
As they begin to reconnect, a terrible scandal breaks loose with Julia and Adam at the center.
Will the threat to their lives and reputations destroy their fledgling romance? Can Adam identify and eliminate the danger to Julia before he’s had a chance to reclaim her love?
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Dedication
This book is dedicated to all of my fans who requested a series featuring sisters as the heroines. Your input did not fall on deaf ears. Thanks so much!
Acknowledgements
Thanks also to my editor, Deborah Gunn, proofreader, Kelly Heckert, and all of my beta readers. Their insights and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
As always, many thanks to my wonderful resources, including Diane Lebow, who has been a whiz at guiding my social media endeavors, my cover designer, Elle Designs, and Joseph Murray who is a whiz at formatting my books for both print and electronic versions.
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Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
About the Author
Other Books by Shirleen Davies
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Reclaiming Love
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Prologue
Peregrine Bay, Idaho, Christmas Eve
“Welcome home, Adam. I know someone who’s quite anxious to see you.” Joshua Kerrigan, family patriarch, stepped aside to let his oldest daughter’s boyfriend walk into the large family room. Adam, a sophomore at Washington State University, had driven home the night before for the Christmas holiday. “What can I get you to drink?”
“Uh…a soda would be great. Thanks.” Adam Monroe shoved his hands in his pockets and glanced around. Kerrigans always went all out decorating their house for Christmas with a tree in every room highlighting a different theme. The family room tree stood over ten feet tall, and as far back as Adam could remember, held personal ornaments and treasures of the family.
“Adam!” Julia Kerrigan ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck. “I’ve missed you,” she murmured as her father handed Adam his drink.
“Thank you, sir.” He took the glass before returning Julia’s hug.
“I’ll let you two catch up while I help Joannie in the kitchen.”
Julia had taken special care tonight to look good. Her deep mahogany brown hair fell in waves down her back. The long-sleeved, emerald green top clung to her slender figure and matched green eyes flecked with gold.
She grabbed Adam’s hand and pulled him toward her father’s study, closed the door behind them, then launched herself into his arms. It took a moment before she realized A
dam continued to stand rigid, not wrapping his arms around her as he usually did and kissing her until they were both out of breath. She loosened her hold, looking up at him, noticing he refused to meet her gaze.
“Is everything all right?” Julia’s heart stilled as his eyes finally met hers, a sadness she’d never seen glistened in them.
He turned away from her and walked toward a nearby wall covered floor to ceiling with the books Joshua had collected over the years. He set his drink down and once again shoved his hands into his pockets, taking a deep breath before turning toward Julia.
They’d known each other since elementary school, teased and harassed the other as they grew older, until their sophomore year in high school when they agreed not to date other people. He’d held out a solid gold St. Christopher necklace, telling her he knew it was old fashioned, but it had been the one his father had given his mother while they were in high school. His heart flipped as her eyes grew wide before a broad smile broke across her face and she fastened it around her neck.
They’d become inseparable—best friends and eventually young lovers during their senior year. Everyone assumed they’d marry after both graduated from college in a little over two years. He knew his announcement would crush her, but he’d given it a lot of thought and made up his mind.
“We need to talk.”
“All right.” She didn’t like the sound of it as she lowered herself onto the sofa.
“I’ve been giving this a lot of thought, and I think we should date other people.”
“Date…” her voice trailed off as the impact of his words settled in.
He walked toward her, taking a seat on a nearby chair and leaning forward. “We’re nineteen. Neither of us has ever dated anyone else and now is our chance to make sure we’re right for each other.” Adam watched as she twisted her hands in her lap, refusing to meet his eyes. “Marriage is a big—”
“You’ve already met someone,” she whispered as her head slowly lifted.
“It’s not that—”
“But you have, haven’t you?” She stood, pacing a few feet away, knowing he’d never be able to lie to her.
“Yes, I’ve met someone.” It was all he could get out before his throat closed tight. She didn’t respond, just stood frozen a few feet away. “She’s a sophomore from Seattle. I…” his voice trailed off when he saw tears glisten in her eyes, her lower lip trembling as she clasped her hands in front of her. “We met last year.”
She stared at him, unable to speak. Her mind raced, telling her it was a joke—one of the pranks he used to play to get her attention. Except, in her heart, she realized she’d already lost him. Julia took a step back as he walked up to her, holding out his hands, palms up.
“I don’t know much about her, but…” He ran a hand through his hair. “I just feel I have to give it a shot. You and I…we’re so young.” He could see her inch away, trying to distance herself from both him and his declaration. “Please understand. I’ve given this a lot of thought, and I…” he didn’t finish as she shook her head, tears streaming down her face and ran from the room. He closed his eyes, feeling more pain than he ever imagined at hurting someone he cared so much about. His legs refused to move even though he knew he should go find her, make her understand the logic of dating other people.
The door burst open before he could take a step, Julia walking in and holding out her hand.
“I won’t be needing this anymore.” Her voice broke but she managed to wipe away the tears, staring at him in an unwavering glare.
He opened his palm, his chest tightening as she dropped the St. Christopher into it. He stared at it, his heart pulsing in pain.
“Julia, please, let me explain—”
She shook her head, never taking her eyes from his.
“Goodbye, Adam. I hope you’ve made the right decision.” Before he could respond, she turned and left him to stand alone with a lifetime of memories of the two of them racing through his mind, already knowing he may have made the biggest mistake of his life.
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Chapter One
Peregrine Bay, Nine years later…
“Julia, Mayor Timmons is on the phone for you.”
“Thanks, Tricia. Tell him I’ll be right there.” Julia pushed her office door open and dropped her purse on the desk. As president of Kerrigan Real Estate and Property Management, her days started early and often lasted until late at night. As president of the local Chamber of Commerce, she also made time for interruptions by various city officials and business owners. “Good morning, Mayor, how are you?”
“Fine, fine, Julia. Look, I have a meeting in five minutes, but wanted you to know we’ve finally hired a new police chief.”
“That’s wonderful news. It took what, six months?” She rolled her eyes at the long process the council had established for the search.
“Well, you know how politics work. Anyway, I’ve sent the new man down to see you. If I’m not mistaken, he should be walking into your office within the next ten minutes.”
“Do you have a name—”
“Hold on a minute, Julia.”
She could hear the sound of muffled voices on the other end of the line.
“Sorry, Julia, but I have to run. Take care of the new chief for me.”
“Of course, Mayor, but—”
She shook her head and smiled when the line went dead. She’d known the mayor her entire life. He was a distant uncle, by marriage, with a heart of gold. If he made a promise or gave his word, you could feel certain he’d make good on it. The entire town trusted him to do right by them.
“Coffee?”
Julia looked up to see her sister, Selena, walk in with an extra cup fixed the way she liked it.
“You’re an angel,” Julia said as she enjoyed the aroma before taking a sip. “Oh, that’s good.”
“So, what’d the mayor want?” Selena took a seat and crossed her legs, taking a break from her morning which had started at seven.
“They hired a new police chief. He wants us to take care of him—whatever that means.”
“Is he looking to rent, buy, or build?”
“Don’t know. The mayor hung up before I could ask.” She took another swallow of coffee before glancing at her calendar. “Regardless, I’m passing him off to you. I’m booked today and tomorrow.”
“No problem. Let me know when he gets here. What’s his name?” Selena asked as Julia’s intercom buzzed.
“The new police chief is here to see you. Shall I send him back?” Tricia asked.
“No, I’ll be right out.” Julia looked at her sister. “The mayor didn’t give me his name. I’ll talk to him a few minutes then find a gracious way to hand him over.”
She took one more sip of coffee, checked herself in the mirror, then walked down the hall, hearing the sound of laughter coming from the lobby. She stopped to see a tall man with broad shoulders and short blonde hair joking with Tricia.
“Hello, you must be…” Her words trailed off as the man turned around, his smile fading.
“Hello, Julia.”
She froze, and for an instant, she would’ve sworn her heart stopped beating. She took a step forward, praying her eyes deceived her, knowing they hadn’t.
“Adam. It’s been a long time.”
“Nine years, I believe.” He took a step toward her, letting his gaze wander over the woman he’d loved and walked away from. “You look as beautiful as I remember.”
Julia told herself to breathe, reminding herself how he’d broken her heart all those years ago. She’d refused any contact with him since.
Ignoring the compliment, she looked past him to Tricia. “Hold my calls for a few minutes.”
Tricia nodded, her eyes darting between the two as they left the lobby.
“This is my office.” She took a seat behind her desk, motioning to the guest chairs. “How can we help you?”
His eyes narrowed on hers, realizing there’d be no forgiveness from Julia
. Every bond between them had been destroyed in minutes—the same minutes he wished he could wipe from their history.
He cleared his throat and pulled a sheet of paper from a pocket. “I start work in two weeks and need a place to live. I’m moving from Spokane.”
“Do you have a house to sell?” She picked up her pen and began to take notes, finding strength in doing what she knew so well.
“Uh, no. Just an apartment.”
“So, you’ll be renting?”
“No, not unless I have no other choice. I should have enough for a down payment. Three bedrooms, two baths, not too far from town, but with some privacy.” He looked up. “And a yard.”
She set her pen down, feeling the walls close in on her as he spoke. He’d left messages for her within weeks of their breakup, even showing up at her parents’ home the following spring break. Her father had been polite, but shut him down cold. It didn’t dissuade him from trying several more times before accepting she wouldn’t allow him any opening for a second chance.
“Have you put in the paperwork to prequalify for a loan?”
“No. I didn’t know I needed to.”
Julia stood, unable to stay in such close proximity to him any longer. “I think we have enough to get started. You’ll be working with the head of our real estate sales group. She can help you apply for a loan.”
“I hoped to work with you.”
“I don’t do sales any longer and don’t know the market as well as the others,” she lied. “She’ll do a much better job for you than I can. If you have a minute, I’d like to introduce you.”
She poked her head into the office next door. “I’d like you to meet our new police chief.”
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