by Sharon Booth
Completely lost in the moment, Eden didn't notice that the pub door had opened, until she heard Cain's voice calling to them. 'About sodding time. Have you got me keys? I'm freezing me tits off here.'
With obvious reluctance, Eliot released Eden and fumbled in his pockets. Finding the keys, he threw them in the general direction of the pub, and Eden heard them land with a clatter somewhere on the ground.
Cain growled. 'Bleeding hell. Where's me lighter? Can't see a thing.'
'The Land Rover's parked just over there,' whispered Eliot. 'Do you want to go inside and say goodbye, or —'
Eden took his hand. 'I'll call them all later,' she said. 'And of course, you'll have to meet my mum and dad soon, but right now —'
'Aye?'
She looked into his dark eyes, smiling at the twinkle of mischief she found in them. Somehow, she was pretty sure his glowering days were behind him — unless, of course, she could think of a few ways to annoy him enough to ensure they resumed. Just now and then. She would miss them if they disappeared entirely.
'Right now, what?' he said.
'Right now, I just want to go back to Fleetsthorpe and wake up in the morning in our bed, with three beautiful children waiting for me to cook their breakfast. I've already been away too long.'
He put his arm around her and led her across the car park. 'Come on, my love. Let's go home.'
The End
Acknowledgements
Writing is a scary business. Confidence has never been my thing, and without support and encouragement, I doubt I could put myself through this. My husband is always certain I can achieve anything, and so my first thank you is to him. Steve, your words of encouragement and your constant belief in me mean more to me than I can ever adequately explain. Thank you.
I'm extremely fortunate, because I have nine other voices chipping away at me, nudging me into action, demanding that I keep the faith. Without my fellow Write Romantics I don't know where I'd be, so a massive thank you to Alex Weston, Deirdre Palmer, Helen Phifer, Helen J Rolfe, Jackie Ladbury, Jo Bartlett, Julie Heslington, Lynne Davidson and Rachael Thomas. You're always there for me when I need you the most. You're all superstars.
My thanks must also go to my beta readers, whose comments and suggestions made such a difference. Alex, Julie, Jo, Liz and Rachael, I am so grateful for your help. Massive thanks to JB Editing Services for a "grand" job with the editing and proofreading. Thoroughly professional, friendly and efficient, I would recommend you to anyone. Huge thanks, also, to the lovely Berni Stevens, who is such a talented designer. I am delighted that you agreed to design the cover for this edition of This Other Eden.
I must thank Rachael and Alex for helping me in my quest to learn more about sheep and farming. As if being a very talented writer for Mills and Boon, while helping to manage a dairy farm, isn't keeping Rachael busy enough, she took the time to send me snippets about farming life and routine. Having once also kept sheep, she was kind enough to give me details about sheep farming and showing, and cast a critical eye over my farming scenes, pointing out to me some things that needed tweaking. Who knew farmers drank so many cups of tea? I could never have tackled it on my own, so thank you, Rachael.
Alex accompanied me to a fabulous talk in Malton, given by authors Neil Hanson (The Inn at the Top) and Amanda Owen (The Yorkshire Shepherdess). Not only were these talks interesting and highly entertaining, they were full of useful pointers which enabled me to rethink aspects of Eliot's personality, and get a better idea of how Dalesmen think and act. It was a great evening, and I probably wouldn't have had the nerve to go on my own, so thank you so much, Alex, for volunteering.
Thank you, as always, to my friends and family for your patience and support. Where would I be without you? Thanks for caring and for showing such interest. Special thanks to my cheerleaders, Karen, Sarah, Caz and Irene.
Finally, thank you to everyone who has bought any of my books. I am so grateful to every one of you. Thank you if you've ever left me a review, and if you would consider leaving a review for this one, it would be much appreciated. It really does make a difference.
Sharon
xxx
Also by Sharon Booth
Being Emerald (Skimmerdale Book 2)
Emerald Carmichael has always been the black sheep of the family, so she's not impressed when fate — in the form of her father Cain's annoying and grossly misdirected generosity — leads her to act as wedding planner to his former employee Eden Robinson.
To add insult to injury, it turns out that Eden's fiancé is none other than the gorgeous Eliot Harland, the only man Emerald has found attractive for simply ages.
Emerald, however, has plans of her own, and if that means living on a sheep farm in a remote corner of the Yorkshire Dales, while organising the grand wedding for Eden her father demands, she'll do it. That's if the happy couple ever make it to the altar, of course …
But Emerald's not the only one making plans, and as events unfold that could destroy the Harlands' lives for good, Eliot and Eden are torn apart.
With their family in crisis, and secrets and lies exposed, can peace ever return to Skimmerdale?
Being Emerald will be published in September 2018 by Green Ginger Publishing.
