a
humorous, heartwarming story of
new beginnings, do-overs, and self-discovery…
new beginnings, do-overs, and self-discovery…
SWEET SOUTHERN HEARTS
Willow Hill Series #3
Susan Schild
Releasing Jan 10th, 2017
Lyrical Press
Susan
Schild welcomes you back to the offbeat Southern town of Willow Hill, North
Carolina, for a humorous, heartwarming story of new beginnings, do-overs, and
self-discovery…
When it comes to marriage, third time’s the charm for Linny Taylor. She’s thrilled to be on her honeymoon with Jack Avery, Willow Hill’s handsome veterinarian. But just like the hair-raising white water rafting trip Jack persuades her to take, newlywed life has plenty of dips and bumps.
Jack’s twelve-year-old son is resisting all Linny’s efforts to be the perfect stepmother, while her own mother, Dottie, begs her to tag along on the first week of a free-wheeling RV adventure. Who knew women “of a certain age” could drum up so much trouble? No sooner is Linny sighing with relief at being back home than she’s helping her frazzled sister with a new baby…and dealing with an unexpected legacy from her late ex. Life is fuller—and richer—than she ever imagined, but if there’s one thing Linny’s learned by now, it’s that there’s always room for another sweet surprise…
“This charming and well observed novel about finding the courage to love after loss will make you smile as well as cry more than a few happy tears. Be prepared for a story of true tenderness, humor, and sometimes nail biting tension. Sweet Southern Hearts delivers all this and more.” --Holly Chamberlin, author of Summer with my Sisters
When it comes to marriage, third time’s the charm for Linny Taylor. She’s thrilled to be on her honeymoon with Jack Avery, Willow Hill’s handsome veterinarian. But just like the hair-raising white water rafting trip Jack persuades her to take, newlywed life has plenty of dips and bumps.
Jack’s twelve-year-old son is resisting all Linny’s efforts to be the perfect stepmother, while her own mother, Dottie, begs her to tag along on the first week of a free-wheeling RV adventure. Who knew women “of a certain age” could drum up so much trouble? No sooner is Linny sighing with relief at being back home than she’s helping her frazzled sister with a new baby…and dealing with an unexpected legacy from her late ex. Life is fuller—and richer—than she ever imagined, but if there’s one thing Linny’s learned by now, it’s that there’s always room for another sweet surprise…
“This charming and well observed novel about finding the courage to love after loss will make you smile as well as cry more than a few happy tears. Be prepared for a story of true tenderness, humor, and sometimes nail biting tension. Sweet Southern Hearts delivers all this and more.” --Holly Chamberlin, author of Summer with my Sisters
Linny’s
heartbeat galloped under her life jacket as they shot down the rapids of the
Ocasoula River. Eyes wide, she watched as their orange raft careened toward a
jagged boulder, bumped it hard, and spun them toward a patch of choppy water.
As the water rushed around the three of them—Linny, her new husband Jack, and
their beautiful, Ms. Outward Bound–type goddess of a river guide—they dug deep
and paddled hard, straining to pull through the eddy. With a whoosh, they were
pulled backward down the roaring, foaming river. Linny shot Jack a panicky
glance, but he was grinning exultantly and looking like he was having the time
of his life. With the flick of a braid and a pirate’s smile, the guide thrust
her paddle into the rapids, turned the raft around, and steered them downstream
toward calmer water. Too soon to relax, though. Linny saw more rough waters
ahead and tensed.
Be
a shame to lose a third husband, she thought crazily and paddled harder.
The
nimble-footed photographer from the outdoor center jogged along a path on the
riverbank, snapping away as their raft rocketed toward the Turbinator, the
Class III rapid that roiled ahead in the home stretch of the river trip. The
photographer’s ponytail bounced as he raced ahead of them, taking shots as their
raft bucked, dove, and finally glided through the rain-swollen Ocasoula.
Soon,
a shivering Linny stood at the takeout, hugging herself and rubbing her arms.
She’d been splashed thoroughly and didn’t want to think about how cold the
water would have been if they’d flipped over. Though it was late June, the
guide told them the water temperature was only in the midfifties. Linny found
herself grinning like a fool as she waited for Jack to come back from the truck
with his wallet to pay for their pictures. She’d been terrified, but she’d had
a blast.
A
white water rafting trip might not be high on most women’s lists of a must-do
on a honeymoon, but when Linny had seen how Jack’s eyes sparkled as he
reminisced about a rafting trip he’d taken when he was in his twenties, she’d
said, “Let’s do it!” in an enthusiastic, practically perky voice she’d hardly
recognized. In this new and complicated marriage, being a good sport and
flexible as Gumby were going to ease the way. Though rafting wasn’t her thing,
Jack had cheerfully gone on the vineyard tour with her yesterday and, on the
drive up to the mountains, had tagged along, not looking bored, as she’d poked
through vintage aprons and yellow Nancy Drew books at an antique store.
“Here
you go, ma’am.” The young man held out his camera and scratched one mesh-
sandaled foot with the other as he watched her view the shots he’d taken.
In
perfect clarity, the fellow had caught them at the moment she and Jack got
sling-shot skyward in their raft after diving down into the roiling water of
that last rapid. Linny peered more closely at the picture. The photographer had
captured the Carolina blue sky day, the Day-Glo orange of the raft, the lithe
young goddess at the helm, and her and Jack—the glowing, sun-drenched newlyweds.
Twice coming down that river they’d almost flipped and been swept into the
churning waters. Linny’s teeth had chattered and she’d buzzed with adrenaline
and fear, but she looked alive and exhilarated as she beamed at Jack, pure joy
in her eyes. With powerful arms, he was digging away with his paddle, helping
power them through. But Linny spotted two details that made her eyes well up:
Jacks’ new gold band glinting in the sunlight and the look he’d given her just
as the photographer had taken the shot was one of wonder and delight. He looked
like he was thinking, How did I get this lucky?
“You
did a great job.” Linny smiled at the young photographer.
“Thanks.”
The young man blushed and pulled down the brim of his cap. He pointed to the
visitors’ center. “Just give me a minute to load the pictures and you can pick
the ones you want.”
“Thanks.
We’ll be over as soon as my husband gets back,” she said.
He
raised a hand and loped off.
Linny
loved saying my husband. She’d probably said it too many times over the three
days of this honeymoon. My husband and I are from Willow Hill. My husband is a
veterinarian. My husband likes unsweetened tea. Linny smiled at herself. Yup,
she was being obnoxious, but she didn’t care. She was so dang happy that she
couldn’t stop. Well, at least for a while.
At
age thirty-nine and with her streak of bad luck with husbands, the odds of her
and Jack finding each other and falling in love weren’t great. Linny sent up a
quick prayer of pure gratefulness. After her beloved first husband, Andy, had
died of a brown recluse spider bite while cleaning out a shed for Linny—an item
on the too-long honey-do lists she always kept for him—she’d been lost for so
many years and thought she’d never be happy again. Then Buck the charmer came
along. She should have known a golden boy driving a vintage Caddy wouldn’t be
good husband material, but she’d married him anyway. He’d turned out to be
trouble, but just as she was considering divorcing him, he’d up and died on
her. When his aneurism blew while he was in bed with a woman named Kandi, he’d
left her broke.
Linny had sworn she’d steer clear of men or
die trying, and then she’d met Jack. Technically, she’d accidentally hit him in
the head with a bourbon bottle while recycling at the dump. She smiled and
shook her head, remembering. Most women would pretty up that how-we-met story,
but Linny told people the unvarnished version. Maybe she just wanted to spread
the word that second chances, fresh starts, and true love were all still
possible, even at her ages. The happily ever after you yearn for just might not
look the way you thought it would.
So,
a few days ago in a backyard ceremony, Linny had married Jack. A small-town vet
with a twelve-year-old son and an exquisite ex-wife who was just a little too chummy
with him for Linny’s taste, Jack came with complications. But so had she. And
today she was buoyant and happy.
Susan
Schild writes
wholesome and sunny Southern fiction. She likes stories about charming men,
missing money, adventuresome women, sweet dogs, and happily ever afters at any
age.
Susan is a wife and a stepmother. She enjoys rummaging through thrift store for treasures like four dollar cashmere sweaters and amateur watercolor paintings. She likes taking walks with her Lab mix, Tucker, and his buddies. She and her family live in North Carolina.
Susan has used her professional background as a psychotherapist and a management consultant to add authenticity to her characters.
Susan is a wife and a stepmother. She enjoys rummaging through thrift store for treasures like four dollar cashmere sweaters and amateur watercolor paintings. She likes taking walks with her Lab mix, Tucker, and his buddies. She and her family live in North Carolina.
Susan has used her professional background as a psychotherapist and a management consultant to add authenticity to her characters.
SWEET
SOUTHERN HEARTS, the final book in the Willow Hill series, will be released in
January of 2017. Readers can look forward to more adventures, new beaus,
sinister ministers, lovebirds over fifty, a road trip for Mama and her pals,
and maybe even an “I Do”...or two.
You can follow Susan on Facebook, Twitter and on her website or subscribe to her quarterly
newsletter for inside
scoop, sneak peeks and giveaways.
