Kellen Brand's inheritance turns out to be a whopper -- one dilapidated farm in West Virginia and one guardian angel! When she stumbles onto a clandestine hazardous-waste-dumping operation next to her farm, she's going to need that guardian angel just to survive.
No Going Back is a 2014 EPIC eBook Awards Finalist for the category of Contemporary Romance.
No Going Back is the first of the Hidden Angel Romances -- action/adventure stories with an angel hidden in the plot. The angel's identity is not revealed until the finale -- unless you figure it out first.
In No Going Back, Kellen Brand's inheritance turns out to be a whopper -- one dilapidated farm in West Virginia and one guardian angel! Since Kellen is convinced no sane woman would choose to live in Riverside, she vows to sell her farm and quick.
Her handsome and reclusive neighbor Luke Kenyon must block the farm sale or risk exposure of his family's secrets. While Kellen has located one potential buyer, she faces a town full of objectors. Someone is trying to frighten her off, and Luke is forced to step in and rescue her more than once.
Unfortunately, Kellen can't seem to stay out of trouble. She stumbles onto a clandestine hazardous-waste-dumping operation next to her farm, and she prays Luke has one more rescue up his sleeve. It's her only hope of staying alive.
Unless her mother really did leave her a guardian angel…
Excerpt
Vera tells me she told you about the haunted cemetery," Gerald McRae called to Kellen from the checkout counter. The bell on the store's front door jingled again.
"She did," Kellen called back, concentrating on her candle selection.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you," said a familiar voice behind her.
If it was possible for a voice to leer, this one did. Her spine twitched, and she slowly turned around. "I don't need any protection, Sheriff."
Reilly eased in much too close for her liking and cornered her between the last two rows of shelves. "You never know what to expect up here in West Virginia, right?" he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
His rat eyes glittered like two black aggies, and she suddenly felt a glimmer of panic. The evil eyes of the mean boy who threw dirt clods had changed to the leering eyes of a much larger and quite fearsome man. The mean boy was now Sheriff. If he threw dirt clods, who would she call?
He edged closer.
She stepped back and bumped into the last row of shelves. She felt just like the jackrabbit her dog once cornered in the barn.
"I can look out for you while you're here, Kellen. Special like."
The way he said her name sent shivers down her spine. She could feel the lower shelf jabbing into the back of her calves.
He took one more step.
She could smell his sour breath.
"Real special."
She could hear Gerald talking to a customer. No help coming there.
Reilly lifted his hand toward her face. She swallowed hard and steeled herself to jerk back or swat the hand away.
The fleshy hand eased closer.
A fist came out of nowhere and snagged the sheriff's wrist. "She doesn't need any protection," a deep voice growled. "She has plenty."
Luke Kenyon had an iron grip on Reilly's wrist, his knuckles white with the effort. Reilly tried to glare him into submission, but the steel-like glint in Kenyon's eyes forced the sheriff to blink. Kenyon tossed off the wrist, but stood his ground. Reilly yanked his hand back to his side, and for a brief instant, Kellen forgot how maddening Kenyon was. She wanted to grab him and kiss him for saving her from the foul-breathed sheriff.
"Watch yourself, Kenyon," Reilly growled. "I run this county."
Luke matched his glare. "Not all of it, you don't."
Kellen tried to catch her breath. She blinked, and the Sheriff was gone. Luke stood so close she could feel the heat radiating from his body, and that certainly didn't help her remember to breathe.
"Are you all right?"
Had she seen worry in his eyes? For her? Oh good heavens -- she was still staring! Now he was asking her something. What was it? Oh yeah -- was she all right?
She nodded.
Words were too much at the moment. Too many emotions. First, panic at Reilly accosting her again after all these years and then finding out she actually had a knight in shining armor. She did, didn't she? Luke's focused gaze sent her heart fluttering and from more than fear. She couldn't seem to get any air in her lungs.
"Do with your property as you please," his voice rumbled.
She blinked again, and he was gone. They were both gone, the Sheriff out the front door and Luke to who knew where.
"Everything all right, Kellen?" Gerald called from the checkout counter.
Her fists had a death grip on her basket. Everything about this town made her feel like a child again. Except she didn't want to go back to her childhood.
Professional Reviews
InD'Tale Magazine
5 Stars... Kellen and Joey Brand are shocked when they learn that their mother has left them the family homestead in Riverside, West Virginia. With nothing but sad memories of poverty, hunger, and bullying, they can't wait to be rid of it. That is, until Kellen visits her old home and becomes caught up in the town's current commotion with a developer trying to build a swanky resort. Meeting the mysterious Luke Kenyon doesn't help matters - one minute he's charming and she's being swept off her feet, and the next minute they're fighting like cats and dogs. Kellen decides she wants to sell her mother's property to the developer, but Luke and half the town oppose her. When she meets up with her old school mate David, it seems like old times, and Riverside begins to grow on her. She can't make up her mind - should she sell her property and go back to her old life, or keep it and embrace the town? Can she go back again?
Petie McCarty writes a tender story of a young girl revisiting her roots, and trying to decide what's best. The romantic triangle between Kellen, Luke and David is teasing, keeping the reader guessing where Kellen's heart truly lies. With a hint of suspense and a scary encounter at the old mill, Ms. McCarty gives the reader a clean, fresh take on a favorite romance trope!
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