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Crazy in the Heart
Category:
Romance
Publisher: ByDand Publishing
ISBN-10: 1624540198
Type: Fiction
Pages: 517
Copyright: May 24, 2016
ISBN-13: 9781624540196
Price: $4.99 (eBook)
An itinerant handyman finds himself stranded in a small Midwest town that's crazier than he is, with a wild woman who threatens to wreck his heart.
A guy, a girl, a house and a whole lot of trouble...
Brett Jacobson is cursed. Unable to outrun his past, he finds himself stranded in a sleepy Midwest town crazier than he is. Then there’s the beautiful, fiery woman who needs his help as much as his love. That is, if his bad luck doesn’t rub off on her first.
A cop, a convict and a carpenter…
Erica Waters has a man problem. Times three. Plus the little one she’s trying to raise by herself with the help of her quirky sisters in a ramshackle farmhouse. Home repairs, ex-boyfriends and acts of God only seem to drive her closer to the handy, heavenly stranger she inadvertently plucked off the side of the road in a moment of weakness.
Inspired by the Book of Job and written in the zany tradition of Raising Arizona and O Brother Where Art Thou, Crazy in the Heart is a story about broken people, broken churches, restoration and forgiveness. It's the first book in a romantic comedy series about life, love and everything else that blooms in the fictional town of Calpernica, Illinois.
Excerpt
“Where do you put all of that?” Erica’s eyes widened as Brett piled his plate high with a second helping of mashed potatoes and roast beef, smothering everything with
brown gravy.
“I burn it off,” he slapped his stomach and smiled. He’d burned off plenty today making minor repairs and checking out the roof, which proved to be in pretty bad condition.
They sat in the formal dining room at the back of the house, its walls painted a pale, silvery blue. A crystal chandelier sparkled above them, illuminating ornate built-in
hutches that lined the walls. The shelves held blue and white china which must have belonged to her grandmother. They certainly looked old. And expensive.
A collection of deep blue plates hung on the walls of both the dining room and kitchen, with vintage Christmas scenes on them and the year they were made. Many went back to early 1900.
He smiled. His own grandmother had collected the same ones.
He shifted in the fancy, high-backed chair and studied the beautifully carved dinner table in front of him. He loved working with wood, and appreciated the time and skill it
must have taken to create the piece.
He took a bite of beef and sighed with pleasure “Man, this is great.”
He thought the men around here must be insane not to be chasing after Erica. She was funny, pretty, and a damned good cook.
“Do you usually eat this much?” she teased. “At this rate, you’ll be as fat as my dog before long.”
Brett nearly choked on his food. “I don’t think anything could be fat as that dog!”
Molly growled from under the table.
Rebecca laughed. “I don’t think she likes you!”
“I dunno. She gave me a big slobbery kiss last night.” He snickered. “Then again, so did your sister.”
Erica leaned across the table and swatted him a good one. He deserved it.
Rebecca burst out laughing and Teddy joined in.
“I thought you liked the kiss!” Erica protested.
“Oh, I did.” He smiled. “It was much better than the dog’s.”
He took a bite of mashed potatoes, then ducked as a napkin, a pen, and a salad fork sailed past his head. The woman had deadly aim. “Are projectiles included with dinner or
are they extra?”
“Oh, they’re included,” Rebecca howled, nearly falling off her chair. “You’re lucky she didn’t throw the gravy boat at you!”
“That was Mom, not me!” Erica laughed, her face beet red. She wagged a finger at him. “You really don’t want to get on her bad side!”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He got the feeling the gravy boat had accrued some actual flight time. It was probably better not to ask.
“Oh, you’ll never guess what Teddy brought me today.” Brett smiled at the memory.
“Dog food?”
“Nope.”
“Maxi-pads?”
“God, no!” Brett shuddered. “What kinda guess is that?!”
“He’s been known to....” Erica searched for the word. “...take off with certain items that he finds, um, interesting.” Her face flushed a deep red. “Let’s just say those two
guesses are well-founded.”
Brett snorted, unable to stifle his amusement. He reached into his back pocket and produced the tiny red cape, placing it on his shoulders. “Teddy thought I might need some help gettin’ to the roof. Sure beat takin’ the ladder.”
“Oh, that is so sweet.” Erica’s eyes shone with tears, making them appear turquoise.
He watched her pull Teddy close and pepper his face with kisses. The gesture warmed his heart. She seemed like a good mother.
“Man cake!” Teddy smiled and pointed to the cape.
“Thanks for coverin’ my back, buddy.” Brett reached across the table and handed the cape to him. “We guys gotta stick together, you know.” He cast a side glance to Erica, then whispered to Teddy. “We’re outnumbered around here by these crazy womenfolk.”
She shrieked and flung another napkin at him before he could move out of range. God only knew what she’d throw at him when he gave her the bad news about her house.
“Where’s Gracie? Doesn’t she live here too?”
“Probably up at Hickory Point,” said Erica, her face returning to its normal color.
She began cleaning Teddy, who was wearing more mashed potatoes and gravy than he’d actually eaten. Brett had already seen her give the kid three baths today. Number four looked like it was just around the corner.
“I hear she’s been spending a lot of time up there lately,” Rebecca mused.
Erica eyed her suspiciously. “What?”
“Nothing,” Rebecca smiled mysteriously and dabbed the corners of her mouth with a checkered napkin. “Brett, how’s the roof looking?”
“It’s a mess,” he frowned. “It’s gonna cost a lot to fix it right.”
He let out a deep breath. It was worse than he could have imagined. The next time a beautiful woman asked him to fix her roof, he’d have to remember to look at the roof first instead of the girl.
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