Category: Romance Publisher: Hard Shell Word Factory
ISBN-10: 0759901228
Type: Fiction
Pages: 231
Copyright: Jul 1 2000
Independent Mari, with her contentious kids and fiesty grandmother, runs a bankrupt fishing resort. Resort guest Tom muscles his way into her life, offering badly needed help and a plethora of well-meant advice. Mari's determined to succeed without either the help or the advice. Watch the sparks fly!
Chapter 1
In the wave-buffeted boat, Tom Sobieski huddled in his rain slicker. This Minnesota/Ontario border lake supposedly sat squarely in God's country. Right about now, Tom thought, all he lacked was blueprints for an ark. He brushed at the water dripping from his chin. "Does it always rain like this?" He asked his pilot, a skinny teenager.
The kid shook his head no.
"I thought maybe That's why it's named Rainy Lake," Tom persisted.
The kid shrugged. "I dunno."
You don't care, either, do you? The non-conversation was starting to tickle Tom. He'd bet his best red felt-tipped marking pen this boy never shut up when he was with his friends. Tom couldn't resist asking an English teacher's question. "Read any good books lately?"
Unmistakable alarm crossed the kid's face. Tom wondered if it was because the boy was afraid someone was going to force him to read a book, or if he thought he was out in an open boat with a lunatic.
"Nope," he muttered, staring fixedly beyond Tom's shoulder.
Tom could no longer contain his grin. "I have. Want to hear about it?"
He could hear relief in the teen's voice as the boy said, "We're almost there." He pointed past Tom. "The island there, dead ahead. See the buildings? That's Fisherman's Paradise."
Tom slewed around on the hard bench seat and took his first look at the island and the resort.
The steady rain washed the scene in earth-toned watercolors against a backdrop of deep green forest. Tall pines and green, coin leafed popples grew here and there on the resort's rock-studded grounds. A two-story weathered log lodge stood atop a short cliff, its face to the lake. Smaller log cabins, looking like dice tossed from a giant's hand, dotted the sloping hillside.
The resort's docks and swimming area appeared, tucked in a sheltered cove. The docks were the old-fashioned plank kind and the boats kin to the dented aluminum craft ferrying Tom. The place looked like what it presumably was, a no-frills fishing resort for the budget-minded.
Just made to order for teachers. Tom's smile grew. He drew a deep breath, inhaled the mist-heightened tang of pine flavoring the heavy air.
As they neared the dock a diminutive, rain gear clad figure hurried toward them, caught the mooring rope the teen tossed and secured it. "Welcome to Fisherman's Paradise," she said in a strong clear soprano and offered Tom a steadying hand.
Given her small stature, he'd expected another teenager. But Tom looked into features that, even washed free of makeup, couldn't
possibly belong to a kid.
A young widow joins her aunt’s house-restoration project in the wilderness, determined to take a stand for independence, but two men have different plans for her—and so does God.
