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The Pursuit of Jesse
Helen Brenna
Sarah Marshik is happy planning other people's weddings, but she has no intention of planning her own. Instead, she's focused on turning her first house into the home she's always wanted for her and her son.Unfortunately, the only person for the job is Jesse Taylor, a sexy-as-sin man with a dark past. As tempting as Jesse is, Sarah's determined to resist him…even if he's too close for comfort every day.The longer he's in her house, the more it seems he belongs there. Somehow the renovations are making room for the three of them–together. Is she really ready to prepare her own walk down the aisle? Because something tells her he deserves a second chance.
Wonderful reviews for award-winning author Helen Brenna
“Brenna combines nonstop action and great sexual tension for a story readers won’t want to put down.”
—RT Book Reviews on The Moon That Night, nominated for a Reviewer’s Choice award for Best Harlequin Superomance of 2010
“I’ve found a new series romance writer to put on the auto-buy list.”
—All About Romance on Along Came a Husband
“One book you must have on your list…don’t miss it!”
—Romance Reviews Today on Along Came a Husband
“In this touching story about the power love has to heal all wounds, Brenna’s characters have terrifically real depth and emotional appeal.”
—RT Book Reviews on Then Comes Baby
“A talented storyteller, Brenna has a gift for writing category romance. She understands how to create intimate, heart-touching stories with the kind of vigorous writing that makes a series romance a satisfying little peek into the lives and loves of unique people and families. If you don’t know her work, Next Comes Love is a nice place to start.”
—Michelle Buonfiglio, BN.com
“Highlighting the eternal tension between safety and risk and the familiar and the unknown, this poignant, sweet, gently humorous story focuses on a pair of deeply conflicted protagonists and nicely sets the stage for the Mirabelle Island books to come.”
—Library Journal on First Come Twins
Dear Reader,
Wow. Number five in the An Island to Remember series. It’s finally Sarah’s turn!
The first time Garrett Taylor popped into my mind for book two, Next Comes Love, I had this feeling he had brothers, and by book three I knew at least one of them was going to make his way to Mirabelle. Jesse, though, was a truly larger-than-life surprise.
Sarah and Jesse. Jesse and Sarah. No matter how I look at it, these two simply belong together. I hope you enjoy the journey of them discovering what was so clear to me from page one.
Two more An Island to Remember stories are coming in August and September 2011. I promise Her Sure Thing will shake up the life of entirely-too-content Dr. Sean Griffin. And Redemption at Mirabelle has Missy Charms’s sister, Marin Camden, getting a little more than she bargained for when she comes to the island for some R & R.
Without giving too much away, Mirabelle Island itself is going to face its toughest challenge yet in the midst of these three stories, so keep reading! And check out my website at www.helenbrenna.com. I’ll be adding pages of Mirabelle Island detail, pictures, maps and a character chart.
I love hearing from readers. You can contact me at helenbrenna@comcast.net, or P.O. Box 24107, Minneapolis, MN 55424.
My best,
Helen Brenna
The Pursuit of Jesse
Helen Brenna
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Helen Brenna grew up in central Minnesota, the seventh of eight children. Although she never dreamed of writing books, she’s always been a voracious reader. So after taking a break from her accounting career to be an at-home mom, she tried her hand at writing the romances she loves to read. Since she was first published in 2007, her books have won many awards, including the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA
Award, RT Book Reviews Reviewer’s Choice Award, the HOLT Medallion, the Book Buyers’ Best Award and the National Readers’ Choice Award.
Helen lives happily ever after with her family in Minnesota. She’d love hearing from you. Email her at helenbrenna@comcast.net or send mail to P.O. Box 24107, Minneapolis, MN 55424. Visit her website at www.helenbrenna.com or chat with Helen and other authors at Riding With The Top Down.
For Johanna Raisanen
Thanks for making that first big leap of faith!
Acknowledgments:
He doesn’t yet know this, but I have to thank Adam Gadach, once again, for inspiring me to write this story. He’s a real live hero who truly knows how to forgive.
Adam was hit by a drunk driver one night and, as a result, lost his leg.
The man who hit him was Adam Lunn, and I do need to thank him, too, for showing me how a man starts to find the courage to face his mistakes.
Believe it or not, these two men stand side by side and talk to DWI offenders about their experience, hoping to make a difference, hoping to save lives. I have to believe they’ve saved more than one.
My best to you both, Helen
“To err is human, to forgive divine.”
—Alexander Pope
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
“THIS WISCONSIN OR the tundra?” Jesse Taylor chuckled as he glanced through the windshield of the four-wheel-drive SUV and into a blinding swirl of white. The bus had only taken him as far as Bayfield. From there, he’d hired a taxi.
“Oh, heck, this ain’t nothing,” the driver said, his voice cutting through the twang of an old country-and-western song playing on the radio. “We’re only gettin’ six inches of snow today. I remember once we got eighteen in a coupla hours.”
Six inches or eighteen didn’t make a bit of difference to Jesse. It’d been a long time since he’d experienced a Midwestern blizzard. Frost built in the corners of the windows and wind twirled the snow, obscuring visibility and causing dangerous drifts. Black ice formed on the frozen road.
“Dang, it’s cold out.” Even for January. He flipped up the collar of what was proving to be a woefully inadequate jean jacket and hunkered down for the ride.
His skin prickled with more than goose bumps as a sense of uneasiness spread through him. Instinct screamed at him to head south and get as far away from the state of Wisconsin as his thumb would carry him. Nothing here for him except snow and cold. And the past. Reality was, though, he needed some traveling cash, and a job, he hoped, was waiting for him at the end of the line.
“Here.” The driver grabbed a knit cap from his center console and tossed it toward Jesse. “Keep your head warm, anyway.”
Jesse glanced at the hat and stiffened. In his world, at least the world he’d been living in for the past three years, ten months and sixteen days, there was no such thing as something for nothing.
Relax, man. He doesn’t want anything from you.
Carefully taking the hat, Jesse pulled it down over his frozen ears. “Thanks.”
“Thought you said you was from Chicago. Heck, you should be used to this kind of weather.”
“I’ve been…away for a few years.”
Simple. Evasive. Good job, Jess.
Suddenly, it looked to Jesse as if the road was ending at the shoreline, but the driver wasn’t slowing down. “You planning on going right across the lake? I didn’t think Lake Superior froze over completely.”
“It don’t. Chequamegon Bay does most winters, though.”
“Most winters?” The old truck bounced over an icy ridge and headed out onto the snow-covered ice. “Let’s hope this is one of them.”
“Don’t worry.” The man smiled. “I’ll get you to Mirabelle Island in one piece.”
It wasn’t long before the SUV approached a dark blur getting larger by the minute. “That the island?”
“Yessiree.”
It was bigger than Jesse had expected and more isolated. A cluster of homes and businesses occupied only one corner of the island. The rest of the land appeared undeveloped and thickly wooded with hardwoods and tall, stately pines heavily laded with snow. A winter wonderland kind of place.
“You got someone meeting you at the pier?”
“Yeah.” Jesse sighed. “My brother.”
“That’s good.”
Not necessarily. When their father died a long while back, Jesse’s oldest brother had snubbed the family patriarch role, but now that he’d gotten married and settled down, he’d become damned near insufferable.
The driver reached Mirabelle’s shore. He slowed, put the vehicle in low gear and then drove right up an embankment and into a parking lot. “There you be.”
“Thanks.” Jesse hesitated. The weather he’d find a way to tolerate, but his brother’s cold disapproval would be another thing entirely. Not to mention that this town looked about as welcoming as the frigid temperature. Despite the fact that it wasn’t even dinnertime yet, there was absolutely no sign of activity. Only the dim interior lights of a nearby restaurant, the Bayside Café, were any indication there was life on this island.
“You want to wait in my truck for a few minutes? At least until your brother shows up?”
“A little snow never hurt anyone.” He’d arrived a bit earlier than he’d expected, but he had an address. He could hike up the hill, if necessary. Even so, he couldn’t seem to make himself move.
“Well? You getting out or what?”
Jesse glanced through the falling snow. Quaint little town. Most likely nice people. A community, where everyone knew everyone else. He might’ve been better off in a city where he could be anonymous.
“Mister? You okay?”
The bottom line was he had no place else to go. “Yeah. Sorry. Thanks for the ride.” He handed the guy a twenty, one of only two in his wallet. “Keep the change.” Then he took a deep breath and opened the door.
