Today sees the launch of my 43rd book! 7 years and one day after signing my very first book contract!
Pastor Josh
Wilson is running from his past and from God. He takes a construction job and
volunteers as a retained firefighter in hopes that the small Welsh town of
Betws-y-Coed will be a refuge and hiding place...but God has other plans.
GP Jess Thomas
fights the instant attraction when an injured construction worker comes into
her surgery. A native Scot with a U.S. passport is a mystery, but there is
something else about the man that keeps drawing her to him.
As summer heats up, and the wildfires draw closer, can Josh overcome the past and move on? Or will he lose everything before his new life has begun?
Extract:
Jess shook her
head and laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Big strong bloke like you
isn't afraid of a little needle, surely?” she asked, making light of the
situation.
“Aye, maybe I
am,” he drawled, sounding Scottish again this time.
“So close your
eyes and think of home,” she told him. “I won't be long. Small scratch first as
I'm going to numb your hand. That's an intriguing accent you have. You're not
from around here, are you?”
“No. I was born
in Scotland, but spent my life all over. Most of it in the States.” He stared
at the ceiling as she stitched.
“Sounds like a
fascinating story.”
“Not really.”
Jess finished
with a bandage. “All done.” She scribbled quickly, grateful the local
pharmacist could read her handwriting. It was a standing joke that all doctor's
handwriting was illegible and hers certainly was. “Here's a prescription for
antibiotics and painkillers. When was your last tetanus shot?”
“Five weeks,
three days ago.” The answer came back firmly and swiftly.
“That's very
precise.”
“It isn't
something I'm likely to forget in a hurry.” His gaze swung from the ceiling
back to her face. “They use needles in the States, too.”
“OK. Go and see
Nerys on the desk, and she'll give you the forms to fill in to register you
here. Make an appointment for next week to have the stiches removed. Either
with one of the nurses or with me, depending whom you'd rather see.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
“You're welcome.
Take care now.”
Jess cleared up
for the next patient. Her pulse pounded, her chest tightened, her stomach was
doing somersaults and her head throbbed. Anyone would think she was in love.
Pfft. Jess shook her head.
She could give herself several very good reasons why love was not a good idea.
She marked them off on her fingers as she listed them.
“One–he's a
patient. Two–you've only just met him. Three–he's a patient. Four–he isn't
going to be here long. No one ever stays here long. Five–he's a patient.
Six–love at first sight doesn't exist. And seven and most importantly– He. Is.
A. Patient.”
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