Book 10 Meant for Love
She’s waited a long time for her second chance at love…
He’s given up everything to come home to Gansett to care for his ailing mother…
Alex has gone from cultivating orchids at the US Botanic Garden in Washington to cutting grass on Gansett, as he did as a teenager.
Running the family business with his brother while managing their mother’s dementia requires Alex’s undivided attention until a sexy lighthouse keeper shows him there’s much more to life than work and endless obligation.
During a scorching summer heat wave on Gansett, Jenny and Alex take comfort in each other, and what begins as a hot summer fling quickly becomes something much more lasting.
But will it hold up beyond the heat wave when real life intrudes on their sexy interlude?
Main Characters:
*Jenny Wilks, lighthouse keeper.
*Alex Martinez, co-owner of Martinez Lawn & Garden.
Supporting Characters:
Toby Barton, deceased fiancé of Jenny Wilks.
*Mason Johns, chief, Gansett Island Fire Department.
*Commander Linc Mercier, U.S. Coast Guard.
*Mac McCarthy, Jr., married to Maddie Chester in FOOL FOR LOVE, father of Thomas Chester McCarthy in MAID FOR LOVE, father of Hailey McCarthy in FALLING FOR LOVE.
*Maddie McCarthy, mother of Thomas, married to Mac McCarthy in FOOL FOR LOVE and mother of Hailey McCarthy in FALLING FOR LOVE.
*Tiffany Taylor, mother of Ashleigh, married to Blaine Taylor in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Blaine Taylor, married to Tiffany Taylor in TIME FOR LOVE, stepfather to Ashleigh Sturgil.
*Sydney Donovan, married to Luke Harris in SEASON FOR LOVE.
*Luke Harris, married to Sydney Donovan in SEASON FOR LOVE.
*Hailey McCarthy, daughter of Mac and Maddie McCarthy, sister of Thomas McCarthy, born in FALLING FOR LOVE.
*Laura McCarthy, engaged to Owen Lawry and mother of Holden Newsome in SEASON FOR LOVE.
*Holden Francis Newsome, Laura’s son with ex-husband Justin Newsome, stepson of Owen Lawry, born in SEASON FOR LOVE.
*Owen Lawry, engaged to Laura McCarthy and stepfather to Holden Newsome in SEASON FOR LOVE.
*Stephanie Logan, engaged to Grant McCarthy in SEASON FOR LOVE.
*Abby Callahan, involved with Adam McCarthy in WAITING FOR LOVE.
*Grace Ryan, engaged to Evan McCarthy in WAITING FOR LOVE.
*Janey McCarthy Cantrell, married to Joe Cantrell in READY FOR LOVE, mother of Peter Joseph “PJ” Cantrell in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Joe Cantrell, married to Janey McCarthy Cantrell in READY FOR LOVE, father of Peter Joseph “PJ” Cantrell in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Peter Joseph “PJ” Cantrell, son of Janey and Joe Cantrell, born in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Ned Saunders, engaged to Francine in FALLING FOR LOVE.
*Francine Chester, grandmother of Ashleigh Sturgil, Thomas McCarthy and Hailey McCarthy, engaged to Ned Saunders in FALLING FOR LOVE.
*Ashleigh Sturgil, daughter of Tiffany Taylor and Jim Sturgil, stepdaughter of Blaine Taylor in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Thomas McCarthy, son of Mac and Maddie McCarthy, brother of Hailey McCarthy.
*Evan McCarthy, engaged to Grace Ryan in WAITING FOR LOVE.
Sharon, store manager, Martinez Lawn & Garden.
*Paul Martinez, co-owner of Martinez Lawn & Garden, member of Gansett Town Council.
*Dr. David Lawrence, living with Daisy Babson in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Daisy Babson, living with Dr. David Lawrence in TIME FOR LOVE.
*Josh Harrelson, sound engineer at Island Breeze Studios.
*Jack Beaumont, Evan McCarthy’s manager.
*Buddy Longstreet, country music star and owner of Long Road Records.
Michael, nephew of Jenny Wilks.
Lacey, niece of Jenny Wilks.
Brent, nephew of Jenny Wilks.
Tyler, nephew of Jenny Wilks.
Emma, sister of Jenny Wilks.
Leah, sister of Jenny Wilks.
Mackenzie, niece of Jenny Wilks.
*Adam McCarthy, involved with Abby Callahan in WAITING FOR LOVE.
*Grant McCarthy, engaged to Stephanie Logan in SEASON FOR LOVE.
*Dan Torrington, involved with Kara Ballard in LONGING FOR LOVE.
*Kara Ballard, involved with Dan Torrington in LONGING FOR LOVE.
*Victoria Stevens, nurse practitioner/midwife, Gansett Island Clinic.
*Shannon O’Grady, deck hand on the Gansett Island ferries, cousin of Seamus.
*Rebecca, owner of Rebecca’s Diner.
*Kelly Ballard, estranged sister of Kara Ballard, married to Matt.
*Matt, ex-boyfriend of Kara Ballard, married to her sister, Kelly.
*Jared James: Wall Street Billionaire, David Lawrence’s landlord, college classmate of Jenny Wilks.
*Hope Russell, nurse hired to care for Marion Martinez, mother of Ethan Russell.
*Ethan Russell, son of Hope Russell.
*Erin Barton, Toby’s twin sister, friend of Jenny Wilks.
*Hugh Wilks, father of Jenny Wilks.
*Karen Wilks, mother of Jenny Wilks.
Places:
Chesterfield Estate
Oar Bar at Gansett Boat Works Marina
MEANT FOR LOVE Headlines:
A heat wave scorches Gansett Island!
Jenny throws tomatoes at Alex!
Maddie thought she was pregnant and is disappointed that she’s not!
Evan’s album is going to be acquired by Long Road Records!
Evan and Grace plan a destination wedding for January!
Jenny goes on a date with Linc, but she really wants to be with Alex!
Evan sings his new song “My Amazing Grace” for the first time!
Jenny and Alex have sex and agree to be exclusive!
After Alex fires their store manager, Jenny offers to help out!
Alex hears Jenny dreaming about Toby!
Jenny tells Alex about what happened to Toby!
Seamus takes Carolina to Providence to meet her new grandson!
Grant and Dan realized Kara’s estranged sister and her husband have come to confront Kara!
Dan races to the marina to find her before they can blindside her!
Dan and Kara get engaged!
Hope Russell is hired to care for Marion! She and her son Ethan will move to the island soon!
Marion embarrasses Alex in front of Jenny and her parents!
After a ten-day breakup, Alex proposes to Jenny, and they get engaged!
Jenny Wilks is dreaming of the last morning with her late fiancé, Toby Barton.
They’re talking about a visit with her parents, and Toby gets up to leave when Jenny is rudely awakened by a loud noise coming from outside.
In the skimpy clothing she wore to sleep in the scorching heat wave, she runs down the stairs at the lighthouse and outside to find the largest lawn mower she’s ever seen.
The town has finally sent someone to cut the overgrown lawn.
She yells at him, but the guy on the mower can’t hear her.
She grabs a handful of tomatoes and starts launching them.
One hits him square in the back, and he shuts down the mower.
Alex is sweltering in the heat wave and frustrated to be back to his teenage job of cutting lawns on Gansett.
He had a dream job working at the U.S. Botanic Gardens and a life in Washington, D.C.
that he enjoyed. He came home to Gansett to help his brother, Paul, with the family business and the care of their mother, Marion, who has dementia.
The lighthouse keeper complained to the town because the lawn hadn’t been cut.
That’s what he’s doing when something hits him in the back. What the hell was that?
He notices the remnants of two tomatoes on the ground next to him. “Are you throwing tomatoes at me? What the hell?”
“I could ask you the same thing! Do you have any idea what time it is?”
“Ah… five something?”
Despite her rage at being rudely awakened out of a precious dream about Toby, she can’t help but notice the shirtless man’s muscular chest and belly, dark chest hair, tanned skin and khaki shorts that hang from narrow hips. Dark socks peek out from the top of work boots.
“Five forty-five. In the morning!”
“Thanks for clarifying. Do you mind leaving me alone? I’ve got a long day ahead of me, and you’re the one who complained to the town that we hadn’t been out to cut the grass. Well, we’re here to cut the grass.”
“Not at five forty-five in the morning, you’re not.”
“Ah, yeah, I am.”
She takes a step closer to him. “No, you’re not.”
He takes a step in her direction. “Yes, I am.”
The fourth tomato in her hand goes sailing toward his head. He ducks at the last second, avoiding a direct hit. “Are you completely insane?”
As he looks her up and down under the cover of sunglasses, Jenny remembers she’s wearing next to nothing as she faces off with the angry lawn guy.
The lighthouse doesn’t have air conditioning, and the heat has been unbearable, thus the short nightgown and tiny panties.
She crosses her arms over her unrestrained breasts.
“Look, lady, I’m sorry if I woke you up, but I need to get back to work if I’m going to keep this already screwed-up day on schedule.”
“You’re not turning that… thing back on at six o’clock in the morning! I thought I was being attacked or something.”
“Right. Attacked. On Gansett Island, where it’s so unsafe.”
Jenny knows what it’s like to be attacked in a place where she’d always felt safe, a thought that reminds her of the dream and what she’d missed out on thanks to the roar of his lawnmower.
Who knew when or if she’d have the dream again?
It’s been more than a year since the last time Toby “visited” her slumber.
“You never know when a safe place can become unsafe.” As she utters the words, her chin quivers and her eyes swim with tears.
“Oh, my God. You’re not going to cry!” He tips his head for a closer look at her. “Are you?”
“No, I’m not going to cry.” She has no intention of crying but having that particular dream throws her out of sorts for days every time it happens. Being blasted out of a sound sleep on top of that is a recipe for emotional overload.
“Good.” He runs his fingers through straight, silky, dark hair, a gesture that makes his muscles tighten and bulge, not that she’s looking or anything, and then he lifts his sunglasses to swipe at the sweat on his face, revealing dark brown eyes.