Can his safe haven be enough for her?
Emma Meadows never imagined that sticking to her principles against an act of corruption by a New York senator would cost her her job as VP of communications. Heartbroken, she retreats to her cottage in the Adirondacks to lick her wounds and, in the process, rescues an injured dog that only Josh Whitmore can save.
The veterinarian works diligently to bring dog and woman back to full fighting form, until allegations against the senator become more serious. Seeing Emmaâs reaction to the increasing pressure, Josh realizes that inevitably sheâll find a way back to the top...and heâll likely lose her for good.
She thought she wanted things to stay the way they were. Friends.
She could almost see the words forming on his lips, so she rushed in with the first thing that came to mind. âWhat would you like for dinner tonight? Never mind. Iâll take care of it. All you have to do is select the wine and uncork it.â
Josh ran his finger gently along the side of her face. âEmma...â
âAfter dinner Iâd like to take the dogs for a long walk and watch the sun set from the granite rock. How does that sound to you?â she continued in near desperation.
âEmma...â he began again.
She knew she was jabbering on, but couldnât seem to control it. âIf Iâm going to make dinner, I should get started.â
âEmma, listen to meââ
She was ready to interrupt again, but he forestalled her by closing his mouth over hers in a long and achingly tender kiss.
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Sanctuary Cove!
In my acknowledgments, I noted that Sanctuary Cove serves as an inflection point in terms of my editorial partnership. It is also the start of a new miniseries, set in the fictitious town of Sanctuary Cove in the Adirondack Mountains region. My last three releases comprised my K-9 trilogy, following the lives and loves of three San Diego Police Department K-9 officers. Although Iâm thrilled to share with fans of the âtrilogyâ that it has now officially become a series, since there are more K-9 books to come, I enjoy variety in my writing and wanted to offer some to my readers.
While striving to write stories that are both emotionally and intellectually satisfying, I like to have my characters tackle some real-life, relatable issues, and youâll find this to be the case in Sanctuary Cove. For those of you whoâve enjoyed getting to know the furry, four-legged characters in some of my previous books, with hero Josh Whitmore being a veterinarian and heroine Emma Meadows a passionate advocate of all creatures, you might find an animal character or two in Sanctuary Cove thatâll also capture your heart.
If you would like to use Sanctuary Cove for your book club, you can find discussion questions on my website, www.kate-james.com.
As always, I would love to hear from you! You can connect with me through my website above, at www.Facebook.com/katejamesbooks or Twitter.com/katejamesbooks, or mail me at PO Box 446, Schomberg, ON, L0G 1T0, Canada.
Happy reading!
Kate
KATE JAMES spent much of her childhood abroad before attending university in Canada. She built a successful business career, but her passion has always been literature. As a result, Kate turned her energy to her love of the written word. Kateâs goal is to entertain her readers with engaging stories featuring strong, likable characters. Kate has been honored with numerous awards for her writing. She and her husband, Ken, enjoy traveling and the outdoors with their beloved Labrador retrievers.
This book is dedicated to the late James Ingram, beloved husband of Paula Eykelhof and father of Emma Ingram.
Acknowledgments
Sanctuary Cove serves as an inflection point for me. Itâs midway through the development of this story that Paula Eykelhof, my editor since I started writing for Harlequin, passed the baton to my new editor, Kathryn Lye. Paula is renowned in the publishing industry for being an editor extraordinaire and having worked with many, if not most, of the biggest names in womenâs fiction and romance. I was truly privileged to have had the opportunity of working with Paula until her retirement at the end of June 2016. Paula, I cannot begin to express my appreciation to you for how much you taught me and for the great pleasure it was to work with you.
CHAPTER ONE
RAIN BATTERED THE sidewalk as Emma paused under the canopy by the entrance to the post office. She pulled the hood of her windbreaker low over her forehead and made a quick dash to the parking lot. Even so, she was drenched by the time she climbed into her SUV.