He caught a note of caution in her voice and pressed a kiss on top of her hair. “You know better than that. I’m trying to prepare to let you go for now. And I needed to know where to look for a job. I thought Scottsdale might be a possibility, and I sent a résumé to the aquarium there. I already got a response back asking for an interview.”
He felt her chest heave as she gasped and sat up and stared into his face. Her dark-brown eyes filled with moisture. “You’d do that for me?”
His hands trailed up her arms to cup her face. “I already told you I wasn’t ready to let what we have slip away.”
“I won’t be gone long, Joe. I’m going to fly to my house, pack up my stuff, stage it, list it, and drive back across the country to stay here.”
Joy threatened to launch his heart right through his chest. “You’re sure?”
She nodded. “Completely sure. When I was in that tent with Hailey, I knew I couldn’t leave her or you. I’ve never had such a sense of belonging, of family. No pressure on either of us, but I want to see where our relationship might go. I already love Hailey.”
“I can promise you my feelings are real. Real enough that I’d already told Hailey we were going wherever you were. She was ready even though she loves it here.”
“And you can continue to work for the Navy, doing what you love and what you’re good at.”
“Maybe. Who knows. I might do something totally different. As long as you and Hailey are here, I don’t care what I do.”
“That’s all I wanted to hear.”
She lifted her face to his, and he lowered his lips to hers. Her kiss held tenderness, passion, joy, and promise. They had a road to travel yet and so much to learn about each other, but he could see the ending from here. And it was so beautiful.
A Note from the Author
Dear Reader,
If you’ve ever been to Jekyll Island, you know all about the rich history there. I was enthralled the first time I visited and knew I had to pull in some of the fabulous buildings and setting. But that meant instead of having the liberties I’m used to with imaginary settings, I had to tweak some things with the island.
Right now Jekyll Island is owned by Northview Hotel Group and not by Bergstrom Hospitality. I started to plop an anonymous hotel onto the island, but I loved the fabulous Club Resort so much, and its history was so compelling, I took the literary license of changing it up while acknowledging it here.
I was very interested in the makeup of the Federal Reserve and stumbled across the controversy in its creation while researching. The Creature from Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin was eye-opening, and you might find it interesting as well.
As always, I love hearing from you and can’t wait to hear what you think of the story.
Lots of love,
Colleen
Acknowledgments
Nineteen years and counting that I’ve been part of the amazing HarperCollins Christian Publishing team as of the spring of 2021! I have the best team in publishing (and I’m not a bit prejudiced), and I’m so grateful for all you’ve taught me and all you’ve done for me. My dear editor and publisher, Amanda Bostic, makes sure I’m taken care of in every way. My marketing and publicity team is fabulous (thank you Nekasha Pratt, Kerri Potts, and Margaret Kercher!). I’m truly blessed by all your hard work. My entire team works so hard, and I wish there was a way to reward you all for what you do for me.
Julee Schwarzburg is my freelance editor, and she has such fabulous expertise with suspense and story. She smooths out all my rough spots and makes me look better than I am. I learn something from you and Amanda with every book, so thank you!
My agent, Karen Solem, and I have been together for twenty-two years now. She has helped shape my career in many ways, and that includes kicking an idea to the curb when necessary.
My critique partner and dear friend of over twenty-two years, Denise Hunter, is the best sounding board ever. Together we’ve created so many works of fiction. She reads every line of my work, and I read every one of hers. It’s truly been a blessed partnership.
I’m so grateful for my husband, Dave, who carts me around from city to city, washes towels, and chases down dinner without complaint. Right now he’s been getting radiation treatments for recurrent prostate cancer, and we’re praying for good results. But my Dave’s even temper and good nature hasn’t budged in spite of the trials of the past year.
My family is everything to me, and my three grandchildren make life wonderful. We try to split our time between Indiana and Arizona to be with them, but I’m constantly missing someone. ☹
Over the past year, I’ve had Covid, a broken ankle, and knee replacement surgery as well as cared for our daughter who nearly died of sepsis. So life has thrown some rocks in our path, but God is good all the time! He’s been carrying us through these challenges, and I’m grateful for his loving care each and every day.
And I’m grateful for you, dear readers!
Discussion Questions
People can tend to make snap judgments when they meet others. Have you ever been pegged as someone you’re not?
Torie didn’t want anything to get in the way of her search for the truth, and she lied about her identity. Is a lie ever justified?
Torie’s lack of truthfulness had repercussions. How do you feel when you find out someone lied to you?
Joe struggled after learning about Torie’s true identity. Would you have found it hard to forgive Torie?
Torie noticed how fire shaped glass and correlated it to her own life. Have you been shaped by some kind of tragedy?
Lisbeth loved Torie enough to do something to help her move forward. Have you ever been a friend like that?
Torie had an epiphany that she had to follow her own path, not necessarily what her father wanted. How hard was it for you to follow your own path?
One of the perpetual questions we can have even as Christians is why God lets bad things happen. What conclusion have you come to about that?
About the Author
Photo by Amber Zimmerman
Colleen Coble is a USA TODAY bestselling author best known for her coastal romantic suspense novels, including The Inn at Ocean’s Edge, Twilight at Blueberry Barrens, and the Lavender Tides, Sunset Cove, Hope Beach, and Rock Harbor series.
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Connect with Colleen online at colleencoble.com
Facebook: @colleencoblebooks
Twitter: @colleencoble
Pinterest: @ColleenCoble
Acclaim for Colleen Coble
“Coble’s clear-cut prose makes it easy for the reader to follow the numerous scenarios and characters. This is just the ticket for readers of romantic suspense.”
—Publishers Weekly on Three Missing Days
“Colleen Coble is my go-to author for the best romantic suspense today. Three Missing Days is now my favorite in the series, and I adored the other two. A stay-up-all-night page-turning story!”
—Carrie Stuart Parks, bestselling and award-winning author of Relative Silence