Living the Dream

Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate. May you gather safely this year.

People often ask me where I get my ideas for stories. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know. There are stories all around me–something I hear, something I see, even someone I meet. When I agree to write a new book, I usually stort by choosing a title. In my Cocktails for You series, I use the name of an alcoholic drink. Why? Well, this series is a product of the Covid 19 Pandemic in that I started writing it shortly after the first lockdown in March of 2020. Then, because we had more and and more time at home, I continued with the series. These books were all very different from my usual style, lighter, and designed to make the reader laugh just a little at the everyday events surrounding us.

The series started with Tequila Sunrise. I wrote this book after my last vacation to the south in January of 2020. We spent a couple of weeks with family in Los Cabos, and I used my memories of the places we’d been, the things we’d seen and done to flesh out the story. The romance is fictional. Trying to figure out a trope for it, I went with second chances and boss-employee romance. Essentially, how could a chance encounter after many years go when the two involved never really got over meeting each other in the first place?

Sun, sand, and mind-blowing kisses!

Kelly Winters, an up and coming recreational facilities designer for Dreamscapes, is thrilled to be part of a Think Tank Conway Enterprises is putting together—so thrilled in fact that she agrees, despite the fact she hates flying.
Liam Conway, the heir apparent to Conway Enterprises, can’t believe his luck when he spots his Kellyanne in the airport and discovers she’ll be his seatmate on the flight to Mexico City. He was sure they’d connected that day ten years ago, and not just because she’d literally left him in stitches. He searched for her for weeks afterwards, but it was as if she’d vanished into thin air.
Kelly is stunned to see Liam after all these years. Discovering that not only is he participating in the same Think Tank she is, but he’s also her boss leads to more than she bargained for. Can a ten-year-old attraction blossom again, or will their positions keep them apart?

The next book was Champagne Cocktail, a Christmas story that brought back memories of the year I struggled to getmy six-year-old daughter a Cabbage Patch Doll. For the trope, I chose second chance at love and enemies to lovers, with a little mean girls and secrets tossed in for excitement.

Do you believe in Christmas magic?

When life gave Ronnie Daniels lemons, instead of lemonade, the single mother learned to make Lemon Drops.

This Christmas, times are tougher than ever, and Ronnie’s number one priority is making the holiday as normal as possible for her five-year-old daughter. All Dottie wants from Santa is a Famous American Ballerina doll. The problem is not only are they expensive, but they’re impossible to find.

After another failed attempt to secure one of the dolls, in her frustration, Ronnie sends a scathing letter to the company, Thomas Toys. As the doll’s manufacturer, one advertising a product they don’t have on hand and can’t deliver before Christmas, it’s their fault that her daughter’s dreams won’t come true.

When the company’s new CEO comes into the bar to apologize for the mishap and try to make amends, Ronnie refuses to listen to him, not just because of Dottie, but they have a complicated history. Determined to fix this, Wyatt won’t back down, and before long the doll isn’t the only thing Dottie and Ronnie want for Christmas.

After Christmas comes New Year’s and Buck’s Fizz. Everyone’s heard of a Mimosa, but a Buck’s Fiss is its grwon-up rich cousin. Once more I relied on my second chance at love trope, but tossed in an overbearing parent intent on an arranged marriage, a bully, and an adorable child.

You can run, but you can’t hide!

In order to escape an arranged marriage to a rude, insufferable man, Jewel Wellington leaves home and The Met to hide with a honky tonk band on a Southern promotional tour. As Jess Wells, she and the other Silvertones step into The Squawking Tomcat, a bar on the outskirts of Alice, Texas, expecting to have a three-week gig. The problem is, the bar’s owner, Lance Corcoran, isn’t expecting an all-girl band.Frustrated at this sudden reverse of fortune, Jess makes a deal with the bar’s owner—pick any song by any artist, and let her prove she and the Silvertones can do it. What she doesn’t expect is to realize that the bar’s crusty cowboy owner is none other the surfer she spent one steamy night on the beach with eight years ago, one she left without saying goodbye.Will Lance recognize her? And if he does, will it cost them the gig?

I followed up on that book with The Tipsy Pig. Who knew you could make a cocktail with bacon it it? This story, set during the pandemic has a different trope. Sometimes your life comes crashing down all around you, and those who lost jobs and friends to the pandemic cerainly felt that way. I also saw how some powerful men devalued women and treated them like dirt, only interested in how they could use them. Social media was full of stories about stars, athletes, millionnaires, singers, and politicians who’d traded on their fortunes and power to use and abuse women–wives included. I decided to put my heroine in a position when a poor choice in a husband cost her everything. Now, she’s starting from scratch.

A former socialite, a recluse, and a tipsy pig—the perfect recipe for disaster or romance?Dreading publicity over her recent divorce, her ex-husband’s arrest, and her upcoming 40th birthday, Sahara Larson, the former CEO of Larson Enterprises, escapes from Toronto to hide away at a friend’s rustic cabin near Algonquin Park. The future looks bleak, but among her neighbors is Hiram Colson, a reclusive bestselling author who rescues discarded pets. Will he be able to rescue her, too? Can a potbellied pig with a penchant for homemade dandelion wine unite two lonely people?

Next, I came up with Make Mine a Manhattan. When I started the book, I couldn’t quite see where I wanted it to go. I had writer’s block. I knew it had to be funny. My mother was going through a rough patch–she’s 94 and delusiuonal, so sometimes what comes out of her mouth is judgmental and unkind. And, to be honest, I can be a klutz. So, the story took shape. An author not staisfied with her work, looking for inspiration. For the trope, I chose strangers to lovers.

What’s an author to do when, thanks to writer’s block, she’s hopelessly stuck?

With only eight weeks left to finish her newest novel, bestselling author Sydney Sanders, aka Robin Langford, is stumped. On impulse, the thirty-three-year old introvert decides to take her agent’s advice and shift gears, but instead of going on a short vacation, she decides on hands-on research. Immersing herself in her story and assuming her heroine’s identity, she heads to Manhattan to live out the plot. What could possibly go wrong?
As Savanna Long, she boards the train, expecting a quiet ride and time to refresh her muse for the chore ahead. But a lot can happen during the thirty-eight hour trip, especially with her imagination and the drop-dead gorgeous passenger in the next car.

My newest book in this series is Emewrald Glow, currently only available in papaerback but soon to be released as a part of Cute But Crazy 4, Qiurky Careers. When we took a trip out west this summer to celebrate our Fiftieth wedding anniversary, we met some incredible people. They were the inspiration for the story and they, along with hubby and I appear in the story with a completely fictional hero and heroine. Once more I went with the Starngers to Lovers trope and hopefully tosse in enough laughs as I describe the beauty of the Canadian Rockies and all of the wonderous sights we enjoyed.

She’s given up on finding the right man. After a painful divorce, he’s sworn off women. But you don’t always get what you want, especially when a typo can spell disaster.

Following a breakup that’s soured her opinion of men, photographer Lee Andrews is hoping this assignment for an online e-zine will help her set her life on the right path. If she can stay focused on her job and ignore the opposite sex, so much the better.
Alexander Fedorov is a burned out journalist, tired of covering one disaster after another. His recent divorce has left him bitter and determined to stay as far away from the female sex as possible. This new assignment offers a change of pace. As long as he can avoid meddlesome females, he’ll be fine.
When they meet, sparks fly and personalities clash, especially when the full impact of a small typo and making assumptions makes itself known loud and clear. Both are determined to be adult about the situation, keep their distance, and complete the job. But that may be easier said than done, especially when the attraction they feel for each other is magnetic.

As always, all of my books in this series are exclusive to Amazon. You can find buy links to them and to my other books on my website. https://mhsusannematthews.ca/

Happy reading!

Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales, the weekly blog where a small group of authors share their works in process with you. I’m continuing with Forever in My Heart, my holiday romance.

When she turned back to him, her lower lip was trapped by her upper teeth, her eyes shiny with unshed tears.

“I need to think about this. You’re not asking me to just drop in for a week or two each year. You’re asking me to give up my life, my job, my apartment … Coparenting sounds great now, but what happens down the line? What if you fall in love and want to get married? Do you really think your wife will want your sister-in-law living with you?”

“That isn’t going to happen. I can guarantee I won’t be bringing another woman into this household—at least not as my wife.”

“How can you be so sure? The future is a mystery. Look at Cassie and Luke. This isn’t what they wanted.”

“You’re right.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I can’t predict the future and neither can you. I’m planning to hire another associate at the clinic, so that I can spend more time here. Those little girls are my flesh and blood. I might not be their biological father, but he and I shared identical DNA. That makes them as much mine as they were his. I have no intention of leaving them. If you agree to meet the terms of the will, then moving to Timberton is the only way to do it. We’ll raise them together as if they were our children, give them a normal life in a two-parent family, and never deprive them of the love their parents would’ve given them. It’s what Cassie and Luke wanted.” Luke wanted something else, but now wasn’t the time to broach that topic. “In the event one or both of us falls in love, then we’ll revisit the issue.” He turned to Cal. “Does that work?”

The old man nodded. “Yes. Callista, Monday is Thanksgiving. The bodies will probably be released the next day, so I’ll give you until Friday to give me an answer. If you feel that Cassie asked too much of you, no one will think any less of you, and we’ll see what kind of arrangement we can hammer out to keep you involved in the girls’ upbringing. Make no mistake, they will have to stay here at the ranch together, but I’m sure we can see about visitations.” He stood and pulled a manila envelope out of his briefcase. “Callie, this envelope contains all of the information for the bank account I set up for you with the funds you inherited from Tilda, and there’s a letter in there from Cassie. She gave it to me at the time they made the will.”

That’s it. Stay safe and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales

This morning, I would like to introduce you to something different. Meet Anne Hamilton Fowler.

The best way to tell you about herself and her book is to let her tell you herself. Here’s a humourous snippet from her early years.

I have been known most of my life for the ability to improvise and think on my feet. The following story, occurring when I was a high school senior, will give you some insight into “where” I obtained this ability.

It was a sunny Saturday morning and I was expecting the local boyfriend of the week for lunch at 12:30. He will be referred to as Boyfriend #1. Disaster almost occurred when out-of- town Boyfriend #2, a first year University of Western Ontario student, threw an unexpected wrench into the works and arrived in town to surprise me. At 11:45, overnight bag in hand, he appeared at our front door.

My father answered the door, greeting him warmly … he loved this guy who was a fellow golfer. Assuming that this was the expected lunch date, (my father never could keep them all straight) Dad told him to put his gear upstairs in the guest room where he usually stayed when in town.

Mother, my social secretary, immediately grasped the situation. She knew of course that I was expecting BF #1 not BF #2 and handled the awkward problem like a pro. She explained to BF #2 that “we have plans for the afternoon and are leaving shortly but why don’t you and Stew go to the club, have lunch, play eighteen holes and we’ll see you back here for dinner?” Clueless Stewart, who had put his foot in it to begin with, had no choice but to agree.

Meanwhile, I was upstairs locked in the bathroom hyperventilating as I waited for BF #1 to make an appearance at any minute and create a confrontation. And you know there is nothing I hate more or will try to avoid, when possible, than a confrontation. You see, BF #1 and BF #2 were unaware of each other’s existence.

Ever calm, watching the clock and improvising as she went, Mother asked BF #2 if he’d like her to make what she knew was his favorite dessert for dinner. Then disaster almost happened. Glancing out the living room window she saw BF #1 walking down the street, approaching the house.

“Time to go, Stew,” said Audrey as she unceremoniously hustled Dad and BF #2 out the side door into the garage. Mere seconds later, she opened the front door and greeted the new arrival, BF #1, the guest who was actually invited! Dad and BF #2 drove off to an afternoon on the links at York Downs while Anne, BF #1, and Audrey enjoyed a delicious lunch, which included one with HIS favorite dessert. Mother was big on making dessert for the boys.

So, if any of you ever questioned where I learned to think on my feet, as you can see, I had tutoring from an expert.

You can read all about Anne and her adventures in her memoir, I’ve Worn Many Hats.

 You can learn more about Anne and her incredible life’s story by checking out her webpage: https://anne.honduranhope.net

I’ve Worn Many Hats is available at these fine Amazon etailers! Grab your copy today.
  For Canadian readers:  Paperback – https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1778350321
   eBook – https://www.amazon.ca/dp/BO9HDN55FV
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   eBook – https://www.amazon.com/dp/BO9HDN55FV
  US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/1778350321
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  Australia – https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1778350321

Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales and another peek at several manuscripts in process. I’m continuing with Forever in my Heart. This is picture prompt week, where our scenes are limited to only 300 words. Here’s the picture I chose.

Mike sat on the sofa in the family room next to Callie, Iris on his lap, while she held Rose. After the viewing at the morgue, they’d checked out of the hotel and had driven back to Timberton, the baby girls jabbering in the limousine as if trying to tell her all about something. The nanny would be in shortly to take them for their supper and then settle them for the night. Normally, he liked to help with bath time, but he knew Cal wanted to discuss the provisions in the will.

“That’s one of your Nana’s paintings,” Callie said, indicating the framed picture above the fireplace to the child. “That’s the home I grew up in. She must’ve painted it from memory because I’ve never seen this before, but I would recognize her work anywhere.” She stood, propped Rose against her hip, and walked over to it. “Yup. There’s the A she always used to sign her work.” She turned to him. “Do you have more of her paintings here?”

“I’m not sure. There’s one in the foyer, and Cal has one in his office. Do you have many?”

“A few. Her work started selling well, a couple of years before she died. Now, her agent asks me to send him one of her old, forgotten pieces each year. He sells it, and we donate the proceeds to cancer research. It’s what she would’ve wanted.”

Louise entered the room. She carried a platter of appetizers. “Mrs. Faraday sent these along. She’ll be here in a minute with the wine. Did you want red or white?”

“Callie?”

“A dry red if you have one,” she answered. “Luke preferred white. I suppose you do, too.”

“Actually, I like a good Merlot. We were identical in many ways, but we did have individual tastes and personalities.”

That’s it. Stay safe and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales

The Authors’ Billboard has done it again! Number one new release!

The most magical time of the year captured in TEN heartwarming romances!

A scintillating seasonal stew of Love at First Sight, Second-chance Romance, and Fantasy sprinkled with conniving children looking for a mate for mama.

Ten New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Authors bring you stories of love, wonder, and surprises. With puppies, mermaids, talking dogs, letter-writing snowmen, department store Santas, firemen, feuding families, and holiday traditions, these tales promise to make your Christmas merry and bright.

Mimi Barbour – Christmas, Puppies, and Romance – He has his claim on the very fluffball she wants… The fight is on for who gets the puppy! New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author.

Leanne Banks – The Rancher’s Best Gifts – When a man and women from feuding families have a temporary secret affair, no one expects the consequences to be forever! New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author.

Rachelle Ayala – Dashing Through Christmas – Misty Jolly and Dash Weston play guessing games while rushing through a Christmas project with no help from Westie, a “talking” dog. USA Today Bestselling Author.

Taylor Lee – Nuthin’s Gonna Stop Us Now – Can two strong-willed people resist the fates and ‘not’ fall in love? USA Today Bestselling Author.

Josie Riviera – A Portuguese Christmas – Love can come softly, like holiday snow. Or sweep you away like a riptide. USA Today Bestselling Author.

Patrice Wilton – A Santa to Keep – Will the magic of Christmas open the hearts of the widow and the grumpy mall Santa and offer them the best gift of all: love? USA Today Bestselling Author.

Traci Hall – Christmas on Misty Beach – He’s a fireman, she’s a hot mess. Add dogs, a sick dad, and the holidays, and you’ve got a romance for the ages. USA Today Bestselling Author.

Susanne Matthews – Come Home for Christmas – Can the spirit of Christmas erase ten years of pain? A second chance romance. International Bestselling Author.

Susan Jean Ricci – Ripples Under the Sea: A Christmas Tale – Two Marine Biologists are swept into the currents of love in this charming Christmas tale of aquatic antics, sorrow, and separation at the most wonderful time of the year. USA Bestselling Author.

Katy Walters – Love Letters from a Snowman – Despite her brother’s arguments that a lady shouldn’t work, Tabitha takes a post as governess. It’s not the position that attracts her but the twinkle in the green eyes of her employer, Lord Balfour. A Regency Romance. USA Today Bestselling Author.

So, grab your favorite yuletide beverage, curl up on the couch by the fire or in a beach chair by the ocean, and enjoy Unforgettable Christmas Promises, brought to you by THE AUTHORS’ BILLBOARD.

Welcome to another Tuesday Tales, this one based on the word prompt EIGHTEEN. I’m continuing with Forever in my Heart.

Enjoy.

Mike glanced at his watch. Eight-eighteen. Where was she? She’d checked in last night—he’d verified that—and had gotten his note. The elevator door opened.

He recognized her the second she stepped out of the car, and it was as if he’d been gut-punched. She wore a slim, black skirt with a gray blouse and carried a black sweater or jacket. How was it possible to react so completely to a stranger? Was this what had happened to Luke when he’d first seen Cassie?

Callie spoke to the receptionist, and while she did, he examined her and the way she’d changed from the photograph he’d seen. Her hair was still deep brown, but she’d cut it, letting it settle along her shoulders. She seemed thinner than she’d been ten years ago, but as a nurse, she would’ve had a difficult past two years. The receptionist moved away from the counter to escort her to the table.

He knew the second she saw him, the jolt of electricity he felt from her gaze strong enough to make the hand holding his coffee tremble. He set down the cup before he dropped it. Calvin stood, and so did he.

“Ms. Hayward, thank you so much for coming,” the lawyer said. He didn’t try to shake her hand. That wasn’t done these days, especially in here in the city where new cases were spiraling out of control. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Calvin Ross. We’ve never met, but I was a good friend of your grandmother’s. The little lady on your left is Iris, this one is Rose,” he indicated the child closest to him, “and that’s Louise in the middle. She’ll look after the girls while we attend to matters. Last but not least, this is Mike Branscomb, Luke’s brother. Please, won’t you be seated?”

She nodded, dropped into the chair, and removed her mask. His gaze fixated on her face, her pale cheeks, her soft lips, her gorgeous eyes. With a quaking hand, she reached for the glass of water, but never once did her gaze leave his. Was she seeing Luke instead of him? Were those watery eyes recalling the pain his twin had caused her? For the first time in his entire life, he wished that like her, he didn’t resemble his twin.

That’s it. Stay safe and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales

The talented authors of the ABB have done it again, this time offering you a fabulous collection of Christmas novels all for free! That’s right. You get eight incredble novels written by International, USA Today, and NY Times bestselling authors without spending a cent, our gift to you at this wonderful time of the year.

Christmas cheer and romance are sweet any time of year!
This gift set of eight diverse holiday-themed love stories is loaded with hunks and honeys, cops and crooks, love at first sight, second chances, and a few surprise youngsters out to trick Mommy. Snuggle up and let six of The Authors’ Billboard New York Times and USAToday Bestselling Authors entertain you with romance from sweet to spicy from locations around the world.

Mimi Barbour – Loveable Christmas Angel: Christmas in Hawaii! How lucky can a girl get? Or so Leilani thinks…
Susanne Matthews – Holiday Magic: Is there enough magic left in Christmas to help them overcome the past?
Taylor Lee – Special Ops and Cops Christmas: What could be more perfect than a Christmas wedding? Ask the terrorists who plan to keep ‘Happily Ever After’ from happening?
Taylor Lee – Blue Christmas: Even Blue Christmases can be Red HOT!
Susan Jean Ricci – Because We’re Snowflakes: After an accidental meeting on Christmas Eve, Rosie and Magoo are about to discover if their mutual attraction supports a future despite their diverse, cultural traditions.
Rachelle Ayala – A Father for Christmas: A homeless veteran meets a single mother whose daughter asks Santa for an unusual gift.
Rachelle Ayala – Deck the Hearts: Can Holly’s jolly Christmas spirit help Grinchy Gordon Gills save the town of Christmas Creek?
Dani Haviland – A Stingray Christmas: Love had nothing to do with it…at first.

And the best part about Festive Christmas Nights? It’s available from all the e-book retailers out there, as well as Amazon!

So grab your free book today, our Christmas present to you! Here’s the Amazon link to get you started. https://www.amazon.com/Festive-Christmas-Fabulous-Freebie-Collection-ebook/dp/B09L53WJSY/

Hello again! Time is flying past us faster than ever it seems. It’s hard to believe that we’re less than two months away from the end of another year.

In terms of my writing, 2020 and 2021 have given me a lot of at home writing time, but I’m not sure that I’ve been as productive as I can be. I’ve become even more critical of my own work, constantly editing and re-editing material, including some previously published stuff, hoping that the revised books will find greater success out there. I’ve recently completed an Amazon ad class that taught me how to target my book market, but it is a long, slow process, and I’m at the very bottom of my learning curve. For that reason, I’ve recently given a lot of thought to the books out there on my shelf that aren’t selling.

This month’s optional question:
What’s harder to do, coming up with your book title or writing the blurb?

Titles used to come to me fairly easily. They were always part of the story, found inside the book someplace. For example, In The White Carnation, a romance thriller in the Harvester Files Series, the title comes from the clues the killer leaves with the heroine. The White Lily, the second book in the series, refers not only to the heroine but also to the killer’s method of gaining entry into the homes of his victims, delivering bouquets which contain white lilies. The same holds true for the other two books in the series, The White Iris and The White Dahlia.

The books in my Cocktails for You Series, romantic comedies, are all named after cocktails, some more well-known than others. I started this series shortly after the pandemic hit, and we were told to stay home. It was the last days of winter and needing to write something lighter, I tried a complete new style–first person POV. It’s no secret that beer and alcohol sales went up dramatically during the lockdowns. We started a daily Happy Hour at home, me becoming a substutite for the social time my hubby usually enjoyed at our local pub, then shut down. And so I wrote: Tequila Sunrise, Champagne Cocktail, Buck’s Fizz, The Tipsy Pig, Make Mine a Manhattan, and my WIP, Emerald Glow. I suppose like everyone else, I look for ways to make my titles interesting and appealing, and maybe just a little bit different. Since I use a professional cover artist, it’s her job to create the perfect cover not only for the book but for today’s market.

But when it comes to blurbs, that’s where I have trouble. Blurbs and synopses are my Achilles’ heel. I try to give them an intriguing hook, something I’ve learned a bit more about in my ad course. Then I try to follow a who’s who, what’s what, what’s at stake, and what’s the ulimate prize, danger, risk format. Does it always work? No. According to my ad school teacher, the ultimate prize in fiction is love, death, or enlightenment. So over the next few months, I plan to carefully examine the blubs on all of my published books and tweak them with his advice in mind. Will it work? I don’t know, but it can’t hurt to try.

What about you? What is it that draws you to a particular book? The cover? The title? The blurb? And if you’re writing a book, which is harder for you?

Happy reading and writing! I’ll see you next month. Check out other posts here. https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

Welcome to November and this week’s Tuesday Tales, the blog hop that features the work in progress of a small group of bestselling authors. Each week, we write to a word or picture prompt. This week, our word prompt for a 400 word scene is ARM. I’m continuing with my upcoming holiday romance Forever in my Heart, the fourth book in my Winter Wedddings collection. I’m hoping to have it finished and ready to release by the end of 2021.

Enjoy!

“I may never understand why it happened, Becca, but now I can never tell her I’m sorry I reacted the way I did—not giving them a chance to explain anything. You said that I have to forgive them to move on, so how can I ever fall in love and get by this if I can’t tell her I forgive her? It’s as if part of me is dead, too.” She rubbed her cold arms.

“Cassie, I’m sure God knows how you feel, and He’ll make sure she knows.”

“I wish I had your faith, but what if she doesn’t? What if I pushed her away once too often? When I woke up this morning, I was in pain. I thought it was just the hangover, but what if it was her, trying to reach me, trying to say goodbye?”

“Now you’re creeping me out. You’ve never been able to feel her before, right?”

“I’m not so sure of that. When I was ten, I had these massive stomach pains. The doctor thought it was appendicitis, but then the tests were all negative. The same thing happened back in April. I was in agony. It lasted for about seven hours, and then I was fine. I never put it together until now. Cassie had her appendix out when she was ten. I learned a few weeks ago that she had twin girls. My guess would be that they were born in April. Maybe I could feel her pain. We all know that there’s a lot of weird folktales about twins and ESP. I remember Luke telling me he knew when Mike was unhappy or sick.”

“Anything is possible, and if she was reaching out to you the way you think she was, well, maybe she did manage to get a message to you. Listen, eat your ice cream, take another shower, and then I’ll help you pack. I’ll even take you to the airport. Vancouver or Abbotsford?”

“Abbotsford. It’s a direct flight. Can you look after my mail and my plants, too?”

“Sure. Now, eat up and then we’ll get to work.”

Callie nodded, spooned the melting ice cream into her mouth and savored the sweet taste. Cassie had been the one to introduce her to maple syrup on ice cream. It was one of the few things they’d both loved—well, other than Luke.

That’s it. Stay safe and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales

Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. It’s hard to believe it’s the end of October. Another month has come and gone. The leaves are turning red, the night’s are getting cooler, and like it or not, fall is well underway. This week’s word prompt is SWEET. I used a variation of the word in this week’s scene from Forever in my Heart.

Callie’s hand trembled when she put down the phone. The sound of Mike Branscomb’s voice had brought her to her knees. Luke had mentioned his twin was identical—but the same voice? She’d expected to meet him, but if he even sounded like Luke, how would she manage it? Six years ago, the man had worn a beard—she remembered Luke telling her that—something about hating to shave, but that was then. Of course a lot of guys had grown COVID beards, great big bushy ones that reminded her of Tom Hanks in Castaway. If he had that kind of beard, it might make things easier.

The girls. At least they were safe—orphaned, like her, like Mike, but safe. The only reason she knew about them was the ad she’d seen on television last month for the Timberton Ranch Resort. Despite the years, she’d recognized her sister, but the two babies in her arms had been a surprise. She’d almost broken down and sent her a note right then and there, but Luke had walked into the scene, and the pain had poisoned her resolve. She’d turned off the TV and had gone for a long solitary run, the memories filling her, adding to the pain of her overworked muscles until the rain had started, forcing her home again.

How old were they? They were quite small—a lot of twins were preemies. No doubt Mike and his wife were now the children’s legal guardians. Maybe he would allow her to be part of their lives. After all, they were the only family she had left. Of course, given her callous disregard for her sister and his brother, he might not deem her worthy of even that.

Someone knocked at the door. She swiped at the tears still dribbling down her face and went to answer it.

Becca stood on the doorstep, a pint of ice cream in her hands. “Oh God, sweetie. I knew you would be upset about Brett, but honestly, if you say yes, I’m sure he’ll jump at the idea of marrying you. He was devastated when I told him—”

“Stop, Becca,” she cried. “I don’t want to date Brett let alone marry him.”

The tall brunette with purple hair tips frowned, came inside, and shut the door. She went straight to the kitchen, opened the ice cream container, and filled two bowls with salted caramel ice cream, pouring maple syrup over the top.

That’s it. Stay safe and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales