It’s Victoria Day weekend in Canada and I want to celebrate the onset of summer with a sale and some pics from my keyhole garden 🙂

First the sale. Sweetheart Cove is #Free from May 17- 21!

 Josie Sparks is looking for escape after a disastrous relationship. A summer job on a small Pacific Northwest island seems perfect. That is, until she meets her irascible new boss. She thinks she can help his sweet little girl–he’s another story.

Jacob Samuels needs someone reliable to care for his special needs daughter, but is sorry he trusted his sister with the task when help arrives in the shape of a too-young, too-tempting therapist with pain-filled eyes he can’t ignore.

Sand, surf, and soft island breezes bring two lonely hearts together in this heartwarming tale of second chance romance and a love that lasts forever.

What Readers are Saying

♥♦♥ Order Your Copy now! ♥♦♥

International Link: http://books2read.com/SweetheartCove

Or add it to your TBR list: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40766281-sweetheart-cove

Recommend on Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/sweetheart-cove-blue-haven-book-1-by-jacquie-biggar

Exclusive Excerpt

Josie smiled and waited patiently for Jane to make her move. “Don’t worry, you’ve got this,” she encouraged the little girl.

Jane grunted and leaned forward in her wheelchair, teeth scraping her bottom lip. “I’m stuck.”

“Take your time, there’s no rush.”

She glanced out at the evening sky. “Daddy will be home soon.”

Josie’s pulse skipped a beat. Two weeks later and still the thought of Jacob’s infrequent appearances sent her into a tizzy. He was just so… masculine. She’d managed to keep their interactions to a bare minimum, but sooner or later he was going to want a report on his daughter’s progress. Hopefully, he understood her decision to take the time to build trust with Jane before attempting much in the way of therapy. Hence, the chess game she was currently losing.

“Your dad will have to play a game, so you can show him how good you are,” she said.

Jane sighed. “He doesn’t have time to play.” She reached out to move a pawn, then changed her mind and slid the rook horizontally across the board, capturing an unsuspecting knight.

Josie looked at her dwindling pieces and grinned. “Just as well, it wouldn’t be fair to him.”

Jane giggled.

She was such a sweetheart. Jacob should be here. It should’ve been him teaching Jane the intricate moves of chess and taking pride in her aptitude for the game. She wouldn’t be six forever, these moments were precious.

The underlying sadness in the Samuels household carried an almost physical presence. “Is your father away a lot?” she asked. She’d looked, but there were no pictures or really any feminine touches at all in the home. It was as though Jane’s mom never existed. She didn’t know the full situation, or if father and daughter shared treasured memories, but they were an important step in Jane’s recovery. She would have to corner the dragon, so to speak, and find out what could be done to help the child.

Jane fiddled with the knight she’d captured, curls brushing her cherub cheeks. “More now than he used to be. He says business is booming and he needs to strike while the iron’s hot—whatever that means.”

Or he was using his work to avoid the issues at home.

“Well, he has to have a good reputation to be that busy. You must be very proud of him.” Josie moved a pawn and took a drink of the punch they’d made before the game. “Mmm, this is delicious. Did you try it yet?” As with the chess, Jane had shown a natural aptitude in the kitchen, mixing and matching juices and ginger ale into a delightful cocktail beverage. They were going to bake brownies tomorrow. Everyday tasks like these would instill confidence as well as increasing dexterity without the connotations of physical therapy. She’d found her patients performed much better under positive reinforcement and exercises that pushed conventional boundaries.

Jane reached out to the fancy snifter they’d used for the drinks, but her fingers caught the chess board and pushed it up against the glass, which was sitting too close to the edge of the table and tipped over, hitting the floor with a crash. Her mouth dropped open as the cold liquid splashed up her legs.

Josie smiled and was about to reassure the girl when Mount Samuels erupted.

“Don’t move,” Jacob snarled, dropping the pack he’d walked in with and hurrying across the room to the wheelchair. “Are you hurt?” he asked his daughter, leaning over her head like a dark cloud of doom.

“N… no,” she said, tears clinging to thick, dark lashes. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I didn’t mean to drop the glass.”

He shot Josie a cold glare. “I know that, Pumpkin. Let’s get you washed up, shall we?”

He backed the wheelchair away from the table and turned towards the bedrooms. “Miss Sparks, there are towels in the kitchen. See if you can clean the mess without cutting yourself.” He strode a few feet and glanced over his shoulder. “And don’t go anywhere. I want to talk to you.”

Josie frowned as he walked away. Accidents were bound to happen. He couldn’t wrap his daughter in bubble wrap. She was bound to get hurt now and then, it was part of life.

She rescued the chess board from the river of juice dampening the wood, then side-stepped the glass to hurry into the kitchen for towels and a container for the broken pieces. Maybe they should have used Jane’s plastic cups for their drinks, but Josie wasn’t sorry they hadn’t—even with the unhappy ending. She’d seen the little girl’s eyes light up for the first time since they’d met. She didn’t need to be treated with kid gloves. Most people thrived with a challenge and picking up a glass tumbler while playing a game of chess had allowed Jane to see the possibilities.

No, she wasn’t sorry.

“Miss Sparks, what do you think you’re doing?”

The gravelly texture of Jacob’s voice rolled up her spine and caused an involuntary shiver just as she lifted jagged glass from the floor. Blood spurted. Josie gasped and dropped the offending piece into the container before reaching for a napkin to cover the wound.

“Don’t yell,” she snapped. Uncomfortable with him towering over her, she stood then wished she hadn’t as the room swayed—or was that her?

“Whoa,” he said, grasping her arm to steady her. “A nurse that can’t stand the sight of blood, huh?” He urged her into a chair and left to wet a cloth in the kitchen sink.

“Therapist,” she called, irritated with her temporary weakness and exasperated with him for noticing. “It’s not the same thing.”

He returned with a damp rag and gently took her hand. He uncovered the injury, checked for glass, then wrapped her finger. “You’ll survive.” He tipped her chin and gazed into her eyes. Something… heated passed between them.

Josie swallowed and held her breath.

He released her and took a step away, clearing his throat. “My daughter has limited mobility. Please take care in the future so that you don’t endanger her safety again.” He waved a hand at the chess board. “And save the games for when you’re off-duty, if you don’t mind. I pay you to work with Jane and help her accept her lifestyle, not to throw a party.”

He stomped out of the room and left her fuming. A party with a six-year-old and a glass of punch.

Go her.

Then the memory of the heat in his stormy blue-gray eyes washed over her and she felt dizzy all over again.

Now for the Garden

My garden is my happy place. It nourishes my soul as much as my body.

Happy Victoria Day Weekend everyone!