It’s summer! What better time for a beach read?
TESTING THE WATERS, book 1 in my Crescent Cove series, is FREE over on Kindle from July 15-19, 2019. Hope you enjoy your trip to the beach!
Please enjoy this sample chapter from TESTING THE WATERS, book one of my Crescent Cove series.
Chapter 1
A sea-salty breeze caressed Teresa Reynolds’ face as she stepped out onto the small balcony that would be hers for the weekend. Gazing at the strip of beach and the expanse of ocean beyond, she drew in a deep breath. This weekend promised to be exactly what she needed.
Leaning on the wooden railing, she surveyed the busy lane that ran along this stretch of the ocean and served as the main thoroughfare of the town. The inn sat on the corner, its front door facing the intersection of this street and a cute little residential side street.
It had been a pure godsend that she’d called the Inn at Crescent Cove only minutes after a last-minute cancellation had freed up their best room—second floor corner with a balcony directly over the front porch. Apparently this weekend happened to be one of the busiest of the year for this small coastal town, with some sort of beach festival going on. No wonder there was so much activity down below.
As happy families noisily hurried toward the sand, with beach toys inflated to twice the size of the children carrying them, a wave of melancholy swept through Teresa. What had she been thinking, coming to a place that was an ideal family destination? Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea after all.
She pushed back the thought. So what if she was a single woman on a solo weekend getaway? That didn’t make her pitiable. It wasn’t as if she had a terminal illness or something.
“Ethan! Get back here!”
The sound of shouting drew Teresa’s attention downward, to where a woman about her age grabbed a little boy by the arm, thwarting his attempt to dart out into the road. Teresa smiled to herself. At least being there on her own, she’d be able to just relax and enjoy the sun this weekend. She relished the realization that some of those women out there might actually envy her.
Turning to go back in, she caught her image in the full-length mirror on the door of the armoire across the room. Who was she kidding? Not much to envy about drab ol’ Teresa. No wonder Jay had dumped her.
Sighing, she stepped closer to the mirror and combed her fingers through her hair. Not only was it flat and uninteresting, but its reddish-brown shade left much to be desired.
Feeling defeated, she flung herself onto the bed and stared up at the exposed white beams and the fan rotating lazily in the center of the ceiling. Did she even have the nerve to show her plain-Jane face outside?
She groaned. Maybe she should just spend her day enjoying the room. Put a chair out on the balcony and read her novel, or get ahead on her Bible reading. That had been one area of her life she’d neglected in the two years she’d been seeing Jay. He called himself a Christian, but more often than not, he’d found reasons to skip going to church. Now that she’d gotten some distance, she could see how much his influence had pulled her away from her faith as well.
The caw of a seagull through the open door reminded her that if she had wanted to spend another weekend cooped up indoors with Chinese takeout and Netflix, she could have saved the money and stayed in her apartment. She had come here for a change of scenery and a fresh perspective, both of which eluded her at the moment. It would do her no good to stay inside feeling sorry for herself. She might as well get out there and see what the quaint little town of Crescent Cove, Oregon, had to offer.
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I hope you enjoyed this excerpt from TESTING THE WATERS. Get the book for Free from July 15-19. 2019 by clicking on the image below:
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