Cheryl Harper - Smoky Mountain Sweethearts

How close is too close to the flame?

Sam Blackburn excels at fighting fire with fire in Tennessee, whether it’s putting out deadly forest blazes or rescuing his old friend, widow Avery Montague, who’s lost her nerve on a steep mountain cliff. What happened to the daring, adventure-loving teenager who wasn’t afraid of anything? As kids, Avery was always pushing Sam to be brave, to be better, so he’s ready to return the favor. Except he’s up for his dream job in Colorado as a hotshot smoke jumper, and he can’t be in two places at once. His future is fraught with risk, but what’s the point of living if you don’t take chances? He just wants Avery to find the courage to go after what she wants, and he’s hoping it’s him...

“I’m going to find what makes me happy, Sam. And then I’m going to do it.” Avery tipped her chin up and met his stare. “Dare me.”

She might as well have been seventeen again, but the feelings he had were so different. Instead of wanting to beat her in whatever race they cooked up, he wanted to help her, to encourage her. A breeze sent one curl over her forehead to land across her eyes. Before she could brush it away, he smoothed it aside, happy to see the spark of determination in her gaze. “Do it, AA. You’re the only one who can.”

Sam knew there was never going to be another moment to try it—the kiss that could settle everything. The woods were quiet. The water was turning golden with the sunrise. The two of them belonged in that spot at that time.

So he slowly pressed his mouth against hers, the sweet taste of her lips completing the most perfect moment...ever.

Dear Reader,

Sometimes the only way to move forward is to go back.

In Smoky Mountain Sweethearts, the first book of my new miniseries, I have a smart, formerly fearless heroine who desperately needs something to shake her up, and a hero who has never failed to push her higher.

After experiencing a tragic, heartbreaking loss, Avery Montague returns home to her small town, searching for what (or whom) it will take for her to become herself again. Meanwhile, childhood friend Sam Blackburn’s certain a new firefighting job is the challenge he’s been looking for—until he rediscovers Avery. Add in family, friends and the hiking that they love, and special things start happening for Avery and Sam. I hope you enjoy spending time racing up the trails of east Tennessee with them!

To find out more about my books and what’s coming next in the Otter Lake Ranger Station miniseries, visit me at cherylharperbooks.comand find me on Twitter, @cherylharperbks.

Happy reading!

Cheryl

Smoky Mountain Sweethearts

Kate James

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHERYL HARPER discovered her love for books and words as a little girl, thanks to a mother who made countless library trips and an introduction to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House stories. Whether stories are set in the prairie, the American West, Regency England or Earth a hundred years in the future, Cheryl enjoys strong characters who make her laugh. Now Cheryl spends her days searching for the right words while she stares out the window and her dog, Jack, snoozes beside her. And she considers herself very lucky to do so.

For more information about Cheryl’s books, visit her online at cherylharperbooks.comor follow her on Twitter, @cherylharperbks.

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

To the men and women who protect and preserve America’s wild places, open spaces, and the plants and animals that call them home, thank you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

BEING ROUSTED OUT of bed like she was thirteen again wasn’t how Avery Montague thought she’d start the last Friday before her thirty-fifth birthday, but her mother had never let little things like closed doors stand in her way.

If she’d wanted to sleep in, Avery never should have gotten hotel rooms with connecting doors.

“Get up. We can’t miss that flight.” The long a in “can’t” sounded so much like home that Avery had to wait for a second to let the wash of homesickness fade. Every one of her mother’s cain’ts used to drive her crazy. On the few occasions she’d managed to talk her husband, Robert, into a visit at the holidays, they’d locked eyes to communicate silently whenever her mother said it. He’d been amused at Avery’s pet peeve.

Homesickness was chased away with the dueling realizations that he was still gone and she was free to do whatever she wanted again. That freedom wasn’t a gift most days.

After almost ten years of marriage, including three years of being his nurse, she’d spent the last two years adjusting to the realization that she could step out the door without fearing that life would never be the same when she came back home.

No matter what she did from this point, her life would never be the same. The dream of building a family with the man who’d derailed the plans she’d made at eighteen was over.

But her life? It kept on going, one hour dragging into the next. Some days she had to brush away the thought of how much simpler it would be to just...stop.

“We won’t miss the flight, Mama. I’m packed. Let me put on some clothes and run a brush through my hair and I’m ready.” Avery slipped out of the adequate sheets the airport hotel preferred and ignored her mother’s gasp as she padded barefoot across the floor.

“Gonna bring back a toe rot or something, girl, if you don’t put your shoes on.” Her mother was fussing with the large bag of cosmetics she almost never let out of her sight.

The laugh that bubbled out surprised Avery. Trust her mother to say something to make it easier to go on. “Toe rot? That’s what you’re worried about?” Avery studied the carpet from the bathroom and realized her mother might have a good point. The suspicious stains had clearly been cleaned more than once, but who knew how long it took for toe rot to disappear?

Her mother was wagging a perfectly French-manicured finger at her when Avery wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You don’t watch enough news programs, Avery Anne Abernathy. I am telling you, there is funk in that carpet.”

Whatever funk she got from walking unprotected across hotel carpet might be worth it for the way her mouth held a smile as she headed back into the bedroom. For so long, she’d had nothing to smile about, but now she was going home.

One quick glance in the mirror was all it took to know she was leaving in the nick of time. The dark circles under her eyes were familiar. So was the gray in her short hair. Only the small curve of her lips, which surprised and pleased her, seemed out of place.