Shirlee McCoy - Lakeview Protector

“You’re very good at giving me new things to worry about,” Jasmine said.

Eli gave her a smile. “I’m also very good at keeping people safe.”

“Sarah and I don’t need you to keep us safe. We’re fine on our own.”

“Are you?” He leaned in close to stare into her eyes.

She wanted to move away, but she was frozen in place, fascinated by this strong, handsome man.

“Yes, we are. We’ve both been on our own for a while and managed just fine.”

“That was then. This is now. There’s real trouble here, Jasmine. If you’re not careful, it will find you.”

His words chilled her to the core, but she didn’t want to let him know how much, or just how desperately she wished she did have someone to count on besides herself and her ailing mother-in-law. “If it does, I’ll deal with it.”

“And I’ll be right here to help you out.”

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has always loved making up stories. As a child, she daydreamed elaborate tales in which she was the heroine—gutsy, strong and invincible. Though she soon grew out of her superhero fantasies, her love for storytelling never diminished. She knew early that she wanted to write inspirational fiction, and she began writing her first novel when she was a teenager. Still, it wasn’t until her third son was born that she truly began pursuing her dream of being published. Three years later she sold her first book. Now a busy mother of four, Shirlee is a homeschool mom by day and an inspirational author by night. She and her husband and children live in Maryland and share their house with a dog and a guinea pig. You can visit her Web site at www.shirleemccoy.com.

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

—Isaiah 54:10

To Aunt Jessica, who knows more than most

what it means to grieve and go on.

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

Chapter TWENTY

Chapter TWENTY-ONE

Chapter TWENTY-TWO

EPILOGUE

Frozen rain fell from steel-gray clouds, pinging off the blacktop and pattering into Smith Mountain Lake. Aside from that the day was silent, the summer bustle of guests replaced by winter solitude. Jasmine Hart was glad. People brought cash, but they also brought baggage, and she wasn’t talking the kind that held clothes. Marital strife, teens with secrets, men and women hiding from the world and from their problems. She’d dealt with them all during her time at Lakeview Retreat, but that had been years ago.

Now she had her own baggage, her own secrets, her own reasons to hide, and dealing with people wasn’t something she wanted to do. It seemed, though, that she had no choice in the matter. One phone call in the middle of the night, one brief conversation with her mother-in-law’s best friend and Jasmine had been on a plane and flying from New Hampshire to Lakeview, Virginia. Three days later, she was caring for her mother-in-law and readying the neglected retreat for the first renter it had had in seventeen months.

Which just went to show how quickly things could change.

“Jazz! Hey, Jazz!” Karen Morris hurried across the slippery pavement, her round cheeks flushed, her brown eyes filled with youthful exuberance. A college student who worked part-time at Lakeview Retreat, Karen had enthusiasm and peppiness to spare. Jasmine tried hard not to hold that against her.

“What’s up?”

“Ms. Sarah. She’s awake and asking if the cabin is ready yet.”

“Tell her I’ll have it ready before our guest arrives. Then you’d better head home. The weather doesn’t look like it’s going to clear.”

“Ms. Sarah said I should give you a hand cleaning the cabin.” Even as she said it, Karen’s gaze was darting toward the rusty Impala she’d driven to work that morning.

“She probably didn’t know how bad the weather was getting.”

“Maybe not, but I can’t afford to get fired from this job.” Karen glanced at the car again. Obviously, the thought of leaving appealed to her. Jasmine couldn’t blame her. The once-bustling retreat had become a lonely place, haunted by memories and silence. Or maybe that was only Jasmine’s perception of it. Maybe to others it was the same peaceful lakeside resort it had always been.

She forced her maudlin thoughts away, refocusing on Karen. “Sarah isn’t going to fire you for going home when the weather is like this.”

“I guess you’re right. And it is getting slippery out here. If you need me to come this weekend, I can. It might be good to have an extra set of hands since you’ve got a renter now.” It might be, but there wasn’t money for it. At least not in Sarah’s coffers. Since Jasmine’s mother-in-law didn’t believe in taking handouts, even from family, that was the only way the extra help could be paid for.

“I’ll give you a call if I need you. Now hurry up and tell Sarah you’re leaving. I don’t want you out on the roads when it’s this slippery.” She forced a smile, waving Karen back toward the house, her stomach churning with anxiety and frustration. Things were bad. Worse than she ever could have imagined when she’d agreed to come help Sarah recover from surgery. Payback for staying away so long? Probably. And probably Jasmine deserved it.

Icy wind sliced through her thick sweatshirt and heavy parka, stealing her breath and reminding her of home. New Hampshire would have snow this week. Here in Lakeview, there’d be frozen rain, drizzle, thick clouds. The lake. Memories of Christmases and laughter. The girls dancing around the living room of Sarah’s modest home. John. Solid. Dependable. All three frozen in time, suspended in her mind as they had been, not as they might have become.

Three years tomorrow.

Maybe she shouldn’t keep track.

She forced the thoughts and images from her mind, refusing to dwell on the past or to contemplate the empty future. One moment at a time. One day at a time. That was the only way she’d survive.

The first of Sarah’s five guest cabins was just up ahead. Small, cozy, great view of Smith Mountain Lake, it was the perfect place for solitude and peace. It wasn’t what the renter had wanted though. He’d done his research online and called with a particular rental in mind. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, set on a hill overlooking the lake, Meadow Lark cabin had always been reserved for large families. In years past, a single-occupant renter would have taken a smaller cabin or looked for a rental somewhere else. Things were different now. Sarah couldn’t afford to turn business away, and Eli Jennings was welcome to Meadow Lark.