Helen Brenna - The Pursuit of Jesse

“Brenna combines nonstop action and great sexual tension for a story readers won’t want to put down.”

—RT Book Reviews on The Moon That Night, nominated for a Reviewer’s Choice award for Best Harlequin Superomance of 2010

“I’ve found a new series romance writer to put on the auto-buy list.”

—All About Romance on Along Came a Husband

“One book you must have on your list…don’t miss it!”

—Romance Reviews Today on Along Came a Husband

“In this touching story about the power love has to heal all wounds, Brenna’s characters have terrifically real depth and emotional appeal.”

—RT Book Reviews on Then Comes Baby

“A talented storyteller, Brenna has a gift for writing category romance. She understands how to create intimate, heart-touching stories with the kind of vigorous writing that makes a series romance a satisfying little peek into the lives and loves of unique people and families. If you don’t know her work, Next Comes Love is a nice place to start.”

—Michelle Buonfiglio, BN.com

“Highlighting the eternal tension between safety and risk and the familiar and the unknown, this poignant, sweet, gently humorous story focuses on a pair of deeply conflicted protagonists and nicely sets the stage for the Mirabelle Island books to come.”

—Library Journal on First Come Twins

Dear Reader,

Wow. Number five in the An Island to Remember series. It’s finally Sarah’s turn!

The first time Garrett Taylor popped into my mind for book two, Next Comes Love, I had this feeling he had brothers, and by book three I knew at least one of them was going to make his way to Mirabelle. Jesse, though, was a truly larger-than-life surprise.

Sarah and Jesse. Jesse and Sarah. No matter how I look at it, these two simply belong together. I hope you enjoy the journey of them discovering what was so clear to me from page one.

Two more An Island to Remember stories are coming in August and September 2011. I promise Her Sure Thing will shake up the life of entirely-too-content Dr. Sean Griffin. And Redemption at Mirabelle has Missy Charms’s sister, Marin Camden, getting a little more than she bargained for when she comes to the island for some R & R.

Without giving too much away, Mirabelle Island itself is going to face its toughest challenge yet in the midst of these three stories, so keep reading! And check out my website at www.helenbrenna.com. I’ll be adding pages of Mirabelle Island detail, pictures, maps and a character chart.

I love hearing from readers. You can contact me at helenbrenna@comcast.net, or P.O. Box 24107, Minneapolis, MN 55424.

My best,

Helen Brenna

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Helen Brenna grew up in central Minnesota, the seventh of eight children. Although she never dreamed of writing books, she’s always been a voracious reader. So after taking a break from her accounting career to be an at-home mom, she tried her hand at writing the romances she loves to read. Since she was first published in 2007, her books have won many awards, including the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA ®Award, RT Book Reviews Reviewer’s Choice Award, the HOLT Medallion, the Book Buyers’ Best Award and the National Readers’ Choice Award.

Helen lives happily ever after with her family in Minnesota. She’d love hearing from you. Email her at helenbrenna@comcast.net or send mail to P.O. Box 24107, Minneapolis, MN 55424. Visit her website at www.helenbrenna.com or chat with Helen and other authors at Riding With The Top Down.

For Johanna Raisanen

Thanks for making that first big leap of faith!

He doesn’t yet know this, but I have to thank Adam Gadach, once again, for inspiring me to write this story. He’s a real live hero who truly knows how to forgive.

Adam was hit by a drunk driver one night and, as a result, lost his leg.

The man who hit him was Adam Lunn, and I do need to thank him, too, for showing me how a man starts to find the courage to face his mistakes.

Believe it or not, these two men stand side by side and talk to DWI offenders about their experience, hoping to make a difference, hoping to save lives. I have to believe they’ve saved more than one.

My best to you both, Helen

“To err is human, to forgive divine.”

—Alexander Pope

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

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

EPILOGUE

“THIS WISCONSIN OR the tundra?” Jesse Taylor chuckled as he glanced through the windshield of the four-wheel-drive SUV and into a blinding swirl of white. The bus had only taken him as far as Bayfield. From there, he’d hired a taxi.

“Oh, heck, this ain’t nothing,” the driver said, his voice cutting through the twang of an old country-and-western song playing on the radio. “We’re only gettin’ six inches of snow today. I remember once we got eighteen in a coupla hours.”

Six inches or eighteen didn’t make a bit of difference to Jesse. It’d been a long time since he’d experienced a Midwestern blizzard. Frost built in the corners of the windows and wind twirled the snow, obscuring visibility and causing dangerous drifts. Black ice formed on the frozen road.

“Dang, it’s cold out.” Even for January. He flipped up the collar of what was proving to be a woefully inadequate jean jacket and hunkered down for the ride.

His skin prickled with more than goose bumps as a sense of uneasiness spread through him. Instinct screamed at him to head south and get as far away from the state of Wisconsin as his thumb would carry him. Nothing here for him except snow and cold. And the past. Reality was, though, he needed some traveling cash, and a job, he hoped, was waiting for him at the end of the line.

“Here.” The driver grabbed a knit cap from his center console and tossed it toward Jesse. “Keep your head warm, anyway.”

Jesse glanced at the hat and stiffened. In his world, at least the world he’d been living in for the past three years, ten months and sixteen days, there was no such thing as something for nothing.

Relax, man. He doesn’t want anything from you.

Carefully taking the hat, Jesse pulled it down over his frozen ears. “Thanks.”

“Thought you said you was from Chicago. Heck, you should be used to this kind of weather.”

“I’ve been…away for a few years.”

Simple. Evasive. Good job, Jess.

Suddenly, it looked to Jesse as if the road was ending at the shoreline, but the driver wasn’t slowing down. “You planning on going right across the lake? I didn’t think Lake Superior froze over completely.”

“It don’t. Chequamegon Bay does most winters, though.”

“Most winters?” The old truck bounced over an icy ridge and headed out onto the snow-covered ice. “Let’s hope this is one of them.”

“Don’t worry.” The man smiled. “I’ll get you to Mirabelle Island in one piece.”

It wasn’t long before the SUV approached a dark blur getting larger by the minute. “That the island?”