Kate Welsh - Small-Town Dreams and The Girl Next Door - Small-Town Dreams / The Girl Next Door

“Small-Town Dreams, by Kate Welsh, opens with a great hook that draws you from the beginning to the end, delivering believable characters and a very good read in between.”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

“The Girl Next Door is probably one of Kate Welsh’s best. Her dialogue, imagery and characters were so real it was almost like watching a movie. Well done!”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

“In Abiding Love, Kate Welsh tells the compelling story of a troubled teen and the two people trying to get him back on track.”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

“Strong, impressive, emotional writing permeates Their Forever Love by Kate Welsh.”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

SMALL-TOWN DREAMS

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

Epilogue

THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

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

Epilogue

is a two-time winner of Romance Writers of America’s coveted Golden Heart ®Award and was a finalist for RWA’s RITA ®Award in 1999. Kate lives in Havertown, Pennsylvania, with her husband of over thirty years. When not at work in her home office creating stories and the characters that populate them, Kate fills her time in other creative outlets. There are few crafts she hasn’t tried at least once, or a sewing project that hasn’t been a delicious temptation. Those ideas she can’t resist grace her home or those of friends and family.

As a child she often lost herself in creating make-believe worlds and happily-ever-after tales. Kate turned back to creating happy endings when her husband challenged her to write down the stories in her head. With Jesus so much a part of her life, Kate found it natural to incorporate Him in her writing. Her goal is to entertain her readers with wholesome stories of the love between two people the Lord has brought together, and to teach His truths while she entertains.

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

—Matthew 11:28

To Mother,

In any language there is no more loving and important word than Mother. Mothers love and nurture us from the day we are conceived. They teach us how to go on in life from the day we are born. They are the cornerstone of the family. When we falter, they patch up our cuts and bruises—even those that don’t show—and send us back into the world to earn our place. Thanks for the years of love and support.

Cassidy Jamison stared at her grandfather and only one word came to her mind. Betrayal.

“Naming Jonathan Reed as the next vice president of Information Systems wasn’t an easy task. We had several excellent candidates but…”

Cassidy saw her grandfather’s mouth moving as he heaped praise on his new vice president, but the buzzing in her ears drowned out the actual words.

She was honest enough with herself to admit that Jon had worked hard, too, and that he would make a good VP. But she would have done just as good a job, and she had worked just as hard as he had. Harder, in fact! Cassidy hadn’t taken a vacation since joining the company out of business school six years earlier. The Mickey Mouse ears perched atop Jon’s monitor were a constant reminder that he and his family had flown off to Disney World last year while she’d worked a seventy-hour week to keep ahead of the problems that he’d been able to leave behind.

But even that didn’t bother her all that much. What hurt, what felt as if it had crushed her spirit, was that her grandfather had broken his word. He had promised the promotion to her.

She heard a door shut firmly and she blinked, looking around. The meeting was apparently over, and she and the all-powerful Winston Jamison were alone in his oak-paneled office.

“You made your surprise evident,” he snapped.

Cassidy stood and smoothed the straight skirt of her dress-for-success, navy power suit. At five-foot-nine she was easily able to look him in the eye without looking up—the very reason she’d stood.

“Surprise, Grandfather?” Cassidy arched an eyebrow, an action stolen directly from the man before her. “That’s all I gave away? Then I did rather well, don’t you think? Because what I felt was shock! No! Call it what it is—betrayal.”

Her grandfather ran his fingers through his impeccably styled hair. “This is business, Cassidy. Not betrayal. And it was the most difficult decision I’ve ever made.”

“Business? You set me up! You told me that vice presidency was mine. I’ve worked practically around the clock since Harold Overton died. No one has put in more time or seen to it that their teams completed more projects on time than I have.”

Winston Jamison nodded his head, his white hair gleaming in the sunlight that streamed in his office window. “That’s all true but there were other considerations.”

“What other considerations? Dedication? Education?” she asked, knowing full well she was ahead in those areas, as well. She’d carried two majors trying to please him and herself at the same time.

“Jon is a family man. He’s stable. Trustworthy—”

“And I’m not trustworthy?”

Her grandfather looked pained. “No, of course I trust you. It was a judgment call. That’s all. You’ll just have to accept that.”

“Accept that my own grandfather lied to me. Accept that he played fast and loose with a solemn promise as well as the truth. You know, Grandfather, if you treated any other employee the way you have me, you’d be in court faster than a lightning strike can fry a PC.”

Winston’s eyes widened and his face grew red. “Are you threatening me, young lady?” His tone was one she recognized. She had heard it for twenty years, each and every time he needed to haul out the big guns to manipulate her into compliance with his will. His expression was the same.

Disapproving.

Judgmental.

“Don’t try that attitude and tone with me. It won’t work this time,” she growled and leaned her hands on his desk, which put her practically nose to nose with her new nemesis. “Who was it you called the morning Harold died? Who had to cancel her vacation immediately to take over his workload because—let me make sure I get the wording just right here—’ Cassidy, you’re the only one I can count on.’ Too bad you didn’t call Jon. His vacation wasn’t scheduled for another two weeks. But then, he got his time off, didn’t he.”

Her grandfather looked down at his desk and fidgeted with his calendar. “His children were counting on that trip.”

“I was counting on mine. Just as I was counting on that promotion. And my vacation weeks the two years before that. Vacations you begged me not to take.”

“I needed you here—not gallivanting off to some uncivilized place on the globe.”