LITMIR.BIZ

      To Marilyn Burrows—for her love of reading

      and her friendship with Ruth Carlson.

Dear Reader,

      In one of my romantic suspense trilogies—Inside, In Seconds and In Close—I created a character named Rex McCready who was a good friend to Virgil Skinner (the lead character in Inside). Rex had a tragic past, one that led him into trouble early on. And sadly, it was the kind of trouble that doesn’t disappear easily. That made him, at least on the surface, appear to be less than the kind of man most people would admire, but I always saw him as a diamond in the rough. I wanted him to have his own happily-ever-after, but I wasn’t sure my readers would agree that he deserved it—until I started receiving so many letters and emails requesting his story. Ever since then, I’ve been looking for just the right home and situation for this particular character, the place where he can finally shed his old skin completely, be the man he was destined to be and find peace. I discovered that place in Whiskey Creek, so you’ll get to meet him in this book (if you don’t already know him from Inside, In Seconds and In Close).

      Those of you who’ve been following the Whiskey Creek series will be happy to learn that this is also Eve’s story. Not only does Eve find the right man for her in a very unlikely stranger, she also learns the answer to the 1870s mystery that has plagued her B & B since her parents bought it when she was a child.

      I would like to extend a special thanks to my Aunt Channie for purchasing the chance to name a character in this book via my annual online auction for diabetes research. She chose the name of one of her best friends, Marilyn Burrows, whom you’ll see in the story as Rex’s assistant. Like every other person who’s helped me raise money for this important cause, my Aunt Channie (Ruth Carlson) is a hero to me.

      I love to hear from my readers. Please feel free to visit my website at www.brendanovak.com, where you can use the contact button, enter various monthly giveaways, learn more about this novel as well as all my others (I’ve now written fifty books!) or get involved in my online auctions for diabetes research. Thanks to everyone who has gotten involved so far, we’ve been able to raise $2.4 million. My youngest son has this disease, as well as 350 million people worldwide, so here’s to finding a cure.

      Happy reading!

      Brenda Novak