Fresh Beginnings: Michael and Delaney

By Clarissa Carlyle and Colette Cabot

"Fresh beginnings is without a doubt the best book I've read this year." -Sleepless in Houston

"A very emotional book that I immensely enjoyed." -Emma

"Wonderful can't-put-down romantic adventure." -Pamela M.

Laney Sheppard doesn't want pity, and she doesn't want to be labeled.

All she wants is to escape the tragedy that haunts her dreams and leaves her stumbling by day in a waking nightmare of loneliness and regret.

It is this wish that spurs Laney to move from her comfortable hometown of Conrad, Iowa to the small fishing village of Garibaldi, Oregon.

While working as a waitress at The Boathouse restaurant, Laney begins to make a new life for herself – but it isn't anything like she'd imagined.

From exchanging witty repartee with the colorful clientele, to acclimatizing to the weather and learning how to sail, nothing is as simple as it seems.

Michael Barragan is rude and belligerent. The solitary young fisherman repels everyone around him with his irritable demeanor. Laney, however, has no intentions of allowing anyone, especially Michael, to intimidate her.

When their personalities collide, Laney and Michael discover a passion that neither had expected and a love that threatens to tear them apart.

Can Laney and Michael help each other come to terms with the past; or are some people, like the sea, too tumultuous to tame?

If you enjoy your romance with passion, suspense, a cast of colorful characters, shocking twists and heart-wrenching moments, then get your copy of Fresh Beginnings: Michael and Delaney now!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clarissa Carlyle
• Release date: May 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533799494

Book preview

Chapter 1 – To Have and To Hold

THE CLOSENESS OF THE sea enveloped her as she descended further and further into the blue abyss in search of her quarry.  Cold seeped through her wet suit like snaking fingers, hoping to grasp her tight enough to keep her with it in the solitude.  A peace like this she had never known, and would never know, above land.  She kicked her legs and glanced to her left as a school of rockfish lazily and noiselessly continued along their migration path towards warmer waters.  She had to be close... she could feel it.  All she had to do was be patient.  She swam around a large precipice and gazed into the murky distance.  Then, she heard it!

CRASH!  The sound of broken glass made Delaney jump.  She put down the book she had been lost in and ran from the master bedroom, down a narrow hallway, into the brightly lit living room. 

At the north end of the room was the large dining table she had inherited from her grandmother.  The table was littered with broken glass.  There were more shards of glass all over the floor under the broken window, and a baseball.  It took Delaney a matter of seconds to observe the scene and deduce what had happened. 

Two very nervous young boys were standing in her backyard, staring in through the broken glass.  Neil Cooke, a gangly boy of ten with sandy brown hair, stood protectively beside his roly-poly dark-haired little brother, Bobby.  Everyone in the small prairie town of Conrad, Iowa, knew the Cooke brothers.  They were good-hearted enough boys, never deliberately causing harm to person or property.  But trouble always seemed to find Neil, and wherever Neil was, one was sure to find Bobby.

Geez, Louise!  We sure are sorry, Mrs. Sheppard.  Neil pushed his red baseball cap further up his forehead in disbelief.  We didn’t think it’d go that far!  Bobby just kept staring, his mouth agape, at where Delaney’s bay window had once been.

Delaney ‘Laney’ Sheppard was a young, attractive twenty-five-year-old who was still not accustomed to being called ‘Mrs.’ She was petite, five foot three, and slender. Her skin was the color of golden honey.  She wore a printed blouse and slacks.  Long, silky, jet-black hair fell about an elegant opal face.  Perfectly sculpted high cheekbones, a dainty mouth and smiling gray eyes gave the impression of eternal youth.  At the moment, however, her mouth was set in an angry line, and her eyes flashed annoyance. 

Neil Cooke, she breathed in exasperation as she made her way gingerly to the window.  WHAT has your mother told you about playing ball in the backyard?

Neil’s face flushed red from his neck to his ears, and he looked down at the ground.  She said we’re not s’posed to...

And why do you suppose that is? Laney asked as she knelt down and started gathering up the larger shards of glass, her diamond wedding ring glinting in the sunlight.

’Cuz the yard’s not big enough, and the ball could go into someone else’s yard or, Neil glanced up sheepishly, break sumpthin’.

Exactly, and now, my window is broken, and Officer Sheppard is going to have to replace it.  Laney puffed a loose strand of hair out of her eyes while she continued gathering pieces of broken glass.

Neil kept his head bent as he scuffed at the grass under his feet.

Rising up off her knees and picking up the rogue baseball, Laney walked over to stand before Neil on the other side of the window.  Oh, Neil, don’t look so tragic.  She handed him the ball.  It’s not the end of the world.

Neil looked up at Laney hopefully.  You mean you’re not mad?

No, Laney said sternly.  I am very mad, but there’s not much use in getting upset.  What’s done is done.  You and your brother, at that she glanced at Bobby and with one long, delicate finger gently brought his chin up to close his still-gaping mouth, will have to pay us back for the window.  I’ll discuss it with Officer Sheppard later, and then we’ll have to talk to your mother and sort out a plan.

Okay.  Neil sighed resignedly.

Now you boys better go home and explain to your mother what happened before she hears it from me.  Laney pointed across her immaculately trimmed lawn bordered with orderly flowerbeds, across the alley, to the Cooke’s well-worn, toy-littered back lawn.

C’mon, Bobby.  Neil put a hand on his brother’s back.  Let’s go get this over with.

Laney watched the two boys walk glumly home in the warm sunshine. It was June, and school had only been out for two days. This was going to be a long summer.  Shaking her head, she crossed the soft, cream-carpeted living room and walked through an open archway into the kitchen to get a broom and a dustpan.  The kitchen faced eastwards.  Two large windows in the southern breakfast nook let in the morning light, dimmed by intricate white lace curtains.  A small, antique round table and two matching chairs filled the space nicely.  Laney had painted the walls a sunny yellow and decorated them with colorful textured floral paintings she had carefully selected over the last five years.  The north and west walls were lined with clean, white laminate counters and white, wooden cabinets, accented with frosted windows.  The 1950s retro fridge and stove/oven stood solidly in the corner, next to the cellar door.  A small, north-facing window was located over the kitchen sink.  The floors were a basic, sturdy hardwood. 

Oh well, she thought as she returned to the mess in the living room, no one was hurt.  It’s going to be expensive to fix, but the boys have all summer to cut grass and wash cars.  Laney smiled at the thought and then started to giggle when she envisioned chubby little Bobby washing Jason’s cruiser.  Sigh.  What would she do with their boys when they get into trouble?  Maybe they wouldn’t have boys... maybe they would have girls.  Laney grimaced.  Girls could be more trouble than boys.  All those hormones and mood swings, and they like to wrap their daddies around their little fingers.  The only person she wanted Jason wrapped around was her.  That brought another, different type of smile to her lips. 

Jason.  When would he be home?  It felt like he had been gone for days, when in reality it had only been twenty-four hours.  It was a double shift that Jason had asked for to make time for a special celebration tonight.  Laney smiled even broader.  Tonight would be a very special night.

AT 4:00 P.M. SHARP, Laney’s husband, Officer Jason Sheppard, came home to his wife.  Laney’s high school sweetheart, eight years later Jason remained the affable boy next door.  Slim in build and five foot ten, Jason had nonetheless established a career as one of the town’s most respected officers, who was known for his diplomatic and just approach to the law.  He kept his curly dark hair closely cropped and his face clean shaven.

Haaaayloooo, Jason called as he opened the kitchen door with his left hand.  In his right hand he held a small plastic bag filled with water, and inside the bag was a small, blue betta. 

With no answer to his call, Jason pried off his shoes and, holding the bag with both hands, walked over to the sink.  He placed the bag gently in the sink and rooted in the back of a top cupboard for the fishbowl he had bought and hid from Laney.  After he had settled the fish in its new home, Jason took the bowl and made his way into the living room.  He could hear the shower running in the bathroom now.  The next thing he noticed was the broken window.  Laney had cleaned up the glass and sealed the open window as best she could with a tarp and duct tape.  Raising his eyebrows at the carnage, Jason continued into the bedroom.  Placing the fishbowl on top of a polished oak dresser, Jason took off his uniform jacket, shield and holster.  Laying them on the queen-sized bed that matched the dresser, he made his way towards the bathroom, unbuttoning his shirt sleeves and rolling them up as he went.

Outside the door, Jason paused and smiled.  He could hear Laney singing One Fine Day while she showered.

EEK!  JASON! Laney shrieked in surprise when Jason peeked around the curtain.  She was holding a soapy loufa, with her hair falling in a slick mass down her back. 

Don’t stop now, princess.  He grinned boyishly.  You know I love it when you sing.

You are SO lucky I love you, Laney said, flicking suds at him as he laughed. 

Does that mean I’m not allowed to join you?  Jason batted long eyelashes over deep, chocolate brown eyes that melted Laney to her core.  She gave him a seductive smile that told him everything he needed to know.  Undressing, he stepped into the steam.

WRAPPED IN A PLUSH white housecoat, Laney was drying her hair with a towel as she stepped out of the bathroom.  When she saw the fishbowl on the dresser and the blue betta inside, she gasped.  Jason, did you...?!

Jason, who had a towel wrapped around his waist, walked up behind her and embraced her around her middle.  Despite his slim build, Laney could feel the strength underneath; the same strength, both of body and mind, that she and the people of the community relied on.  I sure did.  Happy anniversary, princess.  He kissed the top of her head tenderly as she admired her gift.

Oh, darling, he’s beautiful!  Laney exalted as she touched the glass.  The betta, seeming to know he was on display, did a twirl in the water.  I think I’ll call him Joy. 

I know how much you’ve wanted to go to the coast, and I was hoping to take you there for our anniversary—rent a little cabin and take you boating every day—but it just wasn’t in the cards.  So this will have to do until I can get you there, Jason said as he rested his chin on her shoulder.  Laney turned, wrapped her arms around Jason’s neck, and gazed into his eyes.  I couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful gift. You are so good to me. I love you. 

You’re my whole world, princess.  I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember.  Jason grinned.  Probably since kindergarten, when you told me I could play at the water table with you.  Laney smiled.  There’s never been anyone else for me but you. 

All humor had gone out of those dark eyes.  In its place was a yearning and understanding that ran deeper than the two of them could ever put into words.  Jason bent his head and kissed Laney gently, her lips parting softly to accept him. With painstakingly slow deliberateness, Jason undid the ties of her bathrobe. His hands slid through the front of her robe, and Laney was enveloped by Jason’s warmth as he drew her to him. Laney wrapped her arms around his shoulders, letting her hands glide easily over the familiar lines of his body. He slipped the robe over her shoulders and, together with the towel around his waist, released them to pool about their feet. His mouth explored the recesses of her neck. Laney could feel the tremulous beat of butterfly wings in her stomach and, deeper in her core, a slow, steady flame growing hotter as he stoked the fire with each kiss. Every time was like the first time with Jason. He was always patient, giving more than he took, always gentle. Tenderly, he laid her down amongst the plush pillows and soft quilts of their marriage bed, and Laney let go of all conscious thought as she gave herself over to the waves of desire that washed over her again, and again.

ARE YOU GOING TO TELL me where we’re going?  Later that evening Laney was seated in the passenger seat of their silver Ford Focus as it rolled down the highway.  Jason had told her to ‘get dressed up and bring an overnight bag,’ but he hadn’t been more specific.  Laney had decided on an A-line red cocktail dress with a plunging V-neck.  Her hair was swept up in a bouffant, her eyes were shadowed in smoky hues, and her lips had a glossy shine.  Jason looked dashing in a black suit, white dress shirt and red tie.  His eyes glimmered with mischief as he remained tight-lipped in the car.

When they arrived in Des Moines, Laney’s curiosity was almost off the Richter scale.  Okay, Mr. Sheppard.  She feigned annoyance.  What are we doing here?

It’s OFFICER Sheppard to you, miss.  Jason tried to look serious.  And as for what we’re doing here... you’ll just have to wait and see.

Jason parked the car in downtown Des Moines, and Laney stepped out onto a romantically lit street.  Fragrant hanging baskets and lush planters lined the sidewalk.  Laney glanced up at the building they were entering and read ‘Lucca.’  A middle-aged maître d’ with impeccable manners seated them at a small table tucked away in a quiet corner of the restaurant. Intimate candlelight, a delicate pinot noir and roses accompanied the most delicious gnocchi, risotto and scallops Laney had ever tasted.  Heads bent so closely together they were practically touching, the two shared a delectable tiramisu and