Hoping for More

By Shawna Delacorte

Dr. Daniel Stevenson, professor of history at the University of Vermont, is a popular guest speaker at the Willow Springs Community Center. But that's not the only reason he keeps returning to the small town. He's strongly attracted to the assistant librarian who coordinates the programs. So far, they've been good friends, but his upcoming scheduled talk provides the perfect opportunity to take their friendship to a serious commitment. He's just not sure if the other man he's seen her with is only a friend or someone special in her life.

Wynne Buchanan is looking forward to a certain shy professor's community center presentation about a murder committed in Willow Springs almost a century ago. Their friendship these past four years has meant the world to her, but every time she thinks they're moving toward a serious relationship, he pulls away. She's determined to find out why during his upcoming visit, because she's hoping for more…so much more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
• Release date: Dec 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781509234530

Shawna Delacorte

Shawna Delacorte is from Los Angeles, California. It may sound a little weird, but she started her writing career as a photographer. While trying to market her photographs, she found that she had a better chance of having them published in magazines if they were accompanied by articles. So...she started writing. Non-fiction articles at first such as travel destination pieces, then she tried her hand at fiction. The result was twenty-one published novels with Harlequin Intrigue and Silhouette Desire. Over the last few months, Harlequin has reissued 13 of her backlist titles in ebook. Shawna loves to travel and has renewed her interest in photography. In some ways making the change from film to digital is like starting all over again. And that's just camera operation. Add to that all the computer graphics and effects that need to be mastered.

Book preview

Inc.

Hoping for More

Deerbourne Inn

by

Shawna Delacorte

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Hoping for More

COPYRIGHT © 2020 by Shawna Delacorte

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Contact Information: [e-mail]

Cover Art by Diana Carlile

The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

PO Box 708

Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

Publishing History

First Scarlet Rose Edition, 2020

Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-3453-0

Published in the United States of America

Praise for Author

Shawna Delacorte

And Her Books

Shawna Delacorte’s WHO’S BEEN SLEEPING IN MY BED? has an intriguing plot and forthright characters.

~Romantic Times

~*~

THE SEDGWICK CURSE by Shawna Delacorte is a spinetingler from the very beginning. I spent a nail-biting evening racing through the pages to a wonderfully, satisfying, aha ending. Lovers of romantic intrigue and suspense will be totally captivated by THE SEDGWICK CURSE.

~CataRomance

~*~

STORMBOUND WITH A TYCOON, Shawna Delacorte’s latest, sizzles with two hot characters and an interesting storyline.

~Romantic Times

~*~

Shawna Delacorte has twenty-one print novels published with Harlequin (romance and mystery/romantic suspense) with seventeen of them having been reissued by Harlequin in ebook. This is her second ebook for The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

Chapter One

That’s great, Gene. Wynne Buchanan couldn’t contain her enthusiasm as she spoke on the phone from her office at the Willow Springs, Vermont, library. On the other end of the conversation was Dr. Daniel Eugene Stevenson, Jr., distinguished professor of history at the University of Vermont in Burlington. If you could email that information to me this morning and include the handout, I’ll take a look at it and coordinate with Paige Norman at the Willow Springs Gazette. Hopefully, she’ll be able to include a snippet from the handout in the article about your talk at the community center.

No problem, Wynne. I’ll send it as soon as I get off the phone. Will Paige be able to get it in this week’s newspaper?

Send it to me here at the library. You have that email address, don’t you? I can print it out immediately and get it over to Paige right away. I’m going to her office anyway to talk to her about something else.

Yes, I have it…uh… Gene stopped speaking for several moments. Uh, I know my talk isn’t for a week and a half yet, but I thought I’d head to Willow Springs a few days ahead of my presentation. Maybe spend some time there. It’s such a charming little town… He seemed to temporarily be at a loss for words.

Gene? Are you still there? Are you all right?

Uh, yes. Why do you ask?

You seemed to lose your train of thought mid-sentence.

Sorry about that. He emitted a soft chuckle, but to Wynne it sounded more forced than casual or spontaneous. I was trying to do two things at once. Apparently, my multi-tasking skills temporarily deserted me. I’ll email the material to you right away and, uh…I’ll see you in a few days.

That’ll be great. I’m looking forward to it. I always enjoy your visits. See you soon. Wynne put her cell phone in her pocket. She allowed a slight frown to wrinkle across her forehead. That sounded more like a confused question than a statement. Gene must have a lot on his mind today.

She logged on to the library computer at her desk. A moment later, Gene’s email showed up in her inbox. She printed out the file Gene had sent then forwarded it to her home computer. After taking a couple of minutes to read through everything, she printed a second copy of just the handout and put it in her large shoulder bag.

She hurried across the hall to Don Flanagan’s office and knocked on the frame of the head librarian’s opened office door at the Arthur Public Library.

Looking up from the papers scattered across his desk, Don motioned her in. What can I do for you? He extended a teasing grin. Is my assistant librarian having a problem she can’t handle?

A soft chuckle escaped her throat. No problems here. I just wanted to go over a couple of things with you before I entered everything into the computer. She gestured toward the stack of papers in front of him. Is this a bad time?

No. I need a break from this headache. I’m working on our requirements for the upcoming budget meeting. He moved several file folders aside. What’s up?

Well, first I have the finalized summer reading lists from Granite Middle School and Rockwell Elementary School.

Do you have an estimate of how many will be purchasing the books and how many will be checking them out from the library?

I did a quick survey of the parents, and it looks to be about the same as last year. I’ve passed the information on to Crandall Barrett at the bookstore.

Sounds good. What else do you have?

I just talked to Gene Stevenson. He emailed me the information for his talk at the community center, along with the handout he’ll be using. It’s scheduled for Friday evening before the Mad River Garden Party on Saturday.

Don perked up at the mention of Gene Stevenson’s name. What’s Dr. Stevenson have in store for us this time? I always enjoy his presentations. Since he’s a history professor, he always chooses some historical event for his talks, usually something that happened right here in Vermont or at least in New England. It makes for an interesting topic. People have a connection to the area where the event took place. You can always count on his presentations being well researched. And, to his credit, he also manages to make them both interesting and entertaining.

This time, his topic is very local. It’s about a murder that happened right here in Willow Springs in 1931—a young woman named Martha Cotter. That should bring in a good crowd. Wynne’s excitement bubbled inside her, sending an emotional warmth flowing through her veins. He really is fascinating. A tender smile turned the corners of her mouth, but she quickly hid it. Uh, I mean he’s a fascinating speaker. People enjoy his talks.

"Yes, people enjoy his talks. Don nodded as he shot her a knowing look. And some people more than others?"

Wynne’s spontaneous laughter filled the air. Gene and I are just good friends. We have been ever since I booked his first talk at the community center four years ago. We occasionally have dinner together. After all, Burlington is less than an hour drive from here, depending on weather. We stay in touch with text messages, phone calls, and the occasional email. That’s it. Like I said, just good friends.

His teasing grin widened. If you insist. He glanced at the paperwork covering his desk and emitted an audible sigh of resignation. And now, I need to get back to all of this

And I need to get over to the Willow Springs Gazette and make sure Paige Norman has all the information about Gene’s scheduled presentation for this week’s newspaper. I also want to talk to her about the next regional 10K bike race.

"Really? Are you looking to usurp her long held position as the 10K bicycle race champion for the county and highly placed