Rocky Road Home

By Stephanie Kepke

Bella Diamond never thought she'd return to her hometown, a beachside hamlet on Long Island's north shore. But that's exactly where she finds herself as an empty-nester rounding the bend toward fifty, forced to reinvent her life after a rocky marriage. When Bella moves into the apartment above her family's ice cream stand, she discovers Dante, the sexy pizzeria owner two doors down. His kindness, warmth, and sizzling touch awaken parts of her that have been dormant. Will he tempt her to leave her dream job at a Manhattan art gallery to stay in her hometown and take over the family business?

• Language: Unknown
• Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
• Release date: Aug 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781509238002

Stephanie Kepke

An award winning author and blogger, Stephanie Kepke’s second grade teacher told her she should be a writer and she hasn’t wavered in her path since. In her past life—before kids—Stephanie was an arts reporter and music journalist. She lives in New York on Long Island with her husband, her three very active boys and two slightly crazy rescue dogs (one of whom is three-legged). She lives right in between the Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean—and loves to have her toes in the sand.

Book preview

I reach up and grasp his hand. An electric current zips right through me, waking up parts of me that were asleep for a very, very long time. We stand like that for just a moment longer than necessary, eyes locked. I can’t tell if he feels the current too or is just being polite, because I’m not letting go so easily. But I don’t want to seem like a creep, so I drop my hand and step back, still looking up at Dante.

He breaks the silence. Here’s your pie. It was piping hot but feels like it’s cooling a little. Better hurry up and get it home.

No, wait, I have to go home and get my wallet. I don’t have any money on me at all.

Take it. Consider it a housewarming gift. His smile is dazzling and genuine.

I couldn’t do that.

Please, it’s my pleasure. I’ll be insulted if you don’t. I’m Italian—I like to feed people. Sexy wink.

I’m done. I look down at my shoes for a moment. If I look at him right now, I might never look away. I’ll be paralyzed, drool gently trickling down my chin, as I imagine all the things I could do to him…and with him. This is not like me at all.

Praise for Stephanie Kepke

Stephanie Kepke took first place in the NEORWA Cleveland Rocks Romance contest, garnered an Honorable Mention in the Golden Acorn Quick Look Hook contest, and was a finalist in the CTRWA Write Stuff contest, all for Mainstream Fiction with Romantic Elements.

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Praise for YOU & ME:

The story gives such a hopeful portrait of the main character and her options; there’s a bit of optimism that shines through, painting the reader’s world a little brighter. I highly recommend both this author and this book to romance fans to put a little pep in their step; it’s truly delightful.

~Book Review Crew

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Praise for A NEW LIFE:

"If you have ever had a baby, you will relate to this short story A New Life by one of my favorite authors of 2015, Stephanie Kepke, in one way or another. Stephanie writes stories that are so real, it almost hurts. Her descriptions of situations are so in depth and well written that it’s almost as if you are there, or as if you lived that moment yourself. I love when an author can make you feel that you are the one that’s in the story, and that’s one of the great things about Stephanie’s writing."

~Comfy Reading Blog

Rocky Road Home

by

Stephanie Kepke

One Scoop or Two

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.

Rocky Road Home

COPYRIGHT © 2021 by Stephanie Kepke

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 Edition, 2021

Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-3800-2

One Scoop or Two

Published in the United States of America

Dedication

For my mother, Beverly Kepke~

Thank you for always being there for me.

And in memory of my grandmothers,

Bella and Elsie

This is a book about mothers and daughters, as much as romance.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to my family, my husband, Jeff, and my sons, Drew, Joshua, and Aidan. I appreciate your support, love, and patience when I’m working hard on my books. Thank you to my mother, Beverly Kepke, and my siblings, Jodi Schinz, David Kepke, and Shari Morris, and their families. And thank you to all my in-laws.

Thank you to my editor, Josette Arthur—your guidance and eagle eye are priceless. Thank you, Diana Carlile, for the gorgeous cover—you perfectly captured my vision for this story. Thank you to early readers: Robin Sasloff Pasternack; Elaine Weiss; Heather Joseph Peretz; Scott Syat; Kathy Barstow; and Caryn Wolin. Thank you to Kay Hutcherson for your support.

Thank you to Town of Oyster Bay councilman, Lou Imbroto, and the Town of Oyster Bay arborist, Steve Matuza, for finding out the species of my favorite tree growing on the beach at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in Oyster Bay. (It’s a white poplar, hence the name, Poplar Pointe.)

And thank you to the Plainview Moms Facebook group, and specifically Vicki Berk Mass and Cheryl Gries Brown, for getting my question to Councilman Imbroto; and to Mara Rosenthall Blatt for suggesting a name with Pointe in it—while I couldn’t use that first name, Poplar Pointe has a great ring to it.

Thank you to all of my friends and readers who always support and encourage me. I appreciate you all more than you know.

The scent hits me the moment I step off the train onto the small platform in Poplar Pointe. Every summer from my childhood rushes back in a whiff. Low tide, seaweed, coconut-scented sunblock, greasy french fries, hot dogs, and of course waffle cones and hot fudge all assault my senses, but it’s not unpleasant. It’s home…and even if I didn’t want to be here, didn’t expect to be here, for a brief moment all my anxiety and trepidation flow right out of me.

And then I see the moving truck across the street idling in the no-parking spot in front of the narrow, weathered, gray building with pale pink shutters—a building that was such a big part of my childhood. One of the movers is pacing back and forth on the sidewalk, probably looking out for a police officer ready to write a ticket.

I’m here! I’m here, I yell as I dash across the tiny train station parking lot and run through the intersection just before the light turns green. All I have is a backpack and my purse. The rest of my belongings are in the back of that truck.

My mother is leaning out the front window of Elsie’s Ice Cream, handing a cone to a waiting child, when she looks up and squeals, Bella! You’re home! She turns to the young man stacking waffle cones behind her. Can you take over for a few minutes? The line’s down the block, but I gotta greet my baby girl. She peels off her gloves and throws them in the trash as she rushes out the side door to meet me.

It’s okay, Mom. We have lots of time to catch up. I know Sunday afternoon is crazy for you. Plus the movers are waiting for me.

"Nonsense. The kids are capable of scooping cones. I’ve got four of them working on the weekends now. The one I just put