Part 50 (1/2)

Thank you to all the readers who asked me to finish Reid and Kate's story. Back in 2005 when I wrote Marking Time, it never occurred to me that readers would want them to end up together. Boy, was I wrong about that! I've never gotten more mail about any story than I did about theirs. I hope you're pleased with their second act.

Returning to the Treading Water/Marking Time world was like spending time with precious old friends. Most of you know that Jack Harrington was my very first fictional character, so it was a great thrill for me to bring him back in Coming Home. I enjoyed the themes of forgiveness and redemption in this book, as well as the growth the characters experienced in the decade between Marking Time and Coming Home.

A special thank-you to my editor Linda Ingmanson, who is so very good to me by making time for me whenever I need her. Linda, you've become a wonderful friend since we've begun working together, and I couldn't do what I do without your support. Linda introduced me to proofreader extraordinaire Toni Lee, who is the last set of eyes on every book. Toni, I've become addicted to your eagle eye, and wouldn't dream of releasing a book without your review. Thank you to my writing pal Cheryl Brooks for the information she shared with me about aging horses. A great big thank-you to my beta readers Ronlyn Howe, Kara Conrad and Anne Woodall, always the first to read my books and provide invaluable feedback and suggestions.

Thank you to Chris Camara and Julie Cupp, my former and current coworkers, whose faithful a.s.sistance allows me to write more. As always, thank you to Dan, Emily and Jake for supporting my writing career and to Brandy and Louie for being my office mates during the day.

Finally, to my wonderful, faithful, lovely readers-there are simply no words to tell you what each of you means to me. Your e-mails, partic.i.p.ation in the reader groups, your comments on Facebook and Twitter, and your enthusiastic appreciation for my books make me smile every day. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

xoxo Marie Thank you for reading Coming Home! I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please help other people find this book: 1. This book is lendable, so send it to a friend who you think might like it so she can discover me, too.

2. Help other people find this book by writing a review.

3. Sign up for my new releases e-mail by subscribing to my mailing list, so you can find out about the next book as soon as it's available.

4. Come like my Facebook page.

5. Join the Coming Home Reader Group when you've finished the book, to discuss the story with other readers.

Turn the page for a sneak peek at Maid for Love, book 1 in the McCarthys of Gansett Island Series!

Maid for Love

The McCarthys of Gansett Island Series, Book 1 By: Marie Force

Chapter 1.

Madeline Chester retrieved her nine-month-old son Thomas from his crib and checked her watch. She was due at the hotel for the morning housekeeping s.h.i.+ft in fifteen minutes. After a diaper change, she handed Thomas his bottle, grateful that he could now hold it himself.

He let out a squeal of delight that drew a smile from Maddie.

”You like that, huh, buddy?”

His pudgy legs bounced about on either side of her hips, and she tightened her hold on him while attempting to tame his soft blond hair. She grabbed the diaper bag, the tote she took to work, retrieved her lunch from the refrigerator and headed out the door. Across the yard, she entered her sister's house through the screen door on the back deck.

”Morning,” she called out.

”In here,” Tiffany said from the living room where she sat amid three babies and a variety of toys. One of the babies was her daughter, Ashleigh, born just a month before Thomas. The other two Tiffany cared for as part of her in-home daycare business.

Maddie kissed Thomas, whispered that she loved him and plopped him down on the mat with the others. ”I'm running late as usual.”

”Go ahead. We're fine.”

”I'll be back by three.”

”See you then.”

Tiffany watched Thomas for free during the day in exchange for Maddie taking over the daycare from three to six while Tiffany taught dance cla.s.ses in her studio under the apartment Maddie rented from Tiff and her husband Jim. The delicate balancing act left Maddie worn out at the end of every long day.

She jumped on her bulky old bike and set off for McCarthy's Gansett Inn on the other side of the island. Checking her watch one more time, she groaned when she saw how close she was cutting it.

From his vantage point in the ferry's wheelhouse, Mac McCarthy watched the bluffs on the island's north coast come into view and felt the vise around his chest tighten. Just the sight of the island where he grew up made Mac feel confined.

”Never gets old, does it?” Mac's childhood best friend, Captain Joe Cantrell, owned and operated Gansett's thriving ferry business.

”What's that?” Mac asked.

”The first view of the island. Always gives me a thrill to see it appear out of the fog.”

”Even after all the times you've seen it?”

”I still love it.”

Mac studied his old friend. Time had worn some lines into the corners of Joe's hazel eyes, and his sandy hair was now shot through with streaks of gray that hadn't been there on Mac's last trip home.

”You ever wish you'd done something else?” Mac asked. ”Gone out in the world a bit?”

Joe took a long drag off his trademark clove cigarette and flicked the ashes out the open doorway. ”Go where? Do what?”

”Those things are gonna kill you,” Mac said, nodding to the cigarette.

”No faster than working twenty hours a day is gonna kill you.”

”Touche,” Mac said with a chuckle.

”Are you planning to tell mama bear about your night in the hospital?”

”h.e.l.l no! She'd freak out all over me. That's the last thing I need.”

Joe laughed. ”What's it worth to ya?”

Mac shot him what he hoped was a menacing scowl. ”You wouldn't dare.”

”So what happened?”

”The doctors said it was an anxiety attack-too little sleep, too much work, too much stress. They ordered me to take at least a month off to recover.”

”How'd your partners take that news?”

”Not so well. We're busier than h.e.l.l, but they'll handle it until I get back.” Mac and his partners owned a company that reconfigured Miami office s.p.a.ce for new tenants.

”And your girlfriend? Roseanne, right?”