Format: ebook
Source: provided for review
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Date read: May 4, 2020
Green Valley Library
1. Love in Due Time
2. Crime and Periodicals
3. Prose Before Bros
4. Shelf Awareness
5. Carpentry and Cocktails
6. Love In Deed - Paperback | Kindle
7. Dewey Belong Together
8. Hotshot and Hospitality
9. Love in a Pickle
10. Checking You Out
11. Architecture and Artistry
L.B. Dunbar
| Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon |
Synopsis (Goodreads):
But...BUT Beverly is slowly finding her way back to herself. It's not an easy journey. She has to realize what's holding her back before she can start moving forward. Her unwilling attraction to Jedd is the push she needs to start caring about things she's put on the backburner. She starts setting boundaries for herself and for her well-meaning daughter. She starts looking at herself as a woman again instead of as an abandoned wife and a single mother and a person who's been damaged. Jedd helps in that regard. His own injury puts hers in perspective and it makes her realize that she can either wallow in her self-pity or push herself to be more than she is.
WHEW. Beverly has a lot going on. A LOT.
Meanwhile, Jedd's ready to settle down and put down roots after years of being on the move. His family and other considerations brought him back to Green Valley and...well, he's not entirely truthful with Bev, but he has his reasons. And all those prickles of hers don't do anything to push him away, which works out well for both of them in the end.
Bev and Jedd's romance is slow (and eventually steady) and set with more than a few drawbacks, but they get where they need to go. I really liked seeing Beverly learn how to stand up for herself and find her joy again. It was pretty darn inspiring.
Excerpt
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About L.B. Dunbar
Date read: May 4, 2020
Green Valley Library
1. Love in Due Time
2. Crime and Periodicals
3. Prose Before Bros
4. Shelf Awareness
5. Carpentry and Cocktails
6. Love In Deed - Paperback | Kindle
7. Dewey Belong Together
8. Hotshot and Hospitality
9. Love in a Pickle
10. Checking You Out
11. Architecture and Artistry
L.B. Dunbar
| Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon |
Synopsis (Goodreads):
Sometimes it takes an outsider to force us to see who we are. The real struggle is accepting what we learn.Thoughts on Love In Deed: Our introduction to Beverly (in Naomi's book) was initially less than flattering. As it turns out, she has her reasons for being sharp and prickly and pushing people away before they can get close enough to hurt her. Throw in the accident that she never really came to terms with in a healthy way and you have a woman simmering in self-hatred.
For Beverly Townsen, nothing could be closer to the truth. Virtually a shut-in, Beverly has pulled back from Green Valley’s community, preferring the isolation of her farmhouse and her daily routine of viewing home improvement television shows. When the opportunity arises for her own home improvement and a personal re-assessment, she’s not so excited about the reality of real life versus DIY programs.
Jedd Flemming understands physical pain and personal loss, but it’s never stopped him from bucking forward in life. A former military man and rodeo star, his life as a nomad comes to an end with false accusations and a family matter back in the Valley. It’s been a long journey to find his way home and once there, there’s nothing he wants more than to reclaim what he’s lost…and maybe the elusive female reclusive who holds a sliver of his past.
With an unprecedented proposition, Beverly finds a stranger living in her barn, raising horses on borrowed pastures, and plowing his way into her vacant heart. Old hurts linger, but sometimes love in deed is louder than words.
But...BUT Beverly is slowly finding her way back to herself. It's not an easy journey. She has to realize what's holding her back before she can start moving forward. Her unwilling attraction to Jedd is the push she needs to start caring about things she's put on the backburner. She starts setting boundaries for herself and for her well-meaning daughter. She starts looking at herself as a woman again instead of as an abandoned wife and a single mother and a person who's been damaged. Jedd helps in that regard. His own injury puts hers in perspective and it makes her realize that she can either wallow in her self-pity or push herself to be more than she is.
WHEW. Beverly has a lot going on. A LOT.
Meanwhile, Jedd's ready to settle down and put down roots after years of being on the move. His family and other considerations brought him back to Green Valley and...well, he's not entirely truthful with Bev, but he has his reasons. And all those prickles of hers don't do anything to push him away, which works out well for both of them in the end.
Bev and Jedd's romance is slow (and eventually steady) and set with more than a few drawbacks, but they get where they need to go. I really liked seeing Beverly learn how to stand up for herself and find her joy again. It was pretty darn inspiring.
“Momma,” she whispers, and I turn at the soft question in her voice. Her eyes scan my face. Does she fear she’ll look like me one day? Those bright eyes will dim, and lines will form in the corners. Will they be rivers formed from tears, or will she eventually find laughter? Does she wonder if her lips will match mine, permanently curled downward? Can my girl still smile? Will her hair go gray too young as mine did? Will the stress of her life turn her into someone lonely and lost?
I blink back the tears fighting for release. I won’t cry. Nothing left to cry over. It’s all gone.
“Do you fancy him?” my daughter asks, and I choke on the question.
“What…? I…of course not. Don’t be silly. I’m sure he’d be more interested in the likes of you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hannah asks, brows rising in surprise.
“I’m sure I don’t need to explain the birds and the bees to you. Men like him only want young things and only want one thing from those young things. I don’t think he should stay here,” I sneer, recognizing the pulse at my neck and the thump of my heart. My daughter is a pretty girl, and this older man could be attracted to her for all the wrong reasons. Young girls go for older men to solve their daddy issues.
“He’s sleeping in the barn,” Hannah counters, her voice deepening in displeasure. Ticking off points on her fingers, she continues, “We don’t need to feed him. He’ll rebuild at his expense or hire what he can’t do himself. The back field will be plowed and prepped for spring planting.”
I snort in response, but my eyes return to Jedd’s movement. Into the barn. Out in the yard. My observation traces down his perspiring spine to the waist of his pants where his shirt has untucked. My fingers curl on the armrest of the rocker as my eyes outline the fine globes accentuated by those smooth pants. My mouth goes dry.
What is it about this man? Why am I suddenly lusting after him?
I can’t. That’s the bottom line. I can’t anything him. Under fifteen percent and tight pants and a perfect backside is still a man with empty words.
My eyes fall blindly on the reality television program. The only man a girl can count on is the fictional kind. I force my attention away from the barn, but my eyes seem to have a will of their own.
“We can’t have a stranger living in our barn,” I huff. Jedd stops, turning in his tracks with a pile of lumber on his shoulder as if he heard me, which is impossible on two counts: the panes of glass and his lack of hearing. Still, he stills, and his eyes narrow on the house as if he knows I’m watching him, I’m talking about him, and I don’t agree with this arrangement.
“Too late. He’s moving in.” Hannah definitively nods, dismissing my opinion as Jedd swings back around. She leans down to kiss my cheek and then exits my room, but I remain transfixed.
Suddenly, reality is more fascinating than television.
My eyes continue the cat and mouse game of watching Jedd disappear and then reappear. I don’t know how much time transpires, but eventually, the bed of his truck is empty. Still, I hold my breath as if the barn is a giant octopus, swallowing him whole. I fear he might disappear forever like Howard did, which is the silliest thought I’ve had in a decade. I don’t need Jedd. We don’t need Jedd. There will be no attachment to him.
But then, Jedd appears at the open barn door and gives a single wave toward the house, and I smile in spite of myself.
I blink back the tears fighting for release. I won’t cry. Nothing left to cry over. It’s all gone.
“Do you fancy him?” my daughter asks, and I choke on the question.
“What…? I…of course not. Don’t be silly. I’m sure he’d be more interested in the likes of you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hannah asks, brows rising in surprise.
“I’m sure I don’t need to explain the birds and the bees to you. Men like him only want young things and only want one thing from those young things. I don’t think he should stay here,” I sneer, recognizing the pulse at my neck and the thump of my heart. My daughter is a pretty girl, and this older man could be attracted to her for all the wrong reasons. Young girls go for older men to solve their daddy issues.
“He’s sleeping in the barn,” Hannah counters, her voice deepening in displeasure. Ticking off points on her fingers, she continues, “We don’t need to feed him. He’ll rebuild at his expense or hire what he can’t do himself. The back field will be plowed and prepped for spring planting.”
I snort in response, but my eyes return to Jedd’s movement. Into the barn. Out in the yard. My observation traces down his perspiring spine to the waist of his pants where his shirt has untucked. My fingers curl on the armrest of the rocker as my eyes outline the fine globes accentuated by those smooth pants. My mouth goes dry.
What is it about this man? Why am I suddenly lusting after him?
I can’t. That’s the bottom line. I can’t anything him. Under fifteen percent and tight pants and a perfect backside is still a man with empty words.
My eyes fall blindly on the reality television program. The only man a girl can count on is the fictional kind. I force my attention away from the barn, but my eyes seem to have a will of their own.
“We can’t have a stranger living in our barn,” I huff. Jedd stops, turning in his tracks with a pile of lumber on his shoulder as if he heard me, which is impossible on two counts: the panes of glass and his lack of hearing. Still, he stills, and his eyes narrow on the house as if he knows I’m watching him, I’m talking about him, and I don’t agree with this arrangement.
“Too late. He’s moving in.” Hannah definitively nods, dismissing my opinion as Jedd swings back around. She leans down to kiss my cheek and then exits my room, but I remain transfixed.
Suddenly, reality is more fascinating than television.
My eyes continue the cat and mouse game of watching Jedd disappear and then reappear. I don’t know how much time transpires, but eventually, the bed of his truck is empty. Still, I hold my breath as if the barn is a giant octopus, swallowing him whole. I fear he might disappear forever like Howard did, which is the silliest thought I’ve had in a decade. I don’t need Jedd. We don’t need Jedd. There will be no attachment to him.
But then, Jedd appears at the open barn door and gives a single wave toward the house, and I smile in spite of myself.
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L.B. Dunbar loves the sweeter things in life: cookies, Coca-Cola, and romance. Her reading journey began with a deep love of fairy tales, medieval knights, Regency debauchery, and alpha males. She loves a deep belly laugh and a strong hug. Occasionally, she has the energy of a Jack Russell terrier. Accused—yes, that’s the correct word—of having an overactive imagination, to her benefit, such an imagination works well. Author of over two dozen novels, she’s created sweet, small town worlds; rock star mayhem; MMA chaos; sexy rom-coms for the over 40; and intrigue on an island of redemption. In addition, she is earning a title as the “myth and legend lady” for her modernizations of mythology as elda lore. Her other duties in life include mother to four children and wife to the one and only.
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