“Rainy days and river views fill Beth’s summer as she makes a new start in small town Washington, North Carolina. After the loss of her husband in a tragic accident, simple seems better. It’s time to renovate her life, starting with a future art gallery on the river. Sam, her contractor, has everything under control, but the stress of the construction project and new business is beginning to make her crazy. Nightmares and visions of ghosts become the nightly norm. She doesn’t have time for this. She doesn’t have time for her heart to make room for him.
Tammera Cooper grew up on the Rappahannock River in Virginia watching the riverside community change with the times but remaining the same in spirit. The waterside lifestyle is in her blood and influences her writing every day.
Currently, she lives in Washington, North Carolina writing and sharing the small town’s history with her readers. She is a member of the Pamlico Writers Group, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Romance Writers of America.
I very much enjoyed this book and in fact started believing the existence of friendly ghosts after reading this novel. I found the romance and suspense in equal parts in the book. The details about the small town Washington, NC are beautifully described. The characters are also very well built.
This book is a complete entertainment. I recommend this book to all my friends.
breath. Screams came from the small outbuilding at the corner of the yard.
Rain poured down in sheets as the lightning flashed around her. Sunflowers
waved in the wind, bending, almost touching the lawn. The trees joined in the
harsh dance forced to follow the rhythm of the storm. It had gotten worse.
Someone was stuck, and they couldn’t get out of the shed. She kept running,but it seemed the shed was getting farther away. The yard was starting to
flood.
“I’m coming,” she yelled, but no words came out of her mouth. The screaming
got louder. She finally reached to the door. The lightning flashed with a loud
clap of thunder. Beth jumped because it was so loud. She reached for the
doorknob, but the handle was gone.
“Help! The water is coming in. I can’t get out.”
It was a woman on the other side of the door. The banging was so loud. Beth
tried to get some leverage on the door, but there was nothing to grab. The
rough water was getting deep, up to Beth’s waist. It wouldn’t stop coming. It
must be coming over the river bank.
She looked around the yard for something to pry the door open as the
structure started to sway. She had to get her out of there. She ran back to the
shed just as it collapsed. A horrible scream split the night air. The roof fell, and
the walls ripped apart in the surf as they disappeared into the darkness. Maybe
she could still save the woman. Maybe she wasn’t badly hurt. Beth grabbed at
the debris tossing it out of her way like a mad woman. Under a broad beam,
she found a young black woman strangely dressed. The beam held her pinned
under the water. Yard tools and other rubble floated in the waves that churned
around her. A basket floated by Beth as she bent to move the massive beam.
She looked down at the person struggling under the water. It was the woman
she had seen in the bathroom mirror, her eyes pleading for help. She tried to
grab Beth as air bubbles escaped her mouth.
“Oh, my God, it won’t move.” Beth looked down at her, the hope draining from
her spirit. The beam wouldn’t move. She tried again, but the water was too
deep now. With a quick glance back toward the house, she spied an older
woman standing in the window. Beth waved her arms, hoping for some bit of
salvation, but the woman turned away as if she couldn’t see Beth at all. Beth
turned back to the woman and reached out to lay a reassuring hand on her
arm only to find, there was no life left to be saved.