The Fixer Upper
by Maggie Mae Gallagher
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Abby
Callier is more in love with Shakespearean heroes than any real man, and she’s
beginning to wonder if there is life for her outside the pages of a book. It
doesn’t help that her esteemed parents tend to view her as they would one of
their science experiments gone wrong. On the eve of finishing her dissertation,
she escapes her staid existence to live in the house she inherited from her
Great Aunt Evie in the small town of Echo Springs, Colorado. Because, let’s
face it, when a woman starts comparing her life to horror films, it might be
time for a break.
Sheriff Nate Barnes
believes in law and order and carefully building the life you want. In his
spare time, he has been remodeling his house in the hope that one day it will
be filled with the family he makes. But Nate doesn’t like drama or
complications and tends to avoid them at all costs. And yet, when Miss Abigail
Callier, his newest neighbor, beans him with a nine iron, he can’t help but
wonder if she might just be the complication he’s been searching for all along.
It doesn’t hurt that he discovers a journal hidden away by the previous tenant
and decides to use Old Man Turner’s advice to romance Abby into his life.
Abby never expected
her next-door neighbor, the newly dubbed Sheriff Stud Muffin, to be just the
distraction her world needed. The problem is she doesn’t know whether she
should make Echo Springs her home, or if this town is just a stopover point in
her life’s trajectory. And she doesn’t want to tell Nate that she might not be
sticking around—even though she should because it’s the right thing to do, the
honest thing—because then all the scintillatingly hot kisses with the Sheriff
will come to an abrupt halt. Did she mention that he’s a really great kisser?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
“Stocking up a bit?” Nate asked as they set the cooler down
next to the deepfreeze.
Abby shrugged, flipping the lid up to reveal packages of
steaks, chicken breasts, pork chops, ground beef, bacon, sausage, turkey.
Staring at the mountain of meat, she had to admit she was a little obsessive
when it came to being prepared. “Well, I did some research before accepting the
position at Echo Springs Community College, and it said that roads can be
impassible during the winter.”
“They can, but we do try to stay on top of road clearing.
When it snows, the skiers come out in full force and head into the mountain
resorts. All those travelers are the life-blood of this town, as they stop at
the gas stations, restaurants, and shops. Without that, this town would go
belly up in a New York minute. When the snows hit, the Styman boys stop working
the appliance store and clear the streets, along with a few more of the locals.
They work together to keep the city’s roads as clear as possible.”
“Good to know. But we aren’t in the city.” Which was
something that wasn’t lost on her.
“No, we’re not. It can get a bit dicey out here. I tend to
stay in town more and sleep at the station, but it’s good that you’re stocking
up. Make sure you’ve got yourself some long underwear and some firewood.”
She blushed at the underwear comment and wanted to kick
herself. What are you, a teenager? Just because Sheriff Stud Muffin’s topic
made her wonder whether he was a boxers or briefs kind of man, and that she’d
love to find out which he preferred, was no reason for Abby to act like an
unschooled virgin.
Wait a second… “Firewood? Why would I need firewood?”
It wasn’t something she had considered she would even need.
Where did she get some? Would she have to cut the wood herself? Abby could see
herself trying to heft an ax to chop wood. Coordination was not her strong
suit. More likely than not, she’d end up hacking the wood to bits, all while
taking off a few of her limbs. It wouldn’t be pretty. Besides, knowing her,
she’d leave the ax outside for the psycho killer to find and use to attack her
in her home. She could imagine the headline:
Evie Callier’s great-niece hacked to death because she
didn’t listen to her parents. Murder weapon apparently belonged to the victim,
army of dolls suspected, news at eleven.
Jesus, she needed to get a grip.
Nate regarded her, his modest expression calling her a
hundred times a fool for not being better prepared for life in the mountains,
and said, “In case you lose power during a storm. It can get mighty cold up in
these hills, especially when we are being pummeled with blizzard conditions. It
doesn’t happen all the time, but in these older homes, power can get knocked
out and be out for days.”
“What about a backup generator? Would that suffice?” Because
if so, she’d turn right back around and head back to Gundry’s Bulk Superstore
for one. The thought of being without power during a blizzard chilled her, and
for a millisecond, she considered hightailing it back East. Until she
remembered that back East would mean having to deal with her parents’
disapproval nearly twenty-four seven. She’d already visited that amusement park
fun house, thank you very much, and didn’t want to return.
“Yes and no. Most are gas-operated, although there are newer
models that are solar but come with a heftier price tag, and if you run out of
fuel…”
“You run out of electricity. Does anyone sell firewood in
town?” She’d start looking tonight online for a backup generator. The thought
of having only a fireplace for warmth made her shudder involuntarily. With her
luck, that would be when all the creepy dolls decided to rise up en masse and
strike.
“Check with Styman’s. I’m not sure what their stock is this
time of year, but if you’d like some help, I’d be happy to get you started.”
She unloaded the last of the meat into the freezer, and shut
the lid. “That would be nice, if it’s not too much trouble. Thank you.”
“It’s no problem at all. After you.” He gestured at the
wooden stairs.
Nate trailed her up the steps; she could feel his gaze
boring into her back as they entered the kitchen. Abby restrained from fanning
her face at the jolt of heat that hummed in her system whenever he was near.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Maggie Mae
Gallagher
Born in St.
Louis, Missouri, Maggie grew up listening to Cardinals baseball and reading
anything she could get her hands on. She remembers her mother saying if only
she would read the right type of books instead binging her way through the
romance aisles at the bookstore, she’d have been a doctor. While Maggie never
did get that doctorate, she graduated cum laude from the University of
Missouri-St. Louis with an M.A. in History.
Maggie is a
bestselling and award-winning author published in multiple fiction genres. She
also writes erotic romance under the name Anya Summers. A total geek at her
core, when she is not writing, she adores attending the latest comic con or
spending time with her family. She currently lives in the Midwest with her two
furry felines.
Visit her
website here:
www.maggiemaegallagher.com
Visit her on
social media here:
Facebook:
FB.me/MagMaeGallagher
https://www.facebook.com/MagMaeGallagher/
https://www.instagram.com/magmaegallagher/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7846308.Maggie_Mae_Gallagher
Twitter:
@magmaegallagher
https://twitter.com/magmaegallagher?lang=en
https://www.amazon.com/author/maggiegallagher
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maggie-mae-gallagher
Amazon Buy
Link:
Nook
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fixer-upper-maggie-mae-gallagher/1132011648
Don’t miss
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The Mystic
Series
REMEMBER
ME https://amzn.to/2GuwEpY
CASKET
GIRL https://amzn.to/2Dmw9MD
The Cantati
Chronicles
RUPTURED https://amzn.to/2GueJ2L
ANOINTED https://amzn.to/2Gu0Xgm
ASCENDED https://amzn.to/2VRGSpz
And if you
like your romance with a bit of spice and kink be sure to check out Maggie Mae
Gallagher writing as Anya Summers on Amazon!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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