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The Sweetwood Series: Books 1-3 , livre ebook

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Three sweet romances in one!

Sweetwood Secret

When her younger brother goes missing, New York City journalist Holly Blake is beckoned back to the small Georgia town of her youth.

After losing both her parents the previous year, she is desperate to find Lucas—the only family she has left.

But searching for her brother means two things Holly had not bargained for: reuniting with her ex-fiancé Max, the local sheriff, and following a trail that leads straight into the tangled web of lies and dangerous games played by one of the richest families in the state—the Sweetwoods.

Sweetwood Scandal

Following his ex-girlfriend to her hometown of Wellington, New Zealand, Jacob Sweetwood is on the hunt for the thousands of dollars and the antique ruby ring Ava-Rose has stolen.

After weeks of dead-ends and a puzzling meeting with Ava-Rose’s father, Jacob heads back to Blairsville, Georgia. There, he finds comfort and solace in the company of Nancy Cooper—the straight-talking, beautiful owner of The Fox and Fig.

Soon, though, Ava-Rose is back in Blairsville with no money, a story that is difficult to believe, and an undeniable tie to a scandal that threatens to upend the entire Sweetwood Syrups empire.

Sweetwood Christmas

When Zena Sweetwood is asked by her uncle Octavius to help him reason with his wife, her beloved aunt Adora, who wants suddenly wants a divorce, Zena is certain this will be an easy fix. They’re so in love, after all.

Soon though, it becomes clear that Adora has her mind made up—having hired slick Manhattan attorney Gabe Da Silva to stay at their north Georgia mansion to draw up the papers.

As Gabe and Zena embark on their separate assignments under the same roof, they are often drawn together. And the more they uncover, the more they are convinced Adora is hiding something. Will the two be able to bring the truth to light in time to reunite the elder Sweetwoods and have a happy holiday ending of their own?

Max waited a full ten minutes before picking up the phone to call Holly back. His heart had been racing, blood pumping voraciously in his veins. If he didn’t calm himself down, he’d betray the anxiety in his voice. How long had it been since he’d seen her? A year, he decided—her parents’ funeral.

Gosh, that was a terrible day. Carl and Stefie Blake were wonderful people, always kind and welcoming. And they had been nothing but gracious toward him when Holly had broken the engagement. When he approached her at the reception following the funeral, she stepped forward and pulled him to her with such force, it took his breath away.

“They loved you,” she whispered in his ear, her voice heavy with emotion. “They thought I was a fool to let you go. Not that they said it; I just knew.”

He said thanks, and then moved on down the line to give his condolences to Lucas, her younger brother. Max kicked himself. He had all these words of wisdom and comfort planned out in the truck on the drive over. But he had no idea she’d be the one to speak up first. And he especially had no idea that she’d say something so meaningful. So, in the end, all he said to the woman he loved since he was sixteen years old was, “Thanks.”

Back then, she had that jerk of a husband of hers in tow. They were divorced now. Facebook told him that. Of course, he could have simply asked her brother Lucas for an update on Holly at any time. He was always at The Fox and Fig Pub, the local bar Max’s sister, Nancy, owned. Max could tell Lucas looked up to him. And part of the way he ingratiated himself was to act as a direct line to Holly, because he knew Max was still in love with her. But, hell, everyone in Blairsville knew that.

Taking a deep breath, he dialed Holly’s number. And after four full rings, she picked up.

“Max?” she asked, out of breath. “Is that you?”

She sounded like she was in distress. He cleared his throat. “Hey, yes. Are you okay?”

He could hear her opening and shutting drawers. “I am fine,” she replied. “It’s Lucas.”

Holly recounted the calls and the mysterious text. Max had to admit it was strange behavior—even for Lucas. “Okay, it’s not enough for a missing person’s report,” he began.

“I know that, Max. I just need you to go down to the hunting cabin and see if he’s there. Can you check on him? I mean, he’s not answering his phone, but who knows? He may actually be fine, and this is all some massively stupid prank. I don’t know. Either way, I’m catching the next flight into Chattanooga.”

Max’s breath caught. “You’re coming here?”

“Yes,” she replied. “I’ll be there before midnight. So, I just need to know if you can check on him in the meantime.”

He finally pulled himself together. Holly was worried. She needed him. There was something he could do—right now, for crying out loud—to help her. It took all the strength he could muster to sound cool. “Of course,” he said. “You can count on me, Holly.”

SWEETWOOD SECRET

CHAPTER 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

CHAPTER 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

CHAPTER 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

CHAPTER 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

CHAPTER 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

CHAPTER 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

CHAPTER 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

CHAPTER 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

CHAPTER 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

CHAPTER 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

CHAPTER 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

CHAPTER 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

CHAPTER 13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76

CHAPTER 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81

CHAPTER 15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

CHAPTER 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

CHAPTER 17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

SWEETWOOD SCANDAL

CHAPTER 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97

CHAPTER 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

CHAPTER 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

CHAPTER 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

CHAPTER 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

CHAPTER 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

CHAPTER 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

CHAPTER 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

CHAPTER 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

CHAPTER 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

CHAPTER 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

CHAPTER 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

CHAPTER 13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

CHAPTER 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

CHAPTER 15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

SWEETWOOD CHRISTMAS

PROLOGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188

CHAPTER 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

CHAPTER 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

CHAPTER 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203

CHAPTER 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207

CHAPTER 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

CHAPTER 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

CHAPTER 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

CHAPTER 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

CHAPTER 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224

CHAPTER 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227

CHAPTER 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232

CHAPTER 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

CHAPTER 13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243

CHAPTER 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248

CHAPTER 15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

CHAPTER 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255

CHAPTER 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

CHAPTER 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .263

BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION QUESTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

ABOUT THE AUTHOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

MORE FROM ORANGE BLOSSOM PUBLISHING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Sujets

Romance contemporaine

Fiction

Romance

Contemporary

Clean

Billionaire

Contemporary history

Wholesome

Billionaires

Informations

Publié par	Orange Blossom Publishing
Date de parution	20 juin 2023
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781949935776
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0250€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Table o f Contents
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
C hapter 17
Chapter 18
Book Club Discussion Questions
Acknow ledgements
About the Author
More from Orange Blossom Publishing

© 2023 Daniel le Hines
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, in part, in any form, without the permission of the pu blisher.
Orange Blossom Pu blishing
Maitland, Florida
www.orangeblossomb ooks.com
info@orangeblossomb ooks.com
First Edition: J une 2023
Library of Congress Control Num ber: XXX
Edited by: Arielle Haughee
Formatted by: Aut umn Skye
Cover design: Sanj a Mosic
Print ISBN: 978-1-949 935-67-7
eBook ISBN: 978-1-949 935-77-6
Printed in th e U.S.A.

Dedication
For Kimmy

Sweetw ood Secret

Chapter 1
H olly Blake slumped back against the wooden booth of her local café with a sigh. That was the last signature. With the final stroke of her Holiday Inn pen, she was now officially divorced. It didn’t feel real. Daniel Kinsey had been the most important person in her life for two years. He’d been her world. And now… Now he was soaking up the sun and surf in Puerto Vallarta with “Mitzi” while she was freezing her butt off in the early-October chill of the Big Apple.
Daniel, at forty years old and ten years her senior, had the quintessential mid-life crisis. Yes, Mitzi was indeed his secretary. And just to rub salt in to an already nasty wound, she looked exactly like Holly—medium height, medium build, bright blue eyes, and dirty blonde hair—only she was t wenty-two.
Holly’s coffee was cold. She had not anticipated the process would take so long. Gabe, her lawyer and longtime friend, had lost interest after five minutes and was chatting up an elderly lady at the next table about her grandson’s rights to the matrimon ial home.
“Tell him not to leave or do anything until he calls me, Norma. I mean it,” he said as he handed the woman his card.
Holly watched in amusement. Gabe was ever the hustler, but not in the ambulance-chaser sense. He was a workaholic. His life was the gym, work, maybe four hours of sleep, repeat. Tall, fit, and always impeccably groomed, he was forever being approached by women, though he claimed to not have time for a rel ationship.
They met in college. He was pre-law. She was majoring in English, hoping to shift her focus to journalism. They had spotted one another at a party wearing the same No Doubt concert t-shirts and became instan t friends.
“You okay, Holls?” he asked, turning back around to face her.
Holly pushed the papers towards him and sighed again. “Yeah, I think so. Or I will be at least.”
Gabe reached out and patted her arm gently. “It was intense . I know.”
That was one word for it, thought Holly. Intense, chaotic, a roller coaster. But she didn’t want to think about any of that right now. She wanted to get herself another coffee and then get on with her life. Gabe read her mind as he picked up her old cup and, with a wink, told her the next one wa s on him.
The kindness of that small act was almost too much to bear. How many times had she wished Daniel could be considerate like that? Her eyes welled up at the thought but she sniffed and pushed it away. She had already shed far too many tears over that man.
Holly fished through her purse for her phone to find she had eight missed calls from her younger brother, Lucas, and just one text. Odd. Lucas despised using the phone. And the number of times he called in such a short period of time was alarming. She switched apps and checked the text.
Lucas: Disappearing for a while. Can you fe ed my dog?
She read it over and over, searching fruitlessly for a clue. And then she scrolled up to compare it to the last time they had texted five days ago. They had been reminiscing about their dearly departed parents who had died a year ago in a boating accident.
Mom’s belly laugh and Dad’s Christmas shortbread, s he’d said.
Mom’s singing voice and Dad’s Hulk Hogan impression, he’ d replied.
Gabe returned to their table, coffees in hand. “What’s the matter?” he asked. Holly’s face was white, and she was frantically scrolling through her phone.
“It’s Lucas. Something is wrong. He called… and then he texted. He…he…” Her hands wer e shaking.
Gabe took a deep breath and calmly reached for her phone. “Okay, it’s okay. Let me see,” he said. Scrolling to the bottom of the screen, he read the text aloud. “‘Disappearing for a while. Can you feed my dog?’ Doesn’t seem so bad, Holls. You know Lucas. He takes off every now and then.”
Holly nodded and then shook her head, trying to gather her thoughts. “Yeah, but there’s just one problem,” she said.
“Oh?” replied Gabe. “And what is that?”
She took the phone back and stood up from the table. “Lucas doesn’t ha ve a dog.”
h
Sheriff Max Cooper leaned back in his worn-in leather office chair, rubbed his stubbled chin, and ran a hand through his dark brown hair. This was it. This was what he’d been working toward for the past ten years and now it was all his. He was, as of today, Blairsville’s newest and youngest sheriff ever to hold the title. Granted, the honor was bestowed upon him because his mentor, Sheriff Jim Brown, had suffered a massive heart attack and had been made by his loving wife, Janet, t o retire.
But still. Here he was. This was now his chair, his desk, his office, his nameplate… Whoops. Nope. That still had Jim’s name. Max pulled out his iPhone and added a voice note: “Have Carly order a new nameplate,” he said slowly and s uccinctly.
Just then, the aforementioned deputy sheriff popped her head in the door. “Y es, boss?”
Max attempted to dismiss her with a wave. “Oh nothing, Carly. I was only making a vo ice note.”
She looked puzzled. “With my name?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s a voice note for you.”
She squinted at him. “But I’m right outside. You could just call me.”
Max took a deep breath. “Yes, but this is more professional. I record the voice notes, then send you the file so you can receive them all at once.”
“Right, but I’m literally just outside your door,” she said. And it wasn’t clear if she was still confused or was just having fun with him.
Max lightly slapped his hands on the arms of his office chair. “Okay, Carly. I hear you, but we’re gonna do things my way. Now, is there something else yo u wanted?”
She gave the slightest roll of her eyes but then broke into a smile. “No, boss. Not a thing,” she declared, turning to leave and then, “Oh! I almost forgot. Holly Blake called… twice, actually.”
Max colored . “Holly?”
“Yes.”
“Blake?”
“That ’s right.”
“Call ed twice?”
Carly sighed. “Lik e I said…”
Max began nervously tapping his desk with a pen. “Why didn’t you put her through?”
She clucked her tongue. “You said you weren’t to be d isturbed.”
Now it was his turn to squint. “But you just disturbed me two min utes ago.”
“Yeah, but you called my name.”
“I didn’t,” he began heatedly, but then calmly reconsidered. “Did she leave a message?”
Carly bit her lip slightly to hide a smile, not unlike that of the Cheshire Cat. “No, but she left her number. I’ll send you a voice note,” she replied and shut the door.
h
Holly couldn’t say why she did it. Habit maybe? A masochistic desire to be reminded of one’s lot in life? Whatever the reason, she hated that Daniel’s voice still provided comfort. Yes, he’d cheated, but it wasn’t at all surprising. They had been growing apart as a couple almost immediately after the wedding. It still hurt; she would never deny that. But she decided it wouldn’t do her any good to hate him.
“He called eight times?” he asked, his tone calm and even.
She pictured him sitting in his hotel room—tanned and slightly buzzed—probably getting ready for dinner. And then she remembered he wasn’t alone and how that wasn’t even her business anymore. “Right? So unlike him. But it was the dog thing that threw me off completely. That’s when I knew it was more like a cry for help, or a warning at the ve ry least.”
“So, are you going do wn there?”
“Yes,” she replied, slightly out of breath from frantically packing her suitcase. “My flight leaves in t wo hours.”
“And did you call him?”
Holly stopped. “Him who?”
Daniel let out a breath. “Holly, you know who. Your ex-fiancé, the big-time sheriff. Th at’s who.”
That made her smile. “Checking up on old Max, are we, Daniel?” She could just see him rolling his eyes at that comment, and it made her smile e ven wider.
He cleared his throat pointedly. “You insisted we become Facebook friends, remember? Anyway, did you call him?”
She zipped up her bag and ran to the bathroom to retrieve her toothbrush. “I left him two messages. In any case,” she started, but was interrupted by a call waiting signal. “Oh , Daniel?”
“Yeah?”
“That’s him on the ot her line.”
“Him who?”