Hey, my friends! Happy Valentine’s Day! Hope you’re all doing well. I’m so glad you’re enjoying my new story thus far! I’m excited to share another excerpt from Love Unleashed today, continuing from where we left off. Here goes!
Drawing slow, steady breaths, he replied, “That sounds great, in theory, but I’m concerned. There are always dogs on the premises, and, you know, with that many kids running around, their temperaments might be unpredictable . . .”
The young woman’s smile never faltered. “Hannah has assured us that everything will be safe and kid-friendly. She’s closed the front of the store so only we’ll have access. Any dogs in the shop will be in the back getting spa treatments. I don’t think you’ll have anything to worry about, Mr. Clarkson.”
He forced a smile in return, his throat dry and his heart hammering a staccato beat. Bad enough they had to take the unnecessary risk of visiting her business in the first place, but to top it off, he was probably the last person on earth she wanted to see in there. And, naturally, his group had been assigned The Barkery as their first stop.
***End of WWW post, but carry on to finish this sequence.***
Resigned to his fate, he sought out his daughter and began assembling the other kids in his group. He and Ms. Theodore took off with their six assigned children, her leading the way and him pulling up the rear. Diana and her best friend Mia held hands and skipped along the sidewalk, making sure not to step on any cracks. He remembered the old rhyme from his days in elementary school, but it stirred a different set of emotions now.
They hadn’t even settled on a name for their daughter yet. Those were the words that churned—burned—through his brain when he’d gotten the phone call that knocked his world off its axis. He’d been on a job, and Lily had gone for a routine grocery trip. But she’d never made it home. He’d broken every speed limit to get to the hospital. Car accident, they’d said. Critical condition. Emergency C-section.
Here’s the blurb:
Hannah Barker has it all. A booming business, a fabulous group of girlfriends, and a loving and devoted housemate…with floppy ears and a wet nose. She doesn’t have time for romance. Or so she says.
Kent Clarkson is a single father on a mission to keep his daughter safe. But when the blonde bombshell he’s been butting heads with all summer proposes opening a dog park, Kent—who’s been once bitten and more than twice shy—goes on the offensive. Soon, it’s all-out war.
The whole town knows the chemistry between Hannah and Kent is off the leash, but can these two set aside their differences long enough to fall in love?
Thanks so much for stopping by and be sure to visit the other Weekend Writing Warriors!
I celebrated Galentine’s Day pretty hard yesterday with some chicken wings, onion rings, and a giant chocolate chip cookie. As for today, I think I’ll get lost in a good book. 🙂 Take care, brush your hair, and I’ll see you next week! xo
Award-winning romance author & PE teacher who plays sports, sings, juggles, dances, has a sneaker obsession, & lives on PB! 
What a dramatic, heartbreaking scene that explains his caution where his daughter is concerned.
I’m glad it reveals more of his character. You’ll get to know him even better next week. 🙂 Thanks, Nancy!
Love the set up for the meeting. He is already on high alert, great for conflict.
Thank you, Shari! I’ll share more from this scene next week! 🙂
So much backstory given in this snippet, and done in a wonderful way! Though, it is tragic. And there’s a hint of a history between Kent and Hannah. Well done!
😀 <-- my face! Thank you, Jessica! I'm really happy to hear it's hitting all the right notes.
Great snippet! I loved the way you wove in the details of his wife’s death using the “step on a crack” line. Well done!
Thank you so much, Jenna! This was a really tough scene for me to write, so I’m glad it’s resonating with people. 🙂
Poor man – what a time to lose his wife.
Yes indeed. But he’s lucky to have a really strong support system, and an amazing daughter, too. 🙂
Such a sad backstory but a smooth way to work it into the book. Well done snippet!
Thank you, Veronica! I’m glad to hear it was a smooth transition! 🙂
Understanding where he’s coming from makes us root for him, even while we also understand Hanna’s reaction. Two sets of emotional responses butting heads makes for a great story!
😀 That’s music to my ears! Thanks, Ed!
What a horrible memory. And I’m sure he’s had it surface many times. It explains his overprotectiveness.
Such a sad memory and as Diane points out, explains his protectiveness.
On another note, I finally completed Learning to Love!! What a great novel. I was able to finish it during the Great Texas Blackout of 2021. 42 hours of no power and water. I’m just glad I had it downloaded to my phone. I will definitely leave a review where I purchased it, Amazon I believe. Great story, Julie. I couldn’t get enough of it.
I backtracked after I read this week’s snippet. I don’t know how I missed this, but it was important to the story! Loving this one, Jules. 🙂 The emotion is excellent.
Would you like me to switch out your wewriwa sidebar listing? Right now it’s Steeped in Love. Shall I change it to Learning to Love?
Look at you go. I know your mom is so proud of you.