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PROLOGUE
FALLING IN LOVE with a Catholic priest was not my smartest move
Obviously, I’m well aware of the whole vow-of-chastity,for a priest doesn’t exactly further the cause of ht have overlooked those little facts, I have an entire town pointing them out to me
The probleht see detail, Father Ti I’ve ever let ent, hardworking He likes the sa He cohs at my jokes He cares about the people of entle guidance when asked And he’s fro on the cake, because ever since I was sixteen years old and first saw U2 in concert, I’ve had a thing for Irish guys So even though Father Tiuely ireat husband he’d make I’m not really proud of this, but there it is
My roh he’s probably the most colorful chapter in the joke book that le woman in Gideon’s Cove, Maine, population 1,407 Ostensibly there are enoughOur town is in Washington County, the northernreat state We’re too far froh we do live in what is undeniably one of thethe harbor, and the air snaps with the smell of pine and salt We’re a pretty old-fashioned town? or working in the blueberry industry It’s a lovely place, but it’s reood three hundred miles north of Boston Five hundred fro new people is difficult
I try I’ve always tried There have been a few boyfriends, sure I cheerfully accept fix-ups and blind dates when they’re thrown my way, I do I own and operate Joe’s Diner, the only restaurant in town, so I have plenty of chances to meet people And I volunteer?I volunteer my ass off, to be frank I deliver meals to the infir whatever leftovers I have on an almost daily basis I provide dinner at the fire depart drives and fund-raisers and offer to cater just about any event for a ood cause I am a pillar of society, and truthfully, I wouldn’t have it any other way
But in the back ofthat ood works and cheerful attitude will be noticed by sorandson of the elderly man whose dinner I delivered, or some new-to-town volunteer fireman who just happens to be, oh I don’t know, a board eon, too
However, the charitable neurosurgeon has proved elusive, and as of one year ago, when I was thirty-one years old, I rele with no credible prospects on the horizon That’s when I met Father Tim
I had gone for a bike ride out to Quoddy State Park We were having a warrees, the snow had softened, the breeze was quiet I’d spent most of the day cooped up inside, and a bike ride see to do Clad in layers of fleece and microfiber, I rode further than usual in the brisk air and fading sunlight of the afternoon Then, with classic New England unpredictability, a drenching, icy rainstorood ten miles from tohen my bike wheel slid on soht into a wet patch of snow that concealed eight inches ofand wet, I had also ed to cut my knee and tear my pants
Feeling very sorry for myself, I hauled my bike up the bank at the exact moment a car went by “Help! Stop!” I yelled, but whoever it was didn’t hear me Or heard me and was afraid, as I resehts of the blue Honda disappear in the distance, noting that the sky was suddenly much darker
Well, I didn’t have a choice I started walking, gi, until a pickup pulled over Before I could even tell who it was, the driver grabbedthrough the rain, I saas Malone, a silent, slightly scary lobsterman who moored next toa bell?so I gingerly crawled into the cab of his truck In ie Beau her bike one dark and stormy afternoon Her body was never found
To allay my nervousness, I talkedMalone that Jonah was h that was rather obvious), that I should have listened to the forecast, that I fell (again, obvious), that I was sorry to make his truck dirty, et cetera, et cetera
“Thank you very much, Malone, this was so nice of you,” I babbled when he lifted down my bike “You should coood pie Cup of coffee, too On the house, okay? I owe you Thanks again This was great Thanks Bye now” Malone did not deign to speak, simply lifted his hand and drove away
As I watched the taillights blur in the rain, I said a prayer “God, I don’t mean to complain, but I think I’ve been pretty patient here All I want is a decent ood father to our kids What do You say?”
I remember all this because the very next day?the very next day?I came out of the kitchen of Joe’s Diner, and there he was, sitting in the farthest booth, the ht, light brown hair, green eyes, broad shoulders, beautiful hands He wore a gorgeous Irish fisherman’s sweater and jeans When he sht, white teeth A leaping thrill of attraction and hope shuddered through my entire body
“Hi, I’ ood Blue sweater, not bad Hair, clean
“Tim O’Halloran A pleasure it is to ue! How Liam Neeson! How Colin Farrell! How Bono!
“Would you like some coffee?” I asked, proud that my voice still worked
“I’d love a spot Can’t think of anything nicer” He s with pleasure, I looked out into the parking lot and saw the blue Honda Dear God, it was the man who’d passed me!
“You know, I think I saw you last night!” I exclai for town around five? I fell offyou down”
“I was,” he answered, a concerned frorinkling his forehead “How could I have ive me!”
Done “Oh, gosh, don’t worry” His eyes were beautiful, green and golden, like a bed of“Really It’s?don’t?it’s fine So What, um…ould you like for breakfast?”
“What do you recoie?” he asked, and it sounded so damn sexy, that accent co eyes…
“I recommend that you eat here often,” I said “I made the muffins myself, and they’re just out of the oven And our pancakes are the best in town” And the only in town, but hey
“The pancakes it is, then, thanks” He sain, obviously in no hurry for me to leave “So you work here, do you?”
“Actually, I own the place,” I said, pleased to be able to iet Not just a waitress, but the boss The owner
“Do you, now! Brilliant! A classic, isn’t it?”
’Tis, I alrandfather, the Joe in Joe’s Diner, started it up in 1933”
“Ah, that’s lovely”
“So, Ti in Gideon’s Cove?” I asked, then realized he et your order in Sorry Be right back!”
I raced to the kitchen and called the order to Octavio, my short-order cook, then practically slid across the diner to Ti at the counter with varying degrees of impatience
“Sorry You ht actually want to eat, of course,” I said