Good Morning!
It's been a busy few days since I drove home from my son's house in Nacogdoches, TX Wednesday. The weather is beautiful. Still hot days but cooler nights and dry for a change. There's a lot going on but I'll wait to catch up with you a little later in the month. Meanwhile, our guest today is not new. Carol James has visited many times but please WELCOME her back with her new release, No Longer Captive. Take it away, Carol.....
When Ethne O'Connor's brother, Sean, tells her of father's unexpected death, he asks her to do something she promised herself she'd never do. Come back home.
A victim of childhood abuse, Ethne left her father and the small Texas town of Crescent Bluff ten years ago on the night of her high school graduation. She's determined to end the cycle of abuse and believes the only way to do that is remain single. If she has no husband, she'll never have children that can be abused.
Then she meets Daniel Spenser, a handsome doctor with chocolate-kiss eyes. Daniel understands her past in a way no one else does. He's lived it.
Will Daniel be able to help Ethne break the chains of captivity around her heart?
And will God release her from her past, to be free to trust the man she comes to love?
Excerpt
“So if the Son sets you free, you will
be free indeed.”
John 8:36
The
gravel crunched beneath the tires as Ethne O’Connor steered the box truck onto the
shoulder of the narrow country road. Today would be a scorcher. The clock hadn’t yet
reached nine in the morning, and already the numbers on her dashboard read
ninety-two. The birth of another lovely summer day in Central Texas.
The
heat waves rising from the pavement in front of her mirrored the waves of
nausea that had steadily intensified since she’d left Fort Worth. She shifted the
truck into park, flipped on the emergency flashers, and turned the air
conditioning on high. Closing her eyes, she pushed her head back against the
seat and begged the cold air to rush across her face and relieve her churning
stomach.
She
couldn’t believe she was doing this. One May evening ten years ago,
with her suitcase already packed in the trunk of her car, she walked across the
stage in the high school auditorium, received her diploma, and made a promise
to herself, a vow that had never been broken…until today. Sean’s
pleading phone call on Monday had changed everything. She was returning home.
The
nausea somewhat under control, she shifted the truck into drive, pulled back
onto the roadway, and turned off the emergency flashers. One last mile to go.
Anticipation was a funny thing. When she wanted something to happen, it took
forever to come. If she dreaded an event, it arrived before she knew it. These
last several days had gone by way too fast.
Slowing
the truck, she turned left and began the journey down a meandering river of
asphalt. As she rounded the final curve and her childhood home came into view,
she gasped. In the ten years she’d been gone, absolutely nothing had changed. The two-story
farm house was still painted white with black shutters. Large Boston ferns hung
from under the edges of the front porch and swayed in the ever-present Texas
wind. Even the flowers waving in the pots beneath them were the same—purple
petunias.
Nine
o’clock and no Sean, but she wasn't surprised. Punctuality had
never been expected of him. On the other hand, Vaughn had always demanded she
be on time. Even early. That requirement had served her well over the years,
birthing in her the organizational skills that helped her successfully start and
run her business.
She
parked the truck at the top of the circular drive, and despite the heat,
slipped on her sweater, and inched across the pavement and up onto the porch.
She grasped the doorknob. As she expected, it was locked, and she didn’t have a
key. Years ago, she’d thrown hers away because she would never need it again. If
she’d kept it, she could have at least gone inside and escaped
the heat.
She
turned and walked toward one of the rocking chairs. A forgotten green turtle
with a chipped front leg smiled at her from underneath one of the pots of
flowers. She picked it up and slid back the door on its belly. A key fell out
into her hand. When she was a little girl, she always believed the key was
there for Sean and her—in case they got locked out and Vaughn was still at the
office. That was certainly one of the reasons, but when she was eleven, she’d
discovered another.
She
returned the oblivious little turtle to his home and then inserted the key into
the lock. Taking a deep breath, she turned the key and pushed the door open.
Cool, silent darkness greeted her as she stepped into the spotless—Vaughn would
have it no other way— foyer.
She
set the key on the console table beside the door and then tiptoed, for some
unexplainable reason, further in. She paused and glanced first toward the
living room to her right and then toward Vaughn’s home office to her left. There was
only one choice to make. She headed right and walked to the wingback chair next
to the fireplace. Sitting, she nestled into the cushions. She pressed her nose
against the fabric. Even after all these years, she could imagine the soft
fragrance of Mother’s perfume lingering in the ivory brocade.
Heavy
draperies hung closed over the living room windows. A shaft of light shot out
from the middle space where the panels failed to meet completely and
illuminated a flock of dust motes as they floated in the bright morning sun.
When she was five, Mother told her the particles were tiny fairies dancing in
the sunshine, but they were usually invisible. Only the magic of the sun
unveiled them.
One
day, Ethne had asked Vaughn if she could borrow his magnifying glass to see the
fairies, but he’d refused, saying Mother had filled her head with nonsense.
Fairies weren’t real.
Turns
out, that was one of the few truthful statements he’d ever made to her. She now knew the
‘fairies’ were
nothing more than a combination of dead skin cells, fabric fibers, pollen, and
dirt. He was right. Nothing magical about that.
As
she walked over to the window and threw open the curtains, the fairies
disappeared.
“So,
the prodigal sister hath returned.”
She
jumped and spun to face the foyer. Her little brother spanned the doorway. He
had grown up. The last time she’d seen him at his college graduation three years ago, he was
at that stage where the calendar said he was a man, but his body was trying to
catch up. He had certainly filled out, and he now sported a short, precisely-trimmed,
chestnut beard. His hair, unlike hers, had deepened from bright copper to rich
auburn.
“Sean.
You’re late,” she snipped. This was not the way she’d
envisioned their first meeting after all this time. She took a deep breath,
reined in her emotions, and smiled. “Or maybe I’m a little early. I have a reputation
for that.” She pulled him into a sisterly hug.
His
grin answered hers. “Early, late, whatever. I’m just glad you came. I was beginning
to wonder if I’d ever see you again.”
“The
road runs both ways, you know.”
“Yeah.
Sorry.” He held up the key she’d placed on the console table. “I see you remembered the
turtle. I figured I’d find you sitting on the porch in one of the rockers.”
He
set a small, black gym bag on the floor. “Where’s your suitcase? Need me to get it
out of the truck?”
“I’m not
staying here. I’ve got a room in town.”
“Eth,
I can see how hard this must be for you.” Tears filled his eyes. “Believe me. I
know.”
He
really had no idea. The man he knew as Dad was not the same one she knew as
Vaughn.
Links to the Book:
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/56pdpzmy
Pelican: https://bit.ly/3lve7NN
B&N: https://tinyurl.com/4jnj8u7p
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/no-longer-a-captive
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/no-longer-a-captive-by-carol-james
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58857487-no-longer-a-captive
No Longer Captive sounds like another great book, doesn't it, Friends?
Thank you, Carol for sharing with us. We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings.
Until next time take care and God Bless, Everyone!
PamT
10 comments:
Pam, thanks so much for letting me tell about my new release.
Beautiful sounding story. I love her name. Thank you for sharing and I wish you many sales!
I enjoyed your novel, Carol. Congratulations on the new release.
Thanks so much for your encouragement.
Thanks, Kara. I had a customer from New Zealand named Ethne. That was the first time I had heard the name and knew I wanted to name a character that. So, several years later, here she is.
Reading this right now and loving it! If you want to know what Carol James' puppy Zoe thinks about the book, visit her on Instagram at 3dogsandtheirauthors.
Congratulations on the book!
This sounds like such an emotional read.
Thanks so much.
This sounds like a fantastic read. Really great excerpt. Congrats and best wishes!
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