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  There’s No Place Like Home...

  Nothing could draw Sawyer Middleton back permanently to the town he left behind years before. Or so he thinks, before he meets his sister’s best friend. As soon as he matches wits with gorgeous, gregarious teacher Jessica Calhoun, Sawyer realizes he’s got a lot to learn about friendship...and love.

  Smart, savvy Jessica wants to grow old in Wickham Falls. Software engineer Sawyer has made it to the big city—and away from small-town life. And just like his ailing father, Sawyer’s used to calling the shots. But can losing his heart make Sawyer realize that home is where the heart is...and that his heart is with Jessica for good?

  “Women usually come here for dinner, but I’m willing to bet none are as beautiful as you.”

  Jessica’s cheeks burned with the unexpected compliment. She lowered her eyes. “You’re biased because I’m your sister’s friend.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, Jessica. My assessment of you has nothing to do with your association with my family. The first time I saw you I thought I’d conjured you up. I couldn’t take my eyes off you. I kept thinking how naturally beautiful you are.”

  Jessica met his luminous sapphire-blue eyes. “You do have a habit of staring.”

  “I do when there’s something worth staring at.”

  “You’re also quite kind on the eyes,” she countered in a soft voice.

  Jessica bit down on her lip not to laugh aloud when she saw Sawyer’s shocked expression. “Did I embarrass you?” she asked when he glanced down at the table.

  Sawyer’s gaze swung back to her. “No. It’s just that I didn’t expect you to come out with something like that.”

  “Why not? You have to know what you look like.”

  “What I look like is not the issue, Jessica.”

  “What is?”

  “Us.”

  WICKHAM FALLS WEDDINGS: Small-town heroes, bighearted love!

  Dear Reader,

  In the course of penning more than eighty books within thirty years, I have featured modern-day gladiators willing to risk everything for love, horse breeders, teachers, military and law enforcement personnel, real estate tycoons, small business owners and the self-employed. It doesn’t matter whether they are Coles, Eatons, Blackstones or Wainwrights, or if they live in different states or cities, they still share a common thread: a strong family connection.

  When I joined Special Edition I knew I would feel at home writing for this line because of the things I like to write about: families, brides and miniseries. My first title, Home to Wickham Falls, launches the Wickham Falls Weddings miniseries. Software engineer and uncompromising prodigal son Sawyer Middleton returns home because of a family emergency. He is used to living his life on his own terms until he is introduced to his sister’s best friend.

  Jessica Calhoun loves her adopted state of West Virginia, where she enjoys teaching, her new house and growing vegetables and flowers in the greenhouses on her property. It has been a long time since she has allowed a man to share her life, yet there is something about charming Sawyer she finds hard to resist, even though she knows his plans do not include staying in Wickham Falls beyond the summer. He’s a small-town boy who has found success in the big city, while Jessica is a big-city girl who has adjusted to small-town life. The question is, how can Sawyer and Jessica both get what they want at summer’s end?

  Happy reading!

  Rochelle Alers

  Home to Wickham Falls

  Rochelle Alers

  Since 1988, national bestselling author Rochelle Alers has written more than eighty books and short stories. She has earned numerous honors, including the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award, the Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing and a Career Achievement Award from RT Book Reviews. She is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Iota Theta Zeta Chapter. A full-time writer, she lives in a charming hamlet on Long Island. Rochelle can be contacted through her website, www.rochellealers.org.

  Books by Rochelle Alers

  Harlequin Kimani Romance

  The Eatons

  Sweet Silver Bells

  Sweet Southern Nights

  Sweet Destiny

  Sweet Persuasions

  Twice the Temptation

  Sweet Dreams

  Sweet Deception

  Kimani Arabesque

  The Wainwright Legacy

  Here I Am

  Because of You

  A Hideaway Wedding

  Secret Vows

  Eternal Vows

  Summer Vows

  Best Men Trilogy

  Man of Fantasy

  Man of Fortune

  Man of Fame

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  Home to Wickham Falls is dedicated to my editor, Megan Broderick.

  Thank you for your patience and the wonderful chats that helped to breathe life into this story.

  Contents

  Quote

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Excerpt from Serenity Harbor by RaeAnne Thayne

  Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.

  —Proverbs 17:1

  Chapter One

  “With a show of hands, how many want to delay going public until after the summer?” Two of the three software engineers sitting at the table raised their hands along with Sawyer Middleton. “The ayes have it.” He saw the withering look Elena Ng-Fitzgerald gave her husband. Thom was the only one who hadn’t raised his hand, and they needed a majority vote to go from a privately held company to a public one.

  If the decision of the majority of the partners had gone the other way, Sawyer had been mentally prepared to deal with the outcome of selling shares of their internet company.

  He took a sip from an oversized mug filled with coffee. The meeting that began at six that morning was approaching the four-hour mark. He would have suggested breaking for a least an hour, but knew the other three did not want to lose their momentum. The meeting’s agenda focused on whether to take the software company public, and if not, then whether or not to go on hiatus while offering their employees the summer off with pay before starting up again after Labor Day.

  The sixteen employees connected to the software company thought of themselves as an extended family, spending more time with one another than their own families. And it was normal for Sawyer to put in a seventy-hour workweek now that he was no longer dating.

  His cell phone vibrated and he glanced at the number on the screen. A slight frown creased his forehead when he saw his sister’s number. Sawyer stood. “Sorry, guys, but I have to take this,” he said, picking up the phone. “What’s up, Rachel?” he asked quietly, as he walked out of the room.

  “Dad had a heart attack last night . I’m at the hospital with him now.”

  Sawyer sucked in a breath. “How is he?”

  “The surgery was successful. He had two blocked arteries. Right now he’s in the ICU.”

  Although he and Henry Middleton were like oil and water, Sawyer knew he had to be there, if not for his father, then for his mother and sister. “How’s Mom holding up?”

  “She’s a mess, but she’s trying to keep it together for the boys. Colin and Dylan left yesterday afternoon for an overnight camping trip with their Boy Scout troop. They’re supposed to be back tonight around eight.”

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can book a flight.”

  “Text me when you get to the hospital. And thanks, Sawyer.”

  “There’s no need to thank me, Rachel. Even though Dad and I don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, he’s still my father. I don’t want you or Mom to tell him I’m coming.” He ended the call and then returned to the conference room. “I have to go home. My father had a heart attack, and I’m not sure when I’ll be back.”

  Thom stood up. “Don’t worry about it, Saw. We’ve already delayed going public, and anyway we’re all going to take a break at the end of the month. I’m just sorry yours has to begin with a family emergency.”

  One by one the others approached Sawyer, giving him a comforting pat on the back. Elena went on tiptoe and brushed a kiss on his stubble. “Go home and pack. I’ll call the travel agency and have Shirley schedule your flight and ground transportation. She’ll ring your cell as soon as everything is confirmed.”

  Sawyer kissed her forehead. “Thanks, beautiful.” Elena blushed as she ducked her head.

  “Let us know one way or the other about your father,” Darius said.

  Sawyer forced a smile. “I will.”

  * * *

  Ninety minutes later Sawyer mounted the steps to the private jet at a New Jersey regional airport. He was one of a half-dozen passengers. The first stop was Charleston, West Virginia, where Sawyer would pick up a rental for the drive to Wickham Falls.

  A flight attendant showed him to his seat. “As soon as we’re airborne lunch will be served. You’ll find the menu in the seat pocket.”

  Sawyer flashed a polite smile. “Thanks, but I’m going to pass on lunch.”

  He didn’t need food as much as he needed to sleep. It had been more than three years since he’d returned to Wickham Falls, and the day he walked out of the house where he’d grown up, his father forbade him to darken his door again. Sawyer experienced some guilt about staying away so long, despite his father’s mandate, because he missed seeing his mother, sister and nephews.

  Sawyer closed his eyes as the jet taxied down the runway, and he didn’t open them again until they were airborne. Then he reclined his seat and fell asleep. It felt as if they had just lifted off when the pilot’s voice came throughout the cabin informing the flight crew to prepare for descent. The aircraft landed smoothly on a runway at the Charleston airport where a driver waited to take Sawyer to an area where he could pick up a rental car.

  It was mid-May and his favorite time of the year in West Virginia. Everything was lush, and afternoon temperatures were warm enough for short sleeves. He stored his luggage in the back of the Jeep and drove south toward Wickham Falls. The familiar sight of mountains transported him back to his childhood, when he spent time fishing and swimming in a nearby lake and exploring Native American foot trails.

  Sawyer had cherished every day, whether rain or shine, that his merchant-seaman father was out to sea. His mother hummed as she went about her housework, the house was filled with the mouth-watering aromas of baking cookies, and his younger sister and her girlfriends giggled uncontrollably at any-and everything. But that all changed the instant Henry came home.

  An hour later he turned into visitor parking at the Johnson County Medical Center and sent Rachel a text that he was in the parking lot; seconds later she returned it indicating she was in the nurse’s lounge and would meet him at the front desk.

  The instant Sawyer walked into the lobby and saw his sister he felt worse for not coming home sooner. She was thinner than the last time he saw her, and even at that time she could ill afford to lose weight. Her slight frame appeared lost in a pair of pink scrubs. And as he came closer he saw the dark shadows under her blue-gray eyes. Either she was working too hard or not getting enough sleep. He extended his arms and wasn’t disappointed when she moved into his embrace. Resting a hand on her back, Sawyer pressed a kiss to her mussed dark red hair.

  “Hey, baby sister.”

  Rachel Phelan smiled. “I didn’t expect you to get here until sometime tonight.”

  “I was lucky to get a flight leaving this afternoon.”

  Rachel gave Sawyer a lingering stare.

  “Even though it’s not visiting hours I can get you up to see him. He probably won’t be able to talk because he’s been sedated.”

  “I’ll see him when he’s alert.”

  Rachel frowned. “Why can’t you forgive him for sending you away?”

  “It’s not about forgiveness. He is who he is and I am who I am. I’ll stay until he’s medically cleared, then I’m going back to New York.”

  “That may not be for several weeks.”

  Resting a hand in the small of his sister’s back, he steered her toward the exit. “Then I’ll stay until he’s cleared.”

  “Can you afford to stay away from your company for an extended period of time?”

  Reaching for Rachel’s hand, Sawyer gave her fingers a gentle squeeze as he led her to the rental. “Have you forgotten I’m my own boss?”

  Rachel nodded as she pulled her hand from his loose grip. “My car is in the employees’ lot. I volunteered to work a double tonight because the weekend neonatal nurse has a family emergency.”

  “Leave it. I’ll drive you back in time for your shift. Besides, you look exhausted. When was the last time you had at least eight hours of sleep?” Sawyer asked.

  Rachel closed her eyes for a few seconds. “I can’t remember. I come home to see the boys off to school, and then go to bed, but I don’t sleep well because sometime I can hear Dad and Mom fussing over nonsense.”

  Opening the passenger-side door, Sawyer assisted Rachel up, and then slipped out of his jacket. “Do you want to leave?”

  The seconds ticked as sister and brother stared at each other. “I don’t want to move to New York.”

  “I’m not talking about New York. What if I help you buy a house here?”

  Waiting until Sawyer rounded the Jeep and slipped behind the wheel, Rachel said, “No. I’m not going to borrow any more money from you.” She had moved out of the house she’d rented after her divorce and back in with her parents in order to make ends meet.

  Punching the Start engine button, Sawyer shifted into gear. “Stop it, Rachel,” he admonished softly. “I’m fortunate enough to make a lot of money, and if I can’t help my sister and nephews then what good am I? I told you before, any money I give you, you don’t have to pay back.”

  “I don’t want you to think of me as a charity case, Sawyer.”

  Sawyer clamped his jaw tightly. He did not tell Rachel that he had set up custodial bank accounts in her sons’ names because he did not want her ex to slack off on his less-than-adequate child support payments. And he doubted whether he would ever have to pinch pennies. The four-story loft building had been his only big-ticket purchase. It was across the street from Enigma4For4; he occupied the two top floors and leased the two lower floors to an art gallery and an architectural design firm.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Sawyer saw Rachel staring at him. “What’s the matter?”

  “Are you dating anyone?”

  He shook his head.

  “What happened to that girl you saw for more than a couple of months?”

  A derisive sneer twisted his mouth. “We broke up six months ago.”

  “What happened?”

  Sawyer’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “She wanted a baby and I told her I’m not ready to become a father.”

  “When do you think you’re going to be ready? At forty? Or maybe fifty?”

  “Very funny, Rachel.”

  “I’m not trying to be funny. You’re thirty-three, and it seems as if you’re becoming more and more antimarriage. Do you even like women, other than to sleep with them?”

  “I can assure you, little sister, that I like women a lot. Just not the ones who try to force me to do something I’m not ready to do.”

  “So, you’re telling me if you met a woman you really like you’d marry her, like, yesterday?” She snapped her fingers.

  “I’d have to do more than like her because I’d never marry a woman I didn’t love.”

  “Are you saying there is the possibility that one of these days you’ll make me an auntie?” Rachel asked, smiling.

  He returned her smile. “Maybe.”

  “What aren’t you telling me, big brother?”

  Sawyer sobered and concentrated on the road. He wanted to tell Rachel there was nothing to tell. He wasn’t dating anyone and he wondered whether he’d become too comfortable with his own company or just more discriminating.

  “It’s going to be a while before I consider becoming a father.”

  “How long is a while? And why wouldn’t you want to have children?”

  A noticeable muscle twitched in Sawyer’s jaw when he clenched his teeth. “I didn’t say I don’t want children, it’s just that I don’t want to raise my kids like Dad.”

  Rachel exhaled an audible breath. “Didn’t you say Dad is who he is and you are who you are? And that means you could never be like him.” She paused. “You should know he hasn’t been the same since you left The Falls.”

  “And that means what?”

  “That he’s mellowed. And when he barks at Mom she comes right back at him.”