Discovery
in Passion: Book 1:
Wanting to start fresh, Cassie Evans relocates to the small town of
Passion where she moves into the home of her dreams, complete with a dreamy
next-door neighbour, artist, and handyman Thomas Healy. The only problem is,
the house she bought just might be haunted.
Thomas Healy lives a life of solitude, and that suits him just fine. Then
Cassie Evans moves in next door and begins to turn his peaceful life upside
down. He tries to ignore her, but ignoring a woman as beautiful as Cassie isn’t
so easy, especially when she shows up at your door, naked, begging for you to
paint her. Thomas’ first mistake was to agree to it, his second was to take
Cassie to bed, now she’s all he can think about.
When their blossoming love is overshadowed by a ghostly haunting, the
curious Cassie launches an investigation into the life and death of her home’s
previous owner, uncovering a mystery and attracting the attention of a killer.
Where will Cassie’s discovery lead her? To the love of her life or to death
itself?
Excerpt:
Since she had nowhere to go but outside,
Cassie rested her bags on the patio floor, and held the door for them while
they moved the sofa outside. Her mouth absolutely watered watching the muscles
bulging in the arms beneath Thomas’ shirt. She wouldn’t mind watching him work
all day. She let out a long sigh after she left the room. In no time at all,
they had the furniture moved to her garage and her dining room back to nearly
empty with only the table and chairs in it.
“I’ve ordered the hardwood, and it’ll be
here in two days,” Thomas spoke as he walked past her.
“Two days?”
“It takes time to order that much in and
have it delivered. And it’ll give me time to sand down the floorboards and
clean them before laying the hardwood down. That stain on the carpet went right
down to the floorboards.”
“Yeah, I don’t know where that came from.
It wasn’t there when I first got here.”
“Probably just didn’t see it. “
“No, it wasn’t there,” Cassie insisted.
“That’s the spot the Talbots were killed,”
Pete piped in, carrying a few of the bags from Cassie’s trunk.
“Why, thank you, Pete. You didn’t need to
carry in the groceries.”
He shrugged. “I wasn’t doing anything
else.”
“What did you say when you came in?” Cassie
took the bags from him and set them on the counter.
“Edward and Luanne Talbot were murdered in
the living room here by their only son. He offed himself right after in his
bedroom.”
He’d caught her attention now. Turning to
him, Cassie’s eyes widened. “Someone was murdered in my house?”
“Yeah…um…about ten years ago, I think,
yeah, it’s nearly ten. First murder-suicide
on the record in this town,” Pete added, tapping a finger on his head.
“Everyone talked about it for a long time. Still do, on occasion.”
Cassie stared at him, her mouth open.
“You didn’t know?”
“No, I didn’t know.” Murdered. In her home.
She shivered. “Are you telling me that no one replaced that carpet after the
murders?” Cassie shivered again.
“Oh, sure, it’s been replaced a few times,
but that stain always comes through. People say the place is haunted.”
“People tend to gossip a lot in small
towns. Are there more bags in Miss Evans’ trunk, Pete?” Thomas inquired.
“Yeah.”
“Maybe you should go get them,” Thomas
prodded.
“Sure thing.”
“Did you know about this?” Cassie asked
Thomas after Pete had left.
“I’d heard rumours.
But only that, rumours. Small towns are full of
them. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”
“Oh, sure, easy for you to say. You don’t
live in a haunted house.” Cassie looked around uneasily. Why hadn’t she been
informed of the history when she’d purchased it? That explained the price being
so low.
“This place isn’t haunted.” Thomas walked
to the door and took the bags from Pete. “I’ve got a guy coming in tomorrow to
look at the walls. He says he can have them painted for you the same day if you
pick colours he can get quickly. I’d rather have
the walls painted before I do the hardwood.”
“You called a guy about painting for me?
How sweet. Okay, that works for me. I like fast.” Cassie winked at him, knowing
full well he caught the sexual innuendo in her words. “I want the walls in
aquamarine.”
“Hopefully, he can get that for you.”
“They’re not hard to mix. I guess I won’t
be sitting in my living room any time soon. Hey, where did you put my TV?”
“In your bedroom. I figured you’d want to
watch something while we fix up the place.”
“You were in my bedroom?” Her voice dipped
low and sultry.
“To put the TV in it.”
Her eyes lowered, and she smiled. “Uh huh.”
“This is all of it,” Pete spoke, entering with
the last bag and a large boxed fan.
“Thank you, Pete. You are a sweetie.” She
took the bags, and then leaned in to kiss his cheek. He was too young for her,
but she enjoyed making him blush. “Would you boys like something to drink?”
Face flushing, Pete responded. “I’ll take a
rain check. I have to go to another job. Call me later, Tom, and let me know
when to be here to do the floor.”
“You bet.”
“Bye, Pete. He’s cute,” Cassie added after
he’d left the house.
“He has a girlfriend,” Thomas stated, leaving
the kitchen and heading to the living room.
“I have no doubt. He is a sweetie. Were you
implying that I might be making a move on him?”
“It was only a comment.”
The floor looked like hell, and she could
see the stain in the wood. Shuddering at the thought of where it had come from,
Cassie turned her attention back to Thomas. “No, it wasn’t. You thought I was
making a pass at him.”
“It was obvious you were.” He crouched down
with his hammer and began hammering down loose nails.
She took offense. “Well, I wasn’t.”
“Why did you kiss him on the cheek, then?”
“I like to flirt, but I wasn’t making a
pass at him. I’m more direct when I make my passes.” She knelt down beside him.
“Like this.” Taking his chin in her hand, Cassie moved in for the kiss. She
made it quick, but definitely potent, and when she released him, Cassie could
tell he’d been affected by it. “That was a pass.” Leaving him with the taste of
her lips on his, Cassie headed up the stairs to change into her bikini.
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Shiela Stewart is a paranormal suspense author with a writing history that stems back to her youth. Always a dreamer, wondering if her stories would ever reach an audience, she was finally published in 2006 and hasn’t stopped since. It is rare to find a stand-alone book as she prefers series stories. Her longest-running series to date is her Darkness series, which is a vampire romance.
Her joy for scary suspense is evident in each of her books. She has had several accomplishments, including fighting for the top spot in the rankings with author Stephanie Myers, receiving glowing reviews as well as interviews on local television and reviews and interviews in The Romantic Times Magazine.
When not writing, Shiela spends her time with the love of her life, William, and their children and grandchildren. Her strong affection for animals is evident in the many cats she cares for.
Her favourite time of the day is at sunset.
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