“Yes.”
“Ah.” Her father, who everyone said looked a bit like Santa Claus, smiled. After folding the latest issue of the Budget on his lap, he looked at her over the rims of his reading glasses. “Well, how was your beau tonight?”
For a moment, E.A. contemplated sharing what had happened with her father. Thought about explaining her feelings and how she knew there had to be someone better suited for her than David.
But if she did that, Daed would call for her mother, Mamm would rush in, try to make her eat some cookies, and then the three of them would have a “cozy discussion” that would last for at least an hour. There was no way she was up for that.
“He was the same,” she finally said as she started up the stairs.
Yes, David had been the same, but she’d been very different.
Or, maybe, just maybe, she’d finally been her real self. The person she’d meant to be all along.
Continue Reading…
The Protective One
Shelley Shepard Gray
READER QUESTIONS
1. What were your first impressions of Katie and Harley? How did your perception of them change during the novel?
2. Do you have any close friends who you’ve had for a long time? What do you think is the secret for sustaining a close friendship?
3. I loved reflecting on the theme of loyalty while writing this novel. Who in your life have you been loyal to? Do you think loyalty needs to be reciprocated? Why or why not?
4. Both Katie and Harley experienced some challenges with their family members. How do you think those challenges prepared them for their future?
5. What do you think will happen with Kyle and Gabby in the future?
6. I enjoyed writing about characters cleaning out a home and remodeling it into something new. Have you ever remodeled a home, or, perhaps, cleaned out a lot of your belongings to start fresh? What was difficult? What did you learn, if anything?
7. I used the following scripture verse to guide me while writing this novel: “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”—Psalm 90:12. What does it mean to you?
8. I enjoyed the following Amish proverb and thought it fit Harley and Katie’s story well: “Things turn out the best for those who make the best of the way things turn out.” Is there anything in your life that you feel it could be applied to?
9. The Loyal One marks the midway point in the Walnut Creek series. What are you liking about the series so far? Who have been some of your favorite characters?
More from this Series
The Protective One
Book 3
Friends to the End
The Patient One
Book 1
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
© DIANNE BOMAR AT THE NEW STUDIO
SHELLEY SHEPARD GRAY is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than sixty novels that have been translated into multiple languages. She lives in Colorado with her family and writes full-time.
FOR MORE ON THIS AUTHOR:
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Shelley-Shepard-Gray
SimonandSchuster.com
Facebook.com/GalleryBooks
@GalleryBooks
Also available from Shelley Shepard Gray and Gallery Books
THE WALNUT CREEK SERIES
Friends to the End*
The Patient One
*ebook only
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Gallery Books
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by Shelley Shepard Gray
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Gallery Books trade paperback edition August 2019
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Interior design by Erika Genova
Cover art by Tom Hallman
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Gray, Shelley Shepard, author.
Title: The loyal one / Shelley Shepard Gray.
Description: First Gallery Books trade paperback edition. | New York : Gallery Books, 2019. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2019003707 (print) | LCCN 2019005430 (ebook) | ISBN 9781982100902 (ebook) | ISBN 9781982122119 (hardcover : alk. paper)| ISBN 9781982100896 (trade pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781982123529 (mass market: alk. paper)
Classification: LCC PS3607.R3966 (ebook) | LCC PS3607.R3966 L695 2019 (print)| DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019003707
ISBN 978-1-9821-0089-6
ISBN 978-1-9821-0090-2 (ebook)
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