by SJ McCoy
“Wow!” she breathed when he lifted his head.
He smiled. “I told you I wouldn’t let you down.”
“I never for a minute thought you would.” She winked at him. “I did have momentary doubt about whether you might take him down.”
He chuckled. “So did I, but it was only momentary. This was the best way to deal with it.”
“What did you do out there?”
“We had a little chat.”
She raised an eyebrow at him.
~ ~ ~
But even if he’d wanted to—and he didn’t—Cal didn’t get the chance to explain. The sound of metal tapping on glass made them both turn to see Manny and Ryan standing on the bottom stair. They were both tapping spoons against their glasses.
The whole room went quiet as everyone turned to look at them.
Manny grinned. “Don’t look at me! I’m just getting your attention. I believe that our host and hostess have something they’d like to tell us.”
Cal took hold of her hand and led her to the stairs. Her hand felt so small inside of his. He knew she was capable and strong. Like she’d told him, she wasn’t weak or helpless in any way. But she was his lady. And he planned to do everything in his power to protect her—and her two little ladies—from anyone and anything that could hurt them in any way.
When they reached the stairs, she got up on the first one and laughed when she turned and looked him in the eye. “You stay there. You don’t need to get any bigger.”
He chuckled and stayed where he was.
He looked around at all the faces turned toward them. “First, I want to thank you all for being here today. It means a lot. So many old friends and new ones. You all know that we wanted to invite you to see our new home. And we have some news to share with you.”
The room went quiet and he tightened his arm around Terry’s shoulders. “This beautiful lady has agreed to do me the honor of becoming my wife.”
A cheer went up and it sent goosebumps racing over his skin. He’d never imagined himself in this situation, never thought he’d wanted it before, but now she was the most important thing in the world to him.
They got lost in a sea of hugs and backslaps and handshakes. Cal enjoyed all of it—even the people he didn’t know but who’d known Terry all her life. They loved her, so he liked them.
When he finally made it back to her, she planted a kiss on his lips. “I love you.”
He kissed her back. “I love you. I give you my word I will love you and honor and protect you till the day I die.”
“You’re big on the protecting thing, aren’t you?”
He gave her a wry smile. “Maybe sometimes.”
She laughed. “More than sometimes.”
“I’m big on the loving you thing, too.”
She tightened her arms around his waist and pressed herself against him. “Oh, I know it, Mr. Callahan. Very big.”
He chuckled. “I meant on loving you, loving you. Not …” He held her closer so she could feel what he meant. “Loving you.”
“I meant both. I know you love me and I sure as hell know it when you love me.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll love you forever, Terry.”
He knew it was true as she looked up into his eyes. “And I’ll be right here,” she snuggled closer against him, “loving you right back.”;
;
I hope you enjoyed Cal and Teresa’s story. I love them. You’ll get to see some more of them in my next book, too. You may have guessed that Elle and Donovan—and Skye—are up next. Their story is called Please Don’t Say Goodbye and you can check this page on my website for updates.
A Note from SJ
I hope you enjoyed Cal and Teresa’s story. Please let your friends know about the books if you feel they would enjoy them as well. It would be wonderful if you would leave me a review, I'd very much appreciate it.
Check out the “Also By” page to see if any of my other series appeal to you –You’ll find a list of all my books – complete with reading order here.
If you’d like to keep in touch, there are a few options to keep up with me and my imaginary friends:
The best way is to Sign up for my Newsletter. Don't worry, I won't bombard you! I'll let you know about upcoming releases, share a sneak peek or two and keep you in the loop for a couple of fun giveaways I have coming up :0)
You can join me on Facebook at facebook.com/authorsjmccoy or just browse and like my Facebook Page.
And I’m always in the process of updating my website at www.SJMcCoy.com with new book updates and even some videos. Plus, you’ll find the latest news on new releases and giveaways on my blog.
I love to hear from readers, so feel free to email me at [email protected]. I’m better at that! :0)
I hope our paths will cross again soon. Until then, take care, and thanks for your support—you are the reason I write!
Love,
SJ
PS – Project Semicolon
You may have noticed that the final sentence of the story closed with a semicolon. It isn’t a typo. Project Semicolon is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and love to those who are struggling with depression, suicide, addiction, and self-injury. Project Semicolon exists to encourage, love, and inspire. It’s a movement I support with all my heart.
“A semicolon represents a sentence the author could have ended, but chose not to. The sentence is your life and the author is you.” - Project Semicolon
This author started writing after her son was killed in a car crash. At the time, I wanted my own story to be over. Instead, I chose to honour a promise to my son to write my ‘silly stories’ someday. I chose to escape into my fictional world. I know for many who struggle with depression, suicide can appear to be the only escape. The semicolon has become a symbol of support, and hopefully a reminder – Your story isn’t over yet
;
Also by SJ McCoy
If you’re one of those people who likes to read in chronological order you can find a reading order page on my website.
Summer Lake Silver
Just because a few decades—or more—have skipped by since you were in your twenties it doesn’t mean you can’t find love, does it? Summer Lake Silver stories find happily ever afters for those who remember being thirty-something—vaguely.
Marianne and Clay in Like Some Old Country Song
Seymour and Chris in A Dream Too Far
Ted and Audrey in A Little Rain Must Fall
Diego and Izzy in Where the Rainbow Ends
Manny and Nina in Silhouettes Shadows and Sunsets
Teresa and Cal in More than Sometimes
Summer Lake Series
The Summer Lake contemporary romance series follows a group of friends from a small lakeside town in the California hills. They have kept in touch over the years and now, in their early thirties, their lives are drawing them back to Summer Lake and to each other.
Emma and Jack in Love Like You’ve Never Been Hurt
Holly and Pete in Work Like You Don't Need the Money
Missy and Dan in Dance Like Nobody's Watching
Smoke and Laura in Fly Like You've Never Been Grounded
Michael and Megan in Laugh Like You’ve Never Cried
Kenzie and Chase in Sing Like Nobody’s Listening
Gabe and Renée in Smile Like You Mean It
Missy and Dan’s wedding in The Wedding Dance
Ben and Charlotte’s backstory in Chasing Tomorrow
April and Eddie in Dream Like Nothing’s Impossible
Nate and Lily in Ride Like You’ve Never Fallen
Ben’s story Live Like There’s No Tomorrow
Smoke and Laura’s wedding in The Wedding Flight
Leanne and Ryan in Fight Like You’ve Never Lost
Summer Lake Seasons
A return to the wonderful small town so many readers have grown to love. We'll see our
old friends around town and they'll feature to a greater or lesser extent in the new stories. I want you to be able to catch up on their lives if you know them - and to not feel like you're missing anything if you didn't read the original series.
Angel and Luke in Take These Broken Wings
Zack and Maria in Too Much Love to Hide
Logan and Roxy in Sunshine Over Snow
Ivan and Abbie in Chase the Blues Away
Colt and Cassie in Forever Takes a While
Austin and Amber in Tell the Stars to Shine
Donovan and Elle in Please Don’t Say Goodbye
The Davenports
The sexy billionaire Davenport brothers, Oscar, TJ and Reid are three very different characters. A billionaire CEO, a disillusioned vet and a reclusive genius - united by the bonds of brotherhood and family.
Oscar
TJ
Reid
The Hamiltons
This series is set in California wine country and features the family of Smoke Hamilton - one of the original Summer Lake characters. Napa Valley is their home, wine is the heart of their business empire, but wine isn't their only passion. The Hamilton family own one of the largest wine growing and distribution businesses in the country.
Cameron and Piper in Red Wine and Roses
Chelsea and Grant in Champagne and Daisies
Mary Ellen and Antonio in Marsala and Magnolias
Marcos and Molly in Prosecco and Peonies
Love in Nashville
Everyone knows that Nashville is the home of country and with so many Country songs about love it seems natural to find love in Nashville. Unfortunately, just like the road to the Grand Ole Opry, so many aspire but only the lucky ones, who work at it, find harmony center stage.
Autumn and Matt in Bring on The Night
Remington Ranch Series
Meet the sexy brothers of Remington Ranch! Just like in SJ's Summer Lake Romance series you can expect a story that is both sweet and steamy as you follow this family of four cowboy brothers and the women strong enough to tame them.
Mason
Shane
Carter
Beau
Four Weddings and a Vendetta
A Chance and a Hope
Chance is a guy with a whole lot of story to tell. He’s part of the fabric of both Summer Lake and Remington Ranch. He needed three whole books to tell his own story.
Book 1: Chance Encounter
Book 2: Finding Hope
Book 3: Give Hope a Chance
Standalone Novella
Sully and Jess in If I Fall