Traveling nurse Karli Redding doesn’t have many fond memories of her aging grandfather, Axel—or of Mill Pond. But with Axel’s health in decline and Karli on a month’s hiatus between jobs, she volunteers to set him up with the help he needs. The house and her grandfather could both use some TLC. Good thing Keagan Monroe, the very attractive mailman next door, is always ready to lend a hand…
Not a lot slips by a mailman, and Keagan appreciates Karli’s dogged attempts to spruce up the neglected property. Painting, fixing the sagging porch, delivering a constant stream of casseroles from caring neighbors—he’ll help however he can, all while keeping his feelings under wraps. A short-term fling just doesn’t fit into his schedule. But with each passing day, Karli’s bond with the town grows a little deeper. Has fate sent her exactly where she needs to be? Karli’s willing to find out, and the first step is figuring out the perfect route to Keagan’s heart…
In my sixth romance, SPECIAL DELIVERY, Karli Redding, a travelling nurse, volunteers to go to Mill Pond to arrange health care for her grandfather. My daughter’s a travelling nurse, so it was fun making Karli one, too. My daughter’s dealt with many an uncooperative patient, and I could hear her bantering with Axel.
Mill Pond’s mailman, Keagan Monroe—who’s easy on the eyes--let Karli’s mother know that Axel shouldn’t live alone anymore. Keagan’s been dropping off cottage cheese, Ensure, and applesauce and keeping an eye on him, but he’s found the stove on three times when he stops by. The problem is that Axel is of sound mind and as spiteful as ever, so refuses to cooperate with any fixes Karli finds for him. He keeps telling her that one or more of his twelve children will come to care for him, hoping he’ll croak soon and leave them all of his money.
Karli has a month off between nursing jobs, so she decides to stay with him until someone shows up. Working in a hospital is not like living with a patient. Axel can be a real pain. I loved both of my grandmothers, but they didn’t grow warm and fuzzy when they got old. They got more demanding. Karli cooks for Axel and tries to get him to move more to build up strength. That’s when she learns that Axel…and the hunky mailman she begins to lust over…can both be had with food. There’s a lot of food in this book. A reviewer warned not to read this when you’re hungry. Probably because I love to cook for friends and family.
I also have a love of old houses, and Axel’s house has great bones, but no one’s taken care of it for decades. Karli can’t stand seeing such a beautiful house in such bad shape. If she has to look at it every day, she might as well clean it. And once she does that, she decides to paint some of the rooms. Keagan loves the house, too, and pitches in. The old house and the old man start to shape up. And Karli realizes, the more she works on the house, the more Keagan’s underfoot. A win/win?
Mill Pond’s mailman, Keagan Monroe—who’s easy on the eyes--let Karli’s mother know that Axel shouldn’t live alone anymore. Keagan’s been dropping off cottage cheese, Ensure, and applesauce and keeping an eye on him, but he’s found the stove on three times when he stops by. The problem is that Axel is of sound mind and as spiteful as ever, so refuses to cooperate with any fixes Karli finds for him. He keeps telling her that one or more of his twelve children will come to care for him, hoping he’ll croak soon and leave them all of his money.
Karli has a month off between nursing jobs, so she decides to stay with him until someone shows up. Working in a hospital is not like living with a patient. Axel can be a real pain. I loved both of my grandmothers, but they didn’t grow warm and fuzzy when they got old. They got more demanding. Karli cooks for Axel and tries to get him to move more to build up strength. That’s when she learns that Axel…and the hunky mailman she begins to lust over…can both be had with food. There’s a lot of food in this book. A reviewer warned not to read this when you’re hungry. Probably because I love to cook for friends and family.
She was eating at the wooden table in the kitchen with the oven on, soaking in the heat, when a mouse ran over her foot.
“Holy crap!” She wouldn’t let herself jump on a chair. She was a grown woman, and she wouldn’t scream over a mouse. But she wanted to.
“You okay?” Words she never thought she’d hear Axel utter.
“A mouse just ran over my foot.”
He grunted. “Yeah, they come in about this time of year when it gets cold outside.”
She walked to the door to talk to him. “How do you catch them?”
“There are some traps in the broom closet.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not going around the house to collect little dead bodies.”
“Suit yourself.”
She frowned at him. “There must be something else.”
“Mice leave when there’s a cat in a house, but when you leave, you take the damned thing with you.”
“I don’t want a cat.”
“Then kill the mice or start naming them.”
She glowered toward Kurt. “Mice are a man’s job. He should deal with them.”
Kurt finished a beer and swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. “They don’t bother me.”
“They’re disgusting. They spread disease and multiply faster than rabbits.”
He shrugged. “They don’t eat that much. Put some cheese out for them.”
She turned and stalked back to the kitchen. The idiots! She wasn’t about to start every day by sweeping away mouse turds.
“Holy crap!” She wouldn’t let herself jump on a chair. She was a grown woman, and she wouldn’t scream over a mouse. But she wanted to.
“You okay?” Words she never thought she’d hear Axel utter.
“A mouse just ran over my foot.”
He grunted. “Yeah, they come in about this time of year when it gets cold outside.”
She walked to the door to talk to him. “How do you catch them?”
“There are some traps in the broom closet.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not going around the house to collect little dead bodies.”
“Suit yourself.”
She frowned at him. “There must be something else.”
“Mice leave when there’s a cat in a house, but when you leave, you take the damned thing with you.”
“I don’t want a cat.”
“Then kill the mice or start naming them.”
She glowered toward Kurt. “Mice are a man’s job. He should deal with them.”
Kurt finished a beer and swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. “They don’t bother me.”
“They’re disgusting. They spread disease and multiply faster than rabbits.”
He shrugged. “They don’t eat that much. Put some cheese out for them.”
She turned and stalked back to the kitchen. The idiots! She wasn’t about to start every day by sweeping away mouse turds.
Win an eCopy!
Sounds good.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for featuring SPECIAL DELIVERY. It was a fun book for me to write. I hope readers like it as much as I do.
ReplyDelete