Wind Chime Wedding (A Wind Chime Novel Book 2) (38 page)

I hope you enjoyed
Wind Chime Wedding
. I am currently working on the third book in the series,
Wind Chime Summer
, which will be available in 2016. For updates, please visit my website at  
sophiemossauthor.com
.

After spending the past year writing and traveling and living out West, I have happily settled back into a quiet life in my hometown on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I live in a small town similar to Heron Island and I feel so fortunate to be able to share the rich culture and traditions of my home through my stories.

In each of the Wind Chime Novels, I feature a Chesapeake Bay recipe at the end of the story. On the next page, you’ll find a recipe for a ten-layer Smith Island Cake. I have only baked this recipe once, and while I promise it’s worth the effort, it’s definitely a labor of love.

If you want to try a Smith Island Cake without having to don an apron for an entire afternoon, check out the Smith Island Baking Company at  
smithislandcake.com
. Located on Smith Island, the bakery specializes in authentic Smith Island Cakes—Maryland’s State Dessert—and they ship their products throughout the U.S. and around the world. I have tried several of their cakes, and they’re fantastic.

Lastly, I have a small request. If you enjoyed
Wind Chime Wedding
, it would mean so much to me if you would consider leaving a brief review. Reviews are so important. They help a book stand out in the crowd, and they help other readers find authors like me. If you have time, I would really appreciate it if you’d leave a review on the site where you purchased the book.

Thank you so much for reading
Wind Chime Wedding
!

Sincerely,

Sophie Moss

Thank you to my mom and dad for your support and encouragement. Thank you to all the men and women who have served in our military. I am so grateful for your sacrifice and for everything you do to keep this country safe. Thank you to my first readers—Martha Paley Francescato, Audra Trosper, Melissa Hladick Meyer, Patricia Paris, Hannah Steenbock, Christine Fitzner-LeBlanc, and Tracy Hewitt Meyer—for taking the time to read early drafts and provide valuable feedback. Lastly, thank you to my amazing design team, Blue Harvest Creative, for transforming the cover and layout of this story into a work of art.

Sophie Moss is a
USA Today
bestselling author of five full-length romance novels. She is known for her captivating Irish fantasy romances and heartwarming contemporary romances with realistic characters and unique island settings. As a former journalist, Sophie has been writing professionally for over ten years. She lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where she’s working on her next novel. When she’s not writing, she’s testing out a new dessert recipe, exploring the Chesapeake Bay, or fiddling in her garden. Sophie loves to hear from readers. Email her at
[email protected]
or visit her website 
sophiemossauthor.com
 to sign up for her newsletter.

Read on for a special preview of
Wind Chime Caf
é
.

Available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook.

Visit the author at:

www.sophiemossauthor.com

Contact the author at:

[email protected]

Cover design, interior book design,

and eBook design

by Blue Harvest Creative

www.blueharvestcreative.com

T
aylor,” Annie Malone whispered, reaching for her daughter’s hand. “Wake up.”

Taylor’s green eyes fluttered open. “Are we here?”

Annie nodded.

Taylor sat up slowly, gazing out the passenger side window. Crickets chirped in the tall grasses around their new home. The crisp autumn air carried the scent of the Chesapeake Bay. “It’s quiet.”

“I know,” Annie said softly. “But we’ll be safe here.”

Taylor’s free hand drifted to her broom—the broom she hadn’t stopped carrying since the day everything had changed three weeks ago. It was lodged between her seat and the door. She tugged it back into her lap.

“Come on.” Annie kept her tone upbeat as she stepped out of the car. The sooner they put the past behind them, the sooner Taylor could begin to heal. “I’ll give you the grand tour.”

Taylor clung to her broom as they walked up the overgrown path. Moonlight slanted through the beams of the wide, wrap-around porch. The steps creaked as they climbed them, and when a cool wind blew through the empty streets, the windowpanes rattled.

Taylor jumped.

Annie laid a comforting hand on her eight-year-old daughter’s shoulder. She didn’t know how long Taylor would be skittish around loud noises, but it was one of the reasons she’d wanted to move her away from the city.

Heron Island would give them a fresh start, a place where they could build new memories and escape the ones that still haunted them both at night.

Pushing open the door, Annie found the switch on the wall, flooding the first floor café with light.

“It’s pink,” Taylor said, surprised.

Annie smiled, guiding her inside and closing the door behind them. “It won’t be for long.”

Taylor stepped into the small dining room, with its simple black and white checkerboard floor, silver counters, and glass display case. “We can paint the walls?”

Annie nodded. They’d never been able to paint the walls in their previous apartment. The Washington D.C. building had maintained strict codes, mostly to keep the dilapidated structure from falling any further apart.

She’d been working double shifts ever since Taylor was born, putting away a small portion of her paycheck each week so that one day they could get their own place.

A rush of pride swept through her. This house was theirs; it belonged to them. They could do whatever they wanted with it. “You can help me pick out a new color after school tomorrow.”

Taylor’s small hands squeezed the handle of her broom. “I don’t want to go.”

“It’s only one day.” Annie knelt in front of her. “Then we have the whole weekend to spend together.”

The counselor had recommended Taylor start back to school on Friday. She’d said it would be easier for her to make it through one day rather than an entire week. Annie waited for her daughter’s haunted eyes to lift back to hers. “I’ll go with you, and I’ll stay as long as you need me.”

“You promise?” Taylor whispered.

Annie nodded, brushing Taylor’s red hair back from her face. She wished she had the resources to homeschool Taylor. She wished her daughter didn’t have to set foot in another school ever again. But she needed to work. She needed to get her restaurant up and running soon or she’d never be able to make the first mortgage payment.

They’d find a way to get through this together.

She stood, taking Taylor’s hand and leading her through the kitchen. The back door stuck, but it swung open after a few tugs. They walked out onto a lopsided deck overlooking a yard covered with weeds and wildflowers.

“It’ll take time,” Annie said, gazing out at the quiet cove where a flock of geese chattered on the water, “but once the renovations are done, we can plant a garden.”