Spellbound Falls
*
Praise for the novels of Janet Chapman
“A romantic, funny, quietly intense story of wounded survivors reluctantly finding love.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Janet Chapman’s
Dragon Warrior
is head and shoulders above any shape-shifting or paranormal romance I have ever read . . . A spectacular and brilliant novel for those who love the juxtaposition of the paranormal and the real world. A Perfect 10 is a fitting rating for . . . a novel which is both tender and joyful, but also has beasts looking for peace and a new way of life after centuries of struggle.”
—
Romance Reviews Today
“Delightful romantic series with a paranormal twist . . . Chapman brings plenty of warmth and fun to the story by enlivening it with a rich cast of characters. You can’t go wrong with a Chapman story!”
—
*
RT Book Reviews
(4 stars)
“If anyone can make me fall in love with a ninth-century warrior who also spent several centuries as a dragon, it’s Janet Chapman. I always love her secondary characters . . . I love the humor that she injects [in
Dragon Warrior
].”
—
Fallen Angels Review
(Five Angel Review)
“The idea of a time-traveling warrior, who was once a dragon, courting a modern woman is steamy fun . . . As funny and steamy as can be expected from Chapman . . . Well executed!”
—
Fresh Fiction
“From exceptionally moving scenes to delightfully amusing moments, the originality of
Dragon Warrior
keeps your total attention . . . Creatively innovative with inventive plots and particularly appealing characters.”
—
Single Titles
“Readers will be enchanted with Chapman’s love of Maine in her latest romance, a story filled with wit and tenderness.”
—
Booklist
“Lovable characters, a sweet romance, and the grouchy troublemaker dragon combine for a delightful read.”
—
Publishers Weekly
Jove titles by Janet Chapman
HIGHLANDER FOR THE HOLIDAYS
SPELLBOUND FALLS
Janet Chapman
JOVE BOOKS, NEW YORK
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
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(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)
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South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have control over and does not have any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
SPELLBOUND FALLS
A Jove Book / published by arrangement with the author
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Jove mass-market edition / March 2012
Copyright © 2012 by Janet Chapman.
Excerpt from
Charmed by His Love
copyright © 2012 by Janet Chapman.
Cover design by George Long.
Cover handlettering by Ron Zinn.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
EISBN: 9781101560457
JOVE
®
Jove Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
JOVE® is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The “J” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
To Nick Chapman.
I swear I don’t know whether to be proud
of the scary-awesome man you’ve become, or very afraid.
So go on now, son; go move some mountains!
Realizing the guy was utterly serious, Olivia bolted from the truck before she burst out laughing. Pretending not to hear Mark calling to her, she ran into the trading post—only to dart down the side aisle when she spotted Ezra waiting on Missy Maher at the counter in the back of the store. Finally stopping when she reached the alcove crowded with fishing gear, Olivia pressed her hands to her cheeks. For crying out loud, Mark was what… twenty? Twenty-one? She couldn’t remember what his application had said, but she’d swear he couldn’t be a day over twenty-two.
Good Lord, did she look like a cougar? Or even worse, did she come across as some lonely widow so desperate for sex that she’d hop into bed with a… a man-child? She was thirty-three, dammit; not old enough to be the audacious twit’s mother but certainly too old to be his summer entertainment.
Olivia sucked in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Now what was she supposed to do? Not only was her new employee—the sole applicant who’d had
any
camp counselor experience—about as proficient with a paintbrush as a two-year-old, the guy thought dawn cracked at ten
A.M.
But it had been during this afternoon’s hair-raising ride to town that Olivia had decided she’d have to dig out her small pile of applications and begin searching for a new handyman/counselor/activities assistant. Not five minutes after telling Mark there wouldn’t be a small army of young women working at Inglenook this summer, the horny toad had boldly stated that he found
her
really sexy, and asked if she’d be interested in sneaking over to the bunkhouse tonight after she put her daughter to bed.
What in hell was it with young people today that made them blurt out whatever they were thinking? Had good manners and discretion gone the way of the passenger pigeon? Was
nothing
taboo anymore?
Olivia gasped. Oh God, she sounded just like her mother-in-law!
“Olivia? Where’d you run off to?” Ezra called out, his voice moving toward her from the back of the store.
“Boss?” Mark called from the opposite direction.
“You can come out now, girl,” Ezra said with a chuckle. “Missy’s gone next door to plague everyone at the Drunken Moose.”
“Hey, boss,” Mark said as he came to a stop beside the alcove, his youthful face screwed into a frown. “You jumped out of the truck before I could ask if I should drive around to the side of the store.”
No, she’d jumped out before she got sued for smacking an employee. “I’m sorry, I just assumed you would. Hi, Ezra. Is my water heater out back on the loading dock?”
“Well, it ain’t hiding back here behind the ice fishing traps.” Ezra took the trap she’d distractedly picked up and slid it on the peg as he shot her a conspirator’s grin. “You’re safe for the next couple of days. Missy told me her brother’s gone back to Chicago to close the sale on his house.”
“Damn,” Olivia muttered. “If Simon sold his house, that means he really is moving to Spellbound Falls.” What was it about her that caught the attention of twenty- and fifty-year-old lechers, yet not one man around here her age gave her a second glance? “I need to order a case of bobbers and
another dozen fishing poles,” she continued, stepping out of the alcove. “And you might as well add a pack of size eight fish hooks, two reels of ten-pound-test line, and several top-water lures.”