The Waterfall. Carla Neggers

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      Three years after the sudden death of her husband, Lucy Blacker Swift has finally got things under control. Leaving behind the cutthroat world of Washington, Lucy and her two children move to a Vermont farmhouse and start to rebuild their lives. But a string of unexplained events—late-night hang-ups, a bullet through a window—threatens her new life.

      Unwilling to turn to her powerful father-in-law, Senator Jack Swift, Lucy tracks down Sebastian Redwing, an international security expert her late husband asked her to contact if she ever needed help. Sebastian, though, wants nothing to do with her problems…or with a woman he’s been half in love with since her wedding day.

      But Sebastian knows he has no choice, and reluctantly he becomes drawn with Lucy into a dangerous tangle of blackmail, vengeance and betrayal, with Lucy’s powerful family—and Sebastian’s troubled past—smack in the middle.

      Praise for the novels of

      “Nobody does romantic suspense better than Carla Neggers.”

      —Providence Journal

      “Well-drawn characters, complex plotting and plenty of wry humor are the hallmarks of Neggers’s books.”

      —RT Book Reviews

      “Cold Pursuit is the perfect name for this riveting read. Neggers’s passages are so descriptive that one almost finds one’s teeth chattering from fear and anticipation.”

      —Bookreporter

      “[Neggers] forces her characters to confront issues of humanity, integrity and the multifaceted aspects of love without slowing the ever-quickening pace.”

      —Publishers Weekly

      “Carla Neggers is one of the most distinctive, talented writers of our genre.”

      —New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

      The

      Waterfall

      Carla Neggers

       www.mirabooks.co.uk

      To Dick and Diane Ballou…for the house,

      the clothes, the fun and the friendship.

      Dear Reader,

      When I wrote The Waterfall, we had just bought our “fixer-upper” on a hilltop in Vermont not far from picturesque Quechee Gorge. I remember my excitement when The Waterfall hit the New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller lists, a first for me…I was in my makeshift office on a balcony with views of the surrounding mountains. Since then, we’ve renovated the house (let’s talk mice!) and I’ve gone on to write more books, always with a sense of adventure and love of storytelling.

      If you’ve never read The Waterfall, I hope you enjoy the story of Lucy Blacker Swift and Sebastian Redwing. I continue to hear from readers who tell me it’s the book that got them “hooked” on my writing.

      As I type this note to you, I’m deep into writing Declan’s Cross, the third in my Sharpe & Donovan suspense series, due out later in 2013. Saint’s Gate, where we first meet FBI art crimes expert and ex-nun Emma Sharpe and deep-cover FBI agent Colin Donovan, and Heron’s Cove are available now. I’ve also returned to my contemporary roots with my Swift River Valley novels, Secrets of the Lost Summer, out now, and That Night on Thistle Lane, due out in February 2013.

      Please visit my website for news on all my latest books, to enter my monthly draw and sign up for my eNewsletter! I’m also on Facebook and Twitter, and I love to hear from readers.

      Thanks, and happy reading,

      Carla

      Contents

       Chapter One

       Chapter Two

       Chapter Three

       Chapter Four

       Chapter Five

       Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Chapter Eleven

       Chapter Twelve

       Chapter Thirteen

       Chapter Fourteen

       Chapter Fifteen

       Chapter Sixteen

       Teaser Chapter

      One

      “The Widow Swift?” Lucy made a face as she absorbed her daughter’s latest tidbit of gossip. “Who calls me that?”

      Madison shrugged. She was fifteen, and she was doing the driving. Something else for Lucy to get used to. “Everyone.”

      “Who’s everyone?”

      “Like, the six people who live in this town.”

      Lucy ignored the light note of sarcasm. The Widow Swift. Good Lord. Maybe in some strange way this was a sign of acceptance. She had no illusions about being a “real” Vermonter. After three years, she was still an outsider, still someone people expected would pack up at any moment and move back to Washington. Nothing would suit Madison better, Lucy knew. At twelve, life in small-town Vermont had been an adventure. At fifteen, it was an imposition. She had her learner’s permit, after all. Why not a home in Georgetown?

      “Well,” Lucy said, “you can just tell ‘everyone’ that I prefer to be called Lucy or Mrs. Swift or Ms. Swift.”

      “Sure, Mom.”

      “A name like ‘the Widow Swift’ tends to stick.”

      Madison seemed amused by the whole thing, so much so that she forgot that parking made her nervous and just pulled into a space in front of the post office in the heart of their small southern Vermont village.

      “Wow, that was easy,” Madison said. “Okay. Into park. Emergency brake on. Engine off. Keys out.” She smiled at her mother. She’d slipped into a little sundress for their trip to town; Lucy had nixed the flimsy slip-on sandals she’d wanted to wear.