Catching Fireflies. Sherryl Woods

      

      New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sherryl Woods captures a community’s heartfelt fight to preserve the innocence of childhood

      When bullying threatens to destroy a teen’s life, painful memories resurface for dedicated high school teacher Laura Reed and pediatrician J. C. Fullerton. With the support of the Sweet Magnolias, they bring the town together to ensure that a promising student’s future isn’t ruined. And to establish once and for all that bullying has no place in Serenity, South Carolina.

      Both J.C.’s and Laura’s passion for the cause is deeply personal, and their growing feelings for each other are just as strong. But with so many secret hurts to overcome, can these two vulnerable lovers find the strength to believe in happily ever after?

      Praise for the novels of Sherryl Woods

      “Sherryl Woods always delights her readers—including me!”

      —#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

      “Sherryl Woods gives her characters depth, intensity and the right amount of humor.”

      —RT Book Reviews

      “Charming characters combine to create the interfering, yet lovable O’Brien family…a satisfying, heartwarming conclusion to the Chesapeake Shores series.”

      —RT Book Reviews on The Summer Garden

      “The story is engaging and deftly accentuated by a sweet secondary romance.… If you have time to join the O’Briens in Dublin, I recommend that you do.”

      —USA TODAY Happy Ever After blog on An O’Brien Family Christmas

      “Once again, Woods proves her expertise in matters of the heart as she gives us characters that we genuinely relate to and care about. A truly delightful read!”

      —RT Book Reviews on Moonlight Cove

      “Love, marriage, family and forgiveness all play an important part in Woods’ latest richly nourishing, holiday-spiced novel.”

      —Chicago Tribune on A Chesapeake Shores Christmas

      “A whimsical, sweet scenario…the digressions have their own charm, and Woods never fails to come back to the romantic point.”

      —Publishers Weekly on Sweet Tea at Sunrise

      “Redolent with Southern small-town atmosphere, this emotionally rich story deals with some serious issues and delivers on a number of levels.”

      —Library Journal on A Slice of Heaven

      New York Times Bestselling Author

       Catching Fireflies

      Sherryl

      Woods

       www.mirabooks.co.uk

      Dear Friends,

      Unfortunately these days, hardly a day goes by without news of an incident of childhood bullying. Some of these are so horrific or tragic that they defy understanding. Those really grab our attention. Others are all too easily dismissed as some sort of rite of passage, an acceptable part of growing up.

      The truth, though, is that bullying of any kind has the power to change who a child is, the kind of person he or she grows up to be. When ignored, the victim can be scarred for life, emotionally, if not physically. The perpetrator grows up with a skewed value system that suggests it’s perfectly okay to make another person’s life miserable, to feel powerful, even for a moment, at the expense of someone weaker.

      It’s up to adults—parents, teachers, entire communities—to take a stand, to say bullying is not okay, not ever, not by anyone! And that’s exactly what happens in Serenity when schoolteacher Laura Reed and pediatrician J. C. Fullerton realize a student is being bullied. Both Laura and J.C. have experienced the damaging effects of bullying, so what’s happening to Misty Dawson is personal and unacceptable.

      While there are often subtle messages tucked away in my stories, I hope the message in Catching Fireflies is loud and clear. There is nothing cute or normal or acceptable about bullying, whether it’s a toddler on the playground or a teenager using the internet to torment a classmate. Pay attention to what may be happening to your children, no matter how young or how old. Pay even closer attention to how they’re treating others. Bullying is wrong. It needs to stop. And alert parents and teachers and a united community can make that happen.

      I hope you’ll enjoy spending time with all the Sweet Magnolias once more, and that you’ll take their message—and mine—to heart.

      All best,

      Sherryl

      For all the young people who feel as if no one’s paying attention, I wish you at least one person who will listen and make your life better.

      Contents

       Chapter 1

       Chapter 2

       Chapter 3

       Chapter 4

       Chapter 5

       Chapter 6

       Chapter 7

       Chapter 8

       Chapter 9

       Chapter 10

       Chapter 11

       Chapter 12

       Chapter 13

       Chapter 14

       Chapter 15

       Chapter 16

       Chapter 17

       Chapter 18

       Chapter 19

       Chapter 20

       Chapter 21

       Chapter 22

       Chapter 23

       Questions for Discussion

       Excerpt

      1

      It was little more than six weeks into the new school year, and already