The Backup Plan. Sherryl Woods

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      Praise for the novels of

      New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sherryl Woods

      “Woods … is noted for appealing character-driven stories

      that are often infused with the flavor

      and fragrance of the South.”

      —Library Journal

      “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

      “What better way to welcome spring back into our lives

      than to be able to sit down with a book by a beloved

      author, a cool drink, and dreams of young love blooming?”

      —Romance Review on Home in Carolina

      “Woods’ readers will eagerly anticipate her trademark

      small-town setting, loyal friendships, and honorable

      mentors as they meet new characters and reconnect with

      familiar ones in this heartwarming tale.”

      —Booklist on Home in Carolina

      “Warm, complex, and satisfying.”

      —Library Journal on Harbor Lights

      “Sparks fly in a lively tale that is overflowing with family

      conflict and warmth and the possibility of rekindled love.”

      —Library Journal on Flowers on Main

      “Launching the Chesapeake Shores series,

      Woods creates an engrossing … family drama.”

      —Publishers Weekly on The Inn at Eagle Point

      “Woods is a master heartstring puller,

      and her endearingly flawed characters deal with their

      plethora of problems in a predictable but satisfying manner.”

      —Publishers Weekly on Seaview Inn

      Also by New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sherryl Woods

      A CHESAPEAKE SHORES CHRISTMAS*** HONEYSUCKLE SUMMER* SWEET TEA AT SUNRISE* HOME IN CAROLINA* HARBOR LIGHTS*** FLOWERS ON MAIN*** THE INN AT EAGLE POINT*** WELCOME TO SERENITY* SEAVIEW INN MENDING FENCES FEELS LIKE FAMILY* A SLICE OF HEAVEN* STEALING HOME* WAKING UP IN CHARLESTON FLIRTING WITH DISASTER THE BACKUP PLAN DESTINY UNLEASHED FLAMINGO DINE ALONG CAME TROUBLE** ASK ANYONE** ABOUT THAT MAN** ANGEL MINE AFTER TEX

      *The Sweet Magnolias

      **Trinity Harbor

      ***Chesapeake Shores

      Look for Sherryl Woods’s next original novel

      DRIFTWOOD COTTAGE

      available April 2011

      And the next novel in

      The Charleston Trilogy

      FLIRTING WITH DISASTER

      available August 2011

      SHERRYL

      WOODS

      The Backup Plan

       www.mirabooks.co.uk

      Dear Reader,

       I can’t tell you how delighted I am to have The Backup Plan back in print. Not only was it my hundredth book, but it’s set in one of my favorite cities, Charleston, South Carolina, and starts a trilogy set in the South Carolina low country. It’s followed by Flirting with Disaster, which will be reissued later this year, and by Waking Up in Charleston.

      You may be reading The Backup Plan in the middle of winter, and if that’s the case, I think you can trust Dinah Davis and Cordell Beaufort to stir up plenty of heat for you. From the moment I met them, they were steaming up my reading glasses as I typed.

      Dinah’s a woman at a crossroads of her life, an intrepid foreign correspondent who’s been through too much and is very close to coming unglued. Cord is one of those laid-back bad boys we all dream about, but at his core he’s one of the genuine good guys. For Dinah, he may turn out to be her greatest risk ever, but he also promises to offer her the greatest reward of her life.

      I hope you enjoy traveling to the low country with these two wonderful characters and will be anxiously awaiting more when Flirting with Disaster and Waking Up in Charleston are reissued.

      All good wishes,

      1

      Her producer was tiptoeing around bad news. Dinah could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice. After a decade of working in TV journalism with basically the same news team, she’d learned to recognize the signs.

      Ray Mitchell was an outstanding producer, but he was lousy at subtle communication. Barking out directives was more his style. In fact, he belonged in another era, one of hard-drinking, cigar-smoking journalists and legendary war correspondents such as Ernie Pyle, Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather. They had brought battle coverage to new heights through shrewd performances. Watching Ray try to sheepishly soft-pedal whatever was on his mind was painful.

      “What is it you’re trying so hard not to tell me?” she finally asked. “Is there something wrong with the piece I just turned in? It was a great interview.”

      The pictures had been good, too, even if they weren’t as great as her previous cameraman’s would have been. But they were better than adequate.

      Ray looked even more uncomfortable. “For somebody else, maybe,” he said with the familiar bluntness Dinah had always respected. “Not for you.”

      On some level Dinah had been anticipating that comment. Still, she stared at him in shock. She wasn’t used to being even gently criticized for her work. The many years of accolades from her colleagues in the field and her superiors in their lofty New York towers made her expect praise. “What are you saying, Ray? Just spit it out.”

      It was hot as blazes without air-conditioning in their makeshift newsroom, but Dinah knew that wasn’t the reason Ray needed to mop his round face with a handkerchief. He was so nervous that he looked miserable.

      “Okay,” he said eventually. “You want the truth, here it is. You’ve lost your edge, Dinah. It’s understandable, given what happened a few months ago, but—”

      Dinah tuned him out. Nobody ever mentioned the incident in front of her anymore. Not being able to talk about what had happened had been difficult for Dinah. Whenever she brought up the subject of that tragic nightmare, everyone’s eyes filled with pity as they murmured soothing nonsense and then cut off any further discussion.

      That was partly because for weeks after the episode, Dinah had listened dry-eyed to everyone’s sympathy or made the kind of impersonal, caustic comments that all reporters made to keep their fears and grief at bay. They’d all taken their cues from her and had stopped discussing it. Now that she was finally able and eager to talk, their grieving was over and they didn’t want to be reminded that only through the grace of God had they not been on that deadly roadside. They no longer wanted to face their own mortality, or consider the risks inherent in this hellish assignment.

      War correspondents were a special breed of journalists.