For Joy's Sake
(Where Secrets Are Safe #12)
by Tara Taylor Quinn
Adult Contemporary Romance
by Tara Taylor Quinn
Adult Contemporary Romance
Mass Market Paperback & ebook, 384 pages
August 1st 2017 by Harlequin Superromance
Summary
There's something about Julie
Hunter Rafferty is committed to two things: his bachelor lifestyle and his career as an event planner. But working with Julie Fairbanks on a fund-raising gala is quickly becoming the best part of his day. He can't stop thinking about the mysterious beauty—despite her refusals to have dinner with him.
Everything changes when seven-year-old Joy comes to The Lemonade Stand, a shelter for victims of abuse. To help Joy overcome her trauma and the mystery surrounding it, Hunter and Julie push beyond their boundaries, confronting their own past pain…and feelings for each other.
Hunter Rafferty is committed to two things: his bachelor lifestyle and his career as an event planner. But working with Julie Fairbanks on a fund-raising gala is quickly becoming the best part of his day. He can't stop thinking about the mysterious beauty—despite her refusals to have dinner with him.
Everything changes when seven-year-old Joy comes to The Lemonade Stand, a shelter for victims of abuse. To help Joy overcome her trauma and the mystery surrounding it, Hunter and Julie push beyond their boundaries, confronting their own past pain…and feelings for each other.
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Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE, Part 6
CHAPTER ONE, Part 6
Lila waited until
their eyes met again. “Those women you were with tonight... Do you think any
one of them would choose to be here? If they had a place to go, where they’d be
safe and could live a healthy life?”
Thinking of the
five women she’d had dinner with in the cafeteria and then wandered to the
lounge with—women who all had rooms in cabins on the premises—Julie shook her
head.
All of them mourned
for the lives they’d lost. For the dreams they’d lost. For the sense of
security that had been taken from them. They yearned for real homes. Yearned to
be in control of their lives again. And they lived in fear, too.
Julie wasn’t afraid
of being attacked again. She had a lovely home that she cherished, a bed of her
own that she’d be returning to that night.
“As a staff member,
volunteer or not, you are one of us, Julie. And you will be for as long as you
choose to share yourself with us. And also as a friend. You’re both things to
us.”
Okay, good. No
problems. She wanted to breathe easier.
But didn’t.
“I’ve come to
suspect that you’re here for a third purpose, too.”
No. No, she wasn’t.
“You’re aware that
most state facilities have time limits on the number of weeks a woman can
remain in a shelter like ours, right?”
She knew. The
Lemonade Stand, as a private facility, didn’t have to adhere to those mandates.
They had their own mandates, loosely based on state laws, but they didn’t send
away women who were doing everything required of them, who were participating
fully in their own recovery, who were making progress but just weren’t ready to
leave yet.
“Do you know why
the state sets those time limits?”
“Because of the
money.” Obviously. “And we mostly adhere to them because we don’t want our
residents to start feeling powerless, to lose their sense of self-reliance by
relying on us too much.”
“And because if
they depend on the Stand to fill an emotional void, a void left by abuse, then
they lose their ability to fill that void themselves.”
“You’re telling me
not to get too attached to the residents. Not to become personal friends with
them because they’re going to move on.” She was well aware of that. And didn’t
let herself get too close—even while they were intimately in each other’s
personal space as they opened up and shared their most vulnerable secrets.
“I’m telling you
that I’m worried you’re using us to fill a void in your
life.”
The words had come,
in spite of Julie’s attempts to forestall them.
This was what she’d
been afraid to hear.
Other Books in the Series
(Books released as of July 2017. Each can be read as a standalone.)
About the Author
The author of more than 70 original novels, in twenty languages, Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA Today bestseller with over six million copies sold. A 2015 RITA finalist Tara appears frequently on bestseller lists, including #1 placement on Amazon lists, and multiple showings on the Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller list. She has appeared on national and local TV across the country, including CBS Sunday Morning.
Tara is a supporter of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. If you or someone you know might be a victim of domestic violence in the United States, please contact 1-800-799-7233.
Domestic Violence Drive
As Tara supports speaking out against domestic violence and supporting those who have been abused, both through her books and in her community, she would love for you to join her in donating items to a shelter in your area. Find out more here.
Tour Schedule
August 5th: Launch
August 6th:
August 7th:
August 8th:
August 9th:
Inside The Mind of an Avid Reader
August 10th:
August 11th:
August 12th: Grand Finale
Tour-Wide Giveaways
1ST RAFFLECOPTER:
1 winner will receive ebooks of Where Secrets are Safe series books 1 - 13 (open internationally)
1 winner (per the four tour segments) will receive a $10 Amazon eGift Card (open internationally)
2ND RAFFLECOPTER:
1 winner will receive 25,000 Harelquin My Rewards Points, equivalent to 5 books (US and CAN only)
1 winner will receive 5,000 Harelquin My Rewards Points, equivalent to 1 book (US and CAN only)
Both Rafflecopter giveaways end November 30th, 2017
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