The love of her life is back in Swallow’s Fall - but is he staying?

Featured book this week is The House at the End of the Street
by Jennie Jones

There’s an excerpt too!

Bestselling Jennie Jones takes us back to Swallow’s Fall for one more story…
(The House at the End of the Street can be read as a stand-alone novel.)

Gemma Munroe loves hard, laughs hard and plays hard. Or at least she did before today. Her dream is finally within her grasp – owning the toy shop in Swallow’s Fall and establishing herself permanently. Only one person has the power to get in her way: Josh Rutherford – the love of her life who kissed her and left her ten years ago is coming home.

Josh will be in town for only five days. He’ll finally sever the ties to a youth filled with poverty by selling the properties that are now his. He’s returning healthy, wealthy and emotionally stable, and then he’ll leave forever. It’s all in the plan. Everything…except for Gem. He never forgot her, but he definitely forgot the effect she has on him. Now she’s got problems, and he can’t seem to leave without trying to help her solve them.

The town itself also has its own plans: Gemma and Josh are thrown together in Speed-Date fiascos, kissing experiments, bar fights, and an issue with the North Star – Josh’s compass and the road to his next adventure. Seven weeks later Josh is still in town. Gem has to get through her best friends’ wedding and Josh has to get over Gem. Because he’s not staying. Is he?

Excerpt from The House at the End of the Street by Jennie Jones

Josh Rutherford stepped from the warmed interior of his hire car to the icy air of his hometown. Nothing like an immediate chill factor to remind a guy he was fifteen thousand kilometres south-east of his comfort zone. Swallow’s Fall: population an incredible one hundred and twenty-nine if the sign at the northern entrance to town was right. Thirty more than when he’d left. One thing was for sure: Main Street had changed. The B&B was no longer pink but yellow. The town hall had had a makeover too—and so had Josh.

He brushed at the light fall of snow landing on the sleeves of his cashmere overcoat. His fingers numbed and shook a little. It would take him a while to get used to this climate again.

He’d dressed carefully for his return but now he was here, the smart clothes felt wrong. He doubted he’d ever blend in but neither did he want to stand out. Not that his return was in any way hallowed. He hadn’t expected a parade on arrival but here he was, parked in town with nobody to welcome him. Not even Mrs Tam, who’d replied to his letter a week ago, telling him how delighted everyone would be to see him again. Josh doubted everyone would be happy. He pushed the dilemma away. Once his business was done, he’d never come back, so there was little point in worrying about anything else.

A blanket of pristine white covered the railings of the raised walkway to his left, and people had been out with their shovels on the pavement to his right. It looked like a snow plough had been in and cleared most of the road. When had they bought a snow plough? The mid-winter morning light lent a burnished shine to the bare branches of the claret ash trees lining Main Street, making it look like a captivating painting of a time-gone-by country town.

The golden hue of the lights inside Kookaburra’s hotel beckoned. The sight of his old workplace did something to the regular beat of his heart and regret stirred inside him.

He ran an eye down the wooden walkway and the businesses. So much development. A smile grew as he pictured Grandy Morelly sitting outside his store, watching the town. What would Grandy would say about all this change? Josh raised his face to heaven and tapped two fingers to his forehead in a salute to the old man. I’m back, Grandy. He didn’t ask what Grandy thought about how his return would be taken. No need to kick up dust on that one. He was here. He’d booked his room at the only hotel and for the first time ever, he was able to pay his way. Pride in the accomplishment settled the unexpected nerves beating in his chest.

Before heading for the cast-iron balustrades in front of Kookaburra’s swing doors, he glanced at Cuddly Bear Toy Shop. He hadn’t wanted further information on what or how things happened with his mother’s shop—his now—other than the quarterly update about the income from the lease that the trustees mailed to him.

He wondered if he’d have to wrangle with the woman who leased it; his trustees told him she was hoping to buy it. As far as Josh was concerned, if she had the money, she could have it.

Something hard and cold slammed into his jaw, sending him reeling. He grabbed at the roof rack on the car, steadied himself and straightened. A soccer ball bounced off the bonnet and fell to the ground, ten centimetres of snow in the gutter bringing it to a stop.

‘Don’t know my own strength,’ a woman called. ‘Couldn’t kick it back, could you?’

Josh took hold of his jaw and jiggled it to evaluate the damage. Not broken but still stinging. He turned to the area between the stock feeders’ building, covered by scaffolding for some reason, and the pioneer cemetery. The gap used to lead to nothing but fields. When had they built a park?

A woman dressed in winter soccer strip stood with her hands at her sides, a baseball cap covering her head with the peak pulled low over her face.

‘Oh, come on, Josh,’ she said, sounding exasperated now. ‘Throw it back.’

Well, she knew him but he didn’t know—

The woman pulled the brim of her pink cap back from her face and stared at him, hands on her hips.

Jesus, Mary and—Josh stooped and picked up the soccer ball, breathing deeply. Gemma Munroe. Five-foot-six. Top of her head almost reached his chin. He knew that thanks to the time he’d kissed her and discovered how far he had to bend to do it, being six-four himself. What the hell was Gem doing in town?

The House at the End of the Street is available in eBook and paperback from good retailers.
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Read more about Jennie and her books on MEET JENNIE JONES

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