Spicy Roast Beef and Goodbye Lie Trilogy Excerpt

Spicy Roast Beef

Do you know which female
character from The Goodbye Lie series is the subject of the excerpt below? If only she had tried the recipe which follows for Spicy Roast Beef at her dinner party...


 The Goodbye Lie Series Excerpt:


     Grammy's gift was a quart of her meat flavoring. "It's our family secret, _____. Here's the recipe. Memorize it, then burn it. Promise?"
     "Yes, ma'am. I promise."

     Peeper was not to be out done, "I saved the best fer last. It's a bottle a my very own special furniture polish."

     "The way Peep experiments out back in the little house," Michael explained to Trip, "it's no small miracle she hasn't blown us all up. Isn't that the stuff you make from turpentine, alcohol, and ether, Peep?"

     "Yup, but you forget the balsam fir and linseed oil, Michael. That's how come I'm the chemist and you're the architect." 

     The laughter had been strained and everyone had been uncomfortable. The cozy glow from the candles helped hide the chipped dishes and patched linens that came furnished with the house, and no adult noticed or, at least, mentioned the shortcomings of her table. Leave it to her brother to have asked, "How come you use all these cracked plates, ____, when you have a whole hope chest full of brand new dishes and stuff?" Everyone else had been too polite to inquire.

     She'd quickly answered, "I'll bring my chest over as soon as my cooking warrants the beauty of the china." The ladies had made a sincere attempt to reassure her that the meal was delicious. She would have believed them, too, had she not tasted her own food. The salad was gritty with sand, the deviled eggs were runny from the honey and too salty, the butter beans in the stew were hard, and the chocolate frosting was so thin, the cake showed through. ____ saw her mother throw several sharp looks at Jack Patrick each time he'd tried a new course and then opened his mouth to comment. She imagined the lecture the poor boy must have received about how to behave at his sister's house right before they'd left Dunnigan Manor...

******

Jane Marie writes:
My church friend, Kris Mandrick, brought this wonderful "stringy" beef roast to a pot luck.  I loved it.  I mean loved it!  She was sweet enough to let me share it with you.  It's made in the slow cooker with ingredients you probably have on hand.  It makes some rich gravy, is moist, is good for Sunday dinner or sandwiches and freezes well, if there are any leftovers.  Thank you, Kris. -JMM

Spicy Roast Beef

You'll need:

2-3 pound beef roast 
Lightly salt (optional) and pepper all sides.
Sprinkle with minced/powdered garlic or garlic pepper.  Put in crock.

Mix in separate bowl: 

1/4 cup soy sauce (I used lite.)

2 Tbl balsamic vinegar

2 Tbl A1 Sauce or Worcestershire sauce (I used Worcestershire.)

2 tsp yellow mustard, liquid or dry (I used liquid.)

Make several shallow slits in top of roast and pour mixture over roast. Let cook in crock 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.

 

P.S.  This recipe will also be listed in the Recipes link at the top of this page. 

Gilbert's Underground Kitchen/Brunswick Stew

We recently dined at Gilbert's Underground Kitchen in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida. Kenny Gilbert, owner and chef there, was on Bravo's Top Chef, did well and is now quite famous. 

The first thing that captured my attention on the menu was their Brunswick Stew, as pictured above.  Since Miss Ella's Brunswick Stew is featured at her daughter Breelan's first dinner party in  The Goodbye Lie historical novel I wrote, I naturally had to order it. (Please refer to Miss Ella's recipe below.)  While Gilbert's stew was very flavorful, I kind of doubt he used two squirrels, as did Bree, in the story set in 1882.

  

Miss Ella's recipe taken from the pages of The Goodbye Lie

Miss Ella

Local chatter says Gilbert's has a great big BBQ sandwich for $5, but I haven't tried it. What I did try was the mac-and-cheese. Because I'm a cheese-aholic, I am qualified to judge and it was yummo! The serving was big enough for two.  But this one time, I'm with Aunt Noreen from my 1882 tale, the less than lovely next door relative to the Dunnigan family.  If she ate at Gilbert's, I can hear her saying, "I ordered the noodles with cheese.  Get your own!"

For info about Gilbert's Underground Kitchen, click on this link:
http://www.undergroundkitchen.co/ 

Purchase The Goodbye Lie Series HERE

Aunt Noreen, in The Goodbye Lie series, is a prime example of how one should not act, most of the time. 

Cast Iron and The Goodbye Lie Diaries-Peeper

Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida
Present time

Jane Marie writes:  My friend, Emmie Noble, had Bunko at her house the other day.  Emmie loves antiques, as do I.  Quick to spot the unusual, I spied this case iron string holder hanging from beneath her kitchen cabinet. 

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Fernandina on Amelia Island, Florida

1880s

Grandmother Peeper writes:  

I have one a them twine holders ahangin' in my pantry. I use the string ta tie up chicken legs and packages. Miss Ella is forever sendin' gifts and such ta her sister, Aunt Coe.  I have been knowed ta tie a piece a  string about my wrist in order ta remind me not ta fight with Aunt Noreen.  It don't stay on my wrist fur too long 'cause I like ta fight with Noreena. I always win. 

Peeper's Egg Trick-Goodbye Lie Diaries

Late 1880s
Fernandina on Amelia Island, Florida

Grandmother Peeper

Peeper writes:  Folks is always wantin' my elixir fixers.  Here's one.  After yur eggs is boiled hard, the best action ta take ta get them shells off is this.  Find a glass jar with a lid.  Aunt Noreen always has extree jars cause she don't never can nothin' anyways. She's secretly afeared she's gonna poison her whole family.  I got ta give her credit fur facin' the truth, this one time. So, put the hard shell egg into the jar, cover it with water, screw on the lid and shake it fur a bit.  When ya pour off the water, the cracked shell will come away in near one piece.  This is a fine and fast aid ta peelin' them eggs.

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Present Day
Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida

Jane Marie writes:  Hi Peep,  There is a song, from 1974, called Everything Old Is New Again.  By this I mean, your egg trick is something I saw on our magical internet that allows you and I to communicate through time with the world.  I had never tried it until I saw how well it works for you in your day. Please see the photograph to the left of my egg with, as you said, almost the entire shell beside it! I don't know who first thought to try this, but work it does.  It's just one more thing we have in common!

Peeper is a favorite player in The Goodbye Lie historical series.  Having adopted the Dunnigan family, she is an integral and fun part of the clan, offering advise, wanted or un.

Picture Hat + Goodbye Lie Excerpt

Large, wide-brimmed garden hats, later called picture hats because they framed the face, were very popular in the  late 1800s and into the new century. Decorated with silk flowers, ribbon, lace, tulle, etc, their detail was appreciated by both men and woman, and, I dare say, they were sometimes the subject of talk, kind and unkind.  

 

Excerpt from The Goodbye Lie: 

      ... "Breelan, answer me! I said open this door!"

     Trip shook her and mumbled callously, "Tell him you're fine. Tell him, or the next time you'll get more than a little slap from me. Tell him!"

     Coming around, Breelan knew Waite would break the door down if she couldn't convince him of Trip's lie. She didn't want to involve him any deeper in her misery. "Yes, yes," she said breathlessly. "I'm fine, Captain... Leave us. Please." 

     Unconvinced, he called again, "Bree?" 

    He has to believe me for both our sake. Trip is capable of much cruelty, and I fear for Waite even more than for myself. "We'll be with you in a moment. We're both very hungry. They are still serving breakfast, aren't they? It isn't too late, is it?" The more she spoke, the more composed she commanded her voice to become. "See you in the dining salon soon."

Get The Goodbye Lie series in e-book and paperback HERE

     "If you're not on deck in fifteen minutes, I'm coming back!  Understood?"

     "Yes, sir!" she said, forcing a jovial lilt to her tone.

     Trip smiled at her. "Very good. Very good," he whispered through gritted teeth. "I'll remember how readily you lie. I'll remember, too, just how trustworthy you are. And you remember, Breelan, I'll be watching you!" His malice filled the beautiful room and turned it ugly. 

     "Dress at once. We wouldn't want your friend, the captain, bothering us again when we're so in love."

     A heavy dusting of powder and a wide-brimmed hat tied with blue tulle hid the light lavender bruise rising on Breelan's right cheek. The white silk gardenias on her chapeau cascaded around the edge of the brim, so she cocked her headpiece to conceal and distract...

Make Your Own Picture Hat:

Although much less pain-painstakingly created than the original hats, it is easy and fun to make your own hat for a costume or play.  Find a large beach hat you have or go to the thrift store and, as I did in the photo, twist and tie ribbon and tulle around the base of the crown.  Stick in flowers and a bow, fluff, and you're done, no glue or stitching needed.  Quickly remove and you have your original hat back and ready for the beach, gardening or vacation.  If you want the decorations to stay permanently, use hot glue (keeping a glass of water close to dip in your fingers in the event you accidentally touch the glue) or baste with thread.

Genius

Displayed in an office, this lovely tree reminds me of the ones we had at home when I was growing up.  Although it is artificial and doesn't have the big colored lights or the rotating color wheel shining up at it from the floor,  with the mismatched ornaments, it still says home, in part, because of the hanging tinsel. 

   

I remember that tinsel we used to have, which landed more on the floor than on the tree, and how my sister and I got into fights over the stuff.  She wanted it hung skinny strand by skinny strand, singularly. If I am honest, that is the way it should be hung.  It didn't matter to me.  Short of rolling a handful into a ball and pitching it toward the branches, I threw pinches of it at the tree.  Most of what the needles caught, lay in silver clumps, and only a few feet up from the bottom.  I was a short little kid, after all, so my aim wasn't great and my reach wasn't too high. 

Since you don't always see tinsel on a tree these days,  I was happy to discover it.  The thing is, it's not your mother's tinsel. This stuff is wider and longer and probably made of that mylar balloon-type stuff. I tried to take a photo of it for you. Look closely, below, to see that the tinsel doesn't come in single strands.  It is, instead, cut in strips and part of several layers of mylar.  You simply rip off what you want and the rest stays put, waiting for you next year, when you decorate.  Genius, I tell you.  Pure genius!   

tinsel just waiting to be ripped off and hung!

Georgia Friends

Left to right: Sue Brown, Jane Marie, Sally Whitten

Last year I attended the annual King of Peace Bazaar in Kingsland, Georgia, not quite an hour from my Amelia Island, Florida home. I met tons of folks as you do when working a craft show. (Besides my novels, I have many handmade crafts, most of which are only available when I do a big show.  I will put some of them online for sale, when I can find the time.) I attended the bazaar this year, too. An hour into the show, two lovely ladies came up to me and told me how much they enjoyed my Goodbye Lie series. So much so, they drove from Georgia down to Fernandina to get their copy of my latest novel, Amelia Island's Mark of a Man. I told them they could have ordered it online or from their local book store, but because Amelia Island is so wonderful to visit, they preferred to come to our little town where the stories take place, and get it here, locally.

They went on to tell me how they saw an ad saying the bazaar would take place in a month's time and they made a point of attending, in the hope I would be there, with my 4th novel, Amelia Island's Sand and Sin.  I had to tell them it is written and I will begin editing it in 2016.  I was very flattered, of course, because their love of the stories was apparent.  They "get" the whole Goodbye Lie world. So, please say hi to Sue Brown and Sally Whitten.  They are faithful Goodbye Lie-rs, like the rest of us! 

Oh, please be sure and share this blog with your friends.  We do have some fun and, once in a while, informative times, don't we?

Advice to Aspiring Authors-Author's Digest Interview cont.

Posted May 18, 2015 by M Burns
This time, Jane Marie tells us about the inspiration for her book, as well as her advice for other aspiring writers.



Jane Marie, what inspired you to write your book? How long did it take you to finish it? 

My husband lost his job due to company downsizing, and we were forced to move from our small town of Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida. How might I remember this place we had come to love and would miss so very much? I’ll just write a book, I thought. You should write what you like to read, right? I love historical fiction. Since I had taken docent training at our wonderful Amelia Island Museum of History, I had those basics down. The rest came from my imagination. My intention was to write one book and put it in my daughter’s hope chest for posterity.

We moved back to Amelia Island after two years. Little by little, family, friends, acquaintances and strangers read The Goodbye Lie and provided encouragement; the result was a confidence which filled me. When a woman I very much respected emailed me with: “GBL (Goodbye Lie) is a real world to me,” I felt validated. It was a sort of permission to continue to find out what happened to the other grown children in the fictional Dunnigan family. As a result, I ended up with a completed trilogy, each book taking about two years to finish… with a wonderful life, weddings, a grandchild, and politics slowing the process between novels.

What’s the one message you’d like to convey to readers about your book?

It’s simple. The key to happiness and love is forgiveness.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Someone told me once to make a wall hanging or pillow before I tackled the sewing of an entire quilt. It’s the same with writing a book. Complete a short story first, then another, then move onto longer pieces. If you don’t mind the hours falling away as you write, or the sun yielding to the moon without you realizing it, or not talking aloud to anyone for extended periods while you silently converse only with the characters in your head, then writing is for you. Let go and enjoy!

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For more information about Jane Marie and her books, check out her blog [here] at www.GraciousJaneMarie.blogspot.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter.

Amelia Island’s Goodbye Lie Trilogy is available at Jane Marie’s blog or at the following links:

The Goodbye Lie

Amelia Island’s Velvet Undertow

Amelia Island’s Mark of a Man

Happy St. Paddy's Day! - GBL Diaries- Michael

Michael Dunnigan

1880s
Fernandina on Amelia Island

Michael Dunnigan writes:
Ah, behold the shine on that large shamrock. Mother Rose would be lovin' the sight of it on her own front gate. Thank you, Miss Jane, for the hangin' of it.  And happy Saint Paddy's day to you all!

Through the magic of electronics, the characters in Amelia Island's Goodbye Lie trilogy are able to communicate to us from their time in Victorian north Florida in The Goodbye Lie (GBL) Diaries. Michael Dunnigan is the patriarch in the series, where each novel focuses on one of his grown children.  His patience is sometimes short-lived, but his love for his family is unlimited.

Ebook and paperback format available at book sources everywhere.

A Lucy Moment - What Does It Mean?

It was a gray and nasty day and there I was, signing books at Books Plus in Fernandina.  I looked out the rain streaked window to see one of those roadside snipe signs, which read: OKS.  Hmm, thought I.  Could it stand for Oklahoma State, Old Kings' School, Odd Key Store?  Then the wind blew the other way and the bent sign straightened out to read: BOOKS.

Anti-Shades of Grey

This is America and that means you are free to read the book and watch the movie Fifty Shades of Grey. To quote a description of the movie I found online: true sexual proclivities push the boundaries of pain and pleasure.  If this is what you like, have at it.

If however, you prefer the less graphic, more tasteful romantic, as I do--Well, my Amelia Island historical series is like that. And I'm proud of that fact.  I often tell potential readers I dedicated The Goodbye Lie  to my father  and I didn't want to be embarrassed when Daddy read it.  All the females know what I mean.  

Bottom line:  There are alternatives out there that keep the proprieties in tact.  Spread the word.  Tasteful is still in style.  Let's keep it alive for future generations. The idea of romance in the privacy of the mind, is a better thing. Think Gone With The Wind...

A taste of romance from The Goodbye Lie: 

     Mental pictures of Breelan overpowered his wishes. Who the hell am I? Some irresistible rake she couldn't live without?  What a fool I've been to think she would return my affection. Because I love her is no reason she should love me.  I'm but one of the drooling dogs.  

     "Only a few more days," he said aloud and the overhearing crew silently commiserated with their mournful captain, knowing his affliction would last a lifetime.

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Goodbye Lie, Amelia Island's Velvet Undertow and Amelia Island's Mark of a Man are available in paperback and ebook at Amazon.com and book sources everywhere. http://www.amazon.com/The-Goodbye-Jane-Marie-Malcolm/dp/0974918229 

First Official Poster

Here is the first official poster for my recently completed Goodbye Lie trilogy.  I thought the antique looking background added the element of history.  The phrase -  "where Little House on the Prairie meets Gone With The Wind ..." - combines the two wonderful entertainments to speak not only of family, but of tasteful romance.  The copy is descriptive yet simple.  I like it!   -jmm

PS - Did you notice, the poster says The Goodbye Lie series and I write about the trilogy.  Hmm ... Could that mean there may be a forth book in the future?  I'll enjoy the feeling of accomplishment for a few months at having three and then ...

Buy your paperback or e-Book today:
 
 The Goodbye Lie - http://www.amazon.com/Goodbye-Lie-Jane-Marie-Malcolm/dp/0974918229/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422151796&sr=1-2&keywords=the+goodbye+lie

Amelia Island's Velvet Undertow - http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=amelia+island+velvet+undertow&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Aamelia+island+velvet+undertow

Amelia Island's Mark of a Man - http://www.amazon.com/Amelia-Islands-MARK-OF-MAN/dp/1496944429

... at book sources everywhere!

Old Timey Book Stores

In this day and time, citizens of Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida are blessed to have two old fashioned, stand alone book stores, which just happen to carry my Amelia Island's Goodbye Lie Trilogy.  Hey, if I don't tell you these things, how will you know?

The new location for Books Plus is 1743-A South 8th Street. (Notice my three novels, at eye level. Perfect!  Thank you, Maggie  DeVries. She owns the store.) :

The Book Loft is found on 214 Centre Street, the main street in historic downtown Fernandina. :

 

Sea Jade (gift shop) at 208 Centre St.  It is fun to do book signings on Centre Street here because I tell readers how many scenes in the novels take place on the street right in front of them. 

 

I point to the marina and the beach, the roof of the Marina Restaurant as a vantage point for action out on the Amelia River, the Florida House Tourist Hotel around the corner... If you can believe it, I get very animated when I talk about my stories, the covers, the characters, etc.   Yesterday, during a  signing on a beautiful day, I heard a women say to her friends, "She was fun!"  I'll take that as high praise.  So, come to Amelia Island when you can and I'll be happy to introduce you to Breelan, Peeper, Aunt Noreen or any of the dozen folks in my trilogy.  Remember, the magic word is FUN!

Goodbye Lie Excerpt- FL House

The Florida House on S. 3rd St. on Amelia Island, FL

Readers often ask me about specific places in my historical Goodbye Lie series, set in Fernandina on Amelia Island, Florida. They want to know what is real and what comes from my imagination. So I did a walk about and took some photos. The Florida House is one such structure that is standing today.  Originally built as a boarding house for railroad workers in 1857, it is the longest running tourist hotel in the state.  

looking at the two story Florida House from the back courtyard

At book signings downtown here, I often point to 3rd Street and tell folks to walk to the Florida House, just a block off our historic Centre Street. I direct them to go inside and through to the back courtyard.  I have set several scenes there amongst the live oaks and pretty fretwork of the place. In the bar, in the front of the hotel, things happen.  Let's just say they are "less than friendly."  Hey, it's a bar, isn't it?

Here is an excerpt from The Goodbye Lie featuring The Florida House. The year is 1882. -

What awaits Breelan Dunnigan up those stairs?

Chapter 18

      The drive from Dunnigan Manor to the Florida House seemed especially slow despite the brisk tempo of the horse's trot. Not a word passed between the young couple. Breelan was silent in case her tears would anger him further, and he for fear she'd continue crying ...

      Despite the darkness, he was well aware of her secret attempts to wipe away the evidence of her unhappiness. He could feel her hushed sobs vibrate the carriage. What the hell was she blubbering for? He was the one who'd been tricked... He steered the buggy along side the hotel's granite stepping-stone. Helping Breelan out, he warned, "Enough of this. I won't have it. Do you hear?"

     She nodded. He was right. She straightened her skirts and inhaled a deep breath of cool river air, while he threw coins to the attendant, directing him to return the horse and carriage to the stable for the night. They climbed the steps of the long, two-story establishment and entered ...  

the trunk of an ancient live oak tree

     Breelan loved to come to the Florida House. She'd never actually stayed in any of the rooms before this, but her family oft-times ate in the dining room after Sunday morning mass at St. Michael's. Railroad folk as well as sailors, vacationers and locals all frequented it. How often had she climbed the old live oak in the back while the grownups pontificated over coffee and dessert? Now she was one of those grownups ... 

    After registering and exchanging niceties with the desk clerk,  they were shown to a second story room. It was quite lovely. The wallpaper spoke of romance with tiny bouquets of pastel flowers and a matching coverlet on the canopied double bed. The window trappings of lace would merely filter the moonlight. It could be an enchanted place if the circumstances were right.

     "I will leave you to your unpacking, Breelan. I'll be downstairs in the tavern." He caught the look of concern she cast his way. "Don't worry. I'll take heed of my drink. I won't let you go unattended in such a pretty room as this," he said caustically. 

     He quietly closed the door behind him and she breathed a sigh of self-comfort. He was gone. She was free if but for a moment. He had mistaken her look for concern. It was not. In truth, she hoped he would imbibe to excess tonight and every night, so he would never be able to ...

     The hour grew late and he didn't return to the room. Worn out, Breelan was still wide-awake. Her mind darted madly from her family, to where she would live, to her job, to the gossip, to... The cacophony in her head was generously peppered with the words and features of Waite. There was his handsome face, his hair, his eyes, his lips. In part or as a whole, the likeness was exact. It teased and tempted her until wriggling among the tangled covers of the bed a minute longer would surely bring her more tears, those of hopeless frustration. She had to get out of the room, to feel the stirring of the breeze against her hot, flushed cheeks. 

     Concealing her nightdress beneath her cloak, she descended the rear stairs, intending to refresh herself in the rain barrel out back. She splashed the cool water on her cheeks. It trickled down to her elbows, tickling her to irrational giggles. She languished in the luxury of laughter. She hadn't laughed since, since when? She couldn't remember. Resting the heels of her hands on the edge of the barrel, she hung her head. "I wish this were the ocean. I'd put my toes in the water and let the cool waves creep up my ankles. I'd ..."

     "You'd what, Breelan?"

     She heard the resonant voice seek answers softly in her ear. She responded longingly, "Oh, Waite. You'll never know how I wish you were real and with me and able to tell me all the things I want to hear. It will never happen for us. Never. I deserve to suffer... But to make you suffer, too. If what Nora says is true and you really love me, I can never forgive myself for causing you pain. I pray you find someone to fill your mind and bed. Don't waste your life pining for me, my love. If only that kiss I dreamed of on your ship had been real. If I could feel your lips touch mine, I could tolerate whatever comes. I ..."

     She dreamed he was behind her. He was grasping her shoulder, turning her quickly, pulling her against his unyielding body. She dreamed his arms were around her, holding her fast to him. Then his mouth was on hers, hard. His breath rasped from his lungs. She breathed him into her and tasted his soul. His essence was all male. Every thought she'd ever had of how superb his kiss would be was surpassed in this illusion. Thank God for her dreams. They belonged solely to her. The fear of hell would never take them from her. 

     "Bree, Bree," he said against her lips.     

    And she felt strong hands on her wrists. They pried her arms from around his neck, similarly opening her eyes to reality. It was no dream. Waite's glorious face was before her in the night and his eyes danced. Here in the dim moonlight, she could only stare at him. She placed her hands on his mildly whiskered cheeks, ran her slender finger the length of his scar and kissed it. He kissed her in return, taking her lips between his. He held her again and this time she rubbed against him, making him moan from somewhere deep within. 

     Glass shattered as a disagreement broke out in the bar. She didn't care. She didn't care about anything, but kissing him. Still, the insistent tinkling of the crystal continued to interrupt her pleasure. It was taking him from her. "Don't let me go. Please, don't ever let me go," she whimpered as he pushed her away and held her off.

     "Breelan. Breelan." He had again taken advantage of her. He knew it and for that too short moment, he didn't care. He was thinking only of himself. He would pay later. He tasted her on his lips, and she was finer than he'd remembered in all the nights he'd lain awake and all the times he'd walked the deck of the Comfort. He wanted her so badly. He wasn't sure his willpower would win a contest with his loosened desire ...  

     He shook her from her splendid stupor. "Bree, you've got to hear me. With all the craving a man can endure, I want you. Do you hear? Do you understand me? I want you. Finding that you feel the same brings me such joy, I can hardly ..." Waite was unable to finish his sentence. "Knowing the truth at last was worth all the hours of agony, all the uncertainty of guessing if you cared for me. I love you and realize you love me. You do love me, don't you? It isn't merely a physical attraction between us, is it? Tell me it's more." 

     "Waite Taylor, you've got to feel my love. It's so alive in me, I think I can reach in, grab hold of it, and show you. Believe me, believe I love you. And only you." She answered breathlessly, leaning into him, trying to make him hold her again.

     "Then, when I die, I'll be smiling."

*****
All novels in Jane Marie Malcolm's trilogy, The Goodbye Lie, Amelia Island's Velvet Undertow and Amelia Island's Mark of a Man are available as ebook and paperback at book sources everywhere.  Find online or just ask at your local bookstore.