About the Book
by Victoria Schade
Paperback, 352 pages
Published June 28th 2022 by Berkley Books
ISBN059343739X
A burned-out veterinarian takes a much-needed beach vacation, where a charming surfer makes waves in her love life, and a unique foster pup renews her passion for her work.
Exhausted veterinarian Morgan Pearce is feeling overworked and under-thanked, so when two favorite clients ask her to watch their special needs senior dog in their Nantucket home, she jumps at the chance for a summer break. She hopes her time on the island will be a reset from the stress of her everyday life, but her chill vacation vibe takes a hit when she gets roped into fostering a challenging, anxious dog and helping plan the local rescue group's glittery annual fundraiser.
Her trip starts to feel more like a vacation when Morgan begins falling for Nathan Keating, an irresistible entrepreneur who thinks every problem can be solved on a surfboard. Just as the summer is shaping up to be the magical refresh she needs, thanks to a fling that feels like the beginning of something real and Hudson, the foster dog who reminds her how much she loves her job, a visit from her estranged brother and the discovery of who Nathan really is changes everything. Morgan finds herself at a crossroads, trying to determine if mistakes from the past must define the future, or if she should forgive, forget, and grab hold of a chance to finally rescue herself.
Excerpt
A bike bell sounded off behind her and her eyes immediately went to Hudson. The second thing she’d written in her new journal was a list of all of his “triggers”—the things they encountered during walks that tipped him from stable to scary. It included people in all forms, from casual strollers to runners, other dogs on leash or behind fences, and garbage cans. Now she was about to see if she needed to add bikes to the list as well.
“Morgan Pearce! Are you stalking me?”
Her pulse surged. The voice was already familiar.
It’s him.
As much as she wanted to turn around to greet Nathan, her first priority was making sure Hudson was okay. The dog’s head whipped around the second he heard Nathan’s voice and Hudson froze when he saw the bike approaching, a low growl rumbling from deep in his chest. Morgan scanned her surroundings and realized that her best bet was to duck behind a black Range Rover parked half on the street and half on the crooked sidewalk. Working with Hudson behind a barrier would keep the dog calmer than trying to do it just a few feet away from a trigger, like a ridiculously good looking man on two wheels.
And Hudson isn’t the only one triggered by him.
She waved at him over her shoulder and jogged the few steps to the car so that Hudson couldn’t see Nathan.
“Hi, sorry. He gets weird around people. He’s in training.”
Morgan flicked her eyes to the dog and was happy to see him focused on a black pole with a horse head on top of it that was likely covered in pee along the bottom. She tossed him a treat.
Nathan had stopped in the middle of the cobblestone street on his cart-mobile, one foot on the ground and the other on the pedal.
“You’ve got quite the dog walking business. But I thought you said Bernadette was your only client?”
He remembered.
Morgan grinned at him while she tried to remind herself that he was just a gifted salesman and nothing more. “Yup, Bernadette is my client and Hudson here is my new foster dog for the summer. Wanna adopt him?”
The dog alerted at the sound of his name and Morgan tossed another chunk of freeze-dried liver so that he had to chase it down the sidewalk. She hoped she’d filled her pocket with enough treats so that she could chat with Nathan while keeping Hudson happy.
“Maybe I’d adopt him if I could see him,” Nathan answered, pretending to peek over the Range Rover. “What’s wrong with him? Why are you hiding him?”
She bristled at his insinuation. “Nothing’s wrong. He’s a great dog, he just needs to learn some people skills.”
Foster mom protective instinct initiated? Check.
Her pulse surged. The voice was already familiar.
It’s him.
As much as she wanted to turn around to greet Nathan, her first priority was making sure Hudson was okay. The dog’s head whipped around the second he heard Nathan’s voice and Hudson froze when he saw the bike approaching, a low growl rumbling from deep in his chest. Morgan scanned her surroundings and realized that her best bet was to duck behind a black Range Rover parked half on the street and half on the crooked sidewalk. Working with Hudson behind a barrier would keep the dog calmer than trying to do it just a few feet away from a trigger, like a ridiculously good looking man on two wheels.
And Hudson isn’t the only one triggered by him.
She waved at him over her shoulder and jogged the few steps to the car so that Hudson couldn’t see Nathan.
“Hi, sorry. He gets weird around people. He’s in training.”
Morgan flicked her eyes to the dog and was happy to see him focused on a black pole with a horse head on top of it that was likely covered in pee along the bottom. She tossed him a treat.
Nathan had stopped in the middle of the cobblestone street on his cart-mobile, one foot on the ground and the other on the pedal.
“You’ve got quite the dog walking business. But I thought you said Bernadette was your only client?”
He remembered.
Morgan grinned at him while she tried to remind herself that he was just a gifted salesman and nothing more. “Yup, Bernadette is my client and Hudson here is my new foster dog for the summer. Wanna adopt him?”
The dog alerted at the sound of his name and Morgan tossed another chunk of freeze-dried liver so that he had to chase it down the sidewalk. She hoped she’d filled her pocket with enough treats so that she could chat with Nathan while keeping Hudson happy.
“Maybe I’d adopt him if I could see him,” Nathan answered, pretending to peek over the Range Rover. “What’s wrong with him? Why are you hiding him?”
She bristled at his insinuation. “Nothing’s wrong. He’s a great dog, he just needs to learn some people skills.”
Foster mom protective instinct initiated? Check.
About the Author
Victoria Schade has been a dog trainer and writer for over seventeen years. During that time her dog duties have included working behind the scenes on Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl as the lead animal wrangler, appearing on two seasons of the Animal Planet show Faithful Friends, writing dog training content and appearing in educational videos for NBC/Universal, Pet360, PawCulture and petMD, and writing two dog training books, Bonding With Your Dog and Secrets of a Dog Trainer.
Victoria shares her 1850’s always-in- need-of- renovations home with Millie the Smooth Brussels Griffon (who wants you to know that she is not a skinny pug), Olive the mixed breed dog, the occasional foster pup, and her incredibly tolerant husband, Tom.Website: http://www.victoriaschade.com/
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