Book Excerpt: The Courtship of Brett Poole, An unconventional romance
Everything Jamie knows about her parents’ early relationship is based on lies. Dangerous lies.
Julia, Jamie’s mom, meant no malice. She changed details to protect her daughter, not realizing that in changing details—hiding certain ones—she would endanger Jamie and others, including herself.
For twelve years Jamie had only known about her dad. He vanished when she’d been six months old. Then one day she found him. Naturally Jamie had questions. She turned to her mom. She needed to understand why he left.
Julia recounted how they met. Nice, simple, and uncomplicated—and heavily edited.
“Jamie just met her dad,” Julia reasoned to herself. “She shouldn’t have to ask questions that only lead to awkward answers or answers I don’t know. The edited story is better. Safer. It spares Jamie the grief I bear every day.”
Before Jamie was born, Julia and Brett became lost in a cave. Brett had a blackout. “Buried alive!” he screamed. Julia wondered if he was he claustrophobic. She realized there was more to it when Brett continued to have blackouts after they married. Who was his family? Why hadn’t they come to the wedding? Family seemed a touchy subject but why?
Then there was the nasty question of Tristan.
Julia met Tristan, an odd, archaic man. He seemed friendly, but something predatory hiding behind his smile chilled her. He never explained his presence. Brett knew something, but the more she asked, the more insistently he denied everything. Whoever Tristan was, he was dangerous, and she would never speak his name.
How could she have known one day Jamie would meet Tristan? Julia lied about those early days to spare her daughter pain. Divorce is never easy. She wanted Jamie to enjoy getting to know her dad. Brett wasn’t a bad man, but the circumstances behind why he disappeared were complicated.
And the consequences of Julia’s lies? They continue to unfold in Jamie’s present life.
Should Julia have told the truth? Would that have prevented Jamie from meeting Tristan? As the daughter of the enigmatic Brett Poole, could there have been any other fate? No amount of editing or redacting details could halt a force as strong as the daughter of Brett Poole.
Years before Brett met Julia, Tristan warned, “She’ll be the death of us both, old chap. But you’ll find her in Indiana.”
The die had been cast. Follow Julia and Brett Poole as their courtship begins the most unconventional of ways.
The Courtship of Brett Poole is available internationally on Amazon, Kobo, and GooglePlay.
Also available in all local online Amazon locations.
