Title: Polka Dots and Moonbeams
Author: Kay LeGrand
Published in October 2003 by Wings ePress
Genre: Romantic Suspense
IBSN: 1-59088-340-3
There is something about the woman in the car he'd stopped, besides her unusual name that is there was and is a look about her. Something that put him on edge then, and now makes him feel protective in a way that he has never before experienced. It is a bone deep hurt, a haunting vulnerability that stops Officer Jim Brook, reluctant policeman, cold as the grave. Something is definitely wrong, and he's as sure about that as he could be, especially after seeing the condition of her eyes. In their liquid emerald depths, he sees a world of pain, misery, and panic. Red-rimmed, they were on the verge of overflowing yet again, and he was partially to blame. The name on the license read Lora Aphrodite McDaniel, and it didn't say enough about the green-eyed beauty who suddenly turned his legs to mush, and his brain into a blob of jello. Her distress cuts him to the quick, and there and then he vows to try to set at least part of her world to rights. The determination is even stronger as he watches over her.
When he sees the damage inflicted on her by her former "boss/boyfriend”, he is totally enraged, and does everything in his power to protect her. His options are limited, but he can and does offer her the safety of his apartment, leaving it to her, but staying close enough to be sure that she is as safe and as cared for as he thinks she should be. Her attitude has him puzzled, but he recognizes within her a fighting spirit, one that is just starting to bloom. The small acts of rebellion are signs of her burgeoning independence, and they are qualities he needs to foster. She harbors an inner strength, and Jim thinks she may need every ounce of it as he starts to look into the man who has been threatening her. Trouble may be coming on fast, there is no telling when or where it will strike. He feels the danger build, but cannot pinpoint the source. There has to be a way to keep her safe, a way to protect Lora. As he mulls the problem through, he realizes that the gooey, shaky, jittery, and altogether strange feelings he has been subjected to are not an illness, but the stirring of love. Oh, that is one complication he wasn't expecting, and he is not sure he is prepared for the surprises that may come next...
Well, shoot, her day just couldn't get much worse. First she gets fired from her lousy, but it pays the bills job, and then gets stopped by a cop. If that isn't bad enough, he questions her name, Lora Aphrodite McDaniel. The events leading up to this day have not been the most pleasant, but the job was the only one that she felt that she was at least halfway competent doing. Apparently, Bjork, her boss/boyfriend doesn't think so though, because he gave her the heave-ho, saying he never wanted to see her again. She should never go back there, never show her dependence on him, because that only seems to set him off. Well, she doesn't have to worry about that now, only the cop with the drop-dead gorgeous good looks that seems to think she needs a hero. Officer Brook, Jim, with his deep blue eyes and golden-haired good looks seems too good to be true. It is as if fate is playing a cruel trick. Men aren’t' like that. They are cruel, domineering, self-centered, and above all else they are to be obeyed and appeased. Hadn’t she learned that lesson by now?
A good guess on Lora's part at this point would be no. Bjork didn't think so and he kicked her to the curb without her last paycheck, or any real hopes of seeing it either. As the weeks pass, he makes good on his threat. The few jobs that could be available have dried up, are no longer open, and Lora has no money left and nowhere to go. She doesn't want charity, after all she still has her pride, but Jim is not taking no for an answer. She finds her self ensconced in his apartment after a threat and a blow from Bjork sends her running to find Jim. She only meant to warn him, but he suddenly decides to be a take-charge kind of guy, and moves her in lock, stock, and barrel. Lora still doesn't know what to think, but she knows that Bjork means to hurt her, and that he will try and maybe succeed in killing Jim. She can't let that happen, she won't let it happen. As the tension mounts, and Jim moves her yet again, Lora decides that maybe he really is her knight in shining armor, and just maybe she can trust him to help her overcome her past and fulfill her dreams...
Kay LeGrand brings to us the story of a woman, brought up on the “wrong side of the tracks”, and used to a life of hardship and dependence. Pushed into fending for herself, Lora McDaniel finds that with an overbearing and possessive male dogging her every step, life has become downright dangerous. There are problems in more than one area too as she has to cope with a cop that just won’t let her alone. She knows that she is not pretty, or worth much, that has been drummed into her head for a long time now, and the fact that officer Jim Brook, seems to be interested in her is an unusual and unreal situation. On Jim’s part, the emerald-eyed beauty is in some kind of deep trouble, and he is determined to find out what it is and how he can help her. All the signs are there, and when the day comes that he sees the result of the abuse in the bruise on her face, he takes action.
The pair, faced with a determined and abusive bully tries to disappear, only to be caught off guard by a case of mistaken identity. In Polka Dots and Moonbeams, Kay has given us a first class romance, surrounded by a set of circumstances that could very well be a part of the modern day scene. The stigma of being born poor and unwanted, and the struggle to overcome “family tradition” both play a part in this poignant, thrilling, and utterly enthralling thriller. In spite of the frivolous name, Polka Dots and Moonbeams is anything but a fluffy story, and will keep you glued to every fascinating and totally engrossing page. Wings ePress has another winner with Kay LeGrand and her October release of Polka Dots and Moonbeams. It belongs in any romantic suspense lover’s collection, so Don’t Miss It!
Yours in good reading,
Rose!
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