Riches to rags. …
Bullets start flying. …
Rage is rising, …
especially for some!

When the journey to Rosemoor for a celebratory evening turns deadly, Doreen’s life is flipped on her head. She can only watch in horror as Mack is shot right in front of her. Horrified, she vows to solve this case and fast, before the shooter realizes he failed and comes back for a second attempt.

Corporal Mack Moreau has been shot before, but this time it’s way worse because Doreen watched it all happen. Now she’s planning to catch the shooter before Mack even starts to heal. That’s not a good idea. She’s yet to consider that maybe the shooter wasn’t after Mack but really wanted to shoot her. After all, the cases she’s been involved in have created a whole new level of acquaintances in her life. How many of them are gunning for her?

But Doreen is not deterred, and, with her trusty team at her side, she’s determined to keep Mack safe by finding his shooter before he tries again.

There was supposed to be a celebration but as Mac, Doreen and her pets Goliath, Mugs and Thaddeus approach Rosemoor, Mack is shot.

Confusion reigns for a bit and Doreen drops the animals off at home and heads to the hospital. Some of Mack’s co-workers and even the captain is already there. Of course, it’s not long before Nan and many of the Rosemoor residents add to the group waiting for word.

Then there’s the problem of getting Nan and the other Rosemoor folks back where they belong and also get Doreen home so she can rest. The captain takes Doreen home first and then heads to Rosemoor to make sure everyone made it back and also issue a warning.

Doreen realizes she accepted the ride home and now her car is at the hospital. She makes the decision to go to Nan’s hopefully to catch a ride to get her car with Darren or the captain. What she walks in on is hysterical.

This is a favorite scene.

Doreen hugged her grandmother back, then stepped over to the captain and whispered, “What’s going on?”

He gave her a wry look. “Did I look a little too relieved to see you?”

“Yeah, you did.” She shot him a suspicious look. “So I repeat. What’s going on?”

“Your grandmother is trying to rally the troops to solve Mack’s murder.”

“And I’m sure you’ve given her the official line?”

“I have.” Yet he looked haunted.

“And I presume they’re ignoring you, as usual.”

He nodded at that. “I don’t understand. Almost all the citizens in this town are completely law-abiding, So, if I say stop, they stop.”

The corner of her mouth kicked up. “But every one of these people is old enough to know what you looked like when you were running around in the buff and sucking on a binky. That does undermine your authority a little bit.”

His lips twitched and then twitched again, until he burst into loud guffaws. By the time he finally calmed down, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, gave her a hug. “No wonder Mack likes you so much,” he said, with a grin. “I had not considered my reputation in that light.”

“No, but, once you hang around with these people long enough, you realize they respect very few things, and all of it has to do with what you’ve done in life. And their memories go waaay back.”

Still chuckling, he nodded. “So then maybe you tell them.”

“Meaning, they don’t see me still in diapers? You’re wrong. They do.” She sighed. “But, at the same time, they’ve also seen that I’ve done a few things to benefit them all, so that has held me in good stead. Plus Nan would not have them treat me otherwise.”

“You’re not kidding. They have more respect for you and Nan than they have for me.”

She smiled. “That’s because you still must be the bad guy sometimes. That’s not part of my job description.”

His lips twitched again. He nodded. “It’s up to you to get them all calmed down and to put them in their rightful place.”

“That’s the problem. They don’t go into the proper place,” she noted, with a sigh.

Overhearing that, Nan chuckled, turned to the crowd, and called out, “Let Doreen speak.”

Almost immediately the slamming of canes on the floor and the stamping of feet erupted, even if at an odd rhythm, as they moved and shuffled slowly to face Doreen. Then the chant rose. “Doreen, Doreen, Doreen.”

She looked around her, shook her head. “All right, guys, before you all have heart attacks, calm down.”

At that came muffled laughter. She looked around at Nan. “Do you have some folding chairs or a room with enough seats so that everyone can sit down?” And then came a collective sigh of relief.

Nan looked at the others and then slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh, I didn’t even think of that. See? That’s why Doreen’s here,” Nan told the crowd.

“Good thing,” called out one old guy, “because I’m about to collapse.”

Doreen motioned to the adjoining communal sitting area, where plenty of couches and chairs were. “Come on. Let’s all go over there, so everybody can sit down. Maybe we can get some pots of tea or something going?” she asked, looking at Nan. “You want to go work your wiles on the kitchen staff?”

Nan chuckled and disappeared, as the crowd slowly relocated, and Doreen shook her head at how slowly most of them made their way into the comfortable seating area. She looked over at the captain. “Are you coming with me?”

“Oh, absolutely.” He chuckled. “You already got them doing more than I could.”

“Did you try to get them to sit down?”

“No, I was hoping to get them to disperse.”

She chuckled. “Nope. You know the rule about raising horses and unruly kids? Or seniors in this case?”

He looked at her and asked, “Do you have either?”

At that, she burst out laughing. “Nope, I sure don’t, but the rule always is, make the right thing easy and make the wrong thing difficult.”

An odd look took over his face as the captain contemplated that. “You know something? I think that goes for any situation.”

“Yep, now stay close, while we figure this out. We must take the wind out of their sails, otherwise they’ll be all on a big rampage.”

Following the crowd, Doreen spotted Darren. She waved at him. “Darren, did you get an update from the hospital?”

He nodded and joined her and the captain. “Mack’s awake and doing well. He’s been admitted into a private room in the hospital. You’re still not allowed to go visit though, even during regular visiting hours.”

She frowned at him, wondering if that was said on purpose.

He shook his head. “No, it’s not me. The doctor wants to keep Mack quiet for the next little bit. Maybe later tonight or tomorrow morning you can see him.”

She nodded slowly. “That’ll be all the quiet Mack gets. After that, I’m breaking him out of there,” she announced.

The captain sighed heavily. “I’m sure glad you didn’t say that in front of this crowd.”

She looked over at him, startled, and then nodded. “Right. Believe me. I’d have an awful lot of breaker-outers with me.”

Now with everybody seated in a big circle, she stepped into the center and sat down. All the animals immediately arranged themselves around her. “I don’t know how much of the scenario you all have heard, so I’ll give you what I know, and then anybody here who has information to offer, please speak up.”

She quickly gave an accounting of the walk down from her house with Mack and the animals. Mugs lay at her feet, and his ears lifted when she mentioned his name. Thaddeus did the same, poking his head out of Doreen’s hair, and cried out, “Thaddeus is here. Thaddeus is here.”

Immediately everybody laughed and clapped. Goliath just gave them all one of those long blasé looks, stretched out flat, and let his tail twitch.

Doreen continued. “We came around the corner of Rosemoor, saw a vehicle parked opposite the front door. A man hopped out when he saw us, lifted his hands, and called out “Copper,” then said something about revenge is better cold and shot Mack, who was already in motion. I’m not exactly sure whether Mack was trying to knock me out of the way or was moving toward the shooter, but Mack took the bullet high in his chest, actually more of a shoulder shot, and collapsed into the rosebush.”

She took a few minutes to compose herself, as everybody gave sage nods. “I’ll keep the questions simple. Did anybody see that vehicle parked out front? Hands up.”

Nobody raised their hands.

She frowned at that. “Did anybody see the actual shooting take place? Hands up.”

Again everybody shook their head. Nobody put up their hands.

“Did anybody know that there would be any kind of altercation earlier this evening?” she asked the crowd.

At that, one tiny little bird of a woman poked up her hand.

Doreen looked at her, with a sinking heart. “Yes. … What information do you have?”

“My knees have been acting up. That only happens when bad things are about to happen,” she explained. “I just didn’t know it would be Mack who would get hurt. If I’d known”— she slowly stood, her head barely cresting above all the other people seated—“ I would have said something to him, but I didn’t know it would be him.”

At that, several other people laughed, and one nodded.

Doreen looked over at the nodding man. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure what your name is,” Doreen began. “Have you seen this woman’s knees cause trouble before?”

“I don’t know that her knees cause trouble, but she has pointed out a few times when her knees have hurt, and bad things have happened.”

She stared at him for a moment. “Interesting. Okay. Besides that set of knees, does anybody else have anything to add about this?”

At that, several people put up their hands.

“Thank you for all being so mannerly.” She pointed to the one gentleman. “I think your name is Uriah?”

He nodded, seemingly pleased that she knew his name. “I want to know what we’ll do about it.” He then stood. “It’s one thing to get all the initial layout of the crime and then ask for answers, but do you have a plan yet?”

At the word yet, she realized just how much they were all counting on her. She looked over at the captain. “I’ll give you the official line,” the captain replied, his hands on his hips, as he turned and surveyed them all. “And you won’t like part of it.” At that, his words were met with jeers all around.

Doreen held up her hand. Instantly there was silence. At her side, the captain swore under his breath. She looked over at him, a question in her eyes.

He just shrugged. “They won’t do that for me,” he whispered.
Dale Mayer. Revenge in the Roses (Kindle Locations 278-357). Valley Publishing Ltd..

Not only does Doreen, get the Rosemoor folks to settle down, she assigns responsibilities much to the captain’s dismay.

Of course, Doreen isn’t staying out of it, and Mack’s brother Nick is now in town as well. Nick is quite amused by any and all interactions between Mack and Doreen.

This book is delightful, with plenty of twists and turns, laughter and more.

I really can’t wait for the next one!

5 Contented Purrs for Dale!

Dale Mayer

Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).

She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!

To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.

Quinton had been a patient at Hathaway House in its first year. When she finally healed enough to move on with her life, she went into law and plowed forward. However, plowing forward may not have been the best answer for her physical injuries. While visiting Stan at the center, she collapses on her way to her brother’s room, as he’s a patient here now. The collapse shows a long-term issue, now an acute problem. After talking to Dani and Shane, Quinton’s booked back into the center on a short-term basis.

Stan hurts for Quinton. She’s an old friend, and he’s watched her progress from his first year in business at Hathaway. He’d always had a crush on her but figured his window of opportunity had passed. Now with her once again as a patient, it feels like a second chance for a personal relationship, one he’s more than willing to take.

Between her brother—who’s not getting along at the center—and Quinton’s own struggles to get back on her feet, thankfully she also has Stan and other old friends around, as Quinton takes the steps necessary to put her life back on track … in all ways.

Quinton is a now corporate attorney and stops by Hathaway House to have Stan sign some documents. She knows Stan and the others from her own time at Hathaway House years ago. Stan always wanted to get to know her better, but the timing never seemed right.

Her brother Ryatt is now a patient here and he’s having issue adjusting, at least she hopes that’s all it is. She stops by to see Dani before heading to see him, but before she gets very far, she collapses in pain.

Dani calls for assistance and with Shane’s help gets Quinton settled in a room. She doesn’t want to stay but there’s really no choice.

Her brother comes to see her, and she reassures him she’ll be fine. She does question whether or not he wants to be there. His attitude is affecting everyone trying to help him. He tries to divert her attention back to herself, but she refuses his help with her prosthetic and his offer to find Shane to help.

It’s Stan who comes to check on her and runs off to find Shane.

This is a favorite scene.

Quinton took one look at Stan and Shane, then frowned. “You know that, if I just lay here quiet for a bit, I could probably get it.”

“You could probably get it,” Shane agreed. “However, if you never ask for help, especially when you need it, then I foresee more than just physical problems here.”

That made Quinton immediately gear up the attorney side of her to argue with that assessment.

Shane raised one finger to shush her, then gently pushed her pant leg over the top of her prosthetic and asked, “Did you hurt this recently?”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”

He looked at it closely and raised one eyebrow. “The prosthetic could be part of your main problem.”

“Why is that?”

“Because the whole alignment is off,” he said, “not in a big way, just enough that your structural alignment would go out the window with it.” He quickly pushed the button to release the prosthetic then slowly rolled the sock down off her stump.

She cried out softly with relief. “Ah, that feels better.”

He looked at her stump and noted, “You realize you’ve got a really big blister back here too, don’t you?” He lifted the leg up and showed Stan a good two-inch-wide blister.

“It was getting sore, but I don’t know about a blister.”

“You’ve got a good one,” Stan said, looking at her. “It looks pretty nasty.” He took a picture of it on his cell phone and then held it out for her to see.

She stared at it in shock. “Where’d that come from?”

“Are you sure you didn’t fall or have in any way damaged the prosthetic that you remember?” Shane asked.

She shook her head. “Not that I remember, no.” And then she frowned. “Except I did fall down a couple risers on the stairs.”

Both men stared at her in shock.

She shrugged. “I didn’t really think anything of it. I mean, obviously it wasn’t a great moment. But I was alone, I hopped up, straightened up, and carried on.”

“And how long ago was that?”

“It was about …” She stopped, thought about it. “I don’t know, maybe four, five months. It wouldn’t be from that, would it?”

“It could easily have been that,” Shane stated, “particularly when this fall caused a small adjustment to your prosthetic. Then, over time, your body goes out of alignment. That would make it pretty easy to become an even bigger problem.”

“Well, in that case then,” she replied, “I guess I did this to myself.”

Shane stood at the end of her bed, his arms crossed over his chest. “So tell me honestly. What would you say your regular workday is like?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I’m trying to get a picture of a woman, who has a two-inch sore on her leg, who fell down the stairs, who got up, who didn’t think anything of it, who slowly put her own alignment out of whack, and who didn’t notice the increase in pain nor the decrease in movement.”

She stared at him, slowly understanding what he was getting at. A flush rose up her neck. “So what do you want me to say? Obviously I’m a person who’s not very aware,” she muttered.

“But why?” Shane asked gently.

She looked over at Stan, who still stood here beside them. “Probably,” she added carefully, “because I’m very busy.”

“As in too busy to look after yourself?” Shane asked.

She glared at him. “I think the answer to that is evident,” she snapped, mostly mad at herself. “I obviously haven’t been doing a good job, if that’s what you found. I still don’t understand how I could have walked around and not noticed that thing.”

“Yeah, me too. I know you have nerve damage on the back, but that’s a pretty major blister. And it is fresh,” he noted. “So it could have been just even part of today. Still, I’ve got nurses coming to draw some blood and to give you some muscle relaxants. We’re going to run a bunch of tests, take X-rays tomorrow, and just see where you’re at. For tonight,” he added, “I suggest you eat, relax, and try to sleep if you can. A set of pajamas are in the bathroom for you. I think an extra set of comfy clothes are in the closet too. Call for a nurse to help you.”

She nodded slowly but was obviously pretty distressed by the whole thing.

Shane reached down, gently patted her good leg, and smiled. “We’ll look at it all tomorrow. It’ll be a whole new day. So get some rest, and we’ll see how we can fix you up, after we get more info. And, if you need something more, like heavy-duty painkillers, let me know immediately. Don’t put that off either.”

Stan leaned over, gave her a quick hug. “I’ll be back later to see if you are awake enough for dinner.” And he walked out behind Shane.
Dale Mayer. Quinton (Kindle Locations 350-389). Valley Publishing Ltd..

When Quinton realizes what’s gone wrong, she knows she’ll need to stay until things are right again. However, her bosses aren’t quite so understanding.

Stan uses this time to try to get closer to her and they both seem to have issues getting it right.

This is yet another heartwarming story, with struggles to find their way to both health and happiness.

I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.

5 Contented Purrs for Dale!

Dale Mayer

Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).

She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!

To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.

Carson is pleasantly surprised by the job Levi assigns him, until Carson hears all the details. An elderly friend of Ice’s believes someone is out to kill her. But she has no proof, no suspects, no motives. The police think she’s imagining things and won’t look into the case any further. However, after meeting this lady … and her granddaughter, Carson has his own suspicions.

Eva doesn’t want Carson in the house. She doesn’t want anyone in the house, if she were honest. As an artist, she loves her space, her freedom, and especially her privacy. This man is a distraction and soon could become so much more—her muse. And that is dangerous on various levels.

But, if his presence saves her grandmother, then Eva will do anything to keep her safe even put up with the man that makes her feel things she had never expected.

Like all the others before him, Carson is skeptical over the matchmaking that seems to happen, especially when Levi tells him he’s next. After all who is he going to fall for looking a threat to an elderly friend of Ice’s. He only has a week to figure this out and it’s going to be more difficult than he imagines.

Eva wants no one in her space at all. She’s an artist with her first show coming up and doesn’t want or need distractions. She does want her grandmother safe so she’s going to have to make some concessions.

Eva’s the one who answers the door when Carson arrives. She’s less than welcoming, in fact she’s downright rude. She doesn’t want anyone in her space especially not her studio. Although she does realize her grandmother’s safety is of the utmost importance.

This is a favorite scene.

There was only the one way up, so taking those stairs back down, he spied a door on one of the landings, built into the paneling. The job was so well done that most people wouldn’t know it was even here. He popped it open and stepped through, realizing that he’d come out on a landing that connected both staircases.

Now he made his way upstairs to the other section of the second floor, over the main part of the house. As he went down the hallway, he found yet another hidden door as well. Behind it were stairs going up to the third floor.

Shaking his head, he quickly went through the main portion of the second floor, finding guest bedrooms and what appeared to be Aida’s master bedroom.

He did a quick search, checking the windows and the doors and the overall security, then making sure that the room measurements actually lined up with the original blueprints in a way that made sense.

By the time he made his way to the third floor, he’d entered a completely different space— open and airy— and he knew that on this floor would be Eva’s studio. As he stepped forward, a door opened, and there she was, glaring at him.

He smiled gently and reminded her, “I’m only here to help.”

Her shoulders sagged, and she nodded. “Then you might as well come in, but, after you’ve seen it, I don’t want you back in here ever again.”

“If I don’t have to, I won’t,” he replied. As he stepped inside, his gaze was immediately drawn to several easels, but they were all covered up.

He nodded to himself, thinking about how private she must want to keep everything. Whether that was because of the show or because of a lack of confidence, he didn’t know. He quickly wandered through, inspecting all the windows, checking the locks and latches, and looking down from here. This floor was at least thirty or forty feet off the ground. He saw no ivy, no latticework. Basically no way to get up quietly. It would take a very large ladder to scale this height. Or a helicopter, which he dismissed due to the noise it would make.

As he worked his way through this suite, he checked out a bathroom and then found a connecting door, which must lead to her bedroom on the other side. “Do you use this entire top floor?”

She nodded, grudgingly. “A lounge is on the other side.”

“Your bedroom, correct?” She nodded. “I don’t have to check it right now. It can be put off to later. Is anybody else up here ever?”

“No, this is my home.”

He stopped, looked at her, and added, “I know you don’t want to answer this, but I need to know. Have you ever had a boyfriend or fiancé or anybody who’s been up here?”

“I do— or did, I should say. So of course he’s been here,” she snapped.

“Did he stay the night?”

“No, I respect my grandmother too much for that.”

He nodded. “But he did have access.”

“Well, yes, in the sense that I was here and that he would come up sometimes to see me.”

He nodded. “And does he have a key to the house?”

“No, he does not.” She stared at him.

And again he just nodded.

“Do most people hand out access to their homes?” she asked, puzzled.

“Mostly, no,” he replied, “but, in some cases— like for a fiancé— then sure. Some people also do it for convenience, so, if they’re away, and the plumber needs access, a family member or neighbor could let him in. You know? That sort of thing.”

She chewed on her bottom lip and shook her head. “I’ve never given anyone a key. To me, although it’s my home, it is still my grandmother’s house, so I would never take such a liberty.”

“Good for now. The fewer keys we must track down, the better.”

“Good luck with that.” Her gaze narrowed. “I know some keys went missing a while back.”

“What’s a while back? Like how long ago? Do you have any idea where they went?”

“No, I don’t know anything else about it.” She frowned. You must ask Grandma or Flora.”

“We’ll take a look at that,” he noted, “or else we’ll just get the locks changed.”

She winced at that. “You have no idea what you’re saying. Some of these locks are very, very old.”

“I’m sure they are,” he agreed calmly, “but we don’t want to give anybody easy access to you or your home.”

“I think if it were that easy,” she replied, “they would have already come in.”

“How do you know they haven’t?” he shot back.

She stared at him. He watched as fear remained on her expressive features.She added, “This house is so big, I wouldn’t know. One time a cleaning person was working here, and I had no idea she was even here, and she’d been around for about six days. So, when I crossed paths with her in the kitchen about midnight, I was pretty freaked out about it. That’s when we stopped having cleaning staff stay overnight.”

“I can see that happening,” Carson replied. “You have a ton of space here. And, even for the person working here, it would have taken them weeks to get a real feel of the layout.”

“Exactly. This happened years ago, when I was still dealing with the loss of my parents. So I didn’t handle it very well. It was like the boogeyman jumped up and surprised me.”

“That’s understandable,” he murmured, then turned and walked back to her door. With a final look around, he said, “Thank you for your time. I’ll leave you to work,” and he stepped out. Just then came a gong. When he looked back in at her, she smiled.

“That’s the dinner bell.”

“Oh, I guess that means I’ll see you downstairs then.”

At that, her phone buzzed. She groaned as she looked down.

“Problems?”

“No, I just asked Flora to text me whenever dinner was ready.”

“You need a text after that gong?”

“Sometimes, yes,” she murmured, “but I actually wanted the text in advance of the gong.” She smirked. “So I’d be ready, but I guess I should be happy I got a text at all.”

“How do you get on with Flora?”

“I guess that’s another part of your job, isn’t it?” she asked. “Do you really like to snoop into people’s lives?”

“Nope, I sure don’t,” he admitted, “but I really like saving them.”

At that, she shut up.
Dale Mayer. Carson’s Choice (Kindle Locations 404-458) Valley Publishing Ltd..

So many secrets these folks are keeping. I really gave Carson kudos for his patience with both Eva and Aida. The one thing he does set up quickly is getting equipment to search for devices and then planning out a new security system.

Stone and Flynn both come to assist, and even more things start coming to a head. They’re the ones to notice the attraction between Carson and Eva. I really got a kick out of the reactions.

Plenty of suspense and intrigue as this book heats up.

5 Contented Purrs for Dale!

Dale Mayer

Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).

She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!

To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.