Saving Sarah May – Excerpt

Guess what’s coming? You guessed it! It’s SAVING SARAH MAY! Coming in March 2016!  In the meantime, enjoy this excerpt!

After Sarah‘s fiance is killed in Iraq, her life spirals into darkness. In attempt to pull her out of her grief, her friends plan a trip to Ireland to help Sarah heal. But her friends aren’t without their own problems. Emily, recently divorced from an abusive ex, is adjusting to her new life as a single parent, and Kate is nursing fresh wounds after her boyfriend dumped her for her sister. For three friends, a trip to Ireland seemed like the idyllic, carefree break from their troubled lives. Instead, the Emerald Isle forces each of them to face her demons head on, to discover herself, find healing, and possibly new love.

Emily waved to Lucy one last time as the cab pulled away from the curb and started down the street.

“So Josh dumped me.” Kate’s voice sounded dejected.

It was the same song and dance all over again. Emily had heard this story at least five times now, maybe six. “Who did you catch this one screwing?”

She let out a heavy sigh, disappointed that she was so transparent. “My sister.”

“Again?” Emily groaned. “You keep going out with the wrong kind of guy. Of course, I’m one to talk.”

“Is it just that all men are jerks?” Kate frowned. When she did, she looked much older than her thirty-one years. The frown made her cheeks fall, and her eyes looked tired.

Of course, the tired eyes could have also been the result of too much partying, Emily mused.

With a shrug, Emily said, “I think I married an ass, and I think you date jerks. But I still have faith there are good men out there. Just not for me.”

“Ooh!” started Kate with a huge grin. “Maybe we’ll meet some nice Irish men.”

Laughter tumbled from Emily’s throat. “And she’s back on the horse, ladies and gentlemen!”

“I didn’t call Sarah this morning. You don’t think maybe she forgot do you?” Kate seemed suddenly worried.

Running a hand through her long brown hair, Emily shook her head. “She did not forget.”

Sarah had been through so much more than both of them. If Emily could have, she would have given Sam’s life for Eric’s. The gruesome thought made her laugh, but then she remembered that Sam was still Lucy’s dad, and despite all his faults, Lucy loved him. She let out a heavy sigh. “Just remember, no talking about Eric. It’s not that we want her to forget him, but we don’t want her to dwell on him either.”
Kate nodded absently as the cab pulled up to Sarah’s driveway. The For Sale sign in the yard said it was a must see. From the outside, it looked like a tomb. Of course that could have been the gray day, but there from the curb, it didn’t even feel like anyone was home.

Opening the cab door, Kate jumped out. “I’ll go get her.”

Before she reached the steps leading to the porch, the door opened and out came Sarah with her travel bag and one suitcase. That was Sarah, always practical and packing light.

“Do you need help?” Emily called from the car.

“I’ve got it,” she called back with a forced smile. Her dark brown eyes looked haunted.

The cab driver popped the trunk and got out, helping the women put Sarah’s luggage with the rest. Once they were all loaded into the back of the cab, they were on their way to the airport.

Now that Kate had her friends’ full attention she pulled out her notes. While she may have sucked at picking men, she could organize a trip like nobody’s business. “So, we arrive at the Shannon airport what will effectively be tomorrow, at ten in the morning Ireland time. I have a car already reserved. We head straight to our cottage to unpack. I have read that jet lag is possible. The good news is we’re within walking distance of the ocean, two small towns, and our cottage’s caretaker lives in the house up the road if we find we need anything. But the cottage has full amenities.”

“I have a whole list of restaurants and pubs I want to check out. My editor is so excited.” She was so busy studying her pages that she didn’t notice the look Sarah and Emily exchanged.

“Kate,” Emily interrupted.

Kate kept babbling. “Oh, and Sarah, you’re going to love this — horseback riding right down the road. There’s a stable where you can rent horses.”

“I brought paddock boots and a pair of breeches. Are one of you going to come riding with me?” Sarah’s full lips contorted into a pout.
Emily raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so…”

Kate didn’t respond. She simply kept going through her notes.

“Kate,” Em tried again to interrupt.

“Well just in case you need anything or your luggage gets lost – I checked, they have boots and helmets you can borrow, or you can just go to the riding shop in town and get what you need there. I mean theoretically you could go riding every day if you wanted,” Kate said.

Emily tried again. “Kate!”

“Huh?” She acted like she had no idea her friend had been trying to get her attention. This trip was just so exciting and more than anything, she wanted Sarah to relax. Even if she forgot about Eric for only a few minutes, it would have been better than nothing.

“We’re going to have hours and hours of travel time to discuss this. Can we just relax on our ride to the airport? I don’t know about you guys, but I didn’t sleep much last night, which means if I want to sleep, I am going to have to catch it in the cab and on the plane.” She closed her eyes.

“Well, you can sleep. Sarah and I can talk about all of the cool things there are to do.” She nodded at Sarah, continuing. “And you know what? No schedule just like you guys said. We can do what we want when we want. Or, if you don’t feel like doing anything, you can stay at the cottage and watch television in bed all day.”

Emily’s eyes flew open and she gave Kate a warning look. “No one is spending this holiday in bed. We’re going to go out, get some fresh air, see Ireland, and do things. Gain new cultural perspective.”

“You guys, I really appreciate what you’re trying to do,” Sarah said, “But I’m okay. I’m not going to spend the entire day laying around the cottage being all depressed and mopey. I promise, okay? Besides, horseback riding sounds fun. Thanks for checking into that for me, Kate.”
Emily put her arm around her friend of twelve years. “We know. We just want you to have a good time. Life has had more bad than good lately.”

Sarah gave her a bright smile, with those sad, haunted eyes of hers. “Well, what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”

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