"Till September"
Back to Books Page
When Quinn Anderson shows up at her farm, Hannah Kramer believes he’s the answer to her prayers. She desperately needs someone to help with the workload over the summer at her newly opened bed and breakfast. Hannah has a lot riding on this new business. Like many other farmers in her community, her farm is in serious debt. She needs the infusion of cash that she hopes her new business venture will bring in. Before her husband died three years previously, she promised to look after the land as a legacy to their son Ryan. Hannah fully intends to keep that promise, no matter how difficult.
As they work together in Hannah’s gardens, Hannah and Quinn begin to forge a friendship. Friendship soon grows into admiration and attraction. Hannah loves Quinn’s sense of humor, the respect with which he treats her friends and neighbors, and the tenderness he shows her son. Ryan comes to idolize Quinn. Hannah never thought she’d ever want to be with another man after her husband died. But Quinn makes her want to live again.
Passion flares between them. After they make love, Hannah knows for certain she’s in love with him. She longs to ask him to stay, but if he stays she wants it to be his choice. Quinn knows he feels more for Hannah then he’s ever felt for another woman. He wants to stay on Hannah’s farm, and for the first in his life, he contemplates marriage and family. But he has a secret, one he knows will destroy their relationship.
He works for Golden Oak, a Toronto-based real estate development company that is buying farmland in the area. He knows Hannah believes Golden Oak is a greedy company taking advantage of cash-strapped farmers and destroying her community. Quinn is paying farmers fair market value for their land, and far from destroying Hannah’s community, he’s trying to save it. Golden Oak is purchasing the land for eight British farming families who want to move to the Saskatchewan prairies and start a new life. Quinn is certain that having new people move into the area will breathe new life into the community. Finding homes for people is important to him because there was a time in his childhood when he and his mother didn’t have a home to call their own.
Hannah is so set against Golden Oak that he can’t bring himself tell her he works for them. He knows she’ll hate him, almost as much as he hates himself for being a coward. As the summer ends and their time together grows short, Quinn knows he has to risk everything and tell Hannah the truth. How can he convince her that he wants to build her community, not destroy it? Can Hannah put aside promises of the past in order to build a future? Can Quinn make Hannah believe he loves her before time runs out in September?
Excerpt from "Till September"
Hannah’s heart pumped in double time. She tried to keep her eyes straight ahead, to look only at the man in front of her, but her terrified brain wouldn’t cooperate. Fear forced her gaze to stray to his left to the wide open spaces just beyond his broad shoulders.
“Look at me. Just at me. I’ll get you down safely.”
She pulled her gaze away from the abyss. She looked into Quinn’s eyes and saw the conviction of his words.
Hannah took one more crawling step. The rough asphalt shingles of the roof bit into her palms and bare knees, but she kept going. Quinn continued to hold out his hand to her.
“I’ve almost got you.”
She concentrated on his hand. The fingers were long and lean, the palm smooth and unblemished, unlike those of most of the men she knew, men whose palms were callused and scarred from years of heavy farm labor. Dark hair sprinkled his forearm, exposed by the rolled up denim shirt sleeve. His palm faced up as if in supplication. More than anything in the world, she needed to feel the strength and confidence in that hand. With a huge effort that left her breathless, she reached out to him. He leaned forward and grabbed her.
“Good girl, Hannah. I knew you could do it.”
She clung to his hand as if it were a lifeline. He let her catch her breath for a moment.
“Are you ready for the next part?”
Not really, she thought, but she nodded anyway.
“Okay, you’re going to have to turn around and let me put your feet on the ladder.”
Panic burst inside her like an over inflated balloon. This was the really scary part, the part where she was totally blind and totally without control. She tugged on her hand as if to make a getaway, but he held fast.
“You’re going to be all right, Hannah,” he said softly. “I won’t let you fall.”
Quinn’s voice calmed her, and she fought back the fear. After years of looking after everyone else, it felt strange having someone look after her. The knowledge that she wasn’t alone flooded over her in sweet relief.
“I’m okay now,” she said, releasing a pent up breath. “What do I do?”
“Turn around. I’ll guide you.”
He let go of her, and Hannah felt suddenly bereft. A moment later he gently grasped her shoulders, urging her to turn. She sighed in relief, desperately glad for his support.
She made a complete about-face. He placed a hand on her left leg, near her ankle.
“I’m going to guide your leg down to the first rung now. Just follow my directions.”
Hannah did as she was told. Everything faded away and there was only his voice and the touch of his hands as he guided her onto the ladder. Nothing else mattered but that he could lead her safely to terra firma.
“There, you’re ready. When I say go, take one step down. I’m standing a couple of rungs below you and I’ll move at the same time. Do you understand?”
Hannah closed her eyes and nodded.
Quinn put one hand on her leg to guide her. “Okay Hannah, it’s show time. One, two, three, go.”
Hannah lifted her right foot and felt her way to the next rung, letting out a rush of air when her left foot safely joined it. She rested her head against the ladder to catch her breath.
“Are you okay?”
With an effort, Hannah lifted her head. “Just peachy. Let’s just get off this damn roof.”
She heard his amused chuckle. “Whatever you say. On three. One, two, three.”
They made two more steps, but instead of gaining confidence the closer they got to the ground, Hannah felt the palms of her hands sweat and her limbs begin to tremble. She tried to concentrate on Quinn’s instructions, but her mind raced with fear. She needed him to talk to her, to provide a distraction.
“You’re not from around here, are you?” she said breathlessly as she took another step. “I think I know everyone within a twenty-five mile radius. Which isn’t too hard considering we’re not exactly overpopulated in Saskatchewan.”
“I’m from Toronto. I saw your poster at the service station in Qu’Appelle when I stopped for gas.”
“What are you doing here? Just passing through?” Most people considered Saskatchewan a big, flat, empty space to get through on their way to where they really wanted to go.
“I’ve got some business here.”
Hannah wondered what kind of business he could possibly have in Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan, population three hundred, but Quinn didn’t elaborate.
She fell silent. For some reason it bothered her that he wasn’t from around here and wouldn’t be staying. Why should that be, she wondered? Quinn Anderson was a total stranger, a kind one, but a stranger none the less. Did she feel that way because she enjoyed being touched by him?
Hannah’s foot slipped. Brightly colored images of everyone she’d ever loved raced through her memory like a silent film set at high speed. How about that? Hannah thought in surreal amazement. A person’s life really did flash in front of her eyes the moment before her death.
She felt herself falling. Her worst possible nightmare had just come to life.
Back to Top
Reviews of "Till September"
"This is a great book with a solid plot and fabulous characters…. The storyline was so intriguing and I literally read through the night. It was a captivating story which I highly recommend to everyone, regardless of preferred genre. The happily-ever-after didn’t come without several bumps in the road; however, it was surprising how it finally concluded. There was an underlying suspense throughout the book which kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved it!"
Reviewer: Brenda Talley, The Romance Studio
This story gives a touching view of farm life: its moments of beauty, of belonging, of tradition, its demanding workload, its pressing risks of failure, all punctuated by an overriding love of the land, hence a desire to keep it despite gathering hard times… the suspense deliciously constructed around resolution of the main plot line, made more tantalizing by interesting subplots…And the book features well written prose. Parts of the scenes are beautifully rendered, giving us a sense of poignant rural stillness.
Reviewer: Edelweiss, Long and Short Reviews
Till September
Jana Richards
Contemporary romance
Available from Awe-Struck eBooks
March 2009
Hannah Kramer, widowed for three years, had a 9-year-old son, Ryan. She struggled daily to keep herself financially sound. Sometimes it felt like a lost cause. Then when she started the Valley Dawn Bed and Breakfast, she hoped the income would help her maintain her farm and support her child. Her late husband, Peter, had made all the decisions for them and then, when he died with cancer, she was forced to try to do it all. Her biggest goal was to maintain her property as Peter had made her promise she would. The main thing she needed now was a part-time employee to do some outside work for her during the tourist season.
Quinn Anderson was in the area working for his company, Golden Oak, trying to procure properties for an anticipated development. Some British farmers wanted to relocate to this particular area of Saskatchewan to live and farm closely together. That meant he had to find eight properties to purchase for a fair price and without coercion. Not too bad a deal, unless you were totally against change as his new employer, Hannah was. He should tell her who he worked for but he was afraid she would reject his offer to help.
This is a great book with a solid plot and fabulous characters. There were sensual sparks throughout the story, but the sex was minimal. That gave more focus on the story itself and the in-depth study of the struggle the farmers were experiencing. There were a myriad of characters in this novel and it was as if I was among them. I was able to almost bond with them and feel their pain at the losses they suffered.
The storyline was so intriguing and I literally read through the night. It was a captivating story which I highly recommend to everyone, regardless of preferred genre. The happily-ever-after didn’t come without several bumps in the road; however, it was surprising how it finally concluded. There was an underlying suspense throughout the book which kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved it!
Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Very sensual
Reviewer: Brenda Talley
February 4, 2009
Hannah is a young farm widow with a grade school son and she has just turned her homestead into a bed-and-breakfast. When Quinn shows up, looking for accommodations, they are immediately attracted to each other. They agree on an arrangement in which Quinn stays the summer as a boarder, meals included, in exchange for heavy part-time work on the place’s upkeep. The attraction they feel quickly builds a head of steam, but a lie stands between them. Unknown to Hannah, Quinn is really an agent for a land development company, one Hannah already despises, that is looking to buy up some of the area farms. Quinn’s initial impulse to withhold his true purpose for being there turns into a fascinating web of deceit that constantly, and suspensefully, threatens to topple their relationship.
The characters are engaging and easy to relate to. Quinn is an ethical agent, intent to giving fair value for land much in demand by other families. Hannah’s attraction to the handsome stranger is tempered by loyalty to her husband’s memory, by a desire to succeed as an independent businesswoman, and by something else: a desire to fulfill promises made to family members about disposition of the land.
The story is not without small weaknesses. There is a boss/subordinate relationship that many readers (who have had bosses) will find unrealistic. And some of the tension in the first few chapters seems premature. Hannah expresses fear of losing Quinn before she really falls for him. Then later on, the characters, especially the minor ones, have this consistent tendency of reading each others minds. But these are minor quibbles compared to the suspense deliciously constructed around resolution of the main plot line, made more tantalizing by interesting subplots.
This story gives a touching view of farm life: its moments of beauty, of belonging, of tradition, its demanding workload, its pressing risks of failure, all punctuated by an overriding love of the land, hence a desire to keep it despite gathering hard times. And the book features well written prose. Parts of the scenes are beautifully rendered, giving us a sense of poignant rural stillness.
Till September by Jana Richards
Publisher: Awe-Struck EBooks
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full (150+ pages)
Heat: Spicy
Rating: 3.5 books
Reviewed by Edelweiss
