On the Edge of Everything: Return of the Donovan Brothers, #1

By susan meier

Single dad Jeke Talbott makes songwriter Sissy Martin's heart race and her palms itch to touch him. She's only in Harmony Hills for the summer and was grateful when he hired her to be his nanny. But small-town guys aren't supposed to be so hot…or irresistible. With her career finally taking off and the chance of a lifetime at her fingertips, it shouldn't bother her that his divorce left him unable to make a commitment. But suddenly brides and babies and happy dogs are everywhere, and her easy choice is unexpectedly painful. Especially since Zeke seems perfectly happy with an affair…but she wants forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: susan meier
• Release date: Mar 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227991034

susan meier

The author of over seventy books and twenty writing workshops, Susan Meier has been married to her husband Mike for over forty years. She is the mother of three wonderful children and slave to one spoiled cat who thinks she's human.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Melissa Sissy Martin sat at the counter at Katie’s Diner, nursing a cup of black coffee.

The owner of the diner, Katie herself, walked over with the pot, obviously intending to refill Sissy’s cup. Her once dark hair was sprinkled with gray. Her pink uniform was one size too small. But she was the most influential resident of Harmony Hills, Pennsylvania—with Petie Burns, owner of Petie’s Pub—a close second. Their jobs as waitress and bartender put them in the perfect position to learn almost everything about everyone before it became public knowledge. If they passed that information along, it was only to help the poor soul who was in trouble.

Sissy laid her hand over the top of the mug. I’ve had enough.

Katie snickered. You passed ‘enough’ a cup ago. She set the pot on the counter. What’s up?

She should have said, Nothing. No. She should have gone to Petie’s Pub where it was dark and quiet on a weekday afternoon, and she could sit at a table in a corner where no one would notice she was moping. But then the gossips would have wagged their tongues about how Nashville must have turned her into a hopeless alcoholic—for her to be day drinking—and her mom would never forgive her.

Sorry you came home?

Realizing Katie was still in front of her, waiting for an answer to the question she’d asked before Sissy’s thoughts took off on their own, Sissy winced. Yes… No. She sighed. You know how it is here.

I’ll bet it’s worse if you’re a twenty-five-year-old who moved back in with her parents.

That’s temporary.

Really? Because it seems to me that everything you own is in your car.

For the first time since she’d decided to take a break from the music scene, Sissy laughed. "That is everything I own."

Katie leaned in and whispered, I knew it.

But I haven’t unpacked because I’m not back in Harmony Hills for good. My contract with my publisher ran out and I decided it was time to reevaluate.

Reconsidering becoming a song writer?

"I can write here as well as I can in Nashville. A good writer can create anywhere. You only go to Nashville to sell your songs. To meet the artists and publishers who are looking for the next big thing. She stirred her now cold coffee that didn’t require stirring because she never added sugar or cream. She was just fidgety, wanting something to do with her hands. That’s what I’ve been mulling for a while. Once I get a new publisher, a trip or two a year and some video calls could accomplish what I need."

Katie’s face brightened. "So, you are staying here."

No. Maybe. Who knows? I haven’t written a song in a while.

What you should do is move out of your parents’ house. Get your own place, and I’ll bet you could be content here.

Content in a town where there were no eligible men?

She glanced around the diner. The only other person in the room was Zeke Talbott and he was married. Well, divorced. But he had a child—a twelve-year-old daughter—which was a different kind of commitment, but a commitment all the same. Though he was good-looking—

No. He was great-looking and sexy as all get out. He might be ten years older than she was, but he was tall and muscled, with a head of black hair and a black beard.

Katie shook her head. You just took another road trip in your brain.

Sissy laughed. I’m told I do that a lot.

Katie leaned on the counter. Rumor has it Buzz Hanwell’s garage apartment will be open once Piper O’Riley gets married next month.

Sissy frowned. She never moved in with her fiancé?

Piper’s… her own person, Katie said diplomatically. But the point is, if you jumped on that garage apartment right now, you could move in next month and have all the time in the world to reconsider your life.

Not really. I don’t have the first and last months’ rent for an apartment. And I don’t have a job.

Buzz isn’t that picky.

He’s going to want first and last months’ rent. That’s standard. She sighed. I’ll just live with my mom and dad, get a job at Heath Aid or O’Riley’s Market, and save to go back to Nashville.

Oh, honey, Katie said as she grabbed a clean mug and poured Sissy another cup of coffee as if a different container would solve everything. I get it now. You’re broke.

Really broke. But it doesn’t matter. Suffering’s good for song writing. Especially abject poverty.

Katie burst out laughing. Zeke strolled up to the counter. He handed Katie a twenty and she pressed the keypad of a cash register that wasn’t precisely old-fashioned but wasn’t state-of-the-art either.

As Katie made change, Zeke turned to face Sissy, his startling blue eyes catching her gaze. If you’re looking for something to tide you over until you find a better paying job, I need a babysitter while Vic is off school for the summer. Truth is, I probably pay better than O’Riley’s.

Sissy’s breath stalled. His eyes held her captive, making her want to shiver. Was it really a good idea to work for someone so…

Interesting—

Sexy—

Tempting?

Probably not, but she needed money. Plus, she wasn’t a kid encountering her first sexy guy. She was a grown woman who’d lived on her own since she was eighteen. She had priorities and knew when to control herself.

How much better than O’Riley’s?

He named a price that Sissy knew was way better than O’Riley’s or Health Aid. Plus, she’d be at someone’s house, able to make phone calls and even write while his little girl—

Wow. She had no idea what twelve-year-old girls did in a small town.

Still, she’d been a twelve-year-old girl in a small town. Being around Vic, she would remember things. She could handle this.

I’d love the job.

His entire face shifted when he smiled.

She stared at him. How did someone manage to be that good-looking in a small town and stay single? He had to have a fault. Maybe his personality?

Great. Come over tonight. Meet Vic. We’ll discuss particulars.

The way he said we’ll discuss particulars reminded her of a lawyer or businessman.

Technically, he was a businessman. He owned the only vehicle repair shop in town. From simply growing up in Harmony Hills, she knew that he’d started out as a part-time mechanic and now employed three people. Which might mean he spent most of his time in an office.

She sucked in a quick breath. She’d been off in her head again, taking a side trip. Okay. I’ll be by around seven.

He smiled. See you then.

She held his gaze, mesmerized by that smile and those eyes. The weirdest sensation tingled through her. Attraction plus—

Fate? Destiny?

Nah. That was the songwriter in her getting all hopeful about the wrong man. That’s what desperation did to a woman. Made her fanciful.

When he turned and walked out of the diner, her gaze followed him down the street.

Katie watched him too. I wouldn’t mind letting him butter my toast.

Sissy laughed. You’d date somebody younger than you are?

You wouldn’t?

"He’s older than I am. The last guy I dated was my age and even with so much in common we struggled."

Struggled?

He thought hard drinking was part of song writing.

It isn’t?

Music is math of a sort, combined with a strong understanding of language—

And life.

And life, Sissy emphatically agreed. I need all my brain cells to get it right. I have a beer now and again, but I like my world to be sane.

You dumped him because of his drinking?

She rose, dropped her last few dollars on the counter, and headed for the door. I should have, but he left me. Took my coffeemaker and broke my heart.

Toss a dog in there and you’ve got a country song.

I kept the dog. Sissy faced Katie again. And I don’t write country. I write pop.

Chapter 2

Zeke Talbott heard Sissy Martin’s old car rumble into his driveway. He laughed, thinking of the conversation he’d overheard that day at the diner. She didn’t seem down in the dumps the way she could have been, given her current financial state. She appeared to be resigned to the fact she was broke and confused about her next move. He was glad he could help her. Glad they could help each other.

The doorbell rang.

He called, I’ll get it, up the stairs in the foyer of their huge colonial house, though he wondered why. Vic had been moodier and more sullen than usual at the end of this school year. She didn’t come downstairs often and certainly wouldn’t race to answer the door.

He recognized she’d had a boring summer the year before and had hated being dropped off at a babysitter. Walking to the door, he prayed his little girl would love having a hip, extremely good-looking woman to pal around with while school was out of session. Sissy Martin—with the gorgeous blond hair and a figure that would tempt a saint—was still in her twenties. Plus, she wrote songs for a living, knew famous people. Vic should be thrilled. Especially since he wouldn’t use the word babysitter. He’d tell Vic that Sissy was there to keep her company. He would make it sound like they would hang out and have fun.

That was the benefit of hiring someone young. He was so proud of himself for thinking of it that his chest puffed out with fatherly pride.

He grabbed the knob and opened the door to find Sissy and what looked to be a small pony. For thirty seconds, her pretty green eyes held his. Unexpected attraction shot through him.