ALONG CAME A HUSBAND – Helen Brenna
An Island to Remember Series – Book 4
Harlequin Super Romance #1640
ISBN-13: 978-0-373-71640-1
June 2010
Series Romance

Mirabelle Island, Michigan – Present Day

Missy Charms owns Whimsy, a gift shop on Mirabelle Island. Most days she doesn’t even make a tiny profit, but still, she manages to pay her teenage assistant, Gaia, while she supports the fair trade market and local crafters. Missy is happy on the island; she’ll never get rich, but she’s made a life in the few years she’s been here. All she needs to make her life complete is a child. Hard to obtain without a husband, but the lack of one hasn’t stopped Missy...she’s planning to adopt.

Today she locked up the shop and walked home. Clouds are gathering, and there’s a storm in the air so she hurries along. Something is bothering her, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the wind and rain. Missy has secrets that not even her best friend, Sarah Marshik, knows. And one of them, hurt and bleeding, has just passed out on her front step.

FBI Agent Jonas Abel died four years ago. Missy identified his burned and charred body after the helicopter crash that killed him. And days later, she watched his casket lowered into the ground. Yet here he is, hurt and bleeding on her front step and refusing medical attention. Missy doesn’t have the knowledge to remove the bullet, so she calls her friend, local doctor Sean Griffin. Sean can be trusted to keep this quiet, and if Jonas lives through the night, Missy just might kill him again for putting her through four years of hell.

After Jonas tells her the story of the staged crash and undercover operation that has kept him away for four years, he expects Missy to hide him here in her house while he recovers. For old times' sake, he argues. Yeah, right. Missy wants Jonas gone. Too many memories are wrapped up in the past: their troubled marriage, and the least of all, her estranged family. She’s spent years covering her tracks so they wouldn’t find her, even changing her name. No, it’s all too painful. Best if Jonas just leaves. But he’s not going anywhere, and Missy’s idyllic life on Mirabelle just became compromised by the danger he's brought with him.

Of course, Missy never expected to see Jonas again, but now, ALONG CAME A HUSBAND, and he is alive and well while Missy’s carefully constructed world is quickly falling apart. Her life on Mirabelle Island has been built on lies, mostly the evasion of the truth. She’s become an anonymous benefactor to many needy causes on the island, but once the town finds out who she really is, there will be chaos. Her upcoming adoption will be in jeopardy, and so will her friendship with Sarah. Missy’s been down this road before, and she almost hates Jonas for bringing it on her again.

Jonas is still in love with his wife. And even though she tries to hide her feelings, Missy never stopped loving him, either. But too many mitigating circumstances before his staged death caused a wide rift in their marriage, and she couldn’t do anything else but file for divorce. How can they untangle their lives now, even if Jonas manages to stay one step ahead of his would-be killers?

ALONG CAME A HUSBAND wraps up the beginning books in the An Island to Remember series. It all began with FIRST COME TWINS (August 2009), NEXT COMES MARRIAGE (October 2009), and THEN COMES BABY (December 2009). More books are planned in the near future, so keep a watch on the author’s website: www.helenbrenna.com

Secondary characters Ron and Jan Setterberg are like parents to Missy, caring so much more than her real ones, or so she thinks. And her best friends, Sarah Marshik and Hannah Johnson, are there for her in a pinch, right along with Police Chief Garrett Taylor and his wife, Erica. Sean Griffin helps Jonas heal his wounds, but he wants him off the island too, so he can get back to courting Missy. ALONG CAME A HUSBAND stands alone, but I advise you locate the other books in the series, not because it’s necessary, but just so you won’t miss out on the experience of this wonderful island and its people!

Ms. Brenna has created a magical world and the wonderful people who live there, and you will want to visit again and again. I can’t wait for the next book! ALONG CAME A HUSBAND is one book you must have on your list for June—don’t miss it!

Diana Risso