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  LOVE’S WALL

  Copyright © 2017 by Karen Deen

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in either, electronic, paper hard copy, photocopying, recorded or any other form of reproduction without the written permission of the author. No part of this book either in part or whole may be reproduced into or stored in a retrieval system or distributed without the written permission of the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, locations or persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  The author acknowledges the trademark status and owners of products referred to in this fiction which have been used without permission. The publication and use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Published by Queens Publishing

  Formatted by Opium House Creatives

  Edited by Matt Houston at Beachlife Editing

  Cover Design by Opium House Creatives

  ISBN: 978-0-9876122-8-1 – Paperback

  ISBN: 978-0-9876122-9-8 - eBook

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Karen Deen has been a lover of romance novels and happily-ever-after stories for as long as she can remember. Reaching a point in her life where she wanted to explore her own dreams, Karen decided now was the time to finally write some of her own stories. For years, all of her characters have been forming story lines in her head, just waiting for the right time to bust free.

  In 2016, Karen put pen to paper for the first time, with Zach and Emily being the first characters fighting to have their story written. From that first word, she hasn’t been able to stop. Publishing Love’s Wall (her first novel in the Time to Love Series) in 2017 has ignited her passion to continue writing and bring more of her characters to life.

  Karen is married to her loving husband and high school sweetheart. Together, they live the crazy life of parents to three children. She is balancing her life between a career as an accountant by day and writer of romance novels by night. Living in the beautiful coastal town of Kiama, Australia, Karen loves to enjoy time with her family and friends in her beautiful surroundings.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  To my husband, Michael, who is my soulmate, love of my life and greatest supporter. Thank you for your never-ending love and unwavering support, always pushing me to take that leap. You were my first happily-ever-after story that will last my lifetime.

  To my three wonderful children - Joshua, Caitlin and Aimee. You have all given me more joy than I ever imagined and shown me that the love from your child is one of the most important things in this world.

  I will never be able repay my mother, Heather, for her unconditional love and support throughout my whole life. She has always put her children and grandchildren before herself and never asked for anything in return. She is my hero and the strongest woman I know. If I am half the mother that she is, I am doing a good job.

  To my family who have loved me, supported me and picked me up when I needed them - thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  To my co-workers - thank you for putting up with me and supporting my other love.

  Life has a habit of bringing you the right people when you need them the most. My beautiful Angela, my angel in heaven, you have always stayed in my heart and are travelling this journey with me. Thank you for sending me my Earth angels to keep me company.

  My Earth angels - Charmaine, Nicole and Sharon - who make me laugh, wipe my tears when I cry and hug me until I feel like I can face the world. You are my crazy group of friends who have pushed me to follow my dreams and never once doubted I would achieve them, even when I was feeling unsure. You keep me grounded, but also point me towards the finish line and give me that launch to get moving. You nag me for the next chapter to keep me writing and are the first to help me celebrate every little milestone along the way. We are forever friends.

  Queens Publishing is owned by two of the most amazing women I know. Emma Perrow and Jude Dowsett, you have been such a tower of strength and support. Life was kind to me when you both came into my world. Thank you for believing in me and my stories. Your guidance has been invaluable and, if it wasn’t for the two of you, my story would still be on my laptop. Forever in my circle.

  Of course, you wouldn’t be able to make sense of my story if it wasn’t for my awesome editor, Matt Houston, at Beachlife Editing. Hope I didn’t drive you too crazy and that you survived my girly romance story!

  My beta readers - Maria, Deb, Mandy, Kerrie and Sue. Thank you for your encouragement and honesty.

  To Dr. Alison Parker, who picked me up when I fell. You saw through my mask and I will forever be so grateful for all you have done for myself and my family.

  Lastly, to my readers. Thank you for taking a chance on my book and letting me take you to a happy place for a short time. Romance books have always helped me to get through life, the good and the bad. So many writers have had me smiling and in love with the world they have created and to which I have willingly escaped. I hope I have managed to do that for you as well. Happy reading, my beautiful readers, and I look forward to bringing you the next book in this series. xx

  CONTACT

  For all the news on upcoming books, visit Karen at:

  www.karendeen.com.au

  [email protected]

  Facebook: Karen Deen Author

  Instagram: karendeen_author

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  DEDICATION

  To Michael, my happy-ever-after.

  1

  Zach

  HEADING ACROSS THE bedroom, steam still swirling around from the shower, I paused. The view of the mountains brought a smile to my face as I stood naked at the window, enjoying the morning in all its glory. The breeze carried the bird’s morning song and the sounds of the cattle in the paddocks through the open window. Nature was busy getting ready for the day. I pulled my clothes on for the office. Part of me wished that I could just jump back into my farm jeans, shirt and boots and head out to the barn to saddle up for a ride. I could use one more day to relax in this tranquil place like I had been for the last two days.

  Thinking back on the weekend I could see that, although I loved my life, it was missing something. Or perhaps someone. My life was full. I had an amazing family and a business that made me happy to get up and go to work every morning. My home was my safe-haven, it gave me a place to just be myself with no expectations. It also gave me a place to hide. With all of the things that were right in my life, there was still a part of me that was empty. After letting my mind drift, I knew I needed to get my head around the start of a new week. Jumping in the car, I placed the same call that I made every Monday morning as I drove out of the gate.

  “Good morning, Zoe, how was your weekend?” I smiled, waiting for the usual answer.

  “Morning, Zach. Let’s just say that several words can describe it. My weekend was fun, crazy, drinking, partying - all of which have led to my head paying the consequences this morning!” Zoe then launched into stories of the weekend and we spent time laughing about her nights out.

  As I turned down the entrance to the highway and felt my foot press do
wn on the pedal, my body pushed back into the leather seat that wrapped around my body so well. The buzz of driving a nice car at speed brought a smile that inched up my face.

  “So, the big question is, Zoe - did you spot your Mr. Right out there somewhere?” I let out a little chuckle, hearing Zoe sigh and then laugh. She got ready to joke it off, but I knew deep down under the party girl exterior it was no joke. She was a young lady who would give anything to have a man to love and protect her, to plant her feet on the ground. My gut feeling was that man would be my brother, Luke, but the two of them just hadn’t worked it out yet. The sexual tension between them could light up Times Square, yet they both fought so hard to keep that ‘friend wall’ up. One day something was going to flick that switch and the explosion would be more impressive than the Fourth of July fireworks. I’d just sit back, watch, wait and then say, ‘I told you so’ because I knew all along.

  “Now Zach, you know as good as I do that there is no good man out there who will pin me down. Living the dream, Zach, living the dream”. I burst out laughing at Zoe’s comment, knowing she was trying to convince herself of that. “Tell your head that this morning, Zoe. Anyway, as much as I hate to hurt that little brain of yours, what’s on the agenda for today? Also, did you get that email I sent you re the plans for Branch Street that need to be at council by 10.00am?”

  “Yes, yes,” she sighed. “Already done, you know I am always one step ahead of you!”

  Zoe joined our building development company five years ago straight out of secretarial college and had been my assistant from day one. It was a match that could have spelled disaster. She walked in on a day that had me dragging myself up off the couch in my office. I was trying to make the bathroom to throw up the bottle of bourbon I had consumed the night before. Tragically, I stumbled and managed to throw up on her shoes and then lay moaning at her feet.

  Our relationship could have gone either way. She could have turned around and walked straight back out, cursing me as she left, never to return. Instead, Zoe just looked down at me and burst out laughing. She proceeded to tell me to take my hungover ass and grovel back to the couch while she changed and cleaned up my mess. She walked over and threw her shoes in the bin, mumbling that she expected two new pairs of shoes to replace the ones which were now laying sadly in the bottom of the bin. It hurt my head to laugh, but I couldn’t help but let out a quiet chuckle. We would get on just fine.

  Zoe spent our first day of working together in her gym clothes. Luckily, they were in her car and clean. Me? I was in the singlet and jeans I had on from the night before, minus the shirt. It had a new home in the bin with her shoes!

  Zoe had cleaned me up, poured coffee that was as thick as tar down my throat, along with bottle after bottle of water and plenty of pain relief. We managed to get to the end of the day and she never asked what happened. And I never told her. From that day forward, we had been great friends, as well as work colleagues. She knew I would be there to stand up and protect her, no matter what. Zoe would jump in front of anyone trying to take advantage of my soft caring heart. If I was the builder of the wall in front of my heart, Zoe was the guard at the gate. We just clicked that way. Although I already had two sisters, Alesha and Lilly, Zoe had become like my third and I was just as protective of her.

  “Ok, so if you are one step ahead of me, what am I doing today, Miss Smarty Pants?” I heard the tapping of her long-painted nails on the keyboard as she called up my calendar.

  “You will be in the office in approximately thirty minutes. Oh wait - what are you in today, the SUV or the BMW?”

  Waiting for the smart answer that would come back, I replied, “The BMW, so you better adjust the time frame.” I pushed the speedo up and got into the fast lane. One of my weaknesses was the love of a fast fancy car. Although I had not indulged myself in the last few years, I still loved my BMW. It may not be the highest priced or the fastest model, but it appealed to me with its style and lines. That was me, I was always looking at how something spoke to me before I acquired it. I had to feel it was meant to be part of my world before I proceeded.

  “Ok, you will be in the office in twenty minutes, so we can have a coffee and run through this week’s planning. Then you have the family meeting at 12pm for lunch. You will need all your files for that. I’ve put the updates and proposal for the Branch Street property on your desk. Bob Walter is meeting you at 4pm with the legal papers for the eviction notices for Branch Street. Then you have dinner booked at 6pm with your Grandmother at Waters Edge. Your older control-freak brother, Grant, is picking her up at 5.40pm from home. I have the birthday present wrapped and on your desk as you asked. How am I doing so far?”

  “Wow! What would I do without you, Wonder Woman?” I grinned as I looked out the window, trying to hold my laughter inside.

  “Screwed, I’d say. Now, can I get off the phone, so I can get a coffee, otherwise that morning smile you are wishing for will be non-existent.”

  As much as I loved Zoe like a sister, you never crossed her before the first coffee in the morning. “Just quickly before you start having a meltdown, I am going past Branch Street before I come to the office. I want to take a few more photos, so don’t worry about my coffee. I will grab one on my travels”

  “Ha, like I was getting you one anyway. Bye.” I hung up with a smile, knowing she would have had one on my desk when I walked in the same as she did every other morning. I was such a creature of habit. I also knew I never got to say goodbye because she always liked to have the last say. Typical woman.

  Zoe always believed she was one step ahead of me. I loved to humor her, but the truth was, I knew everything she told me this morning because I was a fine-details person. She was my back up and was damn good at it. Her job was very important to her. It kept her out of the mess of a life she’d worked so hard to rise above.

  I put my head back on the headrest and searched through music playlists to get my Monday morning going. I loved all sorts of music, but when you are cruising down the freeway with the sun shining, there was nothing better than good ol’ solid eighties rock to sing along to.

  The Monday morning drive into the office of our family owned-property development and building company always gave me time to prepare mentally for the week ahead. I loved the challenge of my role - sourcing properties in need of development to increase their value. Or finding those sitting on the market needing to be demolished. My true passion, though, was to restore homes and buildings to their former glory whilst modernizing them with the comforts of the twenty-first century. These properties were hard to find, and I was very selective of the ones I purchased, due to the cost of restoration in relation to what they would sell for.

  Sometimes, though, there was that special property that came along that spoke to me. The costings became less important and the project became about me. That was the case for my home, which I purchased two years ago. It was situated on fifty acres of land, thirty minutes outside of the city. The day I saw the listing pop up in my real estate watchlist, I knew I had to have it.

  The first photo I saw was of a two-storey farm house with wide verandas all the way around the house. The front of the house had a beautiful set of stairs that opened out like welcoming arms, just like that first warm embrace of a loved one. The stairs led straight up to solid double doors at the entrance. When opened, they gave the first glimpse of a home full of love and laughter. The problem was that the love and laughter had been sucked out of this home. The previous family had spent ten years battling over the proceeds of the deceased estate of an elderly couple.

  I had later found out the previous owners were Tom and Nellie Smithton. They had built this home after marrying seventy-five years ago. The two souls had spent a lifetime devoted to each other and their home. Tom and Nellie were never able to have children, but it never changed the amount of love they’d had to share. Many friends from church had taken their children to spend time on the farm. Nellie enjoyed baking for the children and fussin
g over them. They became known as Poppy Tom and Nanna Nellie to generations of children who’d loved them dearly.

  They passed away within a week of each other, Nellie from a stroke in her sleep and Tom from a broken heart six days later. The farm was left to the church in their will. But, as it happens so often these days, the will was challenged by two great-nieces and a nephew. The nephew challenged to try and stop his greedy twin daughters. They were spoilt little rich girls and never felt that generous wealth was enough. The nephew had always said he would gift back to the church if he was successful. He had disowned his daughters for their terrible behavior. Needless to say, it dragged on to become a lengthy court battle where the only winners were the lawyers. In the end, the decision was that each would receive part of the estate. The property needed to be sold. That became my lucky day. In my heart, I hoped to bring their property back to being a place that was a treasured home.

  When I saw the home listed, I rang the agent straight away. I offered the asking price without any haggling, on the condition that it be pulled from the market immediately and a quick settlement negotiated. I wanted this house more than I had wanted anything in my life. Well, except for the one thing that I would never allow myself to have again. My heart could not take that.

  I didn’t tell my family I had even put in an offer on the property until I had already settled the purchase. Grant was pissed, to say the least, because he had not been consulted whether he thought it was a good investment. Ever since my parents had retired, Grant had become the self-appointed head of the family, whether we wanted it or not.

  Luke had complained, but only because he had to put up with Grant’s grunting. The silent treatment always happened in the office when Grant believed one of us had stuffed up. Of course, the girls both questioned why I had bought a house so far out of the city - it would be like going to the end of the earth to have to travel that distance every day to civilization. Apparently, life ceases to exist past the Central Business District of Cashmore! Nobody sold coffee or shoes that were up to the standard of my fashion conscious, latte-sipping sisters. Zoe just raised her eyebrows and gave three reasons why it was a dumb idea - no night clubs, no girls and no life!