01 - The Heartbreaker (35 page)

Most of my books deal with families but with the Chandler brothers and Yorkshire Falls, I undertook small towns at their best—the ideal of home and hearth, of being able to go back to where you started and begin again, even if you were born and bred in the city. Small towns represent a space where everyman can escape the pressures and grind of everyday life. They are a place where life proceeds at a slower pace and where the things we take for granted mean more–such as the glow of a fading sunset or the whispered conversation with a loved one on the proverbial porch. At its heart, small towns are a place where
honesty shines through. Since practically everyone is supposed to know everyone else’s business in a small town, little remains undercovers and what does, runs deep.

Yorkshire Falls began as just another small, upper New York town in my imagination, but it developed into far more. For the Chandler brothers trilogy, it became a theme that threads the brothers together beyond just family ties. For youngest brother and globetrotting journalist, Roman, in
The Bachelor
, Yorkshire Falls represents the small-mindedness and boring existence he wants to escape in his early years, only to discover later that having roots makes him stronger. That, which he ran from at a young age, represents hearth and home later on.

Middle brother and town cop, Rick, in
The Playboy
, sees the town as a place he loves and protects, but can’t truly be a part of until an outsider shows him how to overcome his past.

Chase, the eldest and editor/owner of the town newspaper, in
The Heartbreaker
, has dedicated his life to the newspaper his father owned, making him the heartbeat of the town, but discovers that he can’t continue to live for everyone else. Yet no matter what, the brothers live and love in their small hometown.

Then of course there are the unusual characters we come to know and love as part of the fabric of Yorkshire Falls. They are the unique pattern woven into the tapestry of a small town that make home, unlike any place on earth. There are Pearl and Eldin, an elderly couple who’ve lived together for so long, that no one can remember them apart, and yet they’ve never married. There is also Samson, the town eccentric, whose heart of gold makes him richer in friends than anyone else—as much to his surprise as everyone else’s. You’ll also find Raina Chandler, the meddling mother whose busybody antics are the root of the Chandler brother’s adventures and whose style is the epitome of every small town mother who has made a career out of arranging the lives of the people around her.

In different ways these characters all represent the dynamics that push away and yet draw us back time and again to small towns. Readers will continue to gravitate to small town settings because of the wealth of feeling and dimension that they offer. For good or bad, the American psyche is wrapped around the idea of small towns. I hope you’ll come and visit my small town of Yorkshire Falls in the Chandler brother’s books and discover the appeal for yourself.

Copyright © 2002 Carly Phillips

L
ike the arrow keys on a computer which move my manuscript up or down, forward or back, taking a new step in my writing career was filled with possibilities. I started writing category because I love Romance and the shorter genre. I still do and so, my category career continues. But as is human nature, I wanted to try something different. Enter Warner Books and the opportunity to write single title romance and take my career in a new and challenging direction. How did I handle the experience and what have I learned as a result? Because I am a writer, I think those computer arrow keys provide a perfect analogy.

A Step Forward:

More characters and more space to develop them! More plot, if I choose. In
The Bachelor
, I opted for a panty thief to spice things up. More, more more! I was in writer’s heaven.

A Step Backward:

Entering a new genre was like starting over again with that first sale. New editors, new expectations, and all new rules culminating in that dreaded word, revisions! But with the right editor, the experience was challenging and I came through learning much about my writing, myself and the things I can accomplish. By the time I worked on my second single title,
The Playboy
, I’d learned many lessons and was able to apply them with confidence. Less revisions and much praise! That step backward was a worthwhile trip!

A Step Sideways:

Move those computer keys left or right, the direction doesn’t matter. While I was writing, sometimes I felt like I was treading water without making headway—especially since I went from writing a 230-page manuscript to a 400-page manuscript. With the help of a supportive critique partner and family, the books did get written and from treading water, I’d reached the finish line!

I’m now *this* close to seeing my book in print and on the bookstore shelves. I’ve learned about promoting single titles and how different and more time consuming that job is than promoting category. I’ve learned to think more about budgeting my money for promoting (note, I didn’t say I DID budget). And I’ve learned to treat my publisher as a partner in having the book do well. But the most important thing I’ve discovered on the road to publishing a single title is that every step taken is ultimately, a step forward.

Copyright 2002 AOL Time Warner Book Group.

C
ARLY
P
HILLIPS

An AOL Time Warner Company

Y
ou’re fit, Mrs. Chandler. The cardiogram is normal and so is your blood pressure. Nothing more than a bad case of indigestion. An antacid, some rest, and you should be fine.” The doctor slipped her stethoscope around her neck and made another notation in the chart.

Relief flowed through Raina Chandler as strong as the pain had ripped through her earlier. The fiery sensation in her chest and arm had caught her off guard. Ever since losing her husband to a heart attack at age thirty-seven, Raina had never taken unexpected pain lightly. She’d become health-conscious, watched her weight, and started an exercise routine of brisk walking she’d kept up through this very day.

At the first twinge of pain, she’d picked up the phone and called her oldest son. Not even the bad memories of sterile, antiseptic hospital smells or the depressing graying walls could deter her from taking care of her health. She had a mission to accomplish before she left this earth.

She glanced at the attractive young doctor who had met her at the Emergency Room. Any woman who looked good
in drab hospital green had potential. “You’re new to this town, aren’t you?” But Raina already knew the answer before the other woman nodded.

She knew everyone in Yorkshire Falls, population 1,723, soon to be 1,724, when the editor of the local section of the
Yorkshire Falls Gazette
and his wife had their baby. Her general practitioner had been Dr. Eric Fallon, a close friend for years. Widowed like herself, Eric only recently had succumbed to the desire to enjoy life more and work less. As Eric’s new partner, Dr. Leslie Gaines was his answer to less stress.

She was new to town, and from Raina’s perspective that made her not just interesting, but fresh, potential wife material for her jaded sons. “Are you married?” Raina asked. “I hope you don’t mind my prying, but I’ve got three single sons, and—”

The doctor chuckled. “I’ve only been here a few weeks and already your sons’ reputations precede them, Mrs. Chandler.”

Raina’s chest swelled with pride. They were good men, her boys. They were her greatest joy and recently the source of continued frustration. Chase, her oldest, Rick, the town’s favorite cop, and Roman, her foreign correspondent and the baby brother, who was currently in London covering an economic summit.

“Now, Mrs. Chandler—”

“Raina,” she corrected and studied the good doctor. Nice laugh, sense of humor, and a protective nature. Raina immediately discounted the woman physician as a mate for Roman or Rick.

Her no-nonsense demeanor would bore Roman and a doctor’s hours would clash with Officer Rick’s. But she could be just the right woman for her oldest son, Chase.
Since taking over as publisher of the
Yorkshire Falls Gazette
for his father almost twenty years earlier, he’d become much too serious, bossy, and overprotective. Thank God he had his father’s handsome, chiseled face to make a decent first impression before he opened his mouth and started taking control. Good thing women loved a protective man and most single women in this town would marry Chase in a heartbeat. He was handsome, as were Rick and Roman.

Her goal was to marry off all three of her boys, and she would. But first they had to desire more from a woman than sex. Not that there was anything wrong with sex; in fact, it could be more than pleasant, she thought, remembering. But it was her sons’ mind-set that presented her with a problem. They were
men
.

And having raised them, Raina knew exactly how they thought. They rarely wanted any female for more than one night. The lucky women lasted a month, no longer. Finding willing women wasn’t the issue. With the Chandler good looks and appeal, women fell at their feet. But men, her sons included, wanted what they couldn’t have, and her boys had too much, too easily.

The lure of the forbidden and the fun of the chase was gone. Why should a man consider
until death do us part
when he had women willing to give it up without commitment? It wasn’t that Raina didn’t understand today’s generation. She did. But she’d also loved the trappings of a family life—and was smart enough to hold out for the whole package.

But in today’s world, a woman had to offer a man a challenge. Excitement. And even then, Raina sensed her boys would balk. Chandler men needed a special woman to pique their interest and keep it. Raina sighed. How ironic
that she, a woman who held marriage and children as her ideal, raised three sons who thought the word
bachelor
was sacred. With their attitudes she’d never have the grandchildren she desired. They’d never have the happiness they deserved.

“Some instructions, Raina.” The doctor snapped her chart closed and glanced up. “I’d suggest keeping a bottle of antacid in the house, in case of emergencies. Often a cup of tea is the best remedy.”

“No more late-night pizza deliveries, then?” She met the younger woman’s amused gaze.

“I’m afraid not. You’ll have to find another way of entertaining yourself.”

Raina pursed her lips. The things she endured for her future. For her boys. Speaking of whom, Chase and Rick would be back any second and the doctor hadn’t answered the most pressing question. Raina let her gaze slide up the doctor’s slender physique. “I don’t mean to push, but . . .”

Dr. Gaines grinned, obviously still amused. “I’m married. And even if I weren’t, I’m sure your sons would appreciate finding their own women.”

Raina tamped down her disappointment, then waved her hand in the air in response. “As if my boys would ever find their own women. Or should I say
wives.
Nothing short of a life-or-death emergency would force them to pick one woman and settle down. . . .” Raina’s voice trailed off as the import of her own words sank in.

Life-or-death emergency. The only thing that would convince her sons of the necessity to get married.
Her
life-or-death emergency.

As the plan began to form, Raina’s conscience begged her to dismiss the idea. It was cruel to lead her sons to believe she was ill. On the other hand, it was for their own
good. They couldn’t deny her anything, not when she truly needed them, and by playing on their good natures, she’d ultimately be leading them to happily ever after. Not that they’d know or appreciate it at first.

She gnawed on her lip. It was a risk. But without grandchildren, loneliness loomed large in her future, just as, without a wife or family, it loomed large for her sons. She wanted more for them than empty homes and emptier lives—the kind of life she’d had since her husband died.

“Doctor, my diagnosis here . . . it’s confidential?”

The younger woman shot her a slanted glance. No doubt she was used to that question with only the most dire of cases. Raina checked her watch. She was running out of time before the boys returned. Her newly formulated plan as well as her family’s future depended upon the woman’s answer, and Raina waited, tapping her foot impatiently.

“Yes, it’s confidential,” Dr. Gaines said with a good-natured laugh.

Raina relaxed a bit more. She hugged her cotton hospital gown closer. “Good. I’m sure you don’t want to have to evade my sons’ questions, so, thank you for everything.” She extended her hand for a polite shake, when she really wanted to shove the other woman through the curtain before the cavalry arrived with pointed questions.

“It was a pleasure and an experience meeting you. Dr. Fallon will be back in the office tomorrow. If you have any problems before then, don’t hesitate to call.”