Lucky Charm |
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Page 1 of 7 Book Details
Harlequin Enterprises, IntroductionIn the late Nineteenth Century, in the small village of Stewart, Massachusetts, 1.5 miles west of Salem, site of the now infamous Witch Trials, fear of curses and witchcraft ran rampant. During this time, William Corwin fell in love and eloped with a woman who was already betrothed to another. The man William wronged, Martin Perkins, was the oldest son of the wealthy Perkins family from the neighboring village of the same name. To William Corwin's misfortune, Martin's mother, Mary Perkins, was a witch. And she immediately sought revenge on her son's behalf with this curse: Any Corwin male who falls in love will be destined to lose his love and his fortune. No male Corwin since had walked away unscathed ... Chapter OneThe small town of Stewart, Massachusetts not so proudly boasted two claims to fame. Its location, one point five miles west of Salem and The Corwin Curse. Derek Corwin was well acquainted with that damned curse, as his family had come to refer to the albatross one of their ancestors had saddled them with. All because William Corwin couldn't keep it in his pants, what should have just been a scandal had turned into a centuries long damnation. So said town lore. So said history. Every male Corwin since had suffered its wrath. Derek included. A man with half a brain wouldn't return to the scene of the curse, but Derek had figured when the chips or in his case, the Dow Jones was down he might as well head home. That had been six months ago. "Dad!" His eleven year old daughter's yell reminded him of why it was a good thing he'd come back. After two long years of keeping his child from him after the divorce, his ex-wife had just remarried and decided she wanted a summer alone with her new husband. She'd sent his daughter, Holly to live with him here in Stewart, in the renovated barn directly behind the house that had been in Derek's family for generations. All the girl had were males to guide her through this long, hot summer. Poor kid. But Derek was happy to have her back, to get a second chance at being a father who was there instead of one focused on his career and making a fortune. He wanted to get to know his daughter. Unfortunately he knew nothing about how to deal with her moods or her girlish tastes. "What's wrong?" he asked, pausing at the landing of the stairs that led to the loft which held two small bedrooms, his and hers. After two years of living alone in an apartment that was huge by New York City standards, he actually enjoyed being among family in the small barn he was slowly but surely making his own. "The dog chewed up my Abercrombie flip flops!" Holly yelled downstairs. He closed his eyes and groaned. The damn dog. "He chewed what?" She came into view at the top of the loft and rested her elbows on the ledge. "My flip flops. You know, sandals? Thongs? Flip flops?" she asked, exasperated. He nodded, finally understanding the problem. "Sorry. We'll pick up a new pair at Target." "Target? But Dad, then they won't have the moose on them," she said in a pleading yet sweet voice. "In other words, you want to go the mall near Salem?" he guessed. "Yes!" She pumped her fist in the air and whirled away, disappearing from view. He laughed, pleased he'd made her happy. Even if happy translated into spending more money. He should be used to it. His ex-wife didn't shop down, as she'd come to remind him over the years. The harder and the more hours he'd worked, the more money his ex had spent to compensate herself for his absence. Although they'd been apart and divorced for over two years, he didn't think she'd changed her habits. Certainly his monthly child support and alimony guaranteed her the lifestyle she'd come to expect. Or it had until he'd lost the bulk of his wealth in a huge investment and move back home. He earned less, hence he didn't have as much to pay her. He'd been about to petition the court to change the payments when she let him know she was remarrying. That ended Derek's obligation to pay alimony, leaving him with child support only, which he could definitely afford without issue. |