Welcome to Sleeping Falls!

Wouldn’t it be nice to take a little trip to a place frozen in time? Back when a general store literally kept a small, close knit community going.

I was fortunate enough to have stumbled into such place and couldn’t wait to share it with you. Come on…give yourself a minute and follow me. We’ll stop by the store and grab an icy soda then sit on the steps and watch how life in a small town can be anything but boring!


We're about to meet Leslie, the heroine from my novel Man of her Dreams and get her reaction as she discovers Harvey's Gas & Go.

Excerpt:

“You need gas?”

An old guy wearing bib overalls a ball cap bent down and peered through the smeary glass. 

He’d already turned away, his knotty fingers cranking the handle on an old-fashioned pump. A loud hum vibrated the tank and the flow of gasoline sent colorful balls spinning behind a glass bubble on top. 

“Um… excuse me. I’m having some kind of problem with the head lights—

“Do I look like a mechanic?” Gray hair poked from around his ears and out of his nose. She noticed the wide-tooth gap between his teeth and what looked like tobacco juice dribbled on his chin before he wiped it with his sleeve.

Right. There was no way this guy was capable of fixing anything. Although maybe at one time he’d been a whiz in the pit, it was clear he should stick to pumping gas.

 

And then she meets Jay, the hero with the makings to be the man she's been dreaming of. Course they'll have to butt heads a few times because Jay has some preconceived -or should I say pre-historic notions about how a woman should act.   

“Awful late to be out driving.” 

The voice came from behind and Leslie spun around, nearly knocking off several boxes of cereal. Whoa! Tall, dark and handsome didn’t begin to describe the guy standing a few feet in front of her. Dark, brooding eyes surveyed her, his slight cleft chin tilted upward a notch. When he smiled, a dimple appeared on the right side of his cheek. It required enormous effort to drag her gaze from the lean, muscular body to look at her watch. 

“Depends on what you call late,” she said, glancing at her watch. It was only 10:30 p.m.

 See what I mean? Top that with a fiancé diddling her maid of honor plus car trouble in the middle of NOWHERE- hello! Leslie is more a little stressed right now.

The throbbing in her head returned and she reached for a bottle of aspirin. This was so weird. One minute she was planning a wedding and the next, a single woman on a mission, determined to forget the last few hours and start fresh. But first, she needed to get through tonight. Uncle Bob had been divorced five times and claimed the only warmth he needed came from a small bottle of Old Crow kept stuffed in his hip pocket. 

 And then later, asleep on the couch....

Leslie heard a noise and woke, one eye peeking out from beneath the afghan. A meager light left on in the bathroom spilled into the hallway. Her neck was cramped from the tiny couch pillow wedged beneath her head. She rolled onto her back as a hand clamped down hard across her mouth.

She struggled to sit up, but forceful hands pushed her back onto the sofa. Her heart palpitated. 
The sweet, powdery smell of Chantilly surrounded her as Sally’s face came into view. “Shhhhh. Don't move. You gotta be quiet. Spike’s outside getting ready to crawl in the window.”


 Heeheee. Things are far from boring.