Courting Carolina
Authors: Janet Chapman
“Chapman is unmatched and unforgettable.”
*
Praise for the novels of Janet Chapman
“Chapman continues to maintain a great blend of magic, romance, and realism in a small-town setting, tales in the style of Barbara Bretton’s popular books.”
—Booklist
“Heartwarming…Readers will enjoy the enchanting town and characters.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A captivating, heartwarming paranormal romance that will capture your attention from the very beginning…The combination of wit, clever dialogue, charismatic characters, magic, and love makes this story absolutely enchanting.”
—Romance Junkies
“One can’t beat a love story that combines magic and a man willing to move mountains for the woman he loves! Great elements of humor, magic, and romance.”
—Night Owl Reviews
“A spectacular and brilliant novel for those who love the juxtaposition of the paranormal and the real world…A PERFECT 10 is a fitting rating for…a novel which is both tender and joyful, but also has beasts looking for peace and a new way of life after centuries of struggle.”
—
Romance Reviews Today
“[A] delightful romantic series with a paranormal twist…Chapman brings plenty of warmth and fun to the story by enlivening it with a rich cast of characters. You can’t go wrong with a Chapman story!”
—
*
RT Book Reviews
(4 stars)
Jove titles by Janet Chapman
HIGHLANDER FOR THE HOLIDAYS
SPELLBOUND FALLS
CHARMED BY HIS LOVE
COURTING CAROLINA
Courting
Carolina
Janet Chapman
JOVE BOOKS, NEW YORK
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business
establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have control over
and does not have any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
COURTING CAROLINA
A Jove Book / published by arrangement with the author
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Jove mass-market edition / September 2012
Copyright © 2012 by Janet Chapman.
Excerpt from
The Heart of a Hero
copyright © 2012 by Janet Chapman.
“Crafty Girls,” “Alethea,” “Red School House,” and “Beauty” copyright © Ethel F. Taylor.
Cover art by Jim Griffin
Cover design by George Long.
Cover handlettering by Ron Zinn.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or
electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of
copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ISBN: 978-1-101-58137-7
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Jove Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
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If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is
stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the
author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
ALWAYS LEARNING
PEARSON
To Delbert Byram
(April 13, 1918–October 1, 2011)
Bye, Daddy. Have fun, and say hi to Mom from all of us!
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Alec heard the distinct rumble of thunder over the gush of the cascading falls and tossed his shovel onto the stream bank with a muttered curse before vaulting up behind it. He picked up his shirt and used it to wipe the sweat off his face, then turned to glare at the dark clouds rolling across the fiord toward him. “Go around!” he shouted, pointing north with his free hand as he wiped down his chest. But the storm gods didn’t have any sense of humor, apparently, and the hair on his arms stirred just as lightning flashed on a sharp crack of thunder. “Well, fine then!” he shouted with a laugh as he bolted toward camp. “Take your best shot, you noisy bastards!”
Alec slipped into his shirt when the wind pushing ahead of the storm took on an ominous chill, and lengthened his stride when he realized he was losing the footrace to the sheet of rain sweeping up the mountain. How had he been caught by surprise? There hadn’t been a cold front forecast to come through, or even any clouds in the crisp September sky ten minutes ago. Another crack sounded to his right just
as the wind-driven rain hit with enough force to make him stagger, and Alec scrambled to catch himself with another laugh.
But he came to an abrupt halt at the sound of an unmistakably feminine scream, followed almost immediately by an enraged shout that was also human—and male. He held his breath through several heartbeats trying to discern its direction in the downpour, then took off at a run again, leaving the trail at a diagonal down the mountain. He weaved through the old-growth forest even as he wondered who was out here, as this section of the resort’s wilderness trail was closed to guests until he had all the footbridges and lean-tos in place.
Alec came to a halt again next to a large tree and lifted his hand against the rain as he quickly calculated his odds of saving the woman without getting himself killed in the process. The two brutes attacking her weren’t much of a worry, whereas the large dog racing up the mountain toward them might be a problem.
The woman gave another bloodcurdling scream as she bucked against the man straddling her, and twisted to clamp her teeth over the wrist of the guy kneeling at her head, pinning down her hands. The ensuing shout of pain was drowned out by a vicious growl as the dog lunged at the man on top of her, the animal’s momentum sending them both tumbling to the ground.