Fiesta Moon
Praise for
Fiesta Moon
“No one captures a sense of place better than Linda Windsor. Caught beneath the spell of the
Fiesta Moon,
you'll find yourself celebrating the timeless beauty of Mexico, embracing the charming characters, and holding your breath for a happy ending that's as certain as the moonrise.”
âLiz Curtis Higgs, best-selling author of
Thorn in My Heart
“Filled with mystery and Windsor's characteristic humor . . . more riveting and fun than the first.”
âCarolyn R. Scheidies,
Author's Choice Reviews
“Linda Windsor's
Fiesta Moon
is definitely a south of the border recipe for fun, romance, and superbly crafted characters. Corinne and Mark offer a taste of suspense in an unforgettable adventure set in a not-so-sleepy Mexican village.”
âDiann Mills, author of
When the Lion Roars
“Linda Windsor has woven a magical tale set within a small village in Mexico. Her adept use of the area's language and customs take the reader on a journey to another country. The story is captivating. One wishes for the fiesta moon to shine on lovers everywhere.”
âEileen Key,
The Road to Romance
“Linda Windsor's
Fiesta Moon
is a joy to read, turning romantic locations, exciting characters, flawless descriptions and humorous situations tempered by faith into a feast of words. Hungry readers everywhere will line up for a second helping. Bravo, Linda. You've done it again.”
âMolly Bull, author of
The Winter Pearl
“A pig, a handsome rake, and a spunky young woman all add up to a delicious concoction in
Fiesta Moon
that goes beyond mere hilarity with its theme of how God's grace can touch the most reprobate heart. Linda Windsor has penned another winner!”
âColleen Coble, author of the Aloha Reef Series
“Linda Windsor's
Fiesta Moon
is a treatâa perfect combination of festive setting, intriguing mystery, and heartfelt romance!”
âDeAnna Julie Dodson, author of
In Honor Bound and To Grace Surrendered
“Linda Windsor never fails to tickle my funny bone and touch my heart. In
Fiesta Moon
, her sophisticated hero exiled to a small Mexican village makes me laugh as he struggles like a cat in water. And her loving heroine tugs at my heart as she decides whether to cast her net to the hero or let him drown. A delightful book of wonderful characters.”
âDonita K. Paul, author of
Dragonspell and DragonQuest
“Every Linda Windsor romantic comedy is a treat, but, with
Fiesta Moon
, I think Ms. Windsor may have eclipsed her previous work. Only once in a blue moon will you encounter such a loony mix of personalities in such out-of-this-world situations. An enamored pig, three brothers named Juan, and a sombrero-wearing donkey shine bright in a richly woven story, which includes threads of intrigue and deep faith. Enjoy a party you'll never forget, but watch out for the moonlight. You just might fall in love with
Fiesta Moon
.”
âJennifer Lynn Cary, author of
The Hugenot
“Captivating and comical . . . Linda's refreshing humor and the zany antics of her characters are skillfully interwoven with the adventure and faith journey that all take you on an exhilarating emotional rollercoaster ride.”
âAmber Miller,
Romancing the Christian Heart magazine
“Innovative and daring . . . Windsor is the master of Christian romantic comedy.”
âLaura V. Hilton, author and reviewer
“Warm, lovable characters and a heartwarming, intriguing story that takes place in an unusual setting. What more could one ask? Linda Windsor has given us another wonderful read.”
âDorothy Clark, author of
Beauty for Ashes and Joy for Mourning
“Immerse yourself in this enjoyable romp as unredeemable rake Mark Madison and his pet pig get the desires of his heart in Corinne Diaz, a feisty, lovable woman who has spent her life caring for orphans. This story will take you on a joy ride through your emotions and leave you feeling fully satisfied and content. A story you don't want to miss,
Fiesta Moon
is a delight.”
âCheryl Wolverton, author of
Father's Love
“Linda has given us a winner again. Her writing paints a colorful picture of life in a Mexican village, peopled with equally colorful characters who leap from the page into your heart. There was an air of mystery and the romantic tension sizzled.”
âLena Nelson Dooley, best-selling author of
Gerda's Lawman and Scraps of Love
FIESTA MOON
FIESTA MOON
Linda Windsor
Copyright © 2005 by Linda Windsor
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansâelectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or any otherâexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by WestBow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Author is represented by the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.
WestBow Press books may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].
Publisher's Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.
All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Windsor, Linda.
   Fiesta moon / Linda Windsor.
      p. cm.â(Moonstruck series ; 2)
   ISBN 0-7852-6063-3 (trade paper)
   I. Title.
   PS3573.I519F54 2005
   813'.54âdc22
2004029429
Printed in the United States of America
05 06 07 08 09 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
The sun rising above the Sierra Madres glared in Mark Madison's eyes, despite his costly designer sunglasses, as if to punish him for daring to emerge before it reached the high point of its day. It reminded him of the receptionist at Madison Engineering Corporation, who welcomed him for a rare early morning appointment with cheer-veiled sarcasm. “Good morning, Mr. Madison,” she said but meant,
That's what you get for staying out on the town when the rest of us working stiffs have to get up early to make a living.
Mark's lips pulled into a righteous grimace as he gripped the wheel of his rental car. He did a lot more than those nine-to-fivers thoughtâespecially Blaineâand they'd realize it now that he was temporarily on leave.
“Three strikes and you're out,” Blaine said after Mark's most recent DUI hearing. “You've got to pull your life together, Mark. I'm tired of bailing you out of trouble and making excuses for you to Mother.” Mouth thinned with disapproval, he handed over Mark's license. “If you are pulled over for anything unrelated to the project, kiss this good-bye, because you won't need it where you'll wind up. As it is, your performance in Mexico will determine whether you have a job when you return.”
Blaine's condescension had fanned the fires of Mark's shame into rebellion. “I never asked you to make excuses for me. I never asked for you to bail me out of this DUI either. I'm my own man, whether you believe it or not.”
At least Mark was as much a man as he could be, with a big brother who filled their ambitious father's shoes to the brim and a baby sister who had earned a doctorate in marine archeology before her twenty-sixth birthday. With ambition and brains taken, all that was left for Mark to claim was charm.
Blaine ran his fingers through the silver salting his dark hair at the temples. “When are you going to get it through that thick head of yours that I'm trying to help you aspire to something beyond liver failure?”
Mark bristled. “I'm a social drinker.”
“You're becoming more than that, Mark.”
“I can quit anytime.”
Blaine drilled him with a challenging look. “Want to bet?”
Mark knew he was being suckered in, but for some reason he bit. “Name the stakes.”
“If you keep the hacienda project on target and stay sober while you're doing it, I'll step down from our on-site management and let you take it over. There's nothing I'd rather do than stay in-house and let you do the traveling.”
Mark practically salivated. He never minded the work, but hated being confined to the office, filling in the pieces of projects that Blaine had already designed. He envied his brother's travel.
What a waste for someone like Blaine to see the world, when he was just as happy to stay in the box with his wife and kids.
Only a fool wouldn't jump at this. “You got yourself a deal, bro.”
“I can't watch you, Mark, but God will know if you value honor more than a good time.” Blaine had been on a God kick since he'd met Caroline. And while it made Mark a little uncomfortable sometimes, he had to admit his older brother seemed a lot happier now. And when Blaine was happy, Mark's life was easier.
So Mark got a
Get-Out-of-Jail-Free
card. Blaine and his church had used their pull to get Mark's jail time shifted to community service at some remote mission in Mexicoâpractically elevating Blaine to godly status in their mother's eyes. Blaine had saved Mark from ruin once again.
As though living in a nice neighborhood and having a wife and 2.5 kids was all there was to aspire to in life,
Mark thought, gearing down the sweet sports car as the incline became more steep. Not that he didn't like Blaine's wife and kids. What was not to like? Caroline loved everybody. Mark belonged to a mutual admiration society with his teen nieces, Karen and Annie. And he supposed the newest member of the Madison family, little Berto, made the perfect
point-five
of the national family average.
Family was nice, but that wasn't “living” in Mark's estimation. That was squeezing into a box of conformity and pulling down the lid, when there was a world to see and experiences to try before a man got too old to enjoy them. Then, maybe, he'd settle for life in the box.