Susan Wiggs - Lakeside Cottage

Praise for the novels of
SUSAN WIGGS

Susan Wiggs paints the details of human relationships with the finesse of a master.

Jodi Picoult

Bestselling author Wiggss talent is reflected in her thoroughly believable characters as well as the way she recognizes the importance of family by blood or other ties.

Library Journal

Wiggs is one of our best observers of stories of the heart. She knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book.

Salem Statesman-Journal

Wiggs takes serious situations and weaves them into an emotionally wrought story that will have readers reaching for the Kleenex one moment and snickering out loud the next.

Publishers Weekly on Just Breathe

Wiggss strongest and most vivid writing, a novel that bites into such loaded issues as adoption, estranged sisters, difficult teensfamily secrets.

Seattle Times on Home Before Dark

With the ease of a master, Wiggs introduces complicated, flesh-and-blood characters [and] sets in motion a refreshingly honest romance.

Publishers Weekly on The Winter Lodge, starred review, a Best Book of 2007

Wiggs explores many aspects of griefpresenting realistic and sympathetic characters. Another excellent title to her already-outstanding body of work.

Booklist on Table for Five, starred review

Susan Wiggs writes with bright assurance, humor and compassion.

Luanne Rice

[Wiggs] draws you into the tale with each passing page, allowing her characters emotions and motivations to flow out of the book and into your heart.

RT Book Reviews on Home Before Dark

A classic beauty-and-the-beast love story that will stay in your heart long after youve turned the last page. A poignant, beautiful romance.

Kristin Hannah on The Lightkeeper

A wonderfully written, beautiful love story with a few sharp edges and a bunch of marvelously imperfect characters, this is one of Wiggss finest efforts to date. Its sure to leave an indelible impression on even the most jaded reader.

RT Book Reviews on Dockside

An irresistible blend of The Ugly Duckling and My Fair Lady. Jump right in and enjoy yourselfI did.

Catherine Coulter on The Charm School

Empathetic protagonists, interesting secondary characters, well-written flashbacks, and delicious recipes add depth to this touching, complex romance.

Library Journal on The Winter Lodge

Wiggs has done an excellent job of depicting what lies beneath the surfaces of relationshipsassumptions, misunderstandings, and expectations. Shes created a family in emotional transition and has explored their feelings so well that we feel as if we know her characters. Readers of LaVyrle Spencerwill also enjoy this emotion-filled novel of military life.

Booklist on The Ocean Between Us

The Goodbye Quilt will resonate with any mother. Susan Wiggs has told this intimate and yet universal story with elegance, wit and warmth. Theres real wisdom here, and an honesty that makes it memorable.

Debbie Macomber

Also by SUSAN WIGGS

Contemporary

HOME BEFORE DARK

THE OCEAN BETWEEN US

SUMMER BY THE SEA

TABLE FOR FIVE

LAKESIDE COTTAGE

JUST BREATHE

THE GOODBYE QUILT

The Lakeshore Chronicles

SUMMER AT WILLOW LAKE

THE WINTER LODGE

DOCKSIDE

SNOWFALL AT WILLOW LAKE

FIRESIDE

LAKESHORE CHRISTMAS

THE SUMMER HIDEAWAY

MARRYING DAISY BELLAMY

Historical

THE LIGHTKEEPER

THE DRIFTER

The Tudor Rose Trilogy

AT THE KINGS COMMAND

THE MAIDENS HAND

AT THE QUEENS SUMMONS

Chicago Fire Trilogy

THE HOSTAGE

THE MISTRESS

THE FIREBRAND

Calhoun Chronicles

THE CHARM SCHOOL

THE HORSEMASTERS DAUGHTER

HALFWAY TO HEAVEN

ENCHANTED AFTERNOON

A SUMMER AFFAIR

SUSAN WIGGS

L AKESIDE C OTTAGE

To Martha Keenan, editor and dear friend, who shepherded twelve of my books to publication. Thanks for everything.

Contents

PART ONE

as you all are aware, the President looks forward to visiting some of our brave troops at Walter Reed on Christmas Eve. Its an opportunity for the President to thank those in our military who have served and sacrificed to make the world a safer place, and make America more secure. He will also give remarks to the medical personnel at Walter Reed and thank them for the outstanding job they do. However, because of the space limitations, it will be an expanded pool. So it will probably just be one camera, and then the correspondents will be able to attend it.The White House, Office of the Press SecretaryEverybody loves a hero. People line up for them, cheer them, scream their names. And years later tell how they stood for hours in the cold rain just to catch a glimpse of the one who taught them to hold on a second longer. I believe theres a hero in all of us who keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble, and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady, and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams. Spider-Man 2

One

Washington, D.C.
Christmas Eve

T he ambulance backing into the bay of Building One looked like any other rig. It appeared to be returning from a routine transport run, perhaps moving a patient to the stepdown unit, or a stabilized trauma victim to Lowery Wing for surgery. The rig had its customary clearance tags for getting through security with a minimum of hassle, and the crew wore the usual crisply creased navy trousers and regulation parkas, ID tags dangling from their pockets. Even the patient looked ordinary in every respect, in standard-issue hospital draping, thermal blankets and an O2 mask.

Special Forces Medical Sergeant Jordan Donovan Harris wouldnt have given the crew a second glance, except that he was bored and had wandered over to Shaw Wing, to the glassed-in observation deck on the mezzanine level. From there, he could view the ambulance bays and beyond that, Rock Creek Park and Georgia Avenue. The trees were bare and stark black against a blanket of snow, ink drawings on white paper. Traffic trundled along streets that led to the gleaming domes and spires of the nations capital. A fresh dusting of powder over the 147-acre compound gave the Georgian brick buildings of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center a timeless, frozen, Christmas-card look. Only the activity at the intake bays hinted that the campus housed the militarys highest level of patient care.

Although there was no one around, Harris knew he was being watched. There were more security cameras here than in a Las Vegas casino. It didnt matter to him, though. He had nothing to hide.

Boredom was desirable in the life of a paramedic. The fact that he was idle meant nothing had gone wrong, no ones world had been shattered by a motor-vehicle accident, an unfortunate fall, a spiking fever, an enraged lover with a gun. For the time being, no one needed saving. Yet for a medic, whose job was to save people, that meant there was nothing to do.

He shifted his stance, grimacing a little. His dress shoes pinched. All personnel present wore dress uniform today because the President was on the premises to visit ailing soldiers and spread holiday cheer. Of course, only a lucky few actually saw the Commander-in-Chief when he visited. His rounds were carefully orchestrated by the powers that be, and his entourage of Secret Service agents and the official press corps kept him walled off from ordinary people.

So Harris was a bit startled when he saw a large cluster of black suits and military brass exiting the main elevator below the mezzanine. Odd. The usual route for official visits encompassed Ward 57, where so many wounded veterans lay. Today it seemed the tour would include the in-processing unit, which had recently undergone renovations courtesy of a generous party donor.

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