The ghost loved good carpentry, the way it made sense of everything and created symmetry. Edges were neatly joined and finished, imperfections were sanded and painted, everything was leveled and balanced. He watched Alex’s work approvingly. Although Sam had acquitted himself well as an amateur, there had been plenty of mistakes and do-overs. Alex knew what he was doing, and it showed.
“Hot damn,” Sam said admiringly as he saw how Alex had hand-cut plinth blocks to use as decorative bases for the casing. “Well, you’re going to have to do the other door in here. Because there’s no way in hell I could make it look like that.”
“No problem.”
Sam went outside to confer with his vineyard crew, who were busy pruning and shaping the young vines in preparation for the coming flush of growth in April. Alex continued to work in the parlor. The ghost wandered around the room, singing during the lulls between hammering and sawing. We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when …
As Alex filled nail holes with wood putty and caulked around the casing edges, he began a soft, nearly inaudible humming. Gradually a melody emerged, and the realization hit like a thunderbolt: Alex was humming along to his song.
On some level, Alex could sense his presence.
Watching him intently, the ghost continued to sing. Would you please say hello to folks that I know … tell ’em I won’t be long …
Alex set aside the caulk gun, remaining in a kneeling position. He braced his hands on his thighs, continuing to hum absently.
The ghost broke off the song and drew closer. “Alex,” he said cautiously. When there was no response, he said in a burst of impatient hope and eagerness, “Alex, I’m here.”
Alex blinked like a man who’d just come from a dark room into blinding daylight. He looked directly at the ghost, his eyes dilating into black circles rimmed with ice.
“You can see me?” the ghost asked in astonishment.
Scrambling backward, Alex landed on his rump. In the same momentum, he made a grab for the closest tool at hand, a hammer. Drawing it back as if he meant to hurl it at the ghost, he growled, “Who the hell are you?”
Discussion Questions
1. How can adult siblings move past the old conflicts of their shared childhood? Is there anything parents can do to help prevent rivalry between their children, or is it inevitable?
2. Is there any acceptable way for someone to have a relationship with one person and then have a relationship with that person’s sibling? What about two best friends? What about two acquaintances? Where would you draw the line?
3. Justine advises Lucy to “lower her standards” in order to find a decent guy to go out with. Do you know any-one whose standards are too high? Is there any merit in “settling” for someone?
4. According to Sam, “sex is the canary in the coal mine” of a relationship—do you agree?
5. Sam and Mark are both concerned about their brother Alex’s drinking. How would you handle it if you felt that a close friend or sibling was drinking too much?
6. Are there any benefits to a “no strings attached” relationship, or is it always a bad idea?
7. Lucy’s parents, Phillip and Cherise Marinn, have experienced a strain in their marriage because the memory of his first wife is still between them. What is the difference between “moving on” and “letting go” for a widow or widower?
8. Lucy tells Kevin that he and Alice seem to believe “happiness is this thing you have to chase after, like a child with a shiny toy.” What is true happiness, and how do you achieve it?
9. Many women struggle with choices between career and personal life. Have you ever given up a career opportunity for the sake of a personal relationship or a family member? Did you regret your choice, or was it worth it?
10. Do you feel that every person in this novel got what he or she deserved? Why, or why not?
11. What would you love to see happen in subsequent Friday Harbor novels?
For more reading group suggestions, visit
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ALSO BY LISA KLEYPAS
Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor
Smooth Talking Stranger
Seduce Me at Sunrise
Blue-Eyed Devil
Mine Till Midnight
Sugar Daddy
Wallflower Series
A Wallflower Christmas
Scandal in Spring
Devil in Winter
It Happened One Autumn
Secrets of a Summer Night
Praise for Lisa Kleypas
“Kleypas can do no wrong. If you want a fantastic read, pick up this poignant, heartbreaking, and deeply satisfying book. Kleypas has a knack for making readers cry, laugh, and cheer—often within the first couple of pages.”
—RT Book Reviews on Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor
“This well-written, heartwarming, gently humorous story is a charmer from start to finish.”
—Library Journal on Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor
“Kleypas’s fans and readers of women’s fiction alike will take to this richly rewarding story of love, commitment, and family.”
—Booklist on Smooth Talking Stranger
“Kleypas delivers a page-turning, formula-breaking romance that takes on social issues and escalates passion to new heights.”
—Publishers Weekly on Blue-Eyed Devil
“Kleypas is a New York Times bestselling author for a reason. As a beloved historical romance writer, she’s mastered her craft, and it shows in this novel, her first work of contemporary romance and her hardcover debut.”
—RT Book Reviews (Top Pick!) on Sugar Daddy
“Readers will be thinking about these superb characters long after closing the pages and rushing out to grab everything Kleypas has ever written.”
—RT Book Reviews on Smooth Talking Stranger
About the Author
Lisa Kleypas is the award-winning author of twenty-one novels. Her books have been published in fourteen languages and are bestsellers all over the world. She lives in Washington State with her husband and two children. Visit www.lisakleypas.com.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
RAINSHADOW ROAD. Copyright © 2012 by Lisa Kleypas. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Kleypas, Lisa.
Rainshadow road / Lisa Kleypas. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-312-60588-9 (trade pbk.)
ISBN 978-1-4299-3837-2 (e-book)
1. Self-realization in women—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3561.L456R35 2012
813'.54—dc23
2011041081
e-ISBN 9781429938372
First Edition: March 2012
Table of Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
Excerpt from Dream Lake
Reading Group Guide
Also by Lisa Kleypas
Praise for Lisa Kleypas
About the Author
Copyright
Lisa Kleypas, Rainshadow Road
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