June, 1947. Charleston is
poised to celebrate the biggest wedding in high-society history, the joining of
two of the oldest families in the city. Except the bride is nowhere to be
found…
Unlike the rest of the debs she grew up with,
Vada Hadley doesn’t see marrying Justin McLeod as a blessing—she sees it as a
life sentence. So when she finds herself one day away from a wedding she
doesn’t want, she’s left with no choice but to run away from the future her
parents have so carefully planned for her.
In Round O, South Carolina, Vada finds
independence in the unexpected friendships she forms at the boarding house
where she stays, and a quiet yet fulfilling courtship with the local diner
owner, Frank Darling. For the first time in her life, she finally feels like
she’s where she’s meant to be. But when her dear friend Darby hunts her down,
needing help, Vada will have to confront the life she gave up—and decide where
her heart truly belongs.
Charleston,
SC
June
20, 1947
“Murrah?” Rosa Lee’s eyes go wide and she shakes her head at me
like I’ve forgotten the rules, but I haven’t. Since before I was born, my
parents forbade the servants to speak their native tongue in our house.
Offenders were given one warning; a second offense brought immediate dismissal.
I say the Gullah word again, drawing it out softly. “Why are you crying?” The
hands that helped bring me into the world motion for me to lower my voice.
Rosa
Lee’s husband, Desmond, told me my first word was murrah. It was what I called
Rosa Lee, until Mother made me call her by name. “My own murrah.” The forbidden
words bring more tears. I press my face into the soft curve of her neck and
breathe in the Ivory soap Mother insists all the servants use, mingled with
Rosa Lee’s own scent—vanilla and lemongrass.
She
holds me at arm’s length, trembling, and I know I’ve done it again.
“You
got to tell them,” she pleads. “Make them see you can’t go through with this.”
I
point to the door that leads to the elegant dining room where my parents are
eating their breakfast. “I have told them. Mother refuses to listen, and I’ve
begged Father. He says I have to do this.” She looks away. Her body rocks,
sobbing violently on the inside. “Rosa Lee, please don’t cry. I can’t bear it.”
She shakes her head and swipes at the tears that stain the sleeve of her
freshly pressed uniform. “I won’t do it again. I promise.”
“When
you’re asleep, your heart takes over. You got no control, and it’s gonna kill
you.”
She’s
right. Since I graduated and moved home from college two weeks ago, I’ve been
sleepwalking like I did when I was a child, but these outings don’t land me
snuggled up in the servant’s quarters, between Desmond and Rosa Lee. Most of
the time, I wake up and return to bed without incident, but last week Desmond
found me trying to leave the house. He said I was babbling about sleeping in
the bay, which might not have been so disturbing if I hadn’t been wearing five
layers of heavy clothing. I knew what he thought I was trying to do to myself
and told him not to worry.
Since
then, Rosa Lee has insisted on sleeping on the stiff brocade chaise in my
bedroom. Of course, my parents don’t know she’s there or that she’s so afraid
I’ll walk to the bay or step off the balcony in my sleep, she’s tethered my
ankle to the bedpost with three yards of satin rope she begged from Mrs.
O’Doul.
“Maybe
it will be different after the wedding.” I love her enough to lie to her.
“Father says I’m a Hadley and once it’s over with, I’ll fall in line the way I
was born to.”
“But
what if Desmond hadn’t caught you?” She threads her fingers in mine and kisses
the back of my hand. A part of me wishes her intuition hadn’t sent Desmond to
check on me, that he hadn’t found me. “And what are you gonna do when we’re not
there?”
“Don’t
say that.” My knees buckle, and I melt into a puddle at her feet. Justin has
made it clear he’s happy with his staff and has no plans to add “two ancient
servants.” But living under his roof and not having Rosa Lee and Desmond with
me is unthinkable, another high price of being the last Hadley descendant.
“You
think it’s not going to get worse after you’re married? Who do you think’s gonna
be there to save you? Mr. Justin?” She hisses the last word. “You think long
and hard before the sun comes up tomorrow, because I’m afraid down to my bones
that you won’t be alive to see it.”
About the Author
Kim Boykin
was raised in her South Carolina home with two girly sisters and great parents.
She had a happy, boring childhood, which sucks if you’re a writer because you
have to create your own crazy. PLUS after you’re published and you’re being
interviewed, it’s very appealing when the author actually lived in Crazy Town
or somewhere in the general vicinity.
Almost
everything she learned about writing, she learned from her grandpa, an oral
storyteller, who was a master teacher of pacing and sensory detail. He held
court under an old mimosa tree on the family farm, and people used to come from
all around to hear him tell stories about growing up in rural Georgia and share
his unique take on the world.
As a
stay-at-home mom, Kim started writing, grabbing snip-its of time in the car
rider line or on the bleachers at swim practice. After her kids left the nest,
she started submitting her work, sold her first novel at 53, and has been
writing like crazy ever since.
Thanks to
the lessons she learned under that mimosa tree, her books are well reviewed
and, according to RT Book Reviews, feel like they’re being told across a
kitchen table. She is the author of The Wisdom of Hair from Berkley, Steal Me,
Cowboy and Sweet Home Carolina from Tule, and Palmetto Moon, also from Berkley
8/5/14. While her heart is always in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, she
lives in Charlotte and has a heart for hairstylist, librarians, and book
junkies like herself.
Overall tour giveaway is Charleston gift basket (US only)
and a copy of Palmetto Moon (International).
Thank you for hosting Kim on tour Rachel.
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