Wolf at the Door

She trips on his front steps. When he grabs her arms to steady her, she feels a tingling, almost like an electric charge. He’s grinning. Does he feel it too? It’s April, and Suzanna Smith is in Blue Ridge, county seat of Fannin County, Georgia, to find a summer rental. She has a 10-week leave of absence from her Manhattan PR job, and plans to research her late grandmother Smith’s ancestors. Grandma Rose was born here and claimed to be part Cherokee. To help Suzanna find the right rental now, and Smith family records later, is Tom Wolf, a Blue Ridge realtor, amateur genealogist, local historian, and full-blooded Cherokee. Arriving for their first meeting in his home office, she notices that he’s much better looking in person than in his unsettling website photo. He shows her the perfect rental cabin and agrees to research her family’s history. If only his attitude didn’t make her want to slap his handsome face! The victim, at age 23, of a short, disastrous marriage, Suzanna wonders if she will ever again be able to trust a man. Most of the men she’s dated in the eight years since her divorce were successful and seemed nice, but weren’t exciting enough to make her overcome her fears. Now, she’s feeling that excitement with a totally unsuitable man. Tom hates cities, especially Manhattan, and what about Suzanna’s career? Besides, Tom already has a girlfriend-Colleen, who if jealous looks could draw blood, Suzanna would be dead. Luckily, Suzanna has people she can count on: her brother Ron, and her best friend Ellen Grant, the daughter of Sharon and the late international architect, Dale Grant. Suzanna’s future may be more challenging than she could have predicted. Funny, how swiftly life can change.