Deadly Legacy is the July book in The Inheritance Collection. In this story Lacey St. John inherits from Harold Hopewell a bed and breakfast, once her family’s home. When her father lost his money and had to sell the Victorian house that had been in the family for over a hundred years, it was devastating. When Mr. Hopewell died, he wanted the place returned to a member of the original family. The inheritance came at a time that Lacey desperately needed it.
Blurb for Deadly Legacy: Legacy of Secrets. Threats and Danger. Second Chances.
Down on her luck, single mom, Lacey St. John, believes her life has finally changed for the better when she receives an inheritance from a wealthy stranger. Her ancestral home she’d thought forever lost has been transformed into a lucrative bed and breakfast guaranteed to bring much-needed financial security. Her happiness is complete until strange happenings erode her sense of well-being. When her life is threatened, she turns to her neighbor, Sheriff Ryan McNeil, for help. He promises to solve the mystery of who’s ruining her newfound peace of mind, but when her troubles escalate to the point that her every move leads to danger, she’s unsure who to trust. Is the strong, capable neighbor she’s falling for as amazing as he seems? Or could he be the man who wants her dead?
Deadly Legacy is also part of my Strong Women, Extraordinary Situations, a romantic suspense series highlighting women who put the hero in heroine. It is book seven.
Buy links:
Amazon: https://margaretdaley.com/AmazonDL
Barnes and Noble: https://margaretdaley.com/BNDL
Kobo: https://margaretdaley.com/KoboDL
Apple: https://margaretdaley.com/AppleDL
Google Play: https://margaretdaley.com/GoogleDL
Except from Deadly Legacy (from the end of chapter one):
A minute later, Sheriff Ryan McNeil discovered why his dog wanted to go this way. After passing the drive to the Calvert Cove Bed and Breakfast, Mick tugged Ryan toward a row of three-foot-high scrubs along the street, part of the beautifully landscaped property.
He caught sight of something red among the greenery. He moved closer. Mick stuck his head into the middle bush, his tail wagging.
“What did you find?” Ryan came nearer.
A young boy shot up through the foliage and glanced at the house behind him. When he returned his attention to Ryan, the child said, “I’m hiding.”
“You are? Why?”
“I told Mom she wouldn’t be able to find me. She used to play hide-n-seek all the time here when she was a little girl.”
“How long have you been hiding?” Ryan scanned the front of the bed and breakfast, not realizing the place was taking guests. He thought the renovation would last for several more weeks.
The boy shrugged. “A long time.”
Which in child speak could be anywhere from five minutes to five hours. Ryan smiled. He used to play all kinds of games outside as a kid with others in the neighborhood. He was trying to remember the family who lived here before the place was sold and turned into a bed and breakfast. The Randalls? Yes, that was it. There were two girls, but he didn’t remember much else.
“I’m Ryan. I live next door.” He pointed toward the large white, colonial-styled house peeking through the trees.
“Are you a policeman?”
Ryan glanced at his tan uniform. “Yep, and this is Mick.”
The child held out his hand for the dog to smell before he petted him. “I wish I had a dog.”
“Where do you live?”
The kid pointed to the house.
“When you’re not on vacation?”
“I’m not on vacation. Mom says I have to start school here on Monday. Yuck.” The boy puckered his lips as if he’d had too many lemons.
Was his mother another live-in employee? He was usually familiar with the people who worked at the bed and breakfast. He didn’t realize there would be a new person. Richard and Harriet Bell were the only ones who lived on the property. He hadn’t talked to them in a week with his crazy long hours, but maybe he should. The Calvert Cove Bed and Breakfast was renowned in this region and had brought in a lot of tourists. He liked to stay on top of what was going on there.
“Shaun! Where are you? The game is over.”
The child whirled around. “I’ve gotta go.”
Before Ryan could say anything, the boy shot out of the shrubbery and raced across the yard. The woman spied him plowing his way through a rose garden, mindless of the flowers he was trying to dodge and not always succeeding. Even from a distance Ryan saw the lady wince as Shaun leaped over the last bush and fell short.
“What do you think, Mick? Should we introduce ourselves?”
His dog barked once as Shaun picked himself up from the ground and continued forward, limping slightly.
“Okay, since she and her son will be living here.” Ryan would forgo charging through the row of scrubs. Instead he took the long way back to the driveway and strolled toward the porch.
While he covered the distance to the woman with long blond hair pulled into a ponytail, he overheard her conversation with her son. She wasn’t too pleased that Shaun had hidden outside. Obviously she’d spent the last half hour searching the house.
“Mom, you didn’t tell me I couldn’t go outside.”
“You need to wash up. Dinner will be ready soon.”
Shaun hung his head and shuffled toward the front door while the woman kept her blue gaze fixed on Ryan as he approached her.
“I’m Sheriff Ryan McNeil. I live next door.”
She shook his hand. “I’m Lacey St. John, the new owner of this bed and breakfast.”
“Ah, that explains why your son said he lives here.”
“Yes, we arrived earlier today.”
“Welcome to the area. This part of the peninsula is usually quiet.”
