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Sage It Out: Harrington Bay Mystery, #1
Sage It Out: Harrington Bay Mystery, #1
Sage It Out: Harrington Bay Mystery, #1
Ebook209 pages1 hourHarrington Bay Mystery

Sage It Out: Harrington Bay Mystery, #1

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Police line, do not cross.

Rose Devlin is a fun friend with a good heart. Sage Tanton is her BFF with a psychic sense for trouble.

Protective of her family and friends, Rose is confident she can handle any situation without Sage's supernatural intervention. But then the unthinkable happens. Rose's action triggers one of Sage's visions about a child in danger. And once again, her life is turned upside down.

Getting the police involved throws Rose an unexpected romantic curveball. So, she does what she does best - jumps in feet first and finds herself out of the proverbial herbal teapot and into the flames.

Liar, liar, pants on fire, Detective Nathan Bryant knows that gorgeous woman he just met is not only deceitful but could be entirely insane. Now he can't stop lusting after her. Can a determined police detective help Rose achieve her long sought-after redemption or will they both retreat behind their yellow tape and lose out on love? Trust is a gift either has yet to give.

If you like a cozy mystery with humor, you'll love this fun-filled romantic chase that is sure to toss two best friends out of the frying pan and into the fire if they don't learn to open up to the police.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherShereen Vedam
Release dateJan 19, 2019
ISBN9780995344716
Sage It Out: Harrington Bay Mystery, #1
Author

Shereen Vedam

Once upon a time, USA Today bestselling author Shereen Vedam read fantasy and romance novels to entertain herself. Now she writes heartwarming tales braided with threads of magic and love and mystery elements woven in for good measure. Shereen's a fan of resourceful women, intriguing men, and happily-ever-after endings. If her stories whisk you away to a different realm for a few hours, then Shereen will have achieved one of her life goals. Please consider leaving a review wherever you purchased this book.

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Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5

    Jan 5, 2019

    Rose Devlin is the best friend with a good heart a person could have. Sage Tanton is her best friend who is also psychic. Rose has protected Sage, as well as and her own family since childhood and nothing and no one is allowed to get in the way. Rose feels that she can handle any situation, even murder, without Sage's supernatural intervention. But when she runs into a police detective, and a little girl, Rose's reactions to the unexpected meetings triggers Sage's visions.

    Nathan is a new police investigator and the man who ran into her while he was chasing a thief. Not long after Sage’s vision shows that the little girl Rose saw after being knocked down by Nathan is in danger. It is up to Rose and Sage to find the girl and save her before it's too late. Unfortunately, Rose needs to get the police involved without telling them about Sage’s abilities. Rose does what she always does, jumps in feet first and lands in Nathan’s arms.
    --
    Series: A Psychic Mystery Romance
    Author: Shereen Vedam
    Genre: Paranormal/Romance Cozy
    Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC

    Detective Nathan Bryant is a great character is Sage it Out. He knows that Rose is lying to him and he wonders if she isn’t a bit crazy. Despite his concern, Nathan finds himself completely over the moon for her and unable to stay away. He is instinctively protective of her and wants to help, but the past keeps coming back to haunt him. Trust is something he has a hard time giving, and this is an issue he and Rose share.

    This is a sweet story, but it needs work. It is a nice paranormal romance with hints of danger. There is action but mainly towards the end. The characters are likable but unfortunately, not very believable. The situations Rose and Sage find themselves in are simply not possible. In real life, if people acted the way these two characters act with the police, they would have been arrested and sent to jail.

    The love interest for both women is equally unrealistic. Police officers do not treat possible suspects, or those they think may be involved in illegal activities in the manner these male characters treat the two women. Even after the women continually lie to them about a case. People may well fall in love at first sight. However, police investigating a possible crime usually do not allow personal feelings to stand in the way of their job. They don’t take evidence in a crime investigation out of evidence and give it back to the “owner” even if that owner is a five-year-old girl.

    The ending is the best part of this book over all. The writing is smooth, but the book needs editing and proper formatting. Unfortunately, the very last page of the book makes everything else pale in comparison to all the other unbelievable events. The ending had the potential to be great but was too abrupt with no back story to help the reader envision the scene.

    All of this being said, the book does have moments that make the reader smile and even wish the events happened in real life. It isn’t a terrible book, but it is need of more depth, better-developed characters, and more believable scenarios.


Book preview

Sage It Out - Shereen Vedam

Chapter 1

W ait for me!

Rose Devlin shot up in bed. That was a man’s voice. A sexy male voice. Yet, she was alone in her bedroom. Disappointment had her slumping back under the covers. A quick squint at the window suggested dawn had long passed. Her cell phone confirmed she had slept in again! She groaned and struggled out of bed and into her closest tee shirt and yoga pants. She ran a hand through her hair, picked up Mataba, her cat, who was still snoozing at the bottom of her bed and hurried downstairs.

Mataba weighed more, as if she’d put on another two pounds overnight. She yowled in protest at the abrupt pick-up and transport. Probably sensed what was coming.

In the kitchen, her best friend Sage didn’t look up from scooping coffee into a filter. You’re late.

Taking Mattie for her walk. The invigorating scent of fresh ground coffee tempted Rose to linger. Maybe they could skip the walk today.

I had an interesting dream last night, Sage said.

Rose’s hand paused over her runners.

Sage was both her friend and business partner at their store, Rosemary and Rue, which held pride of place at the front of this house. Although she loved Sage like a sister, talk of her dreams left Rose wanting to run out the door. She slipped her bare toes into her shoes and asked, Was it about bunny rabbits? The joke came out flat.

Sage sent her a worried look. I think it was about the boy we couldn’t locate in high school.

She needed a big gulp of strong coffee before dealing with that worn-out topic. Luckily, she was late so this talk would have to wait. As coffee must. Mataba’s health was too important.

Ignoring how her cat’s health had not seemed that urgent when she’d hit the snooze button three times earlier, she hooked the leash onto the cat’s collar. Back in fifteen. We can talk then.

Once outside, she whispered, Hope that talk doesn’t turn into a rehash of what went wrong ten years ago. I’m scorched on the topic.

The two women had been friends since grade school. Sage had been there for Rose when her parents divorced. Then in their first year in high school, Sage experienced a traumatic vision. It had been about the same boy Sage had dreamed of last night. Her friend’s innocent confession of what she witnessed to a gasbag counselor had resulted in Sage having a target put on her back for every bully in school to aim at. Despite the humiliation she endured, they never found that child.

Afterward, at age fourteen, she and Sage made a blood pact to always have each other’s backs. Neither had broken that pledge nor ever would. After college, they stayed best friends and even went into business together.

These days, they still got along great, but over time, Sage’s visions evolved into a sore topic for Rose. They were always unpleasant, involving things they could usually do squat about, like with that boy. To Rose’s way of thinking, worrying without facts was a colossal waste of time. So, she preferred to avoid all talk of her friend’s forewarning.

Shaking off the darkness that seemed to trail her outside, Rose focused on the blue sky and crisp spring air. She dropped her protesting cat onto the back driveway. Mattie’s normally dreaded outings suddenly beckoned with a brighter gleam.

Breakfast once we return. That’s the deal.

The word breakfast had its desired effect, prompting the cat to run toward the sidewalk and turn left. They settled into a stroll along the walkway where rows of heritage houses, like Rose’s, were specialty shops at the front end. Rosemary and Rue was part of the Bell Tower square.

The sidewalk was crowded. Mothers were out with their strollers, bikers jumped on and off the roadway while heading into town, and joggers checked their fitness trackers more often than where they ran. If she hadn’t overslept, this sidewalk would have been empty and less stressful on Mattie.

Short walk, she vowed to the determined furry backside.

Mataba’s steps lagged, and soon she trailed Rose, her mournful meows suggesting she didn’t believe her mistress.

They were a block away from home before Rose noticed people giving her odd looks. Not at the plump cat following her, but directly at Rose. She self-consciously combed her fingers through her hair. Had she forgotten to brush? Having just woken up, she couldn’t remember. Ah well, she’d only be out for a few minutes. As long as she didn’t run into her mother, she should be fine.

On the next block, the sun skimmed chrome and glass office buildings. Six more minutes and then we head home.

Rose passed a local bank with its familiar green and yellow sign above the door. Then footsteps pounded behind her. A man was racing toward them.

DETECTIVE NATHAN BRYANT had finished his last chore, some necessary banking to ensure all his bills would be paid while he was away. Fresh from an undercover operation for the Drug Enforcement section of Oregon’s Criminal Investigation Division, he was ready to leave behind work stresses. His last assignment had gone on for four months longer than planned. It had left him exhausted and mending from a gunshot wound.

Envisioning uninterrupted weeks of sailing along the West Coast, he waited in line at the bank tellers, impatient to be off.

A little girl’s cry shattered his dream of sighting nothing more dangerous than a pod of humpback whales. A child in a green dress cried, He took my Skunky, pointing toward the front doors.

From the corner of his eyes, Nathan caught a glimpse of a young man with a stuffed toy hurry out of the bank.

Without hesitation, Nathan was after the suspect. Morning pedestrians filled the sidewalk outside, but a quick scan of people’s heads identified the scurrying culprit. A scrawny man held a black and white stuffed toy clamped to his side as if it were filled with treasure. Drugs? Nathan increased his speed.

Halfway down the block, he slammed into the thief’s back, tumbling him and a bystander to the ground. A nearby cry identified the gender of his second victim. Female. A painful pull on his shoulder reminded him he wasn’t at 100% yet. He secured the thief’s arms and made a quick cell call to Harrington Bay Police Department, requesting a cruiser be sent to this location. Then he turned to apologize to the woman.

No good deed went unrewarded! Cut in a neat, if untidy bob, the breathtaking brunette’s silky hair swung slightly past her shoulders. Her eyes were hidden by long lashes that fanned round cheeks. She sat up but didn’t glance at him, too busy soothing a large irate black cat she held onto by a leash.

Who walked a cat?

You okay? he asked.

Hardly. She bent her left arm where nasty red welts had already appeared.

Sorry, didn’t mean to knock you over. He hauled his prisoner up and read him his Miranda Rights as he scanned for someplace safe to leave him while he tended to the young goddess. He secured his villain to a nearby bike rack.

He kicked the stolen toy closer and kept a hold on it with his foot while Nathan checked his pockets. Sure enough, he found a handkerchief. No matter how often he said he didn’t need one, while at home for a visit, his mother always tucked one of his grandfather’s white square handkerchiefs into one of his pockets.

It’s for good luck, she’d say.

For once thankful for her superstition, Nathan knelt beside the fallen woman. Let me see. He turned her arm to check on her elbow.

It’s all right, she said.

Her cat circled to the other side and distracted her while she switched hands with the leash.

Nathan’s nose twitched. He was allergic to cats.

I’ll take care of the scratch once I’m home, the beauty said.

Independent. He liked that. I need to make sure you’re not still bleeding. Ignoring her protests, he took hold of her wounded left arm again. She had the softest skin, and this close, he detected an enticing whiff of vanilla.

She had great legs, too. Over her tight leggings, she had on a baggy tee shirt with the words Bones splayed beneath a skull. On the pretext of taking a closer look at her elbow, he tugged her toward him. Her shirt pulled tight, revealing full breasts and a trim waist. Unable to resist, he traced a finger along her smooth cheek where a sleep line had left a cute indentation. Made him picture her waking up in his bed.

Her gaze swept up to meet his with startled curiosity. Her brown eyes had a clear bright look, open and inviting. His gut told him this was a lady he could trust to be loyal. Recently, he’d begun to question his gut feelings. He reined in his distracted focus and trained his attention on her injured arm. Using the handkerchief, he brushed the dirt off her forearm.

This isn’t necessary, she said.

The least I could do, he murmured, noting her bare third finger. To move aside her sleeve, he gently slid his grip up her elbow along the tender flesh of her upper arm. He tied his handkerchief around her elbow and then stood, offering her a hand up.

Ignoring his open palm, she stayed put and boldly studied him.

He’d lived in tiny Harrington Bay, south of Portland, most of his life and not once had he run into this beauty.

As cautiously curious about him as its mistress, her black cat stole forward like a combat veteran and sniffed at his sneakers and then hissed and fluffed up.

Nathan retreated. Maybe that wasn’t her cat. She could be cat-sitting. As the woman hadn’t made a move to stand, he pointed to the stuffed toy beside the cat. Mind handing me that? There’s someone who’s anxious to know it’s safe.

You bowled me over to retrieve a toy? she asked with a disgruntled look at both Nathan and the skunk thief. As she reached for the toy, a man snatched it up and raced off.

Nathan couldn’t believe a second thief had taken off with his skunk. Swearing under his breath, he was halfway down the block before he shouted back to the stunning brunette, Wait for me! He wanted her number almost as much as he wanted to return that skunk to the child.

He ignored his shoulder’s protesting twinge and focused on his new quarry. What would two men want with a child’s toy? He could understand this happening in a big city or at the US borders where drug trafficking was prolific. In this small peaceful mid-coastal town, a drug cartel smuggling dope in kids’ toys seemed absurd.

The second thief was faster, trickier. He turned down alleyways and cut through buildings. Nathan kept after him, relentlessly gaining. A few more minutes and he’d have him. The man raced through a hotel and Nathan pursued. Through the entryway, down a corridor, and out the back door brought them both into a side street. The man sprinted across the road, ignoring cursing, cars honking, and the squeal of brakes.

Nathan jumped over a car hood, his eyes fixed on his prey as he landed on the other side. He almost crashed into a bicyclist. He flashed his badge, confiscated the bike, and rode after the second skunk thief. Within seconds, he caught up and in one fluid motion, leaped off the bike and tackled him.

He lay on top of his victim, his shoulder throbbing in agony, and realized he was out of handcuffs. After several deep breaths, his pain receded enough that he could pull the thief up and retrieve the toy without throwing up.

With an appreciative grin, the cyclist ran up to retrieve his bike. Nice dive, dude.

Thanks. Keeping a tight hold on the toy, Nathan marched the second thief back toward the bank. Send a bill to HBPD if your bike has any damages.

WAIT FOR ME!

Those words had woken her up this morning. Was it simply a portent of this incident? Or a warning to do as told and wait? Premonitions were Sage’s thing, not Rose’s, so she had no clue what it meant. After the gorgeous officer ran off, Rose picked up Mataba and stood.

The cat’s claws dug into Rose’s arm. The throng of people and noise was making her cat more nervous. She wasn’t the only one. Rose’s heart was beating like a war drum, sending out an alarm. Of what? Her dream suggested she should wait here. Why? For the officer to return?

Tall, short-cropped blond hair, deep blue eyes, and chiseled features, he could have walked off a GQ magazine. He’d smelled fresh and outdoorsy, like the sea.

His prisoner pulled at the bike rack, trying to rip it off its concrete mooring. When he failed, he gave her a nasty glare. She ignored him and gazed at where the officer had gone. She touched her cheek where he had caressed her. Could he want to ask her out?

She whispered to Mattie, I have a good feeling about him.

The cat climbed up to Rose’s shoulder and gazed forlornly in the opposite direction.

I know, she said, you’d rather go home. What if this is my one chance to get a decent date in months.

The prisoner nearby snorted rudely.

Rose strolled out of earshot, toward where

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