An Angel for Emily Read online

  Critical acclaim for the marvelous romances of

  Jude Deveraux

  THE SUMMERHOUSE

  “Deveraux is at the top of her game…. [She] uses the time-travel motif that was so popular in A Knight in Shining Armor, successfully updating it with a female buddy twist that will make fans smile.”

  —Booklist

  “Entertaining summer reading.”

  —The Port St. Lucie News (FL)

  “[A] wonderful, heartwarming tale of friendship and love.”

  —America Online Romance Fiction Forum

  “Once again, Deveraux gives us a book we can’t put down.”

  —Rendezvous

  “A wonderfully wistful contemporary tale…. With New York Times bestselling author Jude Deveraux, one thing that’s guaranteed is a happy ending.”

  —Barnesandnoble.com

  “Thought-provoking, entertaining, and downright delightful.”

  —Amazon.com

  “Jude Deveraux’s writing is enchanting and exquisite in The Summerhouse.”

  —BookPage

  “Jude Deveraux takes a fascinating theory and runs with it…. A very compelling and intriguing story.”

  —Romantic Times

  TEMPTATION

  “Filled with excitement, action, and insight…. A nonstop thriller.”

  —Harriet Klausner, Barnesandnoble.com

  “[A] satisfying story.”

  —Booklist

  “Deveraux[’s] lively pace and happy endings…will keep readers turning pages.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  HIGH TIDE

  A Romantic Times Top Pick

  “High Tide is packed full of warmth, humor, sensual tension, and exciting adventure. What more could you ask of a book?”

  —Romantic Times

  “Fast-paced, suspenseful…. [A] sassy love story.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Exciting…. Fans of romantic suspense will gain much pleasure.”

  —Midwest Book Review

  “[A] fast-paced escapade…mysterious and sultry.”

  —BookPage

  “Jude Deveraux not only keeps you guessing but mixes crime and human morality with humor in the most unexpected moments…. [A] fantastic read.”

  —Rendezvous

  THE BLESSING

  “Plenty of romance, fun, and adventure…fans won’t be disappointed.”

  —San Antonio Express-News

  “[A] fun and entertaining love story…. A must for Deveraux fans.”

  —The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

  A KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR

  “Rare and simply delightful…poignant, sensual…. This unique story will capture your heart, make you laugh, cry, and wish this could come true.”

  —Romantic Times

  “A well-plotted book with a very attractive hero and a lot of charm.”

  —The Washington Post

  “A glorious love story that spans centuries, worlds, and souls…. Enchanting and extraordinary…. A Knight in Shining Armor will capture your heart—and hold it.”

  —Chicago Daily Herald

  Books by Jude Deveraux

  The Velvet Promise

  Highland Velvet

  Velvet Song

  Velvet Angel

  Sweetbriar

  Counterfeit Lady

  Lost Lady

  River Lady

  Twin of Fire

  Twin of Ice

  The Temptress

  The Raider

  The Princess

  The Awakening

  The Maiden

  The Taming

  The Conquest

  A Knight in Shining Armor

  Wishes

  Mountain Laurel

  The Duchess

  Eternity

  Sweet Liar

  The Invitation

  Remembrance

  The Heiress

  Legend

  An Angel for Emily

  The Blessing

  High Tide

  Temptation

  The Summerhouse

  The Mulberry Tree

  Forever…A Novel of Good and Evil, Love and Hope

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  An Original Publication of POCKET BOOKS

  POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  Copyright © 1998 by Deveraux, Inc.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  ISBN-13: 978-0-7434-5918-1

  ISBN-10: 0-7434-5918-0

  POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Visit us on the World Wide Web:

  http://www.SimonSays.com

  Chapter 1

  The Mountains of North Carolina, 1998

  I AM GOING TO KILL HIM,” EMILY JANE TODD MUTTERED; then, her voice rising, she said louder, “Kill him! Murder him. Tear him limb from limb!” She pounded her fist on the car steering wheel, but even as angry energy filled her, she felt it leave as she remembered her humiliation of tonight. And the embarrassment renewed her anger.

  “Did they just give me the award because I’m going to marry Donald?” she said out loud as she swung the car around a sharp curve in the road. When one wheel hit the gravel of the shoulder she took a deep breath and told herself to slow down. But even as she let up on the gas, her foot came back down on the pedal harder and she took the next curve even faster.

  When she whizzed too close past a tree in the darkness of the moonless night, she felt tears cloud her eyes. This night had meant a lot to her. Maybe being honored by the National Library Association was nothing to Donald, but it was everything to Emily. So maybe delivering free books to rural areas in the Appalachian Mountains was nothing to a big-deal newscaster like Donald, but it’s what took up a lot of Emily’s time—as well as nearly all of her money—and she had been thrilled to have someone notice what she was doing.

  As the tears started to obscure Emily’s vision, she dashed them away—sure she was smearing her mascara, but who was to see it now? She was driving back to a romantic little inn that had sherry and date cookies in each room. There were antique chests and flowered bedspreads, and the room had cost her a fortune. But she was going to spend tonight there alone!

  “I should have known that everything was going wrong when they gave me a room with two beds,” she said aloud, then heard her car hit the gravel shoulder again. “It was the beginning of the worst week and in—”

  She broke off because as she came around another sharp curve in the road, trees closing in on her on both sides, standing smack in the middle of the road was a man, his hand shielding his eyes from her headlights. Emily swerved. With all her might, she swung the wheel to the right trying not to hit him. She’d rather wrap herself around a tree than hit another human being, but suddenly, the man seemed to be between her and the side of the road. She swung to the left, back toward the center of the road, but she was going too fast for the car to respond.

  When she hit the man, she felt a sickness inside her such as she’d never felt before. There was no sound in the world like that of a car hitting human flesh.

  Emily felt like it took hours instead of seconds to get the car stopped, and her seat belt unfastened before she leaped out and started running. The headlights provided the only illumination in the blackness and her heart was pounding. She could