I’ve got a new book out; it is a reprint but has been unavailable for quite some time! I call it my “broken leg story” because it was inspired by my own hiking accident back in 1999! So, in a lot of ways it is one of my favorite and special novels. It is now available again with a new title (it used to be Healing Hearts),  a new cover, updated into the current time in a bunch of samll details–and just a teensy bit hotter than the original ;-).

Here are the particulars: Hearts to Heal by Gwynn Morgan, Amber Quill Press, www.amberquill.com/HeartstoHeal.html  ISBN-13: 978-1-61124-533-2 (Electronic)
ISBN-13: 978-1-61124-844-9 (Paperback)

Here is the cover and the blurb: 

Raised by her father after her mother’s death, Bonnie Verdugo has grown into a focused and driven woman, while her ultimate goal is to become a doctor. Meanwhile, she works as an EMT while taking courses to become a nurse practitioner, each effort a step toward her dream. Bonnie has no time for romance or a social life, until a hiking accident puts her in the care of Dr. Jerry Bertini, a fine orthopedic surgeon, but an alluring man known as a womanizer.

Jerry has always been a rebel, going against the family tradition to become a physician instead of a lawyer. He also enjoys being the black sheep. But despite his reputation as a playboy, he has a serious side. Nowadays, his career has almost become his entire life, apart from the hours spent trying to raise his motherless daughter. Jennifer is now a teenager and, suddenly, a handful of trouble. So is Bonnie, the saucy little Latina EMT who ends up under his care when she breaks her leg. Jerry doesn’t suspect how quickly Bonnie will get under his skin. And although he can heal her bones, what about her overly cautious heart?

When two determined healers bump heads and hearts, something is eventually going to give…

*****

Now you might think that a broken leg is hardly a romantic event but let me tell you, it’s what happens afterwards that comes close to the hearts and flowers realm. Here is an excerpt about that! And aren’t weekly mysterious gifts pretty dang romantic??

Note: Jillie is one of Bonnie, the heroine’s best friends. She’s from Texas and is quite a character. Maybe someday she will get her own story…  Sound like a plan?

Excerpt:  Today would be the sixth week, but today she was due at Dr. Bertini’s  office at ten thirty to get the cast removed. She slept poorly and awoke early.

Jillie came by at ten to drive Bonnie to her appointment. A chubby redhead with a pronounced west Texas twang in her voice and a heart as big as her home state, Jillie seemed to be a born mother. She was going to be a wonderful nurse, too, reaching out with kindness to everyone, but also with sufficient spunk to do whatever needed to be done and to demand good behavior from her patients.

“How y’all doin’ this mornin’, Bonnie? All set to get that heavy ole thang off?”

When Jillie spoke, which was almost constantly, she slurred her words together in a drawling non-stop commentary, full of salty homilies and down-home humor. Today, Bonnie knew she didn’t have to say much of anything since Jillie would keep any silence from lasting more than a few seconds.

Pulling out into cross-town traffic from Bonnie’s neighborhood, Jillie made a rude gesture when an approaching driver honked at them, then stomped on the gas. Her old Reliant leaped forward, coughing a cloud of smoke.

“So y’all still gettin’ them mysterious gifts? You know what I think? I bet it’s that gorgeous doctor. My God, that man is just too pretty to be real! I know somethin’ happened up there that you’re not tellin’ about. I know you, Bonnie Verdugo, and you can’t keep secrets from ole Jillie.”

When Jillie stopped for breath, Bonnie admitted she had gotten another present last week and described the wind chime.

“Oh my land, that sounds so pretty! Did you hang it out on your patio? I sure do envy you that little ole house. As soon as I get my degree, I’m moving me and little Betty and J.T. out of that ole apartment and finding us a house. Those kids are pestering me to get them a dog, but pets aren’t allowed where we’re at.”

Bonnie put herself on auto-pilot, trying not to think about anything at all, letting Jillie’s chatter drift by her like white noise. She already dreaded the ordeal of facing Jerry again, and as much as she wanted to get rid of the cast, she had almost called the office and postponed the appointment. Better to go on and get it over with, though. Otherwise, she’d just fret about it until she did go. And she could hardly go to another doctor now.

By the time Bonnie settled into one of the utilitarian chairs in the waiting room shared by Jerry and Dr. Bartram, she was so nervous she could hardly sit still. Jillie had gone down the hall to see another classmate who was working part time in a pediatrician’s office, which left Bonnie without a convenient distraction.

Finally, they called her back to an examining room. The same chirpy-voiced nurse got her settled and assured her the doctor would be right in. Bonnie sat on the examining table, clenching both hands over the edge. Dread and anticipation sent flurries of butterflies aflutter in her abdomen and speeded  her heart rate to double time.

When Jerry finally came in, it seemed almost an anti-climax. He greeted her with a smile and a casual, “Good morning, Bonnie. Ready to get rid of the ninety-pound anchor today?”

She nodded, taking care to avoid meeting his eyes. “Yes, I think so. It has gotten pretty heavy and this past week, it’s been itching under there like a zillion mosquito bites, too.”

He rummaged in a cupboard, then settled onto a stool at her feet, holding a machine that looked like something from a woodworker’s shop, some sort of grinder or portable saw. When he pushed the switch, it started with a roar. Bonnie jumped.

Jerry grinned at her. “Hey, not to worry. This won’t hurt even if it hits your skin. It cuts by vibration, see?” To demonstrate, he put the blade against his palm, where it barely left a red line. Taking her heel in one hand, he made a quick cut down each side of the cast and peeled it away from her foot. The vibration tickled, but it really didn’t hurt.

Bonnie tried to focus on the process, anything to distract herself from the silky pelt of his hair, bent close to her knee, and the insouciant wink of the diamond in his left earlobe. She took in a deep breath in a vain effort to calm herself and inhaled a strong whiff of his familiar citrus-scented aftershave.

He dropped the pieces of the cast in a trash can and turned back to her. Taking her foot in his hands, he ran his fingers lightly over the white line of the healing incision, across the angle of the breaks and then rotated her foot slowly, testing the mobility of the joint. Although the touch seemed impersonal, it still sent a tingle up Bonnie’s leg, a tingle which stirred up the butterflies again and started a growing heat low in her belly. How could a simple examination feel so damned sexy?