The Roots Beneath Us
Joey Jones
Publication date: August 17th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Fate brought them together. Their pasts tried to tear them apart.
Leaving behind a career filled with danger and secrets, Piper Luck arrives in Duck, North Carolina, on her fortieth birthday, determined to build a new life. Starting with The Roots Beneath Us, a local course her friend and father figure swore would transform her, she embarks on a new journey. However, on the first day of class, only one other person shows up—a shy, guarded man.
Like Piper, Boone Winters just moved to the Outer Banks at the suggestion of his now deceased mentor and boss, who promised Boone a job when he arrived if he worked up the courage to leave an abusive relationship. The job: Build a luxurious oceanfront home. However, there are contingencies. He must attend The Roots Beneath Us program, have an accountability partner, and live alone.
With no other course participants, Piper becomes Boone’s accountability partner. Together, they work through the course by facing their fears, setting goals, overcoming obstacles . . . and forging an unlikely friendship that evolves into something deeper. Nonetheless, when their previous lives resurface and threaten the tentative roots they’ve planted, they must each courageously confront their past demons once and for all in order to claim their future.
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EXCERPT:
It surprised Piper when Boone’s skin touched hers. She wondered if he meant to be so close. Part of her liked it. Lying here with him felt comfortable even though she hadn’t been romantically attracted. Something about Boone seemed different than any other man she met. She felt safe in his presence.
For a moment, Boone froze. He knew he should probably move his arm before it became awkward, but all he could do was stare through the trees at the stars even though he wanted to turn and look at Piper.
Piper considered scooting over an inch to create space, but then as the moonlight filtered and the stars twinkled through the silhouette of hundreds of tree branches, she decided she was okay with Boone’s arm being pressed against hers. A couple of his fingers settled on hers delicately like a fallen leaf on the summer grass.
“Boone, this is lovely,” she admitted.
Boone began to breathe again although he didn’t know what to say. “It is,” he finally uttered.
“You were right about this view. I think I could lie here all night.”
Neither of them spoke a word for the longest time. They simply basked in the ambiance surrounding their lives at the present moment.
Eventually Piper broke the silence. “Sometimes I try to count the stars.”
Boone smiled in the dark. “That sounds fun.”
“You’re fun, Boone,” Piper stated, wrapping her pinky around one of his fingers. She turned and looked at him. “You deserve this freedom.”
Boone didn’t know precisely what freedom she meant, but he felt as free as the owls in the trees. The way her pinky wrapped around his finger made him more alive than he ever remembered. “Thanks,” he responded, slowly turning his head to meet Piper’s gaze. The clarity of her charming brown eyes surprised him, and once again he experienced that previous connection.
Piper studied Boone’s green eyes. “No matter what happens, you never ever have to go back to her.”
“I know,” Boone replied, trying his hardest to believe it. Suddenly he wanted to kiss Piper’s lips but couldn’t. He could write that on his journey list a thousand times but doubted he ever would, and right now he couldn’t muster up the courage. Baby steps, he heard someone on his shoulder say.
Piper considered rolling onto Boone and kissing him gently. She doubted he would make the first move. Almost any other guy would have already jumped on top of her but not Boone Winters. He was scared and scarred but also a gentleman. This man had been taken advantage of so many times he understood the danger in crossing boundaries. She understood his delicacy and wanted to treat him with the respect he deserved, realizing most of the women he encountered probably jumped on top of him.
Piper and Boone didn’t say much more the rest of the waking night. They just let things be. Mostly they stared at the stars. Their bodies didn’t move, not even their fingers, slightly intertwined like many of the branches above.
It shocked Piper when Boone dozed off to sleep, but it made her glad to know he felt comfortable. She knew she needed to leave but hated to wake him, so she kept gazing at the stars and listening to the ocean, imagining he would wake up soon.
As Piper listened to the steady rhythm of the rise and fall of Boone’s breath, the owls hooted, the sky glowed, and before she realized it, her eyelids collapsed, and sleep captured her body.
The moon moved across the North Carolina sky. The branches slowly danced to the breeze blowing off the Atlantic Ocean. The critters went on about their night. Everything seemed completely peaceful, and then something unexpected happened.
Author Bio:
The writing style of Joey Jones has been described as a mixture of Nicholas Sparks, Richard Paul Evans, and James Patterson. USA Today Bestselling Author Jeff Gunhus compared Jones’ work to Debbie Macomber, Nicholas Evans, and Sparks. National Bestselling Author Kristy Woodson Harvey described Joey Jones’ writing as “lyrical” and proclaims “he effortlessly pulls readers into the souls of his characters.”
The ratings and reviews of Jones’ novels A BRIDGE APART (2015), LOSING LONDON (2016), A FIELD OF FIREFLIES (2018), and THE DATE NIGHT JAR (2019) reflect the comparison to the aforementioned New York Times bestselling authors.
Joey Jones fell in love with creative writing at a young age and decided in his early twenties that he wanted to write a book. His debut novel A BRIDGE APART is a suspenseful love story that was years in the making as he tinkered with the story off and on while working full-time in the marketing field. In February 2016, Jones became a full-time novelist and published his second novel LOSING LONDON later that year. Three of Jones’ novels have earned 4.8 out of 5.0 Amazon stars.
In his spare time, Joey enjoys spending time with his family, playing sports, working out, reading, and writing inspirational quotes. His favorite meal is a New York Style Pizza with sweet tea. He won the 8th-grade spelling bee at his school, but if you ask him how many students participated, he might say, “Such minor details are not important!” He currently lives in North Carolina with his family.
Joey Jones earned a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Maryland University College where he graduated with honors (2006). He was the owner of a full-service advertising agency and taught business and marketing courses as an adjunct college instructor.
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