A routine assignment unlocks the secrets of his past.
News man Josh Holleran knows very little about sport and prefers to cover the crime desk. When his editor sends him to interview representatives from the local rugby team, Josh has little enthusiasm.
The Woodbridge Warriors are celebrating, having qualified for a national competition and it’s a significant story for the rural area, but Josh knows nothing about the game. His interest increases massively when he meets Cole Jansen, the hunky team coach. Cole is a big, beefy guy in his mid-thirties, exactly Josh’s type.
There’s something very familiar about him. Josh can’t shake the feeling that they’ve met before. Soon he realizes exactly who the coach is and how he knows him. A shameful secret from Josh’s past is about to be revealed and he’ll have to overcome his regret to stand a chance of happiness in the future.
Publisher's Note: This book was previously released as part of the Right Here, Right Now anthology with Pride Publishing.
General Release Date: 28th November 2017
“Why me?” I grumbled. “I know nothing about rugby.”
Anna Madley, editor of The Woodbridge Echo, didn’t take excuses, not from anyone. “You wrote that article on the Durham Cricket team, didn’t you? You claimed to know nothing about that when you started.”
“But rugby!”
“You’re a journalist, Josh. What you don’t know, you find out. Do your research. That’s your job.” Pushing her glasses onto the bridge of her nose, she turned her attention to the computer monitor. The conversation was over. Matter dismissed.
With gritted teeth, I left her office, returning to the icy room I shared with the paper’s other two reporters. The only window was an opaque rectangle set high on the wall, which allowed minimal daylight into the poky space. The room was poorly lit by two florescent strips and scant warmth came from a single-bar electric heater. It was mid-February and the room was freezing.
Dixie Ellis wore fingerless gloves as she tapped away at her keyboard with her bright red hair piled beneath a fur-trimmed hat.
“What did you get?” she asked, wrapping her fingers round a mug.
“Local rugby team. They’ve won a county championship and qualified for a national cup.” I sank heavily into my chair. “I hate sports stories. Why couldn’t she give it to Kenny? He always does sport. He loves that crap.”
“Kenny’s on court duty this week.”
“Has he left already?”
She nodded.
Bugger. That threw any chance of a swap to the wind.
I clicked off my screen saver and ran a Google search on the Woodbridge Warriors.
I’m a realist and knew that working on the local paper would never lead to a world-grabbing headline, but even in Woodbridge there were more compelling stories than the rugby team progressing through a competition. Dixie was following a spate of home burglaries at the upper end of town, and a pub fight on Saturday night which had turned into a near riot. I doubted our readers had much interest in the rugby win either. Woodbridge was a football town. Any other sport was redundant.
Thom Collins is the author of Closer by Morning, with Pride Publishing. His love of page turning thrillers began at an early age when his mother caught him reading the latest Jackie Collins book and promptly confiscated it, sparking a life-long love of raunchy novels.
Thom has lived in the North East of England his whole life. He grew up in Northumberland and now lives in County Durham with his husband and two cats. He loves all kinds of genre fiction, especially bonkbusters, thrillers, romance and horror. He is also a cookery book addict with far too many titles cluttering his shelves. When not writing he can be found in the kitchen trying out new recipes. He’s a keen traveler but with a fear of flying that gets worse with age, but since taking his first cruise in 2013 he realized that sailing is the way to go.
You can take a look at Thom's Blog and follow him on Twitter.
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