Read Copper Beach: A Dark Legacy Novel Online

Authors: Jayne Ann Krentz

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Suspense, #Paranormal

Copper Beach: A Dark Legacy Novel

BOOK: Copper Beach: A Dark Legacy Novel
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COPPER BEACH

 

O
THER
T
ITLES
BY
J
AYNE
A
NN
K
RENTZ

 

In Too Deep

 

Fired Up

 

Running Hot

 

Sizzle and Burn

 

White Lies

 

All Night Long

 

Falling Awake

 

Truth or Dare

 

Light in Shadow

 

Summer in Eclipse Bay

 

Smoke in Mirrors

 

Dawn in Eclipse Bay

 

Lost & Found

 

Eclipse Bay

 

Soft Focus

 

Eye of the Beholder

 

Flash

 

Sharp Edges

 

Deep Waters

 

Absolutely, Positively

 

Trust Me

 

Grand Passion

 

Hidden Talents

 

Wildest Hearts

 

Family Man

 

Perfect Partners

 

Sweet Fortune

 

Silver Linings

 

The Golden Chance

 

 

 

B
Y
J
AYNE
A
NN
K
RENTZ
W
RITING
AS
A
MANDA
Q
UICK

 

Quicksilver

 

Burning Lamp

 

The Perfect Poison

 

The Third Circle

 

The River Knows

 

Second Sight

 

Lie by Moonlight

 

Wait Until Midnight

 

The Paid Companion

 

Late for the Wedding

 

Don’t Look Back

 

Slightly Shady

 

Wicked Widow

 

I Thee Wed

 

Seduction

 

Affair

 

Mischief

 

Mystique

 

Mistress

 

Deception

 

Desire

 

Dangerous

 

Reckless

 

Ravished

 

Rendezvous

 

Scandal

 

Surrender

 

With This Ring

 

 

 

 

 

B
Y
J
AYNE
A
NN
R
KENTZ
W
RITING
AS
J
AYNE
C
ASTLE

 

Canyons of Night

 

Midnight Crystal

 

Obsidian Prey

 

Dark Light

 

Silver Master

 

Ghost Hunter

 

After Glow

 

Harmony

 

After Dark

 

Amaryllis

 

Zinnia

 

Orchid

 

G. P. P
UTNAM’S
S
ONS

 

New York

 

G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

Publishers Since 1838

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)  Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England  Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd)  Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)  Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi–110 017, India  Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)  Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Copyright © 2012 by Jayne Ann Krentz

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

Published simultaneously in Canada

EISBN: 9781101554289

Library of Congress Cataloging–in–Publication Data TK

Printed in the United States of America

1  3  5  7  9  10  8  6  4  2

Book design by Meighan Cavanaugh

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

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

For Steve Castle, with love and thanks

 

for the background on rare earths.

 

Great brothers like you are even more rare.

 

Sure glad we made it into the same family.

 
Table of Contents
 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

 

5

 

6

 

7

 

8

 

9

 

10

 

11

 

12

 

13

 

14

 

15

 

16

 

17

 

18

 

19

 

20

 

21

 

22

 

23

 

24

 

25

 

26

 

27

 

28

 

29

 

30

 

31

 

32

 

33

 

34

 

35

 

36

 

37

 

38

 

39

 

40

 

41

 

42

 

43

 

44

 

45

 

46

 

47

 

48

 
1
 

THERE WAS NOTHING LIKE THE DRAMA OF A DEATHBED SCENE
to expose the skeletons in a family’s closet. You never knew what would fall out when you opened the door, the nurse thought. Lifelong conflicts, absolution, regret, long-held grudges, enduring love or unrelenting hatred, whatever had been hidden for decades or generations was suddenly made visible at the end.

The night-shift staff was gathered at the nurses’ station, drinking coffee, snacking on vending-machine munchies and speculating on the sexual orientation of the new orthopedic surgeon, when the dying man’s son arrived. Emotions in the small group ranged from cynical to relieved.

 

They had all watched patients die without family at the bedside. It happened more often than most people realized. Everyone who did this kind of work understood that family dynamics were often convoluted and messy and sometimes downright evil. There were often very good reasons why relatives turned their backs on a family member who was dying. And there was no getting around the fact that the patient
in 322 was seriously wasted not just from the cancer but from years of hard living and major addiction issues.

 

“Knox probably wasn’t anyone’s idea of a great father,” the orderly said. “Still, it’s about time someone from the family showed up.”

 

The middle-aged nurse watched the visitor disappear through the darkened doorway of 322. Then she checked the computer file.

 

“He signed in as Knox’s son,” she reported. “But there are no relatives listed on the chart.”

 

One of the orderlies popped a handful of potato chips into his mouth. “Guess it’s safe to say it’s not a close family.”

 

Lander Knox knew what the crowd at the nurses’ station was thinking.
The prodigal son shows up at last.
It amused him, but he had been careful not to let his reaction show. He understood that humor was not appropriate to the occasion.

 

He had learned long ago to fake the correct emotional responses for a wide variety of situations. His acting talent was worthy of an Oscar. He had gotten very good at pretending to be one of the sheep. He moved among the weak, emotional, easily duped creatures that surrounded him like the wolf he was.

BOOK: Copper Beach: A Dark Legacy Novel
13.35Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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