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  A Wish Upon a Star

  Leslie Raymond spent the past two years wishing her life had taken a different turn. It’s time for a fresh start, a move across the country, and a new set of rules to help heal her heart—no straight women, no women with kids, and no commitment. But when she meets her new neighbors, the beautiful Erica and her special needs daughter, Siena, she struggles against the pull she immediately experiences.

  Erica Cooper has learned to rely only on herself. She knows most people don’t stick around when the going gets tough. And when caring for child with autism, the going can get tough fast. She is content with the quiet and emotionally safe life she’s constructed, but when they are befriended by their kind, playful, and—damn it—really hot new neighbor, the walls protecting her heart threaten to crumble.

  So much for good intentions and firm resolutions—neither stand a chance when the stars align for love.

  What Reviewers Say About Jeannie Levig’s Work

  Threads of the Heart

  “What a beautiful and moving story about five women learning invaluable lessons about love, self-awareness, cause and effect, consequences, betrayal, trust, truth, relationships, friendships, family…and life.”—2015 Rainbow Awards

  “[The main characters’] individual stories were interesting on their own but the interaction between the characters really makes this novel great. …The steamy scenes were so well written and extremely hot—in fact the best I’ve read in a long time. They were very varied and inventive. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was so sad to finish it. I wanted it to go on and on!”—Inked Rainbow Reads

  Embracing the Dawn

  “Embracing the Dawn by Jeannie Levig has to be considered one of the best books of 2016 and one of the best audiobooks of 2017. We also see a lot of the relationships with secondary characters, and how important those friendships are to the growth and happiness of our main characters. Levig handles all of these relationships with a deftness that is truly a joy to read, and reread. The story is well plotted, the characters have depth, and the story sucks you in and keeps you turning pages.”—The Lesbian Review

  “Embracing the Dawn was written beautifully and it has slipped straight into my Favorite and Must Read Again shelves. It was so raw and honest. The story was very believable and I think that’s what has stood out from most books I’ve read recently. Bold Stokes Books have really upped the ante recently with their authors. This was a fantastic novel. I was gripped from the beginning.”—Les Reveur

  “Seldom have I read such a passionate and insightful love story as this. Ms Levig’s novel flows like a magnificent river, sometimes roaring other times meandering but always effortlessly and impressively moving gracefully on.”—Inked Rainbow Reads

  Into Thin Air

  “Two things are apparent to me after reading Jeannie Levig’s three novels. 1. She is an absolutely fantastic writer. 2. She is anything but formulaic. Every single one of her books has been good, but all so different. This writer knows how to drawn emotion from her readers. …Levig challenges you with this book. This story is like a pendulum of emotions, so well crafted that you can’t stop. This is a really fantastic book, you haven’t read anything like this one, I promise.”—The Romantic Reader

  “Jeannie Levig created such a poignant story that drew so many intense emotions out of me. Each of her characters were so realistic with their flaws and unique personalities traits and I felt so close to each of them. …This story surprised me on so many levels because it is one of the few books that I have ever read that threw all of my expectations out of the window. I have cycled between delight, outrage and sorrow throughout this story and I loved every word of this book because it sends several messages and it is so worth the read.”—The Lesbian Review

  A Heart to Call Home

  “Can we please all pause and celebrate the fact that both of these women are in their mid to late 40s? Because there are so few in lesfic and it’s refreshing to see! A Heart to Call Home is beautifully written. It has so much angst and tension that works well alongside the chemistry and pull between Jessie and Dakota. Even though I knew it’s a romance and that they would have a happily ever after, their crisis still brought tears to my eyes.”—The Lesbian Review

  “What a fantastic novel! Jeannie Levig continues to blow me away with her beautiful story telling. Jeannie Levig writes conflict between protagonists better than many authors. You can feel the tension coming off the page that added another element to this wonderful novel.”—Les Reveur

  “Jeannie Levig knows how to develop a character. She weaves her story around her protagonists and draws you right into the amazingness of her stories. I’m never sure where I am going to go, what I’ll read and I can never predict the ending. Levig keeps me guessing throughout the whole book and I love her for it. …Levig definitely doesn’t play by the rule and loves to add a curveball here and there. Levig does it again with bringing you an amazing story that grips you to the last page.”—The Romantic Reader

  “The main characters embark on a soul searching journey which is moving, poignant and sometimes heart-breaking. The reader joins this emotional rollercoaster suffering and enjoying along with the characters. It is one hell of a ride.”—Lez Review Books

  A Wish Upon a Star

  Brought to you by

  eBooks from Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com

  eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

  Please respect the rights of the author and do not file share.

  A Wish Upon a Star

  © 2018 By Jeannie Levig. All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN 13: 978-1-63555-275-1

  This Electronic Book is published by

  Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  P.O. Box 249

  Valley Falls, NY 12185

  First Edition: December 2018

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

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Credits

  Editors: Victoria Villasenor and Cindy Cresap

  Production Design: Susan Ramundo

  Cover Design By Melody Pond

  By the Author

  Threads of the Heart

  Embracing the Dawn

  Into Thin Air

  A Heart to Call Home

  A Wish Upon a Star

  Acknowledgments

  As always, I want to begin by thanking my best friend and First Reader, Jamie Patterson, for being with me through every word I write—and so much more. Thank you for your love, your friendship, your support, your research skills, and your critical eye. You make it all a lot more fun…except maybe in those moments when I’m sick to death of a scene and you say, “But what about…” But then the scene turns out better, so it’s all good. : )

  This book brought me my first experience of working with a beta reader, and a heartfelt thank you goes to Victoria for making it so wonderful and educational. Thank you for all of your input and feedback, and especially for sharing your expertise on autism and helping me give an accurate representation of the challenges and joys of Siena and Erica’s relationship. You are deeply appreciated.

  Thank you always to my family and my spiritual circle for loving me through everything, whether it be another book and the crunch of a deadline or simply a frustrating day. I couldn’t do any of it without you.

  And always, my deepest acknowledgment and gratitude to all the amazing
folks at Bold Strokes Books. To Radclyffe for creating this supportive space in the world where creativity is so richly nurtured and writers are encouraged and assisted in their growth. To Sandy Lowe for always being there with answers, suggestions, and ideas, and for always taking the time to talk them through. In particular, thank you for your guidance on this book. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. To my incredible editors, Victoria Villasenor and Cindy Cresap. Vic, what can I say but “YEAH! I got to stay with you!” Ahem…and thank you for always making my books better and for making it such an enjoyable experience. I love working with you and hope we’ll have many more books to work on together. To Cindy, who…woman, I don’t know how you keep all the stuff in your head that you do. I’m grateful that I can fully trust that when my work has gone through copy edits with you it is squeaky clean. And thank you for all you do as the production manager. And finally, to all of the many behind the scenes people at BSB, from the cover artists to typesetters to proofreaders and more. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

  Now to my readers. My deepest gratitude for buying my books and sharing my stories with me. Knowing you’re out there enjoying these characters makes it all worthwhile. When I hear from you through email or a positive review, it’s so inspiring. Writing is a solitary endeavor, and knowing that there are readers waiting for my next book and excited about my last, makes all the difference in the world. Thank you for taking this journey with me. Always, always, always feel free to drop me a note or stay current on what’s coming next through my website at JeannieLevig.com

  Dedicated to

  Victoria and Stella

  And to all the children and adults with special needs

  who face and overcome the challenges of being different

  and to their parents who love, nurture, and fight for them every day.

  You bring so much light to the world.

  Chapter One

  Leslie Raymond squatted in front of the broken sprinkler head in the backyard of her childhood home. It wasn’t a big job to fix it, but she’d have to get a replacement head. She always kept spares, but anything like that had been sold or given away, along with everything else, when she’d decided to move across the country for a fresh start.

  “Are you going to water that dry grass?”

  Leslie startled at the closeness of the voice. She lost her balance and toppled backward. “Holy sh—cow.” She caught her expletive when she realized it was a little girl standing beside her. She looked about seven, Elijah’s age. Leslie winced. She tried not to think of him, but he was always right there.

  “Cows don’t have holes.” The little girl’s face was expressionless, her gaze fixed on the dry patch. “If they did, their intestines and internal organs would fall out.”

  Leslie blinked. “Uh, yeah.” She rolled onto her side, then rose to her knees. “It’s just a saying. Kind of like…” She thought for a second. “Kind of like, oh my gosh.”

  “My dad says holy shit sometimes. I’m not supposed to say it. Is it like that?”

  There was something about the girl’s voice, or her tone, or her delivery…something…that drew Leslie’s attention. It seemed flat, her words tumbling slightly, almost on top of one another. “Yeah, like that.”

  “Shit is poop and poop can’t have holes either because it’s gooey and smooshes, so that doesn’t make sense either.”

  Leslie chuckled. “No, I don’t suppose it does.”

  “My mom doesn’t like it when I talk about poop. Or wee-wee. Or vomit. Especially at dinner, but that’s when there’s the most to say about it because it’s all food. I think she doesn’t like to talk about vomit because she hates it when she throws up. She doesn’t like diarrhea either, but she really hates throwing up.”

  Leslie glanced over her shoulder. Where’d this child come from? She noticed the open gate between her backyard and the neighbor’s. She remembered her parents putting it in years ago when they’d gotten close to the family living next door at the time and had invited them to use the pool whenever they wanted.

  “Are you?” the girl asked.

  Leslie tensed. What did I miss? These kinds of conversations with Elijah could go anywhere without notice. The combined joy and anguish the memory brought twisted into an ache in her heart. She hardened against it. “Am I what?”

  “Are you going to put water on the dry grass?”

  Leslie followed the girl’s still riveted gaze, then looked down at the sprinkler head in her hand. “Yes,” she said, relieved to be back in the present. She got to her feet. “As soon as I fix the sprinkler.”

  “I like the smell of water on very dry grass,” the girl said matter-of-factly.

  Leslie studied her profile. Her blond hair brushed the tops of her shoulders, and the tip of her small nose turned up ever so slightly, like a tiny ski slope. Leslie waited for her to say something else, but she didn’t. “I’ll tell you what,” she said lightly. “When I get everything working, you can come over the first time I turn it on. Would you like that?”

  The girl pursed her lips, as though thinking, then shook her head. “I don’t like sprinklers. They all go different ways at the same time. I don’t like things that go different ways at the same time. They make me have an episode.”

  An episode? Ah, Leslie was starting to get it. Maybe some form of autism? She’d met a woman in Elijah’s playgroup when he was two, who had an older son “on the spectrum” as she’d called it. Leslie had learned a little about it from her. The boy went into hysterics one day when the fluorescent lighting was flickering. “Oh, well, I can understand that,” Leslie said, considering other options. “How about if we just water it with the hose? Then the water would only be coming out one way.”

  For the first time, the girl turned and looked at Leslie, but her gaze skittered away again in an instant and landed somewhere past her. Her eyes widened. “You have a dog!”

  Leslie turned to the dirty, skinny, scraggly dog sitting perfectly still at the edge of the redwood deck that stretched from the French doors of the family room. She’d picked him up at a rest stop a few days earlier and planned to take him to the animal shelter on Monday.

  His amber eyes were intelligent and inquisitive as he watched them, his one huge ear standing straight up, reminding Leslie of a satellite dish. The other looked as though something had bitten it off halfway down its length. He’d been so quiet throughout her exchange with the little girl, Leslie had forgotten about him. Odd, since last she remembered, he’d been racing around the yard with a sock he’d stolen from her duffel bag, dodging her attempts to get it back. It now sat beside him, apparently having lost its appeal. “He’s not mine. I just found—”

  The little girl moved toward him.

  “Hey, you’d better not…I don’t know if he…” Leslie let her words and concern trail off as the dog lay down and rested his head on his paws at the girl’s approach. He rolled his eyes upward to look at her, his damaged ear twitching.

  “He’s dirty,” she said, her tone entirely without judgment, merely an observation. “You have to wash him so I can pet him. I don’t like touching dirty things. Dirt by itself is okay because dirt is supposed to be dirty. It can’t help it. But things that are supposed to be clean can’t be dirty. I want a dog, but my mom says we don’t have time to take care of one.” She scrunched her face into a serious expression that made Leslie smile, presumably mimicking her mother’s gravity on the subject. “And she doesn’t want dog poop in the backyard, since I’m out there a lot. I told her at least she wouldn’t have to worry about vomit, because dogs eat their own vomit—they’re kinda gross that way, but I still want one. My mom still said no. What’s his name?”

  Leslie was amazed at how much information could spill out of her in one burst. “Uh…I don’t know. I found him. I guess he’ll need a new name when he gets a new home.”

  “I want his name to be Gus,” the girl said.

  “Siena?” A woman’s voice drifted over the fence from t
he yard next door. “Siena, where are you?”

  “Siena?” Leslie asked. “Is that your name?”

  The girl didn’t answer, seemingly mesmerized by the dog.

  “There you are,” a woman said breathlessly as she hurried through the gate. Her mid-length, silver-gray hair shone in the afternoon sunlight in sharp contrast to the dark tint of the sunglasses that hid her eyes. She wore a blue and green flowered sundress that tied at one shoulder, leaving the other bare, and strappy, tan sandals snaked their way around her slender feet and pink painted toes.

  Leslie tried to make herself speak, but her attention kept returning to the blue topaz and white gold teardrop earring that dangled just above the milky white skin where the woman’s neck curved into her shoulder. There was something ethereal about her.

  “Oh!” the woman said in evident surprise when she saw Leslie. She came to an abrupt halt. “May I help you?” She edged her way toward the deck, positioning herself between Leslie and Siena.

  Leslie gave her head a quick shake to focus. “I…uh…I just…” She heard the question again in her mind. “Help me what?”

  “What are you doing back here?” The woman’s words were clipped. “This is private property. You’ll need to leave.”