Twelve Across

by Barbara Delinsky

Overview

A delightful puzzle of a romance from the New York Times–bestselling author who “knows the human heart and its immense capacity to love and to believe” (Observer-Reporter, Washington, Pennsylvania).
 
When crossword puzzle creator Leah Gates loses her Manhattan apartment, her friend, Victoria Lesser, offers her a place to stay. Sure, it’s a remote cabin in middle-of-nowhere, New Hampshire, but it’s a lifesaver for Leah. There’s no reason for her to question Victoria’s generosity—until she arrives during a rainstorm to find the small lodge burned down and in ruins. 
 
With nowhere else to turn, Leah makes her way to the closest neighbor, an outdoorsman named Garrick Rodenhiser. Far from being a grizzly, old mountain man, Garrick is extraordinarily handsome—and kind enough to take in a bedraggled stranger for the night. Before long, the two independent, solitary souls find themselves entwined in each other’s lives and . . . not hating it, even when they realize they’re just pawns in one of Victoria’s matchmaking games. Still, there are secrets to be spilled that might bring their cozy confinement to an end—and stop their fresh start in its tracks . . .
 
Praise for Barbara Delinsky
 
“One of today’s quintessential authors of contemporary fiction . . . Delinsky is a joy to read . . . Women’s fiction at its very finest.” —Romantic Times
 
“[An author] of sensitivity and style.” —Publishers Weekly
 
“When you care enough to read the very best, the name of Barbara Delinsky should come immediately to mind . . . One of the few writers . . . who still writes a great love story, Ms. Delinsky is truly an author for all seasons.” —Rave Reviews
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781504084994
Publisher:	Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
Publication date:	09/12/2023
Pages:	249
Sales rank:	105,782
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Barbara Delinsky is the author of more than twenty-three New York Times–bestselling novels including Blueprints and Sweet Salt Air. Her books have been published in thirty languages, with more than thirty-five million copies in print worldwide. A lifelong New Englander, Delinsky currently lives in Massachusetts with her husband. 
 

Hometown:

Newton, Massachusetts

Date of Birth:

August 9, 1945

Place of Birth:

Boston, Massachusetts

Education:

B.A. in Psychology, Tufts University, 1967; M.A. in Sociology, Boston College, 1969

Read an Excerpt

Twelve Across

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By Barbara Delinsky

MIRA

Copyright © 2005 Barbara Delinsky
All right reserved.
ISBN: 0778323854

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Leah Gates made a final fold in the blue foil paper, then studied her creation in dismay. "This does not look like a roadrunner," she whispered to the woman at the table beside her.

Victoria Lesser, who'd been diligently folding a pelican, shifted her attention to her friend's work. "Sure, it does," she whispered back. "It's a roadrunner."

"And I'm a groundhog." Leah raised large, round glasses from the bridge of her nose in the hope that a myopic view would improve the image. It didn't. She dropped the frames back into place.

"It's a roadrunner," Victoria repeated.

"You're squinting."

"It looks like a roadrunner."

"It looks like a conglomeration of pointed paper prongs."

Lifting the fragile item, Victoria turned it from side to side. She had to agree with Leah's assessment, though she was far too tactful to say so. "Did you get the stretched bird base right?"

"I thought so."

"And the book fold and the mountain fold?"

"As far as I know."

"Then there must be some problem with the rabbit-ear fold."

"I think the problem's with me."

"Nuh-uh."

"Then with you," Leah scolded in the same hushed whisper. "It was your idea to take an origami course. How do I let myself get talked into these things?"

"Very easily.You love them as much as I do. Besides, you're a puzzle solver, and what's origami but a puzzle in paper? You've done fine up to now. So today's an off day."

"That's an understatement," Leah muttered.

"Ladies?" came a call from the front of the room. Both Leah and Victoria looked up to find the instructor's reproving stare homing in on them over the heads of the other students. "I believe we're ready to start on the frog base. Are there any final questions on the stretched bird base?"

Leah quickly shook her head, then bit her lip against a moan of despair. The frog base?

Victoria simply sat with a gentle smile on her face. By the time the class had ended, though, the smile had faded. Taking Leah by the arm, she ushered her toward the door. "Come on," she said softly. "Let's get some coffee."

When they were seated in a small coffee shop on Third Avenue, Victoria wasted no time in speaking her mind. "Something's bothering you. Out with it."

Leah set her glasses on the table. They'd fogged up the instant she'd come in from the cold, and long-time experience told her they'd be useless for several minutes. The oversize fuchsia sweater Victoria wore was more than bright enough to be seen by the weakest of eyes, however, and above the sweater was the gentlest of expressions. It was toward these that Leah sent a sheepish look. "My frog base stunk, too, huh?"

"Your mind wasn't on it. Your attention's been elsewhere all night. Where, if I may be so bold as to ask?"

Leah had to laugh at that. In the year she'd known Victoria Lesser, the woman had on occasion been far bolder. But not once had Leah minded. What might have been considered intrusive in others was caring in Victoria. She was compassionate, down-to-earth and insightful, and had such a remarkably positive view of the world that time spent with her was always uplifting.

Continues...

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Excerpted from Twelve Across by Barbara Delinsky Copyright © 2005 by Barbara Delinsky. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

"­Delinsky’s superb character development and story-weaving abilities and still has appeal"
Library Journal on Twelve Across

From the Publisher

A brainy, relationship-wary crossword puzzle creator leaves New York for a remote New Hampshire cabin and connects with a reclusive trapper with an infamous past. While first published as a Harlequin Temptation in 1987 and somewhat dated, this early series romance foreshadows Delinsky's superb character development and story-weaving abilities and still has appeal.

Library Journal