A warm welcome to author Victoria Sue joining us today to talk about new release “In Safe Hands”, book 2 in the Heroes and Babies series.
Victoria shares an exclusive excerpt and brought a wonderful giveaway for our readers!
Welcome Victoria 🙂

Heroes and Babies

He can’t save everyone…

Firefighter Lucas Attiker is mired in guilt by his inability to save his young son, who perished in a fire three years ago. When he rescues a troubled young man and his baby daughter from a Colorado forest fire, Lucas finally begins to forgive himself. But the wildfire is only the beginning of the dangers facing them.

Hell-bent on saving his daughter from his crime boss ex, Owen Michaels is on the run with the baby in tow—fleeing both the killers who are after him and the US Marshals Service deputies assigned to protect him. When his desperate flight lands them in the midst of an inferno, the man who saves them offers hope for more than just survival.

They might have escaped a blazing forest and a hail of bullets, but both men will need to risk their lives—and their hearts—to give a little girl a loving family… if they can make it out alive.

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“What company?”

Lucas turned at Owen’s alarmed words and passed Mia into his outstretched arms. “The elderly man in the other end cottage died in his sleep last night. He has an old black lab I said I would rehome for him.”

Owen’s worried face devolved into sadness. “Oh, that’s awful. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Lucas forced himself to say the rest. “Jeanie, his wife—they’d been married over forty years—died after a stroke last year. He told me he was just counting the days till he could join her. Coffee?” Lucas turned and gripped the coffeepot. Startled, he felt a hand on his arm.

“You bought more than milk and diapers.”

Lucas nodded, still not trusting himself to speak. He heard the murmur of Helena’s voice and opened the door before she knocked. She was carrying a plastic sack with a few things in it for the dog. Bailey stood at her side.

“Hey, buddy.” Lucas bent down and caught the dog’s head, gently lifting it up. Soulful brown eyes stared back at him. He scratched behind Bailey’s ears gently, and Bailey leaned into his touch.

Helena handed over the bag. “The doc thinks he died shortly after we left yesterday. When we came in this morning, somehow Bailey had climbed on the bed—he’s not that agile, and we’ve never seen him do that before—but he looked like he’d lain there all night.”

“B-bee,” Mia babbled and wriggled to get down.

Helena smiled. “She’s adorable.”

Lucas thanked Helena and closed the door after she left. He would call Drake’s later and see when the funeral was. He turned around and saw Owen looking at Mia with an amused expression.

“What is it?”

“I’ve been trying to get her to say Daddy for what seems like forever, and nothing. She hears a dog’s name once….”

Lucas stiffened. Daddy. It crucified him every time he heard the word. When he looked up, Owen was watching him carefully.

“Look,” Owen said, hoisting Mia higher. She was leaning down, trying her best to get close to the dog. “I can see we’ve outstayed our welcome—”

“Why don’t you go to your parents’ house?”

Owen blanched and took a step back. Lucas immediately understood how that sounded. “Sorry, I was waylaid by the marshals on my way home. They were listing the places they’d searched for you. I didn’t tell them where you were.” He quickly told Owen about the supermarket and seeing Jacko’s family.

Owen relaxed. “And that’s why it’s a bad idea for me to hang around.” He made a tutting noise as Mia redoubled her efforts to get near Bailey. The dog immediately lay down where they stood, and Lucas glanced down.

“Bailey won’t hurt her. When Jeanie was alive, she and Larry used to run the movie screenings on Saturday mornings for the under-fives.” He’d seen that dog walking with a toddler hanging from each ear.

“Okay, then,” Owen said and sat Mia on the floor next to the dog.

“B-bee,” she babbled, and the dog raised his head and looked at her. She shuffled on her bottom to get a little closer to Bailey, and Owen seemed to be steeling himself not to grab her back up. Mia’s little leg came very close to Bailey’s head, and then with a sigh, the lab moved and laid his head on her lap. He didn’t even react to her earsplitting squeal of delight.

“He’s deaf, right?” Owen asked dryly.

Lucas shook his head and tried to clear his throat. Maybe he was coming down with something? “Are you hungry?” That hadn’t been what he was going to say. He tried again when Owen didn’t answer. “Let me visit Jacko later. At least stay until we can find something out.”

Owen met his gaze. “You keep asking me to stay, but I can tell we’re annoying you. I can see it on your face. It’s a big favor to ask, letting a random guy and a baby stay with you.” He paused. “I’m not a victim. I can take care of both of us, and I have money. I just need to get to a bank.”

All his accounts.

Lucas scrubbed a hand over his face. He knew he was sending mixed messages.

Owen bent down to lift Mia.

“Sit down,” Lucas said. “Have coffee with me, and then if you want to go, I’ll see if I can get you a ride or I’ll take you myself.”

Owen still looked suspicious and glanced at Mia, who was murmuring to the dog and playing with his ear. Every time her little hand stilled, Bailey nudged her for more. “I don’t think you like kids, and I understand. I really do—”

“No,” Lucas interrupted, slamming the coffeepot down and making everyone jump. “I like kids fine. I’m just struggling with what she reminds me of.”

“What does she remind you of?” Owen asked, his voice gentler.

Lucas reached into his jeans pocket and yanked out his wallet. In the very back, he pulled out a dog-eared photo and handed it over.

Owen took it and studied the picture of the smiling little boy. “Who is this?”

“My son. Stephen. He was two when that was taken.”

Owen glanced around the empty kitchen, which was obviously devoid of any other pictures.

“My dead son,” Lucas added, forcing the words out. “There was a gas explosion in the hotel he was in with his mom, and it started a fire. It was supposed to look like a fault, but it was arson. We think it was some sort of insurance scam, but since the owner died as well, nothing could be proven.” Lucas looked at Owen, desperate for him to understand. “It’s just that every time I see another child, I’m reminded that I couldn’t save my son.”

Victoria Sue fell in love with love stories as a child when she would hide away with her mom’s library books and dream of the dashing hero coming to rescue her from math homework. She never mastered math but never stopped loving her heroes and decided to give them the happy ever afters they fight so hard for.
She loves reading and writing about gorgeous boys loving each other the best—and creating a family for them to adore. Thrilled to hear from her readers, she can be found most days lurking on Facebook where she doesn’t need factor 1000 sun-cream to hide her freckles.

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Victoria Sue brought a wonderful giveaway with her for our readers!

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