The wail of the siren only intensifies my anxiety. I’m holding him in my arms pressing a dish towel on his wound attempting to control the bleeding. “Shhhhh, we’re getting you help,” I whisper in his ear and kiss his head. The police car makes a sharp right turn, and we are jostled in the back seat. He whimpers in pain from the sudden movement, and I try to console him again. I stroke his hair gently, “Everything is going to be okay.” But will it? How is any of this going to be okay?
“I’ll need your account of what happened once we get him inside,” the officer says from the front seat. “We’re almost there.” I can see the hospital in the distance. The blood is seeping through the towel and puddling in my palm. I have to look away to gather my thoughts.
The officer pulls into the parking lot and before I’m even aware of what’s happening, arms are lifting him out of my lap onto a gurney. “We’ll take it from here ma’am,” someone says. I look down at my lap. All that remains is a blood-soaked dish towel, worry and confusion.
Five Weeks Earlier (Monday, Week 1 – November in Philadelphia)
I’m just about to hang up my apron and clock out when the bell above the café door jingles. I look up to see three handsome young guys walk in and sit down in my section. Okay, I guess I can stay for one more table…
I re-tie my apron and approach their booth. “Hey guys. You’re the last lucky customers of my shift today so let’s make it matter.”
The one with dark wavy hair and deep brown eyes raises an eyebrow and tilts his head. “Make it matter?”
“Yeah,” I say with confident authority, shifting my weight onto one hip. “Easy order, quick turn-around, good tip. You do your part, I’ll do mine. So, what can I getcha?”
Dark-hair smirks. “Okay, I’ll have the supreme western omelet with a side of bacon and a double shot of espresso.”
“That sounds good,” says the sandy-blonde guy across from him.
“Make it three,” mutters the third guy, who’s wearing a skull cap and sunglasses indoors like he’s trying not to be recognized.
I tuck my pad and pencil back into my apron and brush a strand of hair behind my ear. “Okay, so scrambled eggs and black coffee all around.”
The dark-haired guy looks up at me with a mischievous grin. “Um, the good tip part of this arrangement might not be headed in the right direction.” His tone is playful and a little fresh.
I smile back meeting his flirtation with my eyes and then up the ante. “Well neither is the easy order, quick turn-around part I mentioned. I’ve already cleaned the espresso machine and we’re two minutes away from switching to the lunch menu, so I’ll be right back with your coffee.” As I turn to leave, I do this sassy little hair flip thing and immediately feel ridiculous. What am I doing?
Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win a print copy of SIX WEEKS + TWELVE WEEKS. One entry per person. U.S. residents only, please. The giveaway ends July 28, 2026. Good luck everyone!
SIX WEEKS OF LOVE & LARCENY
Series: A Secrets Trilogy, Book 1
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release: November 2025
Format: Print, Digital
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org
Six weeks. Two sisters. One very bad idea.
Nikki Taylor’s college life in Philly is already a high-stakes balancing act—juggling classes, two jobs, and an empty bank account. She doesn’t have time for games. But when a cocky, dark-eyed customer leaves his phone number instead of a tip, she answers the challenge—and steps straight into the arms of Chris Sheppard, a charming Temple student with secrets of his own.
Meanwhile, her older sister Lauren is holding it all together. Barely. A lifestyle columnist at The Philadelphia Inquirer, Lauren prefers to keep things professional, predictable, and strictly in control. That is, until her new intern uncovers a potential scandal: date rape drugs and a citywide drug ring creeping onto college campuses.
As Nikki’s romance intensifies and Lauren’s investigation deepens, the sisters’ stories converge in unexpected—and dangerous—ways. Because love might be blind, but someone is watching. And what began as flirtation and first dates is spiraling into something much different.
Twelve Weeks of Love & Loss, coming July 28, is a pulse-pounding story of obsession, deception, and survival — set against the backdrop of a love story that never quite let go. Nikki’s fight isn’t just to escape. It’s to find her way back to herself.
Meet the author
Rebecca Gould Baeurle has spent a lifetime helping others chase their missions — now she’s chasing one of her own. After a successful career in the nonprofit world spanning education, healthcare, disability inclusion and community-building, she’s traded grant proposal for plot twists with The Secrets Trilogy.
Rebecca lives just outside of Philadelphia (close enough to cheer loudly for the Eagles) and is known to disappear to the Delaware beaches with a good book and an even better cocktail. She’s been married to her college sweetheart, Mike, for 36 years, has two grown children who still keep her on her toes and yes… she really does have a sister she adores.