Birthright
From beloved author Nora Roberts comes the #1 New York Times bestseller about shattering loss and shocking discovery—set in a small town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains…

When five-thousand-year-old human bones are found at a construction site in the small town of Woodsboro, the news draws archaeologist Callie Dunbrook out of her sabbatical and into a whirlwind of adventure, danger, and romance.

While overseeing the dig, she must try to make sense of a cloud of death and misfortune that hangs over the project—fueling rumors that the site is cursed. She must cope with the presence of her irritatingbut irresistibleex-husband, Jake. And when a stranger claims to know a secret about her privileged Boston childhood, she must question her own past as well...
1100316977
Birthright
From beloved author Nora Roberts comes the #1 New York Times bestseller about shattering loss and shocking discovery—set in a small town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains…

When five-thousand-year-old human bones are found at a construction site in the small town of Woodsboro, the news draws archaeologist Callie Dunbrook out of her sabbatical and into a whirlwind of adventure, danger, and romance.

While overseeing the dig, she must try to make sense of a cloud of death and misfortune that hangs over the project—fueling rumors that the site is cursed. She must cope with the presence of her irritatingbut irresistibleex-husband, Jake. And when a stranger claims to know a secret about her privileged Boston childhood, she must question her own past as well...
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Birthright

Birthright

by Nora Roberts
Birthright

Birthright

by Nora Roberts

Paperback(Mass Market Paperback - Reprint)

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Overview

From beloved author Nora Roberts comes the #1 New York Times bestseller about shattering loss and shocking discovery—set in a small town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains…

When five-thousand-year-old human bones are found at a construction site in the small town of Woodsboro, the news draws archaeologist Callie Dunbrook out of her sabbatical and into a whirlwind of adventure, danger, and romance.

While overseeing the dig, she must try to make sense of a cloud of death and misfortune that hangs over the project—fueling rumors that the site is cursed. She must cope with the presence of her irritatingbut irresistibleex-husband, Jake. And when a stranger claims to know a secret about her privileged Boston childhood, she must question her own past as well...

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780515137118
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date: 03/30/2004
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 512
Sales rank: 31,576
Product dimensions: 4.18(w) x 6.71(h) x 1.12(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

About The Author
Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels. She is also the author of the bestselling In Death series written under the pen name J. D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.

Hometown:

Keedysville, Maryland

Date of Birth:

1950

Place of Birth:

Silver Spring, Maryland

Read an Excerpt

Prologue

The bright red nose of Rudolph, his very favorite reindeer,

blinked on and off until Douglas’s eyes were dazzled.

He tried to entertain himself by counting the red dots that

swam in front of his eyes, the way the Count counted on

Sesame Street.

One, two, three! Three red dots! Ha ha ha ha ha!

But it made him feel a little bit sick.

The mall was full of noise, the blasts of Christmas music

that added to his impatience, the shouts of other children,

the crying of babies.

He knew all about crying babies now that he had a little

sister. When babies cried you were supposed to pick them

up and walk around with them singing songs, or sit with

them in the rocking chair and pat them on the back till they

burped.

Babies could burp right out loud and nobody made

them say scuze me. Because, dummy, babies couldn’t talk!

But Jessica wasn’t crying now. She was sleeping in the

stroller and looked like a doll baby in her red dress with the

white frilly junk on it.

That’s what Grandma called Jessica. Her little doll

baby. But sometimes Jessie cried and cried and her face

got all red and scrunched up. Nothing would stop her from

crying, not the singing or the walking or the rocking chair.

Douglas didn’t think she looked much like a doll baby

then. She looked mean and mad. When that happened,

Mama got too tired to play with him. She was never too

tired to play with him before Jessica got in her belly.

Sometimes he didn’t like having a little sister who cried

and pooped in her pants and made Mama too tired to play.

But most of the time it was okay. He liked to look at her

and watch the way she kicked her legs. And when she

grabbed his finger, really tight, it made him laugh.

Grandma said he had to protect Jessica because that’s

what big brothers do. He’d worried so much about it that

he’d snuck in to sleep on the floor beside her crib just in

case the monsters who lived in the closet came to eat her in

the nighttime.

2 _ Nora Roberts

But he’d woken in his own bed in the morning, so

maybe he’d only dreamed he’d gone in to protect her.

They shuffled up in line, and Douglas glanced, a bit uneasily,

at the smiling elves who danced around Santa’s

workshop. They looked a little bit mean and mad—like

Jessica when she was crying really loud.

If Jessica didn’t wake up, she wasn’t going to get to sit

on Santa’s lap. It was stupid for Jessie to be all dressed up

to sit on Santa’s lap, because she couldn’t say scuze me

when she burped, and she couldn’t tell Santa what she

wanted for Christmas.

But he could. He was three and a half years old. He was

a big boy now. Everyone said so.

Mama crouched down and spoke to him softly. When

she asked if he had to pee, he shook his head. She had that

tired look on her face and he was afraid if they went to the

bathroom they’d never get back in line and see Santa.

She gave his hand a squeeze, smiled at him and promised

it wouldn’t be much longer.

He wanted a Hot Wheels, and a G.I. Joe, and a Fisher-

Price garage, and some Matchbox cars and a big yellow

bulldozer like the one his friend Mitch got for his birthday.

Jessica was too young to play with real toys. She just

got girl stuff like funny dresses and stuffed animals. Girls

were pretty dopey, but baby girls were even more dopey.

But he was going to tell Santa about Jessica, so he

wouldn’t forget to bring stuff for her when he came down

the chimney at their house.

Mama was talking to someone, but he didn’t listen. The

grown-up talk didn’t interest him. Especially when the line

moved, people shifted, and he saw Santa.

He was big. It seemed to Douglas, on the first ripple of

fear, that Santa wasn’t so big in the cartoons or in the pictures

in the storybooks.

He was sitting on his throne in front of his workshop.

There were lots of elves and reindeer and snowmen.

Everything was moving—heads and arms. Big, big smiles.

Santa’s beard was very long. You could hardly see his

BIRTHRIGHT _ 3

face. And when he let out a big, booming ho ho ho, the

sound of it squeezed Douglas’s bladder like mean fingers.

Lights flashed, a baby wailed, elves grinned.

He was a big boy now, a big boy now. He wasn’t afraid

of Santa Claus.

Mama tugged his hand, told him to go ahead. Go sit on

Santa’s lap. She was smiling, too.

He took a step forward, then another, on legs that began

to shake. And Santa hoisted him up.

Merry Christmas! Have you been a good boy?

Terror struck Douglas’s heart like a hatchet. The elves

were closing in, Rudolph’s red nose blinked. The snowman

turned his wide, round head and leered.

The big man in the red suit held him tight and stared at

him with tiny, tiny eyes.

Screaming, struggling, Douglas tumbled out of Santa’s

lap, hit the platform hard. And wet his pants.

People moved in, voices streamed above him so all he

could do was curl up and wail.

Then Mama was there, pulling him close, telling him it

was all right. Fussing over him because he’d hit his nose

and made it bleed.

She kissed him, stroked him and didn’t scold him for

wetting his pants. His breath was still coming in hard little

gasps as he burrowed into her.

She gave him a big hug, lifted him up so he could press

his face to her shoulder.

Still murmuring to him, she turned.

And began to scream. And began to run.

Clinging to her, Douglas looked down. And saw Jessica’s

stroller was empty.

Interviews

Roberts Hits Paydirt
In the spring of 2003, Heart to Heart took the opportunity to speak with Nora Roberts about Birthright.

Heart to Heart: What was the inspiration behind Birthright?

Nora Roberts: I think you should always write what you enjoy, and I enjoy relationships and puzzles. I like figuring out what draws people together -- romantically, in friendships, in familial relationships -- or what pulls them apart. For the characters in Birthright the puzzle pushes them to work together, to learn not only what endangers them but about each other and themselves. And making the story's heroine an archaeologist -- someone who'd be digging into the distant past while uncovering her own dangerous personal history -- seemed too good to miss.

HtoH: What do you think Callie and Jake's previous relationship adds to this story?

NR: Birthright plays on the past on several levels. Callie and Jake have the choice of building on their history, or allowing past mistakes to bog down any chance of a future together. I liked bringing these two people together who'd had passion, who'd loved each other, but who hadn't worked hard enough -- or understood how to work hard enough -- to make their marriage solid the first time around. This time, Callie and Jake dig into themselves to add understanding, compromise, patience, and open communication to their passion and love.

HtoH: Why did you explore the stolen child/illegal adoption story line from so many points of view?

NR: I think history is one of the essential elements that cements family. The connection that's stronger than blood is the heart, not the genes. In Birthright, I wanted to explore a heartbreaking and horrible trauma where the people most involved are innocent of wrongdoing. For me, there's nothing more painful and wrenching than the loss of a child -- and nothing more joyful than finding one. I wanted to address the perspective of everyone connected -- most especially the child herself as an adult.

HtoH: What made you decide to use the issue of disputes over development of open space in Birthright?

NR: Development is one of the ways archaeological sites like this are discovered, and I felt that exploring small-town conflicts, politics, and economics contributed something essential to the story I wanted to tell here. The character of a place is, generally, what draws people to it. Change happens, but too much change, too quickly can alter forever the quality of life the people have come to expect. Certainly the history of Woodsboro in this story -- going back to Neolithic times due to the dig -- was as vital a character as Callie.

HtoH: Can you tell us anything about your next book for the Penguin Group?

NR: In the fall of 2004, Penguin will publish Remember When. Part One will be a contemporary romantic suspense, written under my name. Part Two will leap into the future I write about as J. D. Robb, where Eve Dallas will investigate a case that connects to Part One. I hope people will find it as interesting to read as I found it to write.

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