Lynn Thompson's Blog, page 35

Introducing–>> Dawn Marie Hamilton

As this weeks Featured Author

Dawn Marie Hamilton dares you to dream. She is a 2013 RWA® Golden Heart® Finalist who pens Scottish-inspired fantasy and paranormal romance. Some of her tales are rife with mischief-making faeries, brownies, and other fae creatures. More tormented souls—shape shif…

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Sterling-A Montana Dayton Novel Chapt.6

“Gotcha,” Jamie snapped, yanking the kid out of the bushes by her house. “I saw you yesterday hanging around and now today. What are you doing on my property?”

The filthy kid didn’t comment as Jamie hauled her into the shop. The only reason Jamie could tell she was a female was because of her perky body.

Jamie showed her to the bathroom.

“Clean up while I put the closed sign out and lock the door.”

As much as Jamie wanted to hope this kid was the one who stole the pendant, Jamie’s gut told her she hadn’t.

The kid would have pawned it by now and holed up in a motel, unless the kid wanted cash for its safe return, but Jamie didn’t think so. Maybe she would get lucky and the kid had been hanging around when it was stolen, and be able to give her information on the burglar.

The first thing she needed to do was get the kid to talk. The best way to accomplish that would be filling up her stomach and giving her a bed to sleep in.

She walked back to the bathroom where the kid was sitting on the toilet timid as a mouse.

“Come on.” Jamie said. “I’m starving let’s get something to eat.”

The kid followed Jamie into the kitchen and sat down in a chair while Jamie poked her head into the refrigerator.

“What do you want? I have water, coke, OJ.” She glanced at the kid. “I also have coffee and tea.”

She didn’t move or take her eyes off Jamie, so Jamie reached into the fridge and pulled out a coke. She sat it down in front of the kid, started some coffee for herself then took out the makings for some sandwiches. Once the sandwiches were made she sat down across from the kid and ate.

“Can you talk?” Jamie asked while she silently examined her.

The kid had shoulder length dirty blond hair or blond hair, she couldn’t tell at the moment because her hair hadn’t been washed lately. She was way too thin in her torn up baggy jeans and dirty yellow tee shirt. Her clothes and tennis shoes definitely needed to be deposited in the nearest trash can.

She appeared to be in her teenage years, somewhere between 13 and 16, it was hard to tell. The kid really needed a shower.

The only thing that stood out on her was her deep blue sapphire eyes. For as grungy as she was her eyes were clear and focused.

The kid nodded yes, but still didn’t say anything.

“Okay.” Jamie said taking the empty plates to the sink. “I’ve got some clothes in my shop I’ll give you, but only if you take a shower and give me your old clothes.”

The kid nodded yes again and followed Jamie into her shop.

“I hope you don’t mind a skirt.” Jamie said, picking one that should fit the kid along with a tunic.

“You can find some sandals when you come back down. If you’re here long enough I’ll take you shopping.”

She showed the kid where the shower was, made sure the shower was running, went back downstairs, and called Max.

“Max, this is Jamie.”

“Jamie, what can I do for you?”

“There was a kid hanging around my place yesterday after you left, and again today. She’s upstairs taking a shower now; she could be a potential witness.”

“Has she said anything to you? Do you have a name?”

She sighed. “No, she hasn’t said a word. I thought you might want to come by and talk to her.”

“I would, but not yet. See if you can get her to talk to you, or at least get me her name and I’ll run a background check before I come over. I don’t want her to feel intimidated and run.”

He also didn’t want to stop at this point; it would make him late for his date with Montana. He knew she wouldn’t care, but he did.

“I’ll do my best. Thanks Max.”

Jamie disconnected the call before heading back up the stairs to make sure the extra bedroom was made up for the kid.

“Hello.”

“I’m in here.” Jamie replied. The kid did have a voice.

When the kid–teenager, stepped into the bedroom Jamie was speechless. The teen had to be at least 16 years old. She had sleek, golden blond, shoulder length hair that made her eyes look even bluer, if that was possible. She was still too skinny, but she would grow up to be a beautiful young lady.

“Come sit on the bed.” Jamie patted the space beside her.

“You don’t have to do this.” The teen whispered softly, sitting next to Jamie. “I didn’t mean to bother you; I was just drawn to this place for some reason.”

“You’re no bother. What is your name?”

“Samantha. Samantha Sungold. I’m still trying to decide if I want to be called Sam, Sun or Gold.”

“What did your parents call you?”

Samantha’s eyes grew hard. “I don’t have any parents.” She bit out.

Jamie flinched, but stayed calm from the retort and kept her voice even. “I overstepped my boundaries. My name is Jamie.”

She would have to tread lightly where Samantha was concerned. “Why don’t I call you Sam for now? You can let me know if you change your mind and want to be called something else. Okay?”

“Okay, but Iprobably won’t be staying long. You know, people to meet, places to go.”

“Well while you’re here you can stay in this room.”

Samantha stood up and inspected the room. She opened the closet door, pulled out all the drawers in the dresser, checked under the bed, and turned on all the light switches while Jamie sat there watching.

“Does it meet your approval?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Is the guest bathroom mine too?”

“It’s yours to use if you would like.”

“I guess I could stay for the night.”

“It’s a deal.” Jamie held out her hand for a handshake.

Sam took her hand and shook it.

“I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”

Jamie quickly shot a text to Max with Samantha’s name on her cell phone as she wandered back downstairs, hopefully he would get a hit on it and be able to give her some information about the girl.

She thought about Samantha upstairs, she didn’t think the girl would steal anything, and she was kind of hoping Sam would stick around for a while. She sensed that Sam was a kindred spirit, even if Sam didn’t know it yet.

Jamie was busy making chocolate chip cookies when Sam decided to join her. She opened the fridge, pulling out a coke before sitting on the counter top and sticking her finger in the cookie dough.

“I hope you’ve washed your hands?” Jamie stated as she started scooping the dough into balls.

“I have. Mm… This is really good.”

“Thank you.”

Jamie wasn’t sure what to say to Sam and didn’t want to offend her again, so she kept her mouth shut and worked on the cookies in hopes that Sam would start a conversation. Jamie stuck the cookie dough in the fridge, poured a cup of coffee, and sat down at the table with Sam following behind her.

She could feel Sam sizing her up as they sat in silence.

“Can I check out your book selection?” Sam asked.

“Go ahead. I’ll put the cookies in the oven.”

Sterling-A Montana Dayton Novel Chapt.5

 

I rolled my Harley into some bushes on the other side of the highway where Max and I found the alcove, stripped, and put on my wet suit.

I’d taken a crash course in scuba diving when I arrived in Florida and swam in the ocean every opportunity I could. Now I was glad I had.

The night was dark and so was the ocean. The stars were out. I knew the moon would be coming over the horizon soon, but still I was a bit spooked. The road was deathly quiet, like I’d stepped into a parallel plane or something.

I searched for any on coming vehicles on the normally busy highway, but didn’t see any. Letting down my barriers I hoped I would sense something, nothing happened. I didn’t pick up any danger, or people in the immediate area.

It could be the pain killer messing with me, I thought. I hated pills, but I didn’t want to be in a ton of pain in the middle of the ocean. I didn’t turn on my flashlight until I crossed the street, walked down the sand dunes, and put on my tank.

Adrenaline rushed through my body as I waded into the water, past the sand bar, and dove into the deep. I had no clue what I was looking for, but if my scars hurt this much in this area then there was something out here.

I knew I had about an hour worth of air in my twin tanks before I needed to rise to the surface. Unfortunately, I forgot my water proof watch. So, not only did I have to keep an eye on my tanks, I also had to keep an eye out for big, territorial, aggressive Bull sharks.

I read on several web sites that sharks mostly feed at night and they mainly stay on the other side of the sand bar, in the deep, where I was swimming now.

I slowly swung my flashlight from right to left. There on my left were several Bull sharks feeding on a bunch of fish. They seemed to be swimming around in circles. My heart almost stopped.

I love sharks. I love reading about sharks and watching them on TV. I would even love to swim with the sharks, as long as I was protected in a cage. This was too close for comfort. My eyes stayed glued on them as I veered to the right, steering clear of where they were feeding. Hopefully the school of fish wouldn’t swim towards me.

I felt better when I couldn’t see the sharks anymore and dove deeper. I kept searching for… hell whatever decided to jump out at me, but didn’t find anything, so I rose to the surface and swam back to the beach. I figured if something wanted to be found down there I would have found it.

Okay, I told myself, this wasn’t a total waste of the night. I would just have to come back and try again. There had to be some reason my scars were reacting to this part of the beach and I would find out what it was. I had to if I wanted to make Florida part of my home.

I trekked back up the sand dunes, over the deserted highway, which still felt strange to me, changed into my clothes and headed home. What I really needed right now was 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I would start fresh in the morning.

Sterling-A Montana Dayton Novel Chapt.4:2

It was almost 6:00 and there had been no burglary stories on the news except for random car jackings. There’d been nothing in the papers either. Max was due to pick me up any time now and I hadn’t even thought to fluff myself up. I glanced down at my holey jeans and spaghetti strap shirt; maybe I could talk him into delivery. I wasn’t in the mood to go out tonight.

This was the one of the problems I had with dating, I thought to myself as I turned off the TV and got comfortable in the chair on the back porch. I was too selfish to date. I’d probably been single for far too long. I liked to do what I wanted when I wanted, and tonight I wanted to concentrate on where the jewelry came from.

I’d been debating on calling Max and canceling when I felt him drive up, literally, the air vibrated around me, it sounded like he was on a Harley. Like I’ve said before, my kind of guy.

I didn’t bother opening the door for him this time. I kicked my feet up and let him come to me.

Max stepped out onto the back porch, pulled over a chair next to me and kicked up his feet next to mine. He looked tired, but still great in just jeans and black T-shirt, with his hair pulled back.

It felt so natural to watch him, almost like we had been together forever. His steel gray eyes scanned the ocean. I shook the strange feeling off and glanced at the waves breaking onto the beach.

“So what are you riding tonight?”

He smiled. “A 2011 Cross Bones Softail, Denim black, duel exhaust.” He looked at me with a wolfish grin on his face. “I felt the need to splurge, the weathers nice down here. Besides I can load it into my truck when I head back up to the mountains. Care to go for a ride?”

Yeah, I really wanted to go for a ride.

“When are you heading back up into the mountains?”

He shrugged. “Do you need to go change?”

“I don’t know. Do I?”

“Only if you don’t want to show off your scars.”

I laughed, “My war wounds. I’m good with them.”

“Great. Let’s get out of here.”

“I wouldn’t be able to talk you into delivery tonight would I?”

“Not on your life, but we’re not going far.”

We arrived at the Crab Shack a few minutes later.

The Crab Shack was a neat little two story restaurant/bar. The bottom story was the actual restaurant. I haven’t been in there yet. The top story was an open bar.

We took the stairs to the bar, which reminded me of a deck with a roof and no windows. The bartender had her own little nook in the back right hand side of the deck with barstools surrounding her.

The remainder of the floor was covered with tall tables and chairs, so the ocean was visible from where you sat. The shutters were open. I could immediately feel the cool breeze from the water blowing in.

We wound our way to the nearest empty table. I was surprised we actually found one because the upstairs area was always packed.

After some rearranging and giving up our empty chairs to people that needed them we were finally able to sit down.

If you wanted to work up here you had to be skinny as a rail, we were all packed in like sardines. It was worth it, this place served fabulous food. We ordered the Cajun shrimp and sweet potato fries, with some tea. We sat in silence the whole meal, enjoying the night, the view of the white beaches, and the clear blue ocean. I was really starting to love Florida in the spring.

I sat, gazing out on the horizon lost in my own thoughts, seriously considering buying the house I was staying in when Max folded his hand over mine and pointed towards the stairs. He left money on the table and we slid through the crowd headed toward the exit. Once we were out of the mayhem we hopped on his Harley and rode up the coast until we found a deserted alcove off the ocean.

“Race you down to the ocean.” Max grinned, climbing off the bike.

“You’re on.” I set down my helmet and took off running. What can I say; he has longer legs than I do and caught up to me in no time.

We’d just made it to the water line when I stopped short. My scars flared up and were on fire, it felt like they’d grown two times their regular size.

Max picked me up and twirled me around. I gritted my teeth. His arms wrapped tight around me made the pain sear through my left side. He set me down and gave me a deep, fierce kiss before letting me go.

I rearranged my jacket, happy it was covering my scars, while frowning up at him, at the same time trying not to whimper. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep this secret from him.

“I know, no invasion of space.” He smiled. “I’m happy to have you back. I really missed you.”

I smiled back at him with gritted teeth, I missed him too.

“Let’s go for a walk.”

I had to get away from this area before I got lock jaw. I felt like I was going to be sick from the pain ripping through my side and arm. I couldn’t be sick around him.

I wasn’t ready to explain what was going on, even though a small part of me wanted to tell Max so he could contact the Doc for me. Oh how I wished the Doc left me a way to get in touch with him so I wouldn’t have to go through Max.

He took my hand and we started walking up the beach.

“You haven’t asked me about the job I have down here.”

I laughed. “That’s because it’s probably classified.”

I could be a great actress if I absolutely had to. The pain wasn’t even starting to subside as we walked.

“It probably is, but I would tell you if you wanted to know.”

I stopped and glanced at him. “If it doesn’t involve me then I don’t want to know.”

He gently glided his thumb down my cheek and held my gaze with his.

“I want it to involve you. I want us to be partners. You have a wonderful gift Montana. I would like you to work with me.” He frowned. “I know you haven’t been working lately. This would give you something good to do again. I know how much you like helping others.”

I sighed and started walking again.

“I’ll have to think about it Max.”

“What’s to think about? We would make an excellent team.”

“That’s not how you felt last winter.”

He linked his arms around me, drawing me close, and whispered in my ear.

“I’ve had a lot of time to put things into perspective. Had I teamed up with you last winter things might have turned out better. I care for you Montana. I want you by my side.”

“I need to think on it Max. Take me home please.”

I knew he was right; we would make an excellent team. I also knew it would be fun to work with him, but right now I couldn’t think, my scars were so painful it was fogging up my mind.

We climbed back up to the Harley without saying another word and arrived back at my house shortly after. I gave him a light kiss on the lips, he promised to stop by sometime the next evening.

The wind in my face helped clear my head, but I booked it upstairs and threw up anyway. Once I was done I found a pain killer, applied some salve, and sat down on the back porch for a smoke.

Either he was cursed or I was. It had to be him though because I hadn’t had this many problems with my scars when he wasn’t around, and I hadn’t been stealing.

I watched the sun disappear behind the horizon while scratching Killers ears. I knew what I had to do. I wasn’t looking forward to it. I lit another smoke and patiently waited until the pain killer kicked in.

“I’m going to leave you outside for the night Killer just in case I’m not back in a few hours.”

I gave him a hug and refilled his bowl with dog food before grabbing my scuba gear, helmet, and jacket.

Moving to a new blog

I tried to move wordpress a few month ago to my website www.lynnthompsonbooks.com and confused myself silly. Sometimes I have a tendency to make tasks harder than they actually are, but I’m getting better. So I decided to try again! Godaddy was very helpful in getting the initial set up done, I love them. (It didn’t take the first time.)

I like wordpress, but I want to do more on my blog than wordpress.com will allow me to do. Now I’m working with wordpress.org on my new blog.

Moving WordPress files was a tad more difficult. I turned my files into the html codes like I was instructed, but they wouldn’t transfer over to my new blog, and I didn’t want to pay 129.00 for someone at wordpress to transfer everything over for me. What I ended up doing was a separate download html file for my posts only (hoping to do the same for my pages.) That worked. I was able to get all of my posts transferred over. Pages it didn’t work for, so I ended up copying and pasting those over. Not to difficult and Lynn’s Corner is up and ready to go.

Anyway my new bolg is now @ blog.lynnthompsonbooks.com

Happy blogging.

This site will be up for a while until I make sure I have everything on my new site.

Sterling-A Montana Dayton Novel Chapt.4

“Okay Killer, okay. I’ll get up as soon as you get off me, stop breathing in my face.” I mumbled as I tried to push the dog off my chest. He was heavy and his breath stank.

“If I decide to buy this place you’re getting a dog door and mouthwash too. Come to think of it I should get something for your breath today. Yuk.”

I pushed Killer harder until he jumped over me, off the bed, ready to go outside. I rolled over, picked up my robe and grabbed the salve out of my dresser drawer. My scars were burning with a vengeance this morning.

“What is the deal with my scars lately Killer?” I said, wandering down the stairs with him, taking a slight detour to the automatic coffee maker before letting him out. As we stepped outside I took a sip of coffee, choked and almost spit it out.

“I’ll be right back Killer.” I stumbled back into the kitchen to look at the clock; it was already 11:00, no wonder my coffee tasted like tar. I added extra creamer to try to tone it down a bit then went back outside to join Killer.

After putting some salve on my scars I lit a smoke. I was exhausted and I couldn’t figure out why; I went to bed at a decent hour last night. I shook my head, held my breath, and drank down the cup of tar. That should help, I thought.

“This is ridiculous, maybe I’ll pick up some vitamins when I get you mouthwash.” I mumbled more to myself than Killer.

Seeing a little clearer I called him and we headed back inside to start a new pot of coffee before I showered.

As I started the coffee I caught a reflection of myself off the door of the microwave. I stared at it for a minute before grabbing at my throat. My hands started shaking as I took the pendant and a pearl necklace off of my neck. I quickly dropped them into my robe pocket as I walked to the front door.

Max was pulling up outside, somehow his energy had penetrated my barriers, because I could sense him and he hadn’t even stopped the truck yet. I was sure this was a good thing right now. I would know when he was here and would be able to hide the stolen jewelry, instead of getting busted with it.

I yanked open the front door, waved him in, demanded my hands to stop shaking, and poured two cups of coffee by the time he stepped into the kitchen.

This was all I needed. I was a thief, who couldn’t even remember stealing anything, and I didn’t have time to contemplate that fact because Max was here.

The jewelry weighed heavily in my pocket when I shifted. I smoothed out my robe, making sure I didn’t have a big bulge showing from the necklaces.

I handed Max a cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. He sat down across from me but didn’t say anything. I was still trying to steady my nerves and was afraid my voice would crack giving me away, so I waited patiently for him to start the conversation.

“What are your plans now that your family has left?” Max asked.

“I’m going to stay here for a while.”

At least until I figured out what the hell was going on and hopefully returned the necklaces to their rightful owner or owners.

I pictured myself sneaking back into a house to put them back and almost cringed. I didn’t even want to think about breaking into a business to return the goods!

“Good.” Max grinned wide, temporarily jarring me out of my thoughts.

This didn’t sound good to me.

He leaned in closer to me. “I’ve picked up a job in town, so I’ll be here for a while.”

“Is that so?” I replied, sitting up straighter in my chair. Great, this was just what I needed.

Okay this was the second time I’d thought that in less than a half an hour, it couldn’t be a good sign, but on the bright side he wouldn’t be constantly under foot.

“Yes.” He sat back, “I’m hoping the job won’t take longer than a week.” He glanced at his watch. “I have to get going, but I would like to take you out to dinner tonight.”

He stood up. “I would really like to do this the right way this time around Montana. Get to know you better, instead of invading your space. Take you out on a few dates.” He raised his eyebrows at me, waiting for an answer.

I was a cat burglar and he wanted to date me?

Of course he didn’t know that yet, but I was sure he would find out soon.

“Okay Max. No invading my space, and I don’t need your protection from anything. We’ll see how it works out.” I watched the satisfaction flitter across his face before he concealed it.

“I’ll pick you up at 6:00.” Max said, turning to leave.

As soon as he closed the door behind him I ran upstairs to my bedroom, locking the door behind me. I wasn’t sure what I was thinking saying yes to Max, but I couldn’t think about it right now. I had to figure out what I was doing with this jewelry.

It dawned on me when I stepped out of the shower that my scars weren’t burning anymore, so I quickly got dressed and opened my laptop. The first thing to do was check the news and see if anyone had reported these necklaces stolen.

I searched the web for what seemed like hours not finding anything about stolen necklaces in town or around the surrounding areas. I closed the laptop then picked up the jewelry, thoroughly examining it.

The diamonds and ruby sparkled and heated up in my palm. I quickly dropped it on the bed. The pearls had to be real I thought as I bit into one of them, definitely not plastic. I picked up the pendant by the chain and stashed both of them in one of my drawers.

They looked very expensive, maybe I burglarized a store. I tried to imagine myself as a cat burglar, I couldn’t see it.

I applied a touch of makeup then grabbed my helmet and jacket. It was time to go gather up some actual newspapers. I would read those and watch the 5:00 news. Maybe I would find something that could explain this.

On my way out the door I wondered if there was some way I could blame this on Max, every time I saw him weird things happened.

Sterling-A Montana Dayton Novel Chapt.3

 

Jamie was mad enough she could spit and she would if it wasn’t so unladylike. She paced back and forth through her store while waiting for the independent contractor to show. Max Grey, she’d gotten his number from the Doc, who said he’d be able to hunt down anything, and he was trustworthy.

She’d decide on the trust part when he got here. She glanced at the clock again, still to early for his arrival.

She’d decided to stay closed today due to the break in last night, even though only one thing had been stolen and there weren’t any clues to who stole it. How the burglar got in she had no idea. She always kept a protection spell around her store, and it always worked, until last night.

How the hell did the burglar know the pendant was kept in the safe behind the wall?

The safe had a security code, along with an extra protection spell. She was the only person who knew where the safe was hidden, the security code, and how to disable the spell; at least she used to be. She thought for a minute, unconsciously rubbing the tattoo on the back of her neck.

No, no way Sterling escaped his imprisonment, her tattoo would be warm to hot if he had. That meant someone else took it.

She still couldn’t believe anyone else would know what the pendant was for or how to use it. The only people that carried that secret were her and her family, and her family passed away to a better place long ago. No one else had an inkling the pendant even existed.

“Finally,” Jamie mumbled under her breath, moving to unlock and open the door for Max.

The Doc described him perfectly, except his black hair was a little longer than she pictured it and pulled back; his eyes seemed more of a silver gray than the steel gray described to her.

Jamie checked Max out as he walked through the door; she couldn’t help noticing he was extremely well built, and taken. She closed and locked the door behind him. Too bad, she thought. She wouldn’t have minded dating him, but he had this “I’ve got a woman” vibe surrounding him.

She shook her head. What was she thinking, she didn’t have time for that nonsense, at least not as long as the pendant was missing.

“Max.” She said, showing him through a back door off the shop into the kitchen.

Jamie had bought her two story house hoping to fill it with a man and babies, but soon realized there were more important things to do with her life, so she had the huge living room converted into a Wiccan Store.

She filled the store with herbs and potions, perfumes and Wicca jewelry, gypsy skirts and magical tunics, tarot cards and lace up sandals, candles, incense and books, along with crystals, and other items. Her shop did very well. But now her biological clock was ticking.

The kitchen sat in the back of the shop and she lived upstairs. The house fit her perfect, and she’d still be able to have a family, if she ever found a guy.

Max sat down at the kitchen table, watching her pour a cup of coffee for him.

Jamie Raven stood at about 5’6,” curvaceous, with long jet black hair and jade green eyes. She moved with purpose and held a dark secret. That was all the information he could get from reading her.

Normally he’d get a better idea of what a person was like at their first meeting, but not with her, she kept everything closed up tight inside her.

“Thank you.” Max said as she set the coffee down in front of him and sat down across from him.

She blatantly stared him in the eyes for five minutes before speaking, “I can trust you.”

“Yes, you can.” He replied, happy she broke the eye contact. He’d been felling a bit invaded from her stare.

“Come with me.” Jamie said, standing up.

Max followed her up the stairs, past a bathroom and an office, into her bedroom. They entered her walk in closet where she pushed her clothes aside, mumbled something under her breath, and then slid open a hidden door.

“Take my hand.” She pulled him through the door. “It’s dark up here, but it will get lighter soon.”

She confidently wound her way through the walls of her house until they stepped into a low lighted room. Letting go of Max’s hand she moved to the safe that still stood wide open.

“It was in here.” She said pointing.

Max stepped closer to the safe, examining it without touching anything. The safe was superior, very few people would have the knowledge to break into it.

“Tell me exactly what was in the safe.”

“I’ll show you.” She turned her back to him, lifting her hair. On the base of her neck was a tattoo of the pendant. The sun portrayed a ruby circle with a pentagram in it, and the suns flames portrayed the diamonds, which were colored in white with a black outline surrounding them.

“The sun is an actual ruby, the flames are real diamonds. I’m the only one that can see the pentagram inside the ruby.” Besides Sterling, she thought.

Max examined the tattoo for a moment. “Do you have a picture of the pendant?”

“No, it’s not allowed. It’s on a gold chain that’s unbreakable, if that helps.”

“It does.” Max said, walking around the small space. “Where are we?”

“Right behind my shop.”

“Is there any other way in here?”

“No. I can’t imagine how anyone could have gotten past me and down here.” Jamie grumbled in frustration.

“I need a flashlight. I would like to check the walls between your bedroom and this room.”

“I’ll go get you one, but you’re not going to find anything.” She headed back upstairs.

Max didn’t think he would find anything either but proceeded to go over the walls in the little room anyway, looking for any kind of secret passage or loose boards. He already knew no one could get in behind the safe. He also knew he wasn’t going to get anymore information from Jamie about the pendant. Maybe in time she would open up to him, but as of now he had to find it himself, and he had nothing to go on.

Before Max left Jamie he checked her windows, doors, locks, and the area around her property.

Most of her property was covered in grass with the exception to the flowers, vines, and rose bushes surrounding the walls of her house. There were no tracks to follow, and none of her flowers had been crushed. This was definitely going to be a challenge, he thought frowning.

He turned around to look at Jamie. She’d been following him the whole time.

“I’ll be in touch.”

“I knew you wouldn’t find anything. Absolutely no-one should be able to get on my property without me knowing about it. I can’t believe this happened!” She almost screamed.

Max watched her expressions carefully. There was definitely something very important about this necklace, and he didn’t think it was just because it was a family heirloom.

“Give me a few days. I’ll find it for you.”

“I’ll give you a week.” Jamie said marching into her store and slamming the door.

Max climbed into his truck, smiling as he drove towards the condo.

The first thing he needed to do was a background check on Jamie Raven. He’d only found out about this job this morning and hadn’t had a chance to gather any information on her.

His grin widened; now he had a damn good excuse to stay in town close to Montana. He shook his head, hopefully Montana wouldn’t take off and make him track her down again.

Release Day Blitz-Claiming Carlos by Rachelle Ayala

 

 

Kissing a Friend

Oh, no. Not happening again. No way. We’re friends, best buds, and he’s supposed to court Julia, that’s what his mother wants him to do. I can’t. I want to. No, this is crazy.

My mouth touches his soft lips and I close my eyes, the better to pretend it’s not happening. Mmmm … He tilts my head gently to angle in closer as his other hand caresses the small of my back.

He doesn’t smush my mouth against his, but gently tugs my lower lip. I settle into his kiss. It’s lazy, easy-going, not demanding, friendly. Only, his fingers curling into my hair isn’t mild, no, and neither are the tiny moans he makes at the back of his throat, or the spear rising hard against my belly. Yikes! What am I doing?

We’re lying on a sandy trail in a nature preserve near dusk. Coyotes could be lurking in the sage bushes, and mountain lions prowling the dry riverbeds. Oh, but his lips taste spicy, and oh, so enticing. A slow burn roils between my legs. He’s so freaking sexy for being a chef. But I didn’t sign up to be his kissing partner. I mean, I could use the practice. I seriously suck at kissing. Oops, my teeth just bumped his. That’s what I get for biting my lips when I should be sucking, or smacking, or nibbling, or whatever it is professional kissers do.

“Sexy & hilarious foodie romance

— too hot in the kitchen.”
Enjoyed Taming Romeo (Sanchez Sisters Book #1)? Then you know bossy big sister Choco.

See what antics she gets into in Claiming Carlos.
Choco

Sanchez is stuck in a rut. She’s never hit a softball and has been friends

forever with Carlos Lopez, the head cook at her family’s Filipino restaurant.

When flashy restaurant consultant Johnny Dee hits her with a pitch, she falls

head over heels and gets a makeover.
Carlos

Lopez is not about to lose one for the home team. When Johnny launches a full

scale change on the menu, Carlos sends him straight into the dumpster. Claiming

Choco’s heart proves more difficult, especially when her secrets threaten to

doom their love. But never underestimate a man who can cook hot, spicy, and

steamy, and we ain’t talking just food.
Steamy

love scenes and language. Suitable for readers 18+.

 

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Rachelle Ayala is an author

of dramatic romantic suspense and humorous, sexy contemporary romances. Her

heroines are feisty and her heroes hot. She writes emotionally challenging

stories but believes in the power of love and hope.
Subscribe to her mailing list

for upcoming books and giveaways. http://eepurl.com/lR5kv and find her books at online retailers Amazon,

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Apple iBookstore, and more.

 
Fiction: Michal’s Window, Broken Build, Hidden Under Her Heart, Chance for Love

Boxed Set, Knowing Vera, Taming Romeo, Whole Latte Love, Played by Love,

Playing the Rookie, A Father for Christmas, Claiming Carlos
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Sterling- A Montana Dayton Novel Capter 2:2

After seeing Max off I sat on the front porch, enjoying the night air. I wanted to pull out my Harley and go for a ride, but my sister always gave me a hard time about riding the bike, well at least since I bought it a month ago.

Riding in Florida didn’t worry me; the drivers down here are much more courteous than New Mexico, and I couldn’t help myself, the bike’s sweet.

Along with my deep cobalt pearl 2011 Sportster Forty-Eight, I’m renting a jet black 2011 Challenger. It’s hard to pick which one I should drive sometimes.

I considered buying the Challenger; it’s one of my favorite cars. Unfortunately it wouldn’t be able to make it up my dirt road in the mountains. The Harley I can just load into my truck.

“Alright sis, we’re ready to head out now. I’m sorry we have to cut our time together so short.” My sister sat down next to me.

“Me too,” I sighed. “I’m going to miss all of you.”

“Charlie talked dad into calling the foreman again just to make sure, but we have to go back. The idiot owner of the mansion is threatening to sue.”

I started to wonder if this guy Shawn was working for had an actual name, but decided not to ask. When someone upset my sister that much they had no name, they were just an idiot.

“I seriously doubt Shawn will let that happen. If you have any problems tell me, I’m sure I would be able to find a ton of dirt on the guy you could use to retaliate.”

Zoë laughed. “I know you could.”

I’ve had to find dirt on people before, but I’ve never had to use it. What can I say; I don’t like anyone pushing me or my family around.

Shawn rolled out the suitcases and dumped them into the SUV they were renting before sitting down next to us.

“Charlie has wrapped herself around one of the banisters on the staircase. I can’t pull her off, I need some reinforcements.”

“She really doesn’t want to leave.” Zoë chuckled, glancing at me.

“Don’t look at me! I’d probably lose her or something.”

“So you’re planning on staying?”

“Yes, for a little while anyway.”

“What about Max?”

I shrugged my shoulders.

We were still sitting outside when Charlie came running out.

“I thought you forgot about me.”

I laughed as I grabbed her up in a bear hug, “Never.”

I gave her a big kiss on the cheek before Shawn snagged her away from me and headed to the SUV.

Zoë sighed and stood up. “Why haven’t I ever thought of that? Next time we’ll ignore her, maybe she’ll think we forgot about her and come running to us again.”

“It’s worth a try.” I grinned as we walked to the vehicle.

I hugged Shawn, Zoë, and Charlie, while keeping a good hold of Killer. He desperately wanted to go with them. We said goodbye and I headed back to the porch. I lit a smoke as soon as they were out of view.

“I think I am going to go for that ride Killer. Don’t get into too much trouble while I’m gone.”

I walked into the house for my leather jacket and helmet.