Lynn Thompson's Blog, page 44

Blake-A Montana Dayton Novel Ch. 9

I was right; we crossed over the bridge and cruised onto his property. I surveyed the land, trees, and rocks, looking for my landmarks, trying to figure out where I’d gotten lost. His property was enormous. The land appeared different in the light of day, the snow covering the trees, and the sun sparkling off the snow. I didn’t recognize anything.

Max slowed down when the trees became dense and we gradually wound our way in between them to a small clearing that led to his house. His house sat, or I should say, big cabin, sat inside the center of the clearing. I spotted a dirt road in my peripheral vision, or what I thought might be a dirt road. The snow covered most of the tread marks from his truck and smoothed out in the distance. A fortress of trees encompassed his cabin on all sides, making the area a hard place to find. I’d have to pay better attention to my surroundings on the way back home, just in case I needed to get back here on my own one day. As we coasted to a stop, I noticed an empty pen, but no wolves.
Max hopped off the snowmobile and followed my gaze. “They’re roaming my property,” he said. “I don’t pen them up, but they do come back at night on their own and sleep in there.”
“Why do you have them?”
“For protection, they don’t let anything unwanted in.”
My face paled. I’d been scouting Max’s property with my dog and my horse while the wolves ran loose. Did the wolves know I was here? Would they have attacked me if they knew?
“Are you alright?”
“Sure.”
“Don’t worry, you’re safe here.”
“Rose said you’re building a barn. Where is it?” I was pretty sure Max didn’t have enough space to build a barn in the clearing.
“Umm…” A touch of guilt flashed in Max’s eyes.
“You were planning on leaving your horse in my barn for the duration, weren’t you?” Great, I’d already been stuck with Max before I moved up here.
He grinned and shrugged his shoulders.
“You do realize there was a good chance you wouldn’t like me or want anything to do with me. I could have been fat, ugly, and mean.”
“I did my research, so I knew you weren’t fat and ugly. Mean is debatable.”
I laughed, “You haven’t seen mean Max.”
Max’s cabin stood two stories high, with a balcony on top and a deck on the bottom. The log posts were hand peeled. Through the windows vaulted ceilings with hanging ceiling fans gleamed in the afternoon sunlight. Of course, I only had a view of the back of the cabin, but it was magnificent and fit him well.
“I need to make some phone calls. Make yourself at home.”
We entered the cabin and he crossed the living room to what I assumed was his office. He closed the door behind him, leaving me standing there. Were all men like that? Hot one second and cool the next? Yet, another reason I preferred to stay single. I stayed rooted to my spot for a second, debating what I should do next. He just gave me the perfect opportunity to snoop around and I was trying to resist the temptation.
I pivoted in a circle. The downstairs was big with very little furniture, my kind of guy, if I was looking for a guy. The kitchen was almost as big as the living room, with granite counter-tops, black appliances, and a huge butcher block placed in the center. Copper pots hung over it.
A huge fireplace, couch, and two chairs, graced the living room. I didn’t find a TV or entertainment system. I walked to the back of the house where Max disappeared. I passed a full bath and an extra bedroom with a made up bed for company or Chase. I wasn’t sure which, if Chase did live with Max he didn’t own much. I tiptoed back out, passed the closed door, and searched for the stairs leading up to the second floor.
I stopped mid step and backtracked, I’d walked right by them and hadn’t even seen them. Between the kitchen and hallway a small alcove hid the stairway to the upstairs rooms. Why hadn’t I thought of that?
The master bedroom and bath consumed the upstairs loft. The entertainment center stood to my right, against the enterance wall. Max’s king size bed was placed on the back wall, across from the entertainment system. I sat on it for a moment, smoothed out the black down comforter, and surveyed the room. A second fireplace was built into the corner of the room, a couple of unused candles sat on the mantle. I stood up and searched around for some personal effects that might lead me to a clue as to who he was, but didn’t find anything. What exactly did he do? Was he a naturally secretive guy?
I opened the doors across from the bed and found a massive walk in closet, on one side of the closet his clothes were hanging up. I flipped through them. I turned and riffled through his dresser drawers on the other side of the closet. A safe, small toolbox, and guns hanging from pegs on the wall were neatly placed by the dresser. Funny, I never recalled seeing him with a gun. I eyeballed the 12 gage and rubbed the meaty spot under my shoulder, remembering the fierce recoil, and bruise the 12 gage gave me the last time I shot it. It took two weeks for the bruise to heal. I haven’t picked one up since. Two semi-automatic rifles hung next to the 12 gage and below them hung a 9 mm, a tranquilizer gun and an empty slot. The guns spiked my curiosity. I opened the metal drawer under the guns and found boxes, and boxes of ammo.
I continued to rummage through his possessions, as I wandered to the end of closet I stumbled onto his master bath. I smiled, his bathroom was similar to mine, with granite counter tops, a separate shower and tub, but without the Jacuzzi. We apparently had a lot in common when it came to decorating, less is better. I sauntered back out into the bedroom and ventured out to the balcony.
A hot tub rested in the corner of the balcony. I lifted the lid, warm steam rose up into the sky, enticing me to strip down and climb in. I could easily picture myself sitting in the hot tub, watching the stars light up the black sky, all the tension leaving my body. Max entered my dreamy picture, sitting next to me, naked. I quickly closed the lid and stepped over to the railing. I had to absolve myself of this problem quickly. Max was invading my space in my daydreams. That was a bad sign.
I lit a smoke and leaned on the railing. I tried to shake off the nagging disappointment of not finding out anything about Max, in his own house none-the-less. The air became still. The forest felt completely wrong. He was here. Adrenaline shot through my body, my heart raced, and yet numbness consumed me at the same time. Where were the wolves? I bent over the railing further and glanced around wildly. He appeared in my peripheral vision, in the pine trees below, just barely. I stared intently in that direction trying to get a lock on him.
“Montana?” Max asked, stepping onto the balcony.
I didn’t answer; I was focused on trying to spot the thing again. If I wasn’t mistaken he wore some kind of camouflage to blend into his surroundings.

Introducing–>>Billy Wong

As this weeks featured Author

 

Billy Wong is an avid fan of heroic fantasy, with a special love for strong female warriors. He draws inspiration from the epic legends of old, and is on a quest to bring over the top deeds and larger than life heroes back to prominence in today’s literary world.

website http://bklynbill.blogspot.com/
twitter username WarriorWong
genre Fantasy, Ebooks

 

David Gemmell, Robert E. Howard, Ed Greenwood, David Drake, the nameless author of Beowulf(less)




Action-packed fantasy adventure with a powerhouse female epic warrior in the spirit of Achilles or Beowulf.

The tale of a mighty warrior torn between the power of the sword and her longing for a peaceful life.

A young woman with a kind heart and extraordinary constitution, Rose becomes a warrior to better the world. Despite the wealth and fame she wins as one of the greatest champions of her time, the bloody reality of her new life is nothing like her ideal dream. She yearns for a chance to escape the violence.

She finds that chance in Ethan, the leader of an altruistic pacifist group. But when a barbarian horde invades their kingdom, Rose knows that she can make a difference by taking up her sword again. Will her need to protect her homeland cost her the man she loves?











An action-packed new take on Arthurian legend from the eyes of an unexpected protagonist.

Illegitimate Mildred “Mildy” Pendragon wants just one thing: To prove to Camelot that she’s as much a warrior as her daddy, King Arthur. With her cowardly Greek squire Ares and metrosexual best friend Lance at her side, she strives to prove her legendary bloodline through knightly deeds. But no matter what she does or who she beats, she cannot seem to win over chivalric society.

On quest to save the fey from destruction by an evil mage, Mildy meets the mother she has never known and learns the bitter truth of her incestuous birth. She continues to fight for good despite her disillusionment, but accidentally kills Arthur’s favorite knight and makes a bitter enemy of her father. Can she defy fate and save her family from imploding, or is the saga of the Pendragons destined to end in tragedy?












Action-packed fantasy adventure loosely inspired by the Red Riding Hood legend, featuring one tough female warrior.

After killing the werewolf that took her grandmother’s life, a young girl is outcast from her village over the perceived taint from contact with the lycanthrope. A decade later she is the famous Red Rider, slayer of hundreds of werewolves. When she learns of a new breed of more intelligent lupines, her skills are put to the ultimate test, and even the help of other warriors such as overweight knight Herbert and cage fighting champion Evie may not be enough to overcome the rising threat.












For more of Billy Wong’s Books Visit Here

 

Blake-A Montana Dayton Novel Ch. 8:2

I finished with my shower, took my amulet off the bathroom counter and put it around my neck, praying there was some kind of Mojo in it to protect me from the awful sensations I kept getting hit with. I dressed in some jeans, a thick sweater, and applied a touch of makeup before descending the stairs, and wandering into the kitchen. Max stood next to the stove frying bacon. I gazed at the fluid movements of his muscles as he flipped the meat and sliced through tomato’s. I couldn’t resist peeking over his shoulder to see what he was cooking, BLTs, yummy. I could get used to him hanging out in my kitchen. With a sly smile he turned toward me. I backtracked.

“When is Chase coming back over?” I asked, sticking my head in the fridge and pulling out Rose’s rosemary bundles.
“I sent him shopping; he’ll be back later this afternoon. What is that?” He pulled the bundles out of the bags.
“This is from Rose, it’s supposed to provide protection.”
“Rosemary?” He said, chuckling.
“I’m going to hang it outside, maybe it will keep that thing off my porch.”
He laughed. “I’ll go with you after we eat.”
I also pulled out a steak for my knight in shining armor, after all Killer did have something to do with Max coming to rescue us. I sat down to count the bundles of rosemary. Rose had made up ten for me, now if only they would magically kept the psycho creature and his nests away. I wasn’t too optimistic about it, but anything at this point was worth a try.
“What’s going on?” I asked after chewing down a big bite of bacon, lettuce, and tomato deliciousness.
“It’s classified, so I can’t tell you much until I get the proper authorization. I’m working on it right now, since your life is in danger.”
“What can you tell me?”
“That thing is a male and he seems highly interested in you, which isn’t his normal behavior, animals can’t sense him, and he’s hard to see.”
“I already know these things, tell me something new.” Why couldn’t I get some straight answers out of him? Screw classified!
Max let out I sigh, contemplating what to tell me. “I’ve been tracking him for quite a while. I need to capture and return him, hopefully alive. Unfortunately you moving up here has made my life more difficult. He’s taking extra precautions to cover up his tracks now.” His face hardened as he raked his gaze over me. “He has a high intelligence level and is brutally dangerous when he feels threatened. Remember that.”
“And?”
“Don’t give me any grief Montana. You may not be intimidated by me, but you’d better be intimidated by him, he’s very dangerous.”
Max was wrong, he did intimidate me and that thing did scare me.
“So what do we do now?”
“You’re coming to my house so I can make some calls. Speaking of calls, I put my number in your cell phone this morning and I now have yours in mine. Remember that.”
“Okay.”
Max’s eyes became intense and his lips curved up in a semi smile, “Just like that? I thought you didn’t like me and would fight me to the end.” He said purring.
“Cut it out Max. I don’t want to see you dead.”
“So you do like me?”
“Maybe,” I sighed under my breath. I stood and reached for the rosemary, Max cornered me, swung me into his arms and lightly brushed his lips across my face. My pulse quickened as his eyes fixed on mine; his lips covered mine, softly, but possessively. The kiss seemed to go on forever, sending little electrical bolts through my body, growing into an intense longing. I was about ready to have my way with him when he reluctantly drew back.
“Let’s get this done,” his voice grumbled in a hoarse whisper. A strong scent of rosemary wafted up into the air from Max almost crushing tender herbs in his fist.
My heart slammed in my chest, my legs were weak, I opened my mouth to speak, but no words would come out. My feet seemed to grow roots into the floor. A kiss had never had that affect on me before and it unraveled my very being. Yes, he intimidated me.
Max put his hand on my back, pushing me gently toward the door while keeping some distance between us at the same time.
I slid into my boots without bothering to lace them, put on my jacket, and checked my gun. Max handed me my smokes and we went out to hang the rosemary, making Killer join us.
“He doesn’t like the snow.” I said with a slight grin. My heart was slowly coming back down to the “normal” range and my head was starting to clear. I found Killer’s attempt to tiptoe through the white fluff amusing, even though he was failing miserably. Max glanced at Killer as he began to hang the rosemary.
“How many do you want to hang?”
“Just two, one by the front door and one by the back door.”
Done with the first bundle Max grabbed my wrist and hauled me over to the back door to hang the second bundle, then hauled me to the front door again to let Killer inside.
“You’re being a little dramatic aren’t you?” I rubbed my wrist. I wished he would stop touching me. I couldn’t think clearly when he did and I needed to think clearly.
“I don’t want you out of my sight right now.”
“He isn’t here right now.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
We locked up and climbed onto his snowmobile.
“Hold on tight.” He said revving the engine and taking off.
“Men and their toys.” I mumbled to myself, enjoying the wind in my hair and the feel of Max’s body against mine.

#TY #RT #Mentions #Gratitude #Triberr

Spring is here! Yay! (with a threat of snow today) This is a picture of my apple tree with all it’s amazing little blooms, hopefully we will not get a late frost today or in the next month so I can have apples this year:)  Isn’t it amazing. If I could share my soon to be bounty with you I would.

It’s time for another big Thank You to my Triberr Tribes and other followers for the #RT’s, #Mentions and the support you have given me on #twitter and #triberr. Applause and Thank You, much gratitude to you all. I enjoy working with all of you and hope to continue to work with you!

Lynn

 

Blake-A Montana Dayton Novel Ch. 8

We kept our eyes directed towards the road to avoid the snow blowing in our faces, and focused on paying attention to where we stepped. Chase moved the flashlight back and forth over the treacherous terrain, keeping us from veering off the road or breaking a leg. We trekked through the snow at a steady pace to stay warm.

“Did you see that?” I squinted through the snowflakes. I swore I glimpsed a flash of light ahead of us, but because I was freezing and my nerves vibrated like a wired outlet I wasn’t sure. I pulled Chase closer to me. “Do you hear that?” I yelled, teeth rattling over the wind. “What is it?”
He came to an abrupt halt, concentrating hard on the sound. “I think it’s a snowmobile. It’s getting closer, maybe Killer found Max.”
I pulled out my gun and gripped it as firmly as my frozen fingers would allow me, just in case the intruder wasn’t Max. The metal hung heavy in my hand, like a huge icicle, made my palms tingle and numbed my fingers to the touch. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to pull the trigger if I had to with my unfeeling hand.
Chase kept a tight grip on my belt loop, as we started hoofing it up the road again the snowmobile suddenly appeared, barreling down on us, its light so blinding I couldn’t see who was driving. We came to a halt, I aimed my gun at the snowmobile and held my breath.
I quickly lowered my gun. “It’s Max and he’s pissed.”
“It’s amazing how you know these things.” Chase stated through chattering teeth.
Max passed us, turned around, and pulled up beside us, his lips pressed together in a thin line. I pictured him murdering us on the spot. “Put the gun away and climb on now,” he growled.
Chase and I scrambled onto the snowmobile and Max took off at full speed causing Chase to quickly grab a hold of my waist. I did the same to Max.
“You’re right, he’s mad.” Chase whispered in my ear as we held on for dear life.
Max cut the engine at the steps in front of my deck. Chase and I jumped off the snowmobile and ran into the house, straight for the fire, which thanks to Max was burning hot.
We planted ourselves by the fire to warm up, looked at each other and burst into giggles. I think it was a nervous reaction from the secret fear we both held inside on our trek home. We glanced at Killer, who was toasty warm already, and began to laugh harder. Max walked in with a dark scowl on his face. One look at him and we had to sit down, grabbing our sides from laughing so hard.
He sat down on the couch, patiently waiting for us to grow up again. It took a while for us to settled down. Once we did I held it together for a moment as I wiped the tears from my eyes. I made the mistake of glancing at up at Max. His scowl deepened and I fell into the infectious laughter again, creating a domino effect on Chase.
Max got up and shook his head at us. “I’m brewing some fresh coffee; get it together before I get back.”
We took a couple of deep breaths and I put my finger to my lips, letting Chase know not to say a word about today. Once we were calmer we started peeling off our wet clothes and shoes to dry in front of the fire. My last sock had a suction cup effect when I tugged it off my foot. I stood up in my shirt, and boxers, not quite sure if I was colder with my wet clothes on or off. Shivering, I ran upstairs to find some sweats for us. I hopped on one leg, trying to get my black fuzzy socks on when a giggle escaped my mouth. The image of Chase wearing my clothes skittered through my mind. He was taller than me and the sweats were going to look funny on him. I stifled the giggle, ran back downstairs and tossed the clothes to Chase.
Chase had just finished getting dressed when Max walked in with our coffee. Max took one look at Chase, slowly put down our mugs and began to laugh. “Chase that is not your style,” he stated when he caught his breath. “Drink your coffee then go down to Roses and get some of your own clothes, check on the animals too while you’re down there.”
“Not a problem boss.” Chase said, he took his time drinking his coffee.
Max silently held my gaze after Chase left. I lit a smoke and offered him one without breaking the eye contact. I wasn’t about to let him intimidate me.
“I want your cell phone number and I want you to keep your phone on you from now on,” he finally said.
“You mean you don’t have it. You’re privy to everything else about me.” I replied in a sarcastic tone.
He glared at me. “I need to be able to get in touch with you, at any time, night or day.” Blowing out a breath he said more softly, “humor me; I’ll make sure you have my number too.”
I put out my smoke and stood to refill my coffee, in one motion Max swept me into his arms. He gazed longingly into my eyes, brushed his lips against mine, and then proceeded to kiss me so thoroughly I felt like I was being branded. Before I could think I was back on my feet, at arm’s length.
Wow, little licks of flames shot through my veins from the kiss. I turned toward the kitchen and refilled my coffee. When I returned Max sat on the couch like nothing had happened.
I scratched Killer on the head. “I owe you a steak Killer.” I was too full of red hot energy to sit back down, so I lit another smoke and pretended to warm myself in front of the fire. Okay, I was burning up from Max’s kiss and wanted to pace, but I didn’t want him to realize the affect he had on me.
“Are you staying tonight?”
“Yes, and I’ll be sleeping with you.”
Great, that’s exactly what I needed right now.
“I’m going to go make sure Chase is in for the night,” he said, rising, “we’ll sit down and talk in the morning.”
I watched him leave and paced around for a while re-living the kiss, before trudging up to my bedroom. I put on the extra long shirt I bought for when Max slept over and crawled into bed. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to sleep, but apparently the day had caught up to me. I was out in no time.


I rolled over in bed, a constant tap, tap, tap, continued to invade my sleep. I groggily opened my eyes, the sun was up. Ugh, my eyes blearily searched for the clock, 10am, it was about time I slept in. I started to cover my head with my pillow, I could sleep for at least one more hour. The tap, tap, penetrated my brain, unintentionally I focused on the sound.
“So much for sleeping in,” I mumbled as I got up and pulled on some thick clothes.

“Good morning.” Max said when I walked into the office. “This wouldn’t happen to be what you and Chase were doing yesterday, would it?” He asked, showing me an on-line article, while tapping a pencil on the desk.

I avoided his question and glanced at the headlines, “Mystery Couple Donate Food to Charities.” A blurry picture of Chase and I dropping food into a priests arms was placed on the left side of the article. The shelter must have had cameras above the door, uninterested I pretended to read the article.

“Chase said you only went down for zombie movies and lunch. He said you needed to get out of the house.”

“I couldn’t stay here any longer with what we found outside and stop doing that.” I said, pointing at the pencil. “It’s annoying.”

He grinned and resumed bouncing the pencil off the desk. “I don’t blame you Montana, but you did tell me you would be in for a couple of days. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t come back right away, you’re safe in the house with Chase.”

“We needed to get out for a while,” I sighed, “I‘m going downstairs for coffee.”

“Killer, let’s get some fresh air.” I called, tugging on my jacket. I had my first cup of brew, gun, and dog, I was ready.

I peered out the front door, didn’t find any surprises, so Killer and I stepped out. At least 2 ft. of snow covered the ground. The sun shined brilliantly in the horizon, making the white sparkle with beautiful rainbow colors, blinding me at the same time. I checked my pockets for my sunglasses and smiled when I found them.

Either Max or Chase had already shoveled the deck, and my truck was in the driveway along with what must be Max’s truck. It was a black Ford Ranger 4×4 super cab with a roll bar and auxiliary lights. Sweet.

I leaned on the deck, dreaming of driving Max’s truck when pin pricks began crawling up my skin. I took a sip of coffee, willed myself not to run back into the house and ignored the watchful gaze. Pure hatred emanated from the woods. I didn’t have to turn around to know Max was standing behind me. He closed the distance between us and rested his hands lightly on my hips. The blind hatred became absolutely lethal when Max touched me.

“Can you tell me where he is?”

“Take your hands off me and let’s go inside.” I whispered.

He dropped his hands from my hips as I whistled for Killer. Squaring my shoulders I walked back inside like everything was right with the world. As soon as Max shut the door I spun around and grabbed his upper arm.

“It wanted to kill you! Did you not feel the hatred? When you touched me, I swore it wanted to kill you!”

“Calm down Montana.” He picked me up, planted me on the couch, sat down next to me, and lit a smoke. I immediately snagged the cigarette away from him. “I’m not a sensitive like you.”

“Watch your back Max, whatever is out there despises you.”

“It’s actually a he. Can you tell me anything else?”

“No, every time I believe I’ve pinned down his location I sense him in a different direction, he must move fast.” I replied sarcastically.

Max raised his eyebrows.

“I want to talk about this more, but I need a shower. I can still feel his residual hatred flowing through me. Are you staying?”

“Yes, I’ll be here when you’re done.” He rose at the same time I did, enveloped me in his embrace, and held me tightly. I wriggled out of his grip. He raised my hand to his mouth and kissed it, tempting me to drag him up to the shower with me. Damn he was distracting. I left him standing there instead.

 

Introducing–>> J. Woods

As this weeks featured Author

J. Woods is a Toronto based writer, mother, and non-conformist. She lives between the space of her green tea and humming laptop when she isn’t chasing after her free spirited daughter. She has studied too many things to count including radio broadcasting and entrepreneurship. Grasping at sanity, she realized writing stories about her insane thoughts was easier than explaining them to a doctor. Not to mention cheaper.

website http://caesarsandstraws.com/

twitter username jwoodsauthor

genre Romance, Paranormal, Contemporary

 

 

 

 

An alluring choice. A fantastical revelation. But what if it changed… everything?

Familiar with the art of the nightmare, twenty-two year old university student Cole Evans can’t help but feel a deep connection to the horrifying illusions of her slumber.

Irrevocably drawn to obscure fantasy, Cole faces a defiant temptation of romance and her first encounter with the mysterious Drex. Covered in tattoos, she unexpectedly finds herself attracted to his dark magnetism and emerald eyes. Before her life takes an impossible turn.

Uncovering Drex’s true Guardian identity, she is forced on a terrifying journey through the stars into his world – one that brilliantly weaves together the struggle of danger and desire. And the impossible reality of gilded feathers.

This New Adult book is intended for readers over the age of 18 due to adult language, sexual content and adult situations.

 

 

 

 

To find that forever love with a Guardian is both her dream come true and worst nightmare entwined into a dangerously bizarre reality for Cole Evans.

Tangled in the art of passion she tries to find balance within the explosive converging of two separate worlds. Peeling back the layers of past, present and future through the disjointed answers in her mother’s journals, Cole’s life becomes equal parts mystery and spellbinding romance.

Until terrifying threats and wicked encounters drag her back into the source of her nightmares.

Stuck in a poetically volatile rebellion of revenging rage, Cole battles with the desolation of survival and separation and the reliance on gilded faith.

This New Adult book is intended for readers over the age of 18 due to adult language, sexual content and adult situations.

 

 

 

Drowning endlessly in her sorrow, Chloe Collins tries desperately to breathe life back into the lost girl Cole has become. But as she refuses to let go of memories past, her journal remains the only escape from her constant inner turmoil.

In the midst of it all Chloe is enchanted in her own passionate romance with the rogue and untamed Tommy. Their love is tested against the uprising of demons from the past in a time where it seems everyone is hiding secrets.

Captivated in the battle between love and betrayal Chloe faces new obstacles and the undulating force of a gilded promise.

This New Adult book is intended for readers over the age of 18 due to adult language, sexual content and adult situations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more of J. Woods books visit here. Happy Reading

Blake-A Montana Dayton Novel Ch. 7:2

“We’re going to stop at the back doors, drop off the food, ring the bell, and leave. We need to do this as fast as possible so we won’t be seen.” I said as we came up on the first shelter.

“I know you want to stay anonymous, but wouldn’t leaving money be easier?”
“It would, but I’m not a very trusting person. I feel better knowing the shelters have food to serve the homeless in a nice warm environment. Ready?” I parked as close to the curb as I could. “Picture this as an adventure.”
I put the truck in neutral and left it running. We jumped out and placed the food by the back door. I climbed back in the truck and put it in first gear while Chase rang the bell. When the doorknob turned he jumped into the truck. I hit the gas, driving away from the building. Shock registered on the mans face when he noticed the food surrounding the steps. Giving stirred a deep warmth in my heart.
Chase grinned, “How far to the next shelter?”
“Not far.”
We made a game out of delivering the food to the shelters by timing ourselves. Once we had our initial time we would try to beat it at each new shelter we went to.
“Are you going to keep any of this food?” Chase asked as we reached our last destination.
“No.” I pulled up to the curb. “We’ve got a problem.”
“What’s that?” He asked right before he noticed it. “Oh hell, the shelters surrounded by a fence and the whole front of the building has windows.”
“How do you want to play this?
He considered the problem for a minute. “We have to go through the gate. Maybe we’ll get lucky and the back porch will be windowless.”
“This stop needs to excel our best time.” I adjusted my hat, “are you ready?”
He rubbed his hands together and rummaged around behind us for a few bags of food. “Ready.”
I opened the gates and drove through like I belonged there. I coasted to the back of the building. The back doors stood wide open. “Damn!” I made a u-turn and idled by the front door. Barred windows graced both sides of the entrance. “Go!”
Chase raced to the small enclosure with all of his bags as I raced to the back of the truck to get more; we grabbed as much as we could and put it on the front porch. We’d just snatched the last load out of the truck when an older priest dressed in clergy attire opened the door.
“What are you doing out here?” He asked in a low calm voice, almost tripping over the bags of groceries.
Chase and I ran up to him at the same time, shoved the rest of the goodies in his arms, and piled back into the truck. My heart was thumping with excitement as I yanked the gearshift into drive, flooring it through the side streets to my last stop.
“Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
I jogged into the store, rummaged around for my favorite zombie movies, paid the cashier, and jogged back to the truck.
Chase hadn’t moved. I placed the bag in his lap and veered onto the interstate, last destination home.
“Montana.”
“Ah, he speaks.”
“That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
“I was starting to get worried about you Chase. You’ve been, like a zombie for a while.” I replied, chuckling.
“When the priest came out of the shelter I felt totally busted. My first thought was we’re going to jail. It just took time for my brain to come to the understanding that we didn’t do anything wrong.” His whole body shook for a second or two, and then he burst out laughing. “When can we do it again? Did we beat our best time?”
Relief washed over me. “I have no idea if we beat our time; I was motivated on getting us out of there. We’ll figure out something new for Christmas, if you’re around.”
“Oh, I’ll be around.”
We both laughed as he went through his bag of goodies. “Are all of these for me?”
“It’s a thank you gift.”
“Thanks Montana.” He fell silent for a moment. “What is it like winning the lottery?”
“What else has Max told you about me?” I countered.
“Everything he thought I should know with the promise I wouldn’t tell anyone else. He said he’d kill me if I did. My lips are sealed.”
“I’m going to keep you to that promise.”
“Fair enough, so how does it feel?”
“It’s great not having to worry about bills anymore and I get to help more people now, but it sucks to constantly be bothered by people and charities that want me to give.” I chuckled. “Plus both men and women kept asking me out for dates. Getting away from the unnecessary attention is one of the reasons I moved to the mountains.”


“Maybe some of those men actually wanted to get to know you.”
“Sure, along with the women.” I replied, distracted, huge snowflakes hit the windshield heavily, swirling snow began to glue itself to the road. I flipped on my headlights when low bearing clouds started to creep over us and slowed down to a crawl. We drove the rest of the way home through the intense white out. The whole time Chase was either bent forward or hanging his head out the window, making sure we didn’t run off the road.

“Turn, turn now, there’s your road.”

I turned, slid, over-corrected and we spun around in a 360 before we stopped.

“Well at least we’re facing the right direction.” I said, making sure my heart hadn’t stopped with the truck. I’ve driven in many snow storms and knew what I was doing, but sometimes nature had different plans. I hadn’t expected the pavement to ice over this soon.

“Help me put the beast in four wheel drive and we’ll try to make the drive to the house.”

Setting the four wheel drive on my truck wasn’t an easy task. The locks needed to be rotated on the outside tires and the locks were frozen. After melting some of the ice with my lighters we managed to click the locks into four wheel drive. I immediately turned on headlights and the heat full blast to unfreeze us when we climbed back into the cab. I put the truck into gear and we slowly crawled up my dirt road. Chase hung his head out the passenger side window, telling me where the ruts on his side of the road were. I hung my head out of the drivers side window, keeping an eye out for ruts as well. We made it a little over two miles before I plowed into a snow drift that covered a deep rut.

“I’ve got to get this road paved!” I screamed as I put the truck in reverse, cranked the wheel left and tried to ease us out of the hole. I accomplished sliding the rear-end to the right. I cranked the wheel to the right and put the truck in first gear hoping to catch some fresh snow for traction, but all I managed was another slide, and to sink us deeper into the snow drift. I cursed under my breath. My arms, hands, and finger muscles were rigid from gripping the wheel.

Chase gave me a moment before he began unhooking my fingers from the steering wheel, they were locked up tight.

“We’re going to have to walk from here.” He said. “Just so you know Rose did try to get the road graded, but the company couldn’t get out here in time. They were mega busy.”

“Okay. Fine,” I flexed my fingers a few times to get the cramps out. “I haven’t put any emergency clothes in my truck yet.” My mind had been on other things. “Your right, we’re going to have to walk the rest of the way.”

The snow fell faster now and darkness settled over us like a thick, black blanket. My skin pricked with unease. I picked up my purse and took out my gun.

“Stay close to me; hold my belt loop or something. I’m not sure what’s out there and I don’t want to get separated.”

I put my gun in my pocket and wandered over to the passenger side of the truck. I laced two of my fingers around Chase’s belt while he rummaged through the glove compartment to find the flashlight. After finding it he grabbed hold of my belt.

“Come on Killer.” I said, tugging on him.

Killer jumped out and took off at a full run.

“Killer! Killer! Get back here! Damn!” He was gone.

“He’ll be alright. If we’re lucky he’ll find Max.”

“Sure he will,” I said sarcastically, “if he finds Max I’ll cook him a steak.”

 

#NewRelease AN UNEXPECTED SIN (A Sins of Salem Novel) by Sarah Ballance

Limited time 99 cent introductory price & $50 Giveaway – details below

AN UNEXPECTED SIN (A Sins of Salem Novel)

Colonial Salem

The moment the stranger’s dark eyes meet hers, Anne Scudder’s world is immediately overthrown by chaos. That single flare of desire is immediate, driving away all notions of propriety. Instead, Anne is consumed with sinful thoughts – ones that no unmarried girl should ever have for a man who isn’t her husband…

But Josiah Cromwell is no stranger.

It’s been six years since Josiah stole kisses from Anne, his best friend’s younger sister. Six years since Josiah left after his best friend’s death, burdened by the knowledge that he was responsible for destroying Anne’s family. Now he’s returned to claim the woman he can’t live without. But even as their desire threatens to consume them both – body and soul – the dark workings of suspicion and witchcraft are afoot.

Because in Salem, too much passion can lead a woman to ruin… and condemned to death.

Find it @  Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Kobo  |  iTunes  |  Amazon.uk  |  Amazon.ca  |  Google Books  |  Goodreads

Title: AN UNEXPECTED SIN (Sins of Salem #2)

Author:

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Sold by: Macmillan

Release Date: April 14, 2014

ISBN 13: 978-1-62266-547-1

Available format(s): ebook

EXCERPT

She raked his hair. Clutched desperately at his back. Found it was she who moved against him, for he had eased his grip in favor of taking fierce hold of her breasts. In the dark and through her clothes, he put his mouth over first one, then the other. Desire toppled her sensibilities until she was left arching her back, every part of her begging to be closer. Begging for the kind of fulfillment she knew in her heart only he could deliver.

Begging until he broke free.

Breathing heavily, he bathed her in the lopsided, boyish grin she had long adored. “Your father will see me to the gallows for this,” he said in his low, husky voice.

Though the logic of his words found her, she wanted not for sensibilities. She wanted Josiah. “My father sleeps upstairs.”

Josiah took a deep breath. “It is not often I wish to be a lesser man,” he said, “but a lesser man has a certain advantage when a beautiful woman comes to him in the dark of the night.”

A beautiful woman. Anne had never imagined such a description could belong to her. “You could never be a lesser man.”

“Rest assured, if you return to my room in the dark of the night, I will be nothing more.”

Though his tone was light, she did not miss its undercurrent. His serious nature made his words all the more thrilling, for they left little doubt as to what he wanted—or how badly he wanted it. She could not keep the smile from her voice as she asked, “Are you saying I need only walk from the room for a minute’s time to make a lesser man of you?”

“I would like to think myself more honorable, but I make no promises in my current state.”

“Perhaps we should test that supposition.”

He grinned and leaned in, kissing her softly. “As much as I ache to know every inch of you,” he said, “it is not my desire to make off with your honor like a thief in the night.”

She splayed her fingers across his warm, bare chest and took a deep breath of courage. “You have long stolen my heart. My honor will not be far behind.”

Read the entire first chapter for FREE at Entangled Publishing. (No registration or cartwheels required.)

GIVEAWAY

To enter the $50 giveaway, please click here.

ABOUT SARAH BALLANCE

Sarah Ballanceis a multi-published author of contemporary, historical, and supernatural romance and romantic suspense. She’s been married to her own romantic hero for what he calls a “long, long time” (and no, he’ll never hear the end of saying that). Together they have six children … and clearly too much time on their hands. She currently writes for Entangled and has upcoming releases from both Entangled and Samhain Publishing.

Blake-A Montana Dayton Novel Ch. 7

I woke up in an excellent mood, my body didn’t ache anymore and Max hadn’t slept in my bed. I felt like I could conquer anything and everything life threw at me. I stretched and wandered downstairs for my first cup of coffee. I held in a giggle when I heard Chase snoring. I peeked into the living room, his head stuck out of a bundle of blankets, Killer snuggled up to him, similar to a big tumor on his side. I tiptoed into the kitchen, poured coffee, headed back upstairs, took a quick shower, and got dressed. When I strolled back downstairs Chase’s blurry eyed gaze glanced up at me, he gripped his coffee like his life depended on it.

“I take it you didn’t get much sleep last night?” I asked, trying not to laugh. He looked pretty bad.
“I’ve been so busy lately; I haven’t had time to watch any movies. Resident Evil rocks!”
“How many did you watch?”
“Almost all of them.”
I laughed at the thought of him and his movie marathon. “Maybe you should slow down a bit. You can borrow them any time.”
“Thanks, I need another cup of java.” He said, rotating his now, empty cup upside down.
I refilled both of our cups and sighed. “I need to get out today. You’re more than welcome to come with me, but one whole day stuck in this house is enough.”
“That’s cool, if you don’t mind me using your shower real quick we’ll figure out something to do.”
“You’re not afraid Max will get upset with you?”
“Nah, he was supposed to come back last night and he didn’t. Besides I could use some fresh air too.”
While Chase took his shower I busied myself picking up and checking my messages, something I should probably do every day, but hadn’t bothered to do since I’d been here. Rose called to say thank you for the necklace and she’d call back on Thanksgiving. My sister called sounding like her happy normal self and my mom called. They all promised to call me back on Thanksgiving and reminded me to turn my phone on that day. I cringed, Thanksgiving Day would soon be upon me and I’d forgotten all about it. I needed to go shopping. I wanted to donate food to the shelters anonymously.
“Hey Chase, how would you like to go shopping with me today?” I asked as he came trotting down the hallway.
“Sure.”
I told him my plan and made sure the chamber in my gun was loaded while Chase put Killer’s leash on. As soon as we opened the door Killer growled, we both looked outside, the blood drained from our faces. Chase closed the door and we gazed at each other for a moment, not sure what to say.
I cleared my throat, “I’m going to get my camera and take some pictures. We need to check the back door too.”
“Afterward, I’ll check the barn. Do you still want to go shopping?” Chase asked.
Hell yes! I still wanted to go shopping, well, not necessarily shopping, but I wanted out of my house badly. I wasn’t in the right mind set to deal with this thing right now, and might never be.
“Yes, we’ll get pictures, check the barn, and let Max deal with the rest if he shows up.”
I grabbed my camera, we tugged the door ajar and I scoped out the area around the front of the house and deck. Killer growled low, under his breath. I didn’t see anything and my radar didn’t ding, so we carefully stepped outside. Another nest sat in front of the door. This nest was built bigger than the first, with dead bugs and dead birds tucked inside the cave like structure. An offering? For me? My gut said I was right. I shivered, these nests were the creepiest things I’d ever seen and chilled me to the bone. I took as many pictures, from all angles, as I could stand then proceeded to the back door.
Apparently, whatever had become enthralled with me had nothing better to do with its time than stalk me in it’s own unorthodox way. The nest by the back door took up almost a half of the width of the frame, stood at least a foot tall, and was more intricately made than the dwelling on the front deck. Dead bugs, birds, and a couple of squirrels were crammed into the burrow for good measure.
My gag reflex flared, I came close to emptying the coffee out of my stomach. The thing had taken its time twisting twigs and branches together into a cone shape pocket, leaves inter-weaved around and through the cone to block wind and weather. Dead birds lay against the back of the nest, dead bugs lay haphazardly around the inside, and the dead squirrels rested at the front of the entrance.
My heart beat double time, my skin crawled, and I had to keep swallowing hard to keep bile from rising into my throat. I needed to get out of here and I didn’t have to glance at Chase to know that he was ready to get out of dodge too. I tried to keep my hands from shaking as I snapped off more pictures of the dead creatures inside the nest.
Killer stopped growling once we stepped off the deck to check on Pumpkin and the horses. After making sure Pumpkin and Lightning were alright we locked up the barn. Ace’s stall stood empty, I figured Max had him. I shook my head, amazed at how often I looked for Max’s horse to tell me if he was around. I had to stop doing that.

We both heaved a big sigh of relief once we loaded into my truck and hit the road. Chase closed his eyes as soon as we turned off the dirt lane and onto the pavement. He slept for the whole trip into the city, which was fine by me, it gave me time to ponder my predicament, and he would need his energy to keep up with my power shopping. If we were lucky we’d only have to stop at a few stores. I glanced at the horizon, big, puffy clouds were beginning to cover the mountains and dim the sun, snow would start falling soon. I stepped on the gas to make good time and stopped in front of the first organic food store we arrived at.

I nudged Chase, “Time to wake up sleeping beauty.”
He opened his eyes and squinted, “I need coffee, I was having a really bad dream.” He blinked a couple of times then jolted fully awake. “Oh shit, it wasn’t a dream was it!?”
“I wish it was a dream. Come on we’ll get some lattes. Do you have any idea what is making itself at home at my house?”
“You need to talk to Max, I’m sure he knows. If I knew I’d tell you.”
“I will.” The next time I see him.
We ordered our lattes and I gave him the list for the deli.
“I’m going to get the other things and meet you at the cashiers.”
We parted ways and I sped walked through the aisles. I bought the store out of corn, potatoes, yams, stuffing, and cranberry jelly, then piled most of the pumpkin pies the store had left in my cart. I stopped for whipped cream and tea bags, put all of those in my basket and almost ran into Chase rounding an aisle. For some reason I couldn’t sense him as well as everyone else I knew. I briefly wondered why as we waited for the cashier to total everything up.
We loaded the bags into the tool box in the back of my truck and stopped at two more stores before we had enough goodies for the shelters. Starving, we bought burgers and fries from the nearest drive through restaurant and sat in the parking lot to eat. While we ate I put my hair up under a big floppy hat and changed out my sunglasses for some big face covering ones.
My face still appeared to be news worthy from winning the lottery and I was getting tired of it. I had also helped enough small businesses out that newspapers constantly wanted the next story and a few news shows wanted to put me on the air. I sighed. When reporters dug in their claws they never seemed to retract them. I wanted to be able to give without being the hero of the moment.
“How do I look?” I asked Chase.
“Goofy.” He said, laughing.
I’ve always believed if you were going to give to a charity, then you should give to that charity, without having to fill out the paperwork for the purpose of getting your money back on your taxes. I didn’t want my money back, I just wanted to be able to drop the food off without being recognized, and since this was my first time doing it I was sure I needed a disguise. I moved the rear-view mirror so I could check out my disguise. I did look goofy. I briefly fantasized about wearing the get up at home and the psycho creature leaving because it thought I was someone else, but knew that would be too easy.

Introducing–>> Neely Powell

As this weeks featured Author

Neely Powell is the pseudonym for co-writers Leigh Neely and Jan Hamilton Powell. The best friends met when they both worked at a rock ‘n roll radio station in Chattanooga. It turned out their husbands were long-lost high school buddies, and Jan and Leigh were both writing romantic fiction in their spare time. A partnership was born.

They tried writing fiction together for several years, but life and other adventures got in the way. Their friendship endured as they went on to individual careers. Writing as Celeste Hamilton, Jan published 24 romance novels for Silhouette and Avon Books. Her books appeared on the B. Dalton, Waldenbooks Romance, and USA Today bestseller lists before she left fiction for a career in corporate communications.

url https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomneelypowell

website http://www.neelypowell.com

twitter username neelypowell3

genre Paranormal, Romance, Mystery

 

Attorney Hunter MacRae and Private Investigator Zoe Buchanan uncover lies and secrets for the clients of their law firm. He’s a shape shifter who can morph from man to cat and back on a whim. She’s a psychic who is reluctant to explore her full abilities. Somehow, they make business and friendship work.

When Hunter’s father and family patriarch is found murdered, a long-kept dark secret is revealed and their easy lives change forever. Hunter must abandon his carefree lifestyle to lead a battle with a rival monstrous enemy.

Among the wealthy and powerful on both sides of New York’s Hudson River, Hunter and Zoe face their own true natures in a fight for survival. The question is will they survive the Chimera bent on destroying the next leader of the MacRae family–Hunter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Box Set: Reap & Repent\Wicked Ink\Witch’s Awakening\Her Wild Protector

by Naomi Bellina (Goodreads Author), Lisa Medley (Goodreads Author), Misty Simon (Goodreads Author), Neely Powell (Goodreads Author)

Four spellbinding tales at one amazing price—$4.99. Indulge your desire for urban fantasy and paranormal romance with these captivating new books:

Reap & Repent by Lisa Medley: Deacon recognizes Ruth for what she is: a fellow soul reaper. Their chance meeting sparks an undeniable attraction—and it draws the attention of an ancient evil that would destroy them both.

Wicked Ink by Misty Simon: Garrett’s gift for violence is tattooed on his flesh. Dory looks like the typical girl next door, but she has dark secrets of her own. When a predator strikes, Garrett learns that Dory is the only one who can save him. But first, he’ll have to save her….

Witch’s Awakening by Neely Powell: Generation after generation, a Connelly woman—one of a long line of witches—is sacrificed to maintain the magical community of New Mourne. Brenna wants to stop the cycle. Jake, lawman and shifter, wants to help her, but it will take more than his love to break the curse.

Her Wild Protector by Naomi Bellina: A freak accident leaves Tara with powers that capture the notice of two shape-shifters—one who wants to kill her, and one who can’t help falling in love with her.