Snippet Saturday ~ Family

Welcome to another Snippet Saturday! Today's theme is Family! Check out my excerpt from Going Down, and then check out the other blogs listed below. Have a great weekend!

One man wants her heart. The other wants her dead…



Holding Out for a Hero, Book 1

Eleanor Owen needs to get out of Chicago and quick. It's not that she doesn't want to obey the subpoena to testify against her drug-trafficking ex-boyfriend. It's making it to the witness stand alive, should a dirty cop make good on his threats.

Tiny, remote Wyattsville, Oregon looks like the perfect place to disappear, but it's hard to blend into the woodwork when one of the town's infamous namesakes sends her heart racing. Worse, Mr. Tall, Hot and Packing is the town sheriff, which means she should stay as far away from him as possible.

Tyson Wyatt is positive the sexy new girl in town is hiding something. Question is, what? He vows to feel out her secrets—including what she feels like beneath him. Preferably naked. Until then, he's not buying the story she's selling.

Their chemistry is sheet-melting hot, and Ellie realizes much too late that the man with the badge is as dangerous to her heart as her ex is to her life…

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EXCERPT

Tyson watched as she tilted the beer bottle back, wrapping her lips around the rim and taking a sip. Jesus, she looked sexy sucking on a Budweiser.

"No, unfortunately my nephews and nieces couldn't be here today," his mom said, moving next to her husband, who promptly draped an arm around her shoulder. "But they send their love to everyone."

"Now that's too bad. I have a serious hankering for some of Ryan's jambalaya." Tyson rubbed his belly and winked down at Ellie. "My cousin went to college down in Louisiana. He makes a mean jambalaya."

Her eyes light up with amusement. "I swear, you have a hollow leg. You always seem to be thinking about food."

His dad chuckled, brushing a kiss across his wife's forehead. "All the boys are like that. You wouldn't have believed the grocery bill when they were teens."

"I can only imagine," Ellie said. "You have my sympathy."

"Speaking of food, how's that salmon coming, Pops?" Todd asked, crossing the grass toward the barbeque. "I'm starving. Didn't quite wake up in time for breakfast this morning."

Trevor snorted and glanced at Ellie. "That's code for he was sleeping off a wild night at some girl's house."

"Why you jealous bastard," Todd yelled, taking a playful swing at the back of his brother's head.

Trevor ducked and countered with a light jab to Todd's shoulder.

"Are you guys always like this?" Ellie asked in an amused whisper, leaning into him.

"What do you mean?" Tyson caught her hand and stroked the inside of her palm, then couldn't resist teasing, "We're on our best behavior today."

She laughed as her fingers curled around his. "I highly doubt you guys are ever on your best behavior."

Tyson smiled at that. She was pretty much dead on.

When he glanced at his parents, he found his mom watching them with a considering expression, her mouth curved into a tiny smile.

Don't get your hopes up, Mom, he warned silently. Ellie wasn't in town for long, and he wasn't thinking beyond a summer fling. Even as the thought flickered through his head, the denials came rushing up behind it.

Well, shit.

"So, Trevor, I hear Megan's back in town," their dad announced suddenly.

All talking and laughter ceased, leaving a silence that was only disturbed by the occasional cries of seagulls.

Tyson's breath held as he took another sip of beer and tried to glance over at his brother inconspicuously.

Trevor's expression was unreadable, his gaze shuttered. But Tyson didn't miss the way his fingers tightened around the bottle in his hand.

"Is that so?" Trevor finally replied in a voice without inflection. "I hadn't heard."

Their mom cleared her throat. "Maybe you should invite her over to join us? She's not far from here—"

"No." The harsh word whipped through the group, snuffing out any hope his parents might have for further discussion.

Even Todd's cheery mood diminished some and he turned to check on the salmon, his smile gone.

Ellie moved closer to Tyson's side and tightened her grip on his hand, obviously sensing the tension.

But then she surprised him, clearing the air with a bright, "That salmon smells wonderful. Do you guys ever go out there and go fishing?" She gestured to the ocean that lay just beyond the fenced line of Wyatt property.

"Hell, yeah, we do," Todd said, his grin returning. "I'm the one who caught the salmon we're grilling right now."

"Bah! I believe I caught this one," their dad corrected. "Yours was barely six pounds."

"Bullshit it was, Pops!"

Any remaining tension from the family dissipated as the two began arguing good- naturedly.

Trevor had turned away from the group, silently staring out at the water.

"Good save," Tyson finally murmured against Ellie's ear. "Thank you for that."

She squeezed his hand and glanced up at him. "No problem. What was that all about anyway?"

He hesitated, but then decided Trevor was too far away to hear.

"Megan was Trevor's fiancée until they broke up last year. He won't admit it, but I think Trevor still has some pretty strong feelings for her."

"Why did they break up then?"

Again, he hesitated. "Trevor's unit in the Army deployed to Afghanistan for a year. When he came back…I don't know. Something changed. Their engagement ended shortly after that."

Sympathy flashed across her face, before Ellie turned to watch Trevor. "I'm really sorry to hear that."

"I need to go throw together the fruit salad," his mom said, passing them on the way to the house. "Ellie, why don't you come help? You can tell me more about yourself."

Ellie's eyes widened and her fingers clenched around his, but she said a bright, "Sure."

Tyson bit back a laugh as he watched her follow his mother inside. He should've seen that coming a mile away. It wasn't every day he brought a girl to the Saturday barbeque…hell, it wasn't ever.

Which made him wonder again how he was going to convince himself this was a summer fling.

With a sigh, Tyson took another swig of his beer and went to check out the salmon that he was pretty sure he'd caught.

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