More fun with series

Today’s featured series is actually more like a duo of books. Even so…they are two of my all-time favorite stories, so what the heck? I’m including them. My first published book with Ellora’s Cave was Kiss Me, Kate. It is followed up by Three Reasons Why and the two stories are about sisters from Madison. How about a peek at Kate?

Chapter One

Mid-May

“Yowza,” Kate muttered as the front door of the farmhouse opened. Recalling herself, she quickly said, “Hi there. I c-called earlier. I’m Jill’s sister. The, uh, house-sitter.” Kate stumbled over her words as a man who could pass for George Clooney’s identical twin brother answered the door. O brother, where art thou been all my life?

“Hello.” Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome spoke in a voice so hot and deep she was sure it could melt chocolate, not to mention what it was doing to her insides. “Ms. Summers?”

“Harper.” She silently remarked how strange it felt to be using her maiden name again and extended her hand. “Kate Harper.”

“Harper.” He shook the hand she offered, his grip strong yet curiously comforting. “Rick McAllister.”

Kate prayed he couldn’t feel her hand shaking. Damn, she was a fool. She needed this job, desperately. Now was not the time to act like a giggling teenager crushing on a movie star. Although with his dark brown hair and cocoa-colored eyes, he could certainly grace her silver screen anytime of the day or night. “You’re doing it again,” she muttered underneath her breath.

“Excuse me?” Rick had heard her mumbles and looked confused.

Mortified, Kate attempted to backtrack quickly. “Nothing, I was just, uh, saying…so you and Jill are friends?”

Rick grinned in a way that let Kate know he wasn’t fooled. “Yep and I don’t mind telling you that your sister makes a Dutch apple pie that can bring a grown man to his knees begging for a crumb of the crust.”

Kate laughed at his description. She constantly heard similar comments from most of the folks in town. Her sister owned and operated a diner on Main Street. It was typically packed for breakfast, lunch and dinner due to Jill’s amazing culinary skills and vivacious personality. Kate couldn’t think of one person in town who wasn’t drawn to Jill and her delicious food—which made it all the more painful to have to admit she was Jill’s baby sister. People expected Kate to be like her and were always disappointed.

“Jill’s cooking is one of the reasons I’ll never succeed in any diet.”

“Why on earth are you dieting?”

Rick looked so sincere in his question, Kate wasn’t sure how to respond. Flustered, she changed the subject. “I, uh, understand you’re leaving town immediately.”

“That’s right.” Rick stepped back from the doorway and gestured for her to enter. “Why don’t you come on in? Would you like something to drink? I’m not sure there’s much left in the fridge except for a couple beers and maybe some lemonade. Wes and I have been trying to clean it out so nothing would spoil. We weren’t sure we’d be able to find someone to stay here on such short notice.”

“Oh, I’m not thirsty. Thanks anyway.” Kate’s eyes took in the spacious foyer. “Wow.”

Rick chuckled behind her. “Is that an impressed ‘wow’ or a horrified one?”

“Impressed,” she answered without thinking. “This house is even better on the inside.” It was an old farmhouse, situated on twenty-five acres just outside the small town where she worked as the high school librarian. She’d driven by the house quite a few times in the past since it sat on the road that led to one of her favorite hiking trails. Every time she drove by, she slowed down to see all the improvements the new owners had made over the years.

Although she’d never actually met Wes Robson or Rick McAllister, she’d certainly heard all about them via the gossip grapevine, a.k.a. Jill. She had seen them in town on various occasions, but only from a distance. She had to say up-close was much, much better.

“Other than Wes and myself, I think you’re the only person to ever actually admit that. We still have quite a bit of work left to do, as you can see. Wes and I have put most of our efforts into maintaining the outside of the house and the outbuildings. I’m afraid neither one of us is much use when it comes to interior decorating. Add to that the fact that our housekeeper quit a couple months ago, we’re two hopeless bachelors when it comes to housework and voila—the mess you see before you.”

“Not a mess.” Kate studied the high ceilings and arched doorways that led to several different rooms. The house was clearly built at a time when people paid attention to detail. She was so sick of the carbon-copy cardboard boxes contractors liked to refer to as “dream homes” nowadays. “A work in progress—and one with a lot of potential.”

“I agree,” Rick added quietly. “We’ve just had a hard time making any progress on that work. Come on in the living room. Wes will be here in awhile. He’s out mowing the yard.”

“I assume you have a riding mower?” Kate wondered if yard chores would be part of her duties if she could convince Rick and Wes to allow her to stay.

“Hell yeah. Pardon my language, but it would be a bit much to do with a push mower.” Then he seemed to realize the reason for her question. “You don’t have to worry about that, though. There’s a teenager who lives down the road. He’ll be taking over the yard work once school lets out in a couple weeks. Jill says you’re a teacher?”

“Librarian, but as it’s at the high school, chances are good I know your new gardener.”

“Scott Miller.”

“Oh yeah, Scott’s a great kid. He’ll do a terrific job.” Kate wondered if Rick knew how much the Miller family could use any money Scott would earn. His mother was a teacher at the same school as Kate and his father had recently been placed on disability. The family had four kids, ages eight to seventeen, and Kate knew money was tight.

“Jill says you’re going through a divorce,” Rick added and Kate felt the usual tightness in her chest that accompanied that statement. The pain of her slime-ball husband’s desertion still stung. She’d come home two months ago to find their house empty and their joint bank account cleaned out.

Madison was a small town and she was sure there was little chance Rick McAllister hadn’t heard all the gory details of how the town’s top lawyer had run out on his dumpy librarian wife and taken off with Madison’s one and only hairdresser. True to the cliché, Kate was the last one to find out about Zachary Summers’ cheating ways. In fact, until she came home to find everything in the house gone—except her books and clothes—Kate hadn’t had a clue Zack wasn’t faithful to her.

Having grown up in Madison, Kate wasn’t surprised by the townspeople’s reactions. Her husband’s exploits were apparently acceptable because they were so expected. She overheard one particularly nasty comment about how it had only been a matter of time before Zack Summers left to find a woman worthy of him. On top of that, Kate sensed most of the women in town were actually pissed off with her for not keeping her husband happy because they now had to travel thirty-five miles to Harrisburg to get their perms and color.

Kate cleared her throat and nodded. “That’s right. Unfortunately divorce is a rather pricey investment and I decided to put my house on the market to help with the cost.” Not that Kate gave a damn about the house. Zack picked out the modern monstrosity, determined to rub his success as an ambulance chaser in the neighbors’ noses, and Kate had hated it since the day they’d moved in.

“I’ve been staying with Jill, but she and I are rather different people and her apartment is a bit small.” Kate didn’t bother to include the fact that, although she loved her sister dearly, Jill was driving her up the wall.

“Well, I have to say Wes and I were starting to give up hope of finding someone to take care of the place. Fact of the matter is we aren’t sure how long we’ll be out of town and we hate to leave the place empty for so long. There are lots of plants inside that need tending, and Rex.”

“Rex?”

“Jill did tell you we have a dog, didn’t she?” Rick asked, looking concerned.

“Uh, no.” And Kate knew exactly why Jill had omitted that fact. Kate was deathly afraid of dogs since being bitten by one in the sixth grade. “Is Rex an outdoor dog?” Silently she prayed he was one of those dogs kept in a pen in the back she only had to throw water and food at once a day.

Rick laughed. “Oh no, although he probably should be. Big old pain in the ass is what he is. He adopted us about a year ago.”

The word “big” reverberated in Kate’s head. “He adopted you?”

“Just walked up to the back door and started scratching. Wes is a softie when it comes to dogs. Started feeding him scraps every night. Next thing I know, there’s a horse of a dog sleeping with me in my bed, hogging the covers.”

“H-horse of a dog,” Kate mumbled as Rick studied her face.

“You’re afraid of dogs,” he said simply and, realizing she wouldn’t be able to deny it, she nodded.

“Hell,” Rick cursed.

Kate sank down on the plush chair behind her, indecision flooding her. A dog. Dammit, they would have a dog. Of everything she could have dealt with while house-sitting, she wasn’t sure about an enormous dog.

Then her mind drifted back to this morning when Jill’s current flavor of the month, Seth, came into the kitchen completely naked. Kate spent more than half the night listening to the man’s moans and groans and her sister’s headboard banging against her bedroom wall. That was when she decided sleeping on the street was preferable to spending one more night under Jill’s roof. There were dogs on the street, she supposed, so if she was willing to cuddle up to a trashcan rather than risk seeing the naked woman tattooed on Seth’s ass again, then perhaps she could handle this. “Dog or trashcan,” she muttered.

“Trashcan?” Rick asked, clearly confused.

“Uh, nothing.” Damn mumbling. A bad habit she couldn’t seem to kick. It was asshole Zack’s fault. He’d left her alone for so much of their marriage, she’d started talking to herself. She seriously had to get it under control. People were going to start thinking she was crazy. “I’m sure Rex and I will get along famously.”

“Really?” Rick asked, obviously unconvinced.

“Really.”

 

Rick looked at the quirky little librarian sitting across from him and wondered for the third time since she entered the house what the hell he was thinking. Kate Harper was an odd bird with her stammering and mumbling. Add to that the fact she was obviously terrified of dogs and he figured he was the biggest fool in the world for even considering letting her house-sit his precious home. However, he and Wes were desperate and Kate was the only person who’d expressed an interest in doing the job. Rick could sense she was anxious for a place to stay despite the problem of Rex. Wes would probably kill him, yet he knew he was going to leave timid Kate holding down their rather messy fort and overly affectionate dog.

Unfortunately, chances were good she would take one look at Rex and run for the hills. When he mentioned Rex’s size, her pale face had gone even whiter, the trembling in her hands seemed to escalate—and he hadn’t exaggerated about the mutt. Wes joked that Rex was half black lab, half mountain lion. Not that he acted it. Rick had never met a gentler dog. If he could get Kate past her initial fear, he had little doubt Rex would claim her heart just as he did everyone else’s he met.

He found himself a bit angry at the toll her husband’s cheating had obviously taken on Kate’s self-esteem. Madison was a small town and he knew all about Zack Summers’ seedy escapades. Poor girl was dressed fit to enter a convent, with no makeup and her long auburn hair pinned up in a tight ponytail. Her oversized t-shirt and baggy jeans shielded her figure from the world’s eyes and he suspected she may be using the big clothes to hide a few extra pounds. Her voice was soft, almost unsure of itself, and despite the fact she was holding up her end of the conversation just fine, Rick sensed her discomfort in his presence.

Of course, like Rex, he was used to women being intimidated by him and his size. In this case, he had to be nearly a half-foot taller than Kate and at least a hundred pounds heavier, so he assumed some of her apprehension was due to the situation and the rest due to him.

Trying to put her at ease, he flashed an easy smile, secretly wishing Wes had been the one to conduct this interview. Wes Robson, his best friend since middle school, was one of those men women flocked to. His charming smile and devil-may-care attitude never failed to leave a trail of horny women in his wake. Where Rick was big and broad and built like a linebacker, Wes was a couple inches shorter and more compact and muscular, like a soccer player.

“Well, Kate.” He sat in the chair across from her and leaned back. “Fact is this was not really an interview, but more an introduction. Jill’s word is certainly good enough for me and having met you, I have no doubts at all you’ll take good care of the house. Would you like to take a tour of the place?”

He watched as the breath Kate had apparently been holding since entering the house escaped and she gave him the first genuine smile he’d seen since meeting her. He was surprised to see how much it transformed her face from plain Jane to plain pretty.

“I don’t know how to thank you for letting me do this.” She rose from her chair so quickly he nearly got whiplash watching her move. “I was at my wit’s end, trying to figure out what to do next. I really couldn’t spend one more minute with Jill. Although God knows I love her dearly. How we managed to co-exist for the first eighteen years of ours lives together is absolutely beyond me. Mind-boggling. Do you have any idea how long you’ll be gone?”

“Hard to say.” He stood up to join her and struggled to take in her rushed speech. As he could only recall the last question, he said, “Anywhere from six months to a year. I suppose Jill told you what Wes and I do?”

“All she said was you were in law enforcement.”

“Drug Enforcement,” he clarified.

“DEA agents. Must be an exciting job.”

“Sometimes,” Rick answered, “but lots of times it’s non-stop, painstakingly boring stake-outs.”

“How will I reach you if there is an emergency?”

“I’ll give you a number to a messaging system Wes and I check in with periodically and we’ll call or email whenever we can. You don’t mind staying out here all by yourself?” Rick kicked himself for asking the question. Fact was, the house, despite its fairly close proximity to town, was basically in the country. Completely isolated. If Kate refused to take the job, he and Wes would have to put Rex in a kennel—which the dog would hate—in addition to worrying about vandals or the old pipes leaking or freezing.

However, the thought of Kate staying out here alone was starting to worry him more than the idea of vandals wrecking his belongings. Deep inside he knew Kate would be just fine. Madison was a small town with little to no crime. It was one of the main reasons they decided to settle here rather than remain in the city after nearly a decade with the agency. He and Wes decided it was time to put down some roots, invest in some property and start looking toward the future rather than merely living in the present. He sensed his time at the DEA was running out. More and more he resented the extended assignments away from this home he had come to love. Once he retired his badge, he was looking forward to doing a bit of farming and operating his own little fix-it shop from the garage out back. He’d stashed away a nice nest egg due to thrifty living and good investments and he was ready to start enjoying it.

“I’m used to being alone.”

Kate’s answer dragged him back from his thoughts before they headed to the foyer and up the stairs. Rick wondered why a married woman would be used to being alone—before remembering Summers’ infamous infidelity. His exploits had been prime fodder for the town gossips since Rick’s move here four years ago.

Had Kate known about her husband’s cheating ways and merely turned her head? Rick couldn’t help but think not, for some reason. Yet, she didn’t seem to possess much self-assurance, if the way she carried herself was any indication. Perhaps she simply hadn’t had the confidence to confront Zack about his steady stream of girlfriends. Rick had encountered the arrogant, annoying lawyer several times and couldn’t picture someone as quiet as Kate married to such an asshole.

“Jill failed to tell me you were so pretty.” He wanted to draw her out of the protective shell she seemed to be encased in.

She snorted with disbelief. “I’m a sure thing, Rick. I need a place to stay—badly. You don’t have to butter me up.”

Rick was overcome by two emotions at once and they stopped him in his tracks. Her words “sure thing” sent all the blood surging to his surprisingly aroused cock. He certainly didn’t feel an attraction to the poor little mouse, did he?

However, the other emotion—anger—won out. “Don’t call me a liar, sweetheart. It’s the one thing you never want to do.”

Kate seemed taken aback by his harsh tone and she blushed. “I-I didn’t call you a liar.”

“You are very pretty.” He repeated the words, daring her to refute them again, yet unsure why he felt compelled to push her on the subject.

“No.” Her voice was showing its first real bit of strength and her back stiffened even more, inviting Rick’s cock to do the same. “I’m not. But thank you for the compliment.” Turning around, she started up the stairs without awaiting his invitation and Rick struggled to follow with his painful erection rasping against the zipper of his jeans. Nope, he thought, Kate definitely did not know about her husband’s cheating.

Once he caught up to her, he led her to the first room on the left. “This is the guest room where you’ll be staying.” As Rick opened the door, he watched Kate’s eyes widen.

“This is the guest room?”

Rick smiled at her awed response. He and Wes worked well into the night trying to make it enticing enough that Kate would agree to stay. When Jill called to suggest her sister as a house-sitter, they threw themselves into making the room presentable and inviting. Given her wide-eyed response, he would say they were successful.

“It’s lovely.” She stepped farther into the room, running her hand along his grandmother’s handmade quilt on the bed. Rick had opened the window earlier to air the room out and with the mid-morning sun shining through and a light breeze blowing in, he had to admit the room did look homey.

“A window seat.” She walked over and was going to sit on the light green cushion when she glanced out into the backyard. “Is that Wes?”

Moving behind her to look over her shoulder, Rick could see Wes hosing off the John Deere tractor. “Looks like he’s finished with the yard. He should be in soon.”

“Are you sure, um, I mean is he okay with the idea of a stranger staying in the house?” Kate was no doubt afraid she could still be denied.

“It was his idea, Kate,” he reassured her. “He’ll be thrilled to have someone here to look after Rex and the plants.”

Kate grinned. “Well, you don’t have to worry about a thing. I’ll take care of the house like it was my own, I promise. And, of course, R-Rex.”

Rick returned her smile, imagining Kate puttering around his house, walking the dog, cooking and cleaning, sitting on this seat to read a book, rocking on the porch swing in the evenings, sleeping in the room next to his.

The image of a naked Kate sleeping under a cotton sheet in the summer heat flashed through his mind. Christ, first thing he was going to do when he and Wes left town was find himself a willing woman. His libido was playing tricks on him. Kate Harper was definitely not his type. Women who attracted him did not blush or stammer and if Kate knew half the games he liked to play with his lovers, she would hop on Rex’s back and make a break for it.

“Come on,” he said, taking her hand, “let’s finish the tour and then you can join Wes and me for some lunch. Give Rex a chance to get to know you.”

At his words, he watched Kate struggle to stifle any qualms she had about meeting the dog and was impressed with her determination. “I can do this,” she mumbled in self-encouragement all the way down the stairs. Her ego may have taken a beating from her soon-to-be ex, but she was clearly a strong woman and Rick had a feeling she’d land on her feet in the long run. He also trusted she would take good care of his beloved farmhouse.

Smiling, he led her downstairs to the kitchen, pleased with the day’s events. If he felt a slight regret niggling at the back of his mind, he chalked it up to the fact he hated to leave Madison, not that he hated to leave this shy, intriguing young woman.

Kiss Me Kate is available at Ellora’s Cave, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and All Romance Ebooks.