Happy New Year!

I’m a bit late with this, but better later then never, right? How has your year been so far? Did you make any new year resolutions?

I’ve received a lot of questions asking about the release date for Out of Time. I don’t have an exact date set yet, but I am aiming for April.

I released an excerpt and have decided to share another. A BIG thank you for making my dreams come true in 2014. Wishing all of you a happy, healthy and blessed 2015!!

OUT OF TIME (unedited at this time)

*********************************************************************************************The following excerpt takes place in the year 2000 and a couple of days after Grizz’s execution. Ginny leaves Tommy and goes to stay with her friend, Carter. Carter has been living in the house that Grizz built for Ginny in Shady Ranches. Ginny still owned the house, but never lived there with Tommy.

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Ginny couldn’t believe what her friends were telling her. Why had Tommy and Sarah Jo never mentioned it? More secrets. She stood then and looked at Carter. I need some air. She excused herself and went out the back door. She leaned against the deck railing and inhaled deeply. Was she smelling orange blossoms or jasmine or both? Memories invaded her senses. She glanced to her right. The garage. She hadn’t stepped foot in the garage in fifteen years. It was a large, three-car garage, separate from the house. It had a small guest room on the second floor. She slowly walked toward it.

She approached the side door that was under the stairs that led up to the guest quarters. She knelt and lifted a ceramic frog. The keys were still there. The garage was never used. It was one of the conditions that Grizz insisted on when Ginny told him that Carter would be living there.

Ginny had a little trouble with the dead bolt. It obviously hadn’t been opened in years. She went inside and flicked on the light. She expected the air inside to smell bad, but she was surprised that it didn’t. It was just a little stale. She stared at the two automobiles that were covered with big cloth tarps. She knew that under each cover was a black vehicle. Grizz bought a new black Corvette every year. He tried to buy her a new car too every year, but she wouldn’t let him. She loved her birthday Trans Am. She wondered if it would now be considered vintage. She walked past them to the three motorcycles that were lined up in a row. She noticed one with a blue bandana hanging on the handlebar. She approached it and gently lifted the bandana off. She sat on the hard garage floor and lifted it to her face. Could she still smell him or was she just imagining it?

She remembered their first Christmas in their new home. He opened a small box and stared at her.

“I don’t wear perfume, Kit,” he said, giving her a level look.

“It’s not perfume, Grizz. It’s cologne. It’s a cologne for men. Smell it.”

“Real men don’t wear perfume. I’ll never wear it. You can take it back or give it to someone else.” He set it down on the coffee table.

Sometimes he can be so stubborn , she thought. “You know, Grizz, when I was smelling all the different samples at the men’s cologne counter, I’d swear this one really turned me on.” Without looking at him she reached for the bottle and added with a sign, “Maybe Axel will like it. I can always give it to him.”

He swiped it up before she grabbed it. “Turns you on, huh? Maybe I could try it.”

She smiled into the bandana when she remembered that moment. Then her eyes fixed on something else. The back wheel of her Trans Am was showing beneath the cover. They had been married for a couple of years. She didn’t remember why they were in her Trans Am. Maybe his car was in the shop at the time. He was driving and she reminded him that she needed a part.

“Did you remember to ask Axel about my wheel cap?” she asked him as she stared out over the dashboard. They had been at the mall and were navigating the parking lot.

“He didn’t get it for you yet?” Grizz asked.

“No, it’s just a stupid little cap. I don’t know if it fell off or if someone stole it. I don’t know why someone would steal it, but my tire looks funny without it. Will you remind him?” she asked.

Grizz was staring out over the parking lot and driving slowly. He gassed it then took a quick right that was so sharp she grabbed her door handle.

“What the…?” she started to say.

“Looks like it might be the same year,” he said to himself as he pulled around another row and put the car in park. He reached into the consul and took out a screw driver. Before she could say anything he got out of the car and walked away.

She turned around in her seat to see what he was doing. He approached a car that looked similar to hers and disappeared. Before she knew what was happening he reappeared and jumped into the driver’s seat. He tossed the screw driver and newly acquired wheel cap into her lap and drove off.

She looked over at him as he stared at the road.

“Grizz, did you just steal this wheel cap from someone else’s car?” she asked as she moved her sunglasses to the top of her head.

He looked over at her. “Of course I did. Where do you think I got it from?”

“Why did you have to steal it? Axel could’ve gotten me one. I can’t believe you just stole it.”

He rolled his eyes and looked over at her.

“Kit, you were complaining that you needed one. I saw an opportunity to handle it and I did. Now you don’t have to remind Axel. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is that you stole it. I don’t know, Grizz. I don’t think I can drive my car knowing you stole the wheel cap. It would bother me.”

He looked at her then and she immediately knew what he was thinking. It showed on his face.

“Oh no. No way. Don’t even tell me my car is stolen. Don’t tell me that, Grizz.

“Then I won’t tell you,” he answered her matter of factly.

She crossed her arms over her chest and stared out over the dashboard, refusing to look at him. He glanced in her direction and saw that her face was turning red. She was mad. He loved when she got mad. Even if it was at him. He didn’t say anything and tried to hide his smile. He would never let Kit drive around in a stolen car, but he wouldn’t tell her that. He had made the purchase legitimately, but he had to admit, sometimes he liked riling her up.

Finally she blurted out, “I just don’t know who you think you are taking things that don’t belong to you. I mean really, Grizz. I suppose you think that whatever’s out there is yours for the taking.”

He didn’t answer her as he stared out over the steering wheel.

“Answer me. You think that you can just take whatever you want?”

He looked over at her and smiled. “I took you, Kitten.”