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About the author:
Jade Kerrion writes her award-winning science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary novels at 3:00 a.m. when her husband and three sons are asleep. She aspires to make her readers as sleep-deprived as she is. Her alphabetical Life Shocks Romances series anchors around unlikely romances you will root for and happy endings you can believe in.
What inspired you to write your book?
We’re a group of romance authors who wanted to put out some sweet romances for the spring. What better way to celebrate renewal than with eight novels of hope and love?
Here is a short sample from the book:
Misty Mountain by P.C. Zick
CHAPTER ONE
LACY SCHUMACHER LIFTED A TRAY filled with hot chicken wings from the kitchen window countertop. When she turned to head to a booth in her section, âYour Cheating Heartâ blasted from the stage at the front of the bar. Suddenly, her feet went out from under her when she slipped on a puddle of beer spilled by one of the customers. Chicken wings flew in the air, and the small cup of blue cheese dressing landed on top of her head and rode with her on her descent to the floor. A celery stick landed on her chest.
She heard the laughter all around her, making the humiliation complete. Then a hand appeared to help her to her feet. She felt the growing wetness on the back of her jeans from the beer as she stood and faced George. She pulled the container from her head. Blue cheese dripped down her long brown curls. He grabbed some napkins from a nearby table and started dabbing at her hair. Thatâs all she needed. Theyâd only been dating a few months, but now any doubt he had about her abilities to do anything gracefully were probably dashed.
âItâs all right,â she said, as she took the napkins from his hand. âIâll be right back.â She headed for the bathroom, hoping she could clean up well enough to continue her shift at Misty Mountain, the bar where sheâd worked for several years.
Misty Mountain hopped on a cold Thursday night in January, and Lacy longed to go home and soak her aching feet in a hot bath as she used a wet paper towel to dab at her hair. Too bad her house didnât have a hot tub like so many of the rental cabins in the Smoky Mountains.
The economics of the town depended on the tourists whose visits to the mountains were as unpredictable as the weather during the winter months. Locals accounted for a fraction of the crowd most of the time, and the part-timers were scarce from Christmas to Easter. But tonight, the restaurant was enjoying the first busy night of January.
âItâs the winter festival in Blue Ridge,â Julie Cole had told Lacy when sheâd come in for her shift a few hours earlier. âWe could have a big crowd tonight.â
Julie and Lacy had started working at Misty Mountain about the same time several years earlier. Julie, more outgoing than Lacy, gravitated to bartending. She loved teasing and laughing with the customers. Lacy enjoyed her job most of the time, but she was quieter.
âThe band from Nashville will draw a crowd, too,â Lacy had responded. âI can use the tips, and I bet you and Johnny could use the business.â
âThatâs for sure. Itâs been a slow month so far.â Julie had stopped washing glasses and put her elbows on the bar. âSo have you two talked yet?â
Lacy tied a black apron around her waist. She knew Julie meant well, but she didnât want to talk about George. Julie, and her husband Johnny, owned Misty Mountain, and George was Johnnyâs brother. Even though she and Julie were good friends, she felt uncomfortable discussing George with her. Small towns bred familiarityâshe knew that all too well.
Lacy shook her head. âIt hasnât come up.â
âIt will. Especially if Becca ever finds out the two of you are dating.â
Becca, Georgeâs ex-wife, lived in Nashville, where the two of them had moved twelve years earlier. She knew Julie was right. Maybe it was time to just end it with George before it went any further. It was inevitable that Lacy would be left heartbroken when Becca found out, and George inevitably succumbed to her demands. Even though they were divorced, they had a child together, and Lacy felt certain Becca would use that to manipulate George.
âGeorge is buying into the bar,â Julie had said as she poured the pitcher of beer. âDid he mention it to you?â
Lacy shook her head. George had moved back to Murphy after his divorce, but his son still lived with Becca in Nashville, four hours away. Last time theyâd talked about it, he said he wasnât sure what he was going to do. Heâd been handling the music end of the bar for a month, bringing bands in from all over the south for live music on the weekends. Maybe heâd decided to stay, even though it made seeing his son more difficult. He certainly didnât need to tell Lacy about all his decisions.
âHe sure has been bringing in some good music.â Lacy had said. âI guess heâs decided to stay in Murphy for a while.â
Sheâd been burned too many times in the past by men she fell for who hadnât fallen for her in return, so she tried not to think about Georgeâs sandy brown hair that fell softly over his collar or his brown eyes that sparkled whenever he talked about music and his passion for finding just the right sound. She didnât think about his broad shoulders or the way he looked in his solid-colored flannel shirts rolled up halfway on his forearm. She most certainly didnât think about those things or about the way he kissed her good night when he walked her to the door of her house. So far that was as far as the relationship had gone, and that was fine with her. She liked George and enjoyed spending time with him, but that was it. She didnât need another relationship to turn out like the last oneâwith her boyfriend engaged to another woman.
âGeorge has lots of connections back in Nashville,â Julie had continued, as she put wine glasses in the racks above her head. âIt must have been awful with Becca for him to leave his career. He was making a name for himself as an agent, at least thatâs what Johnny says. George doesnât mention Nashville very much.â
âI can tell by the names of some of his clients that he was doing well. Sometimes when life gets difficult, itâs best to make it less complicated. So he came home to Murphy.â She headed to her first table of customers, anxious to stop talking about Julieâs brother-in-law.
George, six years older than Lacy, left Murphy for good after he graduated from college. He and Becca married a few months after George finished school in Atlanta. They left right after the wedding. Lacy knew why Becca wanted to leave Murphy. And Lacy approved, and only felt relief when she left. She vividly remembered Becca and her nastiness after the accident that killed Beccaâs father and Lacyâs sister, but Lacy didnât remember much about George. He faded into the background behind Beccaâs monstrous personality.
When George returned home two months before for all the activities surrounding Johnny and Julieâs Christmas wedding, she noticed him immediately. Heâd divorced Becca, and when he turned up in town, single and handsome, all the single women noticed him, too. When he entered Misty Mountain, the women didnât hesitate to tell Lacy what theyâd like to do with him. George was handsome, no doubt about it, but she wasnât going to fall for his rugged good looks. When heâd asked her out his second week back in Murphy, sheâd been surprised, but she agreed. Neither one of them were looking for anything serious, since both were coming off broken relationships. Theyâd been casually dating ever since, but they hadnât discussed Lacyâs sister and her connection to Beccaâs father. And Lacy had never met Georgeâs nine-year-old son. Casual and easyâjust what she needed.
Julie and she had stopped talking as people began to fill the bar. Lacy hadnât had a chance to even think or stop moving, until she had fallen on her rear end, sending chicken wings flying through the air. In the bathroom, she attempted to clean herself up so she could finish her shift with a little more dignity. She dabbed at her face and pressed dry towels against her backside, hoping to lessen the obvious beer stain. Fluffing her hair, she gave herself a pep talk so she could finish out the night. When she returned to the floor, the band played âCrazyâ as a female singer with died black hair held the microphone close and channeled Patsy Cline to the stage of Misty Mountain. The song carried her back to the bar, where she almost ran into George when he turned around abruptly. Heâd been talking to Julie at the wait station.
âLacy, you clean up nicely,â he said. âHow do you like the band?â
âTheyâre good.â Lacy glanced over at the stage and then back to the bar. âJulie, I need a pitcher of Bud and two shots of JĂ€germeister.â
âI wish we could get together later, but I have Jed tonightâhe has a long weekend off school so Becca met me halfway.â
âWhere is he?â Lacy asked, looking around for a nine-year-old boy.
âI dropped him off at the Johnsonâs to play with Gracie for an hour while I checked in down here. You know Nickâs mom loves kids.â
âI know. Sheâs practically adopted Gracie. Iâm sure sheâll do the same with Jed.â
âJed may be more of a challenge, Iâm afraid.â
Lacy looked at him, waiting for him to explain. But instead he gave her shoulder a pat, then headed to the small office next to the bathrooms in the back.
Small towns bred their own soap operas. Brains not occupied in noble pursuits dipped into the depravity of the human condition. Lacy knew it very well. Nick Johnson had been her boyfriend up until four months ago. He said he wasnât ready to commit. But then just two months after making that declaration, he asked Molly Parker to marry him. Molly had returned to Murphy in the fall with her ten-year-old daughter, Gracie. And despite the engagement of Molly and Nick, Lacy chose to forgive them both. She and Molly had been childhood friends, and Lacy had fallen in love with Gracie. She didnât believe in holding grudges, but she knew that placed her in the minority. She knew plenty of people still talked about her sister, and now they probably talked about her friendship with Molly and her relationship with George. She squared her shoulders while she waited for the drink order.
âBecca is a real bitch,â Julie said as she set two full shot glasses on the tray. âShe called George at the last minute today and made him drive two hours to pick up Jed. Johnny and I both were happy when George left her. Itâs just too bad Jed lives so far away. He needs his father. Wait until you meet him, and youâll know what I mean.â
âI have a feeling Becca might not be too keen on me having anything to do with her son.â
Julie raised her eyebrows. âThatâs why Iâve been telling you the two of you need to talk about it. Becca holds her fatherâs death against you, even though you didnât have a damn thing to do with it.â
Lacyâs âelephantâ in the room sat on her chest, suffocating her. The secret. The scandal. The shame.
âItâs been twelve years,â Lacy said, while Julie poured the pitcher. âCanât she just move on?â
âYou donât know Becca,â Julie said. âShe never forgets anything. She still remembers the first time Johnny brought me home for Thanksgiving dinner, and I refused to eat her pecan pie.â
âArenât you allergic to nuts?â
âExactly. But try telling Becca that. She said I had offended her and her motherâs recipe.â
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