by Eden French
Blurb
A paramedic must face old wounds when his Hollywood heartthrob ex returns home and tries to win back his affections. Will he find closure or will he give first love a second chance?
* * *
Coming back to Tahoe was a mistake. At least, that’s what Carson Keaton thinks the minute he returns to his hometown. When he ran away five years ago, he left everything behind, including Brand West, the only person he ever loved. Not that he had a choice. But now that the danger has passed, he returns home to reclaim Brand. The biggest question is, is it too late?
* * *
Brand West is a paramedic with a broken heart. Just after high school graduation, the love of his life hopped a Greyhound to Hollywood, leaving without explanation. Now, five years later, Brand is determined to forget about Carson by throwing himself into his career, his community, and—thanks to his best friend playing matchmaker—a hot new lover. But now Carson’s back in town, as irresistible as ever, leaving Brand with two choices: find closure and move on, or give first love a second chance.
Tahoe Blue
Eden French
Tahoe Blue © 2020 by Eden French
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any written, electronic, recorded, or photocopied format without the express permission from the author or publisher as allowed under the terms and conditions with which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution, circulation or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.
Tahoe Blue is a work of fiction. All names, characters, events and places found therein are either from the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to persons alive or dead, actual events, locations, or organizations is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.
For information, contact the publisher, Hot Tree Publishing.
www.hottreepublishing.com
Editing: Hot Tree Editing
Cover Designer: BookSmith Design
E-book ISBN: 978-1-922359-37-7
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-922359-35-3
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Epilogue
Thanks
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Publisher
More From Hot Tree Publishing
For Second Chances and Starting Over
Chapter One
Brand West reached up to the sky and stretched his arms high until his abs pulled tight in both directions. Holding the position just a minute longer, a small moan escaping his lips, he tilted his head back and closed his eyes. When he had pushed his muscles to the max, he released the stretch and, standing upright, let his body relax.
It’d been too long since he’d hit the trail. Looking around at the towering pines, he inhaled deeply and let the thick scent of spruce and earth fill his body. A few steps forward and he stood on the lookout, Lake Tahoe splayed out before him down below, deep blue and still.
God, he loved it here. Especially these late fall mornings. Those mornings when the air was cold and hinted of winter. He craved the smell of chimney fires, the feel of the crisp, clean air in his lungs, the quiet mornings, and the starry evenings. Ever since he was a teen, he’d climb up to the lookout behind his grandfather’s cabin and sit on the flat boulder for hours, a feeling of peace settling in his soul.
He smiled as he watched the sun peek out from behind the Sierra Nevadas at the opposite end of the lake. The crunch of pine needles and early snow caught his attention. Turning, he smiled as his closest friend, Ryan, rounded the corner. Her dark hair was falling out of the messy bun piled on the top of her head, and her cheeks were rosy from both the chilly air and being winded.
“I swear… to God… I’m gonna fuckin’ beat… you for making me climb this… mountain… before my coffee.” She reached the boulder and doubled over, her left hand flush against her chest.
Brand laughed, the sound echoing down into the valley below. “Coffee, before a run? You really are going to give yourself a heart attack, you know that, don’t you?”
Ryan plopped down onto the boulder and waved him off. “Never gonna happen. Why do you think I keep you around? I got my own personal paramedic to jolt me back to life if I go down.”
“You know I don’t actually carry my AED on runs, right?”
Ryan waggled her eyebrows. “No need. You are a walking talking AED, doll.” She gripped his forearms and ran her fingers along the strong muscle line “Damn, who are you working out for?”
Brand rolled his eyes. Here we go again. “No one. And I’m really not in the mood for another lecture about why I need to be opening myself up for a real relationship. I’m just not interested right now.”
Ryan narrowed her eyes. “Sure you’re not. You know, there are other fish in the sea, Brand. I know you feel there’s no one who can compare to him, but honey, believe me, there is.” She held his hand and entwined her fingers with his. “It’s been seven years, Brand. Seven years, and you mean to tell me that you haven’t met anyone who is relationship material? Not even worth a second date? Are you sure you want to be waiting around for something that may never happen?”
He pulled his hand from hers. “I’m not waiting around for him, Ry. I’ve dated other people. Lots. I’m just… busy. I don’t have time for relationships.” He heard the bullshit flow from his mouth.
You’d have time if he were around, his inner voice poked.
“So then, am I wrong to think you hooked up with Teo?”
He cringed. He should’ve known Teo would mention their night to Ryan. Well, no use avoiding it.
“It was one night.”
“One night?” She raised her eyebrows.
He lifted his hands up in surrender. “What do you want me to say?”
“I’d like to know how it came to be that my bestie ended up doing the horizontal mambo with my assistant.”
Brand turned and looked out over the lake. A streak of guilt shot through his body. Perhaps, he shouldn’t have bought Teo that drink, taken him back to his place, fucked him hard over the arm of his couch.
But the handsome assistant was so delicious. And, he’d made Brand feel like he hadn’t in years. His cock twitched as the memory flicked through his head. God, Teo felt good. Too bad he’d never admit that to Ryan. Best friend or no, if she had any inkling of his feelings, she’d hound him about it until her face turned purple. He waved his hand and continued to stare out at the lake.
“Look, Ry. It was nothing. I stopped by Bottom of the Hill
after my shift for a drink and saw Teo at the bar. We chatted, had a few, one thing led to another, and we decided to have a fun night.” He paused, curiosity getting the better of him. Did Teo mention something else? “Why? What did he say?”
The slight crack was enough for Ryan to push through.
“I knew it! I knew it, B! You like him, don’t you? Admit it. Man, I’ve been trying to set you two up forever!”
“You’re deranged.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “We had a good time, that’s all. There’s nothing more to it.”
Ryan leaned back on her elbows. “C’mon, Brand. Seriously. Teo’s a good guy. He’s smart, funny, a little too clean-cut for my personal taste, but man, great smile. If he were playing for my team, hell, I’d make a move. Are you telling me there was absolutely nothing more than a hookup?”
He bit his lip and kept his eyes on the glassy surface of the lake. It was quiet and still, just like the morning. His shoulders slumped. He was arguing a losing case.
“Okay, fine, I guess there was… yeah, maybe there was something more there than a one-night stand.” He turned around and faced his friend. “We had a good talk. And surprisingly, we have a lot in common. But I don’t want to make it a big deal, okay?”
Ryan’s eyes lit up. “Oh my God, you really like him. Brand, this is amazing. You have to tell me everything.”
“Forget it, Ry. Not now. It’s nothing.”
“C’mon, Brand. Just give me something. Anything.”
He huffed. “Fine. He’s making me dinner tonight at his house.”
Her jaw nearly hit the trail floor. “A second date? Already? O.M.G.”
He shot her a look, and she put up her hands. “Okay, okay. I’ll let it go… for now. But this isn’t over, West. Let it be known that you, my bestie, deserve love. And I will not rest until that handsome little package of yours is smothered with the hottest, most trustworthy, loyal, caring, completely head-over-heels-in-love-with-you man I can find. And, if things keep going like I’m hearing, it could be with my awesome assistant.”
“Don’t say anything to him, Ry. I mean it. I don’t want to scare him away.”
She crossed her fingers over her heart. “I swear to you, my lips are sealed.”
She stood and brushed her backside with her hands and held out her pinkie. Brand raised his brows.
“Seriously? A pinkie swear? I’m not doing that. It’s ridiculous.”
“Hold out your damned pinkie, West. I’m trying to make a solemn promise, and if you fuck it up, I will beat you down.”
Brand smiled. Ryan could be a pain in the ass, but she was his closest friend. His ultimate confidante. She was the only one who helped him when his heart was ripped from his chest after he disappeared, listened to his endless stream of self-pity on the nights he felt lost, and was always at the ready when he needed a distraction. He held out his pinkie.
“Beat me down, huh? You’d have to catch me first, and let’s face it, you’re not exactly in peak condition.”
“I swear to God, West.” She grabbed his pinkie with hers and pulled him off balance, kicking her leg out toward his ass. Brand shuffled to the side and escaped the attack.
“Ooh, you gotta be quicker than that to catch me off guard.” He twisted around and in two steps was about ten feet from the boulder. “C’mon, Ry. Let’s get you that coffee.”
He didn’t wait for her response. He turned and jogged back down the trail to its head, leaving his best friend behind.
Chapter Two
“Jesus Christ, Cynthia. What am I supposed to do while I wait?” Carson flopped down on the pristine leather couch in his agent’s office.
Cynthia Roberts was the hottest talent agent in Los Angeles, and if her office was a measure of her success, then it was safe to assume she was also the best.
The large open design of the space was modern and clean. Located on the twenty-ninth floor of the Wilshire Grand Building, the Roberts Talent Agency was home to some of the most well-known actors and actresses in the industry. Decorated in varying shades of white and glass, the office felt a bit opulent, but that was exactly the image it wanted to portray. It was futuristic and over the top, and Carson knew that his career would only soar while he was under Cynthia’s wing. If he could only get back to work.
“How about taking a break?” she replied. “You’ve been working your ass off since we started this four years ago.”
Carson groaned. “You know I’ve got to keep busy. I’ll go insane if I do nothing. Aren’t there any cons you can book for me? Signings… appearances… anything, Cyn?”
“No, there’s nothing right now,” she replied as she leaned back in her arctic white leather chair. Her silver hair cut in a severely angled bob complemented the fabric.
The wall of windows behind her opened up to a magnificent view of downtown Los Angeles, and with the sun beaming in from behind, she looked like a veritable goddess. No, a savior. He smiled. Cynthia was, for all intents and purposes, his savior. The shrewd businesswoman had seen his potential before anyone else and snatched him up from the Curry Stop when he was still bussing tables.
“Are you telling me the truth, or is this just your way of forcing me to take a break?’
Cynthia smiled, her eyes softening as she looked at him. “Look, kid, you know I’d rather have you working and making money for the both of us. But there’s nothing I can do about a writers’ strike. The entire studio has shut down, not just your show.”
“I know,” he conceded. “It’s just that I’m not sure what to do. I mean, how long will this go on for?”
She shrugged. “As soon as I know, you’ll know. This whole thing has gotten out of hand. Trust me. In my opinion, the studios are gonna break down and meet the WGA at the table. But as far as a timeline? One week? Five weeks? Who knows?”
“Five weeks!”
“What do you want to hear? Sometimes things are out of our control.”
“You don’t seem too worried.”
“I’m not. Writers’ strikes happen. There’s not much we can do but support them. After all, their words are what give you the material you need to be the star that you are.”
He sighed and ran his hand through his wavy blond hair. Five weeks seemed like an eternity. What the hell was he going to do between now and then?
She smiled softly. “Listen, why don’t you just go out. Enjoy yourself. Take advantage of all this free time. Have fun. You work constantly, and you’ll burn out if you don’t slow down.” She lowered her eyebrows and shot him a pointed look. “I swear, Carson, you’re the oldest twenty-five-year-old I’ve ever managed.” She brought her hands together and tapped her forefingers. “What about Sasha? You two could hit Locust this weekend and create quite the stir.”
He winced at the mention of the starlet’s name.
“She’s not that bad. I thought you two were really hitting it off.”
“She’s fine, Cyn. It’s just that… I don’t know. She’s….”
“Not the one?”
If you only knew….
“No, she’s not.”
“Well, who says you have to find the one now? Seriously, Carson, you’re so young. Speaking as someone who’s been living here for over thirty years, I can tell you LA is a fun town. Go out. Let loose. A handsome man at your age…. Hell, take advantage of this little break and let me handle the production schedule. I’ll call you when I hear anything.”
He stood. He’d known Cynthia long enough to take the hint; he was being dismissed. He turned and walked toward the door.
“What about your mom?” she called as he reached for the door handle.
He looked over his shoulder. “Huh?”
“Your mom,” she repeated. “Why don’t you go visit her for a few days? I know back home has never been your first choice of vacation spots, but I’m sure she’d love to see you, especially since you didn’t attend the funer—”
“I don’t think so,” he interrupted, his voice cold.
Home was the last place he’d be welcomed. Sure, he was on speaking terms again with his mother and sister, but that had only come after his father’s death.
Cynthia leaned back in her chair and studied him, her eyes lasered through his soul. He shifted from one foot to the other under her gaze.
Her mouth straightened. “I have no idea what you’re running from back there, and Lord knows if there’s anything that might come back and bite us in the ass, I hope you have the brains to give me a heads-up.” She took a deep breath and sat up. “What I do know is that life’s too short to hold on to whatever it is you’re refusing to let go of.”
A rope tightened around his heart. His chest ached with a pain he’d been trying to bury for the past seven years. God, would it ever go away? His throat was dry, and he swallowed hard, pushing a thick ball of remorse down. Was she on to something? Was now the time to try and move forward?
“Yeah, sure,” he said as she continued to stare him down. “I guess I can spend a few days there.”
“Good,” she replied. “I’ll get it arranged. Go home. Fix whatever you need to, whatever’s haunting those gorgeous eyes of yours, because when this strike is over, and production resumes, I want you fresh and your head clear, got it?”
