Fiona was already securing the baby into her car seat, and the Wolf took Sara from him while Cookie put John in his car seat. “Thank you, everyone.”
“Yes, thank you,” Jessyka repeated. Her voice was tired and strained. He needed to get her home.
Wolf did just that. It took just twenty minutes from the base airport where the jet landed. He knew the roads well.
As soon as they got home, each of them took a sleeping baby and tucked them in. Wolf offered to stay, but Benny didn’t think he needed him tonight. Exhaustion was overtaking them all. Him included. Jessyka said her goodnights and went up to bed, while he waited with Wolf downstairs until Caroline arrived.
“Hey man, I didn’t get to say congrats on your win in person,” Wolf smiled his slightly uneven smile.
“Thanks. The house is gonna be great and done in no time now.” Benny looked around the room and saw the tarps that were still draped over some of the furniture. They had been about to tackle the popcorn ceilings. That was going to be mess.
“It’s gonna be great. Your home is going to be beautiful.”
“It’s good to be home. Home,” Benny repeated. He thought of his childhood home. Relieved to know it was safe. Cam had surprised them all by telling them he was moving back home from Florida. He had accepted a job with a new airline. Suzie had been thrilled. She’d have one of her boys home.
Jenny was moving in with John and giving the farm to Suzie and Cam.
Cord was happy in Florida, and loved his job in the Coast Guard down there. He was glad to know the farm would still be in the family. They all promised to reunite each year for at least one holiday.
Jessyka had asked that it be Easter, and they all agreed to that. The spring in Massachusetts was beautiful too. She also said when the house was finished, she’d love for them all to have Thanksgiving next year with them in California, and everyone liked that idea as well.
The two holidays were evenly split and would make being together easier.
After Wolf left, Benny found himself watching his sleeping kids again. He was thankful. So thankful that they were all safe. Safe and sleeping soundly in their own beds, and once again he was in awe of his wife. Jessyka. The woman was brave, strong, and great under pressure. He was so glad she was his.
He walked down the hall to their master suite. He was surprised to see his wife still awake. She was lying in bed with one of his old Navy shirts on.
“You’re still up?”
“My husband promised to make love to me yesterday. I know it won’t cross anything off your bucket list, but I need my man tonight. Need him to hold me.” Her voice was sweet, but he heard the need. He wanted nothing more than to make love to this incredible woman.
“Your wish is my command, baby. My command.” Benny yanked his shirt up and over his head, and quickly unfastened his jeans and pulled them down while he crossed the room.
Jessyka pulled the Navy t-shirt off her body before he could do it.
Benny climbed inside beside her and pulled Jessyka on top of him so she was straddling his already hard erection. She loved being on top, and it gave her the freedom to move as she desired. Her breasts dangled temptingly above him.
“God woman, I love you. Did I thank you for saving me yet?” he murmured as he popped one rosy tipped nipple into his mouth to get his wife’s motor running.
“Mmhm,” she purred. “Been there, done that.”
Benny smiled around his wife’s nipple, and gently rolled the tip between his teeth. She sure as hell had, he thought. She sure as hell had.
The End
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I just can’t thank Susan and her fans enough. Her fans have been so amazing in the way they have come out to support and embrace a still relatively new author. (I only have ten books out so far, and I am still learning as I go.) It has truly been such a wonderful experience writing for her and for you. Her characters are absolutely fantastic. I truly do love her work, and I am a real honest to goodness hardcore fan now. She is stuck with me for life.
I want to thank her as well. As an Indie author, she supports and encourages other Indie authors. She and Maryann Jordan have given me opportunities like no one else. Susan is amazing, and her fans know that, but they might not know what a mentor she is to other authors in this business. She helps us, coaches us, and lets us springboard ideas off of her, and not only that, but she promotes us and helps us find our voice by using her characters to do it.
I have one more idea, one more set of characters I want to write about, so if you enjoyed this book, you can look for one more intertwined novella from me. It may not be in the next wave of releases as I have a crazy schedule coming up, but I promise to give you one more tale connecting Susan’s characters with mine.
Like my last novella for Susan, which was Protecting Beauty about Melody, Tex and Akilah, I hope that I did Benny and Jessyka’s story as much justice as you felt I did for Tex. I gave you drama and a tear jerker in that book, but this time I wanted to give you tons of action and suspense. I really do hope you enjoyed this ride. Action and suspense is my favorite thing to write.
I also want to thank two very special people to me. My fans, two of them, who have been through it all with me, and have stuck by me in all my trials and tribulations, and that is Dina Alexander, a beautiful woman inside and out, and a cancer survivor, and Rhonda Brimeyer who waits not so patiently sometimes for my next release. Her loyalty is fierce though, and I wanted her to know I love her for it. I don’t know if she knows this, but I type with only two fingers. I never learned how to type and so I hunt and peck each letter. Haha!
I also need to thank my patient editor. Keriann McKenna has been with me from the start, and she pours over my stories looking for all those pesky plot holes, typos, and incessant grammatical errors and comma splices, and whose favorite editing mark is several question marks that mean WTF? I know. Haha. But this French Canadian woman comes to this English language at a disadvantage from most writers who grew up with English as their first and only language. Taking me on as an author, for Keriann, is a ton of work, but I love her because she supports me and believes in me. She has her work cut out for her and each and every time she rises to the challenge. Sometimes we might let a little word or two, or weird phrase slip in, but I want my fans and Susan’s fans to know what a task my editor has when she takes on my writing. I love her hard for the hard work she puts in to make me sound good.
Lastly, I have to always acknowledge my husband and mother. They pick up the slack, and let me write the stories that burn in my head. They do so much around my house that it’s just crazy the stuff the let me get away with at home. Love you both for doing the laundry, the dishes, and the dusting when I can’t stop my fingers from flying.
About the Author’s Books
Betting on Benny was part of my Mystic Nights series. This a romantic suspense series focused on the family that runs the casino in a fictional town in Connecticut. If you want to read more about Jewel and Joseph, Tawny, Jonathan and the rest, here they are:
Chances (Book 1 of Mystic Nights Series)
Chances
Triple Diamonds (Book 2 of the Mystic Nights Series)
Triple Diamonds
Lucky Strike (Book 3 of the Mystic Night Series)
Coming in 2017
Black Jack (Book 4 of The Mystic Nights Series)
Coming in 2017
Playing for Keeps (Book 5 of the Mystic Nights Series)
Coming in 2017
My Secrets & Seduction series is of the erotic romance genre. It is about three women and three men with tons of secrets. Secrets so bad it may keep them from finding their happily ever after.
Fire In His Eyes (Book 1)
Fire In His Eyes
Afraid to Love (Book 2)
Afraid to Love
Afraid to Hope (Book 3)
Afraid to Hope
Lastly, there is my Bounty Hunters Series. This about four brothers
who relocate to Tampa and operate their own Bounty Hunting business. They have to bring the people to justice, but they find love along the way. Book Five in the series is my homage to Susan Stoker’s Tex and Melody.
Beautiful Bounty by MJ Nightingle
(Book 1 in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.)
Beautiful Bounty is the first book in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.
Beautiful Chase by MJ Nightingale
(Book 2 in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.)
Beautiful Chase is the second book in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.
Beautiful Regret by MJ Nightingale
(Book 3 in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.)
Beautiful Regret is the third book in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.
Beautiful No More by MJ Nightingale
(Book 4 in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.)
Beautiful No More is the fourth book in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.
Protecting Beauty by MJ Nightingale
(Book 5 in The Bounty Hunters – The Marino Bros.
Protecting Beauty is a novella in Susan Stoker’s kindle world as well.
Recipes Mentioned in the Book
** Susan Stoker fans won the chance to have their recipe highlighted in my next book for Susan Stoker’s kindle world in an author takeover. Then she gave me a list of names of some of her most awesome fans and I used their names in the book as characters.
Aunt Jenny’s Loaded Mashed Potatoes Appetizer
1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2.) Spray the bottom of two muffin pans with cooking spray. Mini muffin pans work best and you get more appetizers, too.
3.) Stir together the 3 cups of mashed potatoes, 1 cup of grated Vermont white cheddar cheese, one large egg, and three table spoons of crumbled bacon.
4.) Scoop mixture into cups, packing cups down.
5.) Bake until golden crispy and golden brown around the edges. Twenty to twenty-five minutes.
6.) Remove pan from oven. Garnish with ¼ cup of cheddar cheese. Return pan to oven and cook for an additional three minutes.
7.) Allow to cool for five minutes. Use a knife to loosen along edges and then carefully remove from tins and transfer to serving dish.
8.) Garnish with a dollop of sour cream, chopped chives, and remaining three tablespoons of crumbled bacon.
9.) Serve immediately.
Makes 24 to 48 appetizers.
MJ Nightingale’s French Onion Soup
9 onions (Mix up the variety. I use Spanish, Sweet, and Yellow – 3 of each)
4 tablespoons of olive oil. (Be generous and cover the bottom of the pan).
8 cups of beef broth
2 cups of wine (I like red. Something dry)
1/2 teaspoon of basil
1/2 teaspoon of rosemary
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
3 bay leaves
One pack of onion soup mix.
Garnish: Your favorite croutons and shredded mozzarella cheese.
Directions:
Sautee all the onions in the olive oil after you slice them. I like to make big round slices. Nice and thick. Sautee them for at least an hour until they are translucent and soft, on low for an hour. Keep covered so they don’t burn and cook on low. Add more oil if needed.
Throw everything in the crock pot. Including the onions. Cook for another hour on high. Lower heat to keep warm and it’s good all day.
Serve hot and steaming. Garnish with a handful of croutons and then a generous amount of cheese. Yummy!
Serves 8
I am French Canadian so this dish was always very popular in my home while growing up. I hope you enjoy it.
-MJ Nightingale
Aunt Suzie Gaspereoux’s Fettuccini Alfredo with Crawfish
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups butter
2 large onions, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half
1/2 pound American cheese, cubed
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese with peppers, shredded
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound cooked crawfish tail meat
1 pound hot cooked fettuccini
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions:
1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, and cook about 7 minutes or until translucent. Stir in celery, bell peppers, garlic, parsley, and green onion; cook about 10 minutes or until vegetables are softened.
2. Stir in flour until well incorporated; cook 5 minutes or until a nutty fragrance develops. Lower heat to medium-low, and slowly stir in half-and-half. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook about 4 minutes or until slightly thickened.
3. Slowly stir in American cheese, about 1/4 cup at a time, letting each addition melt before the next; stir in Monterey Jack cheese in the same manner until incorporated. Stir in salt and black and cayenne peppers.
4. Add crawfish, and cook 5 minutes or until heated through. Combine fettuccine with crawfish sauce, and top with Parmesan. Serve immediately.
Aunt Sandra Sasser’s Boston Cream Cheesecake
*Note: using a box cake mix you only need half of the mix for this recipe. You can halve the recipe, or bake the second cake for use later**
Cake Layer:
1 box Yellow Cake Mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup milk
Cheesecake Layer:
3 (8 oz pkgs) cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
Chocolate Layer:
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp butter, room temperature
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.) Grease a 9 or 10 inch springform pan, set aside
3.) In bowl of stand mixer using whisk attachment, cream butter and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add yogurt and eggs, beat to combine.
4.) Add cake mix, stir to combine. Slowly add milk to reach desired consistency. *Depending on the humidity level, mix may require more or less milk. Consistency should pour easily but not be runny*
5.) Pour half of the batter in the prepared springform pan. Bake for 20 minutes until cake is mostly set.
*Remaining batter can be baked in a separate greased 9 or 10 inch pan or in a cupcake pan greased or with liners. Cupcakes bake 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cake bakes for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.*
6.) Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees.
7.) While cake is baking: in bowl of stand mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together on medium-high speed until smooth.
8.) Add eggs one at a time, beating between until just combined. Stir in sour cream. Pour mixture over cake in springform pan, spreading to cover.
9.) Bake for 45-50 minutes until the outside edges appear set when gently shaken. Cool pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
10.) Loosen the edges of the cake from the pan by running a knife around the cake. Allow cake to cool completely. Cover cake and chill for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
11.) When cheesecake is chilled, heat heavy cream in a small saucepan until it almost comes to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted. Stir in butter until smooth.
12.) Chill for 15 minutes and then spread over top of cake
13.) Chill until ready to serve
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Betting on Benny (Kindle Worlds) (Mystic Nights Book 6) Page 16
