EXPOSED: A novella (Elkridge Series Book 5)

by Lyz Kelley

  Gwen loved Mondays and every other Sunday. Those were the days she closed the store, sorted through her inventory, and restocked.

  While carrying a cup of coffee down the steps from her upstairs apartment, Gwen realized something. Her body felt lighter. She hadn’t lost any weight. In fact, her jeans seemed a bit snug this morning when she pulled them on. However, in the quiet of the early morning, the birds chirping, and the smell of coffee and cinnamon toast generated a soft, feather-light, floating sensation. Dancing across the newly designed clothing racks, the morning’s rays reached toward her and warmed every skin cell. For the first time in her life, the word home echoed through her mind, and she had clarity.

  She set her coffee on her freshly installed customer counter, reached for her phone and dialed.

  “Hello?”

  “Dale. It’s Gwen.” The hesitation created a worry and a delay.

  Please give me a chance.

  “What’s up?” His voice sounded surprised, yet reserved. During the weeks of renovations and rebuilding, he’d stayed away. No. That wasn’t true. She’d pushed him away.

  “I need your help with something.” She brushed her fingers along the rosemary plant’s leaves and brought the soothing scent to her nose. “Do you mind stopping by the store when you have a free moment?”

  “I’m right around the corner. I can be there in five if that works.”

  “Sounds perfect. I’ll see you in a few.”

  She disconnected the call and set the phone next to her coffee mug, unlocked the front door, walked along the built-in shelves of shoes and purses, and rounded the corner, inspecting the DVD and used-book section that had taken three days to install. She stopped to reorganize a few CDs that were out of place. On the top of the circular rack, she straightened the beaded necklaces she’d discovered at a garage sale. Making her way back to the counter, she straightened several dresses and coats on hangers, while the sassy clothing designs she’d sketched the night before flashed through her mind. Bending over to pick up a shirt off the floor, she heard the front door open. Excitement and angst pulled at the opposite ends of her emotions until she straightened to observe the gorgeous man.

  He wore a button-down tucked into his jeans. On him, the standard outfit for Elkridge looked anything but ordinary. A toolbox dangled from his right hand.

  “What needs fixing?”

  The assumption that she needed something fixed was valid. Wasn’t he the one she turned to when she needed help? Wasn’t it his sound advice that kept rolling through her head, helped her stay on task and motivated? The fact was, she did need his help fixing something.

  “I’ve got something I need you to look at upstairs, but first, I want to ask your advice.”

  He set his toolbox on the counter and studied the shirt in her hands. “If it’s about clothes or something, Ashley would be a better person to ask. I’m not much good at picking out women’s stuff.”

  She shoved the white cotton shirt on top of the rack so fast her sweater got hooked on one of the hangers, and she tugged.

  “Careful there. You’ll pull your sweater.” He leaned in closer, and deftly, carefully removed the delicate threads from the hanger, one by one.

  His aftershave wafted around her, and the urge to snuggle closer for a good, long sniff competed with the ragged thrum of her heartbeat in her ears.

  “There. That should do it,” he said, still unaware of how completely he’d scrambled her brain.

  His intense focus on her mouth didn’t help. Well, maybe it did. His reaction proved a point. She inched a hand up his chest and stopped over his heart. He considered her fingers for a long, quiet moment before meeting her gaze.

  “I want to apologize.”

  “For?”

  “For not trusting you. After thinking about it some more, I know you tried to do the right thing for me and my dad. At the time I was so hurt, and feeling betrayed, I didn’t really want to see your side.”

  He took her hand and turned it palm up, then pressed a kiss into the middle of her palm. “Thank you, for giving me a chance.”

  She intertwined her fingers with his. “I’ve been thinking,”

  “About?

  “Finishing well. To finish well, I think a person has to start with a good, solid base. Don’t you?”

  “Sounds reasonable. What did you have in mind?”

  “Family. I want to create a family—my family. One where everyone in the family knows the meaning of respect, trust, and love. I don’t want to go it alone anymore.”

  “A supportive family can help, but it takes a long-term commitment to make the relationships work. Those three things don’t come easy. Quick and casual never works.”

  “Casual? I’m not interested in casual. Not anymore.” The certainty in her voice surprised even her. “I’ve never been one to shy away from hard work. I can do commitment. I’d like to do it with you.”

  Commitment. Permanence. She’d always placed those words in the negative connotation column. Lately she’d been thinking she didn’t need to be so negative.

  He leaned in, half an inch from her mouth. “You sure about that?”

  “I’m willing to give it everything I’ve got.”

  His mouth consumed hers with growling urgency. He pressed hard.

  She held her ground until his tongue swept her mouth, and she surrendered. Fully. Every thought annihilated. He urged her lips apart, caressing, stroking, and loving every centimeter. She pressed her body against his chest, wrapping one leg around his. He grabbed her butt and pulled her closer against his arousal.

  She wanted to be consumed. She needed to be consumed by this man—to feel him thrust deep inside her. Her knees weakened with the longing. She reached under his shirt to feel his warm skin.

  “Wait,” he growled, pulling back.

  “No. No more waiting.” She kissed him again, and then a shiver rolled through her from his refusal to engage.

  She didn’t want him holding anything back, and finally forced herself to pull away. “Please. Whatever you’re going to say, don’t say this was a mistake.”

  He frowned and slid his hands lower, squaring her hips and pulling until she could feel his fully erect desire. “Does this feel like a mistake to you?”

  “No. No, it doesn’t. That’s what I’ve been trying to say, but I can’t do this alone. I need your help.”

  “Does this have something to do with what you want to show me upstairs?”

  “I thought we could set off that bomb we’ve been tiptoeing around for months.”

  “In that case, I’ll take a rain check. You mentioned something about being all in, so I think we better do this the hard way. Then you’ll be sure.”

  “The hard way?”

  “Have you ever wondered why there are so many divorces these days?”

  “I bet you’re going to tell me.”

  “There’s no romance. No flowers on the first date. No talking until midnight. No dancing or walking in the moonlight. People hop in bed before they have any idea what’s what.”

  “So, are you taking me dancing?”

  “Possibly bike riding or river rafting, and you’ll take me shopping, help me understand what all that designing stuff is about. I’ve worn the same colors for close to thirty years, and I think I’m up for a few changes in my life.”

  “Seriously?”

  “I might be older than you are, but I’ve still got a few cards I’m holding back. Don’t count me out yet.” He studied her face like a soldier surveyed the horizon, noting the subtleties. “So, Gwen…what do you say? Would you mind if I court you?”

  “Why, General Bryant, I’d be honored. I can hardly wait for our first real date. Can we start today?”

  He threw back his head laughing, his expression open and happy. He pulled her in for a hug. “What’s the rush?” he teased. “We’ve got the rest of our lives.”

  Dedication

  To Faith.

  For believing in me and maki
ng my stories shine.

  Author Notes

  Dear Readers,

  Do you remember that Anne Murrey song, A Little Good News Today? It was written in 1983, yet I’m still waiting to turn on the news channels and hear just good news. Wouldn’t that be refreshing?

  This year marks my twentieth-year wedding anniversary. Boy, the time sure went by fast. I can look back and honestly admit there were a handful of days I didn’t feel the love, and another few when I questioned whether the trust was still there. In all that time, I’ve never once lost respect for my husband, or the will to fight for us. He is my rock in the storm. Through all the ups and downs that mutual respect is what brought us back to the matrimony shore safely.

  I hope Dale’s respect for Gwen shines through in this book, because that is what I wish for mankind.

  If I could snap my fingers and make a wish, I’d wish for the world to have more respect for those who are different. If each of us could find it within ourselves to listen, gain an understanding, to find a commonality, then we might be able to come one step closer to finding a lasting peace—and nothing but good news on all the channels. I know my wish is idealistic, but what if….

  Until that day comes, I’m wishing you the best the day has to offer. May you find your peace.

  ~Lyz

  Also by Lyz Kelley

  SNEAK PEAK

  RESCUED

  THE NEXT BOOK IN THE ELKRIDGE SERIES

  What happens when you realize that you’re in love too late?

  Karly’s animal shelter business is failing. She’s desperate to find options having too many animals, and not enough foster parents, trainers, or adopters to keep food in the bowls. When her first love returns home from Afghanistan wounded and alone, she offers Thad a win-win situation—a job in exchange for training a special needs dog.

  Thad wants to be left alone. He feels responsible for not spotting the IED before it killed his friends. When Karly drops off a dog for him to train, memories of the past haunt him. He doesn’t realize he still loves her until she mysteriously disappears.

  Corruption is tearing the small town of Elkridge apart. Thad is brave enough to give up his life to save Karly, but is he brave enough to fight to live? Will she be strong enough to survive? Will fate allow them to be together?

  RESCUED is a sensual contemporary romance about a brave woman and a heroic man who fulfill their dreams. If you like heartfelt characters, deep topics with powerful emotional cores, and happy endings, then you’ll love this sixth book in Lyz Kelley’s tales of strength, love, and survival. Buy RESCUED to unlock the emotional tale today!

  Elkridge Series

  BLINDED

  SPURNED

  ABANDONED

  ORPHANED

  EXPOSED

  Coming Soon:

  RESCUED

  Chapter One Sneak Peek

  A chill gripped Karly Krane even though the mountain air was finally above seventy degrees. Today would be the first time she’d seen Thad since he walked out of her life 3,726 days ago.

  Her heart thumped in synch with the radio’s toe-tapping tune, but she wished the usual carefree bliss had followed along. She twisted the radio’s knob full volume to distract herself and avoid pondering the one thing she didn’t want to think about.

  For ten years, she’d struggled to understand why. Why, after she and Thad had spent a good chunk of every day together for six plus years, he decided to leave Elkridge. Leave her.

  The soul-slicing pain had created a festering wound, and the hurt still burned deep, buried underneath the rubble of rationalization.

  On their final three-minute phone call, she told him to never ever talk to her again. At eighteen she had no notion of how long never-ever could last, because on that sunny spring morning, he did as she asked and disappeared from her life, only to show up again more than a decade later, wounded and alone.

  She’d long since lost her grip on the bitter anger.

  Time had eased the hurt into an uneasy distrust and a throbbing sore. If only she hadn’t promised her brother she’d look in on Thad. If only she didn’t need his help.

  From the back of her mother’s hand-me-down red and tan Subaru hatchback, she retrieved the extra-large, folded up dog kennel and began reconstructing the metal frame next to the recently patched plank porch. The sun warmed her back, but a wary cold crept through her bones in spite of the temperature. Movement spotted out of the corner of her eye hitched her breath. Thad? She swallowed her anxiety. No, just an elk passing by.

  Get a grip. He doesn’t matter anymore, remember?

  “Yeah. Like that’s the truth,” she mumbled, and stood to wipe her hands on the pair of jeans she’d washed so many times the manufactured threadbare was frayed.

  She opened the back passenger car door. The lab and poodle mix studied her with his intelligent brown eyes and expressed his opinion of her procrastination with an impatient whine.

  “Take it easy, Custer. This is for your own good.” She scratched the dog under the chin, then leaned in to kiss his nose and fluff his ears. “This is your last chance. Don’t let me down.”

  Karly’s throat burned as she remembered the urine and feces stench which greeted her when she entered the hoarder’s home. She and three other shelters committed to finding homes for the animals. The local kill shelter had already euthanized eight that couldn’t be saved. She didn’t want any others to suffer the same fate.

  The labradoodle shifted nervously in his security halter. “You need to get it together. You hear me?” She rubbed the dog’s fuzzy chest, unclasped the buckle, then lifted the dog’s muzzle. “You’re too smart, and I don’t mean that in a good way. A little girl is depending on you. You’d better straighten up. Three weeks. That’s all we’ve got.”

  The young sixty-pound male, sensing freedom, nudged past her and gave her arm a good yank when she grabbed the end of the leash. She gently snapped the lead back, reminding him of his training, before shutting the door.

  “See, Custer? This is what I’ve been talking about. Stop screwing around. I need the money, and you need a forever home.”

  “Talking to animals again?” The familiar voice made the goosebumps jump on her skin and shiver. She sucked in a rush of air.

  There he was. The heart-stopping, gorgeous Thad Lopez. “You scared the poop out of me.”

  “I didn’t want to interrupt your lecture.”

  Like a hunter tracking a deer, he watched. Methodical. Calculating. Measuring.

  He shoved his hands into his pockets, which in turn pulled his jeans low around his thin hips and cleverly displayed his black cotton boxers. A sight she had no right to gawk at, but curiosity made her look anyway.

  An army green baseball cap sat low on his forehead, and the performance long-sleeved V-neck pulled tight across his chest made him look downright delectable. If it wasn’t for the intensity in his amber eyes, she might have sighed. Damn her breakable heart for the pang of regret.

  “Why are you here, Karly?” Thad asked in a low baritone that had once been a tenor.

  “You’ve changed.”

  Gone were the long hair, baggy clothes, and stand-aside cocky attitude. And looking him directly in the eye wasn’t possible anymore. He’d sprung up a couple more inches.

  “You haven’t.” He scratched his shoulder to relieve an itch. “Your hair is a bit longer, and you’ve grown some curves, but that’s about it.”

  Curves? Figures you’d notice. She gestured to the large, curly mutt looking at her with those please-please-don’t-leave-me eyes. She forced her attention back to Thad. “Rumor has it you’ve been looking for work.”

  Thad shifted his weight to his left leg and leaned against the side of the cabin, then crossed his arms. “Are you here to offer me a job?”

  His mocking disbelief almost made her turn around and get back in the car. She would have if she hadn’t promised her brother, Kenny, she’d try to help Thad. And if she didn’t need the income to save her busi
ness and her four-legged friends. And if she didn’t believe an injured soldier returning home deserved and needed community support. And if this wasn’t literally Custer’s last happy-ever-after chance.

  All of which added up to a quadruple load of responsibility, an obligation she couldn’t ignore.

  Custer circled her legs and sat on her left foot, rather than beside her where he’d been trained to sit, then released an impressive, guttural growl, perfectly expressing her feelings.

  “As a matter of fact, I do have a job for you.” She raised her chin a couple of centimeters to generate a pump of courage. “I’ve partnered with several organizations who train service dogs.” Karly glanced at Custer, who at the moment was having a good scratch behind the ear, and doing his best to demonstrate that the past several days of training hadn’t made one iota of difference.

  She fidgeted and cleared her throat. “I know a hunting dog isn’t the same as a service dog, but training is training. Since you were always good at figuring things out, I thought you might like to help. The pay is forty-five hundred dollars if he passes the service tests and the service family adopts him.” She rushed on, no longer certain this last-minute training idea was smart. “I keep thirty percent. You get seventy.” She swallowed hard to keep the trepidation from choking off her air. “It’s real money for a couple of weeks’ worth of work.”

  He studied the dog, then her, his eyes narrowing with disbelief. “Double the time, and you’d be lucky to get that dog to sit properly.”

  She plucked her foot out from underneath the dog’s hind leg and moved to the wire kennel to lift up the plastic sheet protector with Custer’s fact sheet displayed inside. “A little girl in Arizona has a rare disease and requires oxygen full time. She needs a large-breed dog that can carry the tanks and follow her around, even down park slides and around the yard. The insurance company picks up most of the cost. You would be making a difference.”

  “That’s not why you’re here.” The humor dancing in his eyes called her bluff. Damn you, Thad Lopez.

  “Yes, it is. My kennel is overcrowded, and Custer needs a handler.” She fussed with the dog’s eyes, gently rubbing the crusty goobers out, then dithered over a piece of dried mud on his leg, doing her best to not look at the man who at one time held her whole heart and all her dreams.