Always On My Mind
Page 12
“And now it’s time for you and Teague?”
Wasn’t that the million-dollar question? “I’m not sure, but I’d like to find out. But the most important thing is for you to be in a place where you’re happy and have all the things you need.”
“I mainly need you—” when he looked up at her, his grin was wide, “—and milk and cookies.”
And that, Jenny could deliver.
When Teague opened his front door and found Jenny sitting on the deacon’s bench with his newspaper in her lap, his heart gave a mule-kick. It hit the inside of his chest so hard, he actually reached up and rubbed the aching thing through his T-shirt.
Because Jenny sitting on his porch at seven in the morning was either very good news. Or very bad.
He nodded at the Summer Shoals Dispatch. “What’s happening in the world today?”
“Looks like the Piggly Wiggly is having a blowout sale on Christmas hams. Buy two at a buck ninety a pound and get a free box of candy canes.”
“Hard to beat.” He stepped to the side and motioned into the house. “Speaking of ham, want some breakfast?”
“Don’t know that I’ll have time for that.”
Forget his bruised heart. Now, the damn thing had a hole clean through it.
But he forced his legs to operate normally, and he strolled over to sit beside Jenny. “You talked with Grayson.”
“Yes.”
“You’ve made up your mind.”
“Yes.”
Teague breathed in through his nose and crossed his arms to keep from reaching for Jenny and begging her to make a different decision. “If you’ll let me know when you’re flying out, I’ll—”
“I figure we’ll need to leave soon after Christmas. I’d love to get an early contract on my condo so Gray and I can be back down here a few weeks before school st—”
Teague twisted on the bench and grabbed Jenny by the shoulders, lifting her a couple of inches off the wood. “What are you saying?”
“Grayson likes Summer Shoals, and he loves hanging out with his mimi. She’s promised him a .22 for Christmas.” She chuckled, and the sound filled that gaping hole in Teague’s heart. “So I’ve decided to accept the residency. Things might be a little tight, but if I pass up this opportunity to become immersed in my photography again, I have a feeling I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
He sucked in a deep breath. “And us?” God, it was hard putting that out there, but he needed to know.
“Another thing I’d regret if I didn’t try it again.” She rubbed her cheek against his. “It’s one year. Let’s see how it all works out.”
Teague went slightly lightheaded, but he kept his wits about him enough to know he needed to give her a promise in return. It wouldn’t be the ring he wanted to put on her finger. Not yet, but this was almost as good. “Sit tight,” he said.
He dashed inside and grabbed the gold-foil-wrapped box sitting in a place of honor on his dresser. Back on the porch, he sat again and held out the box. “This is for you.”
“I said I wasn’t leaving until after Christmas.” She tried to push the box back toward him. “You never could wait, wanting to give me my present days early.”
“This is different.” He pressed it into her hand, then put his arm around her shoulders to draw her close. “Please. Open it.”
She took the small package and delicately worked at the edges of the thick wrapping paper, revealing a glossy white jewelry box. She glanced up at him, a question clear in her eyes.
“Even I’m not that fast a mover. Open it.”
She did, and he hoped she understood the silver pendant nestled in white cotton was possibly more meaningful than a diamond ring would’ve been. “My camera pendant. You kept it?”
“Not a day’s gone by that I haven’t held it up and looked through it.”
Jenny held the little camera charm up to her eye and laughed, a sweet sound that warmed Teague’s heart. “This is the picture the doctor took of you, Grayson and me at the art show. Were you planning to give this to me all along?”
“I hoped you’d give me a reason to.” Teague drew her in for a kiss, one that sealed the promise they would make it work this time. “I love you as much today as I did all those years ago, and I want the next jewelry box to hold an engagement ring. Please tell me I won’t have to wait until this fall to spend time with you.”
Jenny cupped his cheek and gazed at him, her eyes warm with love. “No, but let’s take this slowly. Between packing up, the actual move and preparing for the residency, I’ll be busy. And even when I get back to Summer Shoals, I’ll probably still have to find another job to pay for Grayson’s braces.”
“Have I mentioned that I fish with the orthodontist here in Summer Shoals?” Teague said.
“No, I don’t remember that coming up.” Jenny’s tone was dry, but he could hear the tinge of laughter behind it.
“Yep. And he sorta owes me for an eight-pound bass I let him claim.”
“Is that the way things are done in a small town? You scratch my back and I scratch yours?”
Teague leaned down and whispered, “I’ll scratch yours anytime. Repayment is optional but always appreciated.”
“Think you can handle me and all my baggage?” Jenny smiled, a smile that promised things both wicked and sweet.
“Bring it on, Jenny Cady.” He reeled her into his arms and sealed the challenge of a lifetime with a kiss.
What’s Next?
Find more of Jenny and Teague’s story in COME A LITTLE CLOSER.
Thank you so much for reading the first story following Jenny Cady and Teague Castro! We had such a ball including a love story within the G Team series world.
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Books in the Series
Get all the news on THE G TEAM SERIES here or at www.GTeamSeries.com.
Book 1 - IN FOR A PENNY
Book 2 - FIT TO BE TIED
Book 3 - IN HIGH COTTON
Book 4 - UNDER THE GUN
Book 5 - GIMME SOME SUGAR
Jenny & Teague Novella 1 - ALWAYS ON MY MIND
Jenny & Teague Novella 2 - COME A LITTLE CLOSER
Wonder which G Team gal you’re the most like?
Take the free WHO’S YOUR GRANNY? Quiz at
www.GTeamSeries.com then let us know by giving us a quick shout on Facebook or via email!
If you enjoyed reading the SWEET version of Always on My Mind, you’ll love Nancy Naigle’s single title romances and women’s fiction. Be sure to stay up to date with her news and releases by signing up here. (And enjoy an excerpt from her Life After Perfect – just keep scrolling!)
If you savored the HEAT version, then be sure to check out Kelsey Browning’s sassy, sexy romance titles. For all the latest on her releases, be sure to sign up for her email updates! (Keep scrolling and you’ll find an excerpt from her sexy, sassy contemporary romance, Stay With Me!)
Come a Little Closer
(Jenny & Teague Novella #2)
Take nothing for granted…
Serve and protect. That’s what Sheriff Teague Castro promised the good people of Bartell County, Georgia. But when he reunites with his first love, his supporters suddenly wonder if he’s too distracted to uphold his sworn commitment.
When Jenny buys an expensive house Teague could never afford on a sheriff’s salary, small-town gossip runs wild. If he can’t take care of his own family, is he fit to protect a whole county? Until his job is secure, Teague presses pause on his love life.
But when a crisis calls him to the front line, it triggers memories from a tragic case still haunting him. Only this time, Jenny’s life is on the line, and the confrontation could quickly turn Teague’s forever into never.
Buy your copy of Come A Little Closer now.
Sweet Excerpt from Nancy Naigle’s Life After Perfect
June days in Georgia were mostly spectacu
lar and sunny, if not a little too darn hot, and on this particular one, the weather wasn’t a match for the mood.
Katherine Barclift and her husband, Ron, walked hand in hand up the landscaped path leading to the huge church where the funeral service was being held for their neighbor, Donald O’Connor.
A large crowd had gathered already. As folks filed through the tall arched front doors of the chapel, Katherine spotted Peggy Allen and Shaleigh Wright waiting near the entrance.
She made a beeline for her two friends. “It’s so sad,” she said as she reached out to hug Peggy. Ron hung back a couple steps.
“Poor Bertie. I can’t believe Donald died like that. No warning at all,” Peggy said. “I mean, if he were a type A guy I could totally see it happening, but all Donald did was golf and fish. How hard can that be on the heart?”
“I know.” Katherine shook her head. “So sad, and he wasn’t that old.” He was the same age her parents were, and the news of his death had made Katherine worry about them for the first time.
“You’ve been with Bertie all week, Katherine. She hadn’t seen any signs?” Shaleigh asked.
“None.” Katherine shrugged. “She said he was perfectly fine. Just didn’t wake up.”
“He seemed so healthy,” Peggy said.
Ron placed his hand on Katherine’s arm and said, “I’ll go ahead and sign the guest book and get us seats while you talk.”
“Sure, honey. Thanks.” Katherine watched as her husband walked up the stairs to the chapel. He still had a way of making her swoon. He hadn’t had to adjust his wardrobe at all for the funeral today. He sported a nice suit and tie every day of the week. Katherine turned to Shaleigh. “Is it just me or is this the biggest chapel you’ve ever seen? I always thought chapels were small, with steeples twice as tall as the buildings were wide.”
“I think it’s just you,” Shaleigh said. “Living in that pretend world you like to think is so charming and perfect.”
“Perfect is good. Or perfect. Whatever it is, I like my world that way, thank you very much,” Katherine teased, but it was only a half-joke. After spending the week with Bertie, helping her figure out her finances and funeral arrangements, Katherine had a long laundry list of things she planned to discuss with her own parents and sister to ensure they were better prepared than poor Bertie had been.
Shaleigh raised a heavily penciled brow. “Well, someone’s life ought to be perfect. May as well be you.”
Order your copy of Life After Perfect today.
Enjoy an excerpt from Kelsey Browning’s STAY WITH ME, book one in the Prophecy of Love series:
Delaney’s forehead rested in the crook of Cal’s shoulder, his skin warm and damp against hers, as she scrambled for breath. Oh, sweet baby Jesus, what had they just done? She couldn’t seem to force oxygen all the way to the bottom of her lungs. She was surrounded by the scent of cut grass, male sweat, and one-sided sex.
Oh my God. She’d just crawled into Cal’s lap and let him work her over. Not just her body, but her emotions. Her already tenuous resolve to go. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
The way she kept other people from hurting her, being hurt by her, was to keep them outside her emotional fence. Put in a cattle guard, an iron gate, and a half-dozen padlocks. Razor wire on the top if someone tried to sneak over. And yet, she’d just thrown open the whole damn ranch for this man. She’d done that once, and it had done nothing but hurt them both.
She pushed against his chest, trying like hell to ignore the feel of silky hair against her palm. With her other hand, she tugged down her skirt and scooted off his lap. Instead of making a smooth dismount, she slid off, and her hip struck the edge of a step. “Oomph.”
One thing she could say about Cal, his construction was quality. And her bruise would be a reminder of how she couldn’t trust herself around him.
“Careful.” Cal grabbed her around the waist and righted her so she was perched on the porch with her feet braced on the step below. His hands were gentle, but his face was grim, lips tight and eyelids shuttering whatever was going on in his head. He pulled away, stared out at the yard, and scrubbed his hands over his eyes and forehead, into his hair, making sweaty little tufts stick up in front. “Laney, I’m sorry about that. The kiss down by the creek. Now this. Let’s write it off as nostalgia, okay?”
Although her limbs were like confetti streamers, still twitching and floating, she retied her shirt with shaky hands. Maybe he wasn’t nearly as affected as she was. One look over his shoulder and she saw the prominent bulge behind his zipper. That didn’t look anything like nostalgia. It looked absolutely like right now.
But then again, physical desire and emotional connection weren’t always a matched set. Maybe they could get one out of the way without stumbling into the other. She tried to sound steady and cool when she said, “Maybe we need to just finish this trip down memory lane. If we have sex—” his head jerked up at her words, “—then we’re even and we can walk away. No harm, no foul.”
By the way his eyes narrowed, either the afternoon sun had suddenly become a hundred times brighter, or he was pissed.
“What the hell did you just say?”
Pissed.
Suddenly feeling the need for protection, Delaney adjusted her skirt, but no matter how hard she pulled, the fabric remained high on her thighs. “I’m just being practical.”
“So you’d just waltz into my house with me, strip off all your clothes, screw me, and then walk out like it never happened?”
Okay, when he put it that way, her offer sounded a little cold, unfeeling. “No, I’d walk in there hand in hand with you, undress us both, make love with someone…close to my heart, and leave Prophecy knowing I would never—not a day in my life—forget what we shared one last time.”
“And what about my dad?” He braced his elbows on his knees and dropped his head into his hands. “What about the boots?”
But Delaney thought she heard an unspoken question: What about him?
Purchase STAY WITH ME
About the Authors
USA Today bestselling author Kelsey Browning writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and cozy mystery. Her Georgia-set, co-authored G Team mystery is described by readers as “The Golden Girls meet Dirty Harry.” Her single title romances garner reviews that call her writing funny, sassy, and full of sizzling chemistry. Originally from a Texas town smaller than the ones she writes about, Kelsey has also lived in the Middle East and Los Angeles, proving she’s either adventurous or downright nuts. These days, she makes her home in northeast Georgia with her tech-savvy husband, her smart-talking son, and a (fingers crossed) future therapy pup. Find Kelsey online at KelseyBrowning.com. For info on her upcoming releases, subscribe to her Sass Kickin’ News.
USA Today bestselling author Nancy Naigle whips up small-town love stories with a dash of suspense and a whole lot of heart. She began her popular contemporary romance series, Adams Grove, while juggling a successful career in finance and life on a seventy-six-acre farm. Two of Nancy’s novels, Christmas Joy and Hope at Christmas, premiered on Hallmark Countdown to Christmas in 2018. Now happily retired, she devotes her time to writing, antiquing, and the occasional spa day with friends. A native of Virginia Beach, she currently calls North Carolina home. Join Nancy on Facebook and sign up for her newsletter at www.NancyNaigle.com.
Also by Kelsey Browning
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PROPHECY OF LOVE SERIES
Sexy contemporary romance
Stay With Me
Hard to Love
TEXAS NIGHTS SERIES
Sexy contemporary romance
Personal Assets
Running the
Red Light
Problems in Paradise
Designed for Love
G TEAM SERIES w/NANCY NAIGLE
Southern cozy mysteries
In For a Penny
Fit to Be Tied
In High Cotton
Under the Gun
Gimme Some Sugar
JENNY & TEAGUE NOVELLAS
Contemporary romance
Always on My Mind
Come a Little Closer
STEELE RIDGE SERIES
Romantic suspense collaboration with Tracey Devlyn & Adrienne Giordano
The BEGINNING
Going HARD
Living FAST
Loving DEEP
Breaking FREE
Roaming WILD
Stripping BARE
Enduring LOVE
STEELE RIDGE: THE KINGSTONS
Craving HEAT
Tasting FIRE
Searing NEED
Striking EDGE (Coming 2019)
Burning ACHE (Coming 2019)
NOVELLAS
Sexy contemporary romance
Amazed by You
Love So Sweet
Also by Nancy Naigle
The Adams Grove Series
Book 1:: Sweet Tea and Secrets
Book 2:: Wedding Cake and Big Mistakes