by Carsen Taite
“Yes, we are.” Ellen opened the door. “George said it was released as a crime scene, right?” Danny nodded, and Ellen climbed out of the car. “Come on.”
As they started up the walk, Danny heard the sound of a car pulling up behind them. She turned and spotted a Lexus SUV parking behind Ellen’s car. “You expecting someone?”
“Actually, I am.” Ellen didn’t provide any other detail until the other woman joined them on the sidewalk. She was buxom, blond, and beautiful, dressed in a fancy suit. She was exactly the kind of woman Ellen would be friends with, and a few weeks ago, Danny would’ve felt insecure that this expensively dressed socialite was here to meet Ellen. But not now. Now she was certain that what she had with Ellen was deeper than anything money or social standing could buy. She reached out a hand to begin the introductions. “Danny Soto.”
“Aimee Howard. Sorry I’m late. Baby issues. They never want to eat when you want to feed them.” Her handshake was firm and her smile was friendly. Danny liked her instantly.
“Danny,” said Ellen, “Aimee’s the realtor I’ve hired to sell Mother’s house.”
Danny raised her eyebrows. She wanted to ask a ton of questions, but didn’t know how personal she should get in front of Aimee. Ellen read her mind. “I’ve told Aimee everything. She thinks we can get a good price and a quick sale.”
All Danny heard was the word “everything.” “Aimee, do you mind if I speak to Ellen for a moment alone?” She didn’t wait for the answer before she walked a few feet away. Ellen whispered something to Aimee and joined her.
“Everything okay?” Ellen asked.
“Are you sure you want to sell? Don’t you want to wait and see how you feel when things have settled down, when more time has passed?”
“I’ve never wanted to be here and I only moved in out of a misguided promise to my mother. My happiest memory of this place is making love to you here, and even that’s marred by the fact we were probably being watched.”
“Where will you live? Obviously, you can stay with me as long as you want.” Danny fumbled the words. She’d love for them to live together, but she knew her apartment was too small, and it definitely wasn’t what Ellen was used to.
“Well, the two dresser drawers you’ve given me are pretty roomy, but I’m thinking of somewhere different. How about you?”
“Me?”
“Darling, Aimee’s a realtor. She not only sells houses, she helps people buy them. I think it’s time we both had a fresh start. You up for buying a house with me?”
A house. Their house. Where they could live and make love and raise a family of their own. Waking up with Ellen every day, falling asleep in each other’s arms each night. Danny was up for it all and she didn’t want to wait another moment for their future. She swept Ellen into her arms and kissed her soundly. “I’m up for anything, for everything with you.”
THE END
About the Author
Carsen Taite’s goal as an author is to spin tales with plot lines as interesting as the cases she encountered in her career as a criminal defense lawyer. She is the author of nine previously released novels, truelesbianlove.com, It Should be a Crime (a Lambda Literary Award finalist), Do Not Disturb, Nothing but the Truth, The Best Defense, Slingshot, Beyond Innocence, and Battle Axe. She is currently working on her tenth novel, Switchblade, another installment in the Luca Bennett mystery series. Learn more at www.carsentaite.com.
Praise for LAMBDA Literary Award Finalist Carsen Taite
“Real Life defense attorney Carsen Taite polishes her fifth work of lesbian fiction, The Best Defense, with the realism she daily encounters in the office and in the courts. And that polish is something that makes The Best Defense shine as an excellent read.”—Out & About Newspaper
“Taite is a real-life attorney so the prose jumps off the page with authority and authenticity. [It Should be a Crime] is just Taite’s second novel…but it’s as if she has bookshelves full of bestsellers under her belt. In fact, she manages to make the courtroom more exciting than Judge Judy bursting into flames while delivering a verdict. Like this book, that’s something we’d pay to see.”—Gay List Daily
“Taite, a criminal defense attorney herself, has given her readers a behind the scenes look at what goes on during the days before a trial. Her descriptions of lawyer/client talks, investigations, police procedures, etc. are fascinating. Taite keeps the action moving, her characters clear, and never allows her story to get bogged down in paperwork. It Should be a Crime has a fast-moving plot and some extraordinarily hot sex.”—Just About Write
In Do Not Disturb…“Taite’s tale of sexual tension is entertaining in itself, but a number of secondary characters…add substantial color to romantic inevitability.”—Richard Labonté, Bookmarks
In Nothing but the Truth…“Author Taite is really a Dallas defense attorney herself, and it’s obvious her viewpoint adds considerable realism to her story, making it especially riveting as a mystery. …I give it four stars out of five.”—Bob Lind, Echo Magazine
“Taite has written an excellent courtroom drama with two interesting women leading the cast of characters. Taite herself is a practicing defense attorney, and her courtroom scenes are clearly based on real knowledge. [Nothing But the Truth] should be another winner for Taite.”—Lambda Literary
“[Battle Axe] is satisfying, substantial, and slick. Plus, it has heart and love coupled with Luca’s array of weapons and a bad-ass verbal repertoire…I cannot imagine anyone not having a great time riding shotgun through all of Luca’s escapades. I recommend hopping on Luca’s band wagon and having a blast.”—Rainbow Book Reviews
Books Available from Bold Strokes Books
Love and Devotion by Jove Belle. KC Hall trips her way through life, stumbling into an affair with a married bombshell twice her age. Thankfully, her best friend, Emma Reynolds, is there to show her the true meaning of Love and Devotion. (978-1-60282-965-7)
Rush by Carsen Taite. Murder, secrets, and romance combine to create the ultimate rush. (978-1-60282-966-4)
The Shoal of Time by J.M. Redmann. It sounded too easy. Micky Knight is reluctant to take the case because the easy ones often turn into the hard ones, and the hard ones turn into the dangerous ones. In this one, easy turns hard without warning. (978-1-60282-967-1)
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Secret Lies by Amy Dunne. While fleeing from her abuser, Nicola Jackson bumps into Jenny O’Connor, and their unlikely friendship quickly develops into a blossoming romance—but when it comes down to a matter of life or death, are they both willing to face their fears? (978-1-60282-970-1)
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Homestead by Radclyffe. R. Clayton Sutter figures getting NorthAm Fuel’s newest refinery operational on a rolling tract of land in Upstate New York should take a month or two, but then, she hadn’t counted on local resistance in the form of vandalism, petitions, and one furious farmer named Tess Rogers. (978-1-60282-956-5)
Battle of Forces: Sera Toujours by Ali Vali. Kendal and Piper return to New Orleans to start the rest of eternity together, but the return of an old enemy makes their peaceful reunion short-lived, especially when they join forces with the new queen of the vampires. (978-1-60282-957-2)
How Sweet It Is by Melissa Brayden. Some things are better than chocolate. Molly O’Brien enjoys her quiet life running the bakeshop in a small town. When the beautiful Jordan Tuscana returns home, Molly can’t deny the attraction—or the stirrings of something more. (978-1-60282-958-9)
The Missing Juliet: A Fisher Key Adventure by Sam Cameron. A teenage detective and h
er friends search for a kidnapped Hollywood star in the Florida Keys. (978-1-60282-959-6)
Amor and More: Love Everafter edited by Radclyffe and Stacia Seaman. Rediscover favorite couples as Bold Strokes Books authors reveal glimpses of life and love beyond the honeymoon in short stories featuring main characters from favorite BSB novels. (978-1-60282-963-3)
First Love by CJ Harte. Finding true love is hard enough, but for Jordan Thompson, daughter of a conservative president, it’s challenging, especially when that love is a female rodeo cowgirl. (978-1-60282-949-7)
Pale Wings Protecting by Lesley Davis. Posing as a couple to investigate the abduction of infants, Special Agent Blythe Kent and Detective Daryl Chandler find themselves drawn into a battle over the innocents, with demons on one side and the unlikeliest of protectors on the other. (978-1-60282-964-0)
Mounting Danger by Karis Walsh. Sergeant Rachel Bryce, an outcast on the police force, is put in charge of the department’s newly formed mounted division. Can she and polo champion Callan Lanford resist their growing attraction as they struggle to safeguard the disaster-prone unit? (978-1-60282-951-0)
Meeting Chance by Jennifer Lavoie. When man’s best friend turns on Aaron Cassidy, the teen keeps his distance until fate puts Chance in his hands. (978-1-60282-952-7)
At Her Feet by Rebekah Weatherspoon. Digital marketing producer Suzanne Kim knows she has found the perfect love in her new mistress Pilar, but before they can make the ultimate commitment, Suzanne’s professional life threatens to disrupt their perfectly balanced bliss. (978-1-60282-948-0)
Show of Force by AJ Quinn. A chance meeting between navy pilot Evan Kane and correspondent Tate McKenna takes them on a roller-coaster ride where the stakes are high, but the reward is higher: a chance at love. (978-1-60282-942-8)
Clean Slate by Andrea Bramhall. Can Erin and Morgan work through their individual demons to rediscover their love for each other, or are the unexplainable wounds too deep to heal? (978-1-60282-943-5)
Hold Me Forever by D. Jackson Leigh. An investigation into illegal cloning in the quarter horse racing industry threatens to destroy the growing attraction between Georgia debutante Mae St. John and Louisiana horse trainer Whit Casey. (978-1-60282-944-2)
Trusting Tomorrow by PJ Trebelhorn. Funeral director Logan Swift thinks she’s perfectly happy with her solitary life devoted to helping others cope with loss until Brooke Collier moves in next door to care for her elderly grandparents. (978-1-60282-891-9)
Forsaking All Others by Kathleen Knowles. What if what you think you want is the opposite of what makes you happy? (978-1-60282-892-6)
Exit Wounds by VK Powell. When Officer Loane Landry falls in love with ATF informant Abigail Mancuso, she realizes that nothing is as it seems—not the case, not her lover, not even the dead. (978-1-60282-893-3)
Dirty Power by Ashley Bartlett. Cooper’s been through hell and back, and she’s still broke and on the run. But at least she found the twins. They’ll keep her alive. Right? (978-1-60282-896-4)
The Rarest Rose by I. Beacham. After a decade of living in her beloved house, Ele disturbs its past and finds her life being haunted by the presence of a ghost who will show her that true love never dies. (978-1-60282-884-1)
Code of Honor by Radclyffe. The face of terror is hard to recognize—especially when it’s homegrown. The next book in the Honor series. (978-1-60282-885-8)
Does She Love You? by Rachel Spangler. When Annabelle and Davis find out they are both in a relationship with the same woman, it leaves them facing life-altering questions about trust, redemption, and the possibility of finding love in the wake of betrayal. (978-1-60282-886-5)
The Road to Her by KE Payne. Sparks fly when actress Holly Croft, star of UK soap Portobello Road, meets her new on-screen love interest, the enigmatic and sexy Elise Manford. (978-1-60282-887-2)
Shadows of Something Real by Sophia Kell Hagin. Trying to escape flashbacks and nightmares, ex-POW Jamie Gwynmorgan stumbles into the heart of former Red Cross worker Adele Sabellius and uncovers a deadly conspiracy against everything and everyone she loves. (978-1-60282-889-6)
Date with Destiny by Mason Dixon. When sophisticated bank executive Rashida Ivey meets unemployed blue collar worker Destiny Jackson, will her life ever be the same? (978-1-60282-878-0)
The Devil’s Orchard by Ali Vali. Cain and Emma plan a wedding before the birth of their third child while Juan Luis is still lurking, and as Cain plans for his death, an unexpected visitor arrives and challenges her belief in her father, Dalton Casey. (978-1-60282-879-7)
Secrets and Shadows by L.T. Marie. A bodyguard and the woman she protects run from a madman and into each other’s arms. (978-1-60282-880-3)
Change Horizons: Three Novellas by Gun Brooke. Three stories of courageous women who dare to love as they fight to claim a future in a hostile universe. (978-1-60282-881-0)
Scarlet Thirst by Crin Claxton. When hot, feisty Rani meets cool, vampire Rob, one lifetime isn’t enough, and the road from human to vampire is shorter than you think… (978-1-60282-856-8)
Battle Axe by Carsen Taite. How close is too close? Bounty hunter Luca Bennett will soon find out. (978-1-60282-871-1)
Improvisation by Karis Walsh. High school geometry teacher Jan Carroll thinks she’s figured out the shape of her life and her future, until graphic artist and fiddle player Tina Nelson comes along and teaches her to improvise. (978-1-60282-872-8)
For Want of a Fiend by Barbara Ann Wright. Without her Fiendish power, can Princess Katya and her consort Starbride stop a magic-wielding madman from sparking an uprising in the kingdom of Farraday? (978-1-60282-873-5)
Broken in Soft Places by Fiona Zedde. The instant Sara Chambers meets the seductive and sinful Merille Thompson, she falls hard, but knowing the difference between love and a dangerous, all-consuming desire is just one of the lessons Sara must learn before it’s too late. (978-1-60282-876-6)
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Table of Contents
Synopsis
By the Author
Acknowledgments
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
About the Author
Praise for LAMBDA Literary Award Finalist Carsen Taite
Books Available from Bold Strokes Books
