Timing
Page 22
“Yessir, Sheriff, I sure will,” I promised, taking the offered hand in mine.
He gave me a smile before I turned to get in my car.
“Stef.”
I looked back at him over my shoulder, opening the door.
“Call me if you’re makin’ the pot roast too.”
“Oh, okay,” I teased him. “I didn’t realize you had favorites.”
“Damn right,” he told me before he suddenly froze. “You ain’t makin’ any of those tonight, are ya?”
“No, sir, I’m not.”
He grunted before he got in the mammoth car.
It was actually really nice that the man had favorites. Before I began my life with Rand, my culinary skills were basic at best. But the restaurants in Winston were both barbeque places, and while they were good, sometimes variety was nice, so one of us had to learn to cook, and of the two of us, I had more time. He really enjoyed it when I slaved away in the kitchen for him; why, I had no idea, but the look on his face when he came in the house and found me in the kitchen was enough to melt me through the floor. He really enjoyed the hell out of me being domestic.
I watched as the sheriff moved his SUV, honking as he drove away. The deputies both followed suit, and when I was headed for home, I had time to think about the transformation my life had gone through in just a short amount of time.
More from Mary Calmes
Marshals: Book One
Deputy US Marshal Miro Jones has a reputation for being calm and collected under fire. These traits serve him well with his hotshot partner, Ian Doyle, the kind of guy who can start a fight in an empty room. In the past three years of their life-and-death job, they’ve gone from strangers to professional coworkers to devoted teammates and best friends. Miro’s cultivated blind faith in the man who has his back… faith and something more.
As a marshal and a soldier, Ian’s expected to lead. But the power and control that brings Ian success and fulfillment in the field isn’t working anywhere else. Ian’s always resisted all kinds of tied down, but having no home—and no one to come home to—is slowly eating him up inside. Over time, Ian has grudgingly accepted that going anywhere without his partner simply doesn’t work. Now Miro just has to convince him that getting tangled up in heartstrings isn’t being tied down at all.
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Falling for a coworker is rarely a good idea, especially for a man getting a last chance at salvaging his career. But from the moment Dwyer Knolls sees the beautiful but socially awkward Takeo Hiroyuki, he seems destined to make bad decisions.
Takeo’s life is a string of failed attempts to please his traditional Japanese father. Unfortunately, succeeding in business turns out to be just as difficult for Takeo as changing from gay to straight. In fact, the only thing Takeo seems to truly excel at is taking notice of Dwyer Knolls.
When Dwyer and Takeo head to Mangrove, Florida on a real estate buying trip, their tentative friendship combusts and becomes much more. Is their sudden connection real enough to bank their futures on, or should they chalk the whole thing up to the daze inspired by the blue ocean breeze?
Paradise can be hell.
Most people would say being stranded in the villa of Spanish shipping magnate Miguel García Arquero on the beautiful isle of Ibiza wasn’t such a bad deal. But Hudson Barber isn’t one of them. To him, being stuck without a passport in a foreign country far from home is a nightmare, made worse by the fact that the person who did the stranding was his flighty twin brother.
Unwilling to turn Dalvon in for identity theft, Hudson is forced to wait, but meanwhile he discovers the chance to rehabilitate Miguel’s failing local businesses—enterprises left to Dalvon’s inexperienced care. The flagging ventures are a badly wrapped gift from heaven, and if Hudson can turn them around, he might be able to leverage the experience to finish his MBA.
Then Miguel returns to Ibiza, and instead of finding a boy toy, he discovers Hudson has turned his cold villa into a warm, welcoming home. Miguel’s path is clear: convince Hudson to lay down his defenses and let love in.
Vol. 1 (Books One and Two)
Jory Keyes leads a normal life as an architect’s assistant until he is witness to a brutal murder. Though initially saved by police Detective Sam Kage, Jory refuses protective custody—he has a life he loves that he won’t give up no matter who is after him. But Jory’s life is in real jeopardy, especially after he agrees to testify about what he saw.
While dealing with attempts on his life, well-meaning friends who want to see him happy, an overly protective boss, and a slowly unfolding mystery that is much more sinister than he could ever imagine, the young gay man finds himself getting involved with Sam, the conflicted and closeted detective. And though Jory may survive the danger, he may not survive a broken heart.
Stopping to offer help one sultry summer night, Mason James is unprepared for the change that this simple act of kindness will bring. After giving an old man a ride home, Mason discovers a new, magical, and even dangerous world he cannot hope to understand. But he also finds Luc Toussaint and is intoxicated at first sight... and even the secret Luc protects won’t be enough to keep Mason away from the truth of his heritage and their love.
Readers love Mary Calmes
Chevalier
“This story was long awaited, and it didn’t disappoint.”
—Joyfully Jay
“…I couldn’t keep the grin off my face as I read.”
—Oh My Shelves
Lay It Down
“I absolutely fell in love with this book the minute I started reading it. Hudson is absolutely adorable and so perfect!”
—Alpha Book Club
“If you love a quick read with a bit of fun and some ooey-gooey love-at-first-sight, you just might eat this up!”
—The Novel Approach
Sleeping ’til Sunrise
“I loved every minute I spent reading this book and know both fans and new readers of Ms. Calmes will love it as well.”
—Top 2 Bottom Reviews
“This short novella is a classic kind of Calmes with great dialogue, delicious heat and sexy times, and a breakneck romantic pace.”
—Gay Book Reviews
MARY CALMES lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with her husband and two children and loves all the seasons except summer. She graduated from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, with a bachelor’s degree in English literature. Due to the fact that it is English lit and not English grammar, do not ask her to point out a clause for you, as it will so not happen. She loves writing, becoming immersed in the process, and believes without question in happily-ever-afters, and writes those for each and every one of her characters.
By Mary Calmes
Acrobat
Again
Any Closer
With Cardeno C.: Control
With Poppy Dennison: Creature Feature
Floodgates
Frog
Grand Adventures (Dreamspinner Anthology)
The Guardian
Heart of the Race
Ice Around the Edges
Judgment
Just Desserts
Lay It Down
Mine
Romanus • Chevalier
Romanus & Chevalier (Author Anthology, Paperback Only)
The Servant
Steamroller
Still
Tales of the Curious Cookbook (Multiple Author Anthology)
Three Fates (Multiple Author Anthology)
Timing • After the Sunset
What Can Be
Where You Lead
Wishing on a Blue Star (Dreamspinner Anthology)
CHANGE OF HEART
Change of Heart • Trusted Bond • Honored Vow
Crucible of Fate • Forging the Future
L’ANGE
Old Loyalty, New Love • Fighting Instinct
MANGROVE STORIES
Blue Days • Quiet Nights • Sultry Sunset
Easy E
venings • Sleeping ’til Sunrise
MARSHALS
All Kinds of Tied Down • Fit to Be Tied • Tied Up in Knots
A MATTER OF TIME
A Matter of Time: Vol. 1 • A Matter of Time: Vol. 2
Bulletproof • But For You
Parting Shot • Piece of Cake
THE WARDER SERIES
His Hearth • Tooth & Nail • Heart in Hand
Sinnerman • Nexus • Cherish Your Name
Warders Vol. 1 & 2
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Timing
© 2016 Mary Calmes.
Cover Art
© 2016 Reese Dante.
http://www.reesedante.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
ISBN: 978-1-63477-711-7
Digital ISBN: 978-1-63477-712-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016913865
Published October 2016
v. 2.0
First Edition published by Dreamspinner Press, 2010.
Printed in the United States of America