by Dale Mayer
She paused, remembered what she had in her hands, and chuckled. “And just in case you thought that I am making this up, maybe you should see the corny amateur project I was about to hand over.”
“What?”
She handed him her project – upside down.
He glanced over at Jenna, who shrugged her shoulders as she hadn’t seen it yet, then slowly turned it over.
She’d taken both photos and glued them together and cut as they were, they were in the shape of a heart, both halves mostly complete but overlapping in a way that made them one.
“See,” she whispered, “You’re not in this alone. I’m here too.”
And she reached up and clasped his hand that held the photos.
He gazed at the photos, his throat moving, then slowly lifted his gaze to her. The moist brightness in them made her heart squeeze tight. He went to say something, only he couldn’t get the words out.
Snatching her up into his arms, he buried his head in her hair.
“You win,” he whispered. “Your project is the best.”
“No,” she whispered right back. “We both win. Because we found each other.”
And she pulled back to look up at him, adding, “Thank heavens.”
And with the photo crushed between them, he lowered his head and kissed her.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Scales! If you enjoyed the book, please take a moment and leave a short review here.
Dear reader,
I love to hear from readers, and you can contact me at my website: www.dalemayer.com or at my Facebook author page. To be informed of new releases and special offers, sign up for my newsletter. And if you are interested in joining Dale Mayer’s Fan Club, here is the Facebook sign up page.
Cheers,
Dale Mayer
If you’d like to read about other books I’ve written, please turn the page.
Your Free Book Awaits!
KILL OR BE KILLED
Part of an elite SEAL team, Mason takes on the dangerous jobs no one else wants to do – or can do. When he’s on a mission, he’s focused and dedicated. When he’s not, he plays as hard as he fights.
Until he meets a woman he can’t have but can’t forget. Software developer, Tesla lost her brother in combat and has no intention of getting close to someone else in the military. Determined to save other US soldiers from a similar fate, she’s created a program that could save lives. But other countries know about the program, and they won’t stop until they get it – and get her.
Time is running out … For her … For him … For them …
DOWNLOAD a complimentary copy of MASON? Just tell me where to send it!
Previews
Second Chances – Book 1 is FREE!
Go ahead. Take Charge of your life. Move forward…if you can…
Changing her future means letting go of her past. Karina heads to a weekend seminar and discovers the speaker is the person she needs to move on from. But she soon realizes bigger issues are facing her…
Brian has moved on, at least he’d believed he had… until he sees Karina in his audience…and realizes he’s been lying to himself.
Passion pulls them together, love binds them together, but a revengeful enemy determines to keep the two apart…and destroy them both.
Second Chances Sample
Chapter 1
Her heart racing, Karina pushed open the glass double doors and walked into the almost deserted pub. Her breath quickened as she searched the faces of the few patrons inside. Had he left already? Or was Brian Saunders somewhere here, drowning his sorrows? Wendy, Brian’s girlfriend of two years, had broken up with him and taken off for Europe, or some such thing. Karina knew she should feel sorry for him, but instead her mind wouldn’t stop pestering her.
Here’s your chance. One last shot to make him notice you before you go home and never see him again.
That the timing sucked wouldn’t stop her.
Besides, if anyone asked, she was just here having a drink. And she could use one. Her last exam was done. She’d finally finished school and damn if she didn’t feel like crying instead of cheering.
“Hey, Karina, thought you’d have booked it by now.”
She waved at one of several friends having a good time at a nearby table. Most of the students who’d finished exams had already left, and the few stragglers writing tomorrow were either cramming or here trying to forget about writing in the morning.
“Nah. Leaving in the morning. It’s a long drive and I so don’t want to deal with that tonight. Or the ferry.”
That elicited several nods. Anyone who lived on Vancouver Island knew about ferry woes to the mainland. She’d tossed around the idea of staying on the island, had even looked for work, but nothing had come of it, so she was heading home to Vancouver. Victoria, and the university in particular, would stay a happy memory. And, in some ways, a tough one.
She ordered a draft at the bar and turned around to take another look. Maybe she’d missed Brian in her first skim.
Shit. Ian Blackburn was here, too. And he’d seen her. Shit, shit, and triple shit. He’d always been super friendly to her, but there was something about him that gave her the creeps. And then last week she’d seen another side of him altogether. A professor in one of the classes they’d been in together had given Ian a poor grade on an assignment. Ian had lost it…big time. Someone had even called campus security to get him out of the lecture hall. He’d turned into something that terrified her and probably every other student there. She shuddered at the memory.
Karina turned around and glanced the other way, deliberately putting her back to Ian.
And there he was. Brian.
Her heart sighed even as it started to pound. She should go over to him. He looked sad, like he’d lost his best friend. Which, after the end of a two-year relationship, she guessed he had. But Karina told herself she was still a friend, right? Albeit a casual one, but still… They’d had classes together, the odd beer-and-pizza night as part of a group. That kind of thing. He had no idea that she’d been in love with him for a long time. She’d been careful to keep her feelings hidden. He hadn’t been free and she wasn’t the type to break up relationships.
She checked out the other half of the bar before her gaze zinged back to Brian. He lifted his beer bottle and poured the remaining golden liquid down his throat. Slamming the empty down, he reached for the spare, waiting. Damn, she hated to see him like this.
All right. She was going to go over there. Just a sip of beer for courage, first. She raised her glass to her lips.
“Karina. I’m glad you’re here. I was hoping to see you before you left. May I sit?”
Ian. Shit. He’d somehow evaded her awareness and seated himself on the barstool next to her without her knowing. This was what she got for being nice and polite to a guy who mistook it for encouragement and, frankly, gave her the willies.
She attempted a smile behind her glass as she drowned a big gulp. She had to get away. Now.
“Sorry, I came here to meet someone.” She said it lightly, dismissively. She’d planned to wait another minute or two before approaching Brian, but Ian’s crowding was forcing her hand. “Oh, there he is. Brian.”
She got up and waved in Brian’s direction, tossing a good-bye smile at Ian.
His brows came together in a dark vee and his lips thinned, the expression causing her smile to falter and her stomach to heave. His thick nose and heavy brows might indicate a Mediterranean ancestry, but the darkness in his eyes gave her the spooks.
“I hadn’t realized.”
Keeping her face averted she took another big step and cast a glance back, relief washing over her when he didn’t follow, but instead walked back to his seat.
Well, she’d started down this road, so…
“Hey.” She slapped a bright, friendly smile on her face and sat down across from Brian. Now that she was safely seated her unease over Ian abated, even while her hear
t lurched at the deep unhappiness on Brian’s face.
He looked up at her, a lopsided attempt at a smile peeking out. “Hi, Karina. I’m not good company right now.”
“Oh.” She didn’t know what to say. His pain was a palpable thing. Impulsively, she reached across the table and laid her hand on his. “I heard and I’m sorry.”
Surprise lit the dark depths of his chocolate eyes.
When he didn’t say anything, she stood. She’d intruded on his private pain, and that wasn’t right. She turned to leave.
“Wait.” His husky voice reached out to her. “Please, don’t go.”
She smiled warmly at him and sat back down.
She stayed there for several more rounds as they talked deep into the night. Once or twice she glanced over at Ian. Every time she looked he appeared to be seething with anger as he stared toward her and Brian. She shuddered.
“This place is closing soon.” She tugged Brian to his feet. “Come on, you look ready to drop.”
“I’m not that bad,” he protested, but allowed himself to be shuffled out the door. The cool night air hit them and snapped some of the buzz away. Karina looked at the stars, her heart full and happy. Not exactly a dream date, but it was Brian…and her…alone.
“Let’s go to my place. I think I have a bottle of wine,” he suggested.
“You’re going to fall asleep before you ever get it open,” she scoffed as she fell into step beside him.
He looked at her, his little-boy expression pleading that it couldn’t possibly be bedtime already. “I don’t want to be alone tonight,” he admitted softly. “Please come share a bottle of wine with me.” There was only a slight slur to his voice and she’d had just enough to drink to feel the same.
Besides, she didn’t want the night to end either. It might not be the wisest move but she couldn’t come up with any convincing reasons why she shouldn’t spend the last few hours with him.
She gave in.
He grinned at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “How come we didn’t do this before?” His sloppy grin made her heart laugh. “We should have. I’ve always liked you.”
Magical words.
They walked toward his room, arms around each other, talking, murmuring in low voices. The heat of his voice, the tenor of his words, the glow of moonlight, Brian’s touch – it was magic. And she wanted more. She wanted it all. Tonight.
*
The couple walked down the path, sliding in and out of view. He’d hidden in the trees thinking to see where Brian was taking Karina. And hoping his instinctive guess was wrong.
But no; there she was. Ian thought he’d missed her leaving. But no, she’d left with Brian. Why? Why Brian? Brian was nothing. And he had a girlfriend. Or he’d had a girlfriend. According to the gossip, he’d just been dumped.
How could Karina do such a thing? It’s not like Brian was in any shape to enter another relationship right now. Had she no respect. For him? Or for herself?
He stood in the shadows of the trees that darkened the path and watched them make their way to Brian’s dorm. Anger simmered inside.
Brian had many girls fawning all over him. He didn’t need Karina. He’d only cast her off later.
Karina deserved better. If she weren’t so blinded by Brian’s flashy looks, she’d realize it. She’d be sorry later.
Damn Brian to hell.
*
Satisfaction thrummed through Karina’s body as she collapsed beside Brian in the wee hours of the morning. Her skin was damp and her body buzzed from their heated lovemaking. “Who’d have thought?” she whispered into the darkness.
A deep rumble rolled out from his chest as he attempted to speak but couldn’t. She grinned. She’d brought him to this. She’d been the one he’d turned to tonight. Not Wendy, but her – Karina. Maybe she shouldn’t have jumped at the opportunity…but she’d needed the chance to show him how good they could be together. How perfect.
And given that exams were over and all students going their separate ways, it had been now or never.
It seemed she’d loved him for so long. Always an acquaintance, never quite a friend and always superficial, kept on the outside…the last place she wanted to be.
She could no more stop blurting the words than she could stop the tidal wave of love that swept through her, giving the words their freedom.
“I love you,” she whispered and dropped a kiss on his bare chest, before nestling her head on his shoulder and falling asleep.
*
Morning dawned bright and clear. Karina woke slowly, her body still warm and achy from the night’s activities. She bolted upright as memories flooded back. Brian. She’d had the most wonderful night of her life. She grinned and bounded out of bed.
Wrapping herself in the sheet, she walked out to the communal room, grateful that Brian’s roomies had already left. Empty. She stood in the middle of the room, dread forming a sinking ball of steel in her stomach. An engine started outside.
She raced over to the glass doors, stepping out onto the small verandah in time to see Brian’s car disappearing down the drive at a good clip. He was coming back, wasn’t he? She stood there, waiting, for a long time after his car disappeared from view. As her heart broke into a dozen tiny pieces, hope faded away. The small sedan was gone.
And he hadn’t once looked back.
TO BE CONTINUED…
This ends the preview of Second Chances. Part 1 of the book is Free. Part 2 is also available.
Second Chances…at Love Series
Dangerous Designs – FREE
Deadly Designs
Darkest Designs
Design Series Trilogy
Touched by Death
Adult RS/thriller
Death had touched anthropologist Jade Hansen in Haiti once before, costing her an unborn child and perhaps her very sanity.
A year later, determined to face her own issues, she returns to Haiti with a mortuary team to recover the bodies of an American family from a mass grave. Visiting his brother after the quake, independent contractor Dane Carter puts his life on hold to help the sleepy town of Jacmel rebuild. But he finds it hard to like his brother’s pregnant wife or her family. He wants to go home, until he meets Jade – and realizes what’s missing in his own life. When the mortuary team begins work, it’s as if malevolence has been released from the earth. Instead of laying her ghosts to rest, Jade finds herself confronting death and terror again.
And the man who unexpectedly awakens her heart – is right in the middle of it all.
This book is FREE. Sample chapter is next…
Touched by Death Sample
Prologue
In perfect symphony the clouds swayed in the sky, wrapping the moon in protective cotton wool as the ground shook and trembled beneath the sleepy town of Jacmel in the south of Haiti.
Mother Earth growled and raged over and over again as if she knew the secrets long kept hidden in the hills behind the small town. As if she knew about the injustices done. As if she knew this had to stop. She gave one last mighty shove and the earth cracked open.
Trees toppled, their roots ripped from the ground in hapless destruction. Large rocks tumbled as their foundations were wiped out from below. Everything fell to the force of Mother Nature – at long last exposing old secrets to the light.
When she was finally satisfied, the clouds slipped back from their protective stance, letting the moon glare upon the result of Mother Earth’s game of fifty-two pickup with the Devil. The rays shone on bones long picked clean – now newly exposed to the sky.
The ground undulated one last time. The surrounding hillside shuddered, sending a light dusting of earth and rock to rebury the gruesome evidence. As if the sins of man were too much for even the moon to see.
*
Five days later, a tractor, hastily called into service, with a bucket on the front, groaned as it carried yet another load of the town’s dead to a large grave. Herman, the tractor driver, was bey
ond pain and grief and death. He focused on the gritty details of plain survival. Five days of heat and exposure hadn’t been kind to the dead – or to the living. Survival had become a grim business and rotting bodies needed to be buried or disease would crush them further. So many dead. No money. No time. No help.
No choice.
His neighbor, John, lifted the last small corpse from the dump truck load on the ground to the loader’s bucket. He pulled off one work glove, straightened the bandana tied around his mouth and nose and shouted, “Good to go!”
Herman popped the gear shift forward, swore and prayed that Bertha would survive the job given her. He trundled forward. “Come on girl.” He patted the stick shift in his hand. “I need you to get it done. If you quit on me, I ain’t gonna make it through this.” And that was no joke. He knew for damn sure that he wouldn’t if ol’ Bertha didn’t. Bad business this. He had respect for the dead. Every one of his family and friends had received a proper send off, a decent burial – as was fitting. Until this earthquake.
Pain clutched his heart and squeezed. So many dead.
He’d lost his wife, one son and two grandkids this last week. Sex and age hadn’t mattered here. Mother Nature hadn’t cared. She’d wiped them all out.
John, the only other person who’d stepped up to help, had been lucky. His young wife and her family had survived the devastation. Living out of town had helped. That also contributed to his motivation to help out. This grave butted against his wife’s family’s land so it made sense for John to make sure this grave was closed over right and proper. There could be many people trekking to the grave on All Soul’s Day, as families came to honor their dead. Then again, complete families had been buried together. There might not be anyone left to mourn.
