by C. L. Bush
Samantha may have been a sweetheart, but she sure knew how to sting when she felt cornered.
“Guys, come on.” Sam snorted in anger and then rolled her eyes, shushing them with a disarming smile. “Sure, tests are important, but look at poor Jen. That’s what happens when you put too much pressure on yourself. The stress just eats you out from within.”
“It also gives you options for the future,” Damen tried, stressing the point. “It can open lots of doors, Sam.
“Maybe I already picked my door,” Sam said soothingly.
“Whichever door you pick, Sam, make sure it leads somewhere,” Clara added. “Maybe it would be better if you skipped visiting Jennifer and worked on studying?”
“That doesn’t sound bad,” Damen tried but it was obvious Sam had had enough.
“We’re not leaving JJ alone,” she said decisively, shutting down any possibility of a change in her after-school plans.
“You said she and JJ are close?” Clara asked, her head tilting slightly. In no mood to waste energy trying to encourage Samantha further, Clara transferred to what she knew to do best. Piece the puzzle. “Is that why he’s sitting alone?”
The three of them glanced toward Jared Johnson, the boy who sat quietly in the corner of the cafeteria. His varsity jersey lay nearby, forgotten. A blonde fringe hid his eyes and he seemed to absently switch between flicking his phone and plucking at his pizza slice.
“He looks like he’s riding the subway, post-breakup,” Clara concluded, going back to nibbling her chocolate.
“The whole thing really freaked him out,” Samantha continued gently, looking at her friend. “Apparently, they were out together when she started hyperventilating and -”
“JJ took her to the hospital,” Damen added absently, placing his right hand protectively around Sam. Clara noticed the movement and then returned her gaze toward JJ. “He’s been weird since then. He’ll be better once he sees her.”
“I’m not so sure about that. He’s been weird the whole semester,” Clara commented and Sam served her the best chastising stare. “What? He has. He was the biggest loudmouth and now he barely speaks to anyone but Damen. It’s obvious,” Clara responded, taken by surprise by their lack of observational skills.
At their surprised look, redness spread through her cheeks and her eyes cast down to search the floor for the right thing to say. Rather comfortable being the smartest person in the room, she was used to being right, but hated that she made her friends feel inferior with her knowledge. Them staring at her made her feel like a specimen in a jar. The limelight wasn’t her forte. She preferred to leave that to Sam, who seemed to thrive under it.
“Let’s just hope he feels better after tonight,” Samantha chimed in after a moment. “Are you sure you won’t come with us, Clara?”
“Nah. I want to stop by the library and later, I’m getting a pizza with Mom.”
“That exciting teenage life will be the end of you,” Samantha teased, provoking both Damen and Clara to smile.
“As long as history isn’t the end of you,” Clara responded with a knowledgeable wink. She glanced at her phone, annoyed that the screen had frozen yet again.
Because she was always careful with her belongings, her phone failing her in her tie of need surprised her. You would think spending nearly $300 on a phone would ensure that it at least held battery power for more than an hour, but alas, this wasn’tmoney well spent. It bothered her because she looked forward to those times at lunch period and breaks between classes when she liked to dive into her music playlist and take five from the overwhelming need people had to socialize. In a world that seemed to never shut up, she preferred the solace and companionship of her books, films and carefully-selected musicians.
Clara waved to Sam and Damen, picking up her things but leaving the history notes in dire hope that Samantha would check them out properly. She muttered something about the library and exchanged the commotion of the cafeteria for a soft buzz in the hallways.
Four years of knowing each other and Clara was still dumbfounded when it came to her friendship with Samantha. Personally unaccustomed to such intensive relationships, such as the ones Samantha had a knack for; Clara was surprised at how easily she clicked with someone so different.
Samantha had a bubbly personality that radiated happiness, attracting people to her like flames attract moths. Clara, on the other hand, preferred to be alone or with the selected few people who didn’t completely drain her energy. Sam was the 60’s, Clara the 90’s. Sam was the Beach Boys, Clara The Cure. The culture of exclusive grunge and aloofness from the 90s appealed to her unlike any other decade in history. If she could get away with wearing plaid again, she probably would, not that fashion-forward Sam would let her. Sam loved the cafeteria with its loud abrasive groups of teenagers while Clara preferred the library with its quiet superiority and the smell of old paper.
That was exactly where she was going to now. She moved toward the library quickly, ignoring the passersby, and observing the portraits along the corridor.
Richmond High was lucky enough to have several wealthy patrons who made sure the school had thrived since its beginnings. Even now, a century later, the school had the equipment and infrastructure that most others couldn’t afford. Everything was up to date and accessible, but Clara somehow felt most at home in the large school library.
In the beginning, it was the first town library, carved from reliable wood. The two-story structure was spacious and captured most of the daylight thanks to a wall of large windows. Slowly, the library grew into a school until it could no longer hold the books or all the students in its shelves and chairs. The public library was then moved into a new, bleak villa, while the wooden shelves remained as the heart of the school.
Clara greeted Alice Martin, the ageless librarian, with a smile before moving to her favorite corner. The Parker Historical Section was a collection of books ranging from the first settlers of the town to modern times and held the most exquisite historical reads her mind craved.
Besides, it was snuggled right between the history of art and philosophy section, so rarely anyone bothered her. The Parker Section was the quiet refuge for introverts of Richmond High, where people followed the unspoken rules almost intuitively.
Clara lowered her books on a desk and took the same chair she used each time she visited. She flung open her current book, ignoring the insulted cough from the right and dove into the shaded history of Richmond.
Fire In My Heart Series
Want to read more from C.L. Bush? Check out her other series, only on Kindle!
THE HEART OF NOW
After a deadly fire six years ago, in which he lost his father, Lawrence Sheridan is finally going back to London. With a hateful half-brother and a venom spitting stepmother, he’s determined to figure out if the fire was just an accident or something more.
Francis Hudley has been brought to London by her Aunt Livingston and she, at eighteen, is finally having her coming out. She’s shy and anything but overjoyed at the prospect of finding a husband. While enjoying the season, she meets an old family friend of her aunt's and is captivated by his love of the same things that interest her most.
Neither are seeking nor interested in marriage, but when a connection happens their passion is kindled. Can Laurie find the person who is responsible for murdering his father and trying to kill him while following his heart with this young woman who has so captivated him? And if he chooses her, can he keep her safe until the mystery is solved?
FIRE OF MY PAST
Now that Laurie and Franny are engaged, the need to find out the reason for the fire at Waltham six years ago is more important than ever. So is the need to catch the culprit. When a new witness comes forward, Laurie returns home to see if he can finally figure out the mystery that has plagued him for so long. One that has also put himself - and his wife to be, Franny – in danger.
With his stepmother and half –brother descending on his townhome prior
to his returning home, Franny is left to deal with the rumors they’re circulating about Laurie’s past and their reasons for marrying so quickly.
Can the real culprit for the deadly fire be found before Laurie puts himself more at risk? Can Franny sort through the rumors about her new love and hold fast long enough for Laurie to return with answers?
WIFE OF TOMORROW
Laurie returns to London to find his life in a state of upheaval based on rumors spread by his stepmother and actions made by his half-brother. Franny has spent three weeks in a constant struggle to maintain her faith in Laurie, while trying to ignore the rumors and consequences to the Livingston household’s social life.
By now the wedding is fast approaching and both are nervous but excited to finally be wed and start their life together. But an unexpected event delays the vows and puts Laurie’s life at risk, revealing the true arsonist and murderer.
Will Laurie be able to solve his way out of this situation to get back to Franny? Or will he give his life to make sure that she’s safe and his father’s memory is finally vindicated?
A HAND IN LOVE AND MURDER
War, blood, love, and murder.
Lucy Livingston has dreamed of finding someone to complete her life after seeing her cousin Franny find and fall in love with the man of her dreams. She’s now at their estate, helping Franny learn the ropes and taking a break from the marriage mart in London. She thinks she’s free from the distractions of men. That is until Simon Tucker, an old acquaintance she has had less than pleasant dealings with in the past, comes on the scene.
Simon Tucker arrives at Waltham subdued. Having been injured in the war, he’s forced to accept the position of land agent to a friend of his cousin’s, Franny's husband Lawrence Sheridan, and live a normal life after the trials of battle.
Riddled with guilt over leaving his best friend, Marshall Gray, behind after he was injured, Simon is haunted by the memories of blood and violence and what could have happened to Marshall, missing two years now.
An unlucky encounter forces Simon into the most compromising position he has ever been in… found next to a murdered man.
A TRIAL OF SECRETS
Murder can take more than one life.
Simon Tucker is imprisoned for the murder of a man he saved on the road to Waltham. Sitting in the freezing cell has been a challenge, but he has hope in his employer and friend, Lawrence Sheridan, to find him a good lawyer and get him out of this situation. His strength is tested when the local magistrate comes to town and the jury sits to determine his fate.
Lucy Livingston has fallen in love with Simon, but is distraught on how to share her feelings and if they could ever have a life together with murder hanging over his head. In spite of the new attention she has been given by Simon's lawyer, Gabriel Lewis, she still holds fast to her love. She, along with her cousin and family, work to do everything they can to see Simon set free and found innocent.
When a shattering secret is revealed, will those believing Simon's innocence be able to keep the faith?
A VINDICATED HEART
Rotting away in a jail cell is dangerous to a man’s health. So is being on trial for murder. Simon Tucker’s health is diminishing as it seems the world is colluding against him. The evidence is stacking up - not in his favor - and his future is looking bleaker and bleaker.
Lucy Livingston and her family are not standing idly by and letting the man she loves be convicted of a murder he didn’t commit.
But when sleuthing turns deadly and an old, unexpected foe turns up, Lucy is put into a situation that could change everything – and possibly cost her life in exchange.
Military Majors Series
MAJOR PACIFER
Major Ryan Hammond is home on a three-week vacation over Christmas. Looking forward to spending it alone, he still has time to admire the neighbor across the street, Dr. Rebecca Donovan. He longs for a family to come home to after a difficult mission, but feels it is hopeless given his past history with romance.
That is until an unexpected gift is left on his doorstep on Christmas Eve...a baby in a basket.
MAJOR BODYGUARD
Major Jade Patterson wants anything but to be a babysitter, so when he’s saddled with an Indian political figure's daughter, he finds himself forced to accept his fate as just that.
Alia is finishing her medical degree in California at her father's insistence and doesn't feel that there’s any threat and he’s being ridiculous. She agrees only to appease him and deal with the situation.
But when a threat finally presents itself, will emotions get in the way of their hearts...and their lives?
MAJOR CHARMING
When Major Grayson Bennet is forced to travel to Scotland to finish a deal on new weapons for the U.S. Army, he never expects that the owner of the company would be a sassy redhead with a need to loosen up.
Charlotte James is focused on growing her family business since the death of her parents two years ago, and has no time for romance.
But when the two grow closer and an ex-lover gets a little too close for comfort, Grayson realizes that his time in Scotland might just end before he planned.
