Hold Me Close
Brother From Money 6
A sexy BBW billionaire romance by Shanade White of BWWM Club. Features another free bonus book.
When billionaire Marc Terrell leaves home in disgrace, he ends up in Miner’s Ridge, Montana, a tiny town on the edge of the mountains.
Trying to figure out his life, he runs into full-figured Scarlet, a single mom who runs the diner in town.
Soon they can’t keep away from one other... or keep their hands off each other!
Scarlet and Marc fall deeply in love, and want to start a family in addition to her son Sean.
But when Scarlet’s violent ex-boyfriend Louis gets out of jail, he’s determined to track her down.
To top it all off, it’s wildfire season and a fire is threatening to engulf Miner’s Ridge.
When Scarlet appears on a news piece about the fire, Louis knows exactly where to find her.
Marc wants to protect her and her son, but will he make it in time?
Or will Louis finally have his wicked way?
Find out in this action-packed yet super sexy romance by Shanade White of BWWM Club.
Suitable for over 18s only due to sex scenes so hot, you’ll be ready for your own handsome stranger to show up in town.
Tip: Search BWWM Club on Amazon to see more of our great books.
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Free Bonus Book: When He Comes Back Around
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
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Chapter 1
As the lights of Los Angeles disappeared in the rearview mirror, Marc rolled all the windows down in the car and let the warm air rush over him. For the first time in weeks, he actually felt something; that it was sadness didn’t surprise him. He’d been numb since the night that his older brother Scott had pulled a gun on their younger brother Michael. It had been an awful scene, Scott so desperate to gain the upper hand over their cousins back in Colorado, that he’d suffered some kind of a mental break. That was the only thing Marc could think of to explain his brother’s bizarre behavior.
He’d known since Michael was born that Scott hated him, it had only gotten worse when their mother had died, leaving them with only their father. Scott had always had two goals in life, first to make Michael’s life as miserable as possible, and second to make money. Making money had been no problem for Scott, he’d become an expert at that, but recently he’d been less than successful at ruining Marc’s life.
When their father had stepped in to make Michael’s dream come true, Scott had been so sure he’d fail, that it had come as a shock when he hadn’t. Then he’d come up with some wild scheme to take over Terrell Industries, which had ended with him pulling a gun on Michael in an effort to make him do what he wanted. What Scott thought he’d accomplish that night he had no idea; the only reason Scott wasn’t in jail was because their father had shown up and smoothed over the situation with their uncle and cousins.
From the moment he’d seen the gun until the moment their father had told them that they were off the board of directors of the family company, Marc felt like he’d been holding his breath. Scott had been livid, shouting about fighting it out in court while his father watched stony faced as his oldest son called him names he hadn’t heard in years. He’d finally stormed out of the room, got in his car, and disappeared into the night.
Marc had sat there in shock, his eyes glued to the carpet, unsure what to say. Finally, his father had broken the silence. “I don’t know what part you played in all of this, but I hope you’re sitting there thinking about your life,” he said, rapping his knuckles on the desk to make Marc look up.
“I didn’t know he had a gun. I still don’t understand what he thought it would accomplish,” Marc said, finally meeting his father’s eyes.
“Son, I’d like to say that I believe you, but to be honest, I just can’t. Since the day you were born, you’ve idolized your brother, done anything and everything he ever wanted you to do. I really want to believe you, but I don’t know if I can,” his father said, the pain clear in his eyes.
Marc had nothing to say to that because it was the truth, he’d spent his life doing Scott’s bidding. No matter how terrible the job was, he’d done it, including some things that were less than pleasant. But as he sat there in his father’s study, he realized that his whole life had been built around making Scott happy.
In fact, it was taking everything he had not to go after Scott, which had always been his role when Scott was upset. But, that gun had changed everything. He got to his feet and said, “I’m going to my room to think. I don’t know what I’m going to do from here, but it’s definitely going to be something different.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’m happy to help in any way I can, except money. You two are on your own,” his father said, getting to his feet.
He walked with Marc as far as the stairs then said, “Maybe you should think about getting out of here. Go somewhere and figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life; you’re still young.”
Later that night as he was pacing his room, he realized that his father was right. He needed to get away, find out what life was all about. It was a shock to realize that he’d focused so much on Scott’s happiness that he’d never thought of his own. He’d adopted all of Scott’s likes and dislikes, making his own desires second to Scott’s, to the point that now he wasn’t even sure what his own desires were.
Scott’s episode, he didn’t know what else to call it, had left him adrift. Pulling a suitcase out of the closet, he shoved some clothes inside and wrote his father a note explaining that he was going to take his advice. He had no idea where he was going, but since he had no plans when he got wherever it was he ended up, it didn’t matter.
He’d fill the car up with gas, pick a direction, and drive until he was too tired. Any other plans could wait, for now leaving was hard enough. It was strange to think that a man his age had seen so little of the world, knew so little of the world.
The first thing he did once he got on the road was to throw out his cell phone. He’d seriously considered calling Scott to tell him about his plans, but in the end decided against it, realizing that he’d spent too much of his time worry about Scott. It was time to worry about himself, to have a life that was about him. Maybe even meet a
nice woman like Michael had, something Scott had been really upset about since he’d planned to marry Michael off in a business deal.
Closing his mind to thoughts of Scott and the mess they’d made in Colorado, Marc opened his mind to the possibilities of what life might have to offer. The lights of Los Angeles winking out in the rearview mirror signified the end of one part of his life and the beginning of another. The fresh air finally made him feel alive again. It was liberating to know that he could go anywhere he wanted and do anything he wanted.
*******
Scarlet shut the door of the walk-in freezer, her arms full of ground beef, shaking her head as she walked away. The thermometer was hovering right at the safe range, but she didn’t know how much longer that would last. Over the last year, she’d watched it go down little by little, the old appliance showing its age. It had been old when she’d bought the diner seven years ago, now it was just plain ancient.
But she didn’t know where the money would come from for a new one; walk-in freezers didn’t come cheap. In fact, it would probably take most of her savings to buy one. As she made her famous chili, the back door opened and her cook Kevin came shuffling though the door and right to the coffee maker where a fresh pot was already waiting. Kevin had aspirations of becoming the next big hit in country music. Scarlet had to admit he was good but making it big from a tiny town like Miner’s Ridge was difficult.
He’d been playing in bars all over the state, hoping to catch someone’s eye, but so far little had happened except for her having to cope with a half-asleep cook all though breakfast. But she couldn’t afford to be too picky, there weren’t that many capable cooks around, and even half asleep, Kevin was better than anyone else she’d hired in a long time. As long as he showed up when he was supposed to and did his job, what he did with his free time was none of her business.
She was anticipating a large breakfast crowd this morning since it was the first Saturday of the summer; business had been gradually picking up as the snow melted and the weather warmed. There wasn’t much to do in Miner’s Ridge most of the year, but in the summer, people would come for the hiking and camping in the nearby mountains. But what she was really counting on was the Miner’s Ridge Logging Festival which happened every year during the entire month of July.
It was during this time that she and a lot of the other businesses in town made most of their money for the year. A bit like the Christmas season for retailers, a good July would guarantee open doors for at least another year. Scarlet needed a record July if she was going to have enough money for a new freezer, and there was no doubt that a new one was in her future.
As she mixed the chili and put it on the stove, she thought back to her first summer in town; it had been a long three months. She and her son had arrived in the little town, the first black residents since the days of cattle rancher and miners. Oddly enough, that was how she’d learned about Miner’s Ridge; the town had once boasted the largest population of African Americans anywhere in the west. She’d discovered this interesting fact when she was in high school, looking for something different to write about for an English paper.
When her life had come tumbling down around her shoulders and she needed to disappear to a place where her ex-husband wouldn’t think to look, Miner’s Ridge had popped into her head. Who would think to look for her in Montana of all places, and in a town that at the best of times only had 15,000 inhabitants? It was perfect, especially when she found the advertisement for the diner at such a reasonable price. She’d jumped on the property and bought it without even looking at it, knowing that she was taking a risk, but so desperate to get her son out of a bad situation that she hadn’t cared.
The diner and the town had both been a bit of a shock to her when she’d arrived; a southern girl used to the hustle and bustle of the city, it was strange to suddenly be thrown into the laidback attitude of the Montana mountains and the people who lived there. But she and Sean had both adjusted and made friends, relaxing into the freedom that living in a small town offered, no commuting to a job or fighting traffic to get across the city.
Not that she’d ever had to commute to work, being a stay-at-home mother and wife was all she’d ever done, her husband insisting that no wife of his would ever work. Of course she did work; keeping Louis happy had been a full-time job. He’d wanted a trophy wife and that’s what he’d gotten, but she’d never been happy, never felt fulfilled.
Her life now, though simple, was much more rewarding than that life ever could have been, and it was also much healthier for Sean. He’d taken to living in the mountains like he’d been there his entire life. At seven, every day had been like a new adventure. Now at almost fourteen, he had more freedom than most kids in the city had ever dreamed about. Scarlet could send him out the door with no qualms about what he might be up to; any bad behavior would be reported back to her almost instantly.
Miner’s Ridge was a small community where people looked out for each other and that included the kids. Everyone looked out for everyone else’s kids, giving parents more sense of security. Not that she had to worry about Sean getting into any trouble. He was a good kid who only wanted to please his elders, for that she would be eternally grateful. Considering who his father was, it could have been very different, but she’d gotten him away from his father before he could have any real affect on Sean’s budding personality.
Finished with the chili, she put it on the stove so it could simmer until lunch when it would disappear quickly, her favorite customers would see to that. Hearing the front door open and chairs scraping against the floor, she looked at her watch: six o’clock. Her first customers of the day were right on time. It had been that way since the first day she reopened the diner; now she could set her watch by their arrival.
That first day, when she’d gone to the front to unlock the door, they’d been standing outside waiting. Assuming it was a good sign, she’d let them in with a “Good morning,” but they hadn’t responded, only taken a table in the back and quietly asked for coffee. A few other customers had straggled in throughout the morning, but all the old men had done was drink coffee and watch her.
Needless to say, it had been unnerving to have their three sets of eyes following her around the diner as she worked. She couldn’t even escape them in the kitchen since the passthrough gave customers a clear view of the kitchen. She didn’t detect any hint of disapproval in the men, it was more like she was being evaluated.
On the fifth morning, she decided it was time she did something so she rolled up her sleeves and got out the flour, sugar, and yeast. It was time bring out her biggest weapon, her maple bacon cinnamon rolls. Although she loved cooking any kind of food, baking was her passion, one that she rarely indulged in because she always ended up eating the results, making it impossible to keep her curvy figure under a size 16. Scarlet had never considered herself fat; in fact, she carried her weight well. At nearly six feet, she was a big woman, but well proportioned.
When the cinnamon rolls came out of the oven, she put three on a plate and took them out to the dining room. Setting them down on the table, she said, “Gentlemen, would you mind trying these for me? Baking at high altitude is a new skill for me, I want to make sure they’re okay.” She walked away before they could answer.
Hiding in the kitchen so that they couldn’t see her, she waited for them to have a chance to taste them, then went back out front and grabbed the coffee pot off the counter and crossed the room to fill their cups. The cinnamon rolls had disappeared from the plate, not a crumb left, but still the men didn’t say a word.
“So, how were they?” she finally asked, setting down the pot and putting her hands on her hips, clearly not planning to move until they answered. She could be just as stubborn as they were.
After a few minutes, one of the men finally said, “I think we might need to try another one to know for sure.”
Scarlet just laughed and went and got them another plate of rolls, set them down, and walked a
way. When the men left, she was in the kitchen making an order for another customer and was surprised when one of them, the leader she’d gathered from watching them, poked his head into the passthrough and set the plate down. “Those were very good rolls. Guess southern cooking isn’t so bad after all. Thanks, Scarlet.”
She was so surprised it took her a second to say, “Your welcome...” Then she paused hoping for a name.
“Hiram. I’m Hiram Walker, and that’s Gus and Steve,” he said, pointing over his shoulder at the other two men.
“It’s nice to meet you, boys,” she said, plating up the order she’d just made.
“Well, we’d better be going, just wanted to thank you for the rolls,” Hiram said, heading for the door with his companions.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” she said, waving at them, feeling like she’d finally managed to connect with someone in town.
That had been the start of a friendship that today she counted as one of the most important in her life. Pulling a pan of cinnamon rolls out of the oven, she put four on a plate, then poured juice in a glass, and made a bowl of cereal. Walking over to the stairs, she called up to the apartment where her son had disappeared to almost an hour ago.
“Sean, it’s time for school. You don’t want to be late on the last day.”
She could hear grumbling, but he soon appeared on the stairs, still rumpled from sleeping on the little couch in the living room. They’d lived in the little apartment above the café for the first three years they’d lived in Miner’s Ridge, but when Sean turned ten, it became apparent that the little one bedroom apartment wasn’t big enough for them anymore. So, she’d bought the little house they lived in now, straining her budget, but giving them both the space they needed.
Now at fourteen, Sean was quickly becoming a young man with all the problems that went along with being a teenager, but those three men out in the dining room had adopted him as their own, making the transition much easier for Sean. Predictably, he took his glass of juice and the bowl of cereal and went out in the dining room.
Hold Me Close: BWWM Romance (Brothers From Money Book 6) Page 1
