Awakening Veronica [Divine Creek Ranch 17] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)
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Divine Creek Ranch 17
Awakening Veronica
Bullied all her life, Veronica Benedict has learned to withdraw rather than risk being hurt by those closest to her—but that’s not the only type of bully she has to deal with.
On a research trip, a fellow author introduces her to two Doms at a wedding. Travis McDaniel is disillusioned by life in Washington, D.C., and is back home in Divine, examining his future.
Driven by the need to keep the citizens of Divine safe, Hank Stinson has put his loneliness and his secret desires aside—until he meets Veronica. Hank and Travis are captivated by the introverted author. Hank must decide if he needs this special kind of love more than he needs to be elected sheriff again, and Travis must choose between life in Divine and an opportunity to make a difference in the world. When they discover the bullying Veronica is enduring, their protective instincts come roaring to the surface.
Genre: Contemporary ,Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Western/Cowboys
Length: 107,505 words
AWAKENING VERONICA
Divine Creek Ranch 17
Heather Rainier
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
AWAKENING VERONICA
Copyright © 2013 by Heather Rainier
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62741-102-8
First E-book Publication: December 2013
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
If you have purchased this copy of Awakening Veronica by Heather Rainier from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.
Regarding E-book Piracy
This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.
The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.
This is Heather Rainier’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Rainier’s right to earn a living from her work.
Amanda Hilton, Publisher
www.SirenPublishing.com
www.BookStrand.com
DEDICATION
To the man who knows me better than anyone. My husband. Thank you for continuing to inspire me. You’re a hero in every sense of the word.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to Kimberly for inspiring the creation of one of the heroes in Awakening Veronica. I appreciate her so much for sharing a moment from her life that added such wonderful depth to the story. As part of the Divine Divas street team on Facebook, she is one of many women who inspire me on a daily basis with their loyalty, enthusiasm, and naughtiness. Thanks is also due to her friend, Mike, for telling me about this real life hero.
Speaking of the Divine Divas, I must add a special thank you to all of them, including their admin, Rana. In the process of writing and researching Awakening Veronica I asked them about their experiences with bullying. Even though it stirred painful memories for many of them, they shared their hearts with me and helped to bring this story to vivid life. I’m truly blessed to know each of them.
I owe Cara Covington, a.k.a. Morgan Ashbury a serious debt of gratitude for allowing me such free use of her Lusty, Texas matriarch, Kate Benedict, as well as a number of her other characters. I appreciate the trust she placed in me more than I can ever adequately voice. Oh, and when I grow up, I want to be just like Grandma Kate.
Without wonderful readers, there wouldn’t be a Divine Creek Ranch Collection. I appreciate every one of you so much. In particular, I wish to thank all those kind people who reach out to me on Facebook, Twitter, and through e-mail. They are rays of sunshine in my day and I love interacting with them.
Thank you to my beta-reader, Stormy, for her part in making this story a worthy addition to the series. Her insights and suggestions show her keen love for Divine and I appreciate her thorough attention to detail.
My editors at Siren, and the rest of the staff, have my heartfelt appreciation for their part in delivering a well-written story to readers. I’m fortunate to live close enough to occasionally visit them in person and they are truly a marvelous, professional bunch.
My publisher, Diana, has my deepest gratitude and admiration for the high standards she sets and for continuing to believe in me.
CAST OF MAIN CHARACTERS IN BOOK READING ORDER
Divine Grace
Grace (Stuart) Warner is co-owner of Harper Embroidery. She’s also invested in and works at Discretion, a ladies’ adults-only boutique located in Morehead.
Jack Warner, Ethan Grant, and Adam Davis are distant cousins and owners of the Divine Creek Ranch. Jack is also a building contractor. Adam is an HVAC and electrical contractor. Ethan co-owns The Dancing Pony nightclub, located in Divine.
They have one daughter, Rose Marie.
Her Gentle Giant (Part One & Two)
Rachel (Lopez) Wolf was employed at Thorne Home Theater as a bookkeeper. She now does the books for Discretion and is a stay-at-home mom.
Eli Wolf was one of the bouncers at The Dancing Pony and is now licensed as an EMT.
They have one son, Levi.
Heavenly Angel
Teresa (Palacios) Martinez worked at Stigall’s with Grace and is now invested in Discretion and works there part-time when not caring for her children.
Angel and Joaquin Martinez are brothers and horse breeding specialists who handle the breeding operation on the Divine Creek Ranch.
They have two sons, Michael and Eleazar, and an infant daughter, Isabella.
Rosemary’s Double Delight
&nb
sp; Rosemary (Piper) Garner splits her time between the family business, Cheaver’s Western Store, and her husbands’ business, Garner Custom Furniture.
Wes and Evan Garner are brothers and self-employed custom furniture craftsmen who have known Rosemary since kindergarten. They have one son, Thomas Daniel.
Spurs and Heels
Juliana (Meyer) Peterson, an admitted perfectionist, was the manager of Stigall’s Department Store and is now a buyer for Discretion Boutique.
Ash Peterson, a former bareback bronc riding champion, is the foreman of the Divine Creek Ranch and runs all of the day-to-day operations.
They have a son named Will.
Maya’s Triple Dare
Maya (Daire) Warner is a registered nurse specializing in obstetric and pediatric care. She works with Doctor Emma Rivers.
Kendall, Boone, and Richard Warner are brothers, and first cousins of Jack Warner. They are partners in the MWTD Cattle Ranch, which borders the Divine Creek Ranch.
Summer’s Indiscretion
Summer (Heston) Webster and her sister Margot are proprietors of Discretion, a ladies’ adults-only boutique in nearby Morehead, Texas.
Ace Webster and Kemp Whittier are adopted brothers who are also partners in a security and private investigation operation. Ace and Kemp have assisted a number of the heroes and heroines in Divine, Texas, including their wife, Summer.
Lydia’s Twin Temptation
Lydia (Webster) Carlisle came to the Rockin’ C Ranch as a chef and wound up falling in love with both Chance and Clayton Carlisle. Chance and Clayton Carlisle are twin brothers who own the Rockin’ C Ranch, a very large cattle operation outside of Divine.
Their Divine Doctor
Doctor Emma (Guthrie) Rivers is a family practitioner in Divine, Texas.
Duke Rivers and Gage Randall are cousins who were raised as brothers. They’re IT consultants and also work on a contract basis for Ace Webster and Kemp Whittier.
Divine Phoenix
Lily (Valentine) Cook is a student and works with her husband at Clay Cook Jewelry.
Clay Cook is a jeweler and sculptor and Del Cook is a rancher and former private military subcontractor.
Sparks Fly! A Divine Creek July 4th Family Reunion
Jayne (Sheridan) Carter is head librarian at the Divine Memorial Library
Seth Carter is a tattoo artist and owner of Divine Ink Tattoo Studio, located in downtown Divine. Sparks Fly! features their introduction to each other and sexy reunions with all the previous main characters in the series, centered around a July 4th family reunion.
Margot’s Hunger
Margot Heston and her sister, Summer, are proprietors of Discretion, a ladies’ adults-only boutique located in nearby Morehead.
Jake Redman is a private investigations and security subcontractor.
Gil James is the foreman at the Rockin’ C Ranch.
His Tattooed Virgin
Jayne (Sheridan) Carter is the head librarian at the Divine Memorial Library.
Seth Carter is a tattoo artist and owner of Divine Ink Tattoo Studio located in downtown Divine. They have a son named Toby. Jayne and Seth were introduced to each other in Sparks Fly! Their full love story is told in His Tattooed Virgin.
Tiny Dancer
Camilla (O’Neal) Parks is the owner of the Twisted Bull night club and Chantilly’s Steakhouse, located in Morehead.
Ben Lawrence and Quinten Parks are business partners with Ethan Grant in the Dancing Pony nightclub.
They are the parents of brand new twin boys, James and Joshua.
Tangled In Divine
Gwen (Henderson) Alvarez is a retired world barrel racing champion and a consultant specializing in horse training and teaching barrel racing techniques.
Julian Alvarez and Chris Potter are full-time ranchers who run the Bucking H Ranch in Colorado and the Bucking H2 Ranch in Divine.
Lucy’s Revenge
Lucy (Carter) Owen is a self-employed licensed massage therapist and owner of A Divine Retreat located in downtown Divine.
Patrick Owen is an architect and single dad to his five-year-old son, PJ, and Beck O’Malley is a beekeeper.
Maizy the Bear Charmer
Maizy (Owen) Welsh is a kindergarten teacher in Divine. She is Patrick Owen’s sister.
Cody Welsh, Heath Lindsey, and Spencer Ketchum, known affectionately to their friends as “the bears,” provide security at the Twisted Bull nightclub in Morehead, Texas.
I hope you enjoy the next installment in the Divine Creek Ranch Collection…
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Cast of Main Characters
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
About the Author
AWAKENING VERONICA
Divine Creek Ranch 17
HEATHER RAINIER
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One
Late October in Billings, Montana…
Veronica Benedict’s heart raced and she barely took time to blink as she tried to keep up with the rapid-fire, somewhat schizophrenic pace of the live, online chat. Several people conversed at the same time on more than one topic, all related to her latest book—her fledgling attempt at erotic romance, which had been released the week before. Normally, online promotion came easy for Veronica because she enjoyed interacting with readers, but these live chats were too much like being inundated face-to-face, which made her anxiety soar.
A smaller instant message window suddenly popped up, blocking her view of the conversation. Irritation rose inside her until she saw who it was from.
KinkyLustyMama: Hey, sweet girl! When are you coming to visit me?
Grandma Kate. Veronica pictured her kind face and her comforting voice, and the anxious knot in the pit of her stomach unwound just a fraction.
There were fifteen minutes left in the discussion and she had to stay on task or she’d lose track of all the questions amongst the chatter in the room.
Veronica Benedict: Give me about fifteen minutes, switch to Skype, and then we can talk about it, okay?
KinkyLustyMama: Sure thing, sweet girl!
Veronica closed the instant message box and gasped at what she saw.
BookAddictedWhore: I think Veronica doesn’t want to answer the question because the bitch is scared of how we’ll react.
Veronica cleared her throat, trying to rid it of the lump that grew there every time this particular reader, who had been stalking her online, started in on her. The laughing emoticon that followed the statement was meant to soften the wording for the other readers in the chat room but it didn’t fool Veronica.
Veronica Benedict: I’m sorry, guys. I got distracted for a moment. What was the question?
There was no sense in scrolling back because she’d just lose more of the conversation in the interim while she searched the messages for the question.
BookAddictedWhore: Gina Vagina asked if you plan to continue writing sweet romance or permanently change to writing hotter stories since you can make more money.
Veronica Benedict: Oh.
She thought to herself, no easy answer to that question. She liked writing both for different reasons. Before she could reply, BookAddictedWhore continued on.
BookAddictedWhore: Who would want to continue with that boring shit when we can delve into that
sweaty, nasty, dirty mind of yours? I’d much rather wallow around in your cum-soaked imagination.
Once again, the laughing emoticon popped up at the end of the statement.
Veronica was trying to frame a reply when several others popped up with laughing responses, too, some along the same line as BookAddictedWhore’s statement, others framed much more nicely. She sighed. Was there even a point now in responding?
Veronica Benedict: I’m not limiting myself, BookAddictedWhore. I plan to keep my options open and see where my muse takes me.
BookAddictedWhore: I want to know if you did up close and personal research on all those double penetration and anal sex scenes we’re looking forward to reading when your next book comes out. Probably not as sweet when you write those, eh? Ever taken it up the ass before?
A giggling emoticon followed those words and Veronica felt an angry flush creep up her neck.
Veronica Benedict: With all due respect, I’ll decline from answering your question, BookAddictedWhore.
BookAddictedWhore: Chickenshit! Don’t get coy now, bitch. We’ve already had a glimpse inside your dirty mind. Answer the question.
Caressa MacFarland: Given what we’ve seen so far from Veronica with her debut erotic romance novel, Bound at the Bonfire, I’m sure readers will be very satisfied with the heat and heart in Veronica’s love scenes. Does anyone else have a legitimate, respectful question for Veronica?