Down the Dirt Road (The Dirt Road Series Book 1)
Page 1
Table of 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
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Down the Dirt Road
Down the Dirt Road – Book 1
Authors: Livell James and Chelsea Handcock
www.chelseahandcock.com
Copyright © 2017, Livell James and Chelsea Handcock
First electronic publication: November 2017
All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted works is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission.
Note from the Author:
This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to person, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third party websites or their content.
Published in the United States of America
Lucas Valentin has been summoned home to fulfil his duty as Guardian of the McClane Coven. He has always known that he cannot interfere with the Coven. That changes when he sees her. Drawn to her curvy beauty, he knows instantly she is his mate. The one person meant just for him but forbidden and for her own safety out of his reach.
Kaylee Smith gets one call from her Grandparents and she quits her job, packs up her things and moves to rural Alabama. She has no clue what she is walking into, never having been told the secrets of her family or that there are Others in the world. When confronted with the truth and one sexy hybrid she jumps in with two feet but he resists her.
Will Kaylee be able to get the battle-wary, sexy-as-sin, hybrid to accept her and what is meant to be? Can she have it all, her place in the Coven and the love of her life? Or will they be forced to run? Or will he run without her?
One thing is certain, life on the dirt road will never be the same.
Content Warning: Explicit love scenes, naughty language. Intended for mature audiences.
Table Of 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
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 1
Kaylee sat in her car on the side of the road, just off her exit in nowhere Alabama, staring at the sign in front of her—Eclectic twenty miles. The old wood sign had seen better days; it had bullet holes decorating it, and the paint was chipped and peeling in places. She couldn’t believe she was here. She couldn’t believe she had left behind the only life she had ever known.
This was the right thing to do. That was what Kaylee Smith needed to keep reminding herself of over and over again. Or at least until the words took root and stuck, but there was a part of her which knew they never would. It might be the right thing and something she didn’t have a problem doing, per se, but leaving her life behind was wearing on her like the miles she travelled down this dirt road. This trip wasn’t a simple visit; she was moving her life here, to Eclectic, Alabama. Home of basically nothing, but her grandparents and trees.
Two weeks ago, she had been working her job at the bank as a teller, a typical nine-to-five job. It wasn’t much, but it paid the bills and gave her a sense of independence. The apartment she lived in was nothing special either, but it was hers, filled with the things she loved. Now, most of those things were crammed into her tiny Ford Escape while the rest had been donated or thrown out.
Her Grandma had called and told Kaylee they needed her, and without a second thought, she jumped into action to make that happen. Her grandparents were getting up there in age, and their health wasn’t the best. Kaylee was most concerned about her grandpa. According to her grandma, he hadn't been doing very well lately and that greatly concerned her.
Kaylee’s mom, their only daughter, lived in California and had a killer job, so the responsibility of caring for them fell to Kaylee. At least that’s what she kept telling herself and everyone else; the truth was her mom was selfish and couldn’t be bothered to help out her own parents. No, that responsibility was always laid on Kaylee’s shoulders. Not that she minded, she loved her grandparents and would do anything for them. Even leave behind all her friends and the fantastic nightlife and restaurants of Birmingham. It was a small price to pay for the people who you love and cherish, right?
That was the other reason she was sitting on the side of the road; she had a call to make. Hitting the redial button on her steering wheel, Kaylee tried to keep positive thoughts in her mind. This time her mother would answer her call; she had only been trying to get ahold of the woman for two weeks. On the fourth ring, she slammed her hand down on the button, disconnecting the call. She refused to leave another message which would go unanswered.
She and her mother had a very contentious relationship. The woman was never there when Kaylee needed her that responsibility was always left to her Grandma Ruth. Another reason why she left her life behind and came to Eclectic, of all places; she owed her even though Kaylee knew her grandmother wouldn’t say or feel that way, Kaylee did, so that was that.
Kaylee hated driving long distances, but thankfully most of the drive was behind her now. She knew the rest of the ride would be leisurely. Only long, scenic backroads were ahead with beautiful cotton fields and pastures filled with horses and cows. She could take her time and enjoy the scenery as long as she got to her grandparents sometime today or they would worry. She had her mega sized Diet Coke and she was going to take her time. Plan set, she put her car in drive and pulled back out onto the road; only little longer now she thought. Looking at all the familiar landmarks, she let her mind wander to happier times.
As a child, she visited her grandparents often. Every time she got in trouble or her mother needed a break, she shipped her off to her Grandma Ruth. Kaylee often wondered why the woman had decided to have a child in the first place. Her time spent with her Grandparents, those were memories she cherished. Kaylee could remember getting so excited once they hit the dirt road leading to her grandparents’ home. The feeling was still there, and the closer she got, the excitement bubbling up in her stomach was giving her butterflies.
She was so caught up in her memories of the past, her phone ring loudly in the silent car scared the crap out of her. She jumped, spilling her drink all over the front of her, the cool liquid pooling in her cleavage and seat
.
“Son of a pup!” Kaylee yelled. She thought it might be her mother calling her back, so she hit the button on her steering wheel to engage her phone, but ended up hitting the wrong button, disconnecting the call. “Damn it,” Kaylee barked to herself. If it was her mother, she could wait for once.
Kaylee squirmed in her soaked pants and shirt. Looking over in the passenger seat, she tried to find something to wipe herself, but didn’t see anything. Glancing in the back, she saw a sweatshirt she had thrown back there which seemed within reach. Doing some contortionist moves, trying to reach back and still keep her eyes on the road, she managed to get her hands on the garment. But like with all good plans, something went wrong. She must have looked away for just a second because the next thing she knew, she was slamming on the brakes.
“Oh Fuck!”, Kaylee screamed. There was a man standing right in the middle of the road. Well, he had been just a second ago, now, he was laying on the side of the road somewhere. Kaylee jump out of the car, barely putting it in park first, running to the other side of the car. She knew she hadn’t hit him, but he was still on the ground. What was he doing out here in the middle of nowhere, standing in the middle of the road?
“Oh my God, I am so sorry, are you okay?” She offered the prone man her hand, only to pull it back when that small touch produced a massive static shock. She could have sworn she even heard the snap, she sure felt it. Rubbing her hand on her wet jeans, she tried again; this time when he took her hand, it only tingled.
When he finally stood to his full height, Kaylee was pretty sure her mouth was hanging wide open. This man didn’t belong in the middle of rural Alabama. He belonged on a stage somewhere, guitar firmly in hand, stroking and strumming it, while he held it close. That brought a few other thoughts to her mind. Shaking her head, Kaylee couldn’t believe she was so all over the place. She had just scared the crap out of both of them, now she was drooling over him, like a groupie.
“Are you okay?” she asked for the second time,
The guy was looking at her with a small grin on his face, but he didn’t say anything, making her more concerned. She must have done something or made a noise because he finally spoke.
“I’m fine ma’am, just a little shaken up, no harm done,” he said releasing her hand and brushing off his extremely tight jeans. Damn, where was her head, she wasn’t acting like herself at all. She didn’t notice how tight strange men’s jeans were. She wasn’t that type of girl.
Sure, she paid attention when a good-looking guy crossed her path, but this was different, this man was different. He was a work of art—from his shiny, long black hair, flipped to the side, framing his face to the brightly colored tattoos decorating his arms, peeking out of his unbuttoned shirt. Argh, she almost wanted to slap herself.
Kaylee couldn’t have stopped looking if she wanted to, the man compelled her eyes to stay on him. It was as if he put a spell on her, it was weird but also comforting, like she had found something she had been looking for all her life. As he walked closer to her, everything else seemed to fade away until they were the only two people in the world. His eyes were a color of blue she had only seen when she visited the ocean and could only be described as piercing, drawing her in further. Kaylee felt a feather light touch on her cheek, drawing her back to reality.
“Are you okay?” the man asked. Oh, my Lord, his voice was amazing. Deep and raspy, it sent shivers down her spine. Kaylee just stared for a second, unable to speak or move. When he laughed, she shook her head.
“Yeah, I guess this whole thing freaked me out more than I thought,” Kaylee said waving her hand toward the car and then back at the man. “Sorry, but what were you doing in the middle of the road? I wasn’t going that fast, and I only looked away for a second. I know I didn’t hit you, but then you were on the other side of the road laying down. You scared the shit out of me.”
Kaylee knew she was rambling. She thought about the words she was saying and what was going on here. She was in the middle of nowhere with a man who stood in front of an oncoming car, only to throw himself off to the side. It was like the start of a bad slasher film.
Stepping away, she started going back to her car and safety. She knew better than this, she should have at least gotten her phone or called 911 before she got out of the car. Didn’t con men do this stuff all the time to get a little free cash? She started walking a little faster now her brain had finally engaged.
It didn’t matter that the man was gorgeous and was wearing tight as sin, skinny jeans. Or that those jeans hugged his calves and thighs, showing everything while still leaving some mystery of what she would find underneath. She needed to get the hell out of here, but a part of her wanted to stay right there with this man.
The man kept following her, picking up speed as she did. Well, he didn’t really need to pick up speed. His legs were so long, she was pretty sure three of her steps equaled one of his. Just as she made it to the door of her car, he grabbed her elbow to stop her, but let go quickly.
“Listen, I’m sorry, I had some shit on my mind and wasn’t really paying attention. Not many people come down this road. I live right over there,” he pointed and Kaylee squinted, trying to see what he was pointing at.
Kaylee could barely make out a house; well, she wasn’t actually seeing it now. The woods engulfed it, she was only getting a peek of the hunter green, metal roofline sticking out above the treetops. It looked like it had been there forever, but she had been down this dirt road so many times before, yet she had never once noticed it.
“My name is Lucas, sorry for scaring you.”
Kaylee put one hand on the handle to open her car door, waving the other one. “No problem Lucas, I apologize, too, but I really need to get going, unless you would like me to call 911 or something?” Kaylee needed to ask. Lucas didn’t look any worse for wear, but…
“No, I’m fine,” he said as he started walking away toward the house he’d pointed out.
Thinking or not really thinking because this whole experience was extremely odd, Kaylee yelled out her name. When he turned around, but kept walking backward, he raised his eyebrow, asking her a question. “My name, it’s Kaylee. It was nice to meet you, Lucas, wish it had been under better circumstances.”
“See you around Kaylee Smith, I’ve heard a lot about you, can’t wait to learn a lot more” Lucas smiled, then took off running. Why had he heard about her? Kaylee just stood there for a second, not really knowing what to think. This was a small town and her Grandma loved to gossip; he lived close, maybe that was how he knew her name or anything about her. How freaking odd?
Getting back in the car, she put it in drive, only this time driving well below the speed limit. She felt weird. Kaylee was even more excited now about her decision to come here. There was a warmth which radiated through her body as if this visit would change her life in some way. An intuition she couldn’t put her finger on, but she could feel something big was about to happen. Maybe it had something to do with the man she just left?
Seeing the last turnoff to her grandparent’s home, she smiled; Kaylee was finally here. Pushing her foot down on the accelerator, Kaylee continued down the dirt road.
Kaylee pulled into the long driveway, and once the house came into view, she stopped to take it all in. The house had been in her family for generations. Her great grandpa had built it by hand over a hundred years ago, using the trees in the area to make logs which eventually created the exterior. It had been a labor of love, completely built by hand with little help; she admired the outcome. Her grandparents had updated it through the years, but the rustic charm was still there.
Seeing her grandma on the porch, waving at her, brought a smile to her face so full, it hurt her cheeks. Kaylee waved back and heard her grandma yelling, “Edwin get up here, Kaylee is here!” Putting her car in park, Kaylee jumped out of the car, running to greet Ruth.
Her Grandma Ruth never changed, still wearing her token apron, her gray hair twisted up in a bun. Ka
ylee knew once she got close enough, the sweet rose smell of her perfume would engulf her nose. What Kaylee really needed was to hear that sweet, southern twang in her grandmas' voice when she uttered Kaylee’s name. When Kaylee was close enough, she launched herself at Ruth, hugging her for all she was worth. Her grandma pulled back, holding Kaylee at arm’s length.
“Oh, child, what happened to you?
Kaylee had been so excited, she had totally forgotten the sticky mess coating her clothes and body. Kaylee waved her hand, brushing it off and said, “It’s nothing, just spilled my drink. Where’s Grandpa? I can’t wait to see him,” Kaylee said excitedly.
“Oh, Kaylee, he gets tired more quickly now. He and Lucas have been working on your cabin ever since you told me you were coming. He’ll be back up in a bit. It takes him awhile to get moving.”
Kaylee was disappointed. She wanted to see her grandpa, but she understood; this was the reason she was here. She didn’t like that he was working so hard, wearing himself out for something meant for her, but that would change now. Then she recalled what else her grandma had said.
“Lucas?” Kaylee questioned. She was pretty sure that Lucas was not a common name around these parts. She was also pretty sure she had already met the Lucas her Grandma was talking about.
“Oh, hon, we had to hire someone to help us do all the work around here. Lucas has been a godsend. He lives right down the road and comes over every day to see if we need anything.”
“I think I might have just met him up the road a bit when I almost ran him over with my car,” Kaylee laughed
“What?” Grandma Ruth gasped.
“Yep, he was standing in the middle of the road, and I had to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting him.”
“Oh, Kaylee, you really need to be more careful.” Kaylee chuckled at that. Her Grandma Ruth was a menace behind the wheel; Kaylee not so much.
“I know, Grandma,” Kaylee said, hugging her again. When they started walking towards the house, arm and arm, Kaylee asked, “So this Lucas, what’s he like?”