Note to self: tell Johnny that Xavier needs to back off the booze.
“Hey, Kehau, you forgot one of your gifts under the tree,” Jax announced from behind her.
“What? I thought I got everything,” she told him as she turned to look at him.
All at once her heart stopped. Jax was in uniform. The same one she'd seen hanging on a stand in his bedroom. Gleaming black dress shoes poked out from under blue dress pants with a red stripe running up the leg. The dark blue coat fit him like a glove, brass buttons and belt buckle gleaming in the light. Oh that's sexy. Very very sexy. But I thought he couldn't wear it except for special occasions?
She opened her mouth to ask what was going on when he dropped to one knee.
“Kehau Makoa, will you accept me, be mine forever, and marry me?”
Her heart leapt into her throat. This was a dream right? But the ring held in his white gloved hand was real. Memories flashed before her eyes as she asked herself that question: did she want to spend the rest of her life with Jaxson Kuznia.
You know the answer already. It wasn't the money, it wasn't the gifts. You knew it the day he came back for you, when he didn't have to. And saved you from your nightmares.
“Yes!” Warm tears stung her eyes so a she said it again, “Yes I will!”
He slipped the ring on, letting her admire the brilliance of its craftsmanship. The band had to be platinum it was so clear and bright; the diamond on top was mounted in the center of a finely wrought rose gold plumeria flower. It was quite possibly the largest gemstone she'd ever laid eyes on.
“This is huge!” she exclaimed.
“I want everybody to know you're mine just as much as I'm yours.”
Until the day I die.
Throwing her arms around his neck, she kissed him fiercely. This was her man by God, and she didn’t want to share him with anybody else. Ever.
Books by Kris Keldaran
Island Warriors
Jaxson
Joachim – Coming Soon
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Excerpt from Playing With Zach
Cassidy Family Book One
By Jana Leigh
Jade…
I hate my name, and all that comes along with it. Living up to the Cassidy family last name sucks in a big way. My brothers are the only family I have left and they drive me crazy. All of them are police officers, they love using their jobs to keep track of me, and of course, whomever I am dating at the time, not that there has been that many. Lately I haven’t had any dates because my brothers have a reputation for being overbearing, and because I am harboring a fantasy world in my head called ‘Zacholisious’, which I can’t seem to get the fuck out of, so I am going with the flow.
In the small town where we live, my brothers are the kiss of death for me to get a date, let alone sex. I love my family, but I am close to killing each of them in a spectacular way.
My brothers are the reason I am currently pissed and in a bad mood. Last night, I finally got a date with a nice lawyer, it was all in the plan—the one my best friend and I decided on. He is tall and handsome, though a little boring, but I could live with it as long as I got a little—probably a very little—and then maybe finally I would have been able to move on from the stupid daydreams that have been plaguing me for years. Shit, I’m not a slut or anything, but my two-year dry spell is driving me fucking nuts. All because of one man, and since I can’t kill him, I need to try to forget him, at least that is what I am telling myself this morning. To be truthful, the whole thing about getting laid is a joke. I would never actually follow through with it, not when I have finally come to the realization that my brother’s best friend is the only one I want. However, I’m in denial and it is a nice place to be when I’m pissed, and it gives me an excuse to rant and rave.
When my parents died a few years ago in a plane crash, I of course was devastated, they had been the best parents in the world, and they were the only ones who understood my need for independence from my brothers. I fell apart and was lost for months after the crash, but they had been amazing parents, and I realize they wouldn’t want me to dwell on the bad, well I try not to. That is when I decided to move on. Traci and I have had many late night discussions with a bottle of wine about my current situation. I love a dumbass. My parents wanted me to have the kind of love they did, and I could have it with the dumbass, only the idiot isn’t admitting it. So I have to do something, 'cause being a spinster walking to the walls is not my idea of a good time, I need to move on. Well, I need to move on if my fucking brothers would let me.
The Cassidy name is well known in this area, mostly because of my man-whore brothers but hey, no one actually cares about that. Nope, they could have wild monkey sex swinging from a power pole in the middle of town, but me, they hoped would die a virgin. Well, that ship has sailed.
Before my parents' untimely deaths, they developed one of the biggest cattle operations in Colorado. That could possibly play into my family’s notoriety, but I am refusing to accept that this morning. It is all my brothers’ fault and damn it, they are going to admit I'm an adult if it kills me. I am not the one who has a reputation of waking up in strange bedrooms. Hell no, that is my brothers, all of them; if it’s my goal in life to find love, theirs is to avoid it. They refuse to admit they need to commit to any women.
They've always been the stars of the town. Each of them having their own successes that placed them apart from one another. Jared is the oldest, the biggest physically, the largest pain in my ass, and the biggest man-whore in the family. His rise to fame came when he led the school to their first State Championship in football way back when, ohhhhh how exciting it had been. He’d been the All-Star quarterback who had all the girls throwing their underwear at him when he walked into a room. I should know, I found two pair of strange chicks’ panties when I cleaned after his graduation party, which still gives me the creeps to this day. My mom was pissed when I explained I’d thrown away a pair of her best tongs because I used them to pick up said underwear. My excuse then, ‘cooties could transfer’. Zach was his best friend; they did everything together, even joining the military.
Miles, the middle brother, never seemed fazed that his older brother was the town hero. He paved his own way in a different sport while in school, wrestling, winning the state title three years in a row. He is the second biggest pain in my ass, but the one thing I can say for Miles is that he is actually choosy about his women. I didn’t say he has good taste, just that he is choosy, and by that, I mean he'd went out with two girls in high school who are still both sluts and bitches to this day.
My youngest brother is Danny. He is still older than me but he is the most sensitive out of the group. Only older by sixteen months, he is the one I go to when I want to talk. Danny is a runner, and a freaking good one at that. He ran cross-country and track, winning every event they ever put him in. It drove me crazy when I was younger because I was always compared to him since we are the closest in age. In school, they always asked if I was going to join the cross-country team. I laughed and said only if they had donuts at the finish line.
Now I am the quiet one of the group compared to them, I never made waves in school and now, I just live in my brothers' shadows. Okay, I am lying, I was a cheerleader, but a nice one, not one of those bitches who think they are too good for you. I actually smiled at people and meant it when I said they looked good. However, no one gave me credit for that then, no way, it was like they wondered ‘who is she?’
Well, I will tell you. I am the little sister, the cute little doll they stand around and protect, never letting anyone too close for fear they will hurt me, well that’s what my brothers say. I say, I am a force to be reckoned with, a badass, a strong, confident mama jama. I have a temper because of all of their protecting, well my mother once said I had a temper in the womb, but since I never agreed, I blame it on my brothers
. I also have my wild phases—weekly—and refuse to let them tell me what to do. They try anyway and it usually leads to a huge fight. Once again, it’s all-their-fault because all I want to do is live! Thus, I am in a phase of redefinition, I can only say when I come out the other side of this phase, I will be ready to take on the world.
I understand why they are so protective, it doesn't take being a brain surgeon to get it. It started when I was attacked on a date in high school, but I took care of myself and broke the guy’s nose. They were pissed because I ended up in the emergency room with a broken hand, and they hadn’t been the ones to break the guy’s nose. They refuse to admit I can take care of myself and therefore able to make decisions about whom I date. One mistake and I am branded, it is whacked. After that, every single time I meet someone, they refuse to trust my judgment, which of course is whacked as well.
Tommy was my second mistake, which the assholes never let me forget, and I mean never let me forget. He'd been my boyfriend for a few months in college, Tommy thought he was going to have the easy life and marry into the Cassidy family. I didn’t want to get involved in a serious relationship and when I saw things in his closet before a date one night, I totally knew we weren’t compatible. When I tried to break up with him, it turned into an ugly fight. I ended up pressing charges because he refused to accept ‘no’ for an answer, and ended up getting physical, but once again, I took care of myself.
He was sentenced to a few years in jail for domestic violence and attempted rape. I wasn’t originally going to press charges until the day after I gave him a black eye for getting a little too frisky, the dumbass had tried to break into my bedroom and rape me. Since then, my brothers don’t trust my judgment in guys, which is bullshit; they are overreacting like usual. They want to protect me, but they need to trust me. That is in the past, and they need to let shit go. I get it, really I do, the whole “he man mentality”. However, girls have to kiss a lot of frogs before they find the one, at least that's what my mother used to say. Trust me, I have kissed a lot of frogs, however, at this point, I am convinced I am forced into this whole mess by all the good ones, whom I am completely attracted to, but they refuse to even look at me. Why? Because my brothers are assholes, and also their friends, namely Zach. He is an asshole too. Why is it that hot guys hang out with other hot guys? I think it’s like a code or something, and of course, I am attracted to the whole bad boy thing, so yeah, I am fucked.
Well damn it, this stops now.
Excerpt from Keeping Her Close
The Landcaster Brothers Book One
By Rayne O’Gara
Hailey…
Dammit! I tempted fate! That is the only explanation as to why at three a.m. I am looking through my peephole into the hallway at the distorted picture of my father! You have got to be kidding. Cinching my robe belt tighter I start to twist the end around my hand in a nervous gesture. I haven’t had contact with John in about seven years. My birthday in April will be seven years. No good. No good is going to come from this.
“Please, Hailey. Open the door please,” the whiney voice comes through my door after a light rapping. My eyes slide shut and I lean my head against the cold hard wood of the door. Okay, let's see what he wants and be done with it.
Unlocking the deadbolt and sliding the chain I quickly open the door hoping for the same effect as a Band-Aid. Do it fast and the pain will go away faster.
Oh.
This was not the man I remember. Stunned speechless I just stand there and take him in. The once thick brown hair so much like my own has gone, leaving a shiny dome. Unshaven chubby jowls, shabby dirty clothes too tight for his heavier body, and his brown eyes are red rimmed. Whether from crying or the drink, I don’t know. This is the only part of him I recognize from growing up. There is where I see my father. Coming out of my stupor, I stepped aside from the door.
“Do you want to come in?” I ask him in a whisper.
A nod of his head is all the answer I get when he nervously looks left then right before entering my small apartment. Quietly I click the door shut behind him. Once again twisting the robe belt around my hand I can’t help but to stare some more at his changed appearance. He shifts from one foot to the other while looking around my small space of a home. The almost efficiency one bedroom apartment I rent is, well, just tiny. But affordable. I don’t need a lot of space. At least it’s well made up. My furniture matches and I accentuate with bold colors. I think it looks lovely. Welcoming even. Looking around and taking it in like it was through his eyes, I see a warm suede couch and dark mahogany coffee table with a bright red table runner. Matching red throw pillows on the couch make the sofa pop better. Matching side tables with lamps and a Walmart brand entertainment stand on the far wall gives space between the table and television. Now that was a luxury. My fifty-inch flat screen was pure heaven. I don’t regret that buy at all.
Done making his observation through the room, my gaze focuses back on him and I remember my manners.
“Would you like a drink? Some water? Soda?”
“You always did try to take care of me, didn’t you, Hailey. And no thank you, I won’t be staying long. I need to ask a favor. A big one.” His voice comes out deep and raspy, like he took up smoking as well as drinking.
My inner alarm starts to chime…loudly. “What happened, Dad?” I ask, some firmness coming back into my voice.
“Ah, baby. I’m in trouble. Really big trouble,” he rushes out on a sob. Well I know what the red-rimmed eyes were for now. Not the drink. What could be so bad that would send my father here and burst him into tears? A couple steps forward has me next to him at the sofa.
“We should sit,” I suggest. I get a nod in affirmation from him before we both sit facing each other.
“Now. What is wrong? Let’s see if we can fix this,” I say in a soothing tone.
“The answer to my situation is pretty simple. I need your help. I need money, Hailey. Quite a bit of it. I have a deadline and if I don’t make it I will be killed.”
“What!?” I can’t believe he just said that with a straight face! What the fuck did he get into?
“What the fuck did you get into, Dad?!” I yell at him.
“Don’t yell at me! And watch your tone, young lady,” he grumbles.
You have got to be kidding. “I don’t think so! You have absolutely no right to say that to me and you damn well know it. You’re also procrastinating. If you want my help, you will spill the whole thing. And then I will see what I can do.”
“Oh thank you! Thank you, Hails!” he practically cries out in relief. This is so not good. Face impassive I wait for the story.
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Jaxson Page 14
