I roll my eyes. He can say whatever he wants. The man looks at celebrity gossip stuff online. He knows good and well who Mia is dating. They’ve been together for a while now. It’s not exactly a new thing.
“You know who. Be nice.”
Trace eyes the gun cabinet in the corner. “Nice is my middle name. Ask him if he wants to go hunting in the morning.”
“You’re not right.” I shift Bo, whose eyes haven’t left my phone this entire time, onto the couch cushion beside me and stand on my tiptoes. I give my husband a lingering kiss. “You know there’s only ever been one guy for me.”
“Damn straight,” he says against my mouth before swatting me on the behind with the dishtowel.
The next hour is a steady stream of guests arriving, and the long day begins to weigh on me. It must be showing because once everyone has arrived, Trace pulls me aside.
“Baby, if you’re tired, go lie down. Turkey still has a little while and the kids want to go down to the barn and see the horses.”
I wrap my arms around him, resting my head on his chest, and let out a small sigh. It’s good to be home. “I’m okay. I’ll come down in a minute. I just need to freshen up first.”
Looking up into the hazel gaze I love so much, I smile at his darkening expression. He worries about me. It feels nice to have someone who cares so much. Too much sometimes.
“I promise I’m fine.” I press my lips to his, and he surprises me by sliding his warm, wet tongue in my mouth. He tastes so good, and I can’t get enough.
My arms wrap instinctively around his neck and my fingers rake into his hair.
By the time he ends our kiss, I’m lightheaded.
We have guests, I remind myself.
“Well just be sure you save enough energy for later,” he says low in my ear. “I still have to show you how much I missed you.”
I nod, hoping my legs are still steady enough to hold me. His lips brush against mine once more and then he winks before jogging outside to catch Bo and the others on their way to the barn.
After I’ve splashed some water on my face, I head outside and toward the barn where they’ve all gathered.
From behind and at a distance, they look like one big group.
I can see my son on my husband’s shoulders. Next to them, Pauly has one arm around Claire Ann, and in the other he holds Leah, the little girl they recently adopted from Guatemala. Rae and her boyfriend, whose name I can’t remember because all Trace ever refers to him as is the kid with crappy taste in music, stand beside them. Trace’s mom is slightly at a distance but Bo and Leah are both angling toward her.
Lily and her dad and brother are chatting with Mia and Steven. Looks like Lily’s brother the soccer star isn’t immune to Mia’s charms. I can practically see Steven tightening his grip on her from here. Bet he’ll be over that “no need to put a ring on it” thing before the night is over. Gretchen is on the other side of them with her handsome man and each of their kids.
From where I stand, I can see it. Them. The connections. Some are closer than others, but we’re all connected. All a part of something I didn’t fully understand until now. Something I never thought I’d have.
Walking toward them, I know I’m smiling like a crazed maniac, but I can’t help it. In a way, I’m in love with each and every one of them because they’re a part of our lives. The roles they’ve played in helping us get where we are make me love them even more. I place a hand on my stomach and stop just to look at them for a moment longer.
My family.
Panic threatens to send my heart into my throat. Could be the hormones from the pregnancy maybe. But I can’t wrap my mind around it. How did I get so lucky? What could I possibly have done to deserve this?
I get to live my dream and I have a family to share it with. To laugh with and fight with and eat meals with. To love and miss, dream and cry with, and drive completely crazy.
There was a time when I thought I’d have to choose. One or the other. Dreams or family. And an even darker time when I felt like I had nothing and didn’t dare let myself imagine I’d ever have a life like this.
But somehow I have all the things I ever wished for. There is so much to be thankful for that I can hardly breathe when I think about how differently my life could’ve turned out.
Someone else has to be responsible. Someone had to be watching over me for me to be this blessed. For me to have everything I ever wanted, everything I needed, and then some, even after all of the mistakes I made.
A light misting rain begins to fall and suddenly I know. My moment of panic subsides and all I am is grateful.
Before I reach my family, I lift my face to the sky and whisper my words of gratitude.
“Thanks, Daddy.”
The Second Chance Series
Love is complicated. Sometimes all you need is a second chance.
Last Second Chance
WHEN STELLA Jo Chandler gets an offer to work at the Second Chance Ranch celebrity rehab facility right after graduating from Texas A&M, she’s tempted to turn it down. She wants to help real people with real problems, not spoiled celebrities going on vacation for publicity. But growing up on her family’s ranch left her with a love of horses that draws her to the opportunity. How bad can babysitting a bunch of strung out celebrities be?
What she didn’t count on was being roped into a tangled mess with infamous rocker and three-time rehab drop out Van Ransom on her first day. And she damn sure didn’t expect to feel the overwhelming attraction that pulls her to the man who has more issues than she can count on both hands. Like the hotel rooms and tour buses he’s famous for trashing, the havoc he could wreak on Stella’s heart would be irreparable.
Van isn’t at Second Chance for publicity or because he’s suffering from “exhaustion”. He’s on the brink of destruction, and he needs the kind of help Stella isn’t sure she can give. But without her, he'll lose everything. Because he’s on his last second chance.
Read other books by Caisey Quinn.
Ending this series was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I literally couldn’t let go of Kylie and Trace until the very last possible second. Being a part of their world has been such an amazing experience. Without the help of so many wonderful and dedicated and supremely talented people, I never could’ve even begun to think about putting these books out into the universe.
But before I get into my ginormous list of awesome people that I am fortunate enough to know and work with, I have to thank my family. They are the bridge that not only supports me and my dreams, but carries me from the dark recesses of insanity that one must venture into in order to write a book back to reality and then back again many times over. Thank you for allowing me to travel back and forth. For letting me chase my dreams and follow my heart and still have people to share my failures and successes with.
I giggle a lot when I see comments about Trace, because if you hand my husband a guitar, he’s basically him. I cheer on the readers who yell at him and shake my head at the ones who succumb to his charms, much like I did nearly ten years ago. I’m a lucky girl to have found someone who can drive me so completely crazy that life is never boring while loving me so unconditionally that I have the courage to simply be myself.
Okay, so moving right along. This is a long list y’all. Brace yourselves.
As you can see in the dedication, Emily Tippetts was the first person to read Girl with Guitar. Thankfully she didn’t say, Stick to your day job, lady. Instead she said, You have to publish this. Then she proceeded to hold my hand, talk me down from ledges, and give me the courage to publish my books. So, if you enjoyed this series, thank Emily (like I do pretty much every day.)
If you did not find dozens of typos in this book, it’s due to the diligent work of my editor Mickey Reed and my proofreader Rahab Mugwanja. They are fantastic ladies that I am so lucky to get to work with. If you did find dozens of typos, it’s entirely my fault and due to changes I made after their eyes perfect
ed this beast of a book.
So many other authors welcomed me into the indie author community with open arms and advice and just by being their wonderfully sweet selves. Big hugs to the aforementioned Emily Tippetts, Abbi Glines, Anna Cruise, Elizabeth Lee, Rachel Harris, Lexi Ryan, Marilyn Brant, Rhonda Helms, Lauren Blakely, Rachel Brookes, Jen McLaughlin, Heidi McLaughlin, Chelsea Cameron, and the many, many others who I am blessed to call colleagues and friends.
In addition to authors, I could not have survived this process without the love and support and friendship of some AH-MAZING bloggers, reviewers, and readers. I am grateful to each and every one of you who have helped promote my books by beta reading, participating in cover reveals, tours, giveaways, release day blitzes, posting reviews, and all the zillions of other things I’ve asked of you. Gutter Girls Book Reviews, My Secret Romance Book Review blog, Group Therapy Book Club, SMI Book Club, The Autumn Review, Romance Book Addict, Book Addict Mumma, Smitten’s Book Blog, The Indie Bookshelf, Hardcover Therapy, Read This Hear That, Ginger Reads, Reality Bites! Let’s Get Lost!, Holly’s Hot Reads, GloBug and Hootie, Lovin Los Libros, The Blushing Reader, The Geekery Book Review, Seeking Book Boyfriends, Stuck in Books… I could literally go on forever probably. To those of you who took a chance on some chick in Alabama and read Girl with Guitar and then contacted me to say you enjoyed it, I could kiss your faces. If I see you at a signing event, it’s likely that I will. You are the reason that Kylie and Trace’s story continued. So THANK YOU!
My street team, who share a name with Kylie’s band, is made up of 50 of the coolest chicks I know. I couldn’t even pay them enough for all of the wonderful things they do to support me. And they do it for free! To each and every one of my Backwoods Belles, y’all are my heart. Thank you for always being there and for your endless love and devotion. There aren’t words to express my gratitude. I love you to the moon and back.
I am fortunate enough to be an InkSlinger client and to get to work with my publicist Jessica Estep who understands that my crazy ideas will come at around two a.m. and will respond to emails night and day.
Thank you Erin Kelly for the amazing book trailers that you put together from all of my ramblings.
As most of y’all know, this series recently got a makeover thanks to the lovely and talented Lauren Perry of L. Perry Designs and cover models Teale Murdock (who I swear is actually Kylie Ryans) and Ghent Scott who is not only a smoking hot Trace but a firefighter in real life. Getting to meet and work with all three of them literally made my life complete. Watching my characters come to life is an experience I will never forget and will cherish for as long as I live.
I am so thankful for the county music community and all of the patient people who answered my questions. You are all rock stars to me and I am forever grateful.
Thank you to each of you who came to the Read Like A Country Girl event in Nashville. I hope I get to see each of you again at events this year!
Thank you ladies who orchestrated and participated in the Kylie Ryans Read Along event on Facebook. You made the weeks leading up to the release of this book much more fun and much less stressful than it normally would’ve been.
Big smothery hugs to every single person who sent me a “When will Girl in Love be available?” message online. You were my motivation and inspiration to keep going and get this book out into the world.
And lastly, thank you, yes, you reading this right now, for making it through my blubbering on and on about the people I love. I am thankful for you, thankful that you take the time to read my words and allow my characters into your life.
If you follow me on Spotify, you can find the soundtrack lists for each of the Kylie Ryans novels. They will also be on my website. I am currently working with my real life inspiration for Steven on getting some of the original songs that appear in the Kylie Ryans novels recorded and hope to make those available to you soon.
Music is such a huge part of this series, and a huge part of who I am, but I don’t know how to thank music, so instead, I will thank those people who support musicians of all kinds. Parents, teachers, venue owners, producers, managers, interns.
We all have a song, a story, a book, inside of us. Play it loud. Never let your songs stop playing.
To anyone I forgot to mention, you are the ones I love the most, and probably take for granted. Please forgive me!
Caisey Quinn lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and other assorted animals. She is the bestselling author of the Kylie Ryans series as well as several New and Young Adult Romance novels featuring country girls finding love in unexpected places. You can find her online at www.caiseyquinnwrites.com.
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GIRL IN LOVE
a kylie ryans novel
CAISEYQUINN
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations for reviews. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet, without the publisher’s permission and is a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines and/or imprisonment.
Girl in Love
Copyright © 2014 by Caisey Quinn
Cover Design & Layout by E.M. Tippetts Book Designs
Editor: Mickey Reed
Proofreader: Rahab Mugwanja
Cover Photo by Lauren Perry of L. Perry Designs
Cover Models: Teale Murdock & Ghent Scott
This eBook is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content. The author recognizes the copyrighted or trademarked statuses of all established companies and brands mentioned in this work.
Published in the United States of America
First electronic publication: February 2014 by Caisey Quinn.
www.caiseyquinnwrites.com
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this eBook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to the original vendor and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Books by Caisey Quinn
Dedication
Quote
Prologue
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
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Epilogue - A Note from Kylie Ryans
Coming Soon From Caisey Quinn
Acknowledgements
About the Author
About the Designer
Copyright Notice
Girl in Love Page 33
