“Full of jokes, aren’t you? It’s bad enough you didn’t go to a HBCU, but you went to a school where the only eligible black men were idiots on the football team.”
“But the black women,” Mel moaned and swooned before taking out the dinner plate her mother had left in the over.
“I swear you will put me in an early grave.”
“That’s okay, daddy said there’s still room.”
“Why did you chop off all your hair? Are you trying to be a cowboy?”
“I distinctly remember you swooning over how elegant Halle Berry was at the Oscars with the same hair cut.”
“You are not wearing Ellen Saab, you’re wearing Wrangler.” Her mother held Melody’s chin between her fingers and turned her head from side to side. “I suppose it’s not that bad. Your face is angular enough to pull it off.”
“What about the bald fade?” Mel teased and her mother fussed, but eventually released her chin.
“Do I even want to know what you did today?”
“Vaccinations, mama, nothing vulgar or disgusting. Just stick and go.”
“Well, that’s good. How much longer do you have in your residency?”
“A few weeks, but Doc Carlisle said he’s scaling back his hours in the next few years. Until then he can hire me part time. Walt said they’d take me on part time too, so I should be able to get my own place.”
“Long’s don’t do that,” her mother scolded with her eyebrows bunched. If nothing else MeMaw Long had laid down the rules when Loretta married her father Henry. “We may send you to college, but you’ll live on the ranch.”
“You’ve got to make a decision.” She looked her mother straight in the eye. “Can I be a cowgirl or not?”
“How about being a Southern lady?”
“Now what fun would that be?” she asked as she stuffed a big bite of steak in her mouth. Her mother didn’t say anything. After a little bit of awkward silence, Mel asked, “Where are the boys?”
Mel knew her father went to sleep by eight, but her brothers Miles and Montgomery were usually around doing something.
“They were going somewhere with your cousins.”
The Hard Root, Melody thought with a smirk. The local bar tended to be the Long family’s favorite hangout. Three generations had made it their home away from wives and children. Since Melody turned twenty-one she’d pissed off the boys more than once by showing up there. Thankfully the owner loved her. When she saw her mother yawn that was her clue to copy the motion and pretend to crash.
*****
With a jerk the bus came to a stop outside of the Frosty D ice cream shop. At the edge of downtown there was a small window on the side that tickets could be bought. It wasn’t a long stop for the bus unless someone was getting on or off because they’d had an hour break in El Paso. After heading back to the front of the bus to take care of her kids, Sunny didn’t see the mother again before she got off there during the break. JT, his childhood friend, would have been proud of him for doing the respectable thing.
Hoisting his duffle up on his shoulder, Sunshine made his way to the trailer park a mile away. Tender Root wasn’t a bad little town so walking at midnight was far from dangerous. Few people were out and about in the summer time heat anyway. High schoolers enjoying the freedom afforded to them for two months out of the year buzzed past him on dirt bikes, but were smart enough not to start trouble.
He’d been home a handful of times since going on the national rodeo circuit with JT. Although there were a few changes, each time he returned to Tender Root he was twelve again.
A distant light called to him, reminding him of the only place that felt more like home than the Long Ranch. The Hard Root, a brick building with no windows and a steel door, had a lighted glass sign currently flickering from a bulb dying. It didn’t need the neon signs promising one beer or another. No, everyone knew what the Hard Root was and exactly what you could get there.
A nice cool drink, and possibly a woman minus the baggage, might get him past the dread walking into his father’s house caused.
Sunshine waved at Caroline still tending bar. Estimating her being in late sixties at a minimum, the silver haired owner ran the toughest bar in the area. Today her long hair was pulled back in a twist with a clip holding it in place.
“Now here I thought it was closer to midnight then noon.” Caroline toddled her way to him. The broken ankle that had never healed correctly had ended her barrel racing career and added pounds to her once dainty frame. “Who let sunshine into my bar?”
Flipping the board at the end of the bar up, she rounded the corner and pulled him into a tight hug. Caroline Turner was one of the few people in town that never treated him as a nut who didn’t fall far from his father’s tree.
“Be careful,” he winced at the five foot two barmaid with the vice-like hug directly on his cracked ribs. “I’m coming back battered and bruised.”
“My poor baby, let me get you something to ease that pain.”
Caroline went behind the bar and poured him a draft and shot of Jack.
“Hey, can I stow my bag so I can hit the table?”
“Pass it here, baby.” She took the bag and he took his shot, then grabbed his beer and headed to the pool table.
He placed his quarter in line and waited for an opening. A half hour later he was lining up to break when a very fine ass was leaning over the bar, distracting him from the end of his cue. Shaking off the vision, he shot, and with a click and clatter the balls exploded from the triangle and bounced around the table. The yellow one ball rolled into the side pocket, and he walked around the table while chalking his cue.
The jeans hugging the woman shifted to show off an onion ass... the nice round, plump type of ass that could make a man cry. With trim hips his eyes traveled up the woman’s frame. Her head was turned in the other direction and all he could see in the dimly lit room was a cowboy hat and short, dark hair barely peeking from the bottom.
“You shooting?” the older man across from him asked, and Sunny looked over the break. There was a chance he could sink the five into the corner pocket if he angled it just right. As he lined up the shot a noise caught him right as the cue made contact with the white ball. It bounced around the table, making a full diamond before coming to rest next to the six.
“I said back off,” a woman snapped. Sunny turned to see the woman he’d been eyeing backhanding a Hispanic guy sitting next to her.
“Come on, you know you’re the jerk-off queen, puta.”
Sunny may have gotten a D in Spanish back in the tenth grade, but he grew up in these bars and he knew full well what puta meant, even without the guy’s inflection.
When another man stepped behind her, she was trapped, and Caroline was too busy filling drinks on the other end of the bar to notice the fight.
“Let’s go outside and you show me how you get paid.”
“How about you go take a flying leap?”
Alright, that was a clear cut no. That was all Sunny needed to step in. Tossing his cue to the next guy in line, he strode over to the bar, stepping between the woman and man. He did so with such force the man’s hand, which had been clutching her wrist, snapped back.
“I believe the woman told you to fuck off.” Sunny suggested he move on with a bit too much of a shove.
“Fuck you, Blanca, this is between me and the puta.”
“See, that’s where we have a problem, gringo,” Sunshine said. Stepping closer to the man had the desired effect of the guy backing off just enough that when Sunny swung, there was no chance of elbowing the girl on accident. “Outside of your sister, I don’t know any putas in this town.”
The man reared back and Sunny ducked while landing an uppercut to his gut. He tried to stand up, only to have Sunny’s patented left knock his ass to the floor. Turning on his heel, he kept his fists up ready for the punch from the guy’s friend, who ended up just looking at him with his hands raised as he backed up.
“S
unshine,” Caroline snapped, but there were more important things than the scolding of Caroline right now.
“You okay?” he asked, catching the most beautiful set of mahogany eyes he’d seen in years. Something familiar looked back at him as the woman licked her lips and looked down meekly. Her smooth chocolate skin was devoid of any blemish and although she didn’t have an ounce of makeup on, her eyes seemed naturally defined. The full lips were a burnt red and he ached to touch them. She must have been passing through. Black cowboys not named Long were rare in this part of New Mexico, and cowgirls, black or not, were as prevalent as unicorns.
“It’s my fault, I thought my brothers or cousins were going to be here to protect me,” she said as her fingers curled around the beer bottle she was gripping tightly.
“Well, next time be sure,” he said, placing his finger under her chin and turning it upward. “That face should never hear words like that.”
“It’s the ears that hear, Sunny,” she smirked back.
“Smelly Mellie?” he asked and instantly felt like a schmuck when she rolled her eyes and turned to the bar. It was a normal reaction—the lone girl on the Long Ranch had been the victim of the boys’ torments since before he could remember.
“Um, Sunny, Caroline wants you.”
“Caro—”
When Sunshine turned he saw the sawed off shotgun Caroline kept behind the bar leveled at him. “I’m sorry, sexy, I was defending the honor of a woman.”
“You know the rules,” she said coolly, but he could tell she didn’t have the heart to go through with the trigger pull. “One punch, one shell. You want it in the ass or the chest?”
“I’m already injured,” he said, putting his best puppy dog eyes on her.
“Is he dead?” she asked, pointing the gun down to the unconscious Mexican on the floor.
Sunny nudged him with his boot and the guy groaned.
“Nope.”
“Fine,” Caroline said, tossing the gun on to her shoulder and turning her eyes to Melody. “Mel, you okay?”
“Yeah, Caroline, I’ll just settle up and head home. You haven’t seen my family tonight, have you?”
“Nope, can’t say that I have. Only Long ranch hand around here is Sunny. Why don’t you head home and I’ll let you settle up next time.”
“Thanks, and he doesn’t work for my family,” Melody replied with a coolness that sent icicles down Sunny’s spine.
Melody took off to the door and Sunny had to double time to catch her before she got outside. Wrapping his rough hand around such a delicate wrist was a contrast he hadn’t expected. He’d not thought of Mellie for years and the last memory was not of this vision.
“Mellie—“
“I prefer Mel or Melody. Mellie is like nails on a chalkboard to me.”
“Melody,” the name rolled from his tongue like honey and he saw the appeal. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was you.”
“I know I’m forgettable.” She turned and tugged her back so quickly she crashed against his body and he had to admit her soft curves melded to him like a kid leather glove.
“I’ve never seen your face without a book covering it.” Sunny cupped her cheek and slowly stroked his thumb over her bottom lip. She quivered in his arms and he quickly released her. Shit, she was JT’s baby cousin. Between JT and his brothers and her brothers, she was persona non grata for any man that wanted to stay one.
“Well, you’ve been gone for a while taming bulls and all.”
“Broncs actually,” he replied with a shrug. “JT kicked my ass when I tried to get on a bull, then got me booted from the rodeo.”
“JT would kill for you, don’t run that on me.”
“Okay, so I broke a few ribs and he tattled on me, same thing.”
“Not really.” She snorted. “Well, I have to work in the morning.”
Sunny wasn’t ready to let her go, not yet. She might just be worth the ass whooping. The years he’d been away had let her fill out into a woman. Last time he remembered her she was a stick that could easily hide behind a briar. Now between her hips, chest, and full beautiful lips she’d turned into the type of woman a man would lose his senses for a taste of.
“Let me walk you out,” Sunny said as he noticed the guy was pushing his way up from the floor finally.
“You still have that nasty left, don’t you?”
“Appears so,” Sunny said as he ushered her out to her car. “Mel...you really shouldn’t come in this place alone.”
“I don’t see anyone hanging out with you here.”
“I can take care of myself,” Sunny said as he eyed the guy stumbling from the bar and his friend who called in back up. At the edge of the parking lot he saw the man who had seemly surrendered initially now standing with a dozen other guys. If Sunny didn’t want to add to the number of broken bones rattling around in his body he needed to move, but his feet wouldn’t be fast enough. Especially when he couldn’t take a deep breath. “Hey, you mind giving me a ride home? I may be your knight in shining armor, but I’m minus my trusty steed.”
Melody looked to the side of the building where the group of men were examining his handy work with growing rage.
“Get in.”
About the Author
Michel Prince is an author who graduated with a bachelor degree in History and Political Science. Michel writes new adult and adult paranormal romance as well as contemporary romance.
With characters yelling "It's my turn damn it!!!" She tries to explain to them that alas, she can only type a hundred and twenty words a minute and they will have wait their turn. She knows eventually they find their way out of her head and to her fingertips and she looks forward to sharing them with you.
When Michel can suppress the voices in her head she can be found at a scouting event or cheering for her son in a variety of sports. She would like to thank her family for always being in her corner and especially her husband for supporting her every dream and never letting her give up.
Michel has been awarded Elite Status with Rebel Ink Press in 2013, the service award for her local RWA chapter Midwest Fiction Writers and is a Pro member of RWA. She lives in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, cat and new puppy.
You can follow Michel on Facebook, Twitter or at her website.
Other Books by Michel Prince
The Guardian’s Heart-Book One of the Growing Strong Series
Nominated for Book of the Year 2013 By LASR
Case Thomas is always in control whether its on the basketball court, the lab where he works, or in his love life. He thinks he has everything all figured out. All that changes when his parents pass away during his last year of college and Case is thrown into fatherhood when he becomes temporary guardian to two adorable twin toddlers. Weeks later, exhausted and running out of time, Case must decide if he's ready to become a father to these children, or give them up and move on with what's left of his life. Then he meets Gabbie Vaulst.
Gabbie is amazing with the kids, owns her own business, and has all the right curves in all the right places. She can tell Case is attracted to her, but does he really love her or is he just settling for a surrogate Mom who can wrangle his new kids? Knowing that she's falling in love with him, she chooses to push him away until his world straightens out. Can Case prove to Gabbie, and himself, that his feelings are real? Or is this sudden family too much for both of them to handle?
The odds, as well as members of their past who've come out of the woodwork, are against them, but when kids are involved, all bets are off.
The Queen’s Heart-Book Two of the Growing Strong Series
At the tender age of seventeen, Mary Beth discovered the family she thought would see her through anything couldn’t accept her one mistake. Thank goodness for her best friends that stepped up to support her decision to keep her child. Seven years later together with her friends she’s created a successful business on the verge of a large expansion.
But the desire to be accepted by her f
amily continues to be a failure that taints all her accomplishments and has her making concessions she never thought she would.
Elias Marquez was content with his life. He definitely wasn’t looking for the vibrant redhead down the hall from him. After a chance encounter he can’t escape the need to be in her company again. He wants to explore the possibilities and the undeniable spark her touch inspires.
Torn between trying to right the past and accepting that she can only control her own life is Mary Beth truly ready for the love Elias is prepared to offer as a future?
Silly Girl
Nominated for a RONE 2014
Are professional sports just children’s games played by oversized kids?
With an all-consuming focus Matthias Jessup has sacrificed his body in pursuit of greatness. But while he’s enjoyed the spoils of being an elite athlete, the physical punishment can only be held at bay for so long. He knows his time is running out and he will have to face his future soon.
Sylvia Kinder is obsessed with Matthias' public image. But now that her fantasy has walked into her life, could it possibly lead to a happy ending? She worries if there's any place for her in his world, much less his heart.
Drawn to each other on a chance meeting, Matthias must look off the court and discover the real world, while Sylvia will have to find the strength of self to not become lost in a world she doesn’t understand. But those who aren’t ready for a life after the game surround Matthias and are willing to do anything to keep him on the court.
Kiss from a Rose: A Red Hot Valentine Story
Jenna Turner wasn’t looking for anything but a quick bite to eat when she met the sexy peace officer Marcus Peterson. While Jenna has always been singularly focused on her next big promotion at work, suddenly she’s distracted by alluring texts from Marcus.
His evocative words and her naughty responses invoke emotions neither seem ready for, and luckily, neither have room in their busy lives to follow through on all their sexting.
Can two career driven people find the time to take their relationship to the next level? Or will careers and the pressure to achieve goals cause the end to a budding love?
Red Hot and BOOM! A Sizzling Hot Collection of Stories from the Red Hot Authors Page 56
