Laying
Low in Paradise
The
Casteloria Series
Book
One
Kristy
K. James
Genre:
Romance
ASIN:
B00CNK49JS
Number
of pages: 191
Word
Count: 56,661
Cover
Artist: Vila
Design
Book
Description:
He's
hiding out because someone wants him dead...
Cameron
Rafferty is keeping secrets. Dangerous secrets that could endanger
the lives of everyone around him. His plan was simple...keep a low
profile until the would-be-killer was found. And it was working -
until an accident changed everything. Before he knows it, he finds
himself becoming more involved with the family next door, and wishing
for things he shouldn't. Things that will put their lives in
jeopardy, too.
Her
summer plans didn't include secrets and danger...
Spending
summers on Bois Blanc Island was a tradition for author Laura Keane
and her young son. Filled with special memories of the husband she'd
lost to war, she looked forward to days of reminiscing, playing, and
working on her newest novel. She didn't expect this year to be any
different - but that was before their sexy neighbor came to her
rescue like a knight in shining armor. Will that armor be tarnished
when she finds out what he is and why he's living next door?
Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
“Sometimes
I wish I could just wiggle my nose or nod my head,” Laura Keane
sighed, pulling into the parking spot that would be home to her
seven-year-old Jeep Cherokee for most of the summer. “The traffic
was brutal – and it’s not even a holiday.”
“Well,
I know you know how to nod your head, but I don’t know how that, or
wiggling your nose, could have helped,” twelve-year-old Sam said
vaguely.
A
quick glance his way, and Laura couldn’t hold back a grin. Even
before the words left his mouth, he was throwing the passenger door
open and scanning the marina for the boat, her references to Jeannie
and Samantha already a memory.
Since
heading out from Lansing at six that morning, Sam had been anxious
for the long drive to be over. Not many boys on the brink of becoming
a teenager would look forward to a summer of relative solitude on
Bois Blanc Island. But every year he couldn’t wait to arrive, and
then he dragged his heels when it was time to head back home for the
school year.
Of
course, some of his best and happiest moments with Jake had taken
place on that little stretch of beach, so that probably explained his
enthusiasm. Even though she’d had several videos of their family
burned to a DVD, sometimes she was afraid that he would forget the
father who had loved him so very much. Maybe Sam was afraid he would,
too.
“There
it is!” he exclaimed, yanking the back door open. “Mr. Benton has
it ready for us.”
Rather
than pointing out the fact that she paid Mr. Benton well to not only
store the boat, but to have it ready for them when they needed it,
Laura opened her door, taking a moment to savor the familiar sights,
sounds and smells before she got out.
Gulls
soared overhead, screeching as they circled above the beach, on the
lookout for the tourists who kept them supplied with pieces of
sandwiches and other treats. Waves lapping up on shore, the brisk
breeze blowing in across Lake Huron. She couldn’t imagine a more
beautiful place on earth to spend a long, relaxing vacation.
“Hey,
Mom! C’mon. Help out a little here, huh?” Sam asked impatiently.
Laura
quickly exited the jeep and pulled a couple of suitcases from the
back, while her son loaded himself down with plastic grocery bags.
“We
don’t have to get it all in one trip,” she reminded him.
“No,
but the quicker we load the boat, the quicker we can get home,” he
said logically.
“Just
don’t hurt yourself.”
They
hurried down to the dock, depositing the first batch of supplies in
the boat before heading back up for the rest of their gear.
“Good
morning, Ms. Keane,” Henry Benton called from his lounge chair on
the beach.
“Good
morning, Mr. Benton. How are you today?”
“Couldn’t
be better,” he assured her with a grin. “Need some help there?”
“Thanks
but we’ve got it. It feels good to be moving around after that
drive.” Henry Benton must be nearing seventy and, though he
appeared to be in excellent health, Laura worried about him hauling
anything heavier than his fishing pole.
“Couldn’t
have picked a better day for it though. Clear as a bell since I got
up this morning. Not a cloud in the sky.”
“Can’t
argue with you there,” she said with a laugh, adding three of the
seven bags of groceries to the boat. “Wish I could say the same
thing about the freeway.”
“See
a lot of clouds on the road, did you now?” Henry teased.
“Ha-ha.”
She heard Sam snicker behind her. “I wish it had been clear, but
there were about ten million cars, trucks, SUV’s, semis, and
motorhomes. You name it, and they were on the road.”
“That’s
true,” Sam laughed. “And they were all out there just to
aggravate my mom.”
“That
what she thinks?”
“Yup.”
Both Henry and Sam had a good laugh over that, as the last of the
groceries were removed from the Jeep. Laura locked it up, and they
wandered back down to the dock.
“Do
you know if anyone is occupying the other chalets yet?” she asked,
stopping for a moment to chat with Henry.
“As
a matter of fact, Ben Pommeroy was telling me just the other day that
he rented all three of them for the whole summer. Looks like you and
the boy will have neighbors.”
“I
sure hope they’re quieter than that bunch from last year,” Laura
muttered, shuddering at the thought of another invasion of college
boys with a penchant for loud music and late night partying. It had
been a solid month of hell on earth, and one she didn’t want to
repeat.
“No
worries there. Ben said they’re all adults and they seemed like
good, respectful people.”
“Well
that’s a relief.”
“He
also said they’d liked to have rented your place, too. Said he was
going to offer you ten thousand more than he did last year.” Laura
shook her head when Sam’s gaze met hers.
“I’m
afraid poor Ben is going to be disappointed again. The chalet is not,
and never will be, for sale. It was nice seeing you, Henry.” She
nodded toward the boat where Sam was drumming his fingers impatiently
on the steering wheel. Henry grinned.
“Nice
seeing you, too, Ms Keane. Safe trip. You get your satellite turned
on?” Laura nodded. “You’ll be wanting to keep an eye on the
weather station. They’re calling for a doozy of a storm system to
move in around Thursday. You might want to get over here before it
hits to stock up on some supplies.”
“If
it gets bad, we’ll just make do with whatever we have on hand. If
it lasts too long, Harpers will do in a pinch.
About
the Author:
Kristy
K. James' first goal in life was to work in law enforcement, until
the night she called the police to check out a scary noise in her
yard. Realizing that she might someday have to investigate scary
noises in yards just as dark as hers if she continued on that path,
she turned to her other favorite love...writing. Since then her days
have been filled with being a mom and reluctant zookeeper (7 pets),
creating stories, and looking for trouble in her kitchen.
Tour
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5
digital copies A Cool Summer in Paradise (book 2 The
Casteloria Series)
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I love how the change in her career path happened.
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