Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Excerpt from sequel to Never Surrender

Meet Kate

     She's feisty, wants what she wants when she wants it! In Never Surrender, (which just recd TWO new 5* reviews on Amazon!) she is pulled back in time to meet her soul mate, but doesn't realize it until she and Taima wade through many personal battles along with a few exterior conflicts from outsiders determined to keep them apart. These external conflicts follow them into the sequel in Two Hearts Surrender where Kate and Brandon find themselves together yet they're strangers. How do you start a relationship with someone you know is your soul mate yet the two of you don't have a history together....in THIS lifetime?


Excerpt:


Glad to have something to do, she made her way to the kitchen, pulled the salad items from the fridge and found salad bowls in the cupboard. After stabbing the potatoes with a fork, she put them in the microwave to pre-cook while she tore the lettuce and cut tomatoes. Smiling to herself, Kate thought cooking for Brandon would be fun and imagined herself living here, then chastised herself for being so silly.

Brandon came in, grabbed the aluminum foil, wrapped the potatoes and put them on a plate. He peeked over her shoulder while she sliced the cucumber, playfully pressed on the top of her hat and sniffed the air. “Gawd you smell good.’ He held out his hands. “I’m just sayin’….”

Laughing, she turned to look at him and their lips were mere inches apart. Her inner muscles tightened, a reaction she couldn’t control. His cologne drifted into her space and into her mind, creating sexual images she shouldn’t be thinking yet with him. “Thank you. Your cologne affects me, too. Funny how that is.”

“I’ll get these on the grill. I need some air.” He grab another beer from the fridge. “The Jack’s on the counter there if you need a refill.”

Kate peek over her shoulder as he stepped onto the deck and she let out a breath. How would she make it here three more days without jumping his ass? Damnit! She couldn’t believe her luck in the connection they shared and wondered where it might eventually lead them. Turning her attention back to the salad, she finished them off with sun flower seeds and croutons, refilled her glass and joined Brandon on the deck, now clear of all glass. His jeans covered his long legs and his bare feet rested on the center railing of the fence. A good looking man, barefoot in jeans, had always sent her mind into the gutter. She took a seat, put her feet up on the railing and looked over at him.

His blue eyes met hers. “What? I can see those wheels turning in that pretty little head of yours. I think you could be dangerous to have around twenty-four-seven.”

She laughed. “I’m sorry you think that. It wouldn’t be my fault, I’m sure.”

“I’d be tempted by you on a daily basis. Then again, that might not be a bad thing.”

“You’d have more company than you do now.”

He stared at her for a moment. “My friends know I’m a loner. They usually call before they drive all the way up here.”

“I’m not sure I could spend so much time alone. At work, I’m with people all day and don’t go home till late but I do enjoy the peace and quiet, if you can call city life in Pittsburgh quiet. Now that I think about it, out here is quiet…nothing at all like what I consider quiet at home.” She looked toward the snow-capped mountains as she sipped her drink and let her mind wander over several possibilities. Her life back home began to take on a hectic memory of time she spent alone. This type of lifestyle would be way more relaxing, but what would she do for work if she ever had the opportunity to move?

She breathed in the pine-scented air. Instead of invoking a relaxed inner peace, memories came back of traipsing through the wooded mountainside with Taima, of jumping on a horse in hopes of escaping into the trees…that was when she’d been unaware of the cougars lying in wait for unsuspecting prey. Real or not, her time with Taima had taught her so much…about life and her own heart. She missed Sakima, too. Talking with the older shaman about his visions and how much he’d seen in his own lifetime, made her consider Brandon’s offer to meet his grandfather. He’d told Brandon of the visions he’d seen that were close to Brandon’s….they both had vision about her. She thought back on her dreams, of sensing that someone had stood in her room in the dark. She still swore she had smelled a man each time that damn dream had awakened her.

“I’ll grab the steaks and get them cooking. The potatoes should be done when the steaks are then.”

Brandon’s jeans hugged his thighs and ass, leaving nothing to the imagination. His muscled thighs moved beneath the material and teased her senses. He’s just a man, calm down! Kate laughed at herself and turned her attention back to the distant mountain ranges. Her eyes scanned the hillsides for an elk herd or a lone bear roaming for food. The growing grizzly population in the Rockies was something those back east had no clue of, but she’d followed the articles on-line about it. Local ranchers were in an uproar over losing so many cattle to the grizzly yet the government had turned a blind eye to their ever growing problem.

The grill lid opened and Brandon placed the steaks next to the potatoes and then turned them. “It shouldn’t be long. I’m starving so I know you must be hungry. How’s your drink while I’m up?’

“I’m good. I’ll wait until I get some food in me to have another one. Not eating for three days has lowered my alcohol tolerance big time and…I don’t trust my conversation with you if I have any more right now.” Brandon had buttoned his shirt, leaving the top two open and his sleeves were still rolled part way up his forearm, making her squirm in her chair, hoping Brandon didn’t notice her reaction.

“Are you implying I would take advantage of you?”

“You’re too much of a gentleman for me to worry about that. I’ve been thinking about meeting your grandfather later if that invite is still open.” Brandon seemed easy to talk to yet didn’t talk about himself much and she wondered what he did when he wasn’t working on his furniture.

He sat back down and replaced his feet on the rail. “That decision is totally up to you. We can go after we eat.”

Again, the raven flew overhead, cawing like crazy and landed back in the pine tree. “I hope that damn bird doesn’t follow us to your grandfather’s. I don’t think that would go well.”

“Perhaps he’ll have answers about the raven. He and I have never discussed skin walkers in detail other than to mention them in folklore stories but he has talked of you in great detail to me.”

“Now that interests me. I’d love to hear what he has to say about your visions. Maybe he can tell me more about you since you’ve not told me much.”

“There isn’t much to tell. I’m a simple guy.” He tipped his beer can for a drink. “Simple guys lead simple lives.”

“Whatever. I’m interested to know more of what you do besides building furniture. You can’t sit here and look out over the land all day.”




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2 comments:

  1. This one sounds really good Deanna. I need to go back and read the first book again.
    Sue B

    ReplyDelete