Dogwood Days (17 page)

But dammit, if he could stay, and something with Zane developed into more….

“But can I stay for the off chance that it is more?” he muttered to himself as he walked down the sidewalk toward the town square.

The late afternoon sun was bright and shone on the crisp green grass of the square. A few of the older ladies had their teenaged sons out picking up the last straggling bits of trash that remained from the weekend festivities. Gracie waved at Jefferson from the sidewalk in front of the diner where she was sweeping away the only speck of dirt that dared land anywhere near her doorstep. Mrs. Weaver and Bandit were out for an afternoon walk, and Jefferson chuckled when he realized she had the dog’s leash in one hand and a pooper-scooper in the other.

Mr. Burkey waved from the entrance of the market, and Jefferson returned the gesture. He made his way to one of the wooden benches and sank down onto it. If he got the job in Charlotte, he should go. That’s all there was to it. But he didn’t want to, and that made things worse. He wanted to stay in this weird town with its weird people, but could he really afford to pass up an opportunity like the one he might be offered?

He knew firsthand how difficult jobs in his field were to come by, especially ones that paid more than a pittance. And that’s all he’d get if he stayed in Holly Creek. They’d never be able to pay him what he could make in Charlotte, or any other decent-sized city for that matter.

But was money really what it was all about?

Jefferson sighed and leaned back into the bench. The sun beat down on him until a shadow blocked it.
Zane.
He didn’t even have to open his eyes to know the sheriff was standing right there in front of him.

“Hey,” Jefferson whispered.

“Hey, yourself. You want to be alone?”

“Nope.”

Jefferson kept his eyes closed as Zane settled next to him, then leaned his head over onto the sheriff’s shoulder. He dug around in his pocket until he found the mayor’s offer and handed it over without a word.

Zane’s breath caught a bit as he read the paper, but then he sighed and reached over to grab Jefferson’s hand.

“You can’t accept that. I know you can’t, Jefferson Lee. God, it was so good of them to try, though, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“You should—” Zane’s breath caught. “You should go. If you get the job. But dammit all to hell, I want you to stay. I do. I don’t care if you’d make more at a fast-food restaurant. You’d be here, with me. And God, I’m the most selfish human being on the planet.”

Jefferson sighed again, and Zane laid his head down on Jefferson’s.

“It’s okay,” Zane whispered into his hair. “It’s going to be okay. Charlotte isn’t that far, Jefferson Lee. Hell, I could even make a few trips down there. Yeah. I can work on the schedule here, maybe get a weekend off a month. Maybe you could come here one weekend. We can make it work.”

Jefferson squeezed Zane’s hand and opened his eyes.

“We will make it work,” Jefferson said.

“I know. We’ve got something special here. I know it’s too soon, but we do. I know it.”

“It’s a lightning strike.”

Zane smiled, his cheek moving against Jefferson’s hair. “You certainly do shock me.”

Jefferson chuckled and raised his head.

“The dogwoods are really beautiful, you know it?”

“I know.”

“And the Rose Festival is right around the corner. I guess I’d better get to work. Hope you don’t mind feeding me, because I’m going to be broke for the foreseeable future.”

Zane froze, then turned to Jefferson. A broad smile stretched across his face. “I don’t mind.”

“I’m going to require lots of sex, just so you know. I mean, I know we’ve not really talked about the future, but I know that it’s going to require lots of sex.”

“I don’t mind that either.”

“And I plan on calling you Sheriff when you tick me off, just like Uncle Sherman calls Charles Mayor.”

“Good to know.”

“And you have to be nice to Trent, ’cause I really care about him, and he hugs me a lot, and you need to be okay with that.”

“He can hug you all he wants as long as you go home with me.”

“Yeah.” Jefferson smiled. “I think I’m going to do good things for this town.”

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Dayton Whitmore injures his arm playing basketball with his lion-shifter friends, and his best friend asks Dayton to check on her estranged brother Hart while he’s in Atlanta visiting a specialist. Though Dayton and Hart were never close, he grudgingly agrees.

Banishment from his pride meant Hart Sherman could never see his family again. His liger heritage—a tiger mother and lion father—was a thorn in his alpha father’s side. He always planned to go back for Dayton, the man he knows is his mate, but he uses his career as an entertainment attorney as an excuse to avoid risking Dayton’s rejection. When Dayton shows up unannounced on his doorstep, Hart wants nothing more than to claim him.

Knowing what it means to be a lion’s mate, Dayton isn’t in any hurry to make a lifetime commitment. To convince Dayton he’s serious, Hart must come to terms with the circumstances of his birth—and find a place in the pride for them both.

Diagnosis: Wolf by Poppy Dennison

Thanks to his good-for-nothing brother, Andrew Hughes is up to his eyeballs in debt and needs a job fast. When a nursing position opens up in Myerson, Arizona, Andrew has no choice but to take it, despite a warning about how difficult a patient Caleb DiMartino can be. Andrew can deal with a little trouble—but Caleb’s strange family, the armed guards, and the unknown cause of Caleb’s mysterious illness may be beyond his skill set.

Landslide

For three years, paranormal courier Frank Corrigan has been working for incubus demon Cael Berith. Cael knows Frank is his mate, but Frank is pretty sure Cael doesn’t even like him, never mind want to spend the rest of his life with him, so their personal relationship is at an impasse. When Frank’s sister, Lindsey, gets bitten by a werewolf she’s sleeping with—and possibly witnesses a murder—Frank rides to her rescue. If he’s lucky, he might just save his love life too.

Volume Two

Two Men. One Apocalypse.

Rise of the Revenants by Poppy Dennison

Vampyres are on the loose in Detroit, and novice hunter Taz Cohen is on the job. The mission seems simple: stop the vamps. But Taz knows nothing about the mythical creatures, so he’s in for the fight of his life. Then he meets insanely attractive construction worker Darren Foster, who jumps into the battle with both feet. Sparks and bullets fly as they struggle against the vampyre horde and their attraction to each other. Avoiding gruesome death from the undead might be easier than shielding their hearts from each other.

Legacy of Blood and Death by Rhys Ford

For Javi Navarro, Detroit will become another blood-splattered city in his rearview mirror after he puts its dead back into the ground. Expecting an easy hunting job, Javi instead finds a kiss of ancient vampyres on the hunt for a descendant of their long-dead creator.

Reclusive Ciarnan Mac Gerailt abandoned his family legacy of blood and death magic after it nearly destroyed him. Unfortunately for Ciarnan, the Motor City can only be saved if he resumes his dark arts and joins forces with Javi Navarro, the hunter who brought the vampyre apocalypse—and hope for the future—straight to Ciarnan’s front door.

Triad: Book One

Magical species must never mix. According to the rules, Simon Osborne should ignore the children’s cries for help. After all, they’re werewolf cubs, and he’s an apprentice mage. But for once in his life, Simon breaks the rules and rescues the cubs, saving them from a demon intent on draining them of their magic.

Of course, all actions have consequences, and Simon’s bold move earns him the displeasure of his peers and the attention of the cubs’ alpha, a man named Gray Townsend.

The last thing Gray needs is a mage in his life, but Simon did save his son. Since Simon is now a friend of the pack, Gray doesn’t have much choice about it—or the forbidden attraction that goes along with it. Unfortunately for the alpha, he needs Simon’s help to track down the demon behind the kidnappings—before it strikes again. Simon and Gray must join forces to protect the pack, even as they struggle to resist the temptation that threatens to destroy them both.

Sequel to
Mind Magic

Triad: Book Two

A pack is only as strong as its weakest member. Rocky Harris knows how the system works. He’s been on the bottom rung his whole life. But when his alpha consigns him to the High Moon Pack to help them improve security, he finds his beliefs not just challenged but outright assaulted.

Cade Montgomery’s confidence took a hit when the pack’s cubs were kidnapped on his watch. He’s prepared to do anything to protect his family, even if it means working with Rocky. Maybe Cade doesn’t trust Rocky, but with the turmoil surrounding pack Alpha Gray’s unpopular decision to break tradition and mate with a mage named Simon, Cade knows more threats are coming.