Stacey Joy Netzel Boxed Set (30 page)

Marley turned away as the boom began to
lower a rafter for a different section of the roof. Justin glanced
up the ladder where Nate used a rope to guide it into place, then
his gaze returned to her retreating back.

“You realize you’ll need to reorder the
entire set of rafters for that section,” he called.

She spun around. “I’m not a complete idiot.
I’ll have you know—”

A snap reverberated in the air and Justin
saw the boom arm jerk. The ominous sound of the steel cable
slipping unrestrained through the iron hook reached his ears as the
rafter fell straight toward Marley.

He lunged forward. Hooked an arm around her
waist and dove to the side. The crack of splintering wood
accompanied their bone-jarring impact with the ground. Justin lay
dazed for a moment, until Marley’s soft curves registered beneath
him. No blinding pain—and he was still breathing. So was she.

Or at least she tried to. His weight on the
landing had knocked the wind out of her. Voices surrounded them and
hands grabbed his arms. He shook them off, concentrating on
shifting his weight from Marley. She stared up at him with wide
eyes as she sucked oxygen into her lungs.

“You okay?” His gruff voice barely rose
above a whisper.

She nodded, but her lashes drifted shut.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Her arms and legs moved. “I’m okay.” The
unsteady words preceded another deep breath. She blinked a few
times and looked at the men surrounding them. Dismay flooded her
expression. “I need to get up.”

A slight tremor shook her body. Knowing
she’d need a moment to compose herself, he cautioned, “Easy. Take
your time.”

Furious fire sparked in her green eyes. “Let
me up,” she demanded.

Okay, then, screw composure. He took hold of
her hand and elbow and hauled her to her feet. She swayed a bit
with his release, and her hand reached to steady herself, making
contact with his bare arm. A second later, she snatched it away and
stiffened her spine.

Nate pushed through the others and grabbed
her close. “Thank God, Mar.”

“I’m fine, Nate.”

“You didn’t see what I saw.” He held her at
arm’s length. “If he’d been a split second slower…”

The care and concern in Nate’s expression
amazed Justin. So far he’d seen the guy give his sister nothing but
grief.

Chuck clapped Justin on the shoulder. “You
okay, man? I can’t believe how fast you moved.”

That drew some of the attention off Marley,
but Justin didn’t want the recognition of what he’d done.

Either one of them could’ve been killed.
Just the thought of it turned his stomach. Memory of another
accident threatened to surface, but he forced it away and focused
on the present.

“Someone want to tell me what the hell
happened?”

~*~

***What reviewers are saying:

Miraculous Blog Review ~ “
Stacey Joy Netzel’s way of composing honest, amiable
characters, but not consummating their love for each other until
the final pages, keeps my heart, as a reader, skipping beats. The
electrifying action is a whole nother story in its entirety. Packed
with climactic anticipation, and heartfelt, head-over-heels
emotions,
Shattered Trust
is my kind of story. One that I think too much
about, even after finishing, and one I look forward to reading all
over again.” ~ Stephanie

Single Title Reviews ~ 5 Stars ~ “Book two
in the Colorado Series. Shattered Trust has everything a fantastic
book should have, romance, suspense, betrayal, and humor in all the
right places. I absolutely adored this book, I sat down planning to
read a couple of chapters and did not move until I finished, Stacey
Joy Netzel continues to work written magic in this new book. A must
read.” ~ Emily

Shadowed Trust
(Book
3):
—available October 2011

Ad-Man Jordan Blake believed image was
everything—until his parents were convicted of murder, the family
company went bankrupt, and his excessive drinking and arrest fueled
the tabloids. When lawyer David Barnes offers representation in
exchange for assistance in reopening his Colorado mountain resort,
Jordan has no choice. It’s help or jail.

Hollywood wild child Lexie Sinclair
disappeared by changing her name, joining the army, and marrying a
soldier. One night, her husband wrapped their car around a tree,
killed himself, and left her permanently injured.  For the
past few years she’s been content to live in peaceful obscurity as
caretaker of David’s defunct resort.

Jordan’s arrival exposes Lexie’s true
identity and brings her dead husband’s ‘friends’ calling. Jordan
offers to help, but the shadow of his drinking leaves Lexie
reluctant to trust. Can they conquer their fears and find the
courage to face the criminals—and the world—together?

EXCERPT:

“There’s a heated pool in the rec hall, if
you want to use it, and a hot tub.”

“Really?” Jordan pictured her slim body
slicing through the water and had to work to swallow his food.

“I’ve been too busy to look around much, I
figured it was for reunions or something.”

“I can show it to you after dinner, if you’d
like.”

He’d definitely like. “Sure, that’d be
great.”

After dinner, half-past six, she fit a key
into the lock and opened the rec hall door. Jordan stepped through
after her, and reached back to shut the door as his gaze swept over
a number of dining tables near the large windows that faced the
lake.

To the left he noticed a kitchen, and to the
right, beyond the tables, couches and chairs were arranged around a
large screen TV. One wall held three plastic-covered computer
stations, a couple phones and a copy machine. Further to the right
of all that, in front of a glass wall that revealed workout
equipment in the next room, various game tables were set up.

“Wow. This is quite the facility.”

“The pool and hot tub are beyond the workout
room,” Lexie informed him. “I check the chemical levels every day,
so you don’t have to worry about that.”

Jordan strode forward to look through the
glass. Even from across the exercise room, the glimpse of water on
the other side beckoned his sore body. And a soak in the hot tub
sounded like pure heaven. He rolled his shoulders, imagined the
jets kneading his aching muscles, and bit back a groan.

“Why’d David stop renting this place out?”
He hooked his thumbs in his jeans pockets as he ambled over toward
the computers. A flat screen monitor, printer, digital camera and
docking station graced each desk. David Barnes had provided deluxe
amenities for the guests that used to fill this place, but now it
all sat idle.

He realized Lexie had yet to answer his
question and turned. She stood by the bank of windows overlooking
the lake, her back to him, but he knew she was aware of his
scrutiny by the way she shifted her weight from one foot to the
other.

“You’ll have to ask David that,” she
said.

Well, that answered part of his question. It
had something to do with her, but her clipped tone conveyed her
unwillingness to talk about it. Yeah, he’d have to ask David, then.
He was suddenly very curious, because though a lot of her life
story had been in the paper, the last twelve years remained a
mystery. How did someone as well known as she’d been just
disappear?

She turned abruptly and limped toward the
door. “I’ve got work to do up at the house so you can lock up when
you’re done. I’ll see you at breakfast.”

He didn’t want her to leave, but could
hardly ask her to stay and talk, no matter how much he’d enjoyed
the last couple hours. Shoving his hands in his pockets and biting
his tongue, he turned to face the workout room and the pool beyond
when she reached for the door. The water beckoned once more.

Lexie’s sudden gasp spun him back around.
She stood with a hand on her chest and the door open. Jordan found
himself staring into the piercing blue gaze of the sheriff.

“Lawson, you scared me,” Lexie
exclaimed.

The lawman’s gaze delivered a steady
accusation at Jordan. “Sorry, Lex. I’m here on official police
business.”

*Chapter 7

Lexie’s pulse lurched. She glanced back at
Jordan, anxiety churning in her stomach from Lawson’s grave
statement. Jordan didn’t back down from Lawson’s stare, but his
gaze did flick to hers for a split second. Then he stepped forward,
lips twisted in a sarcastic sneer.

“Harry called you, didn’t he?”

Harry?
Lexie thought.

Lawson voiced the question out loud. “Who’s
Harry?”

Jordan shrugged, hands still in his pockets.
“That guy who owns Oleson’s. All I did was park on the street and
get a couple hours sleep. That against the law?”

“You mean Tom Oleson?”

“Tom, Dick, Harry…pick one, any one will
do,” Jordan muttered.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,”
Lawson said, “but no one called me.”

“Then what the hell do you want?”

Lexie shifted her weight from her right leg.
It was going to rain again tonight, and the increasing dampness in
the air, along with her tension, made the damaged muscles ache like
the devil. Her anxiety raised another notch with the realization
the two men were now squared off, her in between. Jordan had pulled
his hands from his pockets to clench his fists at his sides.

Lawson cast Lexie a glance. “I think it may
be best if we all sit down and talk.”

His right hand rested on his hip, near his
gun, and his clipped tone raised goose bumps on her arms. Something
was seriously wrong.

“Let’s go up to the house,” she suggested,
hoping to diffuse the situation. “I’ll make some coffee.”

Lawson stood aside with a nod at Jordan.
“You first.”

Lexie saw the muscles in Jordan’s jaw bunch
tight. Sensing he was close to an explosion, she quickly stepped
past Lawson to lead the way.

“Damn it, Lex—”

She kept walking despite Lawson’s angry
protest. She heard them following and, too late, thought about
Jordan walking behind her, watching her. He’d commented on her
uneven stride yesterday…would he notice it was worse again
today?

She tried not to think about it, but felt
her body grow warm with the thought of his brown gaze lingering on
her backside. A silent groan of self-annoyance rumbled through her
head. The man hadn’t shown an inkling of interest beyond his
fumbled words at dinner, yet she constantly found her thoughts and
gaze wandering to him throughout the day. It had to stop.

She misjudged her stride at the steps to the
house and ended up with her right leg stepping first, straining to
bear her weight. To relieve some of the pressure from the burning,
weakened muscles, she made a desperate grab for the railing. A
firm, warm grip on her left forearm steadied and assisted her up
the stairs.

Jordan met her gaze briefly, but said not a
word as they took the next step together. Heat engulfed her, a
combination of embarrassment for her weak leg and awareness of his
touch.

“
Let her go.
” Lawson’s command
whipped at their backs. Jordan’s hold tightened and Lexie
halted.

“It’s—” she began.

“Back off,” Jordan snapped over his
shoulder.

The unmistakable sound the sheriff drawing
his gun froze Lexie and Jordan in their tracks.

“I said, don’t touch her,” Lawson snarled.
“Let her go and step away.”

Lexie gripped the rail and nodded up at
Jordan. He released her arm, but when he started to turn around,
Lawson barked an order to remain facing forward, keep his hands
where he could see them, and move forward.

The hair on the back of Lexie’s neck tingled
as she faced Lawson and saw his furious expression. “What is going
on?”

“We’ll talk inside.”

She folded her arms and leaned a hip against
the railing, easing her weight off her right leg. “Tell me
now.”

He glanced in her direction, then focused
back on Jordan, who’d turned his head toward Lexie and eyed Lawson
over his shoulder.

“That reporter, Craig Thompson, was murdered
last night.”

~~~~

Mistletoe Rules
~ a Christmas anthology ~ Winner of
Wisconsin Romance Writer’s 2010 Write Touch Readers’ Award

Christmas recipe for love—combine a
matchmaking Santa, lots of mistletoe, one iron-clad rule, fated
hearts; mix and stir. The Riley siblings don’t stand a chance.

Mistletoe Mischief
:
Christmas in July at the zoo is the last place
single parents Eric Riley and Marissa Wilder expect to find love.
Thanks to some mistletoe mischief in the form of their two young
daughters and Santa, they discover Mistletoe Rules were not made to
be broken
.

Mistletoe Magic
: Major
Mark Riley plays Court Jester to Janelle Walsh's Snow Queen at the
Christmas Parade and is instantly captivated by the cute redhead
whose grandpa just happens to be Santa. When Mark learns she's the
tenant he evicted from his newly purchased property, it's going to
take a little bit of Santa's mistletoe magic to save their
romance.

Mistletoe Match-up
: When
Lisa Riley comes home for Mark's Christmas Eve wedding, her high
school rivalry with Janelle's cousin, Derek Walsh, picks up right
where it left off, only this time Derek's got the upper hand. Santa
bides his time as they battle it out because he's waited a whole
year for this mistletoe match-up.

***What reviewers are saying:

Night Owl Reviewer Top Pick “
This is the perfect anthology that mixes lots of mistletoe,
plenty of passion and one jolly old man – Santa himself – and
produces three fantastic stories to sink your teeth into!” ~ Diana
Coyle