Worst Date Ever (Scandals #3) (25 page)

EPILOGUE

“This is a great party,” Christopher told Michael.  “But you didn’t have to do it.”

Michael chugged back a beer, crumpled the can and tossed it into the fish well of the pontoon boat.  The container that was supposed to hold the day’s catch was already half full…of beer cans.  No one was fishing today.

The party had started around the pool when Michael arrived, followed by a catering van that put together a Mexican buffet, complete with a taco bar, a fajita grill and a quesadilla station.  And, of course, a margarita machine.  After everyone had eaten their fill, they all migrated to the pontoon boat and out onto Lake Travis for an end-of-summer blowout.

Christopher and Killeen, who now had an undeniable baby bump, lounged on the bow with Michael and his date, the pedi-cab driver, Alex.  There was nothing serious going on there, but they were both intelligent, fun people who had been friends for years.  Darius was there, too…with his boyfriend.  Liberty tried to hide her disappointment, but she was resilient and would find a new crush soon.

Reno and Jenny hung out under the awning with Tulsa and Cody who couldn’t keep their hands off each other.  It had been two weeks since he had dropped into her office, and they had been inseparable ever since.

Only Dallas and Liberty didn’t have dates, but, in truth, that didn’t bother either of them.  Liberty was busy studying for her GED which she was determined to get before Thanksgiving.  And Dallas had started his senior year of law school.  He was thinking more about the assignment he had coming up than romance right now.

“I’m going to go for a swim,” Liberty said.  “Want to join me?”

“Sure.”  He tossed his empty can into the fish well on top of the others and kicked off his flip flops.

Liberty did a cannonball that sent a wave splashing up on everyone on the boat.

“Hey!” Michael shouted, looking down at the dark spots on his khaki slacks.  He was the only one not wearing a swimsuit.

“Sorry,” Liberty called, as her laughter floated up to the boat’s occupants. 

Dallas’ dive was much more elegant, a crisp jackknife into the still-warm water.  He surfaced and shook his head, clearing the water out of his eyes and ears.  “Feels great,” he called up to the others, but no one else was tempted to join them.  It was a lazy September day, and that looked too much like exercise.

“Race you to the platform,” Liberty challenged. 

“I’ll give you a count of three head start.”

Liberty took off, churning the water in an enthusiastic freestyle toward the wooden platform that had been anchored in the lake for swimmers.

“One…two…three.”  Dallas started swimming.  It wasn’t in his nature to throw the game, so he swam hard and fast, easily catching up to her.  He climbed up on the platform first and held his hand down to help her up.  They sat, their feet dangling in the water while catching their breath.  “You’re getting better.”

“We used to play in the pond at The Farm, but it wasn’t big enough for us to swim.”

“You picked it up fast.”  Something brushed his leg and Dallas looked down to see a wine bottle floating next to the platform.  “People should be more responsible and not throw trash off their boats,” he muttered as he reached down and picked it up, intending to take it back to the boat with him so he could dispose of it.

“Hey look.  There’s a note inside,” Liberty squealed with excitement.  “This is just like that movie I saw on AMC last week…you know, the one with Kevin Costner.”

“Not a fan,” Dallas told her.  He started to set the bottle down, but Liberty grabbed it.

“Don’t you want to see what the note says?  It could be a long lost love or a kid who was passing by in a covered wagon a hundred and fifty years ago.”

“Drinking wine?”

“Maybe he just used an empty bottle.”

“Help yourself,” Dallas said, relaxing back against the warm wood of the decking and soaking in the sun.

Liberty struggled with the cork, finally pulling it out with her teeth.  She turned the bottle upside down and shook the paper out.  “It got a little wet,” she said as she picked up the rolled paper and smoothed it out.  “Oh no.  Dallas, you’ve got to see this.”

He reluctantly sat back up and peered at the paper.

Help.  I’m being held captive in a house across from a restaurant.  Ca…

The rest of the name had been washed away by the water.

“Do you think it’s real?” Liberty asked, her eyes wide.

“If it is, we have our next case,” Dallas answered.  He tucked the note back in the bottle, seated the cork firmly, then jumped into the water and headed for the boat.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathy Clark has always been a storyteller.  She published her first book when she was just four years old…okay, it was self-published (way ahead of the trend). 
The Little Black Horse That Ran Away
was self-illustrated and completely sold out of its first printing (one copy to her mother). 

Years later, Kathy’s first official book was published by Dell.  Since then, she had a total of 23 novels published by Dell, Crown and Harlequin and 9 novels self-published on Amazon.com. 

The freedom to be creative and experiment with ideas and genres has made self-publishing an amazing process.  She writes a contemporary adult romantic suspense series called Denver After Dark, and with her husband, Bob Wernly, she writes a new adult series called Scandals and a young adult series called CUL8R (See You Later).  The books from these series have been honored with numerous awards including Best Indie Book of the Year, Reader’s Favorite Award and Colorado Humanities Awards. 

To be perfectly honest, Kathy would rather be riding horses or sitting on a white sand beach with her husband reading a book than writing, but the characters in her head insist that she tell their stories, just like that little black horse so long ago. 

For an up to date complete list of books, screenplays, awards and more, check out Wikipedia at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Clark_(American_author)

Dear Reader,

You have no idea how important your opinion is to Bob and me.  Writers write books, hoping to touch their readers’ hearts and souls.  Unless we hear from you, we won’t know how well we succeeded (or failed).

Our characters come from within us and are like our children.  Yes, that means that sometimes they’re nice and sometimes they’re naughty, but always interesting.  The Scandals series is a lot of fun to write because the characters are vibrant and emotional.  Killeen’s pregnancy arc will continue through the next couple of books until she decides how she wants to deal with it. 
Worst Date Ever
is Tulsa’s story.  She’s had a rough time growing up alone, so she has a protective wall so thick that only a super-hot fireman can break through.  The third book
(Dating for Dollars)
will be Dallas’s story as he tries to find a coed that has been kidnapped by a human trafficking ring.

If you’re not already receiving our newsletter, be sure and sign up at the link below.  Each issue will have updates on our books, excerpts of deleted scenes (that you won’t find anywhere else), my favorite recipes and exciting giveaways.  Feel free to drop us a note and tell us what you think about our books, our characters and anything else you’re passionate about.

Also, please take a few minutes and leave reviews on Amazon and Goodreads if you’re a member.  Reviews give us important feedback and improve our book rankings.

                                                                                   
With love and Laughter,

                                                                                                               
Kathy & Bob

Please take a few minutes and leave reviews about
Worst Date Ever
(Book #3 of Scandals Series) on Amazon and Goodreads if you’re a member.

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COMING SOON FROM KATHY CLARK

DEEP NIGHT,
Book #3 of Denver Heroes Series (Random House Loveswept) scheduled August, 2015

ROOM SERVICE,
An Erotic Romance scheduled Fall, 2015

DATING FOR DOLLARS,
Book #4 of the Scandals Series scheduled Winter, 2015

AFTER LOVE,
Book #1 of Austin Heroes Series (Random House Loveswept) scheduled Early 2016

If you enjoyed
Worst Date Ever
don’t miss Kathy Clark’s (also writing as Bob Kat) latest novels.  Please enjoy the following excerpts.

DEEP NIGHT

PROLOGUE

“Sunny, please take the plates to the table.  Your friends will be arriving soon, and I’ve got to finish decorating the cake.”  Her mother smiled and nodded toward a stack of paper plates.

The little girl picked up the plates and skipped out of the kitchen.  Birthday parties were one of her favorite things, especially when they were hers.  She and her mom had been working all morning decorating the dining room.  Twisted yellow and green streamers crisscrossed the ceiling and helium balloons were tied to the back of every chair.  A paper tablecloth with pictures of galloping horses covered the table.  Matching cups were already set out in a row, and Sunny placed the plates next to them.

She lived and breathed horses.  Hopefully, her friends knew her well enough not to bring her something ridiculous like a doll or other girly stuff.

The doorbell rang, and she ran to greet her first guest.  She had more male than female friends, but she had invited an almost equal number of both to make the party games more competitive.

Soon the house was filled with squeals and laughter.  The boys constantly found ways to tease the girls, and secretly, the girls loved the attention.  They were at an age where they were just starting to realize there was a difference in the sexes…even if they weren’t sure what to do about it.

Everyone loved the cake, chocolate and white swirled together and covered with buttery icing tinted green to resemble grass.  Her mom was a great cook, even though her meals weren’t fancy.  She was always talking about taking cooking lessons, but she couldn’t find the time, considering she worked the night shift and took care of the household and her family during the day.  As far as Sunny was concerned, she was happy with her mom’s plain old pot roast and having warm chocolate chip cookies ready after school.

Sunny led the games and insisted everyone join in.  They played bean bag toss until the boys started throwing the bags at each other and one of them broke, spilling corn kernels all over the room.  A lively game of balloon target followed, then Pin the Tail on the Donkey, but when Sunny caught one of the boys cheating, Mom wisely stopped the games and moved everyone to the living room to open the gifts, which, thankfully, were mostly model horses.  Afterwards, the party spilled out onto the driveway where the boys…and Sunny…played basketball while the other girls sat on the sidelines and cheered for their favorite boy.  Sunny didn’t really get the giggly gossip.  She couldn’t care less about clothes and shoes and liked shopping even less, but that was all the girls seemed to talk about.  So, Sunny hung out with boys because they liked to build forts and play paintball.

By the time everyone had left, it was almost dark.  Her mother had cleaned up the plates and forks, but there was still wrapping paper strewn around and limp balloons bouncing off the floor.  Her mother was in a hurry because she didn’t want to be late for work.  She had tried to get the day off, but stomach flu had taken out half the department, so there wasn’t anyone to cover for her.

“I sprayed some cleaner on that grape Kool-Aid stain in the dining room.  Could you blot it and see if you can get it out?” her mother asked as she hung her apron on the hook in the pantry.

“Sure, Mom.”  Sunny took the wet rag her mother handed her. 

“I’m sorry, baby, but I’ve got to go.  I hope you had a nice birthday.”

Sunny gave her mother a big hug.  “It was awesome…the best birthday ever.”

Her mother returned the hug.  “I’m glad.  Don’t forget to take a bath and brush your teeth.  Your dad will be home soon.  He’ll be up later to tuck you in.”  She took her purse off the hook by the door and went into the garage.

Sunny knelt on the carpet.  Grape was the worst.  She sprayed and blotted, sprayed and blotted until most of the color lifted.  There was still a hint of purple left, but she was tired.  It had been an exciting day, and she was anxious to get to her room and play with her new toys.

She hurried through her bath, brushed her teeth and freed her long blond hair from its habitual ponytail.  She combed out the tangles and put on her shorty nightgown and a clean pair of blue cotton panties, then hurried to her room.

There were a dozen new Breyer horses waiting to be put in the wooden stables she had gotten for Christmas a couple years ago.  Every night she groomed and fed those plastic horses with the dedication and devotion as if they were real.  Each had a name and a personality, and she proudly introduced the new arrivals to the herd. 

Once everyone was settled, she climbed into bed and turned out her light.  She must have dozed off because it was after midnight when her bedroom door opened and her dad entered the room.  The bed sagged as he sat on the edge.  She felt his big, rough hand stroke her hair.

“How’s my birthday girl?” he asked, his words slurring together.

“I’m fine,” she murmured, only half-awake.

“I’m sorry I missed your party.  My meeting ran late.”  He leaned over and kissed her full on the lips. 

His breath was so sour and awful that she turned her head away. 

“Don’t pull away from me, sweetie.  Daddy loves you.”  His voice was low and soothing as he continued to play with her hair.  She felt herself drifting back to sleep but the feel of his hand on her bare leg brought her wide-awake.

“I’m really tired,” she told him, barely able to see his features in the darkness.  Her daddy often gave her hugs and kisses on her cheek, but tonight he was making her feel uncomfortable.

“You’re so grown up.  It won’t be long before all the boys will be trying to get in your pants.  You need to know what to expect.”

The mattress lifted as he stood.  In the dark, she heard the clink of his belt buckle loosening, following by the scrape of his zipper opening.  His pants hit the floor with a jingle of metal and coins.  He tossed the comforter aside and his hands roughly pulled down her panties. 

Sunny knew a little about the birds and the bees, but her knowledge was all based on health class or
Animal Planet
.  Certainly, no personal experience.

His fingers moved between her legs, and she automatically squeezed her legs tightly together. 

“Relax, sweetie.  Daddy is going to show you how it feels.  It’s really good.  You’ll like it.”  He continued to stroke her in a very private place.  “You trust me, don’t you?”

Of course she did.  He was her father…the man who took her to the park and taught her how to play basketball.  He was the man who held her hand in the mall and sat next to her in church.  He was the man who loved her and her mother and wouldn’t do anything to hurt either of them…right?

“This is something that all daddies do with their little girls,” he whispered in her ear as he crawled over her and supported himself on his hands and knees.  “Don’t tell your mommy.  She wants to keep you a baby forever.  You’re not a little baby any more, are you?”

“No,” she answered.  Growing up was all she thought about.  She had dreams and plans that could only happen once she was an adult.  Maybe this was a rite of passage for all girls.  Her daddy wouldn’t lie to her, would he?

“Relax, Sunny.  This will be fun.”

She swallowed hard.  So far, it wasn’t fun.  She didn’t like it when her daddy drank too much.  The smell she recognized as whiskey, his drink of choice, was pungent and harsh in her nostrils.  It seemed to be oozing from his pores as he lowered himself on her.  She felt something hard pushing against her…forcing itself inside.  It was much bigger than she was, but he kept pushing.  A searing pain ripped through her and she cried out, but he didn’t seem to notice.

Sunny squeezed her eyes shut.  She tried to pretend her horses were real, and she was on one, probably the pinto.  His name was Tonka, and she loved him most of all.  He had a long, flowing mane and tail.  They were galloping across the prairie, with the wind whipping through her hair and the summer sun hot on her face.  He was fast, and she clung to his back like a burr, her hands twisted into his mane.  The rhythmic sound of hooves on the dry earth pounded in her ears. 

With a guttural grunt, her father relaxed, his weight almost crushing her.  He must have realized it because he pushed himself off and got out of bed.  She heard the rustle of his clothes, but she kept her head turned away.  There was a metallic taste in her mouth, and she realized she had bit her lip.

“You’re a very good girl, Sunny.  And Daddy loves you.  Just don’t forget that this is our secret.  Not all the girls are lucky enough to have what we have.  Okay?”

He waited next to the bed until she whispered a soft, “Okay.”

“I’ll take you out for an ice cream cone at Baskin Robbins tomorrow, okay?”