Excerpt from Earth Enchanted: Elemental Magic Book One
Jack sat in the hard metal folding chair, at the small table, and wrote. He thought his hand would fall off. Whoever said writing wasn’t real work had to have been crazy. He knew things about two hours’ worth of people their mothers probably didn’t know. Mandy Lou something or other had a granny who thought he was grade A and she was his number one fan. She didn’t look old enough to be allowed to read his brand of horror, but she had two copies of each of his books.
Jack had politely—he hoped—shrugged off the forty invitations to dinner, fourteen offers for coffee, and two very indecent proposals for ‘wild, hanging from the chandelier sex’ to quote one lovely fan. All in all, a long day barely described it, but he’d seen people and observed, that was for sure. If it helped with the new book, it might have been worth it, and then again maybe not.
Ellie dropped by to see how things were going, and then promptly ran away when he tried to beg out. He didn’t like being maneuvered, and Ellie was a champion at it. Entertaining the notion of strangling her got him through the second hour, but considering he needed a good editor, he changed his mind.
The line grew shorter. While he juggled the newest Hastings baby on his knee, which the boy’s proud papa had insisted on, Jack inscribed a message in the front cover to Mrs. Hastings, another number one fan and the mother of six children all under ten. How does she have the time to read at all? His message to her read, “Mrs. Hastings, I’m your number one fan. You rule. Jack.” Mentally saluting her efforts, he passed back junior, and sent them on their way. He automatically reached for the book a slim hand offered. Eyes down on the cover of what he’d created, he said the same thing he’d told countless others. “Hi, who should I make this out to?”
“Just sign it to Olivia Corrigan, fellow mystery writer.”
Her voice alone lifted his eyes to meet hers, a musical lilt that teased of mist and bogs, faeries and leprechauns. She was dressed professionally, but he could easily imagine her calling up a wild wind or casting spells. She was only about 5’4” and slim, claimed black Irish coloring. He saw a flash of what might have been a premonition, but after blocking the gift so long he couldn’t hold on to it. Did he smell rain? Candles or lightning? But the sun was shining. For a moment he just stared, couldn’t speak , and was certain he knew her but couldn’t remember where from.
“Is something the matter?”
He quickly signed her book, before he forgot that was the reason for their meeting in the first place. She was the last in line, and he was free. Thank God! Sorry, muse, position filled.
“Jack Roarke, it’s a pleasure, Miss Corrigan.”
Excerpt from To Take Up the Sword: Elemental Magic Book Two
Gabriel shoved her under the table and covered her with his body as a hailstorm of bullets pounded into the side of the cabin. Her head hit the floor with a thunk. She shuddered. The solid weight of him pressed her into the hardwood, covering her with his heat and leaving no room for the imagination. No doubt about it, Gabe Spiller was a walking fantasy.
“What the hell?”
“Those goons must have found me. I don’t know how. I cut through the woods after they ran me off the road. They’ve been after me since yesterday at lunch. I got away from them at a truck stop in Birmingham by hitching a ride with a truck driver.”
“Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?” A slug burrowed into the table above them.
“She was a little old lady with pictures of her grandkids taped to the dashboard. I figured she was safe. She dropped me off at Wendy’s in Jasper, then I rented a car and drove the rest of the way.” Another shot whizzed over her head.
“I bet I can guess. You paid with plastic. You may as well have left a trail of bread crumbs. Crawl now.”
Lea jerked when Gabriel bellowed the command at her, shoved the diamonds in his pocket and snatched his keys off the overturned chair.
“I’m sorry. Are you going to help me?” she mumbled as she crawled across broken glass and hardwood floors, reached the door, and opened it a crack. Gabriel’s gilt hair eased into her peripheral vision.
“I don’t see them.”
“Me either. Run like hell and keep your head down. Maybe you won’t get killed.”
Out the door like a shot, Lea ran for the bright yellow target, and heard the sound of heavy footsteps in the grass running behind them. She climbed in through the driver’s side and Gabriel shoved her over. She tried to peer out the window at her attackers.
* * * *
“Get down. Are you trying to get your head blown off?” He put the Jeep in reverse and peeled out of the drive, spitting dirt and gravel in every direction. A wave of heat, light and noise exploded into chaos behind them. The cabin had burst apart in a massive fireball. “Must have hit the gas line in the kitchen,” he noted.
“What do you mean? You say that like you were reporting the weather!” Lea growled from beside him, her bobbing red head an easy target. He put his hand on top of her head and shoved her back in the floorboard, not too gently either.
“Down, O’Neil.” Gabriel hit the main road going ninety, and then alternated by checking the rearview for locals and glaring at Lea. He took a hard right onto Highway 253 from 241 in Bear Creek and headed toward Phil Campbell the back way. She’d brought trouble to his doorstep. He’d wanted a vacation where he could wallow and grieve in peace, then make a new plan. What he didn’t want was to be tossed back into a cyclone of greed, danger and death. Okay, so it was dramatic and selfish, but he was burned-out. He’d been an agent for eight years, and in that time he’d lost four partners. Maybe he’d had enough of the whole game. Little Miss Quiet Mouse had already proven she’d be hard to ignore. Every time he looked at her, Gabe saw Serena and what might have been if circumstances had been different.
“I was having a nice quiet life, Leannan, before you came barreling into it. Care to give me a reason why I shouldn’t dump you on the locals and take off with the diamonds?”
“Serena trusted you with her life, and whatever you two had going got her killed.”
Gabriel’s heart clenched.
“You cared for her, obviously. Now she’s trusting you with me. Are you going to let her down again?”
Excerpt from Wait for the Wind: Elemental Magic Book Three
No more patients today.
She opened her office door, sat at the cramped desk and buried her face in her hands. Oh, she wanted to cry. First Ryan, then all the raw memories flooding back to her. If she could just have a moment to herself. A little ball of light in the shape of a heart floated in front of her line of sight. Kate sighed. Such a sweet–if odd–way Allie had of letting her know she was home without interrupting her work. Life was calling, and the heartache would have to wait.
Kate placed Mr. O’Malley’s chart in the holder on her desk. She’d schedule him with an oncologist first thing in the morning, though she knew he wouldn’t go. Still, she had to try. Flipping off the bright overhead light, she pulled the office door to and locked it, always mindful of the medications she kept in the locked cabinet. Allie wouldn’t ever touch them, but she was careful nonetheless.
Kate walked to the end of the hall past the exam rooms and opened the door to their little apartment space. Allie sat at the table with her books, pencils and paper. Kate smoothed her daughter’s dark silky hair. Skye’s hair fell just like that, straight as rain. Allie must have inherited the Corrigan side of the gene pool there, and her eyes were like Ryan’s. How many times had she looked into her daughter’s eyes and found Allie’s father in them? Countless.
“How was your day at school?”
“Okay, I guess. How was your day at work?”
“Okay, I guess. A lot sad. So, what happened in school today?”
“There’s this stupid girl in my class who just won’t quit picking on me.”
This she could handle. Bullies were an easy fix compared to failed romances. “And does this girl have a name?”
“Shannon.”
“Did you stand up to her?”
“Well–” Allie hid her face behind her hands. “I kind of set her hair on fire.”
“Allie!”
“Mom, chill. I put it out, but she’s so obsessed with her hair. I thought that would teach her a lesson. Plus it was cool to see the look on her face when I conjured up that fireball, and I was just so mad. It didn’t hurt her, just her attitude. ”
“You have to control your temper, Allaina. What is that phrase Devin makes you write over and over again?”
“An it harm none.”
“Yes. An it harm none. I don’t want to have to visit you in prison after you accidentally get angry and zap some brat with a fireball. I also don’t want to deprive you of doing something you were meant to do, but if you can’t control your magic, the lessons will stop. Understood? With great power–”
“Comes great responsibility. I know, Mom. I watched Spiderman. She told the whole class I was stupid, fat and so ugly even my father didn’t want me. Is that true? Did Dad leave you because you were pregnant with me? Is it my fault you’re alone?”
Kate hugged her. “No baby, no. Your dad loved you so much, but he walked away from me because he thought I’d had an abortion. He hurt so badly that he ignored all my attempts to contact him, so I never got to tell him that you existed. I choose to be alone, but I’m not lonely. I have you and our family. Don’t worry about that.”
“Well, I know I’m not fat, so I didn’t believe everything she said, but it still hurts. He’s back, isn’t he? I felt your energy shift and sort of ripple. Dad’s come home.”
“Yes, baby.”
“Can I go on to Grandma’s? I want to help with dinner.”
“Sure. I’ll be right behind you as soon as I lock everything up. Be careful and take a jacket. Rain’s coming.”
“Mom.” Allie rolled her eyes. “Okay.”
