I'm days away from my second release in 2022 – a Romance on The Go from Evernight Publishing called BY ANY OTHER NAME. I'm excited – it debuts on May 18 but it's also available for pre-order NOW.
I enjoyed writing this story very much, set practically in my own backyard in northwest Arkansas (I live in far southwest Missouri) and then continuing in one of my favorite cities in the US, Memphis!
Here's the awesome, fab cover from Jay Aheer:
And the blurb:
DEA agent Riley Scanlon and teacher Olivia Thackery were deep in love when they renovated an old house in Arkansas and planned for their April wedding. When a fire swept through Riley’s mobile home, Olivia refuses at first to accept his death but as the months pass, her head knows the truth but her heart still holds hope. A dream sends her to Memphis, Tennessee, in a wild goose chase search for her lost love although it’s a long shot. In a chance meeting, she finds him on Beale Street only to realize that the danger is greater than she could have ever imagined and their lives are about to change, irrevocably and forever.
Now – because I believe if you read this far, you'll want to read the rest to see what happens, a tease:
Prologue
As a child, Olivia Thackery believed in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, and ghosts, although not necessarily in that order. She surrendered Santa Claus at eleven after finding gifts hidden in her mother’s closet, realized the tooth fairy was legend, not living, when she caught her dad sliding a crisp bill under her pillow, but she hadn’t given up on ghosts until Riley Scanlon died but never haunted her.
Since they were in love and had planned to marry, Olivia figured if anyone could come back from the dead, Riley would. But as the days, then weeks and months passed, he didn’t, so she decided ghosts were another figment of the imagination.
Olivia wished he would haunt her. Even a transparent image might be a comfort and at least she’d know some essence of Riley had survived death. She would take a music box playing on its own as a sign or welcome an eerie whisper at the wolf hour. At night she dreamt of him, wish dreams in which he remained alive and well. She always woke with a brief burst of joy, which faded into tears when reality returned.
She mourned him, hard, so much that grief robbed her appetite and drained away any pleasures. Through it all, though, Olivia had the odd sense that Riley wasn’t gone even though she knew he was. She had wept over his casket and been at his funeral. Olivia had stood beside his open grave, damp with an unseasonably chill early summer rain. He was dead and she knew it. The problem was, she didn’t feel it.
And in her stubborn heart, despite the facts, she didn’t believe it.
Chapter One
May
Arkansas
Together, Riley and Olivia had transformed the derelict old house into a home, one they would share. With Riley’s help, she’d cleared rubbish, replaced broken windows, cleaned, and scrubbed and put down new flooring from the porch to the kitchen. They’d painted inside and out. The exterior that had been weathered to a rustic gray was now a light blue with deeper navy trim. Olivia had chosen bright, pretty colors inside, ranging from pale yellows and peach to greens, pinks, and blues. In the bedrooms, she’d chosen wallpaper and they’d managed to hang it, but not without many mishaps and a lot of swearing tempered with laughter.
On Friday, just before the long Memorial Day weekend, Olivia moved in and she was home. All the furniture, both old and new, was in place along with all the kitchen items, her personal things including clothing, right down to rugs on the floor and pillows tossed onto the couch. By Saturday, she’d settled in for the most part with some boxes left to unpack. They’d put things away and did chores around the place on both Sunday and Monday.
The deck Riley built was also finished and on Monday evening to celebrate, Olivia had two T-bone steaks on the charcoal grill. He slouched in one of the two red plastic Adirondack chairs, sipping red Moscato, eyes half-slitted.
“Tired?” Olivia asked as she flipped the meat.
“Yeah,” he said, his Southern-accented deep voice reminiscent of Elvis, not surprising since both the King and Riley had Mississippi roots. “And starving. The steaks smell good.”
“They’ll be done soon,” she said. “Medium rare the way you like, plus twice baked potatoes and a tossed Greek salad.”
He nodded his approval.
They ate inside because the mosquitos were biting and the heat had turned humid. Riley said little and midway through the meal, Olivia realized the conversation came from her. She scrutinized him, noting the dark circles beneath his eyes. He paused to rub his forehead more than once although he ate with appetite.
“Are you worn out from moving?
“No, not at all,” he said. “I have a little headache and this case is wearing on me. It’s always stressful, this one more than most, and I haven’t been sleeping all that great.”
As a DEA agent, Riley worked long hours. Although the agency had a regional office in Fayetteville, he put in a lot of miles traveling to Little Rock. For once, he had the three-day weekend off, but they’d spent all day Friday moving and most of Saturday. On Sunday, they’d added some finishing touches and he’d completed the deck. Today had been a day to recharge and unwind.
“Anything I can do to make life easier?”
Riley grinned. “You’re doing it. Good food, excellent wine and some loving is what I needed, that and to just kick back and chill a little. Lord knows, I needed that.”
Olivia dismissed any ideas she’d had about preliminary wedding shopping. Although she’d chosen a dress, one she wouldn’t let Riley see until the wedding day, she had wanted to browse cakes, flowers, candelabras, and other items. Although the wedding wasn’t until next April, there were so many choices and plans to be made and she wanted Riley to make them with her.
“I thought we’d sleep in, have brunch, hang out and maybe take long naps.”
“And make love,” Riley added.
She thought he’d meant later but before she’d finished putting away the leftovers and loading the dishwasher, Riley grasped her in his arms and kissed her with an intensity she hadn’t anticipated. His style of lovemaking was usually gentle, something to savor in slow measure. Now, however, his mouth claimed hers with force, his lips feverish against hers. His fire kindled her passion and Olivia kissed him back, her nipples hardening. Riley, without breaking the kiss, stripped away her t-shirt and bra, one hand caressing her breasts and stroking the nipples until they ached. She fumbled at his shirt, but, impatient, he stripped it off, ripping it in the process. He tossed it aside and pushed down her shorts, the panties along with them.
In one thrust he took her, lifting her against the counter to make entry and packed her full, his cock tight in her box. Olivia cried out as he entered her, aroused by the wild, fast act and if he hadn’t held her, she would have collapsed, boneless and sated, to the floor afterward.
Riley swept her up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. He put her on the bed and she smiled at him. “That was amazing.”
“That was round one,” he told her with a wicked grin. “Now let’s do it right.”
They got naked, fast.
Now he took his time, his hands slow and steady across her body, fingering her nipples, stroking her skin until Olivia wanted to scream. Riley kissed her again, first her mouth where he lingered, his lips hot and fierce. Then he lowered his lips to kiss down her throat, his teeth taking tiny bites as he descended, each nibble sparking sensations that sent delicious chills through her body. He left his love tattoos there, in places that wouldn’t show and then used his tongue to lave around her nipples.
She moaned from the sheer pleasure and slow torture that tongue delivered, but when he went lower and used it to snake in and out of her pussy, flicking the clit with it, she shrieked like a banshee at midnight. By the time he thrust into her, his cock both hard and hot as a blacksmith’s hammer, Olivia thought she’d die from wanting. Once he was inside, he moved with slow, calculated force, enough to make her body tense then release in a sweeping tide of passionate release. She cried, she begged, she whined as tears ran down her cheeks with the effort and at the ultimate moment, she screamed and so did he.
With her last scrap of strength, she cuddled up against Riley, tight in his arms, short of breath and body still quivering with the aftereffects. His breath blew hot against her skin and they lay without moving for a long time. They dozed a little, then rose and showered together, then had another glass of wine, this time on the front porch.
“I needed that,” Riley told her as they sipped the Moscato.
“Rough week?”
He nodded. “That’s an understatement. You know I can’t really talk about details, but I will say that we’re finding the drug runners, but we can’t get to the leaders, the ones who orchestrate bringing in drugs from Mexico and South America. That’s who we need to nail, not these penny ante ones. I have a lead on someone who might be in charge and if so, he’s a mean motherfucker. But I think I have everything I need for an arrest, trial, and conviction.”
Since Riley seldom talked about his job, Olivia knew it must be complex.
“Dangerous?”
He shrugged. “No more than usual, I suppose. Don’t worry about it—sooner or later, we’ll get him and then it’ll be on to the next one. I don’t even want to talk about it anymore.”
Olivia nodded. She’d rather not think about it, now or ever. If she did, she’d worry herself into a fervor. “Fine with me,” she told him as she sipped wine and ran her bare foot up his leg.
They drank wine and enjoyed the cooler evening air from the swing she’d insisted having. The house sat on a large lot on the edge of Decatur, a small town in northwest Arkansas. Two state highways intersected near the center of town, which was not far from Bentonville, the growing city where discount giant Wal-Mart had their corporate home and Fayetteville, home of the University of Arkansas and the Razorbacks. Other cities included Springdale, Rogers, and Centerton within a few short miles. The XNA airport offered flights all over the nation and a little north, one of Missouri’s most rural counties offered fishing, caves, and a slower pace of life.
Decatur offered a small-town nostalgic feel, but was within a quick trip to the 21st century in a growing region. To Olivia, it provided the old-fashioned amenities she enjoyed, but put her within range of major shopping, business opportunities, and more.
Right now, the yard was mostly grass, but Olivia had plans to plant a variety of perennial flowers, some shrubs, and trees. She envisioned a blooming space with space left for—one day—kids to play.
“What about your job prospects?” Riley asked. “School’s out and you’re not fond of teaching.”
Olivia repressed a shudder. “No, not with the little ones, I’m not.”
Teaching had been a long-time career plan and she’d graduated with a teaching degree two years ago, then found a job teaching first graders in Bentonville. She had stuck it out for two school years, but she had to admit it wasn’t what she thought. The kiddos were so little. She’d found them to be wet, whining, and wilder than she had ever expected. They were prone to puke, pee their pants, and fight. She hated their grimy little fingers pawing at her skirts and became easily frustrated when she couldn’t get them to sit down to study.
She’d finished out the year with difficulty and hadn’t accepted a new contract. Riley had bought the old house out of the money he’d inherited from his grandparents in Vicksburg. He’d also sold their antebellum house that overlooked the Mississippi citing it would be too costly to heat and cool, that it had ghosts, and that he had no desire to live in his home state. He’d also offered to support her financially if she wanted to take a gap year or more from teaching. Although the idea had some appeal, Olivia wasn’t sure she wanted that. She liked her independence and being part of a team, not the stay-at-home wife. She’d contributed to the house renovations out of her savings, too, and put in plenty of sweat equity.
“I’ve been checking the area school websites for positions,” she told him. “I think I may be better suited to older students, although I’m sure they offer challenges, too.”
“Like puberty,” Riley said with a laugh. “I can’t imagine, Olivia. Maybe you should think about a new career field.”
“I could, but my degree is in education.”
He stretched out in a lazy motion for the bottle and topped off his wine glass.
“Still, you could do something different or go back to school. You have all summer to pick up a few classes in another field.”
“That’s true.” She sipped the sweet wine and enjoyed how it went down smooth. “If I don’t find a new teaching post, there’s surely something I could do.”
“You can finish with the house,” he said, his voice as lazy as a slow summer day. “You wanted to plant some flowers and summer’s the ideal time for it.”
“I meant some kind of job,” she told him as she poked his arm.
“I figured. You could try your hand at writing. That’s something you’ve always wanted to do, isn’t it?”
Writing, preferably fiction, was her dream. Olivia once thought she would be an author someday, but in college she was steered toward the far more practical teaching program. Her parents and sister, Ashley, had insisted teaching would provide a living, something she couldn’t count on with writing. She still scribbled once in a while and she’d had several pieces published in the campus literary magazine. College had been where she met Riley, who had gone undercover as a visiting professor for one semester. By the time it ended, they were together and she knew about his real career.
“That’s very tempting.”
“Then do it,” he said. “I earn good money, more than enough to support both of us and that’s not counting what I got from the grandparents. Take a year to plan our wedding and write. I believe you’ve got a gift, darlin’, so just do it.”
Olivia might. The notion pleased her and terrified her at the same time. Maybe she’d write something worth publishing, but maybe she’d flop. The only way to find out was to try.
“Maybe,” she told him. “I’ll think about it.”
Dusk shifted into dark as they finished the wine. Olivia cuddled against Riley and he put an arm around her shoulders. They rocked the swing with an easy rhythm, sometimes talking, often not, just savoring the pleasant night. After a long time, he stirred.
“I should head home.”
He lived in a mobile home less than a mile away, a temporary residence that provided a place to sleep. They’d first seen the house on the way to his trailer.
“Stay,” she said. “It’s still the holiday weekend.”
Riley laughed. “Babe, it’s all but over. I have an early meeting in Fayetteville, then I’m probably going to be hunting bad guys all week, most likely undercover. You can sleep in and I’ll call you. If I can break loose, I’ll be here, okay?”
“You should just move in,” she said. “It’s going to be lonely without you.”
“As soon as the lease is up in July, I’ll do it,” he said. “I’d rather wait until this case wraps up. The guy we’re wanting is bad news, part of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel or CJNG. I don’t imagine he has any idea who I am or where I live, but if he came after me, I don’t want you to be hurt.”
His words evoked a strange fear within her. “Riley, if you’re in any kind of danger…”
“I told you, no more than usual. I just don’t want to take any chances.”
Olivia had never been one to have premonitions, although her Irish granny had. She shivered and thought of an old saying, a goose just walked over my grave.
“I don’t want you to go home tonight.”
“Why?”
“I’m scared, Riley. I have a bad feeling.”
He snuggled her closer for a kiss. “Don’t be silly, Liv.”
“I’m not being silly.”
“Then don’t get all hoo doo, whoo-whoo on me. It’s weird and disconcerting. You’re never like this. What’s wrong?”
“I’m worried that something terrible is going to happen.”
“It’s not. You know it’s not. I think you’re just tired from working your butt off all weekend.”
“Well, I am, but that’s not…”
He silenced her with a swift, urgent kiss. Olivia clung to him, unable to shed the sense of doom she experienced. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. In his arms, his mouth claiming hers, the feeling faded a little so she let him go.
Pre-order links:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1146375
https://www.amazon.com/Any-Other-Name-Romance-Go-ebook/dp/B09ZXCQ41K/
