Holidays are a time for fun and relaxation, well if you're not off chasing extreme adventures or the suchlike :-) And with Thanksgiving, and Christmas just round the corner, what could be better than to snuggle down in a comfy chair, in front of a fire, with a good book? Or even a great box set of books!
Along with many other awesome authors Eskape Press have generously included my light paranormal romance, He's My Husky, in their Holiday Eskape box set.
And to celebrate they're doing a fun little contest. To play, you need to read my excerpt below, so please, don't fall asleep! All you have to do is to follow the instructions over at Eskape Press's FB page
and answer the question about the except and you'll be entered to win a prize from EsKape Press!
* * * * *
Would she come? Max had thought long and hard about
his options and decided this way would be less frightening for her. But was he
right? More than ever, after what Emma had told him last night about Shane’s
growth spurt and bursting his shirts, Max wanted, needed, to protect his son
and the woman he now hoped to marry. His ego and selfishness had cost him the
chance to be there for Emma and Shane. If things worked out, he’d do everything
he could to…
A weak sun still managed to
hold off the promised rain and twinkles of sunlight bounced off the bare tree
branches above his head. To some it might seem eerie; to him it smelt natural, of
nature. He could hear nearby animals rustling in the shrub, could smell the
rabbits as he passed their burrows. A hawk keened overhead and Max wondered
whether it was in optimism or intent. His skin itched and tingled, his muscles
tautened and his fingers curled at his sides. His clothes rubbed against his
sensitized skin and his shoes slowed his progress.
A couple walkers bade him a
good morning, and he hoped there weren’t too many other people intent to beat
the weather. As if to dash his hopes minutes later a couple of men, guns slung
over their shoulders, came into sight. They stopped and stared at him then turned
off on another path with an abruptness he found disconcerting. He hoped that whatever
their destination, it wouldn’t involve a return to this clearing in the trees
and the silent pond Emma had mentioned.
He looked round, sniffed the
air and satisfied, began to shed his clothes.
****
Emma picked up the wash
cloth Shane dropped on his way out and sighed. In some ways, due to his
incredible height, she often forgot how young her son really was. Right after
her meeting with Max she’d have to shoot into town and buy him more new shirts.
She would call in on Sue. How could one day change a life as much as it had for
her friend? Was it Sue’s belief that Friday the thirteenth was a harbinger of
evil that prompted Tyler to wait until yesterday to act as he had? She’d never
tagged Tyler as vindictive, but then what did she know about men? Not a lot.
And while she had Shane to bring up she wasn’t too bothered about the fact she
didn’t have a man in her life. She’d only ever given herself and her heart to
one, and for her sins, she couldn’t get past him, couldn’t look at another man
without seeing those earth-brown eyes, the wide shoulders and hands that
brought her out in goose bumps just thinking about them roving over her body.
Magic! Those hands, the way
they stroked across her skin, trailed over her back up her legs, and caressed
her breasts, were pure magic. And then he’d added his lips to the magic and
sent her up in flames. Why didn’t her heart believe her when she tried to
convince it love had nothing to do with that night? It had all been about lust.
On Max’s part, anyway.
With an oath Emma swept up the
breakfast dishes, rinsed them and posted them into the dishwasher. One of the
bonuses of being self-employed meant she could shift her weekends to suit
herself if Shane’s schedule allowed. This morning she took the time for herself
,she’d make up for it while Shane stayed over at Tim’s house tonight. It didn’t
take long to tidy the bedrooms and clean out the bath, before changing into
suitable jeans and warm jumper for the walk to the woods. Why had Max used a
wolf, a wolf for goodness sake, to bring her a message about their change of
plans? Never mind, her lips curved into a smile, that it was an amazing wolf.
If it had been a human it would
have been a hunk of a specimen.
She changed her slippers for
sturdy shoes, hauled on her coat and at the last moment grabbed a scarf and
wound it round her neck.
She passed a couple of young
mothers pushing prams and stopped to talk to both of them. How the years sped
by, she thought, as they separated and went on their ways. She’d babysat both
those girls when they were young, now they had children of their own… and
loving husbands. If only things had been different… But they weren’t. So she’d
suck up the useless longing and do what she’d done for the last ten years. Get
on with it.
The washed-out blue sky gave
way to thin grey clouds with their big brothers piling in behind them, dark,
threatening and tinged with yellow. No one, she thought, as she gave the clouds
a last look before stepping into the wood, had said anything about snow.
“Best be careful, Lass,” Ben Buckner
warned as she met him and his buddy Brody Kemp coming in the other direction. How
those boys ever passed an exam was beyond her, they never seemed to spend a
full day in school, and yet they’d finished this summer with the best marks in
their year.
“We passed a stranger not long
back.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
“Looked harmless enough,” Brody
agreed. “But you never can tell.”
And with their well meant but
dire warnings ringing in her ears, Emma followed the path that led to what she
called the Fairy Den.
A few minutes later, Jed and
Tupper, guns slung over their shoulders, blocked her path. She wasn’t afraid of
them, precisely, but preferred it when they kept walking without comment.
Rumour had it they were the two best poachers in the county and, in spite of
their downtrodden appearance, were rolling in money. The first she believed,
the second never quite rang true.
“Thur be a stranger in the
woods, Missy,” Tupper growled. “He’s by yon pond, you best be careful where’s
you walk today.”
Jed nodded, allowing his lips
to move just enough for Emma to see two of his blackened teeth before they
closed in a firm line again. “You’s take care then,” he added to his
companion’s counsel, and without another word, both men walked away.
Anticipation had Emma
increasing her speed, and she almost ran into the clearing ten minutes later. Disappointment
had her skidding to a halt when she found no sign of Max waiting for her.
Surely there couldn’t be two strangers walking the wood on the same day, when normally
only the locals used these paths in the winter.
She looked round and shivered.
Never had this place, normally so dear to her seemed so alien as it did today.
The dark clouds had crowded out the wispier clouds and banished the sun,
leaving the wood in deep shadow. A shiver chased up her spine. Should she
leave, hope Max would come to her at home?
“No!”
The protest rang inside her
skull and she searched the area again. There! On the other side of the clearing
stood the wolf from last night. She may not have seen the animal clearly during
the night but instinct told her it was the same creature.
“I
saw a couple of hunters.”
Hunters? Emma sought to equate his
description with any of the locals and wondered whether he referred to the
recent school boys. But no, both pairs of men mentioned one stranger. Hunters?
“Oh,” she said, when it dawned
on her the wolf referred to Jed and Tucker. “Not hunters, exactly. Poachers,
but you’re right. I wouldn’t want them to see you.”
“Would
they shoot if they did?”
The wolf remained in the shadows.
“They might.” Emma admitted
after giving the matter careful thought. “As a trophy,” she expanded. “There
aren’t any wolves left in Britain, other than those in zoos, so yes, they might
shoot you if they saw you. And if they didn’t they’d set traps to capture you.”
* * * * *
As if this isn't enough, you can also get a second box set of Regency story goodies :-) Don't miss this chance stock up for your holiday reading :-)
