Throttled

by Stella Bixby

  “He’s just a good guy. And you need a good guy. Troy was a tool. Antonio is a tool. Guys like Garrett and me are few and far between, you know?”

  “Who are you talking to?” Nikki’s voice was in my ear.

  “No one,” Luke replied, and then the line went silent.

  He hung up on me.

  I shook my head. Hopefully, Nikki didn’t get mad that he was talking to me.

  I pulled into my parents’ driveway and parked my car next to Garrett’s. After a few deep breaths, I was ready to come clean.

  28

  “Auntie!” Four little boys decked out in holiday pajamas wrapped their arms around me when I walked into what felt like the North Pole. Christmas lights hung all over the enormous living room. A huge tree stood as the focal point near the fireplace, and the kitchen was covered with flour, icing, and sheets and sheets of cookies.

  “The place looks amazing Mom,” I said. It had been a long time since I’d been home.

  “Thank you. Your dad helped, of course.” Mom emerged from the dining room wearing a Christmas apron over a green skirt that hit right below the knee and a silky cream blouse. She perched on the arm of Dad’s chair, and he put his hand on her crossed legs.

  “Well, it’s beautiful. You both did a wonderful job,” I said.

  Garrett walked over, his clothes dusted with flour and his fingers stained from icing. “How was work?” He kissed me on the cheek.

  I had been so certain I’d walk in and tell him immediately about Antonio and the kiss, but the look in his eye was of pure Christmas joy. How could I take that away from him?

  “It was fine,” I said. “Boring really.”

  “We made you a cookie!” My oldest nephew grabbed my hand and pulled me into the kitchen.

  A cookie in the shape of a gingerbread man was completely covered in pink frosting and glittery pink sprinkles.

  “It’s you,” he said waiting for my reaction.

  “It’s beautiful.” I bent down and hugged him. “Thank you so much.”

  He squeezed me back, and I felt a little bit better.

  “Shall we eat?” Mom asked.

  “I’m starving,” Tom, my brother-in-law, said and wasn’t shy about piling his plate high with food the moment he sat at the table.

  “You didn’t have to wait for me to eat,” I said sitting down in the chair Garrett had pulled out for me.

  “Of course we did,” Dad said with a smile.

  “Did you want to change before you eat?” Mom looked at my blue uniform pants and blue t-shirt I wore beneath my button-down uniform shirt.

  “No, I’m good.” I laughed. “Unless you want me to change.”

  She glanced at Garrett almost as if she was looking for his answer. He just shrugged.

  “I guess you’re okay,” she said.

  “What was that about?” I whispered to him when I sat down next to Garrett at the table.

  “What was what about?” he gave me a sly smile. “Stuffing?” He held up a spoonful of my mom’s homemade mashed potatoes.

  “Mmmm, yes please!” I lifted my plate.

  “So you caught another murderer, huh?” Tom asked me from across the table.

  The news had been making a bigger deal out of Debbie’s arrest than was necessary or true.

  “She didn’t murder anyone,” I replied. “It was a make-out session gone wrong.”

  “It sounds like she’s going to be in a heap of trouble,” Mom said. “It’s too bad your friend’s cousin died.”

  “Nikki?” Garrett laughed. “Friends huh?”

  His tone annoyed me. “She’s different than you’d think. Once you get to know her.”

  “That’s my girl. Always seeing the best in people,” my dad said beaming.

  We finished dinner with minimal talking and maximum eating. Once we were sufficiently stuffed, we headed back to the living room where the boys were practically falling all over themselves to open their one present.

  “Okay, but once we’re done we have to go to bed so Santa will come,” Megan said.

  “Santa’s not r—” the oldest started but Tom covered his mouth.

  “Ready to come yet,” Tom said reassuring the other boys.

  I glanced at Garrett who was giving me goo-goo eyes. Was he imagining us with kids? My heart raced. Kids? I hadn’t even considered kids.

  The boys began tearing into their presents—wrapping paper and bows flying everywhere—Megan videoing the entire thing with her phone camera.

  I handed Mom an envelope. “This is a little something from Megan and me.”

  Megan smiled but didn’t take her eyes off her boys.

  Mom gently pulled the flap up and slid the piece of paper out from within. Tears filled her eyes as she read. “A girls’ weekend? Just the three of us?”

  “We’ll go snowboarding and get massages and sit in the hot springs,” I said.

  “This had to have cost you a fortune,” Mom said.

  “Well, since Marlene gave Shayla and me a fantastic deal on an apartment, I had a bit of money left over from what I’d saved.”

  Her face drooped when I mentioned moving out.

  “I wanted to make sure the three of us got to spend some quality time together before I’m gone. Even though I’ll only be twenty minutes away.”

  She smiled. “That’s so thoughtful of you. I can’t wait.” She returned the piece of paper to the envelope and turned to me. “Okay, it’s Rylie’s turn.” Her voice was loud enough to stop my nephews’ shouting. She handed me a small square gift wrapped in glossy red paper topped with a silver bow. Maybe it was another necklace.

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  I unwrapped it carefully to find a velvet jewelry box. Hopefully, it wasn’t the same necklace. Or maybe she was giving me grandma’s pearl earrings. I opened the box and nearly dropped it when I saw the biggest diamond ring I’d ever seen in real life.

  “What is this?” I looked around to find Garrett kneeling next to me.

  I couldn’t breathe.

  This couldn’t be happening.

  Megan was still filming. Mom and Dad were smiling from ear to ear. Even the boys had stopped throwing wrapping paper balls at each other to see what happened.

  Garrett’s deep blue eyes glistened with expectation.

  Hope.

  He was talking about love and a future, but all I could think about was earlier that night.

  The kiss.

  “Rylie Beth Cooper—”

  Hearing my full name—something I only heard when my mom was furious with me—pulled my mind back to the moment.

  “I know we’ve only been dating a few months, but I guess when you know, you know.”

  I had to tell him.

  He couldn’t do this without knowing the whole truth.

  “Will you ma—”

  “I kissed Antonio.”

  The room went silent. Megan dropped her phone.

  Garrett stood. “Excuse me,” he said before walking out the door.

  The ring box was heavy in my hand.

  Almost as heavy as the looks on my family’s faces.

  Shock. Disappointment. Disgust.

  What had I done?

  Thank you so much for reading Throttled. Rylie’s really gotten herself into a predicament this time.

  If you want to read posts from Volume 21 of the Ranger Journal that was passed along to Rylie, check out my Patreon page! In addition to the journal entries, I will be sharing exclusive content, sneak peeks, and much more.

  If you would like a FREE short story about Rylie’s first Ice Rescue Training with the Big Mountain Fire Department, click here.

  And as always, I would be honored and eternally grateful if you would post a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads about the book.

  Keep in touch. You can email me at stellabixbyauthor@gmail.com.

  XOXO,

  Stella Bixby

  Acknowledgments

  I have so many amazing people to thank for helping
me with this book. As always, God is first and foremost. Every bit of my ability, talent, and determination comes from Him.

  My family is my world. Thank you for standing by me as I continue on this crazy writing journey.

  Early readers are the absolute backbone of my work. They help me fix things I would never find myself. Dad, Mom, Lurea (Mom), Shawna, Matthew, Lisa, and everyone from the Muddy River Writers and Write On, I cannot thank you enough.

  Debbie and Michelle, thank you for your support! I hope you enjoyed the parts you played in this story!

  And for all the fans, everyone who reads this book, and everyone who has read Catfished and/or Suckered. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can’t wait to share the next one with you!

  About the Author

  Stella Bixby is a native Coloradan who loves to snowboard, pluck at the guitar, and play board games with her family. She was once a volunteer firefighter and a park ranger, but now spends most of her time making up stories and trying to figure out what to cook for dinner.

  Connect with Stella on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @StellaBixby.

  Stella loves to hear from her readers!

  www.stellabixby.com

  Patreon Description

  About Me:

  I never thought I'd be a writer.

  I've always been an avid reader, but in high school I was a math and science nerd. I initially went to college for Mechanical Engineering.

  Then life happened.

  I changed majors a handful of times. I had two kids, got married, got divorced, graduated college, got married again, moved across the country, had another baby, and somewhere in the mix, I decided to write a book.

  Enter NaNoWriMo.

  In 30 days 50,000 words fell from my brain onto a computer screen.

  I was proud. So proud.

  Family and friends told me it was good.

  I was excited.

  But it wasn't good. It wasn't good at all.

  Experienced writers murdered it with red ink. (Thankfully they had chocolate to lighten the blow.)

  I was deflated but not defeated.

  Stephen King's On Writing, Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, and Janet Evanovich's How I Write were instrumental in my growth. As was writing and writing and writing. And reading and reading and reading. And all of my amazing writing friends along the way.

  Nine years after my first NaNoWriMo, I published Catfished and haven't stopped since.

  Why Patreon?

  In the third book of the Rylie Cooper Mystery Series, Throttled, Rylie is given a traveling ranger journal. This journal is anonymous and contains entries from all of the rangers.

  I almost took it out in my final edits. It didn't have much of a place for it in the books. But it was too near and dear to my heart.

  Enter Patreon.

  I'd been toying with the idea of starting a Patreon page, but I wanted to make sure I had content worth paying for. And I think the journal is a perfect starting point!

  In addition to the journal, I'm going to be offering other tiers that include exclusive content, a private Facebook group, and early access to books.

  Check out the different Tiers starting at $2 per month up at www.patreon.com/stellabixby.

  Not sure or have questions? Email me at stellabixbyauthor@gmail.com.

  XOXO,

  Stella Bixby