by Kay Bigelow
Cots and Leah shook their heads.
“Let’s go there, if only for a few weeks. It will get us away from all this,” she said, waving her hand at the city outside the living room windows. “If nothing else, it will be warmer.”
Leah didn’t reject the idea out of hand. In fact, it sounded appealing. She was as tired of the frigid cold as the next person. She looked at Cots. It was obvious he was considering the offer, too.
“The flights are expensive, though.” Peony winced as she said it, probably not having considered the financial part before making the suggestion.
Leah suspected the price of a ticket to Xing was prohibitively expensive and apparently not within Peony’s budget.
“Let me worry about that,” Leah told them.
Leah hadn’t told anyone about the call she’d gotten from Quinn’s attorney. He had informed her she was, thanks to Quinn, an enormously wealthy woman. Quinn had left all her considerable wealth to Leah. She’d also made two bequests—one to her long-time assistant, Klara, and one to Cots that would make him wealthy, too. She didn’t know whether he’d heard from the attorney yet. She’d call the lawyer later to let him know how to get in touch with Cots.
She wasn’t entirely certain about how she felt being Quinn’s beneficiary. She would always wonder whether the money was obtained from the Grandini family or through legitimate means. She knew enough not to make any decisions about the money right then. She was too angry with Quinn, too betrayed by her, and still trying to piece together how she felt about her, to make any rational decisions about being her beneficiary.
“Do you think the department would let us take a vacation?” Peony asked.
“Do they have police departments on Xing?”
“A good one in Victoria where I live,” Peony told her.
“How about private detectives?”
“Those, too.”
“Let’s go, then.” Leah felt her heart lighten a little with the decision. Maybe she could start a new life on Xing. Maybe Cots and Peony would like a new start as well. She hoped so.
She could feel the depression lift just a little with the decision to leave New America. There were way too many things here to remind her of the good times with Quinn, streets they’d walked hand in hand on, restaurants they’d dined at, people they both knew. Here she only had betrayal, memories, good and bad, lost hope, and depression to look forward to. Now she’d found a scintilla of hope for a future. Hope will be my new mantra.
About the Author
Kay Bigelow was born in Alabama and three months later began her world travels. She has lived in Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, and much of the US. Her novels and short stories are often set in the various places she has lived. She has finally settled down (for the time being) in a small town in northern Washington State.
Books Available From Bold Strokes Books
A Country Girl’s Heart by Dena Blake. When Kat Jackson gets a second chance at love, following her heart will prove the hardest decision of all. (978-1-63555-134-1)
Dangerous Waters by Radclyffe. Life, death, and war on the home front. Two women join forces against a powerful opponent, nature itself. (978-1-63555-233-1)
Fury’s Death by Brey Willows. When all we hold sacred fails, who will be there to save us? (978-1-63555-063-4)
It’s Not a Date by Heather Blackmore. Kade’s desire to keep things with Jen on a professional level is in Jen’s best interest. Yet what’s in Kade’s best interest…is Jen. (978-1-63555-149-5)
Killer Winter by Kay Bigelow. Just when she thought things could get no worse, homicide Lieutenant Leah Samuels learns the woman she loves has betrayed her in devastating ways. (978-1-63555-177-8)
Score by MJ Williamz. Will an addiction to pain pills destroy Ronda’s chance with the woman she loves, or will she come out on top and score a happily ever after? (978-1-62639-807-8)
Spring’s Wake by Aurora Rey. When wanderer Willa Lange falls for Provincetown B&B owner Nora Calhoun, will past hurts and a fifteen-year age gap keep them from finding love? (978-1-63555-035-1)
The Northwoods by Jane Hoppen. When Evelyn Bauer, disguised as her dead husband, George, travels to a Northwoods logging camp to work, she and the camp cook Sarah Bell forge a friendship fraught with both tenderness and turmoil. (978-1-63555-143-3)
Truth or Dare by C. Spencer. For a group of six lesbian friends, life changes course after one long snow-filled weekend. (978-1-63555-148-8)
A Heart to Call Home by Jeannie Levig. When Jessie Weldon returns to her hometown after thirty years, can she and her childhood crush Dakota Scott heal the tragic past that links them? (978-1-63555-059-7)
Children of the Healer by Barbara Ann Wright. Life becomes desperate for ex-soldier Cordelia Ross when the indigenous aliens of her planet are drawn into a civil war and old enemies linger in the shadows. Book Three of the Godfall Series. (978-1-63555-031-3)
Hearts Like Hers by Melissa Brayden. Coffee shop owner Autumn Primm is ready to cut loose and live a little, but is the baggage that comes with out-of-towner Kate Carpenter too heavy for anything long term? (978-1-63555-014-6)
Love at Cooper’s Creek by Missouri Vaun. Shaw Daily flees corporate life to find solace in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains, but escapism eludes her when her attentions are captured by small town beauty Kate Elkins. (978-1-62639-960-0)
Twice in a Lifetime by PJ Trebelhorn. Detective Callie Burke can’t deny the growing attraction to her late friend’s widow, Taylor Fletcher, who also happens to own the bar where Callie’s sister works. (978-1-63555-033-7)
Undiscovered Affinity by Jane Hardee. Will a no-strings-attached affair be enough to break Olivia’s control and convince Cardic that love does exist? (978-1-63555-061-0)
Between Sand and Stardust by Tina Michele. Are the lifelong bonds of love strong enough to conquer time, distance, and heartache when Haven Thorne and Willa Bennette are given another chance at forever? (978-1-62639-940-2)
Charming the Vicar by Jenny Frame. When magician and atheist Finn Kane seeks refuge in an English village after a spiritual crisis, can local vicar Bridget Claremont restore her faith in life and love? (978-1-63555-029-0)
Data Capture by Jesse J. Thoma. Lola Walker is undercover on the hunt for cybercriminals while trying not to notice the woman who might be perfectly wrong for her for all the right reasons. (978-1-62639-985-3)
Epicurean Delights by Renee Roman. Ariana Marks had no idea a leisure swim would lead to being rescued, in more ways than one, by the charismatic Hudson Frost. (978-1-63555-100-6)
Heart of the Devil by Ali Vali. We know most of Cain and Emma Casey’s story, but Heart of the Devil will take you back to where it began one fateful night with a tray loaded with beer. (978-1-63555-045-0)
Known Threat by Kara A. McLeod. When Special Agent Ryan O’Connor reluctantly questions who protects the Secret Service, she learns courage truly is found in unlikely places. Agent O’Connor Series #3 (978-1-63555-132-7)
Seer and the Shield by D. Jackson Leigh. Time is running out for the Dragon Horse Army while two unlikely heroines struggle to put aside their attraction and find a way to stop a deadly cult. Dragon Horse War, Book 3 (978-1-63555-170-9)
The Universe Between Us by Jane C. Esther. Ana Mitchell must make the hardest choice of her life: the promise of new love Jolie Dann on Earth, or a humanity-saving mission to colonize Mars. (978-1-63555-106-8)
Touch by Kris Bryant. Can one touch heal a heart? (978-1-63555-084-9)
A More Perfect Union by Carsen Taite. Major Zoey Granger and DC fixer Rook Daniels risk their reputations for a chance at true love while dealing with a scandal that threatens to rock the military. (978-1-62639-754-5)
Arrival by Gun Brooke. The spaceship Pathfinder reaches its passengers’ new homeworld where danger lurks in the shadows while Pamas Seclan disembarks and finds unexpected love in young science genius Darmiya Do Voy. (978-1-62639-859-7)
Captain’s Choice by VK Powell. Architect Kerstin Anthony’s life is going to plan unt
il Bennett Carlyle, the first girl she ever kissed, is assigned to her latest and most important project, a police district substation. (978-1-62639-997-6)
Falling Into Her by Erin Zak. Pam Phillips, widow at the age of forty, meets Kathryn Hawthorne, local Chicago celebrity, and it changes her life forever—in ways she hadn’t even considered possible. (978-1-63555-092-4)
Hookin’ Up by MJ Williamz. Will Leah get what she needs from casual hookups or will she see the love she desires right in front of her? (978-1-63555-051-1)
King of Thieves by Shea Godfrey. When art thief Casey Marinos meets bounty hunter Finnegan Starkweather, the crimes of the past just might set the stage for a payoff worth more than she ever dreamed possible. (978-1-63555-007-8)
Lucy’s Chance by Jackie D. As a serial killer haunts the streets, Lucy tries to stitch up old wounds with her first love in the wake of a small town’s rapid descent into chaos. (978-1-63555-027-6)
Right Here, Right Now by Georgia Beers. When Alicia Wright moves into the office next door to Lacey Chamberlain’s accounting firm, Lacey is about to find out that sometimes the last person you want is exactly the person you need. (978-1-63555-154-9)
Strictly Need to Know by MB Austin. Covert operator Maji Rios will do whatever she must to complete her mission, but saving a gorgeous stranger from Russian mobsters was not in her plans. (978-1-63555-114-3)
Tailor-Made by Yolanda Wallace. Tailor Grace Henderson doesn’t date clients, but when she meets gender-bending model Dakota Lane, she’s tempted to throw all the rules out the window. (978-1-63555-081-8)
Time Will Tell by M. Ullrich. With the ability to time travel, Eva Caldwell will have to decide between having it all and erasing it all. (978-1-63555-088-7)
Change in Time by Robyn Nyx. Working in the past is hell on your future. The Extractor series: Book Two. (978-1-62639-880-1)
Love After Hours by Radclyffe. When Gina Antonelli agrees to renovate Carrie Longmire’s new house, she doesn’t welcome Carrie’s overtures at friendship or her own unexpected attraction. A Rivers Community Novel. (978-1-63555-090-0)
Nantucket Rose by CF Frizzell. Maggie Jordan can’t wait to convert a historic Nantucket home into a B&B, but doesn’t expect to fall for mariner Ellis Chilton, who has more claim to the house than Maggie realizes. (978-1-63555-056-6)
Picture Perfect by Lisa Moreau. Falling in love wasn’t supposed to be part of the stakes for Olive and Gabby, rival photographers in the competition of a lifetime. (978-1-62639-975-4)
Set the Stage by Karis Walsh. Actress Emilie Danvers takes the stage again in Ashland, Oregon, little realizing that landscaper Arden Philips is about to offer her a very personal romantic lead role. (978-1-63555-087-0)
Strike a Match by Fiona Riley. When their attempts at matchmaking fizzle out, firefighter Sasha and reluctant millionairess Abby find themselves turning to each other to strike a perfect match. (978-1-62639-999-0)
The Price of Cash by Ashley Bartlett. Cash Braddock is doing her best to keep her business afloat, stay out of jail, and avoid Detective Kallen. It’s not working. (978-1-62639-708-8)
Captured Soul by Laydin Michaels. Can Kadence Munroe save the woman she loves from a twisted killer, or will she lose her to a collector of souls? (978-1-62639-915-0)
Under Her Wing by Ronica Black. At Angel’s Wings Rescue, dogs are usually the ones saved, but when quiet Kassandra Haden meets outspoken owner Jayden Beaumont, the two stubborn women just might end up saving each other. (978-1-63555-077-1)