by B. G. Thomas
“Voodoo?” he asked.
“People getting their hearts cut out…?”
Then he remembered. “Oh yeah.” God yeah…. “But didn’t it turn out to be some kind of Christian fanatic?”
“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t real,” she replied.
“What do you mean real?” Shane asked.
“Voodoo spirits. Vodou spirits….”
Adam looked at his sister in surprise. “Spirits?” What the hell…?
Shane put a hand on his arm.
Listen to her.
Inside Adam’s head.
Sometimes he could still hear his Shane’s thoughts. Sometimes Shane could hear his. Especially when he’d been drinking a bit. When doubts and reason could be cast aside—because even after all he’d been through, there was still that part of him that wanted to shout, “This isn’t real!”
I love you.
He looked at Shane and felt a delightful tingle.
I love you, he thought back.
Shane smiled.
Adam turned back to his sister. Yeah, okay…. “Stranger things?”
She lifted one of those perfect eyebrows.
“It all started when I met this reporter named Taylor Dunton and Myles, a vodou houngan….”
Stranger things….
39
HIGH ABOVE them, the alien Greys waited.
And watched.
And learned.
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
MY THREE “paranormal” romance novellas, Uninvited, Unfinished Business, and Unusual Attention, were originally written for the anthology series Gothika. I was blown away when I was asked to participate, because I would join such wonderful authors as Eli Easton, Kim Fielding, Sue Brown, Jamie Fessenden, and later, F.E. Feeley, Jr., for this amazing project. And I was just as crushed when the volumes went out of print.
But then Elizabeth North gave me an amazing opportunity to have my stories published as standalones! What’s more, I’m a better developed writer today, and I was able to brush them up and even expand a bit on some of the concepts, especially here in Unusual Attention.
I hope you enjoyed this book and hopefully the other two stories as well! If you liked them even half as much as I enjoyed writing them, then my job has been joyfully done!
I want to give special thanks to a number of people.
To Jamie Fessenden for getting me involved in the first place. And to Eli and Kim for welcoming me in. It was a dream come true.
To Lynn West for helping me with the “Un.”
To Andi Byassee for the major fix she did!
To Scottie, Paul, Cammie, and Jamie for baseball stuff.
To Chrissy, and my husband Noah for research… geez, do you guys ever get tired?
To Paulie for urging, rooting, and cheerleading me on… and never stopping. I miss you so much.
To Mary Minden—Oh my God, you were invaluable! Thank you for letting me into your home and confidence. I hope I did you justice.
And to my husband Raymond—of course—who puts up with so much so I can do what I love, what I was meant to do.
And to anyone else I’ve forgotten on this late night.
You all are my family.
Oh! And to Betty, Barney, Kathleen, Whitley, Travis, Charles, Casey, Mark, Vickie, Colby, Allen, and so many more. You lived it. I really think it’s very possible you did.
More from B.G. Thomas
When a hot tip leads Kansas City reporter Taylor Dunton to a series of grisly murders, his investigation points to Myles Parry and his vodou shop. Myles wants nothing more than to practice his religion in peace, and he hopes Taylor can help him show the community they have nothing to fear. The problem is all the clues point to Myles as the suspect and only Taylor can help him prove his innocence. However, this case has also caught the attention of the vodou spirits of the Lwa... and they’ve taken an interest in Taylor as well.
Originally published as part of Bones (Gothika #2).
Mike Ellsworth was alive and well one minute, and dead the next. Only he’s not really dead—he’s a ghost. One with lots of unfinished business. He’s never told his wife that he has come to accept that he’s gay. He’s never told her that he has a secret lover. He’s never been able to tell his lover that he is in love with him. Now there’s nothing Mike can do about it. And that’s only the beginning! He soon finds out he can help other ghosts leave the spirit world and step into the light. So what’s keeping him stuck on earth? If only there were a way he could make up for all he’s done wrong, and finally do what’s truly right. And maybe, just maybe, there is.
Originally published in Spirit (Gothika #4) in October 2015.
A Small-Town Dreams Story
Prince Charming is the man next door.
Small-town business owner Jason Brewster has big dreams: world travel, adventure, and most of all, a passionate romance worthy of a fairy tale. But he doesn’t believe fantasies can come true….
Until Adam moves in next door.
He’s handsome, cultured, European, and best of all, interested in Jason. It’s like something out of the stories Jason loves.
But Adam—whose real name is Amadeo Montefalcone—has a secret. He’s royalty, prince of the small country of Monterosia. Only he doesn’t want to rule, and especially doesn’t want the loveless marriage waiting for him at home. So he ran away in search of true love. With a man. And with Jason, he finds it.
But Adam can’t run forever. The truth will come out. If Jason can forgive Adam’s deception, they might find their happily ever after.
Frank Sinclair believes only in the visceral, the real, what he can touch and taste. After all, his mother left him when he was five years old, so how can love exist? His next sexual conquest is what makes his world go around, not romance and happily ever after. The hot guy he sees working along the highway in an orange jumpsuit fuels his bad-boy fantasies. Coincidentally, the guy shows up at the gas station across the street from his apartment building, and you can bet he’s going to take his shot.
Roy Ingalls is his bad-boy parolee in orange, and he’s ready and oh-so-willing to be Frank’s next conquest. But Roy isn’t quite the bad boy he seems—deep down he’s sweet, naïve… and the most intoxicating man Frank has ever met.
The sex is the best of their lives, but can a man who mistrusts love and another who isn’t ready to admit he’s actually gay ever move beyond friends with benefits?
To overcome the bad ending of a relationship, Charlie Brooks and a friend plan to decorate his home for the holidays—including elaborate table settings like those made by local ceramicist Tory Phillips. The pieces are exquisite, but Charlie’s on a budget. So Tory convinces him to take his classes and try his hand at making his own dishes for the dinner party Charlie dreams of hosting. As they work together, they grow closer, and the fantasy gathering feels less important than what’s happening between them. When the big day arrives, it might be more magical than Charlie ever imagined.
B.G. THOMAS lives in Kansas City with his two husbands—which yes, is different, but amazingly rewarding and wonderfully romantic. They have two sweet rescue dogs named Oliver (who the breed name Dorkie applies perfectly) and Frodo (who is just learning to be a dog). He is missing his soul dog Sarah Jane very much, but she will live on forever in several of his books and in his heart. He is also blessed to have a lovely daughter and they love to hang out.
B.G. loves to read romance, comedy, fantasy, thrillers, mystery, science fiction, and even horror—as far as he is concerned, as long as the stories are character driven and entertaining, it doesn’t matter the genre. He has gone to literature conventions his entire adult life, where he’s been lucky enough to meet many of his favorite writers. He has made up stories since he was a child; it’s where he finds his joy.
In the nineties, he wrote for gay adult magazines but stopped because the editors wanted all sex without plot, and edited his setups right out. “The sex is never as important as the characters,” he sa
ys. “Who cares what they are doing if we don’t care about them?” Excited about the growing male/male romance market—where setup and cute meets is where it’s at—he began writing again. He submitted a novella and was thrilled when it was accepted in four days. Since then the romantic tales have poured out of him. “It’s like I’m somehow making up for a lifetime’s worth of story-telling!”
“Leap, and the net will appear” is his personal philosophy and his message. “It is never too late,” he testifies. “Pursue your dreams. They will come true!”
You can read about whatever he’s working on right now or whatever he’s rambling on about at his website/blog at: bthomaswriter.wordpress.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bgthomaswriter
Twitter: twitter.com/BGThomasBooks
He is always happy to hear from his readers!
By B.G. Thomas
All Alone in a Sea of Romance
All Snug
The Beary Best Holiday Party Ever
Bianca’s Plan
Blue
The Boy Who Came In From the Cold • Anything Could Happen
Christmas Cole
Christmas Wish
Derek
Desert Crossing • A Different Perspective
Do You Trust Me?
Grumble Monkey and the Department Store Elf
Hound Dog and Bean
How Could Love Be Wrong?
It Had to Be You
Just Guys
With Noah Willoughby: Mele Kilikimaka
A More Perfect Union
New Lease
Orange
The Real Thing
Red
A Secret Valentine
Setting for Eight, Dinner for Two
Sometimes the Best Presents Can’t Be Wrapped
Soul of the Mummy
Unfinished Business
Unusual Attraction
Uninvited
DREAMSPUN DESIRES
GETTING HIS MAN
Getting His Man
SMALL-TOWN DREAMS
The Nerd and the Prince
SEASONS OF LOVE
Spring Affair
Summer Lover
Autumn Changes
Winter Heart
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Unusual Attention
© 2020 B.G. Thomas
Cover Art
© 2020 Paul Richmond
http://www.paulrichmondstudio.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64405-869-5
Digital published August 2020
First Edition
v. 1.0
Originally published by Dreamspinner Press in the Contact (Gothika #5) anthology, October 2016.
Printed in the United States of America