by Nina Pierce
Since Ronan had known the true impetus behind the grant money, it had galled him to do the interview. Undercover as a grad student working in the chemistry department, he’d been the one traipsing through the pig muck at Glenn’s farm with a cameraman, while Glenn’s business partner, Associate Professor Alexandra Flanagan had been interviewed in the comfort of her office at the university.
“That pig research may just save your life,” Ronan shot back.
“As a vegetarian, I suspect that research will simply waste needed university funds and will be as useless as the pigs themselves.” Hope set down her glass with a bang, spilling some of the drink over her hand. “Aww, jees, Glenn I’m sorry about that. I know your pigs are important to you. I didn’t mean—”
“No offense taken.”
“But your pigs. I—”
Glenn pulled the towel off his shoulder and wiped up the mess. “Don’t you worry, Hope. Takes a lot to insult me.”
“No doubt Glenn’s very adept at dealing with rude drunks.” Ronan swirled the wine in his glass, inhaling its aroma before sipping from the glass and savoring the dark liquid.
Hope spoke through gritted teeth. “Ronan, I don’t need to go a round with you. I just came in for a quiet drink and some face time with Alex.”
“Someone call my name?”
Glenn watched the co-owner of O’Malley’s sneak in from the kitchen as if she could hide her arrival from him. Though Alexandra Flanagan hadn’t told him specifically where she was headed when she’d dropped her apron under the bar and gathered her purse, she’d said she wouldn’t be long. Three hours was longer than it took to run a typical Thursday night errand. Whatever the hell that might be.
“Evening, Alex. You working the kitchen tonight?” Ronan asked.
“Yeah, something like that.” Alex smiled apologetically at Glenn.
Their short order cook, Chris Dillon, had left unexpectedly an hour before Alex, leaving him to finish the evening by himself. Not that it was a problem for Glenn, but their behavior was just a little suspect.
“Chris have the night off?” Hope asked.
“He went home sick,” Alex replied. “Can I get anyone anything?”
Ronan finished his wine in one swallow. “How about another glass of your finest?” The way his eyes followed the woman with the Irish pixie features, Glenn had no illusions the man’s nightly visits had anything to do with the wine they served.
“The usual Merlot?” Alex asked, slipping in behind the bar.
“Nothing like a local California wine and a beautiful lassie to end a perfect evening,” Ronan replied.
Glenn didn’t miss the wink Ronan shot Alex as she uncorked the bottle and overfilled his glass. Though the two vampires worked together at the university and were decades older than their twenty-something appearance—infancy in the grand scheme of immortality—Glenn hoped nothing would ever develop between them.
Ronan had shown up in South Kenton six months ago with the lush winds of spring as part of the solution to Glenn’s very desperate plea to the vampire tribunal. He would be here only as long as it took to discover the reason behind the recent rash of vampire murders and then he’d move on to the next place where vampires threatened either humans or their own species.
Alex had become part of his family a decade after Glenn had settled in this Northern California mountain town forty years ago. She’d found her way to him, a stray in need of saving. Glenn had made it his personal mission, nearly a century ago, to help new vampires find their way in the mortal world. His reputation had spread and now, countless numbers of young vamps came to him. Drawn by word of mouth, they sought explanations, training and—if possible—redemption.
Every single one of those he’d saved over the years hummed softly in the background of his consciousness, permanently connected to the very heart of his being. Some, like Alex, were closer to the surface. Until recently, her internal monologue was as much a part of him as his own thoughts. Tired of his presence in her head, she’d managed to block him. Glenn shouldn’t miss her quiet whispers, but after thirty years of listening to her dreams and fears, the silence was deafening.
Like so many of his protégés, Alex had lost her mortal family. Her parents believed she’d died the night of the vampire attack thirty years ago. But Glenn’s blood and tender care had brought her from the brink of death into the world of immortality. It had taken nearly three years for her to swim out of the sorrow of losing her former life. Glenn had broken his own codes, allowing her to live with him until she’d become secure in her new life. By then, she was working with him and they’d slipped into a comfortable life running the tavern. In the decade that followed, Alex had received her PhD in chemistry, taken the job at the university and somewhere along the road, crawled under his skin and burrowed her way into his heart. He loved her like a daughter.
But there was just something a little off about the way she’d been acting recently. Alex stacked glasses in the dish bin beneath the bar while Glenn absently polished its surface, wishing she trusted him enough to share what was really going on.
“I’m surprised to see you here tonight, Hope. What’s up?” Alex stifled a yawn.
“Boredom. There are only so many re-runs a girl can watch before being driven insane.”
“Twasn’t a long drive,” Ronan muttered.
Hope ignored the comment or, more likely, her human ears didn’t hear the insult. “Josh is working tonight and I’ve got tomorrow off. I get to cover the Harvest Hoe Down on Saturday.” She saluted with her glass. “Yay, me” Hope took a long pull of her drink. “Anyway, I walked over and thought I’d hang while you closed down the bar. I’m hoping to catch a ride home.”
“Tonight?” Alex pressed a hand to her stomach.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t expect you to have plans. My bad,” Hope said.
“No, I didn’t mean that.” Alex pasted on an overly cheerful smile and swallowed hard.
Without the ability to hear her thoughts, Glenn didn’t know if it was guilt or sickness clogging her throat. But now that he looked closely, Alex didn’t look well. He wondered if the disappearing acts over the last couple of months had anything to do with the recent weight loss she refused to discuss.
“Of course I can take you home.” Alex grabbed the overflowing bucket of dishes. “I just need to get these done.”
Hope picked up her drink and jumped off the stool. “Why don’t I join you? It suddenly got downright cold sitting here.” She aimed her last statement at Ronan.
“And unexpectedly crowded,” Ronan responded, sipping thoughtfully at his wine.
Alex rolled her eyes, but made no comment at their antagonistic banter. “I’d love your help, Hope.” Alex stifled another yawn into her shoulder as she started past Glenn.
“If you weren’t feeling well, you didn’t need to come back,” he said so only she could hear. “It wasn’t like I couldn’t handle the raucous crowd alone.” He shot a look over his shoulder at Ronan and the other two customers sitting at the bar nursing their drinks.
“I know you could. But I felt bad leaving right after Chris.” Alex’s hair bounced around her chin as she tried to add enthusiasm to her voice. “It’s just that I needed to run an important errand that couldn’t wait.”
“I know what you told me, child. But I have eyes, don’t I? You’re dragging around here like you haven’t been feeding enough.”
Alex propped the dish bucket on her hip and reached up to caress his cheek. “I appreciate that you worry about me, Glenn, but really, I’m fine. I just had something that needed to be done tonight. I couldn’t put it off. It’s done now. I told you I’d be back and now I’m here.”
“Well, at least leave the dishes and take Hope home. With all that’s been going on in town, I don’t want her walking home alone tonight.”
“Fine, but you can’t keep me from coming back and helping you close up.”
Before he could argue, Alex disappeared through the kitchen do
or Hope held open.
“What was all that about?” Hope asked as the door flipped closed behind them.
“You know Glenn. He worries too much.” Alex set the bucket of dishes in the sink and turned on the faucet, relieved to be away from Glenn’s scrutiny. She’d heard the faded sound of his concerned thoughts and had shored up her mental blocks. His suspicious gaze had searched her face seeking the truth. Perhaps remorse had her misreading his furrowed brow. It was probably nothing more than concern puckering his wise expression and pursing his lips, but the intensity sparking in the ancient vampire’s eyes had churned the guilt in her belly. Alex hated being so duplicitous, even if she did it to protect Glenn.
“Yeah, well you don’t look like you’re feeling so good.” Hope dragged a chair from the corner and settled at the butcher block island in the middle of the kitchen. “You’ve been losing weight.”
Alex had felt an instant connection with this woman a year ago when the human had started dating Josh and coming into the tavern with the firemen. After thirty years of being immortal, it felt good to make a true connection with the normal life that had been ripped from her. “Don’t you start on me, Hope Grayson.”
“I’m just saying. You’ve been moping around the last few weeks like somebody ran over your dog.”
“Don’t be so melodramatic.” Alex added soap to the bin and let the suds overflow the dishes. “I don’t even own a dog.”
Hope drained her martini. “Figure of speech, my dear. Figure of speech. My point is you look like shit. Your eyes are carrying more bags than the Duchess of Cambridge on a three day press junket. And your hair? Well let’s just say I’ve seen straw with a smoother texture.”
Alex hadn’t noticed until this moment how the words slurred from Hope’s lips. She laughed, trying to make light of the brutal truth of her best friend’s assessment. “How many drinks have you had?”
“Three. But don’t change the subject. What’s going on with you? I’m a reporter. I smell a story.”
Alex couldn’t tell Hope the truth. There were just too many things the woman wouldn’t understand about how the exhaustion weighing down Alex’s limbs went against her very nature. Bone-weary and barely able to pull herself through her days, Alex hoped she would soon be on the road to feeling like the person she hadn’t been in many decades. But there was no way to explain any of that to Hope without exposing a world that existed only in the woman’s nightmares.
Trying to lighten the mood, Alex forced another laugh. “What you smell, Miss Hope, is the alcohol stewing your brain.” She dried her hands on her apron, untied it and threw it on the sideboard. “I’ll leave those to soak. We need to get you home.”
Hope stood and hugged her tightly. “And you my dear friend need to get some sleep. I don’t like seeing you this way.”
“You’re as bad as Glenn. You both worry too much. I’m fine.”
Hope held her at arm’s length, her gaze scouring her face, but Alex refused to break. The woman could tell she was lying. Alex could see the disappointment in the way she shrugged and headed out the kitchen door. Like Glenn, Hope had too much respect for her privacy to call Alex on her obvious lies. Guilt knotted hard in her gut, making her queasy, but Alex had no choice in the matter.
No one—least of all an honorable vampire like Glenn or an innocent human like Hope—needed to know her whereabouts this night.
End of Excerpt
To My Readers
Writing is a solitary exercise with many hours spent sitting at a computer developing, editing and refining every word to create stories that keep you up late into the night or burning dinner because you just need to read another page, another scene, another chapter. And as much as I enjoy the process, it would all be worthless if it weren’t for you, my readers.
Thank you for buying my book. It means the world to me. If you enjoyed Garden of Serenity, I would appreciate it if you would help others enjoy this book, too.
Recommend it. Please help other readers find this book by tweeting or facebooking about it or recommending it to friends, readers’ groups and discussion boards.
Review it. Please tell other readers why you liked this book by reviewing it at one of the following websites: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo or Goodreads.
You are, as always, the reason I keep writing. Thank you.
Until the next time,
Nina
Author’s Bio:
USA Today bestselling author, Nina Pierce, grew up in a house full of readers. So becoming enamored with books was only natural. She discovered romance stories in her early teens, falling hopelessly in love with knights in shining armor and the damsels who saved them.
Eventually, reading about fated loves and soul mates wasn’t enough. She now spends her days at the keyboard writing her own stories, blissfully creating chaos for her characters by throwing in a villain or two, a little murder and a whole lot of mayhem as they struggle toward their happy-ever-afters.
Nina resides in New England with her high school sweetheart and soul mate of nearly forty years and several very spoiled cats who consider her “staff”. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her three grown children, one love-sick son-in-law and a heart-melting grandson.
Nina enjoys hearing from her readers. You can reach her at [email protected]. You can also keep up with all her newest releases on her website or by following her on Twitter and Facebook.
~ Other books by Nina Pierce ~
In His Eyes
Dangerous Affairs
Blind Her With Bliss
Deceive Her With Desire
Cheat Her With Charm
A Touch of Lilly
Shadows of Fire
Maid for Master
Invitation to Ecstasy
Bonded Souls
Bonded by Need
Mating Bonds
Shifting Bonds
Divine Deception
Killer Romances Boxed Set
What to Read After FSOG Boxed Set #2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Excerpt
Thank you to my Readers
Dedication
Book Cover Blurb
Author’s Bio
Other Books by Nina Pierce