by Xana Jordan
“Huh? Oh, yeah. You’d think they’d never met before.”
“That’s right. I always forget they’re about the same age. He sure doesn’t act like it. He’s too serious all the time,” frowning at that thought, I shake my head remembering all the times he’s acted like a grandpa to me and Xana. Hell, even Papaw isn’t always that serious.
“No kidding, I don’t see how Xana puts up with him, much less Noel. Glad he’s not my problem, though,” he laughs and leans back into the sofa. “Come ‘ere.”
I willingly let him pull me into his lap, cradling me to his warm chest. We’re alone in the house, our friends out doing their own thing, and it’s been amazing. The dorms are never this peaceful. I could stay like this forever. “Did you just need a cuddle?” I giggle as he tickles my ribs gently.
“Maybe. Got a problem with that.” he chuckles, tickling me a bit more as I squirm away from his hands.
“No! No! Stop, I like cuddles,” I beg through my laughter.
Releasing me from his playful torture, he holds my face still to look at me. “I’ve missed hearing that laugh.” Calloused thumbs run across my cheeks as he peers into my eyes, making my breath stutter.
“What laugh is that.” my words a small, airy sound as I speak.
“The laugh that is happy, carefree, full of life. The laugh that makes me smile. It’s been gone for awhile. Too long.” His soulful words make my heart beat faster, flushing my face. I can feel it.
“Such sweet words for such a bossy guy,” I tease, skimming my fingers over his forehead, to tangle in the hair on his nape, stilling there. He’s about due for a haircut, but I love it like this. Easier to hold on to.
Resting his palms on my legging-clad hips, his lips caress mine with gentle kisses, coaxing me to open for him, and I comply. He tastes of mint, pizza, and tea, everything swirling together so that I can’t get enough of it. Dragging his tongue between my teeth, I release it with a nip to end the kiss, our breathing more intense than before.
“I’m bossy. You’re challenging. That’s just how we fit. The way we’re supposed to be.” His serious tone, steady and low, completely melting me from the inside out. How’d I get so lucky?
“Supposed to be, huh? You’re so sure about that?” I can’t help but egg him on. I love it when he waxes poetically for me, as much as he is capable of with his natural knack for sarcasm.
“Absolutely. We’ve been through a lot already, worked through it together. There’s going to be more to work out, but if we work as one we’ll make it through to the other side.”
“You sound so optimistic.” I can’t help but sound a little skeptical about his declarations.
“Stop denying what we have, babe. It’s not our time, yet, but it will be. We have plenty of time to get there. We’re stronger together.” Forehead leaning against mine, a soft kiss presses to my lips.
“The two of us. Are you sure you want to put up with all my crazy?” I half-smile, part of me just joking, and part still a little worried he’ll see he’s getting more than he bargained for and decide it’s too much and leave.
“My crazy needs your crazy, remember?”
“I remember,” my voice cracking on the last syllable.
“Good. Don’t forget it. We’re going to take it one step at a time with everything else. School. Jobs. Us. On our own time schedule, so just let go and grow with me.” Sincerity oozes from his speech and I’m helpless to deny him anything.
“I really love you. You’re inside every part of me, Cade, and I wouldn’t be the whole me without you.”
After the altercation with my sperm donor, Cade talked me into telling his parents about it so we could get their help in getting protection from that ever happening again. I could no longer put it off, and truthfully, I was ready to put everything behind me and move forward. We were able to get an Order of Protection against him, and I can’t express how relieved it makes me feel. My nightmares are almost non-existent, Cade dealing with him, and my attackers being behind bars greatly adding to that fact. When I do wake up, I’m able to separate myself from the dream and fall back asleep, for the most part. I almost feel normal.
Gentle hands brush away my hair to behind my ears, tucking them securely in place. “It’s the same for me.”
Overcome with emotion, I lean in, showing him with my actions, just how much he means to me. His words hit straight to my heart, the heart he helped mend, I’ve never felt so secure, content, or happy in my life. Loved.
I can’t wait to start the next phase of our journey. Together.
Wildcat Graduates Series
LOVING NOEL, Book 1 ~ www.amzn.com/B01LRN7IBW
CLAIMING XANA, Book 2 ~ www.amzn.com/B06XWVPV1W
CATCHING MALLORY, Book 2.5 (Novella 1)
www.amzn.com/B071G2CX74
ENTRUSTING CADE, Book 3
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36209386-entrusting-cade?from_search=true
SWITCHING DILLON, Book 3.5 (Novella 2) (Tentative Title)
Winter 2017/Spring 2018
Winter Haven Series with Michelle Rene (https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMichelleRene)
NIXON ~ www.amzn.com/B071ZHRVDM
LYNDON ~ Spring 2018
HAYES ~ Fall 2018
PIERCE ~ TBD
Enjoy this excerpt of Loving Noel!
We had our first high school band practice of the summer today. Cade and I had only thought the junior high band was big. Having both junior highs combined into one high school band was amazing. The sound was louder and bolder, and the marching more intense. I loved it.
The other amazing thing was seeing her. Xana Bradford. She’s a sophomore who plays the French horn, and is the most breathtakingly beautiful girl I have ever seen. She has the most captivating blue eyes, and long strawberry-blonde hair that frames her face in wild, sexy waves. Since I stand at nearly six feet tall, she is a lot shorter than me, the top of her head not reaching my chin. The way she smiled at me when I was introduced in our sectionals, made my breath hitch, and I almost forgot to say hello. I was never more grateful to play a brass instrument in my life, since it let us be in the same section.
She was very shy and didn’t talk a great deal, but she laughed a lot at Cade’s jokes. I can still hear her laugh in my head. It’s hard not to smile when she laughs, because her whole face lights up, showing her happiness.
She’s a year ahead of me, but since I barely missed the cut-off for pre-K enrollment, we’re not that far apart, age-wise. I found out she’s really only a few months older than me, so that was a nice surprise.
Today, we mainly practiced marching skills, and then broke into sections to work on the show music for our performance. The members in our section, brass instruments, are really funny. They were always making fun of each other and telling lame jokes. I’m not sure how we got any practicing done.
After we were through for the day, several people lingered around the band hall and parking lot, catching up with friends about what they did over the summer. Xana and her friend, Stacy, were talking to a few of the upper classmen woodwind players, so Cade and I decided to go over and join them. Cade saw how fascinated I was with Xana in sectionals, and was more than happy to help me out, but I really think her short, sassy, little blonde friend was what really caught his attention. She really is a spitfire and seems to love giving Cade a hard time. I’ve never seen him quite so frustrated and enthralled all at the same time.
I always love it when summer band starts. We usually begin about two weeks before school, learning new music and marching drills for the upcoming season’s performances. It’s a great time to get caught up with friends we haven’t seen all summer before the demands of classes and teachers take over.
Today was our first day of band practice, and it did not disappoint. We have some amazing music to learn, and the drills will look really amazing if we can get them down. Everyone in band wants to be here, and we all have a lot of fun together. I think that’s what I love about it most.
We all truly appreciate music, and have some very talented and accomplished musicians in band. They always amaze me with everything they do.
Meeting the new freshmen is something we all look forward to. The seniors love to lord their seniority over them, and the rest of us are just thankful it’s not us any longer. Fortunately, our section leaders were never really cruel, and the freshmen we had playing brass today fit in pretty well with all of us, even him, Noel Daniels.
Noel Daniels is a freshman who plays baritone and has the looks of a Viking God. I swear he has to be six feet of toned, rugged handsomeness. He’s so gorgeous he makes me forget to breathe. He has this really thick blonde hair that my fingers are begging to run through, bright green eyes that make you feel like you could get lost in them for hours, and a smile that makes me forget to speak, when I am lucky enough to receive one.
As much as I seem to be attracted to him, I know there will never been anything more between us than friends. I’ve seen the way every girl in band tries to get his attention, and that was fine with me. After everything that happened in junior high a couple of years ago, I’m not interested in a relationship with a guy at all. It’s just too much drama.
Fortunately, almost everyone from my junior high seems to have forgotten about what happened to me, but having the cutest guy in school pretend to date you while he only wanted to embarrass you in front of his friends, kinda makes a girl a little jaded about dating anyone else. That was the worst three months of my life, and I swore I would never let that happen to me again. Even for Noel.
Enjoy this excerpt from NIXON
By Xana Jordan & Michelle Rene
Chapter 1
NIXON
It was only a week ago when I got the call from my mother telling me to round up my siblings and head back to the family resort in Colorado. Grandfather had suffered a minor stroke and was now unable to run the resort like he used to. Ma and Grandmother couldn’t do it by themselves, even with experienced help. Since I was the oldest of the four of us, I was responsible for gathering the troops. It was time for us to step up to the plate, do what we have been training to do and take our place at Winter Haven. So here I am, sitting in my Jeep in front of the place I grew up, amazed that I’ve been away from here for so long. I guess it’s time to go inside.
My parents got married very young and moved away from here not long after I was born, so my father could continue his career on Wall Street. They stayed there and raised the four of us until Ma packed us all up and moved us to Colorado to live with her parents and help them run the lodge. She always told us how much she loved the serenity and peacefulness only found in the Colorado Rockies. I suppose she decided she missed it too much and couldn’t stay in New York with Dad any longer. Looking out from my grandparents’ front porch, I can totally understand how she felt about this place.
Ma finds me leaning on the railing of the porch, watching the sunset in the mountains. She walks to my side and looks at the spectacular view with me.
“It never gets old, does it?” she asks me as she leans her head against my shoulder.
“No, Ma, it never does. How have I stayed away for so long?” I ask her, and lean my cheek against the top of her head.
“You’ve been very busy, son. You have had a lot on your plate to deal with, and I’m very proud of the way you’ve handled yourself.” Ma looks up at me and pats my cheek. Even at twenty-seven years old, hearing her say she’s proud of me makes me feel ten feet tall.
“Thanks, Ma.” I place my arm around her shoulders and kiss her temple.
“Let’s get you inside and get you fed. Your grandmother’s been waiting all day to see you.” Ma ushers me inside and to the kitchen where Grandmother and Granddad are waiting for me at the kitchen table.
My brothers, sister, and I liked living in New York, but we never really felt at home until we moved here. I, along with Hayes and Pierce, at twelve and ten, took to the mountains like we were born here. We took advantage of everything the mountains had to offer, like skiing, hiking, mountain biking, and even rock climbing. I suppose you can say the mountains are in our blood.
Our sister, Lyndon, who was seven, wasn’t quite as adventurous as we were. She could always be found with Grandmother in the kitchen. Lyndon was fascinated with Grandmother’s cooking and baking. She’s been quite the little chef and baker ever since.
“Nixon! I’m so glad you’re here, darling. We’ve missed you. Haven’t we, Quincy?” Grandmother wraps me in a hug as I bend down to kiss her cheek. I pull back and shake the hand Granddad extends, giving him a one-handed hug and clap on the back.
“Yes, we have, Catherine,” Granddad agrees, his words slightly halted. He seems to be doing well enough after the stroke. “Good to see you, boy.” Granddad smiles at me, then to my ma.
“It’s good to be home, Sir,” I reply as I take the seat next to him.
Ma and Grandmother bring a few dishes to the table and we all settle in for supper. Ma and Grandmother catch me up on all of the changes that have happened in the town over the past few years, new businesses opening and old ones closing, and how it’s affected the resort.
After supper, I help Granddad to the living room and get him settled on the couch before insisting that Grandmother sit with him and let me and Ma take care of cleaning up the kitchen. It didn’t take us long to clean up since Grandmother always keeps an immaculate kitchen. I’d say she could give Gordon Ramsay a run for his money in that area.
Sitting down on the couch with Ma, I tell them when everyone will arrive. “Hayes and Pierce will be here tomorrow afternoon, and Lyndon will be here later tomorrow night. With finishing up at the restaurant and getting her things taken care of, she couldn’t get an earlier flight out of Paris.”
“That sounds excellent, dear,” Grandmother tells me and pats Granddad on his hand, as Ma agrees.
“Yes, that will give me time to meet with the staff in the morning to let them know what will be happening next week. Since it’ll be Friday, that will give everyone a chance to settle in before tackling things head-on on Monday.” Granddad nods his head in agreement.
“Yes, it will give me a chance to catch up with my amazing grandchildren,” Grandmother says lovingly.
“Well, I’d better hit the hay. I’ve driven all day, and am exhausted. I’m sure when Hayes and Pierce get here they’ll want to go for a hike, and they won’t be tired.” I kiss Ma and my grandparents goodnight before grabbing my bags out of the Jeep and going to bed.
Chapter 2
KENNEDY
“Good morning, Jenna.”
“Oh, good morning, Kennedy,” she replies brightly. “I was just writing you a note. Mrs. Buchanan stopped by, there’s an emergency staff meeting this morning at nine thirty.”
I smile as I take the cupcake shaped sticky note from her. Jenna and her notes, if she had her way, my entire schedule board would be covered in them. “Hmm, wonder what the emergency is?” I wonder aloud.
“Not sure, she just asked me to tell you,” she says, answering my rhetorical question.
“Thanks, Jenna. I’ll put my things away and then head up there. Call me if you need me.”
“Will do,” she replies as she goes back to preparing next week’s schedule.
Ski season will be here soon, so hopefully this is just a “pep talk” of sorts to get everyone ready. Being the lead ski instructor at one of the state’s most family friendly resorts is a dream come true. I’ve always been an outdoorsy girl, some may even call me a tomboy, but when you live in a place like Colorado, surrounded by hiking trails and ski slopes, why on Earth would you want to stay inside? I learned to ski as a child. Skiing opened my world, and gave me a freedom I had never experienced before. Once I felt that wind in my face the first time, there was no stopping me.
Stepping into the dining hall, where all staff meetings are held, I see several of the employees already seated. I walk over to the table that holds an array of breakfast items, including coffee and juice
. Pouring myself a steaming cup of coffee, I add some cream, select a cranberry nut muffin and a banana before taking a seat.
As much as I love being outside, being inside the lodge always makes me feel as if I am wrapped in the warmest blanket. All the rich, dark wood, and massive stone fireplace just radiate warmth. Just like the family that runs it. Winter Haven Ski Lodge was started by Rufus and Daisye Hayes, who passed it down to their son, Quincy.
Quincy and Catherine Hayes’ vision of giving their daughter and her friends something to do in the small town of Jefferson Colorado, has helped grow this place into one of the most visited resorts in the state, and is now called Winter Haven Ski Lodge and Mountain Resort. Today, the Hayes’ are still very hands on, but most of the business is run by their daughter Marilynn Buchanan. They truly know how to treat their employees, and in turn are given the respect they deserve. I couldn’t ask for a better place to work.
Just as I finish the last bite of my muffin, Marilynn Buchanan steps into the room. Wearing the standard long sleeve Henley, emblazoned with the resort logo, jeans, and hiking boots, she looks like all the other employees. She’s very attractive. Her short dark hair, is beginning to show some gray. She is in fantastic shape, and by looking at her you would never guess she has four children.
Smiling she makes eye contact with each employee, as she looks around the room, and says, “Thank you all for coming on such short notice. As you all know, my father suffered a stroke several weeks ago, and while he is doing well and is at home now, he still needs twenty-four hour care for the time being. With that being said, I wanted to let you know of several changes that will be taking place. Due to his health, my father and mother will not be as hands on as they have been in the past. They will still be involved in any decisions that need to be made, and you may see them around from time to time. I will remain in my current position, and available to each of you, should you have any questions or concerns.”