Jesse’s Hideout
Tillie Hamilton is the latest person to use her 180-year-old house in rural Kentucky as a hideout—taking her cue from the infamous outlaw Jesse James who frequented the place. The house she converted into a bed and breakfast is the only sanctuary she’s known, ever since the old woman she inherited it from rescued her from neglect as a small child.
However, sparks fly when her benefactor’s handsome grandson, Greg Buchanan, accuses Tillie of exploiting his grandmother’s memory for her own ends by claiming Gram haunts the inn.
While reading his grandmother’s private journals, Greg learned Jesse James returned to this house in the 1930s, half a century after historians believed he’d been shot dead. Vowing to debunk the charlatan’s claims of ghosts and to prove his grandmother correct, Greg quickly discovers the charming Tillie is not at all what he expected. Embarrassed to admit he’s another of the conspiracy theorists she scoffs at, he hides his secondary reason for showing up at her B&B.
Yet his attraction to Tillie keeps him torn between setting history right and forging a new history of his own in Tillie’s arms. Tensions mount, leaving his grandmother’s spirit to think her dying wish—something she’s wanted since Tillie and Greg were children—may never come true.
Can Gram and Jesse make the two lonely overachievers see they belong in each other’s arms before time runs out for them to seize this opportunity?
Jesse’s Hideout
Kallypso Masters
Copyright © 2017
Ka-thunk! Publishing
Jesse’s Hideout
Kallypso Masters
Copyright © 2017
Ka-thunk! Publishing
Kobo Edition
E-book ISBN: 978-1941060278
Paperback ISBN: 978-1941060285
Original e-book version: March 28, 2017
Original print version: March 31, 2017
Last revised for e-book and print: April 15, 2017
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Developmental Edits by Meredith Bowery and Dana Delamar
Content Edits by Ekatarina Sayanova
Line Edits by Jacy Mackin
Proofread by Laura Combs, Annette Elens, Barb Jack, Eva Meyers, and Christine Sullivan Mulcair
Cover design by Linda Kuhlmann of lindakuhlmann2trees.com
Cover photos—Couple photo by Dreamstime; House photo by Kallypso Masters
Cover photos graphically altered by Linda Kuhlmann
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Thank you for downloading this e-book. Please be aware that this e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be reproduced, uploaded to share on Web sites, e-mailed, or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author, Kallypso Masters, at [email protected] or PO Box 1183, Richmond, KY 40476-1183, or within the sharing guidelines at a legitimate library or bookseller’s lending programs.
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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons—living or dead—or fictionalized places, events, or locales is purely accidental. The characters are reproductions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
To discover more about this book and others, see the Other Books By Kallypso Masters section at the end of this book. For more about Kallypso Masters, please go to the About the Author section.
Books by Kallypso Masters
Rescue Me Saga
The first seven titles in the Erotic Romance Rescue Me Saga are available in the following six books in e-book and print formats:
Masters at Arms & Nobody’s Angel (Combined Volume)
Nobody’s Hero
Nobody’s Perfect
Somebody’s Angel
Nobody’s Lost
Nobody’s Dream
Rescue Me Saga Extras
This will be a series for hot, fun, short updates with beloved couples from the Rescue Me Saga.
Western Dreams (Rescue Me Saga Extras #1)
(New scenes with Megan & Ryder and Cassie & Luke)
Roar (Standalone Title)
(Erotic Romance with Secondary Characters from the Rescue Me Saga.
Roar provides a lead into the trilogy with Patrick, Grant, and Gunnar’s stories.)
Bluegrass Spirits
(Contemporary Romance…with a Haunting Twist)
Jesse’s Hideout
Kate’s Secret (coming soon)
Table of Contents
Cover
About Jesse’s Hideout
Title Page
Copyright Page
Books by Kallypso Masters
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Author’s Note
Prologue
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
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Epilogue
About the Author
Recipes for Dishes Mentioned in Jesse’s Hideout
Get your Signed Books & Kally Swag!
The Rescue Me Saga
About Roar
Dedication
To my second oldest sister, known to my readers as Mary 2. You’ve inspired me to embrace life to the fullest and to never give up. And I firmly believe that we will never be parted, even when we aren’t on the same soul plane. Just as the ethereal characters in this book come back to guide and watch over those they love, I know we will always be a huge part of each other’s lives.
To my dad, Joseph, who inspired me to tell Jesse James’ story—albeit from a fictional perspective—in his hometown of Samuels, Kentucky. All the times we drove past that beautiful Federal-style house and you said “Jesse James used to hide out there” sparked my creative juices, and here, at last, is the fruition of those flights of fancy! You’ve also shown me that our loved ones never leave us, even when separated by the veil between Heaven and Earth.
Acknowledgements
Bringing my ninth novel and tenth published book, Jesse’s Hideout, to you has ignited a passion for writing and story telling in me that has had the words pouring out again. I couldn’t have done so without the help of those I consulted with for expertise or inspiration. I want to acknowledge them here.
Fellow author, Kennedy Layne, is largely responsible for getting me to envision myself writing something other than my signature series, the Rescue Me Saga. While I’ll never stop writing those books and rescuing those characters, during a visit with Kennedy in late October, she saw that I needed a change to rekindle my passion. I’ll explain more about why I chose this as my first departure series in my Author’s Note. It wasn’t the series I first told h
er about. However, I’ll get to that one eventually, too. But the way the words poured out once I shifted to writing this book that has been in my head since the early 1990s made it clear that I really did need something different and to flex my writing muscles with a new genre—Contemporary Romance (Mainstream Romance). I owe her a debt of gratitude for the much-needed intervention and for helping me rediscover this story. And to her lovely mom, known as “Gram” to all, a huge thanks for spoiling Charlotte Oliver and me during our two visits late last year. She even inspired me to have Greg call his grandmother “Gram”!
Kelly and Elmer, the owners of the house on the cover, shared the real house with me on a private tour in December, pointing out architectural details and telling ghost stories from their encounters there. While I fictionalized their house when I turned it into Jesse’s Hideout B&B, the stories Elmer and Kelly told helped make the house come to life in the pages of this book. (Please respect their privacy and do NOT go looking for the real house or bothering anyone who lives there, because it’s a private residence and I don’t want them to regret opening their home and hearts to me while writing this book.) More about why this house in the Author’s Note.
I always enjoy asking readers in my three Facebook discussion groups to help me with my research and story questions. Before I started a group for this new series, I asked The Rescue Me Saga Discussion Group what would be the perfect secret ingredient Mrs. Foster (aka Gram/Amelia) would have used in her oatmeal-raisin cookies that made it impossible for Tillie to replicate the recipe until the card surfaced. The winner was Kerri Trayah. I’ll let readers discover for themselves what that secret ingredient was when you read the story. But don’t miss the special Recipes section in this book for all the details on the dishes Tillie makes in the pages of this book.
Then in my new Bluegrass Spirits (Kallypso Masters Series) Facebook group, I requested help with character surnames and Vanessa Cedillos suggested Hamilton. My fourth-great-grandmother was Mary Hamilton. Perfect! My third-great-grandmother was Margaret Foster, another name I used in the book.
Readers in that group also gave me suggestions for a gift Greg might give Tillie, and I chose the ideas that Judith Hill and Billie Faris Helms shared, plus one e-mailed to me from Kelly, the owner of the house in Samuels. I’ll let you learn more about the specifics inside the book! And an honorable mention goes to Maria Palma. Her specific examples weren’t the same as what I wrote, but she and Kelly were thinking along the same lines!
The Bluegrass Spirits group also came to my rescue in identifying the style of bed in Tillie’s room as a combination spindle and pencil bed. Connie Shingleton Miconi was the first to suggest pencil post bed. And Carol Capper identified the spindle headboard. Then Lisa Simo-Kinzer’s theater-set friends pinpointed the probable time period as post Civil War and that it is a unique style of its own.
Thanks also to Charlie D., who helped me find the perfect bicycle for Greg to replace the one destroyed in his pre-story accident. Charlie is a serious cyclist and took into consideration issues like snow and rain that Greg would have to deal with in Minnesota.
My deepest gratitude to Meredith Bowery, who not only had first crack at developmental edits on this book and who kept me straight as far as continuity and character development throughout, but she came back when I had some doubts in the ending and tweaked some more story issues to help me gain the confidence to know it was ready for my readers. She also is my go-to person whenever I need to find the perfect vehicle for the hero or heroine to drive. When I texted her for help on Greg’s vehicle, I received an e-mail with questions about his height, build, occupation, whether he works mostly in the office or out in the field, and more. Then she went to work determining the perfect vehicle.
I brought in a new developmental editor this time, too—Dana Delamar of By Your Side Self-Publishing. Her feedback helped me to flesh out missing scenes and emotions before sending it on to the content editor, Ekatarina Sayanova of Red Quill Editing. Saya both confirmed what I’d nailed at that point and let me know what could still be improved. She also agreed to take it on at the last minute when I was in the midst of one of my anxiety attacks I seem to go through with every book. While she was a beta reader, Barb Jack caught numerous inconsistencies and asked questions that helped me straighten out the backstory about Jesse and Caroline, among others.
More thanks go out to my line editor, Jacy Mackin of Jacy’s Red Ink Editing, who also did double duty by joining me on my private tour of the house that inspired this story. She took lots of photos that helped me remember details to add to the story later and to flesh it out even more. Her challenging me to get to the bottom of why Tillie was so upset with Greg in that one scene led to me dig a little further into Tillie’s past and make the story even richer.
My new process in writing this book didn’t involve the beta readers until I had a complete draft. Margie Dees, Robin Henley, Barb Jack, Ruth Reid, and Lisa Simo-Kinzer came in during the content-edit phase and gave me their honest opinions about what they thought of this book and the new series. They helped me uncover plot holes and fix unresolved character-development issues. Barb and Lisa came back again for yet another read-through before line edits to help me further nail down the story details and fill still more plot holes. And Barb was my angel of mercy yet again as she read through it one final time the night before it went to the formatter.
While I had fewer betas on this book than I usually have, I added a new one to provide local expertise. Robin made sure I was true-to-life in my characterization of Greg Buchanan, the story’s hero, who hails from Minneapolis where she lives. While I was visiting the city last October, she took me on a tour of places that became part of this story (even though at the time, we were looking for back story on Adam Montague, the “patriarch” in my Rescue Me Saga series). She even took me out to see where Mary Richards had lived in the early years of the MTM show, and as a result, I chose to have Greg live in a similar Queen Anne-style Victorian along the Lake of the Isles. I guess I fell in love with Minneapolis long before I ever went there the first time in 2016, since I’ve now got two characters from there, probably thanks to my adoration of the late Mary Tyler Moore and her 1970s show that influenced my life so greatly, including inspiring me to pursue a writing career and journalism major (with a women’s studies minor).
My awesome proofreaders—Laura Combs, Annette Elens, Barb Jack, Eva Meyers, and Christine Sullivan Mulcair—made sure the new typos I made at the last minute as well as any remaining inconsistencies or inaccuracies were corrected and wouldn’t jar you from your enjoyment in reading this book. They also had some intriguing story questions that helped me iron out some confusion.
Of course, despite my amazing editorial, proofreading, and beta-reader teams, all errors left behind are solely mine to claim. If you see something you think needs correcting, never hesitate to let my assistant, Charlotte Oliver, know by e-mailing her at [email protected] or messaging her on Facebook. She will share them with me, and if I agree it’s a problem, I’ll correct it in later versions.
This is the first book where I can identify my awesome cover artist by her full name—Linda Kuhlmann. She and I were colleagues in my last position before I quit to write full-time. She worked wonders with the couple in the leaves, making them closer to how I pictured my characters, and was able to make the house stand out as if on a sunny day rather than the way it looked in the gloomy-day photo I sent her from another stop I made there.
As always, I owe a debt of gratitude to Paul Salvette, who takes my Word files and makes them into beautiful e-books and print books for you. He adds touches I would never bother with (or know how to do), and I have never had any fear of formatting issues once I’ve placed a book in his capable hands.
Last, but never least, to my amazing personal and executive assistant Charlotte Oliver, who was there to take away much of the day-to-day stress of being a self-published author so that I can focus on the fun parts of this job—lik
e writing and engaging with my readers and fellow authors.
Author’s Note
Dear Reader, I’m so glad you have followed me or joined me with this new Bluegrass Spirits series. I’ve explained in my Dedication my belief that our loved ones communicate with us after they pass to the other side. This isn’t paranormal to me, but normal. I have played with matchmaking spirits before in my Rescue Me Saga (with Joni, for instance), but this will be the first time I’ve given the dearly departed their own point of view.
But as you read, be aware that the two worlds aren’t necessarily on the same page. Amelia and Jesse know more about what’s going on than Tillie and Greg do—and that sometimes carries through the entire story. But you, dear reader, will be in on everything as you experience what the hero and heroine do as well as what the spirits are up to. The disconnect between the two planes does not constitute errors—just the reality that we don’t always know what’s really going on. I believe that, once you pass over, you can see and know things you didn’t while you were living and tried to show that happening in his book.
Now let me explain a little about how this particular story came about. As a kid, I often visited aunts, uncles, and cousins in Samuels, my dad’s birthplace in Nelson County, Kentucky. Almost every time we drove by the house pictured on the cover of this book, he’d point to it and say, “Jesse James used to hide out there.” Jesse’s brother Frank James surrendered in 1866 very near this house (and we believe he probably was hiding out with Jesse when the authorities came for them—perhaps distracting them so his brother could make his escape).
My dad’s words have been stuck in my head for fifty years. Actually, about twenty-five years ago, I penned another version of a story set in this house, including a cookie-baking grandmotherly spirit. However, I didn’t keep most of the stories I wrote over the decades, so when I decided to begin a new series, this one came to mind almost immediately. But I started from scratch and think the story is so much richer this time around.
Jesse's Hideout (Bluegrass Spirits 1) Page 1