by Haley Jacobs
“You gonna ask me that damn question every night?” said Ron.
“C’mon, Ron,” said Barbara. “Wildcat’s your biggest hit. And the fans are screaming for it.”
Ron grabbed Suzy. “Hell yes, I’m singing Wildcat.”
Ron prepared himself, took a deep breath and headed back toward the stage. The crowed roared, and Ron felt the energy deep in his chest.
“Play Wildcat!” shouted a fan.
Ron stopped and grinned at the capacity crowd in front of him. Ticket sales alone were more than enough to pay for the repairs to the Lone Pine Lodge. And the extra money that Ron and Barbara had donated had even allowed for some upgrades. To Ron, it all felt pretty damn good.
Ron walked back over to the microphone.
“Hey everybody!” said Ron. “I’ve got something to tell you all!”
The restless crowd became silent.
“I gotta say,” said Ron. “You guys are the best. You’ve stuck with me through it all. You’ve bought my records. You came to my shows. You’ve become like a big family to me.”
The audience cheered.
“We love you, Ron Richardson!” cried a woman in the back row.
“And I love all of you,” said Ron. “And I can’t tell you how happy I am to be home.”
Ron turned to the band. “Thanks, boys! You guys are the best.”
Ron strummed Suzy in a familiar chord pattern. His fingers knew the way.
When the song ended, there was a stunned silence in the audience that was followed by a deafening roar. People were on their feet and cheering. Ron gave Alf a wistful look and turned to the microphone.
“Goodnight, everybody! And thanks for helping to save the Lone Pine!” said Ron. He put Suzy back on the guitar stand and walked offstage toward Barbara. He held her and gave her the biggest kiss she had ever had. Barbara felt herself flush, just like the first time he kissed her.
“Welcome home, Ronnie,” said Barbara.
“Welcome home, Wildcat,” said Ron. “We made it!”
Note from the Author
I hope you enjoyed reading “Wildcat and the Rock Star” as much as I enjoyed in writing it!
If you enjoyed the book, please recommend it to your friends and help me get the word out. An honest review would also be really helpful. THANK YOU!
Now—Do you want to know how Jake and Julia met? On the next page is a free sample from Book 1 of the Lone Pine Series, “Bear Out of the Blue.” Right now, I’m hard at work on Alf and Jessica’s story for Book 4 of the Lone Pine Series, “Coyote and the Beast.” Look for it in fall 2017.
Bonus Chapter
Chapter 1 from “Bear out of the Blue”
“A text! Kevin broke up with me with a text. Can you fucking believe it?” Julia’s eyes were red from a long night of crying.
“I know, hon,” said Molly, “We’ve been talking about it since 9:00 last night.” The early morning sun had just peaked over the hills, flooding Phoenix, Arizona with an unwelcome glare.
Molly received the call from Julia the previous night, and came right over. She couldn’t say that she was surprised that Kevin had ended it the way he did. After a six year on-again, off-again engagement that included at least two affairs, nothing Kevin managed to do to Julia came as a shock. Asshole.
Molly looked at Julia. “So it’s decision time: yes or no?”
Before Kevin’s most recent attempt to exit Julia’s life, they had booked a romantic weekend at the Lone Pine Lodge at High Mountain National Park. Julia had loved bears since she was a little girl, and had drawn pages and pages of them in her sketchbook. The hotel and air travel had been paid well in advance on Julia’s credit card. Kevin swore he’d pay her back—sometime.
“No,” said Julia, waving her arms, “I mean…yes…I mean…” She looked over at the packed bags by the door.
Molly looked her square in the eye. “Go. You need the break, and a whole weekend of alone time with your sketchbook would do you good. Besides,” Molly gave her one of her special conspiratorial looks, “You might find yourself a nice, hot ranger.”
Julia smiled for the first time in about fourteen hours. “He’ll have to like curves,” She said. “And I guess you’re right. It’s way too late to get a refund.” She looked at Molly. “You wouldn’t want to go with me, would you?”
Molly laughed. “My name’s not Julia Pratchett or Kevin Johnson. I don’t think the TSA would take too kindly to having me there.”
“So I guess I’m on my own now.”
“Hey, that’s not such a bad thing, now, is it? Bring me back a nice teddy bear, would you?” Molly grinned. “Or a nice hunky park ranger.”
Jake was grading papers when the phone rang.
“Grizzly Bear Recovery Program, this is Jake speaking.”
There was a moment of silence on the other line. “Uh…Jake? Hi. This is Barbara. Barbara Gravier from High Mountain National—“
“Barbara! Good God, how long has it been? It’s so great to hear from you! What have you been up to these days? Have you heard from…”
Jake always had a disarming way of getting right to the point. “Ron? No.”
“It figures,” said Jake. “But then again, neither have I and I’m his brother.”
“What about you? Have you found your mate yet?”
“Nah—too busy with school and field research.”
One of the nice things about dealing with fellow shifters, thought Jake, is instantly recognizing your mate. He and Barbara were never a match, so the whole sexual tension thing was never an issue between them. He always felt Barbara was like a sister. Of course she wasn’t a bear shifter like him, but as a fellow shifter they always understood each other.
Jake lowered his voice, “You, uh, still involved with the Shifter Council? They never took kindly to me, but then again, they’re not too keen on us bears in general.”
“I had a bit of a run-in with them awhile back, but I still keep in touch with some of our old colleagues.” Barbara hesitated. “Jake, I need your help here at the park.”
“Sure! What can I do for you?”
“We’ve got a rogue bear here who’s causing us some trouble, and—“
“—and you want me to talk some sense into him, right?” Jake let out an exasperated sigh. “I really don’t have time, Barbara. The semester is just starting, and I’m just slammed.”
“Jake, he’s terrorizing the park guests. We’ve tranquilized and relocated him three times in the past month, but he keeps coming back. This morning, he tore through the lobby of the Lone Pine.”
“Anybody hurt?”
“No, thank God, but it’s really only a matter of time until he does.”
“Barbara, I don’t know…”
“Please, Jake! We really need your help.” Jake heard the desperation in her voice.
“Well…”
“If nothing else, could you do it for an old friend?”
Jake knew she had him cornered. Barbara had saved his life when they were grad students, and kept him from doing something truly stupid that would have blown his cover as a bear shifter. He owed her, and he knew it.
“All right. I’ll help, but I have to be back for class on Monday morning. Can you get me there and back?”
“I have your ticket booked. There’s a Forest Service truck waiting outside. The Ranger will take you home so you can pack. Your flight leaves at 10:00. You have a layover in Anchorage.”
Jake looked out the window of his second floor office, and sure enough, there was a pale green pickup truck idling in the parking lot. Pure Barbara. But then again, that picky attention to detail is exactly what you would expect from a cat shifter.
Also by Haley Jacobs
The Lone Pine Lodge Series
Book 1
Bear Out of The Blue
Book 2
Wolf at the Wedding
Book 3
Wildcat and the Rock Star
Book 4
Coyote and the Be
ast (Coming soon!)
This is the preferred order, but all Lone Pine Lodge books are stand-alone HEAs.
About the Author
Haley Jacobs is the pen name for a married couple who love to tell romantic stories. This is our third Haley Jacobs book.
For more information feel free to contact us!
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Copyright © 2017 by Brookside Press
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