Waiting for Mary Elizabeth: Now available and 1/2 off in ebook!

Buy me
Facebook me

Gregory is a world renown artist, drop-dead gorgeous and sincerely believes a promise should never be broken. At the age of twelve he promises to wait for four year old Mary Elizabeth to grow up. Every day of his life since then has revolved around keeping that promise. Now the time has finally arrived to discover if she still wants to marry him.

While Mary Elizabeth doesn't believe in fairy tales, she believes in Gregory. Her parents keep insisting he won't come for her, but she knows he will. At four years of age her young heart recognized the person it belonged to. But just when she believes her perfect future is coming true, a spiteful adversary causes her to doubt Gregory's sincerity. Now the future doesn't seem quite so bright or certain. Gregory and Mary Elizabeth will have to overcome many obstacles in order to stop waiting and to finally begin living and loving.

EXCERPT:

After a moment of silence, Gregory grinned through the railing. "Well, here we are. It isn't exactly how I
thought our first meeting would go."

A fluttering in her chest made it hard to breathe, but she somehow managed to smile in return. "How did you think it would go?"

He leaned backward until both elbows rested on the cold, concrete flooring. "I thought I would ask about your life and then I would tell you about mine." He shifted his weight. "I wanted to ask about your future plans." He leaned over slightly and grinned. "What are your plans for after graduation?"

The way he studied her mouth made it difficult to concentrate. "I want to open my own floral shop, but my parents want me go to the university to study business. They think I should understand business first before I rush into ownership of a shop."

He gave the tips of his shoes some serious consideration before finally nodding. "That sounds like wise advice."

A comfortable silence surrounded them. Mary Elizabeth leaned on the railing and finally broke the silence. "Why are you really here?"

He sat up, leaned forward, and wrapped both arms around his knees. "I needed to know you still wanted me to wait for you." He glanced over for a brief moment before looking back down at the steps. "You were very young when you asked."

She wanted to reach and touch his hair. Just to see if it was as soft as it looked, but she resisted the urge. "Why have you kept your promise? Even my parents said you wouldn't."

He looked up and locked eyes with her. "But someone did expect me to. You did and I did. Did anyone else matter?"

She did reach over then and touched the sleeve of his shirt. "There's more. Isn't there?"

He completely covered her hand with his. "I wanted you to know that I believed you that day. It never mattered to me that no one else did. I did." He gave a shy grin. "I want you to enjoy this time in high school and at the university. Don't give up living just because you know where our journey ends." He increased the pressure on her hand for a moment. "Promise me to do this, okay?"

She nodded.

He released her hand and stood. She stood as well.

"When I return, I don't want you to have any doubts about if we belong together or not."

Before any more could be said, the cab arrived behind her father's car.

Gregory passed Mary Elizabeth at the bottom of the steps. She slipped his jacket off and handed it to him. When he reached over for it, his fingers lingered on the top of her hand in a final caress. The touch was so brief Mary Elizabeth would have thought she had imagined it, but he paused in mid step and smiled before continuing toward the cab.

They both stopped and looked at each other before opening their respective car doors.

I'll wait for you if you'll wait for me.

"I made you a promise. It is still just as good today as it was the day it was made. Enjoy your time here at school. Go study your business classes and then open your floral shop. I'll be back soon."

There were a million things she wanted to say.

"Is that a promise?"

"Yes, but this time, you have to give me a promise. You have to promise me to live and enjoy this time of your life."

"How do I do that?"

"You take each day as it comes. You live each day as if it were your last day on earth."

She could feel her father staring from inside the car, but the only person who mattered at that moment was Gregory. "I'll try."

He laughed. "You have to promise."

His smile made her laugh as well.

"I will. I promise."

If you missed this book, you're missing out!

And get it now in ebook for 1/2 off!




Buy me
Facebook me

What’s the world to do when gold starts disappearing and the agents assigned to the case are turned into life-size lawn ornaments?

Send in Double O Fang Agent Pierce De Vein, and Shifter Intelligence Agent (SIA) Kitty Katt to
investigate. Unhappy with their forced alliance, each loner must learn to work with a partner and stop trying to outdo one another long enough to solve the case. When the evidence points to an evil gnome and his army of rogue leprechauns, the agents infiltrate the organization in the forms of a bat and a cat.

Will their plan work, or will they end up sleeping with the daisies as a pair of garden decorations?

EXCERPT:

“You and your partner are to start by reviewing all the security fo—”

“Whoa. Wait a minute. Back the fourteen karat cart up, Sir.” Pierce leaned forward, mouth opened with something between a frown and a smile claiming his lips. “I think you’ve mistaken me with one of the other agents. I don’t have a partner. I work alone.”

Well aware of the fact, and that none of Pierce’s partner problems had been his fault, Methos ignored the young operative’s interruption and continued. “All three branches of P.L.A.S.M.A, Vampire, Shifter and Witch, are in agreement. This is very serious. If the gold is not returned to the Federal Reserve soon, we’ll have a worldwide economic disaster. So far, they’ve kept it under wraps, but it’s only a matter of time before the news gets out. And you know the type of panic it can cause.”

“Yes, Sir, but—”

“No buts.” Methos leaned forward and stared hard at the vampire. “Due to the severity of the situation, and the unknown supernatural cause to those agents’ afflictions, we’ve agreed to send in two of our top agents, with several more standing by if needed.”

Pierce slipped the file into a soft, leather case, then sat back. “I can handle this mission on my own.”

Of that, Methos had no doubt. But he wouldn’t be given the chance.

One of four remaining Ancients, Methos had the ability to track and assess every single Vampire. He’d hand picked his agents, and if he hadn’t deemed Pierce worthy, they wouldn’t be having this conversation. DeVein brought to the table an unusual intellect and wit, and had the uncanny ability to talk just about anybody or anything into doing his bidding. Charm was the boy’s deadliest weapon, but charm alone would not solve this case.

That’s where the shifter came in. Methos had had his eye on her for some time now. Although he couldn’t track her, he could read the woman and had observed her work closely over the past year. She was cunning, swift and strong, but just a little too impulsive. His hope, and the shared hope of her boss, was for this pairing to teach her the merits of Pierce’s slower, more thoughtful approach and for Pierce, in turn, to experience the advantage of having a strong partner he could trust.

Methos sat back and stared at his agent through narrowed eyes. “Need I remind you who’s running things around here, DeVein?”

“No, Sir.” The young vampire wisely dropped his gaze. “Of course not.”

Methos continued with a wave of his hand. “I know you’ve had trouble in the past, but maybe you just haven’t found the right…partner.”

Pierce stiffened, his narrowed gaze lifting bright with alarm. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

A knock on the door saved Methos from answering. Far better for the agent to see rather than hear. “Come in,” he called to the door. This was sure to be memorable. Methos rose to his feet, more than a little curious to see DeVein’s reaction. “Meet your new partner.”

His agent didn’t bother to get up. He just sat there with a disgusted look on his face and gazed at the opening door. A wave of air rolled in, carrying a mixture of three scents. Confidence, curiosity and—cat.

DeVein didn’t utter a word, but his white-knuckled grip on the chair spoke volumes to Methos. The boy recognized the scent.

“Is this a private party or can anybody join?” Clothed in black leather, the beautiful shifter trotted in, long black hair swaying past her waist while her green eyes sparkled with pride above an ear to ear grin.

“Oh, hell no,” Pierce blurted before he vaulted to his feet and glared.

The cat’s full presence appeared to light a fire under his agent. Interesting. Most uncharacteristic of him. Methos could understand the reaction, though. She was potent. The combination of exquisite beauty, coupled with her effervescence, made the shifter intoxicating. A trait he’d watched her use to her advantage on many missions. One which helped shape the shifter into an excellent agent. Now, if she could just quell her impulsiveness.

“No way,” Pierce repeated, thrusting a finger at his new partner. “I’m not working with that animal!”

Great new release with a slash in price!

Check out Journey to Redemption by Anne Patrick

And don't forget, all ebooks at Whimsical Publications for the month of August are half off! Check out this and other awesome titles without breaking the bank!




Buy me
Facebook me

Detective Morgan Reynolds thought her nightmare was over when serial killer Gerald `The Slasher' Tate was sent to prison for her husband's murder. But she was wrong. The Slasher has escaped and he's making it even more personal this time. Tate has kidnapped her son and is giving her 72 hours to find the answers he wants or Jared dies.

EXCERPT:

The amusing smirk she'd worn all morning was gone, her face now void of expression.

She jerked open the passenger side door. "Will you drive please?" she asked, handing him the keys. "I'm sorry, go ahead," she spoke into her cell phone.

Chase scooted across the seat and she climbed in.

"Hang on a minute…I need you to drop me off at my house, forty-six eleven Crestview."

Realizing she was speaking to him, he turned to her. "Everything okay?"

"Just hurry please," she said. He watched as she dumped out the contents of her purse in the seat beside her. She picked up a small leather address book, and fingered through it while steadying the phone between her shoulder and chin. "We aren't moving, yet," she said, her voice much sharper.

He put the unmarked police cruiser in reverse and took out of the parking lot. Keeping his eyes on the road, he listened to the one-sided conversation.

"Jeremy Metzer, Tommy Stewart and Melissa Davidson. Davidson's mother is a dispatcher, nights, I think. The Metzers live a couple of doors down from us. Stay at home mom and a dad who are in realty. Tommy Stewart lives with his grandmother over on Elm. He and Tommy spend quite a lot of time together. He slept over Saturday night. Okay, let me know as soon as you hear something. I will."

Chase glanced over to see her rubbing the bridge of her nose. Her cell phone lay in her lap. He
sensed something was terribly wrong. "How long are you going to keep me in the dark here?"

She glanced up at him briefly, just long enough for him to see tears forming in her eyes. She then turned to stare out the windshield. "Jared didn't make it home from school," she said stiffly. "He usually walks home with his friend, Jeremy, and stays at his house till I get home. They had an argument, though, and he walked home alone."

"It's not even two yet."

"School got out at one today because of a parent teacher conference. I phoned to make sure he'd made it to the Metzers, but they hadn't seen him. When I called home and didn't get an answer, I had my neighbor go over to check on him. He wasn't there."

"Maybe he stopped for a snack or something along the way."

She shook her head. "The school is only a block and a half from the house and there aren't any
stores along the way."

"I'm sure he's fine. He probably dropped by a friend's and forgot the time."

She glared at him. "I don't let my child wander the streets, Lieutenant."

"You said he was rebellious."

"Yes, but he's not suicidal. He knows how I get when I don't know where he is."

He wouldn't have taken her for an overprotective mother. "Well, I'm sure he'll be fine," he said, and offered her a supportive smile before saying a prayer. Lord, please let the boy be all right. With all that's going on, I hate the thought of him being out on the streets alone. Keep watch over him.

Chase stopped the car. Morgan leaped from the passenger side and ran up the small slope to her front door.

"Jared," she called out as she entered the foyer. After dropping her purse on the bottom step, she ran up the stairs to his room.

He wasn't there.

She crossed the room to the unmade bed and searched for any sign that he'd been there since that morning, but his backpack was nowhere in sight. Glancing out the window, she spotted Cosmo lounging next to his doghouse.

Please, God…please let him be at one of his friends'. Please let him be safe!

Morgan fought off the threatening tears as she searched her bedroom, the guest bedroom, and the bathrooms before heading back downstairs.

"Afternoon, Sergeant." Morgan froze at the familiar voice coming from her answering machine. She stepped into the living room and stared at the black box next to the phone. "Not to worry, you're little boy is safe and sound. He'll stay that way as long as you don't contact your buddies down at the police station. I'll be in touch soon." She looked at Chase.

"Sorry. I thought maybe he'd left you a message," he said.

"Oh no." Her worst fear confirmed, Morgan sank onto the couch and wrapped her arms around her midsection. She struggled to fight off the nausea that threatened to consume her.