Legend, Tennessee

Pardon Us!

2012-03-19T18:23:00.000-07:00

Hi there. Thanks for stopping by. We're mighty glad to see you. Just want to let you know that we're doing a little upkeep on the homestead here in Legend. Yes, we're redecorating the place. Making some additions. Sprucing up a bit for summer.

You know, Legend gets a lot of traffic in the summer months. Tourists. They come to the lake, like to stay at the lodge. And they coming in even greater numbers in the Fall, when the mountains show their cover.

You're very welcome to stay awhile and peek around but just know we're still deep into our spring cleaning here. You see, we've had some changes. A new publisher, some books temporarily not available (being updated and revised!), and some new stories in the development phases.

We'll share more when we can. In the meantime, please be careful as you trip over our dust bunnies, okay? We'll get the front room straightened up soon as we can, and then work our way to the back porch.

All the best to you!

Jan, Magdalena, Janet and Maddie

Legend, TN

2009-02-09T19:48:00.001-08:00

Legend, Tennessee: Nestled in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, the city of Legend,TN boasts of small town pride and southern elegance. Porches are still for sitting and troubles for one family affect the entire community.

This is the place where women from different backgrounds find purpose, love - and their futures - in a town intent on preserving its past.

The launch book for the series, Finding Home, shares four stories, written by four authors, about four women ready to start again. Different backgrounds, one town, all searching for home, in one way or another.

Come join these ladies on their journey for love. You'll meet Lilly, Midnight, Suzie and Jane. Visit their town. Walk the streets. See where they work. Meet their friends. Experience the quirks of small-town living. And most of all, feel their stories right along with them, as they fall in love.

Janet Eaves, Magdalena Scott, Jan Scarbrough and Maddie James all masterfully weave the stories of these women as they find home, and their hearts, in beautiful Legend, Tennessee.

Following the launch book in the series co-authored by all four authors, each author shares additional stories to round out the series, the town, and the characters. Some will intrigue, some will make you laugh, others will leave you warm and fuzzy on the inside. No matter the sub-genre, romance is always the theme. We invite you into our town, and our hearts.

WELCOME TO LEGEND.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is what one reviewer says about Ladies of Legend, Finding Home.

Coffee Time Reviewer - Cherokee

Rating: 5 Cups!

CLAIMING THE LEGEND by Janet Eaves

Lilly Peach is running from something so frightening it finally takes a whole town to cover her back.

CTR: I liked the suspense that edged on in Claiming the Legend. Janet Eaves sketches two sides to Lily that gives the reader more insight to her as a person. The layer of expressions portrayed on these players is excellent.

MIDNIGHT IN LEGEND, TN by Magdalena Scott

Lovely Midnight Shelby finds Legend on the Internet after becoming tired of being one of her now ex-husband's "beautiful things."

CTR: This story had me in stitches. The minute the voodoo doll was brought up, and the reaction with Martin, was hilarious. I loved the theme of this whole storyline. Midnight in Legend by Magdalena Scott is one read I will not forget.

BED, BREAKFAST, AND YOU by Maddie James

Suzie Schul finds home only when the "fling" she had many months earlier shows up with a plan on her B&B doorstep.

CTR: I love stories by Maddie James. Bed, Breakfast, and You, is a fast-moving read that really hooks the reader. Ms. James makes me want to move to Legend.

THE REUNION GAME by Jan Scarbrough

And plain Jane Smith reunites with her long lost love by playing a game of "bait and switch" with her twin sister.

CTR: I liked The Reunion Game. Jan Scarbrough paints convincing characters that reach out and touch the reader in some way. This flowing read is really delightful. I look forward to more stories by Ms. Scarbrough.

Note: The town of Legend, Tennessee and its residents live in the imaginations of its authors. The town and all characters are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

The Matchmaking Chef Series by Maddie James

2009-02-09T19:25:00.000-08:00

Suzie Matthews (from Bed, Breakfast and You) loves to cook and she’s the best darned cook in Legend, Tennessee. Everybody says so. She runs her own B&B, has published a cookbook, conducts cooking classes on Saturdays, and caters for special events and holidays.

You would think that would be enough, wouldn't you? It seems, however, that she has also discovered another talent--matchmaking! Firm in her belief that good food is a way to a man's stomach, and his heart, she is convinced she can bring her friends (and maybe foes?) together for a perfect match. After some success getting her sister back together with her old boyfriend (Home for the Holidays), she sets out to test her matchmaking ability on the one woman in Legend who no one thinks will ever get married, Mary Lou Picketts. Suzie figures if she can find the perfect match for Mary Lou, she's in business. And so, the story Perfectly Matched, was born, hooking up Mary Lou with country music star Nash Rhodes.

In Hot Crossed Buns, Katie Long gets tamed by local Legend cop, Chris Marks. Dates du Jour finds Lyssa Larkin, homecoming queen of 1992, wanting to get married just so she can get a divorce. In Side Dish, Becca North, who has totally sworn off men, finds herself swept off her feet by her best friend's date. And finally, in Mate to Order, the producer of Suzie's Food Channel show, Patricia Plum, puts in her order for a husband. Each novella in the series stands on its own and is available first in ebook, then together in one print volume in 2011.

Perfectly Matched

Suzie Matthews is busy working on her new cookbook, Perfectly Matched, when she asks the local “wallflower” to help her with her project, in an attempt to bring the young woman out of her shell.

Mary Lou Picketts dreams of falling in love with country music star, Nash Rhodes, but knows she’d settle for Thurman Phillips down the street if she had to. But she doesn’t want to. Not really.

When Nash comes to Legend for a music benefit and stays at the lodge, Suzie wonders if she can perfectly match this miss-matched couple.

Read an excerpt!

Hot Crossed Buns

Wild Katie Long, she’ll never settle down, will she?

But Chris Marks has had his eye set on her for a long time. She just doesn’t know it yet. When Chris hires Suzie to set him up with a romantic dinner for two, so he can woo Katie in style, Suzie does all she can to set the scene and the mood.

But Katie isn’t about to be wooed and she’s hotter than a hot crossed bun when she figures out what Suzie and Chris are up to.

Then Suzie turns the tables on both of them, when she switches the mood by supplying Chris with a couple of items that just might tame Katie after all – handcuffs and a leather riding crop.

Read an excerpt!

Dates Du Jour

Speed dating? Speed eating is more like it.

When Suzie sets up lunch date after lunch date for Lyssa Larkin, Legend’s homegrown homecoming queen of 1992, she knows she’s about bit off more than she can chew. Lyssa inspects and rejects her dates in two bites and then sends them on their way. Suzie wonders if she really wants to date or just eat two lunches, and worries that soon Lyssa’s hips won’t fit on her dainty chairs.

That is, until Suzie takes a risk with a man the exact opposite of what Lyssa describes as “perfect for her.” When he won’t leave when Lyssa dismisses him, or let her get near his plate with her fork, Suzie knows she’s scored again.

Read an excerpt!

Side Dish

Becca North doesn’t want a boyfriend but her best friend Nora certainly does. Becca is soooo off men.

But when Nora pays the Matchmaking Chef to plan her a romantic picnic date lunch—a blind date, no less—she drags Becca along all the way from Pigeon Forge for moral support, and to check out her date.

Thing is, Nora’s date would rather check out Becca instead.

Read an excerpt.

Mate to Order

When Suzie’s success as a matchmaker hits the national scene about the same time as her debut cooking show on the food channel, her new producer comes to her with a list of requirements—not for Suzie’s job, but for a husband.

Patricia Plum has a specific list and if Suzie really wants to make it big in New York, she’ll make every attempt to deliver, Patricia’s “Mate to Order.”

Read an excerpt

The Matchmaking Chef series II

Romancing the Scone

High tea or sweet tea? As long as there are scones, it doesn’t matter. In fact, Sydney Schul, owner of Sydney’s Sugar High Coffee Stop and Bakery in Legend, Tennessee, makes the best damn scones east of the Mississippi and south of the Mason Dixon, and there was an article written about her in Southern’s Best magazine to prove it. And all is well and life in Legend is good, until a mysterious stranger comes to town, stalking her scones.

Stone Kellerman, owner of Stone's Scones in Atlanta, has held the title of Best Scones of the South for five years now—that is, until little Sydney Schul comes into the picture, and Southern's Best Magazine awards her the coveted title. So, he can't help himself when he travels north to Tennessee to check out her scones. Thing is, he never intended to be a stalker of scones, or her scone recipe, until he got one bite of the heavenly confection... And one look at Sydney.

Better Than Chocolate

When Scott Matthews escapes to Legend to visit his brother, Brad and family, he has only one request-he doesn't want to see, hear, smell, or taste chocolate. Nor does he want to talk about the chocolate business, or about getting fired from his job as chocolate taster for world-renowned Bianchi Chocolates. Or the scandal in Italy, or his former boss-slash-girlfriend, or the tabloid article....

What he needs is a palate-cleanse, women and chocolate being on the top of the list.

What Jillian Bass needs is to make it in Legend. This Manhattan transplant knows nothing about small town living other than she wants to make it big here real bad. Forget New York, she's trying to set up her small chocolate shop and impress the locals-especially the foodie duo of Sydney Kellerman and Suzie Matthews. Of course, she doesn't tell them that she really owns Jeaneva Chocolates, or that her father is a big publishing mogul, or that she's lied about how she makes her chocolates....

But all is fine until the day she smacks straight into Scott. Who at first, refuses to eat her chocolate, but after one whiff of her exquisite Belgian truffle, forgets his vow and takes a bite.

Then against his better judgment, he takes another....

Hard Candy Kisses
*Voted a 5 Star Sweetheart Review at The Romance Studio!

New Year’s Eve sits just around the corner and Legend Elementary teacher, Patti Jo Baker, has tried every trick in the book to land a date for the annual New Year’s Eve Bash at The Lodge. In final desperation, she takes her best friend Kate’s advice and gives Suzie Matthews, Legend’s own matchmaking chef, a call. Suzie tells her right away she can solve her dilemma—but only if she’s serious about finding a husband, because Suzie has a reputation to uphold, don’t you know.

Jim Hamilton, Legend Elementary School’s principal, doesn’t know what’s gotten into him of late—he can’t get Patti Jo Baker off his mind. Smart and quirky were two words he’d always used to describe Patti, but lately the word irresistible was edging out the other two. Too bad he’s married to his job, and too bad he doesn’t date his teachers.

Too bad he’s not jealous, either, or at least that’s what he thinks. Because when Patti sets up a kissing booth at the Legend Elementary Winter Carnival, he promptly and decisively shuts it down. If Patty Jo Baker is passing out kisses, he wants to be both first, and last, in line—and he definitely doesn’t want to sample them in front of the student body.

Read more about Suzie Matthews and The Matchmaking Chef series at Suzie's own web site, www.suziecooks.com

The Matchmaking Chef books by Maddie James are found at Fictionwise.com, All Romance eBooks, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.com. Ask for them at your local retailer!

2009-02-09T19:05:00.001-08:00

WELCOME TO LEGEND, TENNESSEE

Legend, Tennessee: Nestled in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, the city of Legend boasts of small town pride and southern elegance. Porches are still for sitting and troubles for one family affect the entire community.

This is the place where women from different backgrounds find purpose, love - and their futures - in a town intent on preserving its past.

The launch book for the series, Ladies of Legend: Finding Home, shares four stories, written by four storytellers, about four women ready to start again. Different backgrounds, one town, all searching for home, in one way or another.

SisterWriters - Janet Eaves, Magdalena Scott, Jan Scarbrough and Maddie James all masterfully weave the stories of these women as they find home, and their hearts, in beautiful Legend, Tennessee.

Follow up on the characters you meet in Ladies of Legend:Finding Home with new and upcoming titles in the Legend Series... Beauty and the Beast, Harvest Moon, Murder on the Mountain, and the 2008 Christmas anthology: A Legendary Christmas where the SisterWriters join forces again to bring you a Christmas to remember... where love and friendship cover the town like a blanket of snow.

Welcome to Legend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is what one reviewer says about the Ladies of Legend anthology Finding Home.

Coffee Time Reviewer - Cherokee

Rating: 5 Cups!

CLAIMING THE LEGEND by Janet Eaves

Lilly Peach is running from something so frightening it finally takes a whole town to cover her back.

MIDNIGHT IN LEGEND, TN by Magdalena Scott

Lovely Midnight Shelby finds Legend on the Internet after becoming tired of being one of her now ex-husband's "beautiful things."

BED, BREAKFAST, AND YOU by Maddie James

Suzie Schul finds home only when the "fling" she had many months earlier shows up with a plan on her B&B doorstep.

CTR: I love stories by Maddie James. Bed, Breakfast, and You, is a fast-moving read that really hooks the reader. Ms. James makes me want to move to Legend.

THE REUNION GAME by Jan Scarbrough

And plain Jane Smith reunites with her long lost love by playing a game of "bait and switch" with her twin sister.

The Ladies of Legend Series is published by Resplendence Publishing

Note: The town of Legend, Tennessee and its residents live in the imaginations of its authors. The town and all characters are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Ladies Of Legend Video

Ladies of Legend Book Reviews

2009-02-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

What Reviewers and Readers Say about the Ladies of Legend Books.

Bookstore Deb - Finding Home

Coffee Time Romance - Finding Home

Dark Angel Reviews - Harvest Moon

Dark Angel Reviews - Murder on the Mountain

Dark Angel Reviews Recommended Read - Beauty and the Beast

Dark Angel Reviews - Finding Home

Night Owl Romance Reviewer Top Pick - Murder on the Mountain

Publisher's Weekly

Tia Fanning's Amazon Review - Finding Home

Bed, Breakfast and You

2009-02-06T16:38:00.000-08:00

Bed, Breakfast and You
by Maddie James
Amazon Top 100 Paid Bestseller -- Contemporary Romance; Fiction Anthologies

A Ladies of Legend Novella (ebook)

Suzie Schul has it all. A booming business, a wonderful town to live in, and, well, food. Yeah, she loves to cook and she’s the best darned cook in Legend, Tennessee. Everybody says so. She runs her own B&B, has published a cookbook, conducts cooking classes on Saturdays, and caters for special events and holidays.

What more could she want, really?

Nothing that she will admit, anyway. And let's not even think about that brief escape to Gatlinburg several months back when she had separated from her then-husband, Cliff. Or the fact that the man ran off with her little sister while they were, um, estranged. And let's definitely not bring to light that she'd never really revealed to anyone in the small town of Legend what exactly had happened between her and Cliff.

Or the fact that while she was off "finding herself" and "losing her husband" at the same time, she sort of, well, had a fling. But never mind about that, because "the fling" is long gone and likely doesn't even know where to find her. Besides, he was trouble.

And just when Suzie thinks all is well, TROUBLE rides up to her B&B doorstep on a bad-ass Harley and tosses her perfect little world into some kind of big, bad tumble.

Chapter One

“I’ll take it.”

“You understand the deal is as is.”

Brad Matthews nodded. “I understand.” He looked up at the decaying and dilapidated structure and wondered what it was like in its hey day. Although he hated to tear it down, that was exactly what he was going to do. “The land is worth the asking price.”

“What will you do with it?” Martin McClain, the realtor he’d been working with, studied him from the side.
“I have a plan.”

Martin harrumphed. “Others have had plans, too. I assume you have the financing for renovation?”

He assumed correct. Brad suddenly had financing for just about anything he wished.

“Yes.” His answers were intentionally vague. These small town types, you never knew what they would keep confidential or pronounce in the coffee shop for the whole town to chew on.

That was the last thing he wanted, or needed: the whole town of Legend, Tennessee, all six-thousand-plus of them, chewing on his business.

No way. Not until he was good and ready.

“Lake Lodge is pretty special to the folks around here.”

Brad figured it was. Figured he’d also have a fight on his hands when they learned what he wanted to do with old Lake Lodge.

“Pretty special to me.” Brad left it at that and turned to Martin. “How soon can we close?”

Martin rubbed his chin with his forefingers. “Your loan is secure. The sellers are motivated. I’d say any time in the next few days. Let’s sign the paperwork and I’ll get it to their agent.”

He nodded and let a slow, languid grin spread across his face. “What else needs to be done?”

Martin studied him. “Well, for starters while you are here in town, I’d check with zoning, a local contractor or two, temporary utilities, et cetera.”

Good idea. It would keep him busy while he was waiting to take possession. Get the details out of the way so he could get to work.

He nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

Martin thrust out his hand to shake Brad’s. “Good dealing with you, Mr. Matthews. Got a place to stay while you are in town?”

For the first time since his arrival in Legend, a hint of trepidation skipped down his spine. Slowly, Brad angled his gaze toward Legend Lake and across the expanse of water. It was the same view Lake Lodge boasted of in old brochures, the one that forty years ago drew tourists to the mountains and the lake in droves.
And if he had anything to do with it, they would return in droves again.

His eyes rested far across the lake on a moderate-sized clapboard home that sat nestled in a young cove of trees bordering the lake’s edge.

“Yes. With any luck, I will have a place to stay.” He turned to Martin and shook his hand. “Thank you, Mr. McClain. I’ll give you a call in the morning.”

Martin headed toward his older model Jeep. The guy was going to enjoy the commission he’d make from the sale. Well, good for him. He imagined the guy could use the money. Might as well let his inheritance contribute to the local economy.

Turning, he eyed his newest toy—a brand spankin’ new, baby-blue Harley Davidson Dyna—and swung a leg over the warm leather seat. Felt good to be in the saddle. In control. Two dreams coming true. A hog of his own and becoming his own boss real, real soon.

He was a man with a plan; knew exactly what he wanted.

But there was one more piece of his plan to accomplish, and he would work on that one, next.

He kicked the bike into gear and the rumble broke the mountain calm. As he spun out, he wondered what the locals were going to think when other rumblings broke the silence of the small town.

Like dynamite blasting a hole in the side of their favorite mountain.

Midnight in Legend, TN

2009-02-06T16:32:00.000-08:00

Midnight in Legend, TN
by Magdalena Scott
Amazon Top 100 Paid Bestseller -- Fiction Anthologies

A Ladies of Legend Novella (ebook)

Available: Turquoise Morning Press Bookstore
Multi-format ebook . Kindle . Nook

Midnight Shelby is starting over. She’s leaving her ex-husband and the big city, big corporate life behind her. But she doesn’t know where she’s going until she happens upon an amazing website advertising real estate in Legend, Tennessee, a place she didn’t know existed. The virtual tour of a large two-story big brick building—a former bar—on the main street of the small town makes her fall in love. With the building, and with the potential for a new life.

She has no idea she’ll also fall in love with the realtor who sells her the property.

Martin McClain was born and raised in the Legend area. His family has lived there for genera-tions, and he feels a duty to preserve it. Part of the reason is his thirteen-year-old son Daniel. The web site Daniel created has been good for business, but although Martin is a real estate agent by trade, he’s wary of newcomers’ motivations. With good reasons—one of them being Daniel’s absent mother.

For love of Legend, and with an eye toward Daniel’s future, Midnight and Martin begin to work together, and learn that in spite of their different starting points, their destination is the same: Home.

Chapter One

“Mayberry…at last.” Midnight Shelby sighed with relief as she climbed out of her gleam-ing, silver Mitsubishi Spyder and stretched her aching body. It had been a long drive today and the day before. But a long drive in a convertible was not a hardship. Especially when that very sexy convertible had been purchased with some of the settlement money her jerk of an ex-husband had grudgingly forked over.

After twenty years of marriage he’d expected her to accept a crumpled note on the kitch-en table as his final farewell. And she nearly had, in order to get it over with. Then sanity re-turned and she hired an excellent attorney who proceeded to make Jeff’s life a living hell, as he’d done to Midnight for much of their marriage. It had finally come down to her tough attorney in stilettos out-haranguing his tough attorney in penny loafers.

Ah, the thrill of victory!

But the twenty years of feeling defeated were hard to forget.

Midnight reached back into the car and picked up the little voodoo doll she’d purchased at a roadside stand. One could find nearly anything at roadside stands in the mountains of Ten-nessee, she’d been surprised to learn. She had avoided the hand-painted offers of bear wrestling and various other oddities, but hadn’t been able to pass up the stand whose purple sign cried out: MEN ARE SCUM! in hot pink letters. Midnight had paid fifteen dollars for the foot-tall white cloth voodoo doll and complimentary three-inch straight pin with “pearl” tip. The dolls came in red, yellow, black, and white, and one could purchase markers to individualize them. A plain white one did her just fine.

Because it didn’t only symbolize her ex-husband, but also the man who’d gotten her fired from the job she’d had—and loved—ever since college. Her co-worker had tried to “comfort” her, in a very physical way, after her divorce. She’d refused. So he had retaliated by pulling strings with upper management. Suddenly Midnight was drawing unemployment checks.

In fact, the doll symbolized men in general to her right now.

She jabbed the pin into the doll a few times where the penis would have been. Some of the stuffing dropped out, as she had worked on that particular area repeatedly since making the purchase a few hours ago.
She sighed again, relaxing a bit. That did feel good.

She tossed the doll back onto the smoky gray leather passenger seat and checked her watch. Just five o’clock. She was early, as usual. She looked around at downtown Legend, a town boasting a population of about six thousand people, according to her realtor’s office. She noted the few people walking along the sidewalk or from car to store, vehicles heading north and south on the unimaginatively named Main Street. In her two days of driving, she’d seen a lot of small towns, some county seats complete with courthouse squares, and some with a single main thoroughfare, very like this one. Before that, small towns existed for her only on television. Mayberry was her favorite, from all those years ago when she’d watched The Andy Griffith Show as a child. It had seemed an idyllic place to live. That’s why when Midnight Shelby’s life had fallen apart, she’d decided to move from big city, big corporate life to the real world—Mayberry—or rather, Legend, Tennessee. She’d found her new town via the Internet. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have known it existed. Even with a good magnifying glass, it was barely visible on the atlas.

Midnight noticed a tall, dark-haired man and a teenager—from the build and hair color, obviously his son—having a discussion in front of a building on the next block. The motion of the red and white barber pole indicated the place was open.

It was obvious that the boy didn’t want anything to do with it. He could have been the poster child for Surly Teenager Syndrome. Finally he relented—she could see it as his shoulders sagged—and entered the shop. His father turned fully in Midnight’s direction and she tried not to notice how extremely handsome he was. Strong facial features that would have done a Greek statue proud, broad shoulders... Hmm. In spite of herself, she wondered about the rest of him. How would that stand up to the Greek statue test?

Disgusted with the turn of her thoughts, she reached back into the car for the doll again. She might need to go back to the roadside stand. Maybe buy another voodoo doll and pick up a plate for the front of her car as well. Twenty-five dollars to proclaim MENRSCUM everywhere she drove.

As she felt the doll in her hand, she also noticed the tall, dark man was walking toward her. She quickly stuffed the doll under the seat, jabbing her own finger with the pin as she did so. The immediate stab of pain helped focus her attention on reality instead of retribution. Squeezing a dark red drop of blood from the wound and quickly sucking it clean, she straightened and tucked a stray lock of silky black hair behind her ear. In the city, one didn’t meet strangers’ eyes. But this man looked directly at her, or rather, from her to the convertible and back to her, and she could hardly avoid his eyes without being rude. Snooty. Citified. Not a good beginning in her new hometown.

Midnight pasted what she hoped was a friendly smile onto her face, willing him to pass by. A small, bent, gray-haired couple came along from the other direction, also checking out her car and herself. Midnight used the smile on them. They smiled in return and spoke a word of greeting. Okay, now Mr. Greek Statue. She turned the smile his way, watched as his brow fur-rowed a little. He walked over and stuck out his hand expecting to shake hers.

“Miz Shelby, right? Martin McClain. I wondered if you might have a change of heart and not come.”

Oh, great. My realtor is Mr. Greek Statue.

With an attitude.

She took a good look. Nice tan. Pale blue, long-sleeved polo shirt with a narrow navy stripe, navy Dockers. Very dark brown hair, straight, and a little mullet-ish in the back, dark chocolate eyes, extremely handsome rectangular kind of face. A neatly trimmed goatee. Lips….

“Yes. Right. Good to meet you, Mr. McClain.” Still making an effort at the smile, but with more difficulty, Midnight shook Martin McClain’s hand firmly—and as briefly as possible.

Immediately, she put both of her hands into the back pockets of her designer low-rise jeans. Her intention was to have her hands out of the way. She didn’t want to touch him again, even by accident. Touching a man was not something she was ready to do, and that included a simple handshake. Martin McClain’s gaze drifted to her snug white t-shirt, which now, with her arms in that awkward pose, seemed too snug. Too sexy. She took her hands out of the pockets and crossed her arms over her chest, and immediately realized a drop of blood from the pin-wound had stained the shirt.

“Oh, great!” She stomped her black ankle boot on the pavement.

“Your…um, your shirt is bleeding,” he said, his eyes flicking to the red spot, then quickly away toward the street.

She looked up at him. From her five foot eight plus three-inch stiletto heels, it was still up. He was probably six foot two or three, she guessed. Tall, dark, handsome.

And just an idiot man. Your shirt is bleeding?

“Mr. McClain, is this the building? Can we go inside? Is the water turned on?” As she asked the questions, she scooped up her designer handbag and walked across the sidewalk from her car to the large oak-and-glass front door of her new building. The first building of any sort she had ever owned.

He followed, taking several rings of keys from his right front pants pocket. “Here we go,” he said, holding the one marked “M. Shelby” out to her. She extended her open hand and he dropped the keys into it. Heavy. It felt good.

“It’s the large brass one there for the front door.”

Midnight inserted it and the lock turned easily. She stepped inside, followed by the real-tor, who reached behind her—too close—and flipped on the light switch. Large, round, moss-green glass globes suspended by pewter colored rods from a twelve-foot forest green tin ceiling filled the room with subtle light. It was a large, amazing room, full of nostalgia and potential.

Martin walked quickly behind the bar just a few feet to the left of the entry door, and turned on the faucet. Here was a good sign: no rumbling pipes, just immediate water.

“Great, thank you,” Midnight said, checking the water temperature. “But I’ll have to take off my shirt. Otherwise I’ll need to get into the sink myself, I guess. I hadn’t thought.” She turned off the water, tossed her handbag onto the walnut bar top and strode outside, pulling her car keys from her front jeans pocket as she walked. In a moment, she was back with a long-sleeve black t-shirt, and found the women’s bathroom at the back where she changed. She ran cold water over the area till the spot was gone.

Then she headed to the front of the building again, her stilettos making a gratifying no-nonsense sound on the hardwood floor.

“Nothing like making a lasting first impression. I don’t usually bleed from just a hand-shake.”

“You… what?” He looked down at his own hands, searching for a way he might have punctured her finger.
“Just kidding. I stuck it on a pin as you walked up. But not kidding about the first impression.” She looked up and around her at the bar. “Like this place. When I saw the virtual tour on your website, I knew I had to have it. Absolutely gorgeous.”

“It is a special place. Lots of history, lots of memories here. It’s a shame the family doesn’t want to keep it. I hate to see them sell out.”

“Especially to a newcomer, I’ll bet.”

“I didn’t say that.” There was that frown again, the two vertical lines between his dark brows marring an otherwise perfect face.

“No, you didn’t say it. Not in so many words. But of course, you’d rather someone local had purchased it and decided to continue the bar business as it always was. Right?” Men were so predictable. As long as you didn’t mess with their sports teams, their bars, or their underwear drawers, pretty much anything else was fair game.

Martin McClain heaved a heavy sigh, much as she had seen his son do a few minutes ear-lier. Except this sigh strained the front of his golf shirt a bit, in an interesting sort of way.

“Welcome to Legend, Tennessee, Miz Shelby. No reason for you and me to start off bad-ly. We got along fine on the phone, now, didn’t we?”

Midnight hated being patronized, and so many men did it without even thinking.

“We got along fine, the deal closed, and here I am, owning this big beautiful building on Main Street, and enjoying status as Legend’s newest citizen. Now, do you have that list for me?”

“List?”

Of course, his wife had been the helpful one all through the process. Betsy is the person she really needed to talk to. “The one I’ve been talking to….”

Midnight’s question sank in.

“Oh, what Betsy was working on for you? Yeah. No. I mean, no, I didn’t get here with it. I left the dang thing on my desk. She told me… well, of course Betsy’s always right. She said I’d forget it. We can go over to the office and get it right now, though. Just take a minute. My office is just a couple blocks from here.”

He headed out the front door and Midnight followed, the sound of her boots’ heels bouncing off the empty bar’s walls and ceiling. She quickly turned off lights and locked the door behind her. I’ll be back, and soon.
“Oh, and you’ll want to park your car in the back,” the realtor was saying when she turned away from the door. “There’s a garage. It’s small, but it should be big enough for a little tiny car like this. I’ll show you.”

“No need for that. I’ll be able to find the back of the building on my own. Now, let’s go to your office and pick up the list. Get in and I’ll drive.”

She saw the look. He didn’t ride while a woman drove. Dear Lord, give me strength. Midnight walked around and got in, started the powerful engine. She saw his eyebrows rise when he heard it. He opened the passenger door and folded his tall frame into the seat, then let the door close with a quiet click.

***

Midnight in Legend, TN is available for purchase at Amazon . Barnes & Noble . All Romance eBooks . Bookstrand

Midnight in Legend, TN

2009-01-31T14:38:00.000-08:00

Midnight in Legend, TN
Magdalena Scott

A Ladies of Legend Novella

The Reunion Game

2009-01-31T14:07:00.000-08:00

The Reunion Game
by Jan Scarbrough
Amazon Top 100 Paid Bestseller -- Fiction Anthologies

A Ladies of Legend Novella

Thirty-three-year-old Jane Smith's biological clock is ticking. But pickings are slim in Legend, Tennessee, until the fifteen year high school reunion gives Jane a second chance. Graham Winchester will be back in town.

In high school, Jane's shyness has stopped her from taking action. Now she's older, wiser and no longer afraid. Graham has moved to the big city and won't stick around after the reunion. He's a confirmed bachelor and happily-ever-after is not in his makeup. Yet, Jane must exorcise the demon Graham has become so she can get on with her life.

Switching places with her glamorous twin sister is just what she needs to get Mr. Most Likely to Succeed into bed and out of her heart.

CHAPTER ONE

There was no way sex with Graham Winchester was as good as she remembered.

Jane Smith stood alone in the crowded Legend VFW hall where her fifteenth year high school reunion was in full swing around her. She held a plastic wineglass of California Merlot which gave her something to do with her hands, smiled at Betty Jo, the clerk from the Piggly Wiggly who waved from across the dance floor, and thanked her lucky stars for the relative darkness on the periphery of the dance floor.

He’d arrived. Heat surged through Jane’s body. Graham Winchester—senior class president, debate team captain, yearbook staff member,valedictorian and Mr. Most Likely to Succeed—had finally come home to Legend.

For fifteen years, she fantasized about Graham. For fifteen years, she remembered that one night alone with him in the back seat of his family Chevy.Sure, it had been cliché. Graduation night. One thing leading to another. Each going their separate ways the next day.

She’d put him behind her and gotten on with her life. College first and then back to Legend to teach high school English. When her mom was diagnosed with cancer, she cared for her. After years as a volunteer at the county dog pound, she founded Legend’s non-kill Pet Rescue. Last year, she’d quit teaching and opened a book store.

Yet she’d never forgotten Graham.

Cold, hard truth washed over Jane as she watched from the shadows.For all she accomplished, she was still stuck in high school. Her love life sucked. It’d been on hold for much too long. She must exorcise the demon Graham had become and put him out of her mind and heart for the last time.
***

You can never go home again.

The cliché rang in Graham’s ears along with the sounds of Michael Jackson’s Thriller pulsating from a DVD player set up on a folding table. What in the blazes was he doing here? He didn’t belong in Legend any more. The dimly lit VFW Hall was very different from the trendy, super chic Times Square dance clubs he usually frequented. Decked out with feathery table decorations, sprinkles of glitter and mirror balls throwing colored lights on the dance floor, the rented hall looked outdated and shabby like his memories of middle school sock hops.

"Graham Winchester?"

He hardly recognized Legend High’s former All-State defensive back. Clint Roberts had put on a few pounds. When Dawn Smith dumped him to go out with Clint, he shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, football was a big thing in Tennessee.

Bracing for a rush of old resentment, Graham extended his hand. "Clint,how are you?”

“Fine.” Always a big guy, Clint towered over him. He transferred the bottle of beer he carried to his left hand and grasped Graham’s. “Man, you don't look a day older. Can you believe it’s been this long? That big city life must agree with you.”

The bitterness Graham expected to feel failed to materialize. "Thanks, but I feel older."

"Know what you mean." Clint nodded. "So how's it goin'?"

"Can't complain."

"Yeah, same here. Hey, I heard you wrote a book. Claudia was telling me.”

"Claudia?"

"Yeah, you remember, Claudia Ridgeway, now Claudia Jones."

Oh, his senior class secretary. A real one-person pep squad. How quickly he’d forgotten.

“You’re the biggest thing that’s happened to Legend since the Dragons won the National Finals last fall,” Clint said. “You and Dawn comin’ home, the
two of you voted most likely to succeed. It’s the talk of the town.”

Most likely to succeed? What a joke. His law career was at a standstill. Sure, he’d written one novel, but as his agent pointed out more than once, he was deep in the throes of writer’s block with the deadline looming.Graham shifted his stance. He was a fake, but he’d be damned if he’d let his classmates in on the horrible truth.

"What are you doing now?” Graham asked politely.

"Sellin’ cars."

"Cars?”

"Yep, own the Ford dealership in town."

"That’s impressive."

"Make a damn good living too. Certainly can’t complain."

"I see.” Graham shifted again and glanced around the darkened hall. “Are you married?"

"Hell, no. What about you?"

"No.

"Smart man," Clint shot back.

Graham didn't know how smart he was, but he nodded in response.

"So why haven’t you gotten married?"

Clint's question caught Graham off guard. He took a deep breath, considering his answer. "Guess I never found the right woman," he said.

Clint nodded. "I found the right woman, but she up and left town fifteen years ago."

"For another man?”

"Nope. Hollywood."

"You mean you wanted to marry Dawn Smith?"

"We talked about it,” Clint admitted, “but one day she took off to California and I went on to play ball for Tennessee."

"You must be bitter.” The thought came out of his mouth before he realized it.

Clint shrugged. "Hell, no. Dawn had a lot of ambition. Look at what she's done."

Graham knew all about what small-town girl, Dawn Smith, had done with her ambition. He followed her career off and on, and in the last few weeks he looked up her name on the Internet. Dawn’s official web site said she worked in a soap opera for five years and then graduated to sit coms. She was nominated for an Emmy, and had recently starred in her first motion picture.

The girl from Legend, Tennessee, had become a movie star.

"You’re a good man," Graham said, looking at Clint in a new way. "Did Dawn come tonight?"

"Sure thing. Haven’t you noticed the crowd over by the bar?"

The group near the bar parted, and Graham caught a glimpse of his onetime steady. "I can’t tell much about her from here."

"She’s prettier than ever," Clint said with a touch of pride. Then in a confidential tone, he offered, "Divorced too."

Graham arched an eyebrow. "Love ‘em and leave ‘em?"

"Yep." Clint cleared his throat and lifted the bottle to his lips.

Because the ex-football player was strangely talkative, Graham pumped
him again, "Whatever happened to her twin sister Jane?"

Clint tilted his head. “You didn’t keep up with her?”

"No, we never had any contact after Dawn and I…well…you know."

That was a small evasion of truth. The fact was he had a whole lot of contact with Jane on graduation night after the ceremony. In the back seat of his dad's Chevy. It was their first time together. Their first and last. Graham’s pulse revved up at the surprisingly vivid memory. After that night, schoolwork and college frat life absorbed him. He moved to New York and joined a law firm, putting Dawn, Jane and the folks in Legend behind him.

“She’s here,” Clint said. "See her standing over there?”

Graham sought Jane out in the dim light, remembering how she’d reluctantly shared the job of yearbook editor with him. They fought like two boxers over every caption and picture. Graham smiled at the memory. It’d been amusing to bait her. She’d taken everything so seriously. Not like her twinsister. No, Jane wasn’t anything like Dawn.

Jane stood beside a man, but her posture was stiff and aloof, as if she
didn’t want to be with him. She wore a simple, but elegant blue dress with a
high collar and short sleeves. Typical Jane. The smart twin. The one with as
much natural reserve as beauty. There was something charming about the way
she wore her blond hair in short, flirty curls.

“Who’s she talking to?” Graham asked.

“Claudia’s brother, Steven. See how he’s putting the moves on her? Ever since his divorce, he’s trying to get her to marry him.”

So Jane wasn’t married either.

“Hey, watch out. Here comes Claudia!” Following his warning, the big jock turned on his heels and departed.

Graham had time for one quick breath before Claudia Ridgeway, now Jones, descended on him like an avenging angel.

Claiming the Legend

2009-01-18T12:03:00.000-08:00

Claiming the Legend
Janet Eaves
Amazon Top 100 Paid Bestseller -- Romantic Suspense; Fiction Anthologies

A Ladies of Legend Novella

Price: $0.99

Available at: Turquoise Morning Press Bookstore . Amazon . Barnes and Noble and other online retailers...

For Lilly Peach staying alive means keeping a low profile, blending in, not being noticed. When she fears having been found by those contracted to kill her, Lilly is sent to a new "safe house" in Legend, Tennessee.

The pristine old fashioned streets and genteel southern hospitality of the town's folks eventually lull Lilly into believing, maybe, just maybe, she can settle in and make a safe and quiet life for herself. But when Legend's nationally famous high school football coach decides to make her his lady, Lilly is thrown into the spotlight as well, giving those seeking to find and destroy her, another chance to fulfill their contract.

Excerpt:

Chapter One

Jill Post stopped abruptly, pivoted backwards around a sharp corner into the apartment building’s shadows, slamming against hard brick wall. Heart palpitating fear choked her, had her glued to the structure's rough exterior, scraping tender skin from shoulders to elbows. The route she always took home after work had served its purpose. A purpose she had hoped unnecessary, overly-cautious. But instinct had saved her time and again. As now.

Had they heard her?

Seen her?

Each struggling breath hurt, each knocking heartbeat reverberated from chest to temple. Images, one after another, whirled like a kaleidoscope of horror to clash and collide with other older images. Images thought to be long-buried. Now past and present blended in a motion-picture of terror.

She closed her eyes, nauseated by those images, those memories.

Will alone couldn’t push her, couldn’t force her feet to move, to retreat further from the massacre going on just around the corner. Any movement, any stray sound might alert the two men who were creaming names and curses at the homeless man they were beating to death. Had they said her name? Did they think he knew her? Had she told him her name when she’d dropped him a twenty here and there over the past months?

No! She was imagining it. She had to separate the old from the new. They couldn’t have found her. Not after all this time. Not after she had been so careful.

She tried, but failed miserably to close off sounds she remembered too well: the whack of a hard object meeting flesh, screams for mercy turned to moans, the gurgle of choking, and final-ly, horribly, the thud of an unconscious body hitting asphalt. She clamped teeth onto her bottom lip to lock in an answering scream.

Run.

She glanced left, then right, searching frantically for a way to escape, but the icy fingers of fear held her frozen in the darkened alleyway. Canyon-carving rivers of blood reverberated through her ears: rolling, crashing, gaining volume with each heartbeat, obliterating all other sound until she could no longer locate the source of danger.

Blouse and flesh ripped as she slid down the wall. Her head spun as she clasped her bent legs for support, settling her bottom on the cold wet ground. She rocked back and forth with jerky movements, fighting the fear. Waiting.

Waiting.

Time meant nothing.

Seconds? Minutes? An hour? How long had she sat there emotionally lost, clutching her legs, waiting to be found?

She’d witnessed torture. Murder. Was that to be her fate, too? Ice cold sweat poured from her body, drenching clothes, chilling her skin. She barely registered the taste of iron hitting her tongue but released the tooth- imprinting grip of her now bloodied lip.

She stayed frozen against the brick wall until the voices and scenes from the past faded completely. Until heartbeats and breathing calmed. Until fear receded enough for logic to kick-in.

Light replaced darkness as dawn broke. A baby cried from several stories above. A wom-an’s soothing song responded seconds later. Then silence.

Sirens from afar.

The steady beep of a garbage truck in the distance, then moving slowly closer, then moving away until near-silence, then there was nothing but the sounds of an occasional vehicle passing close by.

Move! Pinpricks shot through both legs and feet as she elbowed her way up the wall, forcing her to remain immobile for a minute more. One tentative step, then two, away from the assault site felt like a major accomplishment. The need to run hovered like a monster at her back but she couldn’t, wouldn’t, make a sound. Who knew where those men had gone? Who knew if the man they had killed was their only intended victim or if they would kill anyone in their path? Especially someone who might identify them.

Unless she had been their intended victim all along?

That thought stopped her cold. Then another hit with enough force to make her take a step back. What if the man wasn’t dead, only severely injured? What if this was her fault and he was paying the price?

How could she leave him?

How could she not?

Indecision held her immobile for only seconds before she slumped in defeat. There was only one thing to do.

The decent thing.

She had to go back; had to look around the corner of the building to see if the thugs were gone. There was no choice left but check to see if their victim still lived. She hoped with every ounce of her waning strength that the danger had passed. She wasn’t so sure how she felt about the state of the victim.

If he had died she could just leave. Anonymously call 911 then disappear from this nightmare altogether. Just carry on with the life she had so carefully constructed. Or run if that was the only option. If he still lived she would have to become involved. Emergency services would be needed. The police would want to question her, but worse, it could make the press and the men who had done this could hear about it and pursue her.
But no, she couldn’t think that way. There was no choice but to go back, to help if there was still a need. To participate. Anything less would make her as bad as those who’d attacked him.

Damn, how she hated to participate.

Participation would de-construct the life she had spent the last four years building. She would have to start over.

Again.

A new identity.

A new profession.

A new town.

God help her!

Some Pictures of Legend

2008-12-05T05:59:00.000-08:00

Some pictures of Legend, Tennesse and the surrounding area - Legend Mountain and Legend Lake.

Citizens of Legend, Tennessee

2008-12-05T04:40:00.000-08:00

Some of the cast of characters in our Legend, Tennessee books. (note: click "fullscreen" for a larger version)

Some Citizens of Legend, Tennessee

Legend Town Map

2008-12-05T04:06:00.000-08:00

Here is a map of our humble little town. Picture the town nestled in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, about an hour or so as the crow flies from Knoxville, within a short driving distance of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. (note: double click to enlarge!)

A Christmas to Remember

2008-11-21T11:37:00.000-08:00

A Christmas to Remember: A Ladies of Legend Anthology

Over the decades Legend, Tennessee, invokes the beauty and magic of a small town Christmas, bringing hope, peace and love to everyone who chooses to call Legend home.

Through Her Eyes—Christmas 1945

Allie Winchester’s war-time job has been given to a man. It's almost Christmas and she's about to be homeless. And she never found the man of her dreams even though she danced her way through World War II with every soldier who passed through Legend, Tennessee. Just when she thinks all is lost Allie is offered a job to care for an injured soldier. The only trouble is that George Sterling is blind, mad at the world, and irritatingly rude. Can she help him find the light in a world gone dark, without losing her heart in the process?

Read more....

Not Quite Christmas—Christmas 1969

Accountant Frank Smith doesn’t want to go home for Christmas, not since he was dumped by his long-time girlfriend on Christmas Day a year ago. Avoiding Legend, Tennessee, is high on his priority list until he meets his mother’s houseguest—hippie chick Emmy Johnson, a girl with a past . . . . and maybe Frank’s future.

Read more....

The Holly and the Ivy—Christmas 1978

Nationally known singer Eli McClain’s Christmas trip home to Legend is a way to placate the family he left years ago. At twenty-five, the guy who should have everything is burned out. Running into Jeannie Adams doesn’t help. All through school, Eli and Jeannie were the bane of each other’s existence. Yet the fleeting kiss he left her with has never quite faded for either of them. Jeannie has deep roots in Legend, but Eli jerked his roots up years ago. Even the magic of a beautiful hometown Christmas can’t bring these two opposites together. Or can it?

Read more....

The print anthology includes all three novellas in one volume! Available December, 2010

2008-11-13T17:25:00.000-08:00

WELCOME TO LEGEND, TENNESSEE

SisterWriters - Janet Eaves, Magdalena Scott, Jan Scarbrough and Maddie James all masterfully weave the stories of these women as they find home, and their hearts, in beautiful Legend, Tennessee.

Welcome to Legend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is what one reviewer says about the Ladies of Legend anthology Finding Home.

Coffee Time Reviewer - Cherokee

Rating: 5 Cups!

CLAIMING THE LEGEND by Janet Eaves

Lilly Peach is running from something so frightening it finally takes a whole town to cover her back.

MIDNIGHT IN LEGEND, TN by Magdalena Scott

Lovely Midnight Shelby finds Legend on the Internet after becoming tired of being one of her now ex-husband's "beautiful things."

BED, BREAKFAST, AND YOU by Maddie James

Suzie Schul finds home only when the "fling" she had many months earlier shows up with a plan on her B&B doorstep.

CTR: I love stories by Maddie James. Bed, Breakfast, and You, is a fast-moving read that really hooks the reader. Ms. James makes me want to move to Legend.

THE REUNION GAME by Jan Scarbrough

And plain Jane Smith reunites with her long lost love by playing a game of "bait and switch" with her twin sister.

Santa's Kiss Excerpt

2008-11-13T17:10:00.000-08:00

Santa's Kiss
by Jan Scarbrough

New Beginnings Baby Boutique
Legend, Tennessee
Three days before Christmas

“Take your hands off my wife!” Graham Winchester grabbed the shoulder of the man who had just spun his pregnant wife around and stuck a camera in her face.

“ He thinks I’m Dawn,” Jane cried, pulling away from the stranger.

“ I don’t care. The bastard needs to keep his hands to himself!” Did his wife look like her famous twin? Hardly. She never had been as glamorous and sophisticated as Dawn, and at nine months pregnant, had lost most of her resemblance to her sister.

The man didn’t seem to notice Jane wasn’t the actress. He shrugged out of Graham’s grasp and whipped around. “Keep your hands to yourself, buddy. I’m just doing my job.”

“ Paparazzi,” Jane hissed.

“ It’s a free country, lady.”

Graham barely controlled his temper. “And that gives you the right to accost a woman in public?”

In the display window, a toy train circled a stuffed Peter Rabbit and three gaily wrapped Christmas gifts. It tooted sharply.

Lilly, the boutique’s owner, peaked from behind a rack of upscale clothing for babies and toddlers. Concern clouded her eyes and she stepped toward them. “Can I help you, mister?”

“ I’m from Gossip Magazine,” the man told them. “I’m looking for Dawn Smith, and I thought you people might know where she’s hiding.”

The “you people” comment raised Jane’s dander. Graham saw annoyance flash in her eyes, tightening her lips. Lilly bristled too. Folks in Legend may be down-home and friendly, but they certainly don’t deserve the derisive label “you people.”

The former English teacher and expectant mother poked an accusatory finger at the photographer’s North Face parka. “If I knew the whereabouts of my sister, what makes you think I would tell you?”

“ We haven’t seen Dawn in a year.” Graham backed his wife.

“ Graham’s right. Dawn’s at home in Southern California.”

The reporter scowled, his body language saying what he didn’t voice aloud—stupid, Podunk hicks. “You’re behind the times, lady. Dawn Smith blew out of town after the news broke about her lover.”

“ What about her lover?” Jane asked.

His wife didn’t know about her sister’s latest heartache, and Graham was trying his hardest to keep the facts from her. Jane was already overdue, for God’s sakes, and he wanted nothing to disturb her at this crucial time.

But the photographer had no such compunction. “Don’t you read the news? It was all over the papers and the Internet. The unfortunate guy died of an overdose two weeks ago.”

“ You mean that millionaire, Chris something-or-other, is dead?” Jane sounded confused. “But Dawn only dated him a few times. Why call him her lover?”

Graham knew what his wife was thinking. They both understood dating was a way for Dawn to get her name in the paper. It helped her stalled acting career. Since her divorce almost two years earlier, she had been seen with many well-known men, never any serious relationships.

“ Lover, friend, whatever,” the man scoffed and stuffed his camera back into his carry-on. “I don’t care what you call the guy. The fact is Dawn Smith was seen with Chris Newton the night of his death. After the police questioned her, she left town. No one knows where she is.”

Jane’s hand slowly lifted to her mouth. “Oh, no.” She gave Graham a frightened glance.

He read the questions and the worry in her eyes. Damn! This was just what he didn’t want right now. Jane didn’t need to be upset. Thankfully, Dawn had understood and it was one reason she had begged off coming home for the holidays.

“ Maybe something’s happened to Dawn,” Jane said.

“ Nothing has happened to your sister.” Graham put his arm around his wife and pulled her into his comforting embrace.

“ That’s right. Don’t worry, Jane,” Lilly spoke up, turning toward the reporter. “But something’s about to happen to you, mister, if you don’t get out of my shop.”

“ Okay, sweetheart, I’m going.”

Graham tightened his hold on his wife. He didn’t want to lie to her. “You know Dawn,” he whispered. “She’s just gone to ground, hiding from the likes of this guy.”

No lie there. That’s exactly what Dawn had done, and with his help, she was closer than the interloper from Hollywood knew. But Mr. Paparazzi didn’t need that information and neither did Jane.

Graham’s male protective instincts that had kicked in some time during the first trimester burned brightly in his gut. His wife and his child were what mattered now. Dawn was a big girl. She could take care of herself. He would keep her secret as long as he could, but whatever mess Dawn was in, it was up to her to handle.

www.janscarbrough.com

Buy here.

Home for the Holidays Excerpt

2008-11-13T17:07:00.001-08:00

Home for the Holidays
by Maddie James

Coffee. The heavenly smell of coffee hit her full in the face. Oh, could she use some caffeine. The dark kind with extra octane. Looking to her left, she spied the self-serve counter and smiled. The Pig was moving up. She didn’t remember this coffee service here before.

Hesitant for only a second, she glanced about. Oh, my God, that was Betty Jo still checking at the counter. How many years had she worked here? A hundred? Another quick look back to the coffee. Yes, she would risk it.

Darting toward the counter, she was actually salivating, longing for the taste of the warm and rich liquid on her tongue. “I swear, I must be addicted,” she muttered as she reached for the largest of the foam cups.

“Okay, so where is the yellow stuff?” Searching for the artificial sweeteners, she quickly spied them and tore off the tops of three packets and dumped them into her empty cup. Next, she poured the coffee on top, the aroma wafting toward her nostrils.

“Um.” She closed her eyes and inhaled and savored a moment of pleasure.

“Ahem. You going to stand there and breathe that, or drink it?”

Her eyes popped open and she jerked her gaze to her right. Shit! “Matt?”

“Yes. Mind scooting over so I can get some of that, too?”

Chelly looked where she was standing, right in front of the burners and the carafe. “Oh. Oh!” She backed up and searched for the lids. She rounded him and they switched places. In the process, she scooted her hood up a little higher to cover her face.

“I need a lid,” she said, then edged away. She fumbled with the plastic disk, couldn’t get it on straight to save her.

“Here, let me.”

Large hands reached in front of her. She tried not to look at him. After all, she was skuzzy. Hadn’t washed her face…

She ran her tongue over her teeth.

He handed her the cup.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

He didn’t move. Just stood there. She stared at her cup. “Well, I should be going.”

“Me, too.”

Finally, she did look up. He’d not gone anywhere. Move or say something, Chelly!

“Oh, Matt. Thanks for last night. I mean, you could have given me a ticket.” She swallowed and looked into his eyes, really looked into them, the first in a long, long time. She had always thought his eyes were the most beautiful color of coppery brown…

He hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the right words. “You weren’t going that much over the speed limit,” he finally said.

She shrugged and held her coffee cup in both hands in front of her, clamping her left arm tight against the wipes still tucked into her left side. “Well, that was nice of you.” She glanced at Betty Jo who was staring at them. “I should go.”

She turned, slightly.

“At least one of us plays nice.”

The tone of those words, as much as their implication, cut as deep as anything. She turned back. “Matt, that was a long time ago.”

“Four years, six months, seven days.”

Shit. He hadn’t…had he? “What are you saying? Are you still mad at me?”

He squared himself, stance broad, as if ready for action. The look on his face said he meant business. “I’m mad as hell.”

She had no clue. “I…” she glanced off. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Sorry, I think, is the appropriate word.”

Looking at him again, she shook her head. “Somehow I think my saying sorry still won’t cut it.” She sat her coffee down on the counter and reached for his forearm. “Matt…”

“It’s a start.” He jerked away, stepped back.

Surprised, she continued, “Matt, okay, I’m sorry. I know I hurt you. I know…”

He sat his coffee on the counter beside hers, although a little too hard. The bottom busted off the cup and hot coffee splattered everywhere. Both of them jumped. “Hurt?” He chortled. “You made me the laughing stock of this entire town.” His gaze narrowed and he leaned forward. “I don’t ever, ever, want to see you again. So if you are back in town for good, steer clear of me, you got that?”

Stunned, she jerked back and stared into his face. “Sure. Got it.”

http://www.maddiejameslifeunedited.com

Buy here.

The Christmas Gift Excerpt

2008-11-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

The Christmas Gift
by Janet Eaves

Christina bit her bottom lip, wondering if she should wake him to get him to join her for dinner. He'd been napping since chopping wood for an hour following lunch. She knew he was still weak, but he was gaining strength daily, and hadn't touched his cane since two days before. She'd already started the meal on the stove, and only had a second before she needed to return to the kitchen, but she was starting to worry about him. If he didn't stop taking those pills, she was afraid he might become dependent on them.

She approached him slowly, trying to ignore the bare, heavily muscled chest and arms, the rippling stomach, and the thin stream of black hairs that ran from his navel down a long line to his low riding boxer shorts. At the hip, there was the beginning of a tattoo, but she would have to lower his underwear to get a look at it. That, of course, was out of the question.

Johnny hadn't had any tattoos. At least not the last time she'd seen him disrobed. But that was a long time ago, and she was beginning to believe she may have been wrong about so much.

Clearing her throat loudly, she waited a beat, then cleared it again.

Nothing. The man was like the living dead. "Jack?"

Still nothing. "Jack?"

Frowning, she approached the open couch and tapped his shoulder with her index finger.

Nothing.

She tapped harder. "Jack!" she said, louder.

Blowing an exasperated breath which sent her bangs flying upward, Christina placed her hand smack-dab in the middle of that hard chest and shook. Before she knew what happened she felt a tug on her arm then she was flying over him, only to find herself under him, looking up into his face. Jack blinked slowly several times, clearly befuddled and trying to wake up. "What? What happened?"

Christina couldn’t find her voice. Not only had his quick reaction stunned her, the hard erection poking her mound completely stole her tongue. Or so she thought. Until his was capturing it, taking it hostage, as he ground the evidence of his aroused sex against her.

There was no logical way she could explain what was happening to her as she kissed him back, even if her brain would start functioning again. He tasted so good. Being touched, touching, letting it all happen instead of analyzing why it was wrong to be doing what she was doing didn't come into play. Primal urges, needs, desires that had never been a part of her before, surfaced to take over the woman she faced each morning in the mirror.

http://www.myspace.com/jantenn01

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Christmas Collision Excerpt

2008-11-13T16:53:00.000-08:00

Novella in A Legendary Christmas anthology

Prologue

Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” began to play. By the second bar, Rebecca Mayfield had snapped open her cell phone.

“Hello?”

“Rebecca? Hey! Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“Oh, Midnight! No, it’s not a bad time.” Rebecca tried to calm her voice so Midnight wouldn’t detect her stressed-out state.

“Okay. Well, I tried your apartment and no answer, so I thought maybe you were out.”

“Hoped. You hoped I was out. On a date. With some tall, dark, handsome, eligible bachelor-type guy destined to be the next Mr. Rebecca Mayfield. Well, no way. I’ve told you that.” She began twisting the back of her diamond stud earring.

“Ugh. You’re at work, aren’t you? You need to cut your hours, my dear.”

“Midnight, I’m the boss. I set an example by working hard.”

“Right. We’ve had this conversation. You’re extremely good at what you do. I can attest to that. Without you on my side, Jeffrey and his attorney would have ruined me. But Rebecca, you need to give yourself a rest once in a while.”

“Okay. Fine. I will.” She leaned her head back, tried to relax, but the movement strained her tense shoulder muscles. “It’s the holidays, after all. I’ll be taking some time off.”

“Great! Exactly what I’m calling about. Martin and Daniel and I want you to come down to Legend and spend Christmas with us. The entire town is decorated for the holiday. There’s even a little bit of snow on the ground, which is unusual for around here. Seriously, it’s prettier than a greeting card. This is the perfect time to make your first visit. So just grab a flight and head down. The apartment over The Emporium is available, and it’s partly furnished, so you can even have your own space if you’d rather not stay with us. How does it sound?”

“Oh, Midnight, it’s sweet of you guys. Martin hasn’t even met me in person, so I can’t imagine he’d want me there. Let alone Daniel. He’s fifteen now, right? I remember Blaine at his age. An extra adult around isn’t what he wants for Christmas. And I wouldn’t want to horn in on your holiday.”

“You’re not horning in. We’re inviting you, stupid. We want you here. So, it’s all set, okay?”

“Well…”

“Why not? What could be better than a small town Christmas?”

It did sound interesting, but at the moment Rebecca felt old and tired. Not at all merry. Her doctor had recently told her she was pushing her luck on her health with the schedule she kept and the constant stress—especially since she’d turned forty this year. He’d given her a prescription for anti-depressants, told her to take some high-powered vitamins, eat healthier, exercise daily, and get more sleep. The man obviously had no clue what it took to be the divorce attorney in New York City.

Her staff and associate attorneys respected her, and wisely kept their distance. Occasionally she heard herself referred to as The Dragon-Lady, but that was part of being at the top. The firm was her livelihood, her career, and since Stephen had died and Blaine had gone to college, it had become her life. Rebecca Mayfield was respected and successful—at times, even feared. Her suite of offices was beautiful with expensive, tasteful décor. Mayfield & Associates had become the embodiment of Rebecca Mayfield.

“Midnight, you’re railroading me. This is not like you. I have work.” But work was all she had, for the first time in what seemed like forever. There was no one in the entire city she really wanted to spend Christmas with. “Um, let me think about it, okay? It sounds great, of course. Just let me think about whether or not I can manage it.”

“Well. Okay, Rebecca. The invitation is open. You come on down to Legend. We hope you want to. I’ll e-mail you the directions. And hey—I don’t mean to be pushy.”

“You’re an organizer. It’s just your way. Mine, too. That’s not a bad thing.” Rebecca absently straightened the items on her desk. Stapler here, paper clip dispenser here, two-hole punch here. “I appreciate the thought, and the fact that you really do want me there. Just let me think it through. Don’t expect me. But on the other hand, I might show up. Can we leave it at that?”

“Sure, Rebecca. No pressure. Um. One tiny thing. There’s someone we’d like you to meet.”

Rebecca’s eyes rolled. Oh no!

“It’s not a big deal, really. We haven’t said anything to him. Just a casual meeting here with lots of other people around. You like him, maybe it’ll go somewhere, you don’t, nothing’s lost. But I thought I’d mention it, because once you got here you’d figure it out, and then you’d probably rip my head off. Tactfully, of course.”

In spite of herself, Rebecca smiled. “You know me too well. But I am really not looking right now. Just had something end rather poorly, and, well, it’s definitely too soon. So please don’t get your hopes up on that, okay? It’s good of you, but still.”

“All right. Understood. But think about Christmas. No pressure. Just show up Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Sooner if you want.”

“If I do come, what can I bring?”

“Just yourself, and a sense of adventure. Martin’s family is huge, and they love getting together at holidays. Very festive. There’s also a Christmas Eve candlelight church service we can go to in town. It’s non-denominational, and really nice. Just about everybody goes.”

Rebecca imagined it. Small town Christmas. Picturesque. Hokey. But somehow, surprisingly tempting. Midnight’s life had turned around when she moved to Legend, Tennessee from the City. Perhaps there was something special there for Rebecca too. “I’ll think about it. Thanks, Midnight. Maybe I’ll see you.”

Maybe a quaint little snow-covered mountain Christmas was just the tonic she needed.

***

www.magdalenascott.com

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Novellas sold separately in ebook format – Available November 11, 2008

Anthology sold in print format – Available November 17, 2008

From Resplendence Publishing. http://www.resplendencepublishing.com/

2008-11-13T07:10:00.000-08:00

WELCOME TO LEGEND, TENNESSEE

SisterWriters - Janet Eaves, Magdalena Scott, Jan Scarbrough and Maddie James all masterfully weave the stories of these women as they find home, and their hearts, in beautiful Legend, Tennessee.

Welcome to Legend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is what one reviewer says about the Ladies of Legend anthology Finding Home.

Coffee Time Reviewer - Cherokee

Rating: 5 Cups!

CLAIMING THE LEGEND by Janet Eaves

Lilly Peach is running from something so frightening it finally takes a whole town to cover her back.

MIDNIGHT IN LEGEND, TN by Magdalena Scott

Lovely Midnight Shelby finds Legend on the Internet after becoming tired of being one of her now ex-husband's "beautiful things."

BED, BREAKFAST, AND YOU by Maddie James

Suzie Schul finds home only when the "fling" she had many months earlier shows up with a plan on her B&B doorstep.

CTR: I love stories by Maddie James. Bed, Breakfast, and You, is a fast-moving read that really hooks the reader. Ms. James makes me want to move to Legend.

THE REUNION GAME by Jan Scarbrough

And plain Jane Smith reunites with her long lost love by playing a game of "bait and switch" with her twin sister.

Annual Calendar of Events

2008-10-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

City of Legend, Tennessee

Annual Calendar of Events

High School Reunions - 2nd week in July

Legend High Football

Camp - 2nd week of June

Practices - last weeks of June - Ones daily except Sundays and holidays

July and first 2 weeks of August - 2 daily, except Sundays and holidays until school starts third week of Aug.

Third Friday night 1st game of season

Legend Music Society Orchestra

June 1st - Oct 30 Music in gazebo at the park, across from Old Meeting House, every third Saturday night.

Free Movie in the Park

Every second Saturday night at sundown between June 15th and November 15th. (depending on weather)

Bingo

St. Mary's Catholic Church located at the corner of 3rd and Main - 1st Monday of every Month - year round - except holidays.

Fall Festival

October 31 @ the Legend High School gym. For fun and school related fund-raisers every year.

Main Street Christmas

December 1st annually - Shop owners decorate their stores and storefronts for the holidays.

Town New Years Eve Party held annually at Lake Lodge

January 1st Polar Bear Club meet to take a dip in Legend Lake 8:00 a.m. sharp

Second week of January through February 14 Shop Legend by Starlight

2008-10-05T06:30:00.001-07:00

A Legendary Christmas
Print Anthology

A Ladies of Legend Anthology by Janet Eaves, Maddie James, Jan Scarbrough, and Magdalena Scott

Christmas canceled?

It’s Christmas in Legend, Tennessee. The lights are hung, the town hall is decorated, and families are coming home for the holidays. But when a major winter storms sweeps through the foothills of the Smokies, everything in Legend comes to a screeching halt. A husband lost, a sister seeking forgiveness, a fallen star, and an accidental encounter all play victim to the storm.

Will Christina receive the gift she’s longed for? Or will her worst nightmare come true?

Will Rebecca's first trip to Legend be a delightful Christmas surprise for a friend, or her newest relationship disaster?

Will Chelly make it home in enough time to apologize to her sister before the holidays?

Will movie star Dawn Smith decide Legend is where her heart is and where she belongs?

The seeking heart doesn't give up easily when it's searching for home, even in a snowstorm. And there is no place like Legend, particularly at Christmastime. Canceling Christmas, under any circumstance, is just not an option.

The A Legendary Christmas print anthology includes the following stories by these Legend authors:

Janet Eaves brings us The Christmas Gift

Maddie James takes us Home for the Holidays.

Jan Scarbrough shares Santa's Kiss

And Magdalena Scott delights us with Christmas Collision.

~~~~~~~~~

Christmas Collision
Magdalena Scott

Rebecca Mayfield, the divorce lawyer in New York City, doesn't believe in "happily ever after." Why would she? Her beloved husband and law partner died of a heart attack a couple of years ago, and she spends every day of her lucrative work life ending someone's marriage.

Her friend and former client, Midnight Shelby McClain, invites Rebecca to her new "hometown" of Legend, Tennessee for the holiday. Small town Christmas—probably incredibly hokey. But Legend worked some magic in Midnight's life. What might be there for Rebecca?

Her rental car slides off the icy road and is stuck in a ditch. She hikes through the dark in the deep snow toward the only light she can see…from a little cabin on the mountain.

David keeps a vigil each Christmas Eve in a little weekend cabin on the mountain outside Legend. He needs this time alone—away from his high stress life in Knoxville. He does not appreciate the interruption of having to take care of yet another lost soul—no matter how cute and spicy the package it's wrapped in.

The power goes off, but the sparks continue to fly between these two strangers… There's something magical about this cabin. Maybe this is the Christmas to find love—and a new beginning—in Legend, Tennessee.

Read an excerpt.

The Christmas Gift
Janet Eaves

Christina Montgomery dreads another Christmas with the questions about her soldier husband, Johnny, hanging over her, and her daughter's, heads. She believes he died with his small sniper squadron a little over two years earlier even though his was the only body unaccounted for. The Marine Corp has indicated they are leaning towards calling Johnny a defector. There are even a few Legend locals who believe it, too. This is something Christina refuses to consider. Until one snowy evening two weeks before Christmas a man looking very much like Johnny arrives at her Tennessee farm with no idea of who he is.

Stunned, confused, Christina doesn't know what to do with him. Is this man's sudden appearance a Christmas miracle? Or is it Christina's worse nightmare come true?

Read an excerpt.

Santa's Kiss
Jan Scarbrough

Actress Dawn Smith’s world is crumbling. She’s always lived on the edge, seeking thrills, making herself into someone different. That’s why her success in Hollywood came so easily for a small town girl from Legend, Tennessee. But now things have changed. Dawn needs to get away from the bright lights, but it’s Christmastime and that has always meant going home to family. She can’t face family this year.

Clint Roberts, former high school football hero and current car dealership owner, is a popular fixture in Legend. Affable, fun-loving, the bachelor is everyone’s best buddy. Most people know about his infatuation for one-time Legend girl, now superstar Dawn Smith.

Dawn needs someone to turn to, but she’s rejected her family. When Clint shows up on her doorstep in a snowstorm dressed as Santa bearing gifts and food, she welcomes him. Will their night of lovemaking bring Dawn more heartache or can Clint convince the actress that it’s time for her to come home for good?

Read an excerpt.

Home for the Holidays
Maddie James

The last thing Chelly Schul wants is to go home for the holidays. She left her hometown of Legend, Tennessee on a wing and a prayer two years earlier and hasn’t returned. Her leaving humiliated her entire family, particularly her sister Suzie, since she ran off with Suzie’s (almost-ex) husband.

Legend Police Officer Matt Branson values being alone. Even during the holidays, he enjoys the solitude. Dubbed the town hermit, he tells himself he prefers his “cave” to socializing. His friends say he still pines after that lost love…although he begs to differ.

All that changes the snowy day he pulls over the older model sedan heading into Legend. His gut slams against his backbone as Chelly rolls down the car window and looks up into his eyes.

His high-school sweetheart is back in town—the woman who sent him into his cave in the first place.

Read an excerpt.

A Legendary Christmas, both print and ebook versions, will be available in November, 2008

See Publisher's Weekly review here.

Murder on the Mountain by Maddie James

2008-10-05T06:18:00.000-07:00

Murder on the Mountain
by Maddie James

In the two long years since her Tennessee state trooper husband's murder, Kate Carpenter thinks she's coped with his death, although everyone in Legend, Tennessee keeps telling her she hasn't. She can't see what the problem is, really. She has her parents, and her best friend Patti Jo, and her students. What else could a twenty-nine year old woman need?

A man, Patti Jo keeps telling her. A thought that Kara quickly puts aside.

All is fine until one hot August afternoon when Trooper Mike Lehman invades her classroom, and her life. When she can't get out of working with the trooper, assigned to teach drug abuse prevention classes, she bites the bullet and tells herself it's for the good of her students. Inside, she's fighting demons she hasn't fought in a while.

Sent to Kate's classroom on a investigation, Mike uses his drug prevention training as his cover. His mission, however, is to find out what Kate knows, if anything, about Rob Carpenter’s supposed death. Recent reports indicate he is alive and that he faked his death because of his involvement in a drug-running operation. Mike's task is to expose Carpenter, and if she's involved, Kate.

And he’ll stop at nothing, to get the answers he wants.

From the opening...

Tennessee Trooper Killed in Line of Duty

The Knoxville News Sentinel
August 17, 2006

Associated Press

Legend, TN – A Tennessee State Police Trooper was killed in the line of duty Thursday morning, presumably while answering a motorist’s distress call on Legend Mountain, in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains outside of Legend, Tennessee. Legend is approximately one hour east of Knoxville.

Trooper Robert T. Carpenter, a four-year veteran of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, responded to a *847 call from a motorist around two a.m. while working his routine shift. The female caller indicated to dispatch that her car had stalled on a secluded mountain road and that she was frightened and needed help.

Records show Carpenter radioed his arrival at the stranded motorist’s vehicle at 2:18 a.m. No further radio contact was established.

Approximately one hour later, a passing motorist discovered Carpenter’s burning body lying in the road beside his cruiser, lights flashing against the hillside, the driver’s side door open, and the engine running. Carpenter died at the scene.

A native of Florida, Trooper Carpenter relocated to Tennessee five years earlier, and was currently residing in the community of Legend, Tennessee, with his wife of one year.

An investigation is in process.

Available at Amazon . Barnes and Noble. All Romance Ebooks . Smashwords . Bookstrand . TMP Bookstore

2008-10-05T06:11:00.001-07:00

Harvest Moon by Janet Eaves

Legend After Dark

(Revised and Updated Edition Coming Soon!)

After her sadistic husband is dead, Winifred Butler believes herself finally free of his horror. But he continues to torment her from the grave as his secrets and lies, treason and terror, bring Agent Tom Green to her door. She is as determined to keep her past a secret as Tom is committed to bringing her secrets to light. Only one of them can win. So both must fight the attraction to the other, knowing they have everything to lose...

CATEGORY: Contemporary

LENGTH: Novella

FORMAT: E-BOOK

Excerpt:

The large structure had certainly seen better days. There was not only a general air of neglect with all the dusty spider-webs filling the upper and many of the lower rafters. The tin roof had large sheets missing and the support posts, as well as the exterior siding, were rotting in places. The long vertical boards enclosing the structure showed signs of water-rot at their jagged ends.

Winnie pressed her lips together, wondering just how long it had been since the barn had actually been used as intended. Not that she knew everything there was to know about farming, but she did know, after working for them one winter during her Christmas break from school, that the Casey family had farmed this land for several generations, and none of them would have allowed such disrepair. Which meant Jack, the lazy mongrel she'd known he was, hadn't been farming as she'd been led to believe.

So what had he been up to? she wondered, as she walked to the far end of the barn where the heavy oak door to the tobacco stripping room lay closed. Fortunately there was a light switch on the outside of the built-in structure so she was able to enter safely.

There were still indications that tobacco had once been stripped in the dimly lit room. The long, three section press machine with its hydraulic hose attached to an electric air-pressure device looked much as she remembered, though layers of dust now covered it. The woven-wood, flat baskets the hand-tied tobacco would be placed on were already considered old-fashioned when she'd worked for the Caseys, but Mister Casey had treated them as treasures from his past, and kept them in pristine condition. Not now. They were dirty and rotting. The man was probably spinning in his grave.

Winnie sighed, shaking her head at the complete neglect of the place as she continued to scan the room. Though filthy, nothing much had changed with the long bench that workers would stand in front of to lift the stalk, strip the tobacco leaves off, then place them in the now disintegrating burlap sacks that hung off the table's front edge.

She exhaled through pursed lips. There was a lot of cleaning up that would have to be done. The stripping room was as dusty and web infested as the rest of the barn. But the worst thing was that there was no sign of photo developing equipment. So where had Jack done his dirty work?

She crossed her arms, rubbing at the goose-bumps chilling them. At the moment, she had no idea where to search next. She started to leave the room when a hint of white caught her eye. Nestled tight in the corner between the stripping table and the wall was a picture of another woman, naked, terrified, and chained to the posts of a bed similar to the one she'd known all too well.

Shock loosened her grip and the photo floated to the dirt floor as vomit rolled up from her stomach to her throat. She turned, bent over, and let go, making the dust rise as she emptied everything inside. She ran the back of her hand over her mouth as she stumbled backwards until her bottom rested against the stripping table.

She hadn't been Jack's only victim.

Also coming soon to the Legend After Dark series by Janet Eaves:

Crescent Moon
Mystic Moon

2008-10-05T06:03:00.000-07:00

Beauty and the Beast by Janet Eaves

A Ladies of Legend Novella...

Special Agent Polly Chapman has multiple identities..

She is known to many as a savior. To others she is a killing machine. But all who know her, or think they know her, believe her untouchable.

Until she's injured.

Now the man sent to piece her back together when "The Agency" considers her broken has only two choices-- Catcher Stevens must fix her, or kill her.

CATEGORY: Contemporary

HEAT LEVEL: Sapphire

LENGTH: Novella

An excerpt:

“Move and you die.”

Polly Chapman remained as still as possible but her mind worked frantically for an escape that wouldn’t further rile the Powers That Be. For three months she’d followed this man – against orders -- waiting impatiently for red tape to be resolved so she’d get the go-ahead to nail his sorry ass to the wall. It didn’t come too late, it never came at all, and he’d done the unthinkable before she could save the innocent.

The mess she was in now was her own fault. She was supposed to have waited for backup, kept hidden until Ballard or Angustine arrived to take the perp down. She’d been given direct orders to keep her hands off him – to let local law enforcement collar him. Now she not only loss the advantage of surprise, she might very well lose her life to some sorry son of a bitch she could break into tiny pieces if allowed.

“Who else is out there?”

A line of heat met her throat where he held the knife. She licked her lips, refusing to whimper as heat turned to pain. “My backup,” she bluffed.

“How many?”

Inch by careful inch Polly slid her hand across her stomach until her fingertips reached the small Tazer tucked into her black slacks, but lost concentration when he ground his pelvis against her bottom.

“Don’t fuck with me, Sister.”

Feted breath caressed her cheek making her gag. As far as she could tell he hadn’t detected her movements, but was referring to her bluff. She fought taking a deep breath, certain she’d vomit from the dumpster-smell of his rotting teeth. Taking short sharp breaths through her mouth, she nearly cried in triumph when she grasped the stun-gun on her second attempt.

“Move that hand and I’ll take it off.”

Indecision was a new and unwelcome problem. She remained still; regret formulating with the certainty that she wouldn’t make it out of this alive if she followed orders. Fury simmered at the restrictions she’d been made to endure regarding this man. He was refuse, sludge, and expendable as far as she was concerned, more-so now than before, but she’d been forced to back off.

She had her orders – get counseling and leave him to others. To take him down now would spotlight her disobedience. To obey could and most certainly would cost her life - a condition she’d never given thought to before. How could she let go of life when she hadn’t even lived it yet? She’d given Uncle Sam everything. Twice-over. And he’d paid her back by letting the very people she’d sworn to protect, die.

She didn’t want to die, too. Not by this man’s hands.

****

Now available in print, along with Harvest Moon! Buy at Resplendence Publishing or Amazon.com.

Read another excerpt!

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