Cascade

Cascade

Denver Cereal, Volume Three

Claudia Hall Christian

Copyright © Claudia Hall Christian

Cook Street
Publishing
Denver, CO

Also by
Claudia Hall Christian

THE DENVER CEREAL SERIAL FICTION:

The Denver Cereal
Celia’s Puppies

Cascade

ALEX THE FEY THRILLER SERIES:

The Fey

Learning to Stand

Who I am (February, 2011)

Originally published at DenverCereal.com
:
June 2009—February 2010;
copyright © Claudia Hall Christian

Licensed under the Creative Commons
License:

Attribution–NonCommercial–Share Alike 3.0

Smashwords Edition Licensing Notes:

Thank you for downloading this free ebook.
You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be
reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes,
provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you
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ISBN
(
13 digits
) : 978-0-9826417-6-7

Library of Congress Cataloging-in Publication
Data available upon request

PUBLISHER’S NOTE:

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places and incidents either are the product of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously.

First edition © August 2010

Cook Street Publishing
PO Box 18217

Denver, CO 80218

For Gayle

Author’s note

Like all great ideas, Denver Cereal started
on a whim. Who knew these characters had so much story to tell? Who
knew we’d find our audience? Who knew the Internet would blossom
into a serial fiction destination? Who knew publishing would
implode? Two years later, Denver Cereal continues to grow and
thrive.

Why write Denver Cereal? Because I love
these characters. I love their depth, their strength, and the way
they love each other no matter what happens. They have survived
tremendous odds and remain some of the best people I’ve ever
met.

There are a lot of characters. So if you get
confused feel free to check the character guide at the back of this
book.

Denver Cereal is a labor of love. Special
thanks go to all the people who work behind the scenes – the Silent
Partner for ongoing content edits, creative input and pep talks in
the middle of the night; Anthony Ream for his fabulous cover and
wonderful logo design; the scores of people who’ve helped proof
read including La Shae Dorsey, Terry Lee and the amazing Rammi
Glomp.

Do join us
online. Join the Denver Cereal Facebook page; follow @ValerieLipson
or @ClaudiaC at Twitter; or hang out at DenverCereal.com. If you
have questions, you can always drop a line at
[email protected]

I want to thank everyone who reads daily,
weekly and in book form. Our efforts mean very little without your
support.

Thank you for reading and caring.

September, 2010

What’s happened so far?

Denver Cereal begins when Jillian Roper
decides to attend her abusive ex-husband’s engagement party.
Dressed in thigh high leather boots, she puts on a show to remember
and meets the man of her dreams, Jacob Marlowe. Jill and Jacob must
over come illness and grave injury to discover that Jacob is the
father of Jill’s precocious three year old daughter, Katy.

Her ex-husband, Trevor, and his new wife
don’t appreciate Jill’s disruption of their engagement party. They
assault Jill, destroy her apartment and terrify Katy. This only
serves to push Jill to move in with Jacob at the Castle. On the
night of her debut as a fashion model, Trevor and his wife steal
Katy and her best friend Paddie Hargreaves. Trevor’s wife tries to
murder her sister, Honey Lipson. After the children are retrieved,
Trevor is killed with a single bullet through the forehead.

Meanwhile, soap opera actress, movie star
and Jacob’s sister, Valerie Lipson returns to Denver and her life
with her husband, Michael Roper. These star crossed lovers must
over come their tragic past in order to begin their life and love
again. As they begin to come together, Valerie’s Hollywood
lifestyle clashes with Mike’s worn jeans Denver lifestyle. Step by
step they make the decisions which cement their relationship.

The Castle is owned by Delphie, the mad,
earthy, loyal best friend of Jacob’s mother Celia. Delphie is a
powerful psychic. Celia’s ghost appears to give advice and support.
A beekeeper, master gardener, and great cook, Delphie in a
relationship with Sam, Jacob and Valerie’s father.

Trevor’s wife’s sister and Jacob’s
step-sister, Honey barely recovers from her injuries. Paralyzed
from the neck down, Honey rekindles her relationship with her
childhood sweetheart, MJ Scully. MJ and Honey marry and move into
the Castle.

After working out with him for six years,
Jill’s best friend, hair stylist Sandy, begins a relationship with
Aden Norsen, the COO of Lipson Construction, the underground
utility company owned by Jacob, Sam and Valerie. Aden and his two
young children, Nash and Noelle, love Sandy. They want her to join
their family. But Sandy struggles to make the commitment. She
relies on Jill and their two other best friends Heather and Tanesha
Smith. Pregnant by a Hollywood heel, Heather marries to Jacob’s gay
cousin, Blane Lipson.

The Lipson Construction Board of Directors
object to Jacob’s plan to sell the company to the employees. A
series of power struggles ensue. Finally, a friend of Celia’s
offers to meet to help.

When Jill learns her dead mother wanted to
attend her wedding to Jacob, she calls off the wedding and plans to
leave him. Through a string of events, Valerie plans a magic filled
wedding for Jill and Jacob which includes everyone they’ve known.
They celebrate with champagne and Captain Crunch with Crunch
Berries.

Cascade begins a few hours after their
reception is over.

Confused? Go to DenverCereal.com for a free
eBook of The Denver Cereal, Volume 1 in the series. Denver Cereal,
Celia’s Puppies, and Cascade are available at Amazon.com, Barnes
& Noble and your local independent bookseller.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
All that
Captain Crunch and chocolate

Saturday
afternoon – 1:05 P.M
.

“
I thought they’d never
crash,” Valerie whispered. “They’ve been spinning in circles for at
least an hour.”

She set two year old Paddie Hargreaves down
on their bed and began changing him out of his dress clothes.

“
Too much sugar and
chocolate,” Mike whispered.

He set his three year old niece Katy down on
the other side of their bed. He took off her pretty shoes.

“
What do you think about
the dress?” Mike asked in his soft voice.

“
See if you can take it
off,” Valerie replied in the same tone. “Katy will cry if something
happens to her wedding dress. Colin gave me some extra clothes for
Paddie. Do we have PJs for Katy?”

“
I didn’t think to get
some,” Mike said. “She can wear one of my T-shirts.”

Valerie slipped Paddie under the covers. He
opened his eyes for a moment to say, “Katy?”

“
I’m sleeping,” Katy said.
Mike helped her under the covers.

“
I’m so glad,” Paddie
said. His eyes drooped.

Mike beckoned Valerie out of the room.
Before they were out the door, Katy and Paddie were sound asleep.
They left the hall light on.

“
What would you like
to…"Valerie started.

Mike lifted her from her feet. His lips
devoured her mouth. With her legs wrapped around his hips, he
carried her into their sitting area.

“
Bath?” He
asked.

“
Kiss me,” she said. “Just
kiss me.”

“
What
about
your
fancy dress?” Mike asked.

With a flip of her hand, Valerie unzipped
her Marchesa gown. Her dress dropped to her waist. Mike continued
his exploration of her mouth. When his mouth strayed from hers to
kiss her neck or shoulders, she begged him to return to her
mouth.

“
I don’t know what it is…”
Valerie’s mouth was less than an inch from his.

“
Sugar and chocolate?” He
asked.

“
Makes me very
hot…”

Mike’s fingers worked her nipples. His mouth
pulled at her lips.

“
Impatient…”

Mike moved to pull the rest of the dress
from her.

“
My body aches for slow,
easy… hot.”

Mike laughed.

“
Do you think they spiced
the Captain Crunch with Viagra?”

She laughed. Holding his chin in her hand,
she kissed his lips.

“
You’ve never
needed…”

And she was lost.

~~~~~~~~

Saturday afternoon – 1:05
P.M.

When Sam Lipson came in, Delphie was
showering in his bathroom. He went into the bathroom to say ‘hello’
then began changing out of his tux. He was exhausted, worn out and
charged up at the same time. He’d never seen a more beautiful
wedding or enjoyed a reception more.

“
Can you believe they fed
each other Captain Crunch instead of cake?” Delphie laughed from
the bathroom. “The pictures are going to be fun.”

“
Very Jacob. Very Jill,”
Sam said of his son and brand new daughter-in-law.

“
Do you think Candy was
offended? She really worked her butt off making that gorgeous
Crunch Berry cake.”

“
She didn’t seem to be.”
Sam pulled off his tie. “You were truly wonderful.”

Delphie came out of the bathroom wrapped in
a lime green bath sheet. She had a towel turban around her
hair.

“
Thanks,” Delphie
said.

“
Would you…” Sam
started.

He furrowed his brow at her then went into
his walk-in closet to hang his suit. Puzzled, she followed him to
the closet.

“
What’s up, Sam?” Delphie
asked. “A moment ago, you seemed so happy. Now…?”

“
Would you ever want to do
this?”

“
Do what?”

“
Get married,” Sam
said.

Delphie laughed.

“
I’m serious.”

“
I know,” Delphie
said.