Kathleen Valentine (12 page)

Leaving the children in my parent’s capable and doting care, we appoint Thad as driver and all pile into my mother’s battered old station wagon. The Seneca Highlands Inn is a cavernous wood-shingled dance hall built in the Twenties. It was famous for its pinball machines, pool tables, and Friday night fish fry dinners when I was a growing up. Bart and Daisy, Simon and RuthAnn, Andie and Junie, like hundreds of other Hamlet couples, spent many a weekend evening back then trying to see how close they could dance without getting kicked out. Now the place has been renovated, mostly because early one December morning George managed to drive his pickup through the side of it, and into the bar before making a three-point turn on the dance floor and driving out the front. That happened a few years back when he was still hunting — and driving. Not seeing any reason to ruin a perfectly good day of hunting when it was much too early to do anything about the mess, he had proceeded onto his favorite hunting spot and was deep in the woods trailing the biggest buck he had ever seen, he claimed, when the Staties tracked him down. He was initially tempted to deny responsibility but when the cops pointed out that his engine was full of shattered bar glass and smelled strongly of alcohol, he caved. The state decided it was time for George to rely on his friends to haul him to the woods and back and took his license. Thad tells the entire story as we bump along the snow-rutted roads.
"You’re going to love it, Fifi," RuthAnn says from the back seat. "It’s so cute inside now and this guy that sings there is just adorable."
"Christ, Simon," Thad growls, "you better lock her up or she’ll turn into a groupie."
"Naw," Simon says, "she can get as horny as she wants over this guy. I’m the one that gets the benefit."
"Do you people ever think about anything else?" I hear myself say and want to bite my tongue as soon as I do. But, as usual, no one takes offense and there is a chorused response of "no" and "not really". Tim is laughing.

RuthAnn is right. The music is beautiful. The songs are sensual and descriptive filled with tales of love sought and love found, life in a mill town, and broken hearts. The singer is a handsome, local guy with a deep, sexy voice and a twinkle in his eyes. I listen snuggling deeper into my husband’s warm arms as Daisy snuggles into Bart and RuthAnn snuggles into Simon. It is nice.
Snow drifts down lazily as we head back home. Still dreaming the music I sit between Thad and Tim in the front seat as they discuss plans for the next day’s adventure. From the back seat comes the sounds of kissing and sighs.
"Tired?" Tim asks cuddling me closer.
"A little," I admit.
"We should go spotting deer," he whispers.
"Oh yeah," Thad grumbles, "that sounds just peachy. Gee willikers, I can sit here and polish my bishop while you two have a good time and the married folks in the back seat make more kids. Won’t that be fun?"
I hear Bart’s deep, rumbling chuckle, "Treat yourself to the best, I always say..." But Daisy stops him with her kisses.
"Come on, Thad," I prod, "you can’t tell me there isn’t some dumb bastard away tonight whose wife isn’t home waiting for you."
"You’re goddamned right there is. That’s why I can’t wait to get rid of you assholes."
"Treat yourself to..." Simon begins to say but the words get smothered.

By the time I unpack our suitcase Tim has the fire roaring in the cabin’s fireplace. Snow pellets chatter against the window and my husband catches me around the waist and pulls me tight against him.
"Kiss me," he whispers, nuzzling into my hair and throat, as he removes my sweater.
"I thought you were worn out," I say unbuttoning his shirt, kissing his throat.
"No such luck." He lifts me onto one of my grandmother’s old patchwork quilts covering the huge, soft bed and begins removing our clothes with a haste and passion that is delicious but unlike his usual, quiet lovemaking.
"I want you," I whisper to him. "You know I want you but you’re always so wild when we’re here. What happens to you?"
He pauses, wrapping his legs around mine, softly stroking my breasts. "I don’t know," he says at last. "It’s different here, baby. It’s.... it’s like you are. Wild and earthy and sexy. It’s like real life, you know?"
I stare at him. "It’s like I am?"
He takes a deep breath. "Well, yeah. You’re so lucky to have grown up here. You know I grew up in front of a television set watching shows about the life you lived."
"Baby," I stroke his face with my fingertips. "It’s not always like this. We argue and fight, Bart and Daisy have separated a couple times, and the chores get old really fast."
"I know that. Oh, Fifi, I couldn’t handle it for a week. I’m so damn tired tonight I can hardly stand but when we’re here I feel so close to you. It’s like I fall in love with you all over again every time we’re here."
"Tim..."
He nips at my fingertips. "In the city we’re always trying so hard to be right for each other. But here, I don’t know, I feel like one of those cowboy heroes I grew up wanting to be. I feel good enough for a wild beauty like you."
I gasp. "Tim, you’ve always been my hero. You’re what I always dreamed of. I can’t believe you think I’d want you to be different. If this is what I wanted, I’d have stayed here."
"Oh, baby, I know that." He slips his hands down over my hips, pulling me tight against him and I feel his heat and his desire growing against me. "But you’re my wild mountain fairy. You’re what I always dreamed of." He presses into me and I gasp. "Don’t you get it, baby," he whispers as we begin moving together, "you’re it, you’re the best."
Tears well in my throat and I kiss him, fill myself with him, melt around him, as we move together to the music of the crackling fire and the falling mountain snow.

BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR

--Novelettes--

Ghosts of a Beach Town in Winter
- Novelette (20k words) Psychological horror / suspense / ghost story – When Layla's professor husband has an opportunity to spend the winter at an old motel in a seaside amusement park resort, she reluctantly agrees to run the pub attached to it while he works on his book. The arcades, food stands, souvenir shops and tattoo parlors are boarded over for the winter. She faces a long, cold, lonely winter but “The Geezers” soon begin regaling her with stories about an ill-fated romance between the beautiful wife of a Boston mob boss and The Great Hercules, a sideshow strongman. She is also fascinated by an elusive roustabout who flirts with her. As winter gets darker and deeper Layla's husband is both struggling with his writing and becoming suspicious of her behavior. What Layla doesn't know is that nothing is what it seems and her options are growing fewer every day. (eBook only)

Home-made Pie and Sauasage & Killing Julie Morris
– Two shorts (6k words) Horror / suspense – Two short crime stories about revenge:
Home-made Pie and Sausage
(crime/horror): Sometimes the most ordinary things in life can turn out to be the most horrifying - especially if you're the sheriff of a small town who didn't pay attention when he should have.
Killing Julie Morris
(crime/murder) - Julie Morris was beautiful, rich, spoiled and used to getting her own way -- until she wanted the wrong man. This "chilling" story proves it's not a good idea to take people for granted. (eBook only, Both of these stories were formerly found in the anthology,
love, murder, etc.: Eight Stories
by Kathleen Valentine.

Arthur's Story: A Love Story -
Novelette (12k words): At the turn of the century 13 year old Arthur is left alone in New York City to fend for himself. His resourcefulness, industry, and good fortune contribute to creating a future -- but so does a mysterious "guardian angel". This tender, heartwarming story is suitable for Young Adults.
(eBook only)

The Crazy Old Lady In the Attic
- Novelette (15k words) Psychological horror. – When Mattie returns to Beacon Hill, where she grew up, to take possession of the townhouse she inherited from her grandmother, some shocking discoveries await her. Faced with horrors she never imagined, she wonders what kind of monster raised her. (eBook only. An Amazon Top Ten Bestseller in Horror and in Psychological Thrillers.)

The Reluctant Belsnickel of Opelt's Wood -
Novella (23k words) - Folklore / Romance - When he tries to revive the Old World Traditions of Belsnickel, an old man who lived in the woods and visited children on the evening of December 6th to see if they've been bad or good, Father Bauer recruits his childhood friends Gretchen Fritz and Oliver. When they were young Oliver was a popular athlete and local heart-throb but now he is a recluse who lives alone in Opelt's Wood. Father Nick hopes to understand what happened to Oliver and why he is now a hermit and Gretchen rediscovers why half the girls in town had crushes on him.
(e-book only)

--Novels--

The Old Mermaid's Tale -
Set against the background of the maritime and sea legends of the Great Lakes,
The Old Mermaid's Tale
weaves a love story of grand proportions - the story of Clair Wagner and the men she loves: Pio, a handsome young fisherman, Gary, the dashing son of a wealthy shipping family, and Baptiste, the mysterious Breton seafarer and musician she is fascinated by. This sweeping coming-of-age story pays homage to the importance of stories in our lives. (Paperback or eBook)

Each Angel Burns -
T
he story of three people at crossroads in their lives: Peter, the amiable and brilliant Jesuit priest; Gabe, the good father, good husband, good craftsman, who is Peter's oldest friend; and Maggie, the elusive sculptor they both love. An abandoned convent on the coast of Maine, where rumors of mysterious events are whispered, is the setting for both murder and romance. A sophisticated love story of enduring friendship, of faith, of great evil and greater love --- and of how they culminate in a miracle. (Paperback or eBook)

Depraved Heart – (Scheduled for Spring 2012)
Syd Jupiter was one of the most impressive linebacks in the NFL when he married the ballerina Rachel Silver their fans were enthralled. Five years later, convicted of the depraved heart murder of Rachel's twin brother, Raven, Syd begins a 25 year jail sentence. Fifteen years later Tempest Hobbs, an art historian from Salem, who is also a “sensitive” is hired by Jupiter who has just been released from prison to archive the multi-million dollar art collection his teenage daughter has just inherited. She will be spending the summer with Syd and his daughter in a crumbling mansion on an island in the North Atlantic.
(Paperback or eBook)

--Short Story Collections--

My Last Romance and other passions -
My Last Romance and other passions
contains eight beautifully told little tales of lovers from a broad variety of lifestyles and ages. Valentine's powers of description and sensitive portraits are captivating. Each story is sensuous, and romantic in the most traditional sense of the word. This is a literary feast for those with a taste for both the romantic and literature of high quality.
(Paperback or eBook)

Mardi Gras Was Over: Three Love Stories
– Love Stories (12k words total)
Mardi Gras Was Over -
He arrived on a Harley one dark night and swept her off to Mardi Gras -- then off her feet. Now a lot of years have passed
.
The Mermaid Shawl -
She moved to an island in the Great Lakes to heal from a loss. There she found two great loves -- the lace shawls she designed to sell and the beautiful stranger she pulled from the sea.
Sailor's Valentine -
Lobsterman Tristan Hancock was a loner with a sordid past, shop-owner Minerva Light was a newcomer with a mind of her own. Nobody in Port St. Magnus was ready for the two of them together.
(All three of these stories were formerly part of
love, murder, etc.
which is no longer available in e-format. “The Mermaid Shawl” is also included in
The Mermaid Shawl and other beauties: Shawls, Cocoons & Wraps
. eBook only)

--Knitting Instruction--

The Mermaid Shawl and other beauties: Shawls, Cocoons & Wraps –
This detailed instruction books teaches knitters how to make lace shawls in a variety of shapes and designs using their own creativity to make unique pieces of knitted art.
(Full color paperback or eBook)

Knit Your Tail Off: Sumptuous Silk Bags –
An instruction booklet with patterns for a variety of shoulder bags. Includes detailed instruction on entrelac and on knitting with silk fibers.
(eBook only)

Knit Your Tail Off: The Pooling-On-Purpose-Project
– An instruction booklet on working with hand-painted yarn detailing a technique to force colors to “pool” giving a unique and dramatic effect.
(eBook only)

Knit Your Tail Off: Seaman's Scarves
–
In this booklet you will find information about the scarves and their history, sculptural stitches, Aran-style knitting, Guernsey-style knitting and two patterns with charts for a scarf in each of those two styles.
(eBook only)