Long Overdue (River Jewel Resort Book 3) (8 page)

Lexi was right. Sydney hadn
’t been out of her apartment in two weeks until that day. Hell, she didn’t even bother showering for most of that time. Why should she? No one was coming to see her and she had no plans of going anywhere. Who cared? She was content to sit in her fleece pajamas which were adorned with the oh-so-cute, tiny coffee cup appliques and eat Moose Tracks ice cream until the day she died. Why did Lexi expect her to get over this break-up so easily? Sydney’s old life was over. Roger’s philandering had destroyed all of her hopes and dreams in a nano-second. How was she supposed to ‘move on’? Furthermore, what should she ‘move on’ to?

“
You honestly believe that if I go out and find some random stranger to screw, it will fix everything?”

Never had she imagined Lexi
’s advice would be to sign up for an online dating service and fornicate with a guy that some person behind a computer screen would randomly pick for her. Sydney didn’t care what kind of reputation for matching people, for finding soul-mates this place had, Sydney was not going to disregard her morals just so she could ‘move on’.  To Sydney, everything about the idea screamed slutty and desperate. Those were two things she never wanted to be.

“
Roger cheated on you. He is the adulterer. You don’t owe him anything. Besides, you said yourself that he’d been acting like a total stranger lately. Even before you caught him bonking that slut.” Lexi tilted her head and wiggled her eyebrows at her best friend. “Maybe he would see what he’s losing if you were no longer there for his every wish and whim? The man needs a serious awakening. If he truly cares, that is.” Lexi rolled her eyes and sipped her cooled espresso.

Sydney knew Lexi wouldn
’t take no for an answer. Maybe Lexi was right. Maybe Sydney needed to shake things up. She looked into her friends eyes and said “I’ll think about it.”

Hunter's Fortune

River Jewel Resort

Book 2

Welcome to the River Jewel Resort—where fantasy becomes reality!

When Hunter Golde
’s father died, he left her in charge of his trucking company. Having such big shoes to fill has put Hunter at a disadvantage and she’s had to be tough.

Someone has robbed her of every dime and turned the stockholders against her and she must bring the thief to justice before she ends up with a mutiny on her hands.

With her life in shambles, an unsupportive boyfriend, and no one to comfort her, Hunter leaves town but her plans to hide out at her family’s cabin are put on hold and she finds herself at the uncanny River Jewel Resort.

Hunter experiences one of the worst days in her life and finds herself alone and desperate but realizes what she must do.

Can the River Jewel Resort teach her that it’s never too late for wishes and dreams to come true? Or will Hunter Golde remain true to the fortune life has already given her?

Sneak Peek:

“
Are you alright, ma’am?”

Hunter opened her eyes and found herself staring into the deep blue eyes of a mountain man.
“Get back!”

She jumped to her feet, grabbing the closest object on her way up and brandishing it, ready to beat the stranger into a bloody mess. She
’d be damned if her photo would be on the front page of the local paper as the latest victim of some deranged weirdo.

“
Whoa. Easy there, little lady.”

“
Keep your hands where I can see them. Who are you? What do you want? And why are you staring at me like that?”

“
Well, you’re just full of questions, aren’t you?”

As the stranger stood there with his hands in the air, Hunter measured him with her eyes.
“I asked who you are.”

“
I know what you asked. But you never answered me. I asked if you’re okay. You seem to be having some car trouble.”

“
That’s none of your damn business. But for your information, I’m fine.”

“
Yeah, I can see that. Do you always tell squirrels to go ‘suck a nut’ when you’re fine?”

“
You’ve been watching me? Listen here creep, you need to back up and walk away. I’m not going to be your next meal. So take your psycho ass on outta here before I kick it for you.”

The man laughed so hard that tears ran down his cheeks, making a trail through his beard and onto his blue flannel shirt. He actually had the nerve to bend over, in a full-blown belly laugh.

“I don’t see what’s so funny. I said to keep your hands up!”

He continued to laugh and glanced at her occasionally before erupting into another fit.
“You?”

“
You really are fucking crazy.” Hunter slowly began to back up and inched closer to the safety of her car.

“Listen, buddy. I don’t want any trouble. Just go back to whatever rock you crawled out from under and I’ll be leaving.”

“
No, you listen. Sweetheart, you’re not goin’ anywhere.”

A shiver of terror ran through her and the man
’s cold gaze stared back at her, freezing her in her tracks. “You’re on my land. You’re not going anywhere. You can’t leave.”

He inched closer to her and Hunter tightened her grip on the weapon in her hands.

“No!” She screamed as the guy reached for her. “Don’t touch me, you bastard!”

He yanked her only means of defense from her and held it up.
“This is what you were going to beat me up with? Impressive.”

Hunter only then realized she
’d been holding a stick.

“
Sticks and stones. That’s the best you could come up with?” He erupted into another fit of laughter and tossed the stick aside. “A damn twig! You don’t get out much, do you?”

He pressed even closer to her body and Hunter felt herself recoil.
“I said, don’t touch me.” She backed away and found her backside pressed up against the car.

“
Gladly. I was merely disarming you. Though I’m pretty sure you’d have poked your own eye out before you’d have done any damage to me. Let’s just say it was for your own good.”

What a jerk!

“Now, are you going to allow me to help you with this flat tire or are you still hell bent on, what did you say? Oh yeah, kicking my ass.”

“
Just get away from me. I’ll figure it out myself. Kindly point me in the direction of the closest person’s home and I’ll be on my way.”

“
Not a great listener, are ya’?”

“
Why must you answer questions with questions? Have you lived in the woods all your life? No human interaction?”

“
What?”

The man was incorrigible!
“Never mind. I don’t want to confuse you with words of more than one syllable.”

Hunter pulled her long, black hair to one side of her neck and crossed her arms in front of her.

“You’re quite the piece of work, aren’t you?”

“
Okay, look, Mr. Woodsman, just leave me alone. Clearly, we aren’t going to be able to have a civilized conversation. Obviously I’m not surprised, considering…”

“
Considering what? Oh, you mean considering how I look? How I talk?”

Hunter smirked and shrugged.
“If the shoe fits.”

“
Alright, have it your way. Where’s your spare?”

“
If I had a spare or anything to help me change a tire, do you think I’d have grabbed a stick to defend myself with? Do you think I’d still be here if I had a spare?”

“
Shucks, ma’am. I have no idea. I’m just a dumb ol’ mountain man.” He spit out the side of his mouth and tucked his hands in his pockets.

“
Typical.”

“Look, I’ve had the worst week of my life. I’m trying to get to my family’s cabin and I really don’t need attitude and condescension from some hilltop hillbilly. So, if you have an idea on how to help me, great. If not, kindly take yourself back to wherever you came from.”

“
You have quite a way with words. I have no idea why you’d be all alone.”

Picking up on his sarcasm, Hunter continued,
“Whether I’m all alone or not is of no consequence to you.”

“
I beg to differ. Ya’ see, if you weren’t all alone, I wouldn’t have to be here listening to you whine and cuss out squirrels. If you weren’t alone, you wouldn’t be stuck out here in the middle of nowhere on my land. And I wouldn’t have to be stuck with a woman who clearly has issues. I’ll go get the necessary equipment and be right back so you can be on your way.”

Taken aback at his brusqueness, Hunter stood there with her mouth wide open as the man disappeared into the woods, leaving her standing on the side of the road.

Smoky Mountain Escapes Series

Natural Lust

Book 1:

Meet Kallie Masters. She has spent the past seven years becoming a renowned book reviewer. In that time, she has forgone any romantic entanglements for the sake of her job. Good or bad opinions, she is highly respected by her readers and peers. However, when an arrogant author sends death threats in response to Kallie’s scathing review of his latest novel, her boss sends her to the Great Smoky Mountains on a weekend getaway to keep everyone, especially Kallie, safe.

Kallie
’s mountaintop respite is shattered when she runs into Hank Fogle with his drop-dead gorgeous eyes and frat-boy attitude. Denying the unmistakable chemistry between them, Kallie steels herself against the attraction, determined to remain aloof and free of the mess this man and a romantic adventure would surely bring into her life.

Can the magic of the Smokies allow her to let things flow naturally between them or will she fall into a lustful trap that will only break her heart in the end?

You'll Never Be Lonely

Book 2:

Kallie Masters and Hank Fogle return to the Great Smoky Mountains, picking up where they left off
and they're heating things up!

Kallie is still adjusting to being in a relationship and Hank finds himself torn between work and play. When Hank leaves to take care of some business, Kallie finds herself
in a precarious position.

Will Hank be able to handle the guilt he feels for leaving Kallie alone when they're supposed to be on vacation?

Will Kallie ever be able to forgive him for choosing money over her?

Can these two polar opposites, a book reviewer and an author, ever make it work? Will they ever find their "happily ever after"?

About The Author

Romance author, Madison Sevier, officially began her writing career in 2011 by going after her lifelong dream and has been having the time of her life ever since.

Her days are spent homeschooling her daughter and doing the bookkeeping for her husband's business. At night, she gets to become someone else, creating characters who work their way into the hearts and minds of romance readers everywhere.

Being a coffee-addicted Gemini, Madison is known for doing whatever strikes her fancy at any given moment. Some of her favorite hobbies include; hiking, geocaching, animal rescue, writing, reading, baking, horseback riding and she loves NASCAR.

Living in what everyone calls 'Kentuckiana' with her husband, daughter, two Chihuahuas, one Saint Bernard and two cats, she's found the perfect paradise to allow all of her stories to come to life. Against a backdrop of the Ohio River and surrounding hillsides, she never knows where a new romance will come from. But you can be sure you're going to hear about it.

She loves hearing from her readers and meeting new ones, so feel free to contact her anytime.

Contact Madison

Blog:
http://madisonsevier.blogspot.com/

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:
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http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7011658.Madison_Sevier

Email:
[email protected]