Rising Storm (26 page)

"Yes!"

Marshall's heart filled with joy as he picked her up and twirled her around. Her head was flung backward as she laughed out loud with happiness. He slid her body down his and pulled her face to his. He kissed her then, his fiancé, his love.

She ran her hands down his back and he felt like roaring when she squeezed his bottom and pulled his shirt from his jeans. He raised his arms and let her peel it off and fling it to the ground. He was already working the buttons on the side of her shirt. When he got them undone, he unwrapped her, exposing her to him as the material parted and fell to the ground.

"Wait!" she gasped.

"What's the matter?"

"Is the door locked?" she asked and then they laughed.

He scooped her up into his arms and kissed her. He carried her towards the front of the house and locked the door before heading up the stairs.

"This time no one is going to interrupt us."

Katelyn squeezed her eyes shut and buried her head into the pillow. Her eyes were scratchy and heavy with tiredness. Her body throbbed as she stretched out in bed. Slowly she opened her eyes halfway and took in the sight of Marshall lying next to her in bed. She ran her eyes down his naked chest and over his…

"Good morning sweetheart." His voice rumbled over her and her body instantly responded.

"Good morning."

"How do you feel?" He ran his hand down her side and stopped on the curve of her bare hip.

"Excellent. However, I do think we'll need to sleep at some point."

"Not anytime soon," he said as his hand disappeared under the sheet.

*     *     *

Katelyn closed the kennel door and wrote down her directions for Bekah. She yawned and then stretched, still feeling the effects of their lovemaking from this morning. They had grudgingly gotten out of bed and headed to work after his phone rang for the fifth time.

Work had seemed like a blur and all she could think about was the dinner plans they had for tonight. Just two more clients to go and then she could head home, take a shower, and change before going to Marshall's house.

She walked into the exam room and smiled. She was vaccinating a litter of puppies for the K-9 training facility in Lexington. She gave large discounts to dogs being trained for service, and as a result was the vet for many of the surrounding counties’ police dogs and search and rescue dogs. Katelyn played with the litter of seven German Shepherd puppies and knew this was just one of the reasons she loved her job.

After vaccinating the puppies, she saw a client with Mr. Purrfect, a very large black cat with a white spot that resembled a bowtie at his neck. She said goodbye to her last client and to Mr. Purrfect and hurried to enter all the information into the computer.

"Am I interrupting?" the accent-laden voice said.

"Ahmed! Of course not. I wanted to thank you for the other night. I know you were one of the people who stopped Nancy from killing me."

"I will always be here if you need me."

"I know you will. Thank you."

"I hear congratulations are in order." He smiled and she felt the familiar friendship again.

"Yes. I still can't believe it."

"I can. I’ve never seen a man so in love. I do hope I am invited to the wedding."

"You know you are."

Ahmed took her hand and placed a small kiss on her knuckles, "Blessings to you and Marshall," he said before leaving.

Katelyn went back to work and the thought of having a Man of Honor crossed her mind. It might be fun to tell Ahmed he had to wear a dress.

"This is a nice place you have here."

"Dad?"

"I wanted to stop by and see this place you've put together. It's state of the art, I couldn't be prouder."

"Thanks, Dad." Her father gave her a hug and she tried to remember the last time he had done that.

"I heard about the wedding, congratulations."

"Ah, the Keeneston Grapevine."

"No, your young man stopped by and saw me this morning. He didn't ask permission to marry you, but he did assure me he loved you and would take excellent care of you. I hope you two will be very happy. I must say
--
I like him a lot. Do you think I could get his mother to become our head cook at the hotel in Nashville?"

"I don't think so," she laughed.

"Too bad. I hope you don't mind if I hang around a little while. I would really like to get to know you and Marshall. I have a feeling I’ll like him quite a bit. I respect men who stand up to me, something he's already done."

"I’d really like that."

"As a wedding gift, why don't you pick whatever hotel you want in the world for your wedding. I'll even fly everyone out myself."

"Thanks Dad." She was touched by his gesture and knew he was trying to mend fences. "But, I think I really want the wedding at Wyatt Estate." That was home for her and it would mean more to her than anything to get married there.

"Dad, I do have a favor to ask you. I want you and grandpa to walk me down the aisle." She watched as her dad's eyes got misty and he nodded.

"I’d be honored to."

Marshall bounded up the stairs to the clinic and went inside. He said hi to Shelly and loved hearing her congratulate him on getting engaged. Just thinking about marrying Katelyn made him happier than he had ever been.

"Hey sweetheart. Oh, hello Mr. Jacks." Marshall held out his hand and shook his soon to be father-in-law's hand.

"You can call me Jay. That's what only my closest friends call me. I'll let you two go, but I wanted to see if you all would join me for dinner tomorrow night."

"Sure. That works for me, what about your schedule sweetheart?" he asked Katelyn who had a happy, dopey look on her face.

"Perfect."

They said good-bye to Jay and he pulled her into a kiss.

"I’ve wanted to do that all day. I missed you."

"Same here." She tilted her head up and kissed him gently before laying her head on his chest.

"I have a surprise for you."

"I love surprises." She stepped back from him and clapped her hands.

He handed her a large-sized box wrapped in beautiful white paper with a blue ribbon. He could hardly keep his hands off of her as she ripped the paper off and opened the box. She laughed and held up the two shiny new deadbolts.

"This is the best gift you could have given me." she laughed.

"Did you see the key?"

She picked up the key ring with two keys and a large diamond ring on it and gasped. He took it from her hand and unhooked the engagement ring. It was a solitaire diamond framed by two sapphires that reminded him of the color of her eyes when she was making love to him.

He took her hand in his and slid the ring onto her finger. He met Katelyn's eyes and felt as if his life was just beginning.

"I love you, Katelyn. For now and always. I look forward to everyday and every new adventure we will share together."

"I love you too. Now, how are you going to tell Bob he's getting a sister?"

"Let's go home, my beautiful fiancé, and introduce our kids."

"Yes, let's go home." She smiled when he slung his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. She had just found her happily ever after and she intended to cherish every moment.

Epilogue

He stepped off the plane at the Ronald Reagan International Airport and surveyed his new domain. Washington D.C. had him truly excited. He had received a phone call from the head of Internationals asking him to come for a face-to-face.

He made his way through the terminal and headed outside to the packed sidewalk. He pushed his way past a family and held out his hand to hail a cab. Maybe he'd have him drive to the Capitol so he could get a glimpse of where his new office would be come election time. He glanced down at his watch and saw he didn't have enough time. He needed to get across the Potomac and over to a warehouse in the southeast part of the city first, then he'd take a tour of the Capitol after his meeting.

He gave the cab driver the address and sat back to enjoy the trip. He'd been here with his father, of course, for numerous political conferences. His father was always away in Washington serving as an advisor for agriculture to many of the congressmen from the South. His father was always so close to the power, but never held it. Now he would do what his father never did. Become a senator.

The cab slowed at an old warehouse close to the river and let him out. The driver sped away quickly leaving him standing alone. Not afraid of his surroundings, he looked around the area with a business eye. It was isolated from the main streets. The surrounding buildings seemed abandoned and in a state of decay, but the one he was instructed to go to was in pretty good shape. It would do nicely for fighting. The area afforded many ways in and out. He doubted any neighbors would complain about the noise.

Within minutes of the cab's departure, a shiny black stretch limo drove in from the south side. He smiled as he watched it slow to a stop near him. He would have a limo like that one day. The far door opened and a large man in a black suit and a deep red shirt opened at the neck stepped out. He was easily six feet and his shaved head gleamed in the sunlight. His muscles fought against the constraint of his suit jacket as he closed the door. He watched the man, obviously a bodyguard, walk around the back of the car and stand next to the door. The window slowly lowered and the profile of a man appeared.

"Sir, I just want to say I am honored to represent you and our causes in Washington." He stood straight and waited for his praise.

"It seems, Mr. Russell, that you have failed me."

Paul Russell stood speechless. Failed? He hadn't failed! He'd run the most profitable dog fighting ring in the South.

"You failed when you allowed a backwoods sheriff to come in and take down hundreds of my men. You cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars in loss of trade through the weapons and drug deals. You allowed them to be arrested, to be interrogated, and you allowed them to find that damn bitch and her book."

"I couldn't help that," Paul whined. Damn that Nancy! That bitch was screwing him constantly, even from her grave.

"Yes you could have. You could have shot her and taken the book in the confusion. More importantly, if you had been doing your job this raid would have never happened in the first place."

Paul couldn't help the tremor that ran through his body at the deadly quiet tone of the man in car. He looked around at his surroundings again and suddenly didn't feel quite as secure. He realized just how isolated they were and the fact that he had nowhere to run even if he dared to try. He also realized no one knew where he was or would hear him if he screamed.

"I'll make it up to you. When I am in the Senate, I will do anything you want," he pleaded.

"Enough. I don't bargain and I don't listen to begging." The man snapped. "Sergei," he said with a nod as he started to roll up the tinted window.

Paul felt his heart speed up as Sergei took a step towards him. He turned to run, but the warehouses closed in on him. He didn't know where to go, where to turn. He heard the sound of metal scraping and turned to see Sergei pulling a wicked looking sword from a scabbard hidden beneath his suit jacket.

"Please, please, you don't have to do this," he begged as he darted around the circular area outlined by the warehouses.

Paul held up his hands as he felt his back press up against one of the decaying buildings. His eyes widened as Sergei raised his arm across his chest, the sunlight danced across the blade in his hand the second before it came swiping down.

He put his hand to his neck and felt the warmth of his blood flowing over his fingers. Paul's knees buckled and he fell to the ground. He lay, fatally wounded, waiting for death to come. This time, there was no applause or profit to be had.

###

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathleen Brooks is the bestselling author of the Bluegrass Series. She has garnered attention as a new voice in romance with a warm Southern feel. Her books feature quirky small town characters you’ll feel like you’ve known forever, romance, humor, and mystery all mixed into one perfect glass of sweet tea.

Kathleen is an animal lover who supports rescue organizations and other non-profit organizations whose goals are to protect and save our four-legged family members.

Kathleen lives in Central Kentucky with her husband, daughter, two dogs, and a cat who thinks he’s a dog. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached at [email protected]

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BLUEGRASS BROTHERS SERIES CONTINUES!

Love Keeneston? Don’t want to say good-bye? Then don’t! The next book in the Bluegrass Brothers Series will be Mile’s story. Is Keeneston ready for the return of one of its most notorious bad girls? Will straight-laced Miles play by the rules, or will he find the reward to be worth the risk?

So, make a pitcher of special iced tea, cut a slice of pecan pie, and get ready for some more Southern charm from your favorite town!

Want to know when the next book is published? Go sign up on the
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And as a special treat, please enjoy the first chapter of Melody Anne's
The Tycoon's Revenge - Book One
starting on the next page!

Powerful, Loyal, Unforgettable

Follow the Titans

As they find true love

The Tycoon’s Revenge – Book One

By Melody Anne

Chapter One

Derek Titan looked around the crowded room and had to force himself not to yawn. He couldn’t stand attending events where everyone drank too much, laughed too loud and tried far too hard to impress each other.