Graham had just finished the construction of his house and was looking for any excuse he could find to stay away from people - that included his large family . But everyone had to eat so a trip to the grocery store was necessary . He didn 't , however , have a mate on his shopping list , but there she stood - injured and panicking . Graham was about as happy as he could be , until three cops came to his property to arrest him and charged him with murder - now the whole family was in an uproar . Graham 's world was crashing around him , he wanted to marry Ramsey , but not like this … . Can they ban together to prove his innocence before it 's too late ? Find out in the final chapter of the Emerson Wolves - Graham . Do you know what you are to me ? She shook her head as he whispered to her . His mouth was doing incredible things to her and she wanted more . Mate ? Youre my mate . Do you know what that means ? Her body seemed to come alive at his words . She struggled to pull from him and he let her go , but he didn 't back off . She moved back from him as far as the wall and tried to get her mind to function again . She was not going to be his mate , not any man 's . You have to go . I won 't bother you anymore if you do the same for me . He moved to within a foot of her and she put up her hands . I don 't want you here . Please , you can 't want me as a mate . I don ' tI 'm not even sure that this isn 't some ploy to get what you want . Or money . Is that it ? ' She looked up at him as he started cursing . t have a clue that he was the new Alpha until he arrived . It didn 't sit well with him at all that a woman on pack land held herself in recluse and wouldn 't answer and pledge herself to the new Alpha . What she could be doing there on that big estate with no one around to witness , His mind reeled with the possibilities ? none of them good . Slone Morris had an understanding with the local pack ? leave her alone and she 'd let the pack stay on her land free of charge . It was as simple as that . She didn 't deal well with people . But the new Alpha in town wouldn 't take Fuck off for an answer . Slone 's past threatened to rear its ugly head at every turn . There was one ? someone she thought she trusted ? who didn 't want the past dredged back up . He was determined to stop her at all cost ? Luke Emerson has big shoes to fill . He doesn 't know how to be a Mayor of their small town , but with the help of his assistant , Allen , he is damn sure going to give it a good try . From what little he 's seen of the town government it 's corrupt and he 's bound and determined to do something about it . When they receive a call that Allen 's sister Jack has been critically injured in a fire , Allen falls apart . His sister is all he has left . Luke goes with him to the hospital and as soon as Luke catches her scent , he knows she 's his mate , but the doctor is giving her less than a three percent chance to survive . Can you save her ? Luke looked over at Allen , who was staring at his sister . I know what you are . I mean , I think I know what you are . You can 't live in our town and not hear things . Are you ? Am I what ? Allen looked at him , and Luke felt as if he were staring at his very soul . Neither of them blinked , and when Allen finally looked away , Luke felt as if he 'd been released from a tight hug . You want to know an answer to something , then ask me . I 'm not going to assume anything right now . Luke has two choices : convert her to a wolf , or watch her die . He doesn 't even know her , but he can 't lose his mate he 's just found her . But to convert her without her permission , there could be consequences . Addison Parker is on the run . No matter how fast she runs , or how far she travels she can 't hide from herself , or the gift she 's been cursed with . She can read people 's minds and with a touch can see into their future . That is a secret that she has learned to keep well ? everyone always wanted something from her when they learned what she could do . It 's easier to avoid people all together . Jarrett Emerson is just helping his dad and brother protect an innocent from a perverted wretch . But when a falling brick knocks Addie unconscious , she falls right into Jarrett 's arms . To his surprise he realizes that she is his mate and human … Addie felt stupid standing there like she was and moved to the sink . Jarrett watched her before he reached for a second glass . Addie had no idea why , but she thought he was nervous . " I 'm not going to pounce on you . " As soon as the words left her mouth , she knew that she 'd made a major mistake . He turned so quickly that she backed up and hit her ass on the counter behind her . He didn 't stop there but took the two more steps to have her leaning back to look up at him . " I 'd like nothing more than to have you pounce on me . " His voice was a soft growl that had her thinking all sorts of things that had nothing to do with food . " You 're very beautiful . " " No , I 'm not . " He nodded and halved the distance between them . " You 're too close . I can 't think when you 're this close . " Jarrett doesn 't want her to leave . If she goes , he goes with her . That 's the way it is with mates . But when a corrupt attorney has other ideas , the Emersons have to regroup to protect what they now consider their own … . Ellis Emerson is in a rut . He can 't seem to do anything right . He thinks he 's found his mate , but can 't get close enough to her to be sure … And that 's a huge distraction that 's turned their construction job from a week ahead of schedule with a huge bonus , to barely three days ahead . And when Addie asks him to assemble a small crew to fix one of her houses , his foreman , Dan , is all for Ellis getting away for a while . Ellis finds his skittish mate hiding away in Addie 's home , but will she let her guard down long enough for him to convince her that their destiny is each other ? Or will her Uncle Basil step in and finally take her prisoner again ? Find out in the next installment of Emerson Wolves ? Ellis . No matter how hard she tried , Kimber Gray always seemed to manage to get knocked back down a peg or two . She was a top rate chef and graduated at the top of her class , but no matter how hard she tried no one would acknowledge it . Now , blackballed in the only profession she knew , she was a failure to the one that mattered most - her daughter , Hannah . With no recourse left to her , she 'd have to grovel and beg her aunt for help . Lee Emerson was glad to be back home for a while . He loved what he did , being a food critic and helping failing restaurants was a dream job come true . But he was tired of the traveling and just wanted to take care of things around the house and relax for a change . Slone , Hunter 's mate , wanted to open a fancy restaurant and have Lee run it . He wasn 't so sure about that , but he 'd love nothing better than to hire that chef that had prepared the last meal he 'd had in France before he left . It was the best meal he 'd ever eaten , and he had been disappointed when he found out the man had left before he could tell him so . The slush claiming to cook the meal , wasn 't the cook and he 'd bet his last dollar on it . Kimber had had it . Her aunt had gone too far this time , and there was no way she 'd expose her little girl to such meanness again . They 'd live on the street first , and she was trying to tell Slone that she wasn 't a charity case . That she could provide for her daughter somehow , when the most gorgeous man she 'd ever seen cornered her , snarling that he 'd protect her with his life . Hello ! My name is Kathi Barton and I 'm a award winning , best selling author of dark fantasy erotic paranormal romance . I have been married to my very best friend Paul , a potter , for at times seems several lifetimes - in a good way , honey . And together we have three wonderful children and then the ones we brought into the world - Paul and Dale Barton , Jason and Wendy Barton and Danielle and Ben Conklin . They have given us eight of the greatest treasures on Earth . They don 't live at home seven days a week ! No , seriously , eight grandchildren - Gavin , Spring , Ben , Trinity , Sarah , Kelly , Kian and Bailee Prologue " I tell you , Ram , that daughter of yours is a hoot . I just asked her what she thought of all this , and she said that the money from what was going to be tossed out when this was over could have fed an entire village for a week . " Ram Stockholm looked around the room for his daughter . " When did you speak to her ? I thought her and Chad had left for their honeymoon already . " There was no way his daughter would say that about her own wedding . At least he hoped not . But she was a little stressed out right now . Christ , they 'd spent a fortune on this thing , and to have her upset wasn 't going to happen . Not that his baby girl didn 't deserve it , but to say something like this to William Frank was terrible . " No , no . I meant Ramsey . To tell you the truth , Ram , I had no idea you had another child , much less one as beautiful as she is . But she 's the spitting image of you now that I think on it . " Ram wondered about Ramsey , his youngest child , as William continued . " Like I said , a beautiful little thing , but a mite outspoken . I 'd wondered why you didn 't have her up there with her sister , but I 'm assuming that the two of them don 't get along . " " They don 't . Where did you see her go ? I 'd like to speak to her . " William laughed and pointed to the large open doors at the back of the large room . " Excuse me . " If William answered him , he didn 't hear him . Ramsey wasn 't going to ruin her sisters ' day by complaining about something that was none of her business . But as soon as he stepped out on the deck to talk to her , he stilled . When the hell had she grown up ? The dark blue dress she had on made the paleness of her porcelain skin almost glow . With her hair done up in one of those complicated twists , it gave her neck a gracefulness that would make most men he knew drool . She was tall too , Ram just realized , and rail thin . He cleared his throat before going out all the way . When Ramsey turned his way , Ram thought that he 'd made a mistake … this could not be his child . " Hello , DaDrew By Kathi S Barton Release Day & Giveaway 11 / 14 / 16 Ryder Mackenzie didn 't remember much about what happened to her . All she knew was she hurt in more places than she could remember . Mac barely remembered going over the falls and hitting the rocks below to save the little girl . But now that she 'd been to the other side , the ghosts wouldn 't leave her alone . Drew Mullins was a haunted man , quite literally . His mother tortured him as a child and seemed bound and determined to continue doing so seventeen years after her death . Drew , being a necromancer , was having a hard time avoiding her because she didn 't know she was dead . Steele Bennett was born with a gift , but he sees it more as a curse ― he can see and speak with spirits . And when he loses his twin sister at seventeen , he wants to turn his back on life ― block his heart so that he never has to feel the sharp pain of loss again … The small bar Kari Briggs runs is failing fast . She hasn 't seen the owner in three months , past due notices are piling high , and her last paycheck bounced twice . And if she doesn 't pay the delivery guy soon , there 'll be no more supplies . She has trouble enough controlling her cat , so the last thing she needs tonight is trouble . But those guys at the bar won 't listen and take it outside . Deciding to take matters into her own hands , she is shocked when a tall stranger grips her arms from behind and her cat wants to roll over and purr . From the moment Steele touches her , she knows he 's her mate . And Steele thinks he can just get her out of his system with sex and a lot of it ― he won 't mark her and she can 't mark him ― no permanent attachments . But that 's not how it works with a shifter , she will die if her cat can 't get what she needs from him . She will love him because she has no choice ― he is her mate ― but that is a secret she is willing to take to her grave … Nick Stark had known Addison West for quite some time . Although they 'd never met in person they shared the same nightmare ? both were unwilling participants . However , through these dreams they had formed a bond between them . And a telepathic connection . So when out of the blue , Addie contacted Nick and told him she had seen some things that she shouldn 't have and she was next on the killer 's list , Nick didn 't hesitate to come to her rescue . Nick had known for some time that Addie was to be his ? why else would they share the same dream ? But he was in no hurry to form emotional attachments . Never having much in the way of a decent family life , he didn 't know much about love . And with the deep emotional scars he bore from an abusive childhood , he didn 't want to bring that burden onto another soul ? especially Addie . Addie had her own baggage . Her father had been forcing her to marry an abusive man ? he told her it was her duty as his daughter to obey him . Addie wasn 't having any part of it , so she ran … . She had been hiding for the last five years . Nick may not have wanted any attachments but he couldn 't ignore the beauty he 'd rescued . But there were things he had to tell her … about all of them … about Steele Bennett 's group . He wasn 't sure how she fit into all this … . Mitch Riley was a haunted man , and being a necromancer didn 't have much to do with what haunted him . A troubled childhood left him withdrawn and short tempered , so when he received a summons that he was being sued by the foster parents who had abused him , he didn 't take it well at all . And their attorney ? None other than a vamp . There was nothing much worse than a vamp in Mitch 's opinion . Victoria Graham , or Vinnie her mother had nicknamed her , wasn 't expecting the man her clients were suing to be her mate , and a necromancer . She would have refused the case had she known she 'd be walking into a den of necromancers . She had grown up on horror stories that necromancers were the one thing that could kill her kind , and it was clear the man hated her very existence … . But when he touched her , she 'd lost control of her magic … and her mind too apparently . Landon Logan is a man haunted by a tragedy that he blames himself for but didn 't do . No one can convince him otherwise - especially his well - meaning Grandda who happens to be dead . Landon is a necromancer . Dillon Malone has a few abilities of her own . She can " find " things by touching the owner or touching something the owner has touched . This makes her a wanted woman . Happy Reading Hello ! My name is Kathi Barton and I 'm a award winning , best selling author of dark fantasy erotic paranormal romance . I have been married to my very best friend Paul , a potter , for at times seems several lifetimes - in a good way , honey . And together we have three wonderful children and then the ones we brought into the world - Paul and Dale Barton , Jason and Wendy Barton and Danielle and Ben Conklin . They have given us eight of the greatest treasures on Earth . They don 't live at home seven days a week ! No , seriously , eight grandchildren - Gavin , Spring , Ben , Trinity , Sarah , Kelly , Kian and Bailee Chapter 1 Addie put the phone back on the hook and sat down . Since she 'd gotten up she 'd been trying to reach out to her friend , Mac , and hadn 't gotten a single answer , or a call back when she left her messages . She was coming here in a few days , to hang out with her and to meet her new friends . But now , trying to get in touch with Mac and not having any success made her worry . Something was wrong , she just knew it . Going to find Nick , she wasn 't surprised to find Landon and Steele in the office with him . Nick stood up when she entered the room and gave her his seat . The man was a constant worry wart , especially since she 'd found out she was expecting . She wasn 't sure she could make it the last few months without bashing his head in . " Here , honey , please have a seat . And put your feet up on the stool . Did you get in touch with her ? " Addie told him that she 'd not as she sat down in his chair , but she didn 't put her feet up . There was only so much pampering she could take right now . " I know that you 're worried . I think you need to call her place of business . Didn 't you tell me she works for some sort of boating company ? " " Extreme . And she doesn 't just work for them , but owns the company . Few people know that . I 'm pretty sure not even the people that work for her are aware they work for her , not just with her . But , no , I 've not called yet . I wanted to ask you first . I don 't want her to think I 'm over protective of her . She accused me of that in college when we were younger . " Addie rubbed her growing belly as she continued . " It 's not like her to not call me back . I know that it 's silly , but I 'm afraid something has happened to her . But I don 't want to feel stupid for calling her work and embarrassing her . Do you understand ? " " Call them . " When Steele nodded in agreement with Nick , she thought she 'd do it . But later . " No , not later , now . Call them and ask where she is . You know that you 're not sleeping well worrying over this . She will get a good laugh outAnthony Bentley Legacy By Kathi S Barton Release Day 10 / 31 / 16 Oct31 Coleen had heard just about all she wanted to hear from her grandmother about the Bentleys - no one could be that nice . There had to be an angle there somewhere . People just didn 't help other people for nothing - not in this day and age . Tony Bentley wasn 't expecting to find his mate , and as a Were Panther he could even understand her reluctance . He was , after all , a Bentley , and the poor woman had been taken through the ringer , but she was his mate , and he wasn 't about to take no for an answer . Coleen 's ex had left her in a heap of debt , and she couldn 't allow herself to bring that kind of baggage into a relationship . She 'd work through it somehow - without the help of the mighty Bentleys . B & N http : / / www . barnesandnoble . com / w / books / 1125006975 ? ean = 2940157135782 Micah Bentley is a third generation cop and a panther . He always wanted to be a homicide detective like his dad , but kept getting passed up for the job because he was too good at what he currently did working the beat . Micah has a gift , he can read people 's minds . Such a gift could be a help and a hindrance on a job . He could pluck the information he needs right out of someone 's mind , but knowing they 're guilty and proving it are two different things . But when his dad is killed off duty it has him rethinking his career choice . Regina Webster , Reggie to her friends , is just trying to make ends meet by working three jobs to keep her head above water , and also take care of her invalid brother . She doesn 't have time for socializing with bossy men like Micah Bentley who butt into her life making everything concerning her his business . She doesn 't know anything about this mate thing he keeps spouting off about , she just wants him to leave her alone . Christiana McKenzie , Chris to her friends , was at her wits end . She and her sister , Angel , were born witches . Their mother had warned them that to use their powers would bring on another witch hunt , and they 'd risk being burned , just like their ancestors . Her sister didn 't heed their mother 's warning and now Angel was dead . Angel had lived long enough to tell Chris that she 'd left something for her with a man by the name of Bentley , then she died . Chris had to track down this Bentley no matter the cost … . Joseph Bentley almost had everything finished : the house , the barn … everything . In a few weeks it would be finished and he would be able to move into the house and get the ranch going . But the progress wasn 't going fast enough to suit him ― he was lonely . Micah had come out to tell him that the sister of the girl that died to protect him was coming to see him , and he was hoping that the nightmares since the incident would stop . Micah wanted him to come out to the main house and be there when she arrived . But the limo delivered the woman to Joey 's house instead of Micah 's . Joey couldn 't believe it , the hostile woman was his mate … and more than he could have ever hoped for … . Whether or not Chris wanted a mate or not was irrelevant , Joey wasn 't letting her out of his sight . And when she found out that her mother had lied to her ― she wasn 't an ordinary witch ― and that others would come to try to possess her . If they couldn 't do that , then they would kill her to possess her powers ― she needed help . The Bentleys ban together to save one of their own , but will it be enough ? Can they even fight the powerful magic that 's targeting Chris and Joey ? Christiana McKenzie , Chris to her friends , was at her wits end . She and her sister , Angel , were born witches . Their mother had warned them that to use their powers would bring on another witch hunt , and they 'd risk being burned , just like their ancestors . Her sister didn 't heed their mother 's warning and now Angel was dead . Angel had lived long enough to tell Chris that she 'd left something for her with a man by the name of Bentley , then she died . Chris had to track down this Bentley no matter the cost … . Joseph Bentley almost had everything finished : the house , the barn … everything . In a few weeks it would be finished and he would be able to move into the house and get the ranch going . But the progress wasn 't going fast enough to suit him ― he was lonely . Micah had come out to tell him that the sister of the girl that died to protect him was coming to see him , and he was hoping that the nightmares since the incident would stop . Micah wanted him to come out to the main house and be there when she arrived . But the limo delivered the woman to Joey 's house instead of Micah 's . Joey couldn 't believe it , the hostile woman was his mate … and more than he could have ever hoped for … . Whether or not Chris wanted a mate or not was irrelevant , Joey wasn 't letting her out of his sight . And when she found out that her mother had lied to her ― she wasn 't an ordinary witch ― and that others would come to try to possess her . If they couldn 't do that , then they would kill her to possess her powers ― she needed help . The Bentleys ban together to save one of their own , but will it be enough ? Can they even fight the powerful magic that 's targeting Chris and Joey ? Nolan finally had a practice of his own , and soon his brother Burke would be leaving the hospital and joining him . Now , if the rest of the family would mind their own business , Nolan would be much happier … or not . He was sulking over his dilemma when his nurse told him he had a patient , a hurt kid who wasn 't doing much talking . Rylee nearly collapsed with worry when she found out her nephew had been hurt . She wasn 't sure if she was cut out to be a parent . She loved her nephew , Shane , dearly and had taken on his care when her sister died , but how she 'd missed the warning signs was beyond her . He was being bullied at school daily and she knew nothing about it until he 'd been cut with a knife . " I didn 't know . " Her entire body sagged at her confession . " He said he had it handled . And I thought he did . It 's my fault he 's beaten up like this . I should have … I 'm not any good at this parenting thing . " Nolan reached for her just as Shane moved on the bed . He wasn 't sure what the kid could do , banged up the way that he was , but as soon as Nolan touched her , he knew what she was to him . Her body , warm and strong , leaned into his even as he buried his nose into her neck . Christ , his body screamed at him , she was his . Licking her throat , tasting her , he could hear her moan , but when his head was jerked up by his hair , all he could do was stare at her . Meet Kathi Barton , author of best selling novels such as the Force of Nature series and Ryland of the Golden Streak series . She lives in Nashport , Ohio with her husband Paul Barton , an amazing and talented potter . Kathi likes to spend time with her eight grandchildren . she writes to relax and have fun . Also , she and Paul can be found at auctions in the summer months . Coleen signed her name to the last page and closed the thick file that had been handed to her . The man across from her , Harry Mercer , hadn 't been a bastard ; he could have been , but he was nice to her . She thought that might have hurt most of all . When he asked her if she had any questions , she wanted to ask him why her , but she knew he 'd have no more answers to that than she did . " No . I 'm going to go live with my grandma , try to get my life together and get a job . They 're taking most of my money , so I 'll have to live very frugally until I win the lottery . " She meant it as a joke but it failed miserably , much as her life had . " How can I make arrangements to pay you back ? " " I told you , I 've made an arrangement with the firm I work for , and this will be a probono case . You have enough to worry about right now , Ms . Greer . And don 't forget , you have to have whomever you work for contact us so that we can make arrangements for the money to come here . And then we 'll disperse the payments that we 've lined out for you . You 'll be all right . How about we go and celebrate that this is going to be behind you soon ? " She told him she just wanted to get out of town . " When do you leave ? Not right away , I hope . " " Today . I 've had to sell my house and my things , so I don 't have anything left here . Grandma has room for me for the time being , and she 'll need help with my brother 's little girl . " She smiled when she thought of the little tike . " She 's a handful , Grandma said . Sweet , but a little energetic for a seventy - year - old to handle . " " I bet she is . " Coleen realized that she was taking up this man 's time , and he 'd given her a lot over the last few weeks . " Coleen , are you going to be all right ? I know that you didn 't cause any of this , but the law is the law . I think we 're lucky that I was handed this information rather than some other firm . They might have taken you to the cleaners . If you have any questions now or later , just call me . No other lawyer is going to beThis entry was posted on October 31 , 2016 , in All Romance Ebooks , amazon & BN Itunes , book , Promo Stop , Release Day Blitz , Uncategorized . Leave a comment Brad and Emily are return in this heartfelt story where they face an entirely new set of challenges with their preteen autistic boy when his mother , Crystal , returns . She wants a relationship with the boy she abandoned - something Brad and Emily never expected . She says she 's changed , but can the Friessens believe her ? How do you describe the feeling you get the first time you drive down a long , winding road to a place that is all yours ? To Andy Friessen , this wasn 't just a house or a piece of land : he had staked a claim in another state , in another part of the country , uprooting his family and selling everything , all for a brand new beginning . Andy took in the miles of vast hillside and the cleanest pastures he 'd ever seen . The green grass swayed in the wind and , for the first time , he sensed the sun , the moon , the stars and the changing of the seasons more deeply than he ever had before . This was a part of the country he had never traveled , but it felt like coming home . He glanced over at his wife , Laura , asleep in the passenger seat , her head resting against the door , her breath whispering softly in and out . He always knew when she was overtired , as she snored in her soft , delicate way . This time , she stirred a bit before settling into a deep sleep , as if her body had finally run out of steam . She was on edge and had been for some time , but that wasn 't unusual for a mother of newborns . For Andy and Laura , there was twice as much stress with their six - week - old twins , Chelsea and Jeremy , who were sound asleep in the backseat of the truck . Their five - year - old big brother , Gabriel , Laura 's son from a pregnancy at fifteen , sat beside them . Laura was so young but had lived through more heartache , rejection and struggle than most people would in a lifetime . As a teenager , she had been tossed out onto the street by her judgmental parents , who thought she was a bad influence on her younger brothers . Laura had only mentioned it once to Andy , and only when he pushed . He wanted to know what had happened , to know everything about her family , but he saw the deep hurt like a tread mark on her soul . No matter what he did , he wondered if that was something she 'd never be able to make peace with . Andy wouldn 't , not in this lifetime . In fact , George and Sue Parnell were the first people Andy had ever hated without even meeting them . They had come so far , Laura and him . At first , the only reason he had married her was to save her son when the state took him away . Laura and Gabriel had been living in her car , and Andy had married her because he felt responsible for the entire mess . After all , it had been his mother who fired Laura from her position as a maid in the Friessen house . Andy had treated her horribly at first , but so much had changed since then . He loved her - his child bride , as everyone teased him . She had recently turned twenty - one , legal in every state , and Andy would soon be thirty - three . Andy pressed the brakes to slow his pickup as the ruts deepened on the driveway . The horse trailer rattled , and he glanced in the side mirror and rolled down his window just as his three - year - old buckskin mare , Ladystar , nickered . Apparently , she 'd had enough of this two - day trip , leaving North Lakewood behind and moving two states away to a seventy - two - acre spread Andy had purchased outside of Columbia Falls , Montana . " Where are we ? " Laura said . She didn 't open her eyes as she yawned . Her short bob was a tangled mess , but it was cute . Andy had been irritated when she cut off all her hair , saying it was easier to look after . Maybe so , but he liked her long hair . " Andy ? " she said . The leather seat rustled as she sat up . He stepped on the brakes when a sprawling one - story ranch house came into view . It had a light wood finish and a post - and - beam front deck , but something about the place didn 't look right . The railing appeared broken , with pieces of wood scattered here and there . Everything looked unkempt . Piles of debris littered the yard , including a rusted - out pickup with missing wheels parked in waist - high grass that was now weighted down by the melting snow . Maybe he had the wrong place ? He eased on the gas pedal and started up the slight incline that circled the house . It was similar to the photos he had seen , but the house in the photos had been newer than this . A couple of the shutters were hanging sideways , and the fence surrounding the house was falling down , as was the corral , but it was the junk , the debris , the plastic , garbage and scattered metal parts , that pissed him off . He 'd bought the place unseen . The Montana realtor had sent photos of the exterior and interior , and maybe Andy should have asked when they had been taken , but he 'd been in a hurry to get Laura and the kids as far away from his family as he could . He parked in front of the house and spotted the red and white realty sign leaning against the front step . " Yeah , just stay there , bud , " Andy said as he opened his door . Laura was reaching over to unbuckle Jeremy from his car seat , his tiny hands flailing . " He hungry ? " Laura appeared so tired as she nodded . " I think so . Wet , too . " She patted his bottom and rested him on the seat . " Andy , can you reach the diaper bag on the floor in the back ? " She had already unfastened his sleeper as Andy lifted the blue bag , shut the back door and set the bag on his seat . He shut the door and stepped around the truck , taking in the mess . Ladystar nickered again . " Okay , girl , " he murmured , unlatching the horse trailer and leading his horse out before tying her to the side and bringing out a flake of hay for her . " Better find you some water , too , " he said , pulling out his bucket . Around the side of the house , he found a barn with a missing door , another gated pasture , and a round ring . As he stepped closer , he noticed the round pen appeared intact , with no missing posts and all the rails up . It was probably a safe bet for tonight , at least for Ladystar , until he got a better look around . He found a water tap at the back of the house and turned it on , but rusty water poured out . " Crap ! " he muttered , waiting for it to run clear before he filled the bucket . When he took it back to the trailer where Ladystar was tied and eating , Laura opened the door of the truck and called out , " Andy , Gabriel has to go to the bathroom , and so do I . Can we go inside ? " " All right , " Andy said . He opened the back door and lifted Gabriel , who was already unbuckled and waiting . " Stay here , Gabriel . Hey , Laura , Chelsea is still sleeping . " Andy lifted his very quiet daughter from the car . Laura slid down , carrying Jeremy , who was fussing again . She had on just a beige sweater . " Ooh , it 's cold , " she said . She reached in the truck for her tan jacket and pulled it out , holding it out to Andy so he could help her as she juggled the baby . Laura started up the steps , and Gabriel and Andy followed . At the sound of a vehicle coming down the road , they both turned to see a newer pickup truck flying over the ruts and then pulling in just behind the horse trailer . A woman with a round face , bright smile , and dark hair tied back in a ponytail stepped out , wearing a sheepskin coat and blue jeans . Laura shrieked behind Andy . He turned just as the screen door Laura had pulled fell over and crashed to the front deck . Chelsea , who had been sleeping , whimpered and then started howling along with her brother . New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lorhainne Eckhart recently received the 2016 Readers ' Favorite Award for Suspense and Romance for her two titles Vanished & The Bloodline . With over fifty titles under her belt , her big family romance series are loved by fans worldwide . Books that celebrate love , family , commitment , hope , and making a relationship work . With flawed strong characters , characters you can relate to . Lorhainne writes the kind of books she wants to read . Oct17 Chloe Davis was giving up . She thought for sure the owners of the computer shop she worked for were responsible for her father 's death , but in all the time she 'd worked there she 'd not been able to find enough evidence to prove it , so as far as she was concerned she was out of there . Her boss , George , on the other hand had other ideas . As far as he was concerned she wasn 't going anywhere … by force if necessary . Scott Calhoun was just trying to help his grandfather get the young woman to safety , the last thing he expected was for her to be his mate . And he wasn 't happy about it either . Scott was a Dom , and he liked his sex hard and rough and his women submissive … this woman was a spitfire , and he was pretty sure he 'd scare her off with his demands … . As far as he was concerned he was a deviant , not mate material . Johanna , better known as Joe , had been a day walker for her only friend , Noah , for centuries . An immortal with eight hundred years under her belt , she had become proficient in several languages and occupations . When her friend Noah talked about meeting the sun , she had every intention of following in his path . Joe had only gone to the Calhoun 's office to catch a ride to the estate . When she entered , it took her breath away to see the younger man on the floor and no one doing a damn thing to help him . Trent Calhoun had forgotten how to have fun . Diving into his work was what kept him happy . At 33 he had no life , so when he had a heart attack , his doctor said to change his ways or else . Noelle was in somewhat of a pickle . She had researched the Calhoun firm ? Elijah Calhoun in particular ? before she made the appointment , but she was having second and third thoughts about hiring the firm after she got there . All her research indicated she could trust them , but big men scared the hell out of her , and the place was full of them . " I can 't let you go . You can 't just up and leave me like this . No , no this can 't be right . Oct3 Who rescued who was still a little vague , but they escaped just the same . The lab called him SA - 8 , and they had made him into a very powerful weapon . But to Reese he was just Josh , a boy that could do amazing things , but a boy none the less - not a lab rat . That was two years ago - the lab had been relentless and lethal in their pursuit . With her big rig running on fumes , and their last dime spent , they wound up on a small town in Ohio … . Parker McCullough found an abandoned big rig parked on his land . It had been there a few days , and he wasn 't quite sure what to do about it . Calling the authorities seemed like the logical thing to do , but when he tried to do so , his cell phone went flying from his hand and a teenage boy appeared from nowhere . Parker thought the boy was an Elite Shifter , and after hearing a little of the boy 's story he wanted to help . Reese didn 't know who all these people were , but if she and Josh didn 't get away from them , the " others " would find them and they 'd all be dead , just like all the other people who had tried to help them along the way … . And now the gorgeous shifter , Parker , had her trapped in the kitchen claiming to be her mate … . She didn 't have time for herself , and she didn 't want to see them all die because they 'd helped her and Josh - Reese was out of options . Parker walked around the big semi three times before he made his way to the driver 's door again . He glanced over at his dad when he came around the back end of the thing , having just jumped down off the hitch . He was glad now that Dad had come with him today . " Don 't see nothing to indicate that it 's broke down . " Parker said he didn 't either . " Strange thing though , like you said , there ain 't no scent on it . Like it just appeared here without a driver . Mighty weird . " " No kidding . I saw it two days ago but thought whatever was going on , they 'd have come back for it by now . But nothing . And the door is unlocked . " His dad asked him if he 'd been inside . " Yes . Just to look but not enter . There isn 't anything in there either . Like you said , it magically appeared . " Parker pulled out his phone . " You calling the cops ? " Before he could tell his dad he was , something came out of nowhere and knocked him on his ass . His dad was backing from him and whatever it was that had attacked . His phone had been tossed away from him , and just as he was reaching for it , a boy appeared . " Christ love a waddling whale . " Parker glanced at his dad , wondering not for the first time where the hell he got his little sayings . But he also knew that he 'd been frightened too . The boy picked up his phone but didn 't hand it to him . " I 'd rather you didn 't bother with the police . They have a tendency to make matters worse for us . And for the moment , she 's happy . " Parker asked him who . " Reese . We 've been on the run for a long time and she 's having fun and relaxing . She needs it more than I thought she did . It 's been a while since she 's been able to do that , relax I mean . And we need the money , I 'm afraid . The rig , it 's very hard on gas and she 's not getting much in the way of work . More than likely due to the men chasing after us . " " I see . " The boy looked at his Parker 's dad then put out his hand to help Parker up , but Parker ignored it for now . " This woman , she owns this rig ? And if so , why is it on my property ? " " It was the only place we could find so that the men trying to find us didn 't see it . We won 't be here much longer , really . The trees will be turning soon , what with autumn coming . It 'll be more visible then and we can 't stay . You understand . " Parker looked at the hand still offered , then at the boy . " My name is Josh Savage . The Josh part is what I picked out , but the last is what I was given at the lab . " " Lab ? " Josh nodded , shaking his hand at him as if to say , take it . " I 'm a bit heavier than I look . If you would just back up a bit , I could get up and we can figure out what we 're going to do about these men chasing you . " " That would be nice , but it 's doubtful that you could help us much . They 're very determined , you see . " When he put his hand closer , Parker took it . The grip was startling , but it was the immediate connection that shocked him more . The kid was an elite shifter . " I 'm not what you think . You 're a jaguar , correct ? " " Yes . Parker McCullough . This is my dad , Rich . " The boy shook his hand then turned to do the same to his dad . He knew the moment that his dad felt the connection as well . " These people , can you tell me why they 're chasing after you ? " " Yes . I can . " But when no more was forthcoming , Parker looked at his dad for help . The boy laughed a little . Parker had no idea , but he thought it sounded sort of sad . " I can tell you but alas , I cannot . Reese , she says that I 'm too trusting . I suppose in a way that I am . But since I have all the information I need to know about you and that you 're trustworthy , I feel I can . But I need to ask her first . She is not trusting at all . " " This Reese … is she in trouble too ? " Josh nodded . " And these people that are looking for the two of you , do you suppose they 'll kill you when they find you ? " " Not me . Not right away . They need to take me apart , so to speak . To see what I can do if they use their weapons on me . And if I can be made into a weapon . Which , I assure you , I can . But Reese will die . Immediately if they can work it . She is of no use to them other than to get me to do as they wish . " Parker asked him if he would do that if they had Reese . " I would like to , but she has made me promise that I will not fall prey to their demands . She said that they would do as they pleased with her even after they capture me anyway , and that if I can , I am to take them all out . " Parker wasn 't sure what to do now . If he called the police , which he knew that he should , then he 'd have both their deaths on his head . He had no doubt whatsoever that Josh was telling him the truth in this . He looked at his dad when he started to laugh . " I 'm telling you right now that I think this is gonna end badly . Not for you boys , but for those that are chasing that girl and this one . " Parker asked him how he 'd come to that conclusion . " I don 't really know , but I have a feeling now that we 're involved - and we were the second that truck there pulled onto your land - that the rest of us is gonna be working on this . I don 't know how , like I said , but there you go . " Parker turned to Josh . The kid was smiling at his dad but not saying anything . He didn 't know why , but Parker had a feeling the kid didn 't say much of anything unless asked directly . Parker looked at the semi again and thought of someone finding it . " I have a barn we can have Reese pull this into . It 'll be safer than it is out here . Also , I don 't know where you 're staying , with her or not , but I have plenty of room at my place that 'll be safer than the truck or wherever you are hiding now . " Josh told him . " Then I 'm sure of it . Margaret runs a nice place but it 's not terribly secure . If she doesn 't want to stay at my house , I have a married brother that can put the two of you up as well . " At least he hoped so . And with these guys coming around , it would be a good thing to have them close to Lauren . She was way more bad assed than any person that he 'd ever met . Parker looked at his dad when he cleared his throat . " Might want to go and see this girl . Just to let her know in person what you have in mind . " He nodded . " And Parker , I 'd make this a request , not a demand . Things don 't go well when you boys make demands on women . " " No , I 'd never do that . I do think that the semi going into the barn would be better . But if she has other plans that 's fine too . " He looked at Josh then . " You know where she is ? " " Working . She works for May Roy , at Roy 's Place . Reese cooks for the morning group and sometimes , a lot lately , for the lunch one too . They like her . " His dad laughed . " You 've tasted her food ? " " I believe that I have . Every morning , as a matter of fact . She 's been there about a week and a half now , correct ? " Josh nodded and smiled . " Thought so . May is a wonderful woman and the best bartender you might want to come across . And Margaret is about the sweetest , most ornery woman you 'd want to meet . But neither of them could cook a meal and have it come out right if their lives depended on it . Yes , sir , Reese is a fine cook . " They made their way to his dad 's truck . They 'd come out here together to have a look at the tomatoes and corn that he 'd planted . His dad wanted to open up a little roadside place to get rid of the stuff he didn 't need , and Parker had brought him out to show him just how much there was . As he put a bushel of tomatoes and corn with some potatoes in the back of the truck , he thought of the young boy . He wasn 't human , that much was certain . And he 'd told him that he wasn 't right in thinking he was an elite shifter either . Parker had no idea what that might mean , nor the part about the lab that he talked about . Why a bunch of men would want anything to do with this kid was beyond him ; especially enough to kill for him . " Look . " They both turned to see a black SUV go by them . It was going pretty fast so he doubted that anyone in the thing had seen the truck , but he worried . " I 'm thinking we might want to circle our wagons . There is gonna be trouble if we don 't help them . " " I agree . " As he reached for his family , he was glad when Lauren said she was in town and would go by the diner to look around . He told her about the boy and the woman ; also about the semi that was parked on his land . I 'll see what I can do about that too . Bear is with me , as well as a few others . We 're here looking around for someplace to have a couple of meets and greets . He was almost afraid to ask her what that meant . I 'll keep an eye on things on this end for you . And Bear is gonna move the vehicle now . The barn unlocked ? Yes . He didn 't ask how Bear was going to move the big rig . There had been no keys in the sucker that he 'd seen , and he was pretty sure that , without her knowing them , Reese wasn 't going to hand over the keys to them . Just tell him not to damage anything on the truck or the barn . I have stuff in there for the house that I bought cheap , but I don 't want it damaged . She was still laughing at him when they pulled up in front of the diner alongside three big black vehicles without any sign of license plates . He could see the men in the cars as he walked by them . Parker felt the hair on his neck dance in fear . Reese nearly screamed when someone spoke to her from behind . When she turned , holding the spatula like a weapon , the woman simply took it from her and pointed to the walk - in . Reese started to ask her what the hell she was doing when Josh came in the back room with them . She 's going to help us . Reese wanted to ask him how and why they might need help when he continued . They 're here . And before you think to run , they 're all around this place . Do as she asks , please . I think she can help us . She was so afraid that she stood there for a few seconds just staring at the woman . When the woman pulled out a gun and then nodded to the walk - in again , Reese went where she was told , grabbing Josh 's hand as she passed him to take him with her . As soon as the door closed behind them , she looked at her friend . " What the hell is going on ? " He smiled at her but she could see the fear . " How did they find us ? We … . The truck . They found the truck , didn 't they ? " " Not that I 'm aware of . But a man did find it . He said that he 'd take care that it was safe . " She asked him how they were going to do that . " He has a barn . I have been over his property . The barn is sufficient to hide it in . Also , he said that we should stay with him rather than the hotel . I think that might be a better plan . When I came here , they were at the hotel too . May , she was calling the police even as they left her office . " When the door opened , she had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming . The elderly man standing there smiled at her and asked her to please come with him . Josh started forward and she grabbed him by the arm . " I don 't know you and I 'm not going anywhere with you . That woman out there , she has a gun . While I think that can be a good thing , as I said , I don 't know you . " He nodded and told her that he knew Josh . " How do you know him ? Did you call these guys ? Did you tell them that I would give him up ? I have news for you , you overgrown fucking bastard , I will not go down easily . " " Good for you . And my family isn 't going to let a thing happen to either of you now . " She started to ask him why but she wasn 't given the chance . " Lauren is talking to those men now . She would like for you two to come to the house with me . She assures me that they 'll not know you 're there . And I 'd believe her if I were you . She 's got a way about her that makes grown men sob when she doesn 't get her way . I love her to death , you see , but she scares the bejeebes out of me too . " " Sob ? What the hell is a bejeebe ? Never mind , I don 't want to know . " He nodded and that was when she heard talking . Well , shouting might have been a better term . As she made her way out of the walk - in with Josh , she peeked into the dining room where she knew the woman had gone . Reese could see her back to her and four men down on their knees in front of Lauren . Two men were standing behind the men , one of them with a gun to the bigger guy 's head and the other man holding a knife to the throat of the last guy . Reese wondered what the hell was going on when the woman spoke . " You see , I don 't really give a fucking good shit what you think you 're going to have done to me . In the event that you might have missed this , I 'm holding all the cards right now . " A man spoke then , telling the woman that she was going to pay for this . " Nah , I don 't think so . You can think that all you want , but the only thing I might have to pay for is the mess in this dining room should I have to kill you all . Margaret gets kinda pissy when I make a bloody mess in here . She might even bar me from coming here again . It was pretty messy the last time . " " Honey , if you break one table in taking care of these fools , I 'll be happy as lemonade on a warm day . They done went and dicked around with our hotel too . Messed up two of the rooms like they owned them . May and me are not gonna be able to rent them out for a time now , and that 's just not right . You have to kill ' em , then you go on ahead and do it . " The woman asked the men if that was true . But Margaret answered for them . " You darned right it 's true . The guest staying there isn 't gonna be a bit happy to find all her things a mess . " Her things ? Reese wanted to know , but the man behind her touched her arm . When she turned to him , she could see fear and something more . Something in his eyes told her that he was afraid for her . When she shook her head at him , turning back to the scene in front of her , Reese had a feeling that the four men weren 't going to get out of there without some heavy fines . " We 're not paying for shit . " The man behind him popped him in the back of the head with his gun . " You fucking do that again and I 'm going to tear you apart . I 'm here on official business . That woman , the one that we were telling you about , she 's kidnapped my boss 's son . And he wants him back . You either hand him over , with the woman , or I 'm going to call in the troops . " " Troops ? Would that be the army ? Or perhaps you might have been thinking of some other branch of the services ? " The man told the woman that he 'd call who was necessary to finish this peacefully . " I think that boat has done sank , don 't you ? Peaceful went out the door the moment you came into my town and messed with my friends . Perhaps later , if you 're still breathing that is , I can show you the meaning of the word . I think there might be a dictionary around I can use . By the way , you can read , can 't you ? " " Yes , I can fucking read , you cunt . You 're going to regret this . " She nodded and pulled out her phone . When whoever on the other end answered , the woman said her name , Lauren McCullough , and that she had a problem here . " You think this is gonna win you points with the boss ? I got news for you , bitch , he 'll take you down with that brat and woman . " " You think ? Here , my boss wants a word with you . " She held the phone to his ear and when the man paled , Reese looked at Josh when he laughed . When the woman turned and winked at them , Reese backed from the scene . Something was going on there , something bigger than her and Josh . As they made their way out the back of the diner , she tried to tell herself that this was going to work out . That the woman in there , whatever boss she had , was going to give her enough time to get out of town with Josh . She had no idea how that was going to happen , but she was going to do it . Then the older man said her name and she looked at him . He did look sad . " You have nothing left at the hotel , child . Those men destroyed everything in the room . Parker is there now with the police getting things squared away . Also , we 've had your truck moved to the barn on his place so nobody will notice it . You have to know that you can 't keep doing this , running like this . Not now . " She nodded . Reese didn 't even have the strength to cry . " You come on home with me and we 'll have my wife make you up a nice dinner and gather you up something more to wear . Parker will be along in a bit and you can go out to his place to stay . He 's a good boy , my Parker . " " They 're going to figure out where we are and come there too . You might be better off just dropping me off at my truck . Josh and I need to head out of town now while the getting is good . " The man turned the opposite way of her truck and she just sat there . It wasn 't until Josh took her hand and reminded her that the truck was hidden in Parker 's barn that she started to cry . " We 've had a good run , haven 't we ? I 'm sorry . So sorry about this . " " Now you see here . This isn 't done . It might look like the storm has come in and is raining on your party , but those men , they don 't know what they 've messed with in coming to the McCullough doorstep . " She nodded at the older man . " Chin up there , child . You 're in good hands now . We 'll get the two of you safe . " " You have no idea how long we 've been running . And what sort of monsters they are . They just don 't care who they hurt to get us . Josh is all I have . " When Josh said he had to go , she simply rolled down the window and watched him fly away . If the man was shocked , he didn 't say anything . Then something occurred to her . " You spoke to Josh . He told you what was going on , didn 't he ? " " No . Well , yes and no . We talked to him . My son , Parker , the one that 's out there getting things squared away with May , he and I were out looking at the truck you left here . Josh sort of just come out of nowhere at us . Told us a little , that you and him were in trouble , but not why or with who . " She said nothing , not sure how much the man really did know . " So when he told us about the diner , we were headed out that way when those cars flew by us . Josh , he went on ahead to see to you and we come in a little later . My daughter - in - law - that 's Lauren that came in with me - she was already in town with her men and headed in first . She 's scary , that one is . Love her to death , but she can be a mite intense when she 's got herself in a pickle . " " Yeah , I noticed that too . But we 're broke and down on our luck . I was doing okay for a while , then the runs sort of dried up for us . " He nodded but didn 't question the way of her runs . " Josh isn 't really my nephew . He 's my friend . " " Didn 't figure that after meeting you . I know that you 're human and he … well , he ain 't . I can see that the two of you are close though . Yes , ma ' am . He sure does love you . " She told the man that she loved Josh as well . " My name is Rich McCullough . My missus , Bea , she 's rounding you and the boy up a meal right now . It might be a little cramped at the table with us all , but you just leave that to us . We 'll get you in . " " You don 't have to do this , Mr . McCullough . We 'll be fine once we 're rolling . " He only told her that she was all right . " I don 't want these men coming here and hurting you guys . It 's our fight . " " It 's mine too , and that of my family . When you parked on the land out there , you sort of give us the okay to take you in . You 're not going to be with a better family than this one . " She didn 't say anything , knowing that talk was cheap and she was going to be going as soon as she could get Josh to her . " Josh mentioned a lab , said that 's where the men are coming from . You work there ? " " No , I never worked there . I did deliver things to there for a time , but I never worked there . And after talking with Josh , I 'm glad that I never did . " She waited for him to ask her about Josh but he only nodded . " Those men aren 't going to give up . They want him back . And as I said , they 'll go to great lengths to get him . " " Well , I 'm not worried and you shouldn 't be either . It 's not going to happen . Not so long as you 're here with us . " Reese said nothing again . " I 'm assuming that Reese is your right name . May called you Anna . Anna Reese . You thinking that was gonna hide you some ? " " I wasn 't sure . I 've never been on the run before . " Mr . McCullough laughed and said he 'd not been either . " I think you should just let this go . As I said , these men aren 't going to give up , and they 'll hurt or kill whoever is in their way . " " You just leave them to us . We 'll take care of them . " She thought of all the things these men , all of them , had done to people who had helped her . Reese knew that she shouldn 't have stopped to work for the little diner , nor stayed in the small but clean hotel , but she 'd been tired and broke . She would have to take better care from now on . " What 's the name of this here lab ? " " Barker Benton Institute of Regeneration . It goes by BBIR . " She looked at the man when she told him the name . It hadn 't been her intention to tell him . In fact , she 'd not told a single person she had asked for help what the name was . " You made me tell you . " " No . I 'd like to think I had that much power over someone , but I didn 't . And so you know , I 'd not do that to you anyway . You 're worn down and that just slipped out . You 'll see , we 're a good group of people to have in your corner . Lauren , she 's going to have a look - see into them and find out what she can . Her and my son , Colin , they 'll have a whole lot of information before dinner is done , I 'm betting . And a way to figure this out too . We got us some pretty powerful people in our neck of the woods now , you wait and see . " " You mean Lauren 's boss ? " He looked at her and nodded . " I 'm betting that he 's just another man with a lot of money just waiting to get Josh in his hands . Well , I got news for everyone … over my dead body will he ever go back there and be tested on . " " I believe you . But when Lauren and Colin sit down with you to talk about this , I 'd like for you to have an open mind . Her boss might just surprise you . " Reese doubted it . She had become really jaded over the years on the run . " Here we go . Home sweethome . " Logan Douglas was bored . Everyone seemed to have something to do , a purpose , except him , and he didn 't know what to do about it . He needed to get out of town or get a life before he killed somebody . And if Mason made one more snide remark about him being available because he didn 't have anything better to do it was gonna be him . Charlie Stone knew the meaning of being overworked and underpaid . That was the story of her life . If she hadn 't needed what little pay she got from the nursing home , she 'd have quit a long time ago . Now , the police were shutting the place down and she had nowhere to go . Logan had found his mate , Mary Shafer , when they were still children . They knew what they were to each other , but Mary had been killed by a drunk driver when she was only ten . As far as Logan was concerned he 'd lost his only shot at love . One mate in a lifetime , everyone knew that . But what Logan couldn 't understand was his attraction to the feisty beauty , Charlie Stone . She couldn 't be his mate , he 'd already lost his shot at that … . " I 've no idea . " And he didn 't as he sat there looking at the paperwork in front of him . Logan wanted to hand it over to his brother again , but Zach had asked him to come over and look at it and he was going to do that . But as far as knowing if it was a good deal or not , he wasn 't sure what to tell his brother . " To me the interest seems a little high . But then as Landon said , I only have this ground as my backup , and I 've not made but two payments on it so far . And the first one was late because I forgot to take it to the bank while they were open . " Logan handed the paperwork to purchase the tractor Zach needed back to his brother as Zach continued . " It wasn 't really late , but I wanted to pay it on the day it was due , not the next day . " " You 're going to hurt yourself overthinking this shit . " Logan got up and pulled them both a bottle of water from the fridge before being seated again . " Okay , here 's the way I see it . You only get the interest charged to you when you drag out the payments for as long as this loan is for . I 'd not pay it off too soon … there is the matter of you having no credit . But after a year , I 'd pay it off and move on to something bigger . You 'll more than likely need it the way things are going out there anyway . " " The family is buying the grain I raise the first three years . I can 't sell to anyone else . " Logan said he knew that . " And Jace is paying to have a barn put in , one that will hold all that I can grow , as well as the tractor . " " I 've seen the plans . It 'll be large enough to hold three of these suckers . " He took a drink of his water , trying his best not to think of what was going on right under his ass with his own home ; and to not be angry about it . He was angry a great deal lately , and wasn 't entirely sure why . " I 'm guessing that the work on your home will be finished before Christmas , right ? " Zach said that things were moving right along . When Logan had moved into the family house , given to him by his aunt , he 'd had no idea what he was getting into . The furniture was all nearly new ; the carpets were worn through in some places but in otherwise usable condition . And he had a roof over his head that didn 't leak , so long as it didn 't rain for more than three or so hours . When the furnace , nearly as old as he was , broke down , he 'd called in someone to fix or replace it . What they found was that not only was the furnace not worth saving , but the house would be , even with the installment of the new furnace , worth less than it would cost him to have the furnace put in . The foundation was shot . Logan had to find someplace to live . He 'd been told that with the age of the house , the way that it was out of date , and now the foundation , he 'd be better off building new rather than fixing . He knew that in order to have a safe home he was going to have to start over or find himself an apartment in town and use the land for something else . What that was , he had no idea . He 'd not decided on what he wanted to do yet . Moving away - out of the ranching business , the family business , and away from them all - was sounding better and better all the time of late . Not that he didn 't love them , but he was bored out of his ever loving mind . " How much longer are you going to be staying here ? I 'm to understand that you 've been told to move out . " Logan told him he was working on it . " It 's really sad to see it go , don 't you think ? There are a great many memories here . And in the yard . I don 't know that I 'd be able to have it torn down either . " " I have someone coming in next week to pack everything up . You got what you wanted out of here , right ? " Zach said that he had . " Jace and Mason are coming by later to get the rest of the things they picked out . And there are the pictures that I still have to go through . I 've taken them to a storage unit in the event something terrible happens here . I never realized how many boxes there were . " " I don 't envy you at all . " Logan assured him it wasn 't so bad . Zach stood up and stretched , and said , " Okay , I 'm going to sign the paperwork and have them deliver the tractor when it gets into town . I think they said five days from the time I get the money to them until I have it . But about the house , Logan … as I said before , you can come and stay with me should you want . That trailer that I 'm staying in is pretty nice . " Logan sat at the table for another hour before he got up to make himself some dinner . The rest of the family , his other brothers that were mated , had butlers , cooks , and maids . He and Zach were the only two that had to make due for themselves . Logan wasn 't sure , but he thought he might like his way better . Less people underfoot . As he made his way to the ranch , riding old Sable , his horse , he thought of his days now . He 'd been in charge of repairs , a daily thing , since before Jace had married . And since there was nothing old - not even houses , except his own , that were older than a few months old - his job consisted of taking hay out of a trailer that might be on the property and loading it in one of the many barns that held it for the cattle and horses . Or - and this one drove him nuttier than a fruitcake at Christmas - he was set to ride lines . Lines that a hundred other people working the ranch checked every day when they were out and about . Frankly , he was thinking of taking a job in town , just to have something to occupy his mind rather than all the things he wished he could do . And just lately he 'd been thinking of going into one of the barns and breaking a bunch of the new shit so he 'd feel useful again . Viable , he thought . Because for all his family saying that they needed him around , Logan certainly didn 't feel it . He felt like a fifth wheel . " Just the man that I wanted to see . " He looked at the tractor trailer in the yard that he could see was filled with bales of hay , and then back at Mercedes . " I think that can wait a minute or two , don 't you ? " " Yes , ma ' am . " He tipped his hat back , wondering what she 'd need him for . As far as he knew , she had several of the hands eating right out of her hand . " I do have an appointment at noonish with one of the builders . Do you think it 'll take that long ? " " No . It 's a matter of one of my pieces of equipment . Georgie said you might be able to help with the instructions . " He said he 'd give it a try . " I was hoping you 'd say that . And so you know , I had no idea you could speak another language . " " I can when pressed . " He could actually speak ten languages , not including a few that he was picking up from reading books - antique books that were older than Monroe - and he was good at math . Of any kind . She handed him a stapled together stack of papers that looked like photo copies of photo copies of a manual . " And this would go with which of your fancy new machines ? " " The portable ultrasound machine for the animals . Mostly for the horses , but I thought using it for the cows won 't be much different if need be . " He nodded and started reading the instructions while she explained . " I have read the English ones three times and I keep coming up confused . I think it was poorly translated . I 'm not sure from which language , but I know it 's not well done . " " This is wonderful . Thank you so much . How did you do it ? " He explained how whoever had set it up had simply pushed the wrong button . " That 's it ? I 've been playing with this thing for three days and you only had to change the language ? Christ , I should have asked you sooner . " It was more complicated than that . There was also uploading the new software that hadn 't been updated before it was sent to her , and turning on the links she would need to be able to read it in her office and out in the field . But he only shrugged when she thanked him again . " I 'd have thought you 'd have more of this done by now . " Logan said nothing but felt his temper rise . " Not that it matters . But I was wondering what your plans are for this evening . I have this meeting I have to attend in town and wondered if you 'd go with me . " " Everyone else too busy ? " He knew that he sounded bitter but didn 't bother taking it back . " I don 't have any plans . What sort of dress is required ? I don 't own a suit that fits anymore . And my other tux is at the cleaners . " He was snipping , and the more he said the more his voice took a nasty turn . By the time he talked about his tux and the lack of having one , he was nearly ready to leap at his brother and tear him apart . An overreaction , yes , but he just couldn 't seem to control his temper of late . " What 's up your ass ? " Logan just popped his neck but said nothing . " For the last week you 've been biting and snipping at anyone that comes close enough to talk to you . Even Bonnie , who I might add you made cry . If you have an issue with one of us , you should tell us before you get hurt . " " You want to try and hurt me , Mason , then bring it on . I 'm about in the mood to kick your ass all over this ranch . " When Mason started to climb up on the hay with him , he looked at the doorway where someone had whistled at them . To them would have been a better description . It was more of a way to get their attention . Landon looked amused as he took his fingers out of his mouth . " You boys got nothing better to do than beat each other to snot , then I 'd like to borrow Logan for a minute or two first . I don 't have time to hear his bellyaching any more than I do yours , Mason . " Logan looked at Mason , who looked ready to commit murder . " Or I could just go on in and tell your aunt that you 're out here making a mess of things when there is work to be done . I 'm thinking you boys are still afraid of her even though you 're grown men . " " What is it you want ? " Logan cleared his throat and started again when Landon only cocked a brow at him . " I 'm moving hay . Again . And probably will be tomorrow too , if you want to know the truth of it . Whatever you want , you 'll have to ask the master here . " Mason looked ready to resume the fight that Logan had offered up to him . It was on the tip of his tongue to provoke him more , but Landon laughed . Logan stretched his neck again and got down off the trailer . " We 're not done here . " Logan just nodded . If he was honest with himself and Mason , he had no idea why but he thought he 'd actually love for Mason to hit him ; a lot , and hard . He walked to Landon and told him he was free to help him . Mason continued talking as he walked to the older man . " Logan , when you get back , we 're going to talk . " Saying nothing , Logan followed Landon to his truck and got in . It was walk away or have the shit knocked out of him . Mason wasn 't a mean fighter … neither was he , but Logan wanted blood , and he didn 't care if he had to shed a bit to get it . He was angry all the time he thought , too angry . " You wanna talk about it ? " Logan told Landon that he didn 't . " Well , suit yourself , but you should know you keep it up and there is going to be some tarring and feathering going on . You 've been making quite the name for yourself around here of late . " " I 'm bored . " Landon said he could see that . " And fighting with someone will make me less tense . I think . I 'm thinking that I need to move on . The house , the land , the lack of jobs … it 's taking its toll on me . And my well - being . All I want to do is just sit at home and stay there . Not have any contact with anyone at all . And I 'm sick of doing shit jobs , Landon . I haven 't done a damned thing worthwhile in a long time . " " What if I needed you for something that hasn 't a thing to do with cows and horses ? Heck fire , boy , I 'm not sure that this 'll be anything that I might like , but I 'm bored too . " Logan pointed out that he wasn 't fighting with his family . " No . No , I 'm not . Could , I suppose , if I wanted to be in the dog house with my wife , or on the outs with my daughter and son - in - law . I 've been getting myself in and out of trouble like you have , and I think we need a plan . " As they turned down a driveway , Logan felt himself begin to relax . He rolled the window down , despite the cold of the air , and thought maybe he should get a new truck . Or at least something that he could drive around in style . Not that he could afford something like this vehicle , and he didn 't need anything to get around in but his steady and sometimes slow horse . But Logan thought he might enjoy having something . When the truck stopped moving , he looked out the front glass , only just realizing that he 'd closed his eyes , and looked at the house and barn . " Is this the Martin farm ? " Landon said it was and got out . Logan was almost afraid to join him . He 'd heard stories about this place all his life . Most of them he knew were untrue , but to see this place now , he could almost believe them . The area surrounding the big house was unkempt and overgrown . " You thinking about the ghosts that haunt it here ? I been out here three times in the last month . I haven 't seen a single darn one of them . " Logan asked him where the Martins were . " William died about three months ago , poor old soul . He knew it was coming ; had me out to talk to him a bit here and there . Then when he passed on , the kids stuffed Dolly into one of the nursing places where she is tied to a bed all day and only let out when it 's feeding time . But she 's getting out soon , I heard . Had a doctor say she was doing all right and able to get out to one of them assisted living places . I don 't imagine that sets too well with them kids of theirs . They 're a lot like my Dirk was . Everything is about them . " Logan knew that Landon and his wife still hurt about Dirk and what he 'd done to them . He also knew that Katie was getting help , too , for her depression . Logan loved these two people like no one he 'd ever loved before . His own parents had been gone for so long , he 'd begun to think of them as their substitutes a long time ago . " I 'm sorry , Landon . I truly am . But I have to admit , I don 't remember seeing anything about the Martins ' children . " He looked at Landon when he said nothing . " We helped them out last year . He got sick and we came to help him and his men out by picking grapes . I liked Mr . and Mrs . Martin , but like I said , the children weren 't around then . " " Yeah , I remember that . Right proud of you for doing that too . But he never did recover from what had put him down . Heard tell that when he passed on the kids were so mad at him that they only did what they had to do to get him buried . Then when the will was read , they got rid of their Mom too . I 've been to see her a couple of times . " Logan said he thought they 'd been friends of his parents . " Your parents , they did right by them . Even before you boys were coming along , they 'd go over and help them out . Their own kids never did appreciate them . " Landon opened the front door to the house . Logan was surprised to see that the man not only had a key , but seemed to know just where the light switches were , as well as glasses in the cabinets . But when he pulled a pitcher of tea from the fridge , Logan asked him what was going on . " Six months or so before William passed on , he called me over here to have a little talk . And some of his wife 's pie . She couldn 't bake one to save her life , even when she poured the middle of it from a can , so I knew when I got here that I was in trouble . He was dying even then , he told me , and needed my help . " Logan nodded , sipping his drink . " Dirk was alive then . He 'd been in trouble with something , like he always was , and I called William back to beg off . But he said that he wasn 't long for this world and it would do him good to see me . So I packed myself up and came over . I found that in the three or four months since I 'd seen him last , William had aged a great deal . " " His kids . " Landon nodded and got up and brought them a box of cookies . Not the kind that was homemade , but ones that had been processed so much they were only cookies because some ad guy said so . " What happened when you got here ? " " He told me that he wasn 't going to be around long , and that he needed to settle some debts up before he passed on . One of them being about his daughter , the one that he 'd fathered when he was a younger man . " Logan leaned back in his chair and said nothing . " I can see where your mind is going . You 're thinking that I might should have stayed at home . And I might agree with you but for what I found out . She 's gone ; this girl died before he had time to do much for her . He found out about her too late . You knew her too , Logan . " " No , I don 't think so . I told you , I didn 't know his children . " He watched Landon pull out some pictures from a worn yellowed envelope , and almost wanted to get up and leave when he handed him one of them . Even upside down , he knew the face when he held it . " Landon , whatever you think you know , I 'd just as soon you tell me . Those pictures … you know as well as I that she was not a child of Mr . Martin 's . " " But she was . A child he fathered long ago . An affair , he told me , one that he regretted the moment he did it , but for the child he never knew . Mary Shafer , she was his little girl . " Logan took the picture and held it but didn 't look . He knew what she looked like as well as he knew his own face . " You and her , you were mates . " " Yes . We were . She was killed by a drunk driver when she was ten . We 'd been in school together , hung out when we could . I knew when I saw her what she was to me , even as young as I was . I tried to help her , protect her , but that was out of my hands . " Landon said he knew that too , William had told him . " I had no idea that William was her father . Not that it mattered to us who she was . We were just children . " " Yes , you were . Now , Dolly , William 's wife , she knew who she was too . Even the mother . Dolly was a better woman , I think , than most would have been , and opened her doors to the child when it was apparent that her mother wasn 't giving her the things that she and William had sacrificed to get her . Clothing , a better home . All the money he sent for her each month went to habits that weren 't beneficial to her child . So when she was killed , little Mary was in his will too . " Logan got up and paced the big spacious kitchen . " Logan , William knew who - " " No . I don 't want to hear it . " Landon said nothing . " Whatever plan the two of you hatched up , it has nothing at all to do with me . Mary died , and I knew then that things like having a mate and a home life were gone to me . I 've moved on . I had no choice , but that didn 't stop me from grieving for her like I 'd killed her myself . " " Have you moved on , Logan ? On account ' a , from where I 'm sitting , you 're stuck . " Logan stared at the man who had been the father figure he 'd never had . His dad might have been just like Landon McBride , more than likely would have been right there with them in this room . But he 'd died . " You 're carrying around some powerful hurt now . Seeing the others get their own mates , them having babies . You 're hurting , aren 't you ? " thought of the little girl who had meant the world to him . He realized then that Landon was right . He was jealous of his brothers , and was letting it color his world . " She and I were inseparable . We did everything together … skinny dipping in the pond not far from here , sneaking into the barn late at night . I 'd bring her food and blankets . One summer she spent the better part of it in that big barn , eating what leftovers I could sneak out to her . I was never sure why she was there or why she wasn 't getting enough to eat wherever she was from , but we had fun . I even brought her things in the house and washed them up when no one was looking . " He knew that his aunt had guessed she was there , or that someone was , and had begun leaving things like extra chicken and bread on the counter for him to take . " Then one day , just like that , she was gone , dead because some bastard ran a stop sign and killed her at a crosswalk . " " He left it all to you . " Logan asked him what he 'd said . " The vinery , the house , barns . Even the wine making business , it 's all yours if you want it . There is more than enough money to keep it running , forever if you wish . He said that he knew of all the men he had met in his lifetime that you 'd make it viable and keep it going . " Landon pulled out another envelope and handed it to him . There was a copy of the will and a sealed , smaller envelope with his name on it . Landon pointed to the small colorful tabs on the side and told him to read that first . William Martin had named not just him in his will , but also his little girl , the one that had died all those years ago . " I bequeath all my worldly goods and possessions to Logan Benson Douglas , a man of good standing and intelligence . I wish for him to run my winery , live in the house , and keep it going in the name of a child that we both loved . Mary Shafer , my daughter , would live here too but for my lack of sense . " " What did he mean by that ? " Landon said nothing and Logan was afraid that if he did answer , he wasn 't going to like it . " Landon , why did he leave it to me ? You know , don 't you ? " " His little girl was killed by her mother ; the drunk driver was none other than her own mother . " Landon leaned back in his seat while Logan tried to wrap that up in his mind . " You want to know more , you 're going to have to read what he wrote you . But you should know that if ' n you don 't take the land and what he 's given you , the kids will get it . And as much as it grieves me to say this , they 're no better than my own son was , and this place will have condos on it by the end of next year . And you know as well as I that this is good farm land , and to have them plopping houses on it is gonna do nothing for your family 's ranches . " Landon nodded . If he said any more or showed him anything else , Logan had no idea . When he came back round , the thoughts swirling in his head , he noticed that the sliding door was open to the deck off the kitchen and he could see Landon 's booted feet . Getting up , Logan went to see Landon to let him tell him this was a joke . Not a funny one , but a joke all the same . " You all right now ? " Logan said he wasn 't sure . " Yeah , don 't blame you none there . There 's a lot to take in . If ' n you 're ready for the rest of it , then I can give it to you . " " I 'm not sure yet . What do his kids think of all this ? By now , I 'm sure that they know . " He said that they did and were none too thrilled about things . " Are they going to give me any trouble ? I mean , if I take this ? " " You already took it , son . The only thing you 've not done is moved in . And that could be done lickety split . " Logan told him he knew nothing of grapes and wine making . " I don 't imagine that many do unless they read up on it . And there is the foreman that is taking care of things for you . Production has been going on , grapes were tended to . William has been gone for a bit , not even a year , but someone 's been here all along . " Logan sat down on one of the deck chairs and realized that they were fairly new . Now that he thought on it , Logan realized that the kitchen seemed to be updated and clean . He wondered what he 'd find should he go looking around the rest of the place . He asked Landon about it . " He had it all taken care of . Most of the renovations , they occurred before he passed , but he wanted things to be prettied up for you . Dolly , she said to me that last time I was out there to visit her that that someone had been hired to come in and take out all the personal things and put them in storage . The house , the lands , they 're all ready for you . " Logan asked him why now . Why had he waited so long ? " It was time . "