Month: April 2022

Weekend Excerpt–WARRIOR MINE

Published on by Pandora SpocksLeave a comment

She is the perfect combination of princess and warrior.

Scott Nielsen and Jackie Walker
Their attraction is instant from the moment they meet.
But he’s Dominant. And no way is she submissive.
Is it a missed connection? Or a divine appointment?

Scott Nielsen is ready for change. He’s walked away from his career as a wilderness counselor, planning to start his own outdoor survival school. He looks up his old friend and former colleague Blake Walker, intent on leasing space for his business at Blake’s family’s remote wilderness guest lodge. That’s where he meets Blake’s sister Jackie, who runs the lodge with her brother’s help. Her strength and independence intrigue Scott. A single mom, Jackie has no intention of being anyone’s submissive.

In his personal life, Scott is tired of casual sex in the BDSM club scene. Envious watching his buddy Blake fall head over heels for his own submissive, Scott thinks he might be ready to take the plunge himself. As he and Jackie spend time together, he’s enchanted with her inner Warrior Princess. But Jackie’s been burned before. And she has two children who are her priority, not to mention the business to run. As independent as she is, she can’t see relinquishing her power to a man, not even one she’s falling for.

Scott’s heart aches at the idea of not having Jackie in his life. Can she take another chance on love, or will she insist on ignoring her submissive soul?

If you enjoyed LOST & BOUND, you’ll love this spin-off stand-alone story.

WARRIOR MINE came about as a follow-up to LOST & BOUND. While readers enjoyed Blake and Shasta’s story, they were eager to know what happened with Blake’s sister Jackie and his best friend, Scott. From the get-go, Jackie was strong and independent. So I thought, wouldn’t it be great to write a submissive who rescues her Dominant?

Here’s a snippet from WARRIOR MINE.

Wringing her hands in front of her, Jackie paced back and forth by the windows as cold fear thrummed through her veins. The storm seemed to have increased in intensity, but she wondered whether it was just her imagination.

She’d received Scott’s text half an hour earlier, and she’d forced herself to walk away from the computer where his GPS location was being tracked on a map of the lake. Watching minute by minute wasn’t helping anything, and she had guests to attend to.

A glance showed her that Emma and Grant were still playing quietly, unaware of the danger Scott faced alone in the snow. Perhaps it was that, to them, strong and larger than life as he was, he was simply invincible. She envied them, she realized.

“He’s fine, Jacks.” Blake materialized beside her, handing her a mug of coffee.

Jackie accepted it, nodding her thanks. “I know. I just…” She shrugged, not knowing what else to say.

A loud bang from the reception area startled them, and a whoosh of cold air swirled into the room.

“Oh, thank God!” Jackie ran to the dining room door, several others following behind her. Across the reception area, the lodge’s front door had swung all the way open, banging against the wall. Snow swirled wildly on icy gusts around a lone figure in a black parka.

Jackie grabbed his arm and pulled him further into the room, then battled the wind to close the door. Hadley Pierce tugged down his hood and stomped to shake off the snow from his boots and clothes.

“C-c-cold,” he shivered, pulling off his heavy gloves.

“Come on, bud,” Dan Spinelli said. “Let’s get you by the fire.” He helped the man out of his coat and guided him into the dining room.

Jackie hung the coat on a hook and followed. “Where’s Scott? Putting away the snowmobile?”

Pierce pulled off his black knit beanie, uncovering his shaggy dark hair which stuck out in all directions. He dropped the cap to the floor and held his hands out toward the fire. “So fucking cold,” he muttered.

“Scott! Where’s Scott?” Jackie grabbed the young man’s arm and spun him around.

He blinked down at her.

“Dammit! Where is Scott?”

“How should I know?” he shrugged, turning back to the fire.

Jackie grabbed him again, whirling him around and slamming him against the stone of the fireplace. “You should know because he went out looking for your sorry ass when you went out in the middle of a fucking blizzard,” she growled.

Blake placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Easy, sis.”

Indignance flashed in Pierce’s eyes. “Look, all I know is, your piece of shit snowmobile broke down, and I had to walk all the way back here. I don’t know anything about Scott.”

He shoved past Jackie to return to the fire. “He’s a sorry excuse for a wilderness expert, you ask me,” he muttered.

Before Blake could stop her, Jackie spun the young man around once more and slapped him hard across the face. A second crack rang out before Pierce could recover from the first.

“You listen to me, you snot-nosed motherfucker.” Jackie waved her finger in his face.

Blake gently wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her away from the young man.

“He’s out there looking for you after you ignored his instructions. He told you not to go out in a blizzard. He’s risking his life for you, you sorry sack of shit!”

Pierce opened his mouth to reply, but Jackie raised her hand as if to slap him a third time. “Not another word. You keep your mouth shut, and you stay away from me. As soon as this storm’s over, I want you out of here, and I never want to see you again.”

She turned on her heel, heading to the office. Blake followed close behind her. “Jacks, we’ll just text him and tell him to come back.”

“Yeah, but it still infuriates me that one idiot created such a mess. And the snowmobile didn’t ‘break down.’ He wrecked it on the rocks at the end of the lake. Scott found it.”

She tapped in the password and the screen lit up with a topographical map of the lake. Leaning closer, she blinked. The blip that had been Scott was gone. She refreshed the page, but there was no red path leading from the lodge to the end of the lake.

“What the…” Blake clicked a few things, but nothing changed the map.

On her phone, Jackie sent a quick text.

The douchebag just showed up. Hurry back now.

The message was immediately returned with an error notification. Receiving device unavailable. Try again later.

Jackie looked up at Blake, who shrugged slightly. “Something must be wrong with his sat-com.” He scrubbed a hand across his mouth as he sank into a chair. “So, we don’t know where he is, and we can’t communicate with him.”

“I’m calling the police,” Jackie said, determination in her voice. She tapped the number into the office phone.

After a trio of rings, someone answered. “Eliot Lake Police, Ned Hart.”

“Ned, thank God! This is Jackie Walker at Lake Miranda Lodge. One of our survival school students went AWOL in the storm, and Scott went out after him. The thing is, the guy wandered back, but Scott’s still out there. We can’t get ahold of him on the sat-com, and I’m frantic. Can you send someone out to look for him?”

There was a pause on the other end. Then, “Jackie, I can’t send anyone out in the middle of a blizzard. Now I’m looking at the radar, and it looks like this might all be past us in another couple of hours, but I’m sure you understand, I can’t risk the lives of my team in the middle of a storm like this.”

Jackie felt as though she’d been gut-punched. She fought to breathe.

“Jackie?”

She pulled herself straight and tall. “Fine,” she said softly, “I’ll just go find him myself.”

WARRIOR MINE by Pandora Spocks

WARRIOR MINE is available
at your favorite online bookseller.
books2read.com/WarriorMine

Weekend Excerpt–HUNTER’S PRIDE

Published on by Pandora SpocksLeave a comment

A handsome rancher with a tragic past,
determined to hang on to his inheritance.
A spunky young corporate lawyer
ready to make her mark in the world.
A sinister plot against them both.

Hunter McFall is a fifth-generation Idaho cattle rancher. He’s been approached to sell a small fraction of his land to a big-city real estate developer. Something he has no intention of doing. He’s agreed to hear out the firm’s lawyer, but that’s the end of it. To his surprise, it’s just the beginning.

Red-haired Manhattan business attorney Poppy Chastain is determined to make the most of her first opportunity to show her bosses what she can do. Slade & Howell have sent her to the boondocks of Idaho to convince the hard-headed rancher to part with a tiny plot of his property. She didn’t count on the sizzling attraction between them.

Together, they find a passion they weren’t even looking for. But their love is threatened by a covert scheme to separate Hunter from his land by any means necessary. When he finds out, he’s sure Poppy has played him for a fool. Can she convince him otherwise, that what they’ve found is real?

If you love hot cowboys, sassy redheads, and steamy, romantic happily-ever-afters, you’ll love Hunter’s Pride.

Beware… This snippet from HUNTER’S PRIDE contains spoilers!

*WARNING– Spoilers*

By mid-September, Poppy still had no good news on the job front. She’d been on another couple of interviews, but hadn’t landed a new position. Strangely, at least to her, she didn’t feel panicked. Not yet, anyway. She was earning enough at the coffee shop that by being very frugal, she didn’t have to dip onto her savings. She sighed heavily. She’d need to do that once the baby came and she was out of commission for a while. As for what she’d do for childcare, she had no clue.

She’d finally worked up the nerve to tell her parents about the baby. After an interminable moment of shocked silence, to their credit, they’d been extremely supportive. Again, her father had mentioned the idea of coming back to Tennessee and living with them until she found a job. But Poppy knew she was too independent to rely on her parents.

Her mother was already making plans to come to New York shortly before her due date. Poppy figured she’d need help at that time anyway, so she didn’t discourage Jourand’s plans.
As for the baby, everything was going fine, according to the midwife. While Poppy had initially chosen to go with the midwife for financial reasons, she was more and more convinced she’d made the right choice with every visit. The last time she’d seen the woman, she’d been undecided about whether she wanted to know the baby’s gender. But with everything else in her life so up in the air, she’d opted to find out.

Days later, she still couldn’t believe that in the spring, she’d be welcoming a son into the world. Her parents had been over the moon at the news, and had immediately gone out and bought what seemed to be an entire male infant wardrobe.

The mailman had left the package with Roxy that afternoon and he’d brought it over as soon as Poppy had arrived home from the coffee shop. Together, they’d unpacked the box and oohed and ahhed over tiny blue onesies, an adorable T-shirt emblazoned Grandpa’s Little Buddy, and various other miniature accessories.

Later, alone in her apartment with the television playing low in the background, Poppy sorted through the baby things once again. Knowing she had her parents’ support meant the world to her. She’d been so sure they would be disappointed in her. But each little garment was an affirmation that they loved her, and they loved her baby.

Poppy felt a lump forming in her throat and her eyes stung with threatened tears. As she picked up a tiny pair of red sneakers, she surrendered to her emotions.

Can I really do this? Can I have a child and raise him on my own? Should I move back home? And what about Hunter? He deserves to know. Doesn’t he?

Sniffing loudly, she used the back of her bathrobe sleeve to wipe her face and carefully packed the baby things back into the box. For now, she put it in her closet and returned to the living room where she stretched out on the sofa to watch an uninspired sit-com on television.

Resting her hand on her growing belly, she sighed. “What I wouldn’t give for a glass of wine right now.”

A moment later, she felt a slight fluttering in her abdomen. She’d noticed the same thing earlier in the day, but she’d assumed it had just been the black bean soup she’d had for lunch. Frowning, she stilled as she held her breath and waited.

Before long, she felt it again. Her heart pounded. This time, not only had she felt it inside, she’d felt it with her hand on the outside.

The baby was moving! Excited, Poppy looked around her empty apartment and realized there was no one to tell. She thought of Roxy and knew that he’d left for the club an hour earlier. Her parents were just a phone call away. But she discarded the thought of calling them.

This is what it’s like to raise a child by yourself, she realized sadly. All those moments that are meant to share with someone else, only you’re on your own.

A wayward idea floated through her mind. I could call Hunter. After all, he’s the baby’s father.

Poppy leaned back on the sofa and tried that idea on for size. It had been over three months since she’d left Idaho. And the situation for McFall Ranch was radically different now. There was no highway winding across the ranch, and there was no mountain resort under construction. Nor would there be, ever.

Maybe by now, he’d cooled off. Maybe by now, he realized that she hadn’t been involved in the scheme to steal his land.

And you’re having his baby, her conscience helpfully reminded her.

Chewing her lower lip, she reached for her phone and swiped it on. When she scrolled to Hunter’s number, his hazel eyes sparkled up at her with amusement and just a hint of heat, and she felt her stomach drop.

It’s easy, her inner self encouraged her. Just tap that little green phone icon. Canned laughter from the television punctuated her imaginary conversation.

“And tell him what?” Poppy muttered out loud. “Hi, Hunter. Yeah, I’m having your baby. It’s a boy, by the way. Oh, and I was just calling to tell you I felt him move today, so…”

She shook her head. “Yeah, I can just imagine how that would go over.”

Instead, she clicked off the phone, dropped it on the coffee table, and turned her focus back to the television comedy.

HUNTER’S PRIDE is available
at your favorite online bookseller.
books2read.com/HuntersPride

Weekend Excerpt–Happy Easter!

Published on by Pandora SpocksLeave a comment

Michael and Maggie.
It’s complicated.

Rannigan’s Redemption is the story of the complicated relationship between sexy high-profile Manhattan attorney Michael Rannigan and sassy red-haired fellow lawyer Maggie Flynn.

Michael and Maggie meet at a job fair, where he hires her practically on the spot. She’s smart and good at her job. But there’s more to it than he’s willing to admit. He’s attracted to her. Which doesn’t make sense. She’s nothing like the women he dates. She’s way too smart, for one thing.

And Maggie’s in love with him, too. Realizing the situation is all but hopeless, she contents herself with working with him.

One night of passion tears them apart. And from that point they’re both just running rogue, each making questionable decisions in their professional and personal lives.

A moment of desperation brings them back together. After Michael has burned all his bridges, Maggie’s the only one willing to stand by him.

And he’s grateful. He knows he needs to make it up to her, to somehow find redemption for himself.

In this scene, Maggie’s new love, retired major league pitcher Bobby ‘Beau’ Beaulieu, returns to Louisiana to spend Easter with his family.

Bobby relished the time he spent with Savannah.  It occurred to him that maybe Deanna had made a bigger deal than necessary of the little girl’s illness. 

His mood was thoughtful as he sipped his beer and watched Savannah running and playing with her cousins after a delicious meal on Friday evening.  The entire family had gathered at his sister Michelle’s house for a Good Friday dinner.  Now the adults relaxed on the patio as the children played on the lawn.

Everyone would be at Jerilyn and Justin’s on Sunday for the big holiday meal and traditional Easter egg hunt.  If Bobby knew his mother, she’d have been scrambling since he’d called to say the New York trip was off, putting together eggs at the last minute.  It would probably be up to him, his brothers-in-law, and his father to hide about half a million plastic eggs all around the outside of the house bright and early on Sunday morning.  He smiled contentedly.

“Bobby, can I get you anything?” his sister Michelle’s husband Russ asked.

Bobby shook his head.  “I think I’m just about fine.”

“Just about…” Russ repeated, grinning.  “Sounds like something is missing.  Rumor has it you have a new girlfriend.”

Bobby glanced around realizing that all other conversations had stopped.  The only voices were those of the children who ran squealing across the lawn.

“Ro-bert has found himself a city girl,” his mother said.  There was friendly laughter all around.

“Maggie’s not a city girl.  She’s originally from North Carolina.  She lives in New York now, just like I do.”  He dug his phone from his pocket, queuing up the photo of the two of them he’d taken at the Red Lantern Inn, and he passed it around.

“What does she do?” asked his sister Renée, who was pregnant with her second child.

“She’s a lawyer.  Works for the prosecutor’s office.”

“We were supposed to meet her this weekend, but we couldn’t go, what with Savannah being sick,” Jerilyn elaborated.  “Ro-bert, tell them how you met her.”

Interested eyes were on Bobby.  He sighed.  “We met in the elevator in my building.  She was visiting someone who lives on my floor.  Her shoe broke when she stepped out of the elevator and she fell into the hallway.  I helped fix up her knee.”  He grinned at the memory.

Russ hooted.  “Oh, yeah, he’s got it bad!”  Everyone else laughed, and Bobby joined in good-naturedly.

Later back at his parents’ house, Bobby tucked Savannah into bed and wandered back to the kitchen.  Jerilyn was putting together potato salad for Sunday’s dinner.  Bobby sank onto a stool at the counter and watched.

“How are you feeling, bébé?” his mother asked.  “You looked so tired this morning.”

“I’m good, maman.”  His phone blipped indicating a text message.  Checking it quickly, he saw that it was Maggie.

Jerilyn smiled knowingly.  “Is that your little girl?”

“It’s Maggie,” he said, smiling.

“What’s going on there, cher?” she asked softly.

Bobby sighed.  “She makes me happy.”  He looked up at his mother.  “She’s pretty, obviously.  And she’s smart and kind and funny and genuine…”  He trailed off.

Jerilyn crossed her arms.  “Is she another one of those little girls looking for a rich, famous man?”

He looked his mother squarely in the eye.  “No, maman.  Maggie had no idea that I’d played ball.  She couldn’t care less about sports or money.”  He laughed.  “She gave me eight pounds of shit, I mean crap,” he edited in response to her raised eyebrow, “when I bought her an antique dresser last week.”

Bobby gazed through the kitchen windows at the moonlight reflected on the marsh.  “She sees me.  Not some has-been retired pitcher.  I know that we haven’t been going out very long but…”  He looked down at his hands before meeting her gaze.  “I think I’m in love with her.”

A slow smile crept across his mother’s face.  “You’d better go give your little girl a call, then, bébé.”

RANNIGAN’S REDMEPTION by Pandora Spocks

RANNIGAN’S REDEMPTION is available
at your favorite online bookseller.
books2read.com/RannigansRedemption

Weekend Excerpt–FOR SPARROW

Published on by Pandora SpocksLeave a comment

GOLDEN FLOGGER AWARD WINNER
A platonic Dom/sub relationship?
It’s a damn odd arrangement.

When Jessi Crenshaw’s husband Graham dies unexpectedly, she’s devastated. He’s the only man she’s ever loved. Just eighteen when she met him, she’s been married to him for twenty-five years. Now she’s lost her friend, her lover…and her Dominant.

But as it turns out, Graham had an inkling that his health was in decline, and he tapped his friend and protégé in the Lifestyle, firefighter and paramedic Judd Farris, to be Jessi’s Dominant until she gets back on her feet.

Judd is determined to fulfill his promise to his friend. But it’s a damn odd arrangement—a platonic Dom/sub relationship. With her fiery auburn hair, sparkling green eyes, and audacious spirit, Jessi captured his attention the first time he ever saw her. At her husband’s funeral.

A man could go to hell for the things he’s been thinking. But they’ve drawn a line, and he’s going to stick to it.

Judd’s sexy good looks and his gentle confidence aren’t lost on Jessi. She’s torn between loyalty to the man she loved, and desire for the man increasingly in her fantasies. In the letter Graham left for her, he mentioned that she might find Judd attractive. But that’s simply ridiculous. He’s five years younger than she is. He couldn’t possibly be interested in her. Could he?

Judd’s a Dom without a sub, and Jessi’s a sub without a Dom. It’s perfect for the time being. Could it be that Graham had more in mind than merely a temporary solution?

And could it all end at the hands of a madman?

FOR SPARROW is a contemporary erotic romance novel with a light BDSM theme. It’s the third book in the Dream Dominant Collection.

Here’s a steamy scene from FOR SPARROW.

Dressed in a silky eggplant chemise, Jessi padded back into the bedroom and slipped into bed. She stacked the pillows behind her against the headboard, intending to read the new erotic romance on her Kindle. But glancing at her phone on the bedside table, she remembered Judd’s charge: “Report back to me afterward.”

The time on the clock blinked 12:09. Was it too late? If it was, he could just see it in the morning. The idea of reporting on her orgasm made her feel nervous. Maybe it was just better to get it over with.

She put down the Kindle and picked up her phone.
*****
“So, what do you think about Amanda?” Alex asked, shouting above the pounding music.

“She’s nice,” Judd replied noncommittally.

“I’ll say she’s nice. Nice and stacked. When the girls get back from the bathroom, do you want me and Trish to head out so you can work your Judd Farris magic?” Alex grinned gleefully.

“No, no need to do that. Let’s all hang out. Do you want to go someplace quieter?”

Alex laughed. “Young folks and their crazy rock and roll bothering you, old man?”

“No, it’s just…”

“Well, the fact that they didn’t ditch us while we were in the bathroom is a good sign,” Trish joked as she and Amanda returned from the ladies’ room.

“Where would I go, baby, you know I love you,” Alex cooed. “Come on, let’s show these two how it’s done.” He took Trish’s hand and twirled her once, before leading her out to the dance floor.

Judd leaned closer to Amanda. “Would you like another beer?”

She nodded. “Yeah, that would be great.”

Judd stood, nodding toward the bar. “I’ll be right back.” Waiting to order at the bar, he looked back toward their table. Amanda was a friend of Trish’s from work, and somehow, Trish and Alex had decided that Judd should meet her.

She seemed nice, and she was pretty, with her blonde hair and blue eyes. She was a little shy, and Judd wondered if that was why she didn’t currently have a boyfriend. But he knew that he didn’t feel a connection with her, so it definitely wasn’t worth Alex and Trish leaving them to flounder on their own.

He returned to the table, two beers in hand, just as Alex and Trish left the dancefloor. “No beers for us, homie? Seriously?” Alex laughed, dropping off Trish and heading to the bar himself.

Amanda accepted her Corona and nodded. “Thanks!”

“You’re welcome.” Judd took a pull on his beer and felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He retrieved the device and swiped it on, checking the message. It was from Jessi. According to the clock on his phone, it was 12:10. Smiling reflexively, he opened the message.

Mission accomplished, Sir.

His grin broadened. Mission accomplished. Had she already had her allotted orgasm?

He looked up to see that Alex had returned and was watching him closely. “Good message?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s just…” Judd stood. “If you’ll excuse me for a minute. I’ll be right back.”

Dodging gyrating dancers and the crowd around the bar, Judd made his way to the sidewalk outside, where it was much quieter, despite the fact that he could still hear the deep pounding bass of the music inside the club. He opened Jessi’s message again and pressed the telephone icon.

“Hello?” she answered tentatively.

“Mission accomplished? That was fast,” he laughed.

“Shit! Well, oops, sorry, I just… Well, I didn’t think you’d call. Geez!”

“Two words do not a report make, little one. I need details.” He grinned, picturing her discomfort.

“Details? Seriously?”

“Um-hmm, starting with, where were you?”

“In the bathtub.”

“Were there bubbles?”

“Yes, there were bubbles. And candles, too.”

“Good, this is sounding good. And you touched yourself where?”

“You know where I touched myself,” she quipped huffily.

“Humor me, little one.”

She sighed loudly. “I started with my breasts and moved to my pussy.”

“Okay, did you use a tool?” Judd realized that he was becoming immensely aroused.

“A tool? Like a dildo? Yes, I used my rabbit.”

“Ooh, penetration. I like it. And did you come?”

“Yes, Sir, only once, just like you said.” She sounded pleased with herself.

“Good girl. Were you thinking naughty thoughts?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake! Everybody thinks naughty thoughts when they…”

Judd knew he was enjoying this way too much. He swallowed a laugh. “When they what, little one?”

Her heard her huff. “When they masturbate.” She whispered the last word. “Oh, my God!”

“Nicely done, Jessi. A full and complete report. It’s a shame that you used up your one cummie so quickly. It’s going to be a long week for you.”

FOR SPARROW by Pandora Spocks

Golden Flogger Award Winner FOR SPARROW
is available at your favorite online bookseller.
books2read.com/ForSparrow

Weekend Excerpt–JENNY’S VOICE

Published on by Pandora SpocksLeave a comment

A traumatized young woman held hostage for years.
The rancher who comes to her rescue.
The crime boss who will kill them both if he finds them.

Jenny Stone’s voice was silenced the horrific day ruthless crime boss Victor Sorkin executed her parents in cold blood and took her as his personal good luck charm. Now she’s his pet, at his mercy when he summons her to warm his bed. Or the beds of his more esteemed business associates.

When she sees her chance to escape, she takes it, hitching a ride with an unsuspecting cowboy, horse trainer Cole Caldwell. Cole’s stunned to find the terrified young redhead hiding in his horse trailer. She’s as skittish as some of the horses he works with, and she’s apparently mute. But the nurturer in him wants to shelter her, to protect her. He’ll do his best to ignore the attraction he feels, content to help her know she’s safe with him.

When Jenny first escaped, her only thought was to get away. But now she’s worried. She’s put Cole in unspeakable danger. Should she leave before Victor finds them? Could it already be too late?

If you like your romance filled with hot cowboys, suspense, and happily-ever-afters, you’ll love JENNY’S VOICE.

JENNY’S VOICE is the first book of the Redheads & Ranchers Series, a collection of stand-alone contemporary romance novels featuring sexy ranchers and the redheads they can’t resist. Also in the series: HUNTER’S PRIDE and ANNA’S HEART.

Here’s a snippet from JENNY’S VOICE.

After Cole left, Jenny aimlessly wandered around the house. She gazed again at the photos hanging in the hallway, making a mental note to ask Cole about them sometime.

In the kitchen, she found the chicken he’d mentioned, a package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. She chewed her lip thoughtfully, then opened an upper cupboard. There she found flour, salt, pepper, olive oil, and a small container of dried parsley. She frowned. Dried would do if he didn’t have fresh parsley.

In the fridge, she found butter, grated Parmesan, a lemon, and a partial bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. She surveyed everything on the counter, frowning.

Capers. If only he has capers.

Dragging a chair from the table, she climbed up and peered into the upper cabinets once more. Shoving aside all the items in the front, she leaned up on her tiptoes, straining to see what else might be in there. All the way in the back, she spied a small round jar. She had to climb onto the counter to reach it.

Capers! Yes! Gleefully, she pumped her fist in the air.

Now that she had everything she needed, she filled the sink with water and submerged the package of frozen chicken. Cole had said he’d be gone a couple of hours. That should be plenty of time to prepare chicken piccata.

Before, Jenny hadn’t done a lot of cooking. She’d always been busy with school and her friends. Her mother hadn’t much of a cook herself, preferring to pick up take-out on her way home from work. That was before.

After, alone in her little room, sometimes she was given old magazines to pass the time. Never anything with news, mind you, but magazines about home décor and cooking, issues that someone else had thumbed through and gotten tired of, always months out of date. But to Jenny, they’d been a tiny window onto the outside world.

Hour after hour, she’d pore over the articles and recipes, even creating the dishes in the kitchen of her imagination, following step after step. Eyes closed, she’d mixed seasonings, sautéed the beef or chicken or whatever the directions called for, and at times, she’d have sworn she actually smelled the dish she was cooking.

A recipe for chicken piccata had particularly interested her, and she’d read it so many times, she had memorized it. And with all the ingredients, she was finally going to bring the dish to life here in Cole’s kitchen.

While she waited for the chicken to thaw, she gazed out the kitchen window. Across the yard was another pasture she hadn’t noticed before. She couldn’t see any horses there, but waving in the gentle March breeze were scores of wildflowers.

They’d look beautiful on the table with dinner. Anxiously, she wrung her hands. Could she risk going outside? Cole wasn’t home. There would be no one to protect her.

Her stomach flipped at the thought of Victor or his men watching her. That was stupid. He had no idea where she was. No way to trace her. How could he?

She shook her head. I will not let Victor run my life. Not anymore.

With determined steps, she walked to the front door, took a deep breath, and opened it. Glancing around, she saw no one. The horses were still out in the pasture, although Minnie had returned to the gate as though she wanted to go back to the barn.


The only sound Jenny could hear was the wind whispering through the oak trees along the drive. She glanced to her left and saw the flowers she’d seen from the window. Blue sat at her side and looked up at her questioningly. She patted his head.

Twenty steps. Twenty running steps will get me to the flowers. Then twenty steps back. She breathed in deeply and glanced down at the dog.

Heart pounding, she took off sprinting across the sideyard, ducking under the fence rail and into the field. Blue barked happily and chased along beside her, unsure of the game but pleased to be playing anyway. Jenny stopped at a large patch of bright yellow poppies and grabbed a handful. She was about to run back when she spied tall purple lupines further into the field. Glancing around to reassure herself that no one was around, she darted to the lupines and snatched a few before running back to the house.

She slammed the front door closed and leaned against it, panting. Ears up and tail wagging, Blue grinned up at her as if to ask if they could do it again. Jenny smiled and patted his head, then went to find a vase for the flowers.

JENNY’S VOICE by Pandora Spocks

JENNY’S VOICE is available
at your favorite online bookseller.
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