Katie Ashley: Writer of Romance

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Teaser Tuesday from Search Me

11:35 AM | Posted by Katie Ashley | Edit Post

Hey guys,

Long time, no tease, huh? This one is coming to you from late June's release of Search Me. I like to call it a New Adult Romancing the Stone mixed with National Treasure with a little Goonies thrown in. Here's the blurb in case you missed it before...

Twenty year old Lane Montgomery never imagined her usually boring summer in the boonies would require her to trade her toe shoes for hunting boots or her monotonous college textbooks for treasure map deciphering. Never would she have imagined after breaking her grandmother’s precious Native American statue, danger, a lost treasure of Cherokee Gold and a hostage situation would arise. Nor could she predict that the one man destined to protect her and her family was her childhood nemesis and former crush, Maddox Diaz.

Returning after three years in the Army, twenty-three year old Maddox Diaz is confronted with more than he bargained for when agreeing to help his childhood buddy and deepest regret, Lane. Suddenly he is thrust into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with armed and ruthless treasure seekers that results in car chases and gun battles all in the presence of the one girl who still manages to haunt his dreams and drive him wild with desire.

Lane is determined to deny the sizzling chemistry with the man who stole her virginity and broke her heart. She just wants to stay alive with her heart intact. Will she be able to resist the man whose body sets fire to all her senses?

When I reached to knock, the back door creaked open. Huh, that was strange. Maudie usually kept everything locked up tight, especially after hours. Even though it was only supposed to be the two of us working, I glanced around to see if one of the other workers might’ve left it ajar. Shifting our salads in my arm, I stepped inside. “Maudie?”

From across the store, I could hear raised voices and the sound of boxes crashing and falling. I fumbled in my purse for my phone to call 911. After I jerked it out, I started slowly making my way towards Maudie’s office. I’d gotten half-way down an aisle when I heard a man’s voice. It only took a second for me to register it as the Creep aka Mr. Jensen from earlier in the day. “I know you’re lying. The damn frame is busted on the painting, so don’t try to tell me you don’t know anything about the map!”

“I’ll tell you one more time, Mr. Jensen. The frame got damaged when the painting was shipped to me. I can assure you I have no idea about this silly map you speak of.”

The sound of breaking glass caused me to jump. “Stop lying! If I have to tear apart every single item in this store, I will! I’m not leaving here without the map!”

While my heart rattled in fear, my entire body started trembling all over. I tried to stop my hand from shaking as I dialed 911. In a hushed voice, I said, “There’s been a break-in at 259 Mountain Laurel Blvd—or Miss Maudie’s Brewery. Send someone as soon as you can! The man is still here!”

“Okay, ma’am, I need your name and for you to stay on the line while—”

I tuned out the dispatcher as Maudie’s raised voice floated back to me. “I don’t know who you think you are, but you’re not going to come in here and destroy my business! You better leave right this minute, or I’ll call the police!”

A gun blast caused me to jolt back. The salads and my phone went flying through the air as I tipped to the side and knocked over a display before grabbing hold of some metal shelving to keep my balance. My heartbeat pounded in my ears as an ice cold panic washed over me. Staggering back to my feet, I focused my eyes that were already blurring with tears back on Maudie’s office.

My mind raced in thought, but the main one screamed, “No, no, NO!” This couldn’t be happening. It had to be just a dream. If I just closed my eyes, I’d wake up back at the cabin to find this whole day had been just a weird dream. Pinching my eyes shut, I willed myself back home. But it was no use. It was all real.

Through my emotionally overloaded fog, I heard the dispatcher’s far away voice calling, “Hello? Was that a gunshot?”

I groped along the floor to find my phone. “Yes! Maudie’s been shot! Send an ambulance!”

A hand cupped over my mouth and jerked me up out of the floor and back against a body of solid rock. I immediately began kicking and thrashing against the person.

“Shh, it’s just me,” Maddox whispered, his breath warming my ear.

I relaxed in his arms, and he took his hand away. Tears streamed over my cheeks. “Maudie…that guy Jensen…shot her,” I gasped incoherently through my sobs.

His face contorted in agony. Although he remained rooted to the spot, I could tell he wanted nothing more than to go busting into the office. “Dammit to hell! I left my pistol in my Jeep back at the house!” he growled.

With an ashen expression, he appeared to be weighing in options about going back to get it when two heavy-set men came out of Maudie’s office. Maddox jerked us down to the floor.

Jensen stalked out of the office and started barking orders. “All right boys. Fan out. I want every inch of this place gone over thoroughly! There’s no telling where she could have hid it or where she might have a safe.”

One of the men remained rooted to the floor. “Search the place? You promised us this would be an easy score. There sure as hell wasn’t anything mentioned about killing people or having to hunt down the map!”

Whirling around, Jensen narrowed his eyes. “Look Parker, this isn’t just some hacking scheme that you do from the sidelines. You knew when you signed on that this entailed leg work. So either shut the fuck up and start searching or take a walk!”

Parker grumbled under his breath before reluctantly following Jensen. When they had started out the backdoor to the warehouse, Maddox and I raced into the brightly lit office. The room appeared ransacked. Papers and books littered the floor while the drawers of the filing cabinets were opened and files strewn about. “Maudie?” I called softly.

Finally, I saw her body crumpled behind the desk. Her eyes were closed, and I’d never seen her so pale. My hand shook as I reached out to touch her shoulder. “Maudie, can you hear me? It’s Lane.”

Her eyelids fluttered before she finally opened them wide. “You have to get out of here!”

I shook my head. “We’re not leaving you like this. The police and an ambulance are on their way.”

“No! Leave now."

Maddox made a strangled noise in his throat. When I glanced up, tears shone in his eyes. “We won’t leave you to die!” he argued in a strained voice.

Her breaths started coming in raspy pants. “Get the map. It’s in the safe. The one behind the bedroom painting.” I nodded, and she drew in a ragged breath. “The combination…the commission date on the back… of the painting. Inside are the map and my will." She glanced up at Maddox and grabbed his arm, her eyes filled with desperation. "Don’t let anything happen to Lane. Protect her with your life. Promise me!"

He bent down beside me, taking Maudie’s hand in his. His jaw clenched and unclenched, and I could tell he was fighting to keep from truly losing it. As for me, the tears streamed freely down my cheeks. “I promise I will,” he said.

“Keep yourself safe, too. And your sister.” She tenderly stroked Maddox’s cheek. “I love you with all my heart, sweet boy! You are my son.” She then gave us a weak smile. “I love both of you so much. Remember that…always.”

Maddox squeezed Maudie’s hand. “I love you, too.”

Sobs rolled through my chest so hard that I could barely murmur the words.

“Now go before they come back! Hurry!”

“No, I won’t leave you!” I protested.

Maddox’s Army training took charge, and he pulled me up off the floor. “Maudie told us to go, Lane, so come on!” He dragged me kicking and flailing out the door. “Stop it! We can’t do anything else for her. She wants us to get the hell out of here and get the map, so that’s what we’re going to do!” His fingers jerked my chin up to meet his intense glare. “Got it?”

I nodded weakly while wiping my eyes and trying to clear my head. It obviously wasn’t fast enough. Maddox grabbed my purse strap wound around my shoulder and gave me a harsh tug. “Move!” he barked.

We then started running through the darkened store. Before we got to door that led outside, Jensen and his men huffed inside, and we had to duck behind some shelving.

“I’m telling you that I heard voices in here when I stopped to take a leak!” one of the guys said.

Jensen growled in frustration. “We should’ve split up better. This place is big enough that someone could easily hide out.”

As they broke apart and started spreading throughout the store, Maddox motioned his head to the backdoor. We ran, hunched over, so that we could remain as hidden as possible. My heart was beating so loud in my chest that I was sure Jensen and his thugs would be able to hear it. As I hurried ahead of

Maddox, I plowed through the backdoor with such an adrenaline rush that I thought I would knock it off its hinges.

The door flew back, sending the metal bar careening into Maddox’s crotch. He gave an agonized groan before pinching his mouth shut.

“What was that noise?” Jensen demanded.

“It came from the warehouse.”

“Dammit!” Maddox hissed. He closed the door behind us and pushed a crate in front of it.

In a whisper, I replied, “I’m so, so sorry about your…your…” When I realized that I would have to acknowledge his balls, I pinched my lips together.

“Whatever. Come on!” He grabbed my arm and dragged me to the far side of the warehouse. When we heard the door open again, we dropped down behind a tall stack of crates. Maddox peeked around

the side, trying to catch a glimpse of Jensen.

It seemed like only a second before a voice rang out, echoing off the metal walls to close in around us. “All right, whoever’s there better come out right now!”

I held my breath, trying not to move a muscle, while Maddox crouched just as still.

“Now listen. I know somebody is out here. I have a feeling it’s that pretty young girl from this afternoon.”

Maddox tensed and edged himself closer to me. If we hadn’t been in such a scary situation, I might’ve felt a little tenderness towards his reaction. I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of crashing boxes. The only thing that separated us from Jensen, his thugs, and the same fate as Maudie were wall to wall crates of jams, jellies, and drinks.

It wasn’t a comforting thought.

Jensen’s voice rang out again. “All right, be as stubborn as that old bitch! There’s three of us and one of you, so we’ll turn over every crate and box until we find you!”

Maddox grimaced. In a low voice, he said, “We’re so screwed!”

“Can’t we just go out the backdoor and try to outrun them?”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t have a silent alarm. The minute we go through it everyone in a mile radius is going to know exactly where we are. So there’d be no way we could get up the hill to Maudie’s without them seeing us. We need a distraction until the cops get here, but I seem to be lacking a plan that’ll keep those assholes and their guns away!”

I wracked my brain about what could cut us off from Jensen and his men. Something that would buy us enough time to get the map from Maudie’s safe. My eyes honed in on the box in front of me. Two words stood out to me among all the ingredients. Contents Flammable.

“Got a lighter?”

Maddox gave me a look like I’d completely and totally lost what was left of my mind. I rolled my eyes and jerked my head towards the box. When I could tell my plan had was registering in his mind, I asked, “Too much of a distraction?”

He gave me an incredulous look before grinning. “No, actually I think it’s batshit crazy enough to work! I’m impressed with the wheels turning in that head of yours, Squirt!” I shot him a death glare before he peeked his head over the top of crate. “Okay look. There’s a box of matches and some lighter fluid in the tool drawer. You start pouring some Mountain Brew while I go get them.”

I nodded.

“If Jensen or any other of those ass-clowns get close to you, don’t wait for me. You just start running like hell. Got it?”

“

Okay,” I whispered.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Fan Love and Appreciation Contest

2:34 PM | Posted by Katie Ashley | Edit Post

This is just a quick contest to say thank you so much for your love, support, and understanding with the mishaps that happened with Don't Hate the Player. Your words and messages meant so much when I was beating myself up over what happened with the file(unfortunately I can't do anything about Amazon's craziness!!)

You readers rock my socks on a daily basis!! Much love and hugs,
Katie

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, May 3, 2013

Contest for Love Notes and Book Updates

1:14 PM | Posted by Katie Ashley | Edit Post

First, let me say how mortified and horrified I was to learn that the wrong copy of Don't Hate the Player...Hate the Game was sent to the formatter, and thus uploaded to Amazon. It is getting rectified ASAP(by the weekend), and I hope you can bear with me on the typos and punctuation errors--nothing changes with the story/plot. Although I had pushed the release date back twice, I was bound and determined to release it--even though I was ten days off of surgery and sorta on pain medicine, lol. So it's easy to see why this hiccup happened

Second, I'm so very, very proud of my buddy Heather Gunter for releasing her Young Adult novel, Love Notes. I've giving away 3 ebook copies so just enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Third, I wanted to let you know what's coming up next. First up is the June 30th release of the New Adult book Search Me. Here's the cover and blurb:

Nineteen year old Lane Montgomery never imagined her usually boring summer in the boonies would require her to trade her toe shoes for hunting boots or her monotonous college textbooks for treasure map deciphering. Never would she have imagined after breaking her grandmother’s precious Native American statue, danger, a lost treasure of Cherokee Gold and a hostage situation would arise. Nor could she predict that the one man destined to protect her and her family was her childhood nemesis and former crush, Maddox Diaz.

Returning after three years in the Army, twenty-two year old Maddox Diaz is confronted with more than he bargained for when agreeing to help his childhood buddy and deepest regret, Lane. Suddenly he is thrust into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with armed and ruthless treasure seekers that results in car chases and gun battles all in the presence of the one girl who still manages to haunt his dreams and drive him wild with desire.

Lane is determined to deny the sizzling chemistry with the man who stole her virginity and broke her heart. She just wants to stay alive with her heart intact. Will she be able to resist the man whose body sets fire to all her senses?

Then I also know you're very anxious to see if Abby and Jake's story will be continued. And in a way it will. AJ will be getting his own book, Beat of the Heart, which will be coming out September/October. We will see Abby and Jake in it as well as Rhys's book, Strings of my Heart. I'm excited to dive in to AJ's story and introduce you to him and his lady love, Mia. Abby and Jake will be featured prominently in the book along with the other guys of the band.

The Pairing, Pesh and Megan's story, will be released in November/December. Here's a sneaky peek at the cover--the blurb is coming soon.

Thanks again for all your book love and support!!! You rock!!!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Chapter 2 & Part of Chapter 3 from Don't Hate the Player

10:07 AM | Posted by Katie Ashley | Edit Post

Here's some more Don't Hate the Player for you before Tuesday's release. Hope you enjoy it. You can read Chapter One here: http://katieashleybooks.blogspot.com/2013/04/chapter-one-of-dont-hate-player.html

Chapter Two

I spent the rest of the afternoon walking in the thicket of woods behind my house. I didn’t want anyone seeing me in my manic state. I cried, I screamed, I kicked down a dead tree, and I laughed as old random memories flickered through my mind. I don’t know why I thought I could escape to the woods and leave my grief behind as easily as stripping off my clothes or something. Suffocating and somber, it hung around me—a silent specter taunting and goading me. It draped over me like a heavy coat, weighing me down. The usually easy trek up the small hills felt like trudging through thick mud. My chest constricted so tightly every breath was agonizing. While over and over in my mind, the words echoed Jake is dead. Jake is dead. Jake is dead.

When I finally swept through the back door shortly before six, I found my mom pacing around in the kitchen. She was out of her usual blue or green scrubs along with her pristine white doctor’s coat. Instead, she wore one of her dark and somber “funeral dresses”. With her long, dark hair swept back in a twist, it made her blue eyes, which were sparkling with tears, stand out. I’d barely made it two more steps before she leapt at me, wrapping her arms around me. Her wet cheeks dampened my shirt, and I knew then she had been crying for a long time. “Oh Noah, when I heard, all I could think about was what if it had been you. Just the thought of losing you…” her voice choked off with her sobs.

“I know,” I croaked, although I wasn’t sure I did. Patting her back absentmindedly, I tried in my own fumbling way to comfort her.

“Thank God, you’re all right.” She then began rubbing comforting circles over my back just like she had done my entire life when I was hurt physically or emotionally. “I’m so sorry, sweetie,” she murmured over and over in my ear.

I pushed myself away from her, giving her skeptical look. “Oh, come on, Mom. You know you hated Jake.”

“That’s not true!” she protested.

I cocked one eyebrow at her. “Really?”

“Okay, maybe I disliked what he became later in life, but I never hated him,” she admitted.

I knew that was probably closer to the truth. She hated that Jake as a manwhoring player because it hit too close to home with her when it came to my father.

Mom exhaled a sad, defeated sigh. “I like to think of Jake when he was younger—that mischievous little boy with the crooked grin.” A hesitant smile played on the corners of her lips. “Remember when you guys were little how he always acted like Eddie Haskell from those old Leave it to Beaver reruns whenever he was around me?”

I couldn’t help laughing. Before he hit puberty, Jake was forever helping her carry in groceries, straightening up the kitchen, or telling her she looked pretty or smelled nice. Basically, he hung on to her every word like a lovesick puppy.

But then the way my mother felt about Jake began to change when we got to high school. It was then that that Jake informed me my mom was a MILF. I was well acquainted with the term from the movie American Pie. The moment the words left his lips I almost punched his face in. So what if it’s a well-known fact my mother is beautiful? She’s a dead ringer for the late Elizabeth Taylor. So much so, that all her friends nicknamed her Liz, which wasn’t too far off since her middle name was Elizabeth. Growing up, I never got the analogy since my only frame of reference was the old chick in the really airbrushed White Diamonds perfume commercials. My mom’s mom, or Grammy as I call her, swears when I was three, I saw one of Elizabeth’s earliest movies, National Velvet, on TV and cried, “Mommy!”

It wouldn’t have mattered to me if she looked just like Angelina Jolie cause no self-respecting male wants to acknowledge the fact their mom is hot. It’s freakin’ sick and warped.

Mom snapped me out of my thoughts. “Did you hear me, Noah?”

“Huh?”

“I spoke with Jake’s mom earlier while you were gone to the woods. She wanted you to come over tonight.”

Shit. That explained Mom’s mourning attire. Damn, the last thing on earth I wanted to do was go over to Jake’s house and face his parents.

Mom noticed my hesitation. She ran her hand over my cheek. “It would mean a lot to Mrs. Nelson, Noah.”

I nodded. “I’ll go change.”

“When you get done, come help me load the car, okay?” She motioned towards the table that was loaded down with food for the Nelson’s.

“Whatever,” I replied, and then pounded up the stairs.

I knew that deep down my mom hated Jake because he reminded her too much of my father. Though I guess sperm donor would be a better way of describing my dear old dad. You see, my mom got pregnant with me when she was seventeen. It was a major shock to everyone considering my mom was the angel of the family. As the only girl with five brothers what the hell could you possibly get away with anyway?

My uncles were legendary at Creekview High School. They were known as the Mighty M Sullivan’s because of their athletic ability. There wasn’t a sport there they didn’t dominate, and surprisingly, they each had one that was their specialty. Mark was a Golden Glove in baseball, Mike was the quarterback of the football team, Matt was an all-state guard in basketball, Mitch was a wrestler, and Mason was lighting in track.

By the time my mom entered high school, their reputation was enough to steer every horny asshole away from her. Once any panty chaser found out she was Maggie Sullivan, they ran the other way with their tail between their legs. But it really didn’t matter to my mom because she was the ultimate goody girl, Straight A’s, National Honors Society, Academic Team—any brainiac thing, she did it because she had her eye set on medical school and becoming a doctor.

Like Jake, Joe Preston was a major player A real smooth operator who weaseled himself into the good graces of all my uncles and my grandparents and made the entire family believe he walked on water. He was my Uncle Mark’s best friend all through high school, and then they both ended up at the University of Georgia with a full ride in baseball.

By senior year, Joe and my Uncle Mike were both being scouted by major league teams. Because his family wasn’t the lovey dovey type that my mom’s was, Joe spent occasional holidays at the house—a Thanksgiving, an Easter, an odd weekend here or there. But this time, he spent the entire month of August at my grandparents’ cabin in the mountains.

Now my mother’s never told me any of this. All my information has come from my uncles or older cousins over the years. The way they told the story read like some NC-17 rated fairy tale: oversexed wolf charms innocent lamb resulting in an unexpected pregnancy.

I guess it goes without saying that at twenty-one with a major league career ahead of him filled with money, fast cars, parties and women my dad wasn’t ready to settle down. He bolted, and basically he’s never looked back.

Sometimes I personally think it’s easier for some kids to have a dead beat dad. Yeah, the pain is there, but you can push it to the backburner cause you don’t see the asshole much. For me, my douchebag dad was shoved in my face constantly. The worst was April through October—the months of the major league baseball season. I had to see and hear my father’s stats constantly. Even now at thirty-eight, he’s still one of the most sought after pitchers in the National League. He’s currently playing for the San Diego Padres, but he’s been with some of the biggies all over the country.

So for a while my mom was the black sheep of the family. A kind of conspicuous black sheep who had been the Salutatorian of her graduating class and was slated to start medical school. But she didn’t remain that way for long for two reasons. One was that my Uncle Matt went on a mission trip to Brazil, met a girl, and got married all within eight weeks. To my very Southern, old-school family, marrying a foreigner was some pretty heavy shit. But just like my mom, they got over it. That’s where my cousin, Alex, comes in, or I guess I should say Alejandro Matthew Sullivan. Seriously, there’s nothing like a Brazilian Irishman! Of course, Alex has always been more of a brother to me than just a cousin. We didn’t go to the same elementary or middle schools, but luckily by the time high school rolled around, we were back together. Jake took an instant liking to Alex, and during the summers, we were a lot like the Three Musketeers hanging out together.

The other reason was my mom worked her ass off to make her dream of becoming a doctor a reality. Fortunately for her, one of the best medical schools in the country, Emory University, was practically in her backyard. Because of her love of babies, she became an OB/GYN, and she was now part of one of the biggest practices in town.

My eyes rolled towards the ceiling as I thought about how Jake always found my mom’s profession fascinating. Whenever I would shrug my shoulders and be like, “So?”

He’d roll his eyes. “Dude,” he’d say. “Don’t you get the beauty of it? She looks at tits and ass all day long!”

Yeah, that was Jake.

At the thought of him, the burning ache I was growing accustomed to seared its way through my chest like bad heartburn after an all-night beer and pizza binge. He wouldn’t be making any more pervy comments about my mom being a MILF or that she specialized in looking at vaginas.

Because he was dead.

I shook my head wildly back and forth so fast I thought I might get whiplash. No, I couldn’t start with the bullshit emotions again. I had to keep it together, especially now that Mom was dragging me over to Jake’s house. Just the thought of being over there without Jake sent a shiver down my spine. There hadn’t been a single time in my life that I’d been over there without him.

With a heavy sigh, I dragged myself over to the closet. Swinging open the door, I stepped inside and scanned the racks. I knew Mom wanted me looking nice and respectable, so I grabbed a pair of khaki pants and a nice blue button down shirt. After I slicked my usually out-of-control dark hair back, I hurried back downstairs and met my mom in the kitchen.

Rolling a silver tube of lipstick across her lips, she nodded in approval at the sight of me. “You always look so handsome in blue,” she mused. “It brings out those beautiful blue eyes.”

“Whatever, Mom,” I grumbled as I eyed the feast on the table. “So, when did you do all this?”

She smiled shyly. “I didn’t. Grammy did.”

I picked up the Pot Roast and nodded. I hadn’t seriously considered Mom had done the cooking. Besides the fact she had some crazy batshit hours, she’d also never quite learned to cook like her mom, the fabulous Southern diva who put Paula Deen to shame.

By the time we finished loading, the back of my mom’s SUV was packed with food. Mom closed the hatch and threw me a glance. “Ready?”

I wanted to say, “Ready? Are you freakin’ crazy? There’s nothing on earth I want to do less than going to Jake’s house!”

But instead, I gave Mom a weak smile. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Chapter Three

I drew in a deep breath as I rang the doorbell. Jake’s older brother, Jonathan, answered it. With a nod of his head, he then gave me a slight smile. “Hey Noah. Ms. Sullivan,” he said politely. He then swung the door open for us.

We exchanged a sort of awkward hug—the kind guys give who are afraid of showing too much emotion. He was just two years older than Jake so most of the memories I had with Jake were connected to Jonathan too. I guess I connected with him more than Jason, their oldest brother. Like a true middle child, Jonathan did the sports thing, but he also played the drums in a band. He and I used to have some awesome jam sessions until Mr. Nelson would run us out of the basement for being too loud.

He was a sophomore at Georgia Tech where Jake and I had been accepted. I guess he’d made it home as soon as he’d heard the news. Jason, on the other hand, was a senior at Duke, and I knew it would take him awhile to catch a plane.

Mom and I didn’t wait for Jonathan to lead us. We headed through the foyer, past the living room, towards the kitchen. I knew the layout by heart. Jake had lived in the same house the entire time we’d been friends, so I probably could have made it blindfolded. Until we’d moved out of my grandparent’s house two years ago, Jake and I had lived two streets over from each other—just a short walk or bike ride away. The hours, minutes, and seconds I’d spent in this house were too innumerable to count. Every room, every floorboard and practically every wall held a memory connected to Jake.

Mom and I were just putting the food down on the table when a voice behind me made me jump. “Noah,” Mrs. Nelson said in a somewhat strangled voice. I whirled around to see her standing at the edge of the living room. She suddenly looked a lot older than I remember. Her blonde bob looked grayer, and there were blackened circles under her usually warm hazel eyes.

She didn’t have to beckon me to go to her. Instead, I crossed the rest of the kitchen in two long strides. As she pulled me into her arms, I whispered the only thing I could think of into her ear. “I’m so sorry.”

She hugged me tight against her—as if she was afraid I might disappear or get away from her. And then she lost it. Her body shuddered so hard that it shook the both of us. I bit down on my lip, willing myself not to cry. I couldn’t do that to her. I had be strong for her because men are supposed to be strong, right? They’re not supposed to collapse in hysterics like flamers.

Towering over her petite form, Mrs. Nelson’s breath hovered over my chest. “You were such a good friend to him, Noah. You can’t possibly know how much he admired you and appreciated your friendship. He really…loved you.”

I tensed in her arms as the metallic taste of blood rushed into my mouth. I’d bit down so hard on my lip that I’d drawn blood. Please God, make her shut up! Then I realized more than I wanted her to stop talking, I wanted her to let me go. I wanted to get the hell out of there and never look back. But I couldn’t. My feet were rooted to the floor.

Finally after what seemed like a painfully agonizing eternity, she let her arms drop from my waist. Her body went limp like a deflated balloon. I steadied her and helped her over to a chair by the table. Mom sat down beside her and took Mrs. Nelson’s hands in hers.

Jonathan hung back in the doorway. When our eyes met, I knew he could see right through me. Past the bullshit tough guy exterior to the candy ass who didn’t know how to handle his emotions. But then again, he was the same way. He didn’t bother going to comfort his mother. He hovered as if one false step could be his drop off into emotional chaos.

I wanted to laugh—manically—at the pure stupidity of it all. I mean, my best friend and Jonathan’s brother had just died, but neither one of us were willing to give ourselves over to the grief. Neither one of us were willing to shed one ounce of our assumed masculinity to show emotion. What did that say about our feelings for Jake? Could we not afford him a tear? Maybe a little sob? I thought back to earlier that day when I’d actually let my guard down. But I realized it was a sham. I’d only shed tears for Jake when I was sure no one was around to see me crying. Then I’d been scared to death that Avery would see me, so I’d even gone to the extreme of running away.

Yeah, I was a bastard.

Mrs. Nelson’s voice brought me out of my self-deprecating tirade. “Noah, Mr. Nelson, Jonathan, and I have been discussing the funeral plans. We want you to sing Free Bird. It was Jake’s favorite, and we think—well I know—that’s what he’d want.”

I didn’t know what to say. Sure, I’d sung Free Bird millions of times. I’d even sung it around Jake dozens of times—usually when he was highly inebriated. Course, he never failed to find a cigarette lighter and hold it up throughout the song while slurring through the lyrics with me. It became a competition between him and my old hound dog, Boo Radley, to see who could howl the loudest—Jake usually won.

But Jake wouldn’t be howling this time. I’d be singing it in front of a packed crowd of mourners at his funeral. Damn, it was such intense thought that for a few seconds I couldn’t find my voice. Finally, I replied, “Um, yeah, sure Mrs. Nelson.”

She smiled. “Thank you, sweetie.” She turned to my mom. “I’ve got to get some of Jake’s things together to take down to the funeral home. They said they’d set them up for me before the wake tomorrow. It’s just…”

Mom and I exchanged a glance when Mrs. Nelson trailed off. Mom squeezed her hand reassuringly. Mrs. Nelson wiped the tears from her eyes. “It’s just I can’t bear to make myself go into his room,” she replied in a pained whisper.

“You don’t need to do that, Evelyn. I’m sure Martin or one of the boys will do it,” Mom said.

Mrs. Nelson jerked her head up like a light bulb had gone off in her mind. “Noah, would you mind getting some of Jake’s things together? Jonathan is supposed to go to the airport in a little while to pick up Jason.”

I glanced over at Jonathan. He momentarily wore an expression of pure relief. When he met my gaze, he quickly wiped it away.

What was I supposed to say? “No thank you, Mrs. Nelson. I’d prefer to be a self-centered prick today cause, you know, I’m not really feeling the whole ‘going up and rummaging through my dead best friends stuff’ vibe”.

I didn’t say that. Instead, I tried clearing my throat of the continuous massive lump of emotion that seemed clogged there . “Yeah, I can do that. What exactly do you want?”

“Just some things to set out around the urn. Things that Jake was interested in,” she replied.

I fought the urge to reply, “Why don’t we just decorate the table with condoms, lube, and thongs since that was what Jake was mainly interested in?”

“Like some of his trophies and stuff?” I asked.

“Yes, that would be wonderful. Anything you think Jake would want. You knew him so much better than I did.”

I almost choked over the last line. I wasn’t sure if I really ever knew Jake. Have you ever had friends like that? Friends you spent every waking minute with, but when it came down to it if the police asked you deeply personal questions, you might not be able to answer them? Jake and I were guys—we didn’t let a lot people in. When I wracked my brain, there were maybe five or ten times throughout our friendship that I could remember really seeing his guard down. But who knows, maybe that was enough. Maybe that’s all that anybody had with their friends. And maybe Dr. Phil had screwed a whole generation into thinking we had to “think and feel” too much and “say what we meant”. Ugh.

It was then that Mr. Nelson breezed through the garage door and into the kitchen. He shot an aggravated look at Jonathan. “I thought you would have already left by now. Don’t tell me you’ve managed to forget about picking up Jason?”

Jonathan rolled his eyes. “No, Dad, I haven’t.”

Mr. Nelson clenched his jaw back and forth before speaking again. “Hartsfield-Jackson is gonna be a madhouse this time of day. I would hope in a situation like this, you wouldn’t make your brother wait!”

Jonathan held up his hands in surrender. “Fine, I’m on my way!” He grabbed his keys off the table and swept past his dad with a scowl on his face. After the garage door slammed, Mr. Nelson merely nodded his head at Mom and me. Finally his face softened a little when he glanced at his wife.

“Martin, Noah’s going to help you get together some of Jake’s things to take the funeral home,” Mrs. Nelson said.

“Whatever. I just want to get it over with,” he grumbled. Without another word to me, he stalked out of the kitchen. I practically had to jog to catch up with him at the staircase.

I gotta say I’ve never been a big fan of Jake’s dad. The main reason being he’s a major asshole. Seriously, he’s a chauvinistic jerk-off. He’s one of those macho douchebags who believes his boys came out the womb playing sports, and he expected perfection on the field and court. As I followed him up the stairs, pictures lined the walls of Jake and his brothers playing baseball, football, and basketball from when they were practically in diapers.

Back in the day, Mr. Nelson had been an uber-jock, too. He’d gone all the way in basketball until his senior year when he’d busted his knee, and his hopes of the NBA and his scholarship went down the toilet.

I’ve never thought Mr. Nelson had much use for me since I wasn’t an athlete. He probably considered me a failure to the male species, and I’m sure he harbored questions about my sexuality. To him, I was some artsy-fartsy guitar playing fairy. Like I said, the man was an asshole.

While Mr. Nelson blew through the door of Jake’s room and started snatching and grabbing, I hesitated. Something just didn’t seem right about going in there without Jake. Mr. Nelson glanced back at me. “Coming?” he asked sarcastically.

I nodded and stepped through the threshold. I might as well be a pansy and admit that the memories hit me like a ton of bricks. It was like a harsh kick to the gut—or groin for that matter. I’d never been in this room without Jake. It was like his presence was everywhere.

My stroll down memory lane was interrupted by Mr. Nelson’s gasp. “What the hell?” he demanded.

Oh, shit! I thought. My mind was flooded with possibilities. He’d stumbled onto Jake’s porn collection. Worse, he’d found Jake’s stash of pot. Jake and I had once joked that if something happened to one of us, the other was supposed to go get rid of anything incriminating in our rooms. Great, I’d let him down.

I turned around. “What’s wrong?”

The world slowed to a crawl as Mr. Nelson extended his hand. I drew in a deep breath as he opened his fingers.

I stared at a small, black box. I exhaled slowly since it wasn’t pot, porn, or anything else shock-worthy. But the look on Mr. Nelson’s face caused my breath to hitch. “What is it?”

“You don’t know what this is?”

Duh, would I have asked you if I did, asswipe? I wanted to say, but I managed just to shake my head.

Mr. Nelson sighed and stalked across the room to me. He thrust the velvet box into my hands. I cracked the box, and the sound echoed through the room. A glittering diamond stared back at me. But it wasn’t just any diamond. It was two carats of commitment in a platinum setting.

Wow, even I could tell the man-whore had taste. I didn’t know much about diamonds, but I did know it glittered like it cost a fortune. That made me wonder where in the hell Jake had gotten the coins for such a ring. He was probably dealing drugs for all I knew. Mr. Nelson jolted me out of my thoughts.

“Did Jake have a steady girlfriend?” he asked.

I gave him a dumbfounded look. The words “Jake” and “relationship” just didn’t mix unless it was combined with multiple sexual relationships.

I staggered backwards. The mere fact I was standing in the middle of Jake’s bedroom with an engagement ring in my hand made me dizzy.

“Noah?” Mr. Nelson questioned.

“I’m fine,” I murmured. He continued staring at me, so I cleared my throat. “No, Jake didn’t have a steady girlfriend. I mean, he and Avery were off and on again, and he and Presley…” I glanced up at Mr. Nelson, and he nodded.

“What about this? Do you know what it means?”

He handed me a piece of paper. It was the song lyrics to You Were Always On My Mind. As I read over the lyrics, I remembered a couple of months ago when I’d gotten into Jake’s truck after one of the basketball games.

When Jake cranked the car, music came blasting out of the speakers.

“Dude, what the hell is this shit?” I’d asked.

“It’s Willie Nelson man,” he replied, turning the heater on.

“That’s freakin’ fabulous, but why are we listening to it?”

“Cause I like it.”

“Don’t you think it’s a little hokey?”

Jake grinned. “I like hokey. Besides, it’s my song.”

I snorted. “I thought your song was more 50 Cent’s Pimp or JT’s Sexy Back!”

“Yeah, I am kinda a pimp, aren’t I?” Jake mused. Then he laughed. “No man, you’re wrong. This is a song to warm a girl up.”

I raised my eyebrows skeptically. “Warm one up? I thought all you had to do was look in their direction, and they’d fling their clothes off and fall over.”

Jake laughed. “Usually…but not this girl. She needs a little work, and trust me, it’s sexy as hell.”

I had scoffed at the thought and dropped the subject. Funny, how the most ridiculous conversations could have some deep seeded meaning. Now that I looked back, it was a private moment between two friends—one I wasn’t willing to share.

So, I looked at Mr. Nelson and shook my head.

He opened his mouth to say something, but the doorbell rang. Mr. Nelson rolled his eyes. “That would be Pastor Dan,” he grumbled.

Dan Parker was the pastor of the church Mrs. Nelson attended, and the one Jake had been court-appointed to attend after one of his sophomore year stunts. Well, the judge hadn’t actually mandated he attend church—just the rehabilitation program that Pastor Dan ran for wayward teens who did dumbass things like get drunk and drive a lawnmower naked down to the school and mow grass into the shape of a penis on the football field.

I handed the velvet box back to Mr. Nelson. He glanced at it and then back up at me. “Don’t say a word about the ring to my wife, Noah. Not until we get through all this funeral bullshit.”

Asshole. “Whatever,” I mumbled.

As I went out the doorway, I glanced back at Jake’s room one last time, and then I followed Mr. Nelson downstairs.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Teaser Tuesday from Don't Hate the Player

6:54 AM | Posted by Katie Ashley | Edit Post

So here's another teaser from Don't Hate the Player. The previous night Noah, along with Jake's father, made a startling discovery in Jake's room--they found a diamond engagement ring along with the song lyrics "You Were Always on My Mind". This scene picks up the morning after.

*This is a rough draft, subject to change, and please remember that Don't Hate the Player is YA...there won't be the level of naughtiness like in my other books!

With Mom’s blessing to skip school, Alex, and I went over to Jake’s house to hang out with his brothers and his two cousins from out in the sticks—twins he liked to refer to as “Bubba”. Their names were actually Sean and Ryan, but Jake loved to call them just “Bubba”.

Jonathan brought a cooler out of the apartment above the garage. We popped a few beers and lounged around by the pool. By noon, we were positively shitfaced. It took us all being drunk off our asses before we dared to bring up Jake.

Bubba, aka Ryan and Sean, were with Jake when he died. After his seventh beer, Jonathan grabbed Ryan’s shoulder and slurred, “Dude, can you tell me how the hell it’s possible that my baby brother blew his ass up on a tractor?”

My breath caught in my chest. I eased the can away from my lips, awaiting Bubba’s response.

Ryan gulped down his swig of beer and shook his head. “We were all hanging out in the pasture—bored as hell. Sean and Travis (one of their other hillbilly relations) had brought along some rifles. So we started shooting beer cans off the fence,” Ryan stopped and glanced around us. “I mean, we tried shooting at them, but we were too fucking wasted.”

Sean nodded. “Jake was pretty quiet. He kept mumbling something about falling off the wagon and ‘she’s gonna be disappointed in me’. About ten, he climbed up on Pawpaw’s tractor to get a better vantage point for the cans, or so he claimed. Travis said, “Hey dumbass, you better get off Papaw’s tractor, or he’ll wear out your hide!” But Jake just shrugged and started firing over and over again. One nicked the barbwire, ricocheted off, and…”

Ryan noticed Sean’s hesitation. “It happened so quick. I mean, boom, and he was gone,” he muttered forlornly.

We sat in stunned silence, staring at the sunlight glimmering on the pool water.

Jonathan chugged the rest of his beer. Finally, in a strangled voice, he murmured, “Fuck me.”

The sound of loud voices snapped us out of our daze. It was Mr. and Mrs. Nelson arguing.

“Did you think you could hide it from me?” Mrs. Nelson shrieked.

“Of course not. I just wanted you to get through the funeral first before I told you.”

“And what is that supposed to mean, Martin? Am I such a nut job you don’t think I could handle it?”

“No, Ev, that’s not what I thought.”

As the voices got closer, we threw horrified glances at each other. In a drunken stupor, we stumbled around, hiding the evidence of our binge. Course, anyone with brains would have taken one look or one whiff at us and known we were totally plastered. But when you’re shitfaced, you’re not known for having very many coherent thoughts.

Mrs. Nelson threw open the patio with such a force I thought she’d rip it off the hinges. “Noah!” she called.

The other guys swiveled their heads toward me.

Shit. Damn. Hell. I straightened up in my lawn chair. “Yes, Mrs. Nelson?” I called in the

most sober voice I could conjure.

It took me only a second to notice the velvet ring box in her hand. Double Shit, Damn, Hell….

“Do you know about this?” she demanded.

Mr. Nelson joined her at the railing. I exchanged a glance with him before I replied. “Um, yes, Mrs. Nelson. We found it last night in Jake’s room.” Wanting to stay on her good side, I quickly added, “Mr. Nelson thought it would be best to wait to tell you.”

While the Asshole shot me a death glare, Mrs. Nelson bobbed her head. “Good. Then you’ll be willing to help me.”

“Um, help you?”

“Yes,” she said, as she started over to us. I would’ve committed high crimes for a mint at that moment. I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to appear like I was deep in thought to mask my alcohol breath from hell.

“Obviously, there’s a girl out there who my Jake truly loved—enough to want to be married to her. I want to know who she is, and I want you to find her.”

Forgetting all about my heinous beer breath, I let my mouth drop open in disbelief. “Y-You want me to do what?”

“I want you to find the girl who this ring belongs to. Even though Jake didn’t get the chance to give it to her, I want her to have it.”

I stopped myself from blurting, “Are you insane, Mrs. Nelson? I know you loved your little boy, but he was a major panty chasing manwhore! I’d have better luck finding all the girls he deflowered or potentially gave an STD to than the one girl he might actually have had feelings for!”

But at the desperate look on her face, I drew in a resigned breath. “Sure, Mrs. Nelson. I’ll try my best.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Noah. I appreciate that.” She threw a wary glance at the others before she flounced back in the house and slammed the door. Mr. Nelson rolled his eyes and followed her.

As soon as his parents were safely inside, Jason punched me on the arm. Hard.

“Ow, what the hell was that for?” I cried.

“Man, why didn’t you tell us about the ring?” he demanded.

Uh, oh, I hadn’t thought about that one. Yeah the Asshole made me promise not to tell Mrs. Nelson, but he hadn’t mentioned anything about Jason and Jonathan. At the expectant look on his face, I decided to fudge the truth a little. “You heard me. Your dad said not to tell anyone.”

Jonathan snorted. “Figures.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Could we focus here for a minute, Johnny Boy? You do realize our brother must’ve thrown down a hunk of change to buy that ring!”

I knew Jason was right. A ring like that must’ve cost a small fortune. Sure, the Nelson’s were fairly wealthy—the Asshole was an executive with Coke, but at the same time, they weren’t giving their sons thousand dollar monthly allowances or anything. With Jake’s sports schedule, he didn’t get in a lot of work hours either.

Suddenly, Jonathan smacked himself on the forehead. “Baseball cards!”

We all exchanged looks. “What the hell are you talking about, bro?” Jason asked.

“Remember like a month ago when Jake decided to sell some of his baseball cards on EBay?”

Jason nodded.

“I bet that’s where he got the money. I mean, he had some that were worth a lot of money that Grandpa Nelson had given him.”

“I’ll be damned,” Jason muttered.

Jonathan sighed. “Course, we’re forgetting something.”

“What’s that?” Jason asked.

“Um, how about the fact our baby brother was thinking about marriage? That’s pretty damn near shocking if you ask me!” Jonathan replied.

Alex, who had been quiet for most of the morning, cleared his throat. “Yeah, I was pretty shocked when I saw that ring. I mean, Jake didn’t impress me as the marrying kind—well, at least not until he was thirty or forty.”

Jason grunted. “I figured he’d be more like some Hugh Hefner and have about three women living with him.”

Jonathan laughed. “Me too, man.”

I shook my head. “Forget about marriage. I can’t believe he was actually in love for once!”

The others murmured in agreement. “Knowing Jake, it wasn’t about love,” Sean said.

“What do you mean?” I asked. Nibbling my lip, I debated telling the guys about the flashback I’d had the night before about Jake being in love.

“Probably some chick heard about his reputation and told him she wouldn’t sleep with him without a ring on her finger—you know to prove she wasn’t just some conquest. Since there wasn’t a piece of ass Jake couldn’t have, he probably liked the idea, so he bought the ring.”

“Man, that’s a pretty screwed up theory and screwed up view of Jake!” Ryan argued.

Jonathan shook his head. “Yeah, it is, but it also sounds like something Jake would do. Hell, he’d probably let the chick keep the ring in the end, too.”

Scratching the back of my neck, I said, “Nah, I don’t think so.”

Jason raised his eyebrows. “Oh really? You think Jake actually had a conscience and wouldn’t do something like that?”

I nodded.

Jason snorted. “Words of wisdom coming from the kid Jake duct taped to his chair in kindergarten!”

While the others howled in laughter, I merely shook my head. “I think he was changing. You know—like maturing or something.”

“Are you serious?” Jonathan asked.

I thought of the brilliantly vivid flashback I’d had last night. “I know he was sincere about the ring because he told me he’d fallen in love with a girl.”

“Really?” Jason asked.

“Yeah. But he wouldn’t tell me who she was because he hadn’t had the chance to tell her first. He thought she deserved to know before I did. So like I said, he really was changing into this caring and compassionate dude.”

“Wow, that’s deep,” Jonathan replied. He stared out over the water. “Deep like the deep end of the pool…”

I exchanged a glance with Alex. “Um, Jonathan, what the hell are you talking about?”

He turned back at me and then blinked his eyes a few times to clear his head. “No, you’re right. Jake really was good guy sometimes.” Jason coughed next to him. “No, man, he was. You and I both know that. He was better than the both of us put together.”

Jason sighed. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.” He shook his head. “Sure as hell doesn’t say much for us, does it?”

“So, just how do you propose to find this girl?” Jonathan asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

He snorted. “It’s not gonna be easy!”

“I realize that.”

“Jake may have been changing like you say, but man was he ever a player. Hell, he got more ass than Jason and I combined!”

Jason nodded. “I don’t know what it was about him. I mean, yeah he was good-looking and all, but man, did he have the way with women.”

Alex started laughing with the others. When I shot him an exasperated look, he abruptly stopped. Once he’d regained his composure, he leaned forward in his pool chair. “So what are you going to do? Start taking depositions from girls like some whacked out Law and Order or CSI show?”

I refused to answer him. Instead, I fumbled under my chair for the beer I was drinking before Mrs. Nelson’s appearance. It was half full. I quickly chugged it down. I cut my eyes over to the guys who were waiting expectantly for my answer.

I sighed. “Look, I haven’t a freaking’ clue how I’m going to do it, but I do know it’d be nice if you guys had my back a little more.”

Jonathan nodded. “Hey man, you’re right. We all need to be in on this for Jake.” He grabbed his beer can out of its hiding place. “For Jake,” he said and raised his can.

We all brought our cans together—even mine that was empty. “For Jake,” we murmured in unison.

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