TIS THE SEASON...FOR ROMANCE (WESTMORELAND/MASTERS/JEFFERIES)
Table of Contents
Ready For Love
Second Time Around
Conquering His Heart
Corey's Mountain
TIS THE SEASON...
FOR ROMANCE
Love, Passion and Promise
An Imprint of the Madaris Publishing Company
www.madarispublishing.com
LOVE, PASSION AND PROMISE books are published by
The Madaris Publishing Company
P O Box 28267
Jacksonville, FL 32226
Tis the Season…for Romance / Copyright 2009 by Madaris Publishing Company
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher.
Love, Passion and Promise is a trademark of the Madaris Publishing Company. The Love, Passion and Promise logo is a trademark and registered trademark.
ISBN – 978-0-9799165-1-9
First printing: December 2009
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
AUTHOR BRENDA JACKSON
BRINGS YOU FOUR UNFORGETTABLE STORIES UNDER HER
LOVE, PASSION AND PROMISE IMPRINT
TIS THE SEASON… FOR ROMANCE
READY FOR LOVE
THE SECOND TIME AROUND
CONQUERING HIS HEART
COREY’S MOUNTAIN
Dear Readers,
I proudly present to you the third book from the Madaris Publishing Company, Tis the Season…for Romance.
This book is special in that it contains all new stories. I want to thank you for sending me your emails with your thoughts and ideas on what characters you would like to see in this book.
In my story, Ready for Love, I’m bringing back a woman who I introduced in my novel, Her Little Black Book. Barbara Andrews was the mother of the heroine, Courtney, and I received a lot of emails asking for her story, and I’m happy to present it to you.
In The Second Time Around, you’re reacquainted with more secondary characters from my story, Her Little Black Book. This is Peggy Morrison’s story and she is a woman who has come a long way since she was first introduced as Sonya Morrison’s mother in The Savvy Sistahs.
In Conquering His Heart, we visit with those Jeffries again and you see how the ever efficient secretary Cathy Bristol, gets her man and proves once again that love conquers all. Cathy was first introduced in a Westmoreland novel, Tall, Dark Westmoreland.
And last but not least is Corey’s Mountain. This book is special in that when writing Stone Cold Surrender that took Madison Winters on a quest to find her mother, and right straight in Stone Westmoreland’s arms while doing so, I wondered why and how her mother, Abby Winters, got lost in the first place and how did she end up on Corey’s Mountain. I have a weakness for “first love – forever love” stories, and after reading this book you will see why.
This is my seventieth book and if there are characters from any of those books that you would love to see in their own story, please let me know at BrendaJackson@lovepassionandpromise.com
To visit my website, please click on www.brendajackson.net or you can visit www.madarispublishing.com for additional information on future books.
All the Best,
Brenda Jackson
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks to the love of my life, Gerald Jackson, Sr. who is my hero.
To my family whose undying support has always been there through thick and thin.
To my sons, Gerald Jr. and Brandon, whom I am very proud of and who challenged me to put into practice what I’ve always told them... “If you can conceive it then you can achieve it.”
And to my Heavenly Father, who loves me and gives me the talent to write and the desire to reach my full potential.
READY FOR LOVE
To my readers, who after reading HER LITTLE BLACK BOOK,
wanted Barbara Andrews’ and Rick Blair’s story.
This one is for you.
Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
Proverbs 16:24 NASB
Prologue
Barbara Andrews walked into Ron’s hospital room to find the nurses had raised him up in bed. Her husband had begun regaining consciousness a day or so before and had spoken briefly with Detective Rick Blair confirming that Melissa Langley had been the person who’d pulled the trigger. Ron had yet to be told that everyone knew about his Hawaii tryst with Ashira Wilson. The woman had come to the hospital a few times, demanding to see him, but Barbara had requested that hospital security keep her from doing so…for the time being.
She saw how Ron tried to smile when he saw her. Any other time his smile would have been all she’d needed to forgive his womanizing ways, but not this time. Not anymore. Those days were over. “I was wondering when you were coming,” Ron said in a slurred voice. There was a tube that went through his nose that still made talking difficult for him.
“I told you last night that I would be back this morning,” Barbara said. She had stopped staying all night. She refused to sleep uncomfortable any longer in the cot the nurses would bring in. He didn’t deserve that of her. “Ron, we need to talk,” she said, deciding this would be the day she made him aware of what she knew.
“Yes,” he agreed. “There’s a lot I need to tell you, Barbara. Things I want you to know.”
She wondered if it was true confessions time for him. If coming so close to death had made him a “changed” man. If so, he could continue to go through his transformation without her. She would no longer be a part of his life. “There is no need, Ron. If you want to tell me about Ashira Wilson, don’t bother. She’s told me everything. I know you paid for her to go to Hawaii with us.
“Barbara, I -”
“No. Please don’t,” she said, holding up her hand. “Please don’t make matters any worse by apologizing. You did what you did because it was what you wanted to do, without any care or concern about me. Over the years I’ve put up with your affairs, but no longer. What you did in Hawaii is unforgivable. You put me at risk. You-”
“No, Barbara. I never had sex with any of the others without using a condom. I would never do that to you,” he said in a whispered tone.
“But there should not have been a need for a condom, Ron. I was your wife. The only woman you should have been sleeping with. But -”
“I’m sick, Barbara. I have this sexual addiction and I plan to get help.”
She nodded, believing him. But for her, it didn’t matter. It didn’t make a difference. “I’m glad Ron, and I hope the next woman you marry reaps the full benefits of your recovery.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
She inhaled deeply. “I’ve filed for a divorce. According to what Ashira Wilson is saying, you were going to divorce me anyway to marry her.”
“She’s lying.”
“It doesn’t matter. She’s told so many truths about certain things that her lies don’t make a difference now. According to the doctor, if you continue to improve, you’ll be able to go home in a week or so. I won’t be coming back to see you. I had a moving company take your belongings to an apartment I’ve gotten for you. It’s close to your job and should be convenient. Things between us end here, Ron. I wish you the best.”
“Barbara, please don’t.”
Instead of having anything else to say or giving in to his pitiful plea, with her head held high she turned and walked out the room.
One
S
even months later
Barbara Andrews let out a groan when she glanced at the stack of papers her secretary had placed on her desk. Thanksgiving was fast approaching and it had become a tradition at Universal Studios in Orlando to host the lighting of the Christmas tree. The event always drew a large number of people and as head of the marketing department, she and her staff had been promoting the event for months.
Barbara glanced at the sound of the intercom buzzing on her desk. “Yes. Lila, what is it?”
“Dr. Banks’ office is on line one.”
Barbara grimaced. She had missed her last appointment with Dr. Banks. After her breakup with Ron she’d known she needed counseling since she was carrying too much baggage around. And it was baggage she needed to get rid of before she could effectively move on with her life.
The sessions had gone well, but Dr. Banks was convinced she was holding anger inside of her; anger she refused to release. Ron had hurt her deeply; however, she had yet to let loose her anger. Mainly because her mother had raised her and her sister Peggy to be refined and dignified women who behaved in certain ways. They were women taught to be in control of their emotions at all time, and displaying anger to your husband wasn’t considered proper.
She had let go of her emotions once a few years ago, and that had been when she’d caught Ron in bed with another woman. In a fit of rage, she had broken up dishes and furniture and had littered the front lawn with his belongings. She had embarrassed her family when the neighbors had seen the display. For all the good it had done, less than six months later she had forgiven him and had taken him back. Since then she’d vowed to keep a tight rein on her emotions.
“Thanks, Lila, please put them through.”
As soon as she heard the click on the line she said. “Yes, this is Barbara Andrews.”
“Ms. Andres, we need to confirm your appointment with Dr. Banks for next Friday.”
Barbara pulled in a deep breath. In a way she felt they were sort of at a stalemate, although Dr. Banks didn’t see it that way. He wanted them to continue with the therapy sessions and work on anger management, which in her case was letting it out in a constructive way, instead of holding it in, in a self-destructive way.
“Ms. Andrews?”
“Yes, I will keep my appointment,” she said, knowing that she really needed to do so since she felt there were unresolved issues she needed to adequately deal with.
A short while later she was reading over a document she needed to finalize for the advertising department when Lila beeped her again. “Yes, Lila?”
“There is someone here to see you, a Mr. Rick Blair.”
Barbara suddenly had a funny feeling settle in her stomach and took a full moment to catch her breath. Detective Blair had been the one to handle her husband’s shooting incident. He had believed her innocent, although his partner originally thought she might be guilty. She had appreciated Detective Blair for coming to her defense and believing that although Ron’s misdeeds had been despicable, she hadn’t been the one to do him bodily harm.
She couldn’t help but wonder at the nature of the detective’s visit since the case had been closed months ago, and the woman who’d shot Ron had been found not guilty by reason of insanity. Ron had survived, although he would be walking with a limp for the rest of his life.
“Please send him in, Lila,” she said, standing on her feet to move around her desk while gaining her composure. Although at the time Ron’s well being had been her major concern, she couldn’t help but recall just how good looking Detective Blair was. She swallowed tightly when her office door opened and Detective Rick Blair filled her doorway; all six-foot-two inches of him, with dark blackberry eyes, black hair cut low on his head with light brushes of grey at the temple; and a physically fit body. She would put his age at about fifty-five or fifty-six. Barbara automatically returned his smile while at the same time she fought against the racing of her heart.
“Detective Blair, this is a surprise. What brings you here?” she asked, moving to meet him in the middle of the room and extending her hand and tilting her head up to look at him.
The moment their hands touched she fought against the way her pulse took a gigantic leap. His handshake was firm, strong and gave her the sense that he was a man who was assured, confident yet not cocky or conceited. A surge of awareness trickled through her veins and her inner mind told her she should not be reacting to him this way after all she was . . .
She pulled in a deep breath upon remembering that she was no longer married. She had stopped being Ronald Andrews’ wife when their divorce had become final six months ago. In truth, she had stopped being his wife when she’d found out he had taken another woman – his lover – on vacation with them to Hawaii and had been sleeping with the both of them. It was a trip to rebuild their marriage but instead Ron’s actions had destroyed it.
“I’m no longer a detective, Ms. Andrews. I retired again a few months ago.”
She lifted her brow. “Again? You had retired before?” she asked offering him the chair in front of her desk.
She noted that he waited until she returned to the swivel chair behind her desk and sat down before taking a seat. His actions were that of a true gentleman, she thought.
“Yes, I retired after twenty-five years with the FBI. My wife and I escaped the harsh winters of Denver to move here to sunny Florida around ten years ago.”
Wife? She didn’t know why she hadn’t ever thought in terms of him being married. There was really no reason why he wouldn’t be. “I’m sure you and your wife have enjoyed our weather.”
“My wife was killed in a car-jacking within months of us moving here.”
His words sent feelings of sorrow and regret racing through her. “I’m sorry,” she said in all sincerity. She couldn’t imagine something so tragic. And for some reason, without even really knowing the depth of his character, she believed he had been a good husband, a man who had loved his wife and had appreciated her place in his life. He would have respected and cherished her.
“Thanks. It took me a while but I finally moved on with my life the way Gail would have wanted me to do. But not before I found the people responsible for her death,” he said. “I joined the Orlando Police Department for that purpose. Once I accomplished that, I was talked into remaining with the force.”
Her mind took mental note of what he’d said. “You became a detective here in Orlando just to capture the people responsible for your wife’s death?”
“Yes. The police were coming up with loose ends, and I knew my background could help them bring the men to justice. It took less than a month and they were behind bars.”
She nodded. He had loved his wife so much that he hadn’t been able to find peace until those responsible for taking her from him were brought to justice. For him to go that far was simply remarkable. “You’ve been a widower for ten years. You never considered remarrying?” she couldn’t help but ask.
“No. I threw myself in my work and became involved in solving other cases. I met families along the way who’d lost their loved ones in one criminal act or another. My goal was to make sure whoever disrupted their lives in such tragic manners were put behind bars.”
“Did you and your wife have any children?”
He nodded. “Yes, we have a thirty-year-old son who’s a private investigator living in Atlanta. He’s single so there aren’t any grandkids. I’m hoping that one day he’ll settle down and find a good woman to marry.”
He paused thoughtfully before asking. “Your daughter Courtney. She was engaged. I recall meeting her fiancé at the hospital. Did they ever marry?”
Barbara shook her head. “No, not yet, although the wedding is set for Christmas Day. She wanted to wait until her father recuperated sufficiently so he could walk her down the aisle. The shooting left him with a permanent limp and there’s still a bullet inside of him that the doctors couldn’t remove. Other than that, he’s okay.”
She nibbled on her lips for a mo
ment before getting up the nerve to ask him the one question she had wanted to ask him months ago. “How did you know I was innocent of shooting Ron when your partner was convinced I was guilty?”
He met her gaze and the look she saw in his eyes almost captivated her. “I knew the moment Hollis began talking and telling you that your husband had taken another woman on vacation with you. There was a shocked look on your face that I knew wasn’t phony. And then there was the pained look that had suddenly appeared in your eyes. I could see that not only had you not known, but finding out had hurt you deeply. I was actually able to feel part of your pain.”
He paused a moment and then said, “And although my partner believed you were guilty, I knew that you weren’t. I reacted on gut instincts.”
Barbara lowered her gaze from him as she thought about what he said, and then she lifted her eyes to meet his gaze once more. Tears stung behind her eyes but she fought to keep them at bay. She had made a promise to herself on the day her divorce became final that she would not shed another single tear for Ron.
But she knew that the man sitting across from her, the man who had been quick to believe in her, needed to know something. “I’m not sure what I would have done to him had I found out another way,” she said honestly. “My mind might have snapped and I could have hurt him.”