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23-JACOB
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SLOW BURN 24-VIVIENNE
“Hmm, I'm not understanding anything.”“This is your punishment.”Jacob looked intensely at the expanses of lights I was offering to him and then looked back at me blankly.“You did see the employees decorated the house, right? There's even a fucking Santa on the ceiling peeking out of a fake chimney next to the real chimney, Vivienne. There are so many lights, the damn house can be seen from space.”“Yes, but only in the front.”“What?”“They only decorated the front,” I said once more.“Did you hear what I just said?” An exasperated Jacob let out, “Vivienne...”“You kept information about this damned place from me, Jacob Simon,” I interrupted, my tone harsher than normal. “There's a fucking lawsuit against The Eden. The lives of dozens of cows are at stake in this lawsuit, and you kept it a secret.”He looked at me frustrated.“I hate it when you say my full name,” He said, messing his hair. “It's not that important, Vivienne. We’re gonna win. Those animals will have better lives on
SLOW BURN 25-JACOB
This was stupid.My balls were freezing and I was pretty sure there were two sets of eyes on my ass at the moment.I knew Vivienne would be upset when she found out about the lawsuit, but I thought she'd put it aside after realizing that Peter would be spending a lot of time at the shelter.So here I was, six feet off the ground, in the dead of winter, putting up Christmas lights that would serve no purpose unless we're crazy enough to want to be outside in this freezing cold.I didn't want to be outside. I wanted to be in the comfort of my own home, drinking hot chocolate like the pair were doing behind my back and watching some Christmas movie with my girls.I couldn't believe my luck.“Shouldn’t you be working?” I snapped when Peter made his comment, which I knew had nothing to do with Christmas decorations and everything to do with me being used as a sexual object.“It's Saturday, Coleman. And we're celebrating Christmas and all that shit... That light looks a little crooked. Vivi
SLOW BURN 26-JACOB
“How come you haven't seen her yet?”“I'm still in the waiting room,” I replied to my mother through the phone.“So, Taylor's still under observation?” Mom insisted, “Silvia told me something else.”“Taylor is already in her room, Mom. But I… You know.”The heavy silence that followed was broken by my mother's long sigh.“My love, do you need me there? I know we promised you we'd leave first thing in the morning, but I think you're in need of a little knock on your head to straighten your mind. Are you sure the cold didn't cause any damage up there?”I couldn't help but laugh at that.“I'm fine, mom. And I don't want you traveling this late.” I looked up the hallway that would take me to Taylor's room if I only decided to act once and for all, but the fear gripping my body forced me to sit still where was. “I don’t want to bother.”“Jacob Simon Coleman. You saved that little girl from a certain death. You risked your life for the daughter of the woman you adore, and you think you're g
SLOW BURN 27-JACOB
“Merry Christmas, love.”I smiled with pleasure when her arms surrounded me from behind and her body ended completely pressed against mine.“Merry Christmas, baby,” I murmured, lacing my fingers with hers when they rested on my abdomen. “Though it's still a few hours to midnight.”“I hope you don't mind this little tradition in my family.” I turned in her arms upon hearing her apologetic tone once again, the scene taking place in front of the Christmas tree fading into the background as I focused completely on her.“I hadn't celebrated Christmas in years, Vivienne,” I sighed deeply against her forehead, now I was the one hugging her tightly against me. “The fact the presents are getting opened a few hours before doesn’t mean anything. I think our parents love the idea of being able to go to bed early and wake up late as there’s no pressure.”Taylor being Taylor, she'd understood early on that Christmas wasn't about an old man dressed in red coming down chimneys to leave presents under
SLOW BURN EPILOGUE-JACOB
“Look at me, Jake! Look how high I can jump!”“That was awesome, Tay-Tay,” I said from the edge of the pool, relaxing again as Taylor surfaced with a big smile on her face.No matter how much time passed or how well she swam, I would always relive that moment years ago every time Taylor dove into the water, though the feeling was gone once I surfaced.True to my promise, I had built an indoor swimming pool so we could use it year-round. And although this one wasn’t Olympic and we had to walk a bit to get to it since Vivienne had refused to build anything that would damage the beautiful landscape we had from our patio, Taylor loved coming here daily―always accompanied―and today I had decided to take the day off to be with my family.The last two years had been incredible. Not perfect—perfection didn’t exist—but very rewarding.I had married the love of my life the following spring, my wife had been the most beautiful bride in the world, and Taylor had been the most beautiful flower gir
SLOW BURN EPILOGUE 2-VIVIENNE
Red Falls, Oregon. Nine years later.“I can't believe you're starting college tomorrow, babe.”My oldest daughter giggled before putting a neatly folded T-shirt in her suitcase.“Me neither, Mom. I don't know where the time went. I remember when we arrived at The Eden as if it were yesterday.”My heart broke a little when Taylor looked at me with her big, beautiful eyes, and I couldn't help my own tears.“That day was one of the happiest for me, even if Jake was rude. But his attitude improved after that.”That day had also been one of my favorites. After all, I ‘d met my future husband, but I agreed with Taylor, I too wanted to wring Jacob's neck for how he’d treated her.“Where is he by the way?” Taylor asked, still putting clothes into her suitcase. “I haven't seen him all day.”“He's with George in the stables, baby,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat as I remembered the sadness that had come over Jacob in the last few days. “You know the calf that arrived this week is in p
SLOW BURN KANE´S BOOK FIRST LOOK
“We need to stop meeting like this, darling.” My eyes opened wide when I heard that voice, and my heart raced when I found myself face to face with her gray gaze. What I feared had happened. My sweetest torment was in front of me. Not a day went by that the memory of this woman didn’t cross my mind. I lived in front of the sea, so it was seeing it and remembering the beautiful color of her eyes. This beautiful woman never left my head. “Kane? Are you okay?” I snapped out of my poetic thoughts to focus once more on my favorite nurse, which reminded me why I was visiting the ER. “I'm sorry,” I murmured, my throat drying even more when Natalie stopped beside me with a worried expression. “They told me you hurt your foot,” She mentioned, and I couldn't help but tense at the feel of her palm on my arm before she leaned over me. “Did you hurt your head too, honey? You must be honest with me. You could have a concussion.” “I just hurt my right foot,” I said somewhat breathless as sh
SLOW BURN PROLOGUE
Main Port, Oregon. Three years ago.“Jacob? Can you hear me? I need you to answer me.”I blinked several times trying to focus my eyes on the woman above me, but it was hard to do.“Jacob, I need you to nod if you understand me, can you nod, please?”I tried to do as the woman asked, but my head refused to obey.“How about you blink? Blink twice if you understand me, Jacob.”That I could do.I blinked twice or at least once before my eyes closed completely.“This isn’t working. Jim? Call Dr. Ruso, we have to move him to the OR immediately, he's going to bleed to death otherwise.”OR? What the hell was going on?I opened my eyes again using what little strength I had left in me and noticed that the woman was no longer looking at me. Her attention was on something on the other side of me.I tried to raise my hand to get her attention, but my body didn’t respond. I couldn’t feel my limbs.What was happening to me?“His heart rate is going wild, Nat. We need to move him or we'll lose him.
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