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26-JACOB
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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.
SLOW BURN 1-VIVIENNE
Red Falls, Oregon. Present day.“And I'm having my own room?”“You're having your own room.”“And Lily will sleep with me?”“When hasn't she?”I couldn't help but smile at my daughter's innocent giggles.“And is Daddy going to be able to stay with us when he visits?”“Of course,” I agreed amused. “You know Daddy will always sleep with you when he's visiting.”“Mom!” Taylor complained from the backseat, “Dad snores too much, can't he stay with you?”“And me having to endure that punishment all night?” I asked, trying to sound horrified. “Forget it, honey, I'm going to be working. He better sleeps in the guest room... Or you can do what you did last time.”I tried not to laugh at the snort my daughter let out.“Dad didn't appreciate me sticking my socks in his mouth to make him shut up. I should’ve never listened to you,” She accused me, and I couldn’t hold my laugh any longer.Welcome to Red Falls, home of the most beautiful waterfalls in the country.I smiled with happiness when I spo
SLOW BURN 2-JACOB
“I hate when this happens,” I growled, finishing buttoning my clean shirt.Rocky, my four-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever, whined in response, lightening mood automatically.I took one last look at the image the mirror gave me and left my room, Rocky walking beside me.“Is that foal still giving you headaches?”I stopped in my tracks when the tone of my housekeeper's voice let me know she knew why I was home.I turned to the kitchen from where Silvia was looking at me with amused eyes and rolling pin in hand.“I'm not talking about it,” I growled again, heading toward the exit. “See you in a few hours. Tell George I need him in the stables.”“George went out to the Morgan farm,” Silvia explained without being intimidated by my tone of voice.I supposed that having changed my diapers as a baby made it difficult to intimidate her.“When is he supposed to come back?” I asked, patting Rocky's head as he rested his head against my knee.“I don't know, honey. He left an hour ago. He s
SLOW BURN 3-JACOB
“So that's what Jeff meant when he said George was attending an emergency,” Vivienne agreed, walking beside me.“Yes, part of your job will be to help the farmers and Red Falls residents with their animals. The shelter reached an agreement with the town residents and so far, it has worked for all of us. And although emergencies are not that often, you will have a car assigned to attend them, so do not worry about your car.”“I wasn't worried,” She said, smiling like it was nothing.As if I hadn't insulted her minutes before or as if having to work harder than she thought wasn't a handicap in accepting this job.I cleared my throat a bit uncomfortable at finding myself walking so close to her.“I'm sorry George didn't explain this part of the job to you.”“Really, Jacob, don't worry. It doesn’t bother me at all.”“And I'm sorry for your daughter too, I'm sorry I disappointed her,” I added quickly.I looked up to find the girl walking several feet ahead of us with her little pig.Lily.
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