Jay County Library Novels & Stories

The things we want are so very rarely the things we need. Clifton Heights, a modest Adirondack town, offers many unique attractions. Arcane Delights sells both paperbacks and hard-to-find limited editions. The Skylark Diner serves the best home-cooked meals around, with friendly service and a smile. Every August, Mr. Jingo’s County Fair visits, to the delight of children and adults. In essence, Clifton Heights is the quintessential small American town. Everyone knows everyone else, and everyone is treated like family. It is quiet, simple, and peaceful. But shadows linger here. Flitting in dark corners, from the corner of the eye. If you walk down Main Street after dark, the slight scrape of shoes on asphalt whispers you're not alone, but when you look over your shoulder, no one is there. The moon shines high and bright in the night sky, but instead of throwing light, it only seems to make the shadows lengthen. Children disappear. Teens run away. Hunters get lost in the woods with frightening regularity. Husbands go mad, and wives vanish in the dead of night. And still, when the sun rises in the morning, you are greeted by townspeople with warm waves and friendly smiles, and the shivers pass as everything seems fresh and new... Until night falls once more. Handy's Pawn and Thrift sits several blocks down from Arcane Delights. Like any thrift store, its wares range from the mundane to the bizarre. By daylight, it seems just another slice of small town Americana. But in its window hangs a sign which reads: We Have Things You Need. And when a lonely traveling salesman comes looking for something he desperately wants, after normal visiting hours, after night has fallen, he will face a harsh truth among the shelves of Handy’s Pawn and Thrift: the things we want are rarely the things we need. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Synopsis Melody Madison gave her heart, her loyalty, and her life to the man she believed was her destiny—only to be betrayed and murdered by him. But fate has far greater plans. She awakens two years before her tragic death, reborn with all the painful memories of her end. No longer willing to be a pawn in someone else's game, Melody makes an oath to protect herself, her father, and their pack. She's ready to expose every lie and will make those who wronged her pay, especially Jay Merlot, her ex-mate, who now parades his new love and ambitions for power. Her return puts her back within the sights of Alpha Don Carter, the most influential Alpha in the South. As she has enemies closing in from all sides, he presents Melody with a shocking deal: protection in return for becoming his Luna for one year. Working together, Melody Madison and Alpha Don Carter make a formidable team in the pursuit of their interlinked goals: her revenge and his rise to the throne. But what was initially intended to be a strategic contract slowly evolves into something much deeper, much more perilous to their guarded hearts. Torn between vengeance and a growing love she had never asked for, Melody has a decision to make: will her past define her future, or will she allow herself the second chance she fought so hard to get? Reborn of the Betrayed Luna is a tale of treachery, redemption, and the daring pursuit of love and power, with every option offering triumph. or destruction.

Before the wedding, my fiancé, Alpha Jay, stood in front of me. Hesitation flickered in his eyes, but so did hope. “Can you give me a month?” he asked, his voice softer than I’d ever heard it. A month. Time to see if he could patch things up with Linda Manwaring—his ex-girlfriend. His fated mate. “If it works out,” he continued, the words deliberate, like he was convincing himself as much as me, “then it’s the Moon Goddess’s blessing. But if it doesn’t… I’ll come back. I’ll marry you. And I’ll leave her behind—forever.” He meant it. He truly believed this was the honorable thing to do. I didn’t argue. I didn’t cry. Instead, I let a small, knowing smile tug at my lips. “Go ahead,” I said, my voice calm and steady. “Give it a try. Life’s too short for regrets, right?” Relief broke over his face like a wave, as though I’d just untangled him from a chain he hadn’t known how to break. That night, he drove off, lighter than I’d seen him in months. Meanwhile, I packed my bags in silence. No hesitation. No second thoughts. Once I was done, I picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number. “Mom,” I said, my voice even and unwavering. “The wedding’s off. I’m coming home to help you handle the Shadowfang Pack.”

While preparing for the SATs at the library, my brother is accidentally shot and injured, causing him to bleed profusely. I pass by this scene but turn a blind eye and quicken my pace to leave. This is because in my previous life, when I saw him, I rushed him to the hospital in a panic. He had intracranial hemorrhaging, and he urgently needed surgery. I quickly called my mom, the top neurosurgeon in the city, begging her to come to the hospital as soon as possible. However, she thought I was jealous that she had taken my adopted sister to the beach instead of spending time with me. She also believed I had fabricated the story about my brother's injury, and thus refused to return. By the time my dad and the rest of the family hurried to the hospital, it was too late for rescue efforts—my brother had passed away. The whole family blamed me for his death. They were convinced that I had deliberately misled my mom and delayed his critical treatment. When my mom returned from out of town, she lost her composure and pushed me down the stairs, watching coldly as I bled to death. After opening my eyes again, I had returned to the day my brother was shot at the library.

Inés never wanted to be saved. When her mother married a dying billionaire, it came with a price: living under the same roof as Miguel Alvarez, the cold, arrogant heir who treats her like she's dirt on his expensive shoes. But her mother's new marriage isn't about love. It's about survival. Because back in their old life, they owe dangerous people dangerous money. And those people don't forget. So every night while everyone thinks she's at the library, Inés dances under red lights at P-Valley, the city's most exclusive strip club. Behind a mask and a wig, she's not the boring stepsister. She's Red, untouchable, mysterious and free. Until the night Miguel walks in. He doesn't recognize her. But he can't stop watching and wanting her. At home, he ignores her. At the club, he's obsessed with her. Inés knows she should run before he discovers the truth. But she doesn't because as much as she hates him, her body betrays her every time he's near. But secrets buried in the dark always come to light. And when Miguel discovers that the girl he craves and the stepsister he despises are the same person, it won't just shatter them, it'll burn down everything they thought they knew.

She was his unknown damnation. He was just another to add to her death row. ``` 25 year old Alina Diaz, detective Lina by day, and a ruthless assassin by night. When past trauma of losing both her father and brother in one night leads her to a life of violence, weapons, fists and blood. From affluence to gang life, Alina loses all trace of fragility in her. When she’s given a new mission: “Infiltrate the Mexican Mafia estate and assassinate Antonio Alvarez”, Lina dives headfirst into a messy, tangled web of dangerous temptation, uncovered secrets and new discoveries. 33 year old Antonio Alvarez, a powerful don haunted by control, loyalty, and the slow realization that love is the one thing he can’t command, sharpened by the cruel reality of his world, is seen as a heartless beast just like his father and he makes no attempt to clear up the misconception. Cold, unwavering and devilishly handsome. He can snap a neck in mere seconds, and hold children delicately with those same hands. When the line between loyalty and burning passion blurs, when wrenching secrets are uncovered, will love really heal open wounds, or will it add fuel to the engulfing flames? WARNING!! BOOK CONTAINS: Language| Sexual activities| Substance| Violence If you love Action, drama and romance packed into one, then you’ve found the book for you. Please, like, share, comment and don’t forget to add to library to keep up with daily updates!

Ambelyn did something terrible six years ago. She willingly gave her virginity to the college bully who had been tormenting her because she was forced in an arranged marriage by her family to marry the son of their biggest investor. Now stuck in a loveless marriage, where she watches her husband parade his first love and their second child hurting her and her miracle baby. Her husband hated her after divorcing she wasn't a virgin, which was the main requirement for their marriage and decided to show her how worthless she was. She swallows the insult for the sake of their child, but when her husband refuses to sign the papers for their son to get surgery or loses his life, and their second child bullying her and his elder brother and wishing for a new mummy, she decides to do what she never thought and divorce her husband, granting him slow custody of the second child, while she takes sole custody of the first child. The only issue was, she started working for the Heartless Cruel CEO who returned back home after six years abroad and it was the same man who pinned her against a library shelf and deflowered her. Would Ambelyn be able to survive working under the bully who once made her life a living hell, or would she be able to find her happily ever after in the hands of someone unexpected.

I took a drugged drink for Moretti, the Don I had loved for seven years. He helped Bella, my frightened sister, to her feet first. "Bella is fragile. I'll get her to the car." "Iris, wait here. I'll come back for you soon." My stomach burned like fire, but my fingers were turning cold. I stood there frozen for a long moment before a bitter laugh slipped out. It was the ninety-ninth time he had chosen Bella. In college, I once waited for him in the library with a fever, expecting him to take me home. Then Bella called and said her panic attack was back, so he told me to wait. Years later, I entered the Valtieri family and became his underboss. I balanced his books, negotiated his deals, took bullets for him. He still believed I would always wait. I bit my tongue and forced myself to stay clear-headed while I handled another round of probing from the rival family. At one in the morning, Moretti still had not come back. Bella's post appeared first. In the photo, Moretti was making her a late-night meal. That was when I understood. This time, too, he would not come back for me. And I no longer wanted to wait. I opened my phone and bought a ticket to Sicily three days later. Moretti, goodbye.

The first day I return to the country, my future mother-in-law, Sophia Damer, smacks a check against my face and says, "Here's five million dollars. Leave my son alone. The Simpsons cannot accept a gold-digging nobody like you!" Before I can even explain myself, the young woman in a white dress hiding behind her says, "Please don't do this, Sophia. If this young lady treats Jay well enough, I don't mind caring for him with her, too." I chuckle. So, Sophia and Crystal Richmond, my half-sister, think that I'm the evil mistress who tried stealing her man away from her, when Jayson Simpson was my boyfriend the entire time. And yet, Crystal still thinks that she's the legitimate one instead. However, seeing that Crystal still doesn't know who I really am, I pick up the check without even looking at it and stuff it into her V-neck dress. "Nice acting. Here's your reward." Then, I take out a black card and fling it onto the table. "Here's ten million dollars, lady. Tell your son to stay away from me and stop bothering me. I find him disgusting! "Oh, and by the way," I say, pointing at Crystal, who is still being shielded behind Sophia's body. "Might I remind you that this young woman you're protecting is just the bastard kid my dad brought home last year. "If you're thinking of using her to get close to the Richmonds, I'm afraid that you're barking up the wrong tree!"

"I want this," I repeat my words. "And what exactly is this?" he smiles and holds my back with his hands in all his casual sexiness. "I want my orgasm," "You're not there yet, baby girl." He stated softly, his hands trail down to my ass and squeezed them making me pouted at him. "I can get there, you can get me there." "I will, but not right now," ***** Jessica had tried her hardest to rebuild the family legacy, but her brother's scandalous past has proven hard to make her bounce back. And when her family business was bought out, there was nothing she could do but follow her lawyers' advice. But what she didn't expect was her new boss. The fact that she has someone to report to annoyed her, and for that someone to be handsome and smart it infuriates her. She knows he's a player, he knows she's a fragile woman with a very dark past. Can she shake him off and live peacefully with her job? or will he push himself and break out from his comfort zone to make her fall for him? ***** The love story will be emotional, irritating, and eh...I'm still not sure what else :p But the happy ending will be inevitable. So, add this book to your library and join me as we read about Jessica's happy ending. ***** Warning! R-Rated for 18+ due to strong, explicit language and sexual content*