Okay folks. Here's the second excerpt from "Zane - The McKades of Texas". Hope you enjoy it! Happy reading!
Andi opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for
a long moment, taking in slow deep breaths. Feeling not the least bit
tired now, she decided to venture out of her room in search of a glass of
water. Attempting to be as quite as she possibly could, she slowly opened the
door and headed down the hallway in what she hoped was the direction of the kitchen.
Her hand slid lightly along the wall, using it as a guide in this dark
unfamiliar house. She froze when her foot had stepped on a creaky board and
waited to see if she had woken Norah. When no doors opened, she continued and
soon came to an open room; what she assumed was the living area.
The
curtainless windows allowed enough light so Andi could easily make her way
through the room without running into any furniture. From there she passed
through a large dining area and finally into the kitchen. She made her way
across the slate floor to the kitchen sink and flipped the switch for the light
above it. She glanced around the dimly lit room and thought it was quite
charming. The off white cabinets had a rustic appearance to them and the
butcher block counter top complimented them very nicely. The pale yellow paint
that covered the walls was such a cheerful color and reminded her of summers at
the beach with her family. Although it was a happy memory, the thought of her
parents brought back other, more emotional memories as well. She pushed her
thoughts aside, quietly cleared her throat and began to carefully open the
cabinets in search of a glass.
“Aha! There you are,” she whispered
when she had found the right cabinet. Standing on her tiptoes, she reached for
the glass.
The main kitchen light flicked on overhead and was
followed by a man’s voice asking, “What the hell are you doing?”
Andi
let out a startled squeal and spun around, dropping the glass on the floor
where it shattered into a thousand pieces. Scared beyond belief, she stared at
the man as he lowered the baseball bat in his hand to his side.
Oh this is not
happening.
“You?” Both
Andi and Zane said at the same time. Silence filled the room as the two of them
stared each other down.
“I’ll ask you again,” Zane said. “What the hell are you
doing?”
“What
am I doing?” Andi replied. “What are you doing? Jesus, you just scared the crap
out of me!” she said, clutching her chest and taking in a deep breath to calm
herself.
“Don’t
try to change the subject, princess,”
Zane said, taking a step into the kitchen and crossing his arms.
Andi’s
heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was going to beat right out of
her chest. And she wasn’t quite sure if it was from being startled or the fact
that Zane was standing against the doorframe wearing only a pair of navy blue
pajama bottoms. She had to give the man credit, even though he irritated her to
the point that she wanted to slap him, he did look pretty darn good without his
shirt on.
“I was
just trying to get a glass of water,” she explained, trying to keep her focus
on his face and not his perfectly sculpted upper body.
“So you
just break into people’s houses in your underwear and steal glasses of water?”
he asked in a sarcastic tone.
Andi,
unaware that her nightshirt had ridden up over her bikini bottoms, began to
self-consciously tug at the hemline of her shirt attempting to cover herself.
“Your
house?” she asked. “I thought this was Norah’s house?” Confusion swam through
her mind. What the heck was going on here?
They
were momentarily distracted by a set of footsteps running down the hall, and
then Luke came bursting into the kitchen wielding a hand gun. Andi let out
another startled scream at the sight of the gun, and when Luke realized there was
no danger he quickly dropped it to his side. He smiled when he caught site of
Andi and lifted his empty hand to comb his hair back.
“What’d
you bring a gun for?” Zane asked with a raised eyebrow to Luke.
Luke
diverted his eyes from Andi and turned his attention to Zane. “I heard a woman
scream,” he explained and shrugged. “What’d you expect me to do?”
Two
more sets of footsteps could be heard running down the hallway and seconds
later Norah appeared in the kitchen along with an older woman carrying a rifle
in her hand.
“For
the love of God don’t shoot!” Andi begged when the older woman aimed in her
direction.
“Put
the rifle down, Mom,” Luke said, reaching out and pushing the barrel of the gun
towards the floor.
Linda looked to Andi with a confused expression,
then turned her attention to both of her sons. “Would you care to explain
yourselves, boys?”
When Misty Prescott moved back home to her parent’s ranch after catching her husband cheating on her, she couldn’t have possibly known that she’d fall for not one, but two cowboys at the same time. Nor could she have known that getting involved with both men would bring unwelcome excitement, turning her already messed up world completely upside down. As Misty’s relationship with Vance Kinney begins, she can’t help but develop an intense attraction to her best friend’s older brother, Dylan McCoy. But just as Misty makes her choice, she indirectly becomes the target of one horrific event after another. Now, Misty must fight the very obstacles that threaten to tear her apart from the man she loves, and survive the danger lurking around every corner that threatens their very lives.
