She'll
have to believe the unbelievable to survive.
The doctors have told Kay that she will die
before she reaches her eighteenth birthday. Her mother’s determination to save
her life leads them to a move outside of Asheville, NC to a new set of cancer
specialists in the hopes to help her. But it’s not what Kay and her Mom find in
the doctor’s offices in Asheville that lead them on the journey to save her
before time runs out. It’s what Kay finds in the woods outside of Asheville,
and an inhumanly gorgeous guy named Ryan, instead.
Myths and fairy tales come to life before
Kay’s eyes, bringing her closer to the ultimate cure if she can stay alive long
enough to get there. And if the cancer doesn’t kill her before she finds the
cure the secrets her mother has hidden from her may be the beginning of the
end.
Can
she reach her destiny before tragedy strikes?
And now for an awesome excerpt!
All
I could think was that if I concentrated on cleaning his gash then maybe I
wouldn’t make myself look like an idiot anymore. And concentrating helped
because I could just feel his eyes on me. I wanted to ask what he was thinking
or why he was staring but I thought it was better to just clean his arm. I
worked quickly and when I was done I looked up into his face with a somewhat
steely determination not to make an ass out of myself anymore today. “Hey, you
think you can handle it if we clean it off with alcohol. I bet it’s going to
sting like a bitch but I’m afraid it might get infected if we don’t.”
“Yeah,
that’s fine.” He said as he concentrated on my face.
“Are
you sure? Because a cut like that, I bet it’s going to hurt. Like hurt a lot.”
I was wondering if he was trying to be brave or if he was nuts so he just
didn’t care.
Ryan
put on a confident face and said, “I think I can handle it. But if it makes you
feel any better I promise I won’t scream like a little girl.”
Well
at least I could go get the alcohol without feeling like I hadn’t warned him
properly. “Ok, wait here. I’ll go get the alcohol out of the bathroom and I’ll
be right back.” I headed out of the kitchen and turned right down the hall
towards that bathroom. I snagged it out of the bathroom sink cabinet and
hurried back to the kitchen because some part of my brain still couldn’t
believe that there was a really hot half naked guy in my kitchen. But sure
enough I rounded the corner and he was still standing there waiting for me. “So
Ryan, do you want me to like pat it on with the rag or…”
“No
just pour it straight into the wound Kay. That’s the best way to avoid any
infection.” And with that comment he positioned his arm over the sink so that
we wouldn’t make a mess. I just shook my head. He really was nuts.
“I’m
betting twenty bucks you scream like a girl.” I chided.
“And
I’m betting a date with you that I won’t scream like a girl.” He stared
intently at my shocked face with a cocky little grin as I absorbed his comment
in.
“Ok.”
Really? I thought to myself. That’s all you can come up with is ‘ok’?
He’ll think you’re oh so smooth now. In fact I’m sure I just won the ‘smooth
award’ somewhere. I shook my head and gingerly started to pour the alcohol
into the gash that ran nearly from his shoulder to right above his
elbow. And as I braced myself for the scream that I was sure was coming, as
soon as the alcohol hit his wound he gasped an intake of breath from pain and
then snapped his jaw shut. His face became clenched and contorted from pain and
his entire body literally locked up in a spasm of sorts. Jerking the bottle
upright and setting it on the kitchen counter; I stared into his distorted
face. He was in so much pain that I had absolutely no idea how he was not
screaming. His body shuddered and then I saw where there were beads of sweat on
his forehead that started trickling down his face.
I
inadvertently took a step back from him afraid that he was going to crack and
instead of screaming throw a punch or something. Then the strangest thing
happened; I felt a blast of hot air that was strong enough to lift my hair a
little as if it was in a breeze and then there was a rich smell of some kind of
flowers I couldn’t identify that practically engulfed my senses. My body
started tingling in response to something and I felt a flash of heat ripple
through me. Then as quickly as it had started, it was over. I looked around my
house somewhat wildly for a minute trying to figure out what just happened.
“What was that? Ryan did you feel that?”
“Feel
what Kay? The alcohol burning the crap out of my arm? Yes I most definitely
felt that.” He was looking at me somewhat analytically and I thought that maybe
he was thinking that I belonged in the loony farm or something.
I
was really going to have to re-read the side effects of that new medication I
was on. Maybe I was having hallucinations? But it felt so real. In fact my body
was still humming with something that I couldn’t place. “Right, you’re right.
It must have been the heater coming on or something. I just wonder when my mom
got that smelly thing. It has such a strong smell of some kind of flower.” I
was looking for the air freshener plug in or some kind of new smelly candle.
There had to be an explanation for it. The hot air came on and just hit the air
freshener the right way, right?
“Kay,
are you all right?” The way Ryan was looking at me now I was most definitely
sure that I was never getting that date. What a freak he must think I am by
now.
“Yeah,
yeah. I’m fine. Sorry, I guess I’m a little out of it today. How’s your arm? I
guess we should wrap it up now.” I reached for the ace bandage and shook my
head to clear the crazy fog that was still in there. I looked up in Ryan’s face
before I touched his arm just to make sure that he was ok with me trying to
take care of him. He must want me to stand like fifty feet back so he didn’t
catch my crazy right?
****
Jessie Lane is the writing team
of Crystal Leo and Melissa Pahl. The two sister-in-laws share a great love of breath-taking
romance, cliff hanging suspense, and out-of-this-world characters that demand
your attention or threaten to slap you around until you do pay attention to
them. Because really, it is ALL about the characters. (They’re kind of
megalomaniacs)
When not loosing themselves in a
story they remember they have real lives. Crystal lives in Kentucky with her
husband and two little girls who plot daily the many ways they can drive their
poor mother crazy. At the end of the day Crystal then calls Melissa and
threatens to ship her two nieces to their favorite Aunt with lots of air holes
punched through their box. Melissa answers Crystal’s crazed calls in Washington
state where she lives with her husband and big furry baby of a Rottweiler named
Yuffie and reminds her that children are not shippable.
This
is their first novel but they are all geared up and excited to be releasing
other projects soon!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JessieLaneBooks
Available
to buy ebooks at:
Apple
iBooks
Available
to buy book in print at:
LOVE that cover! And, at first I was afraid this was going to be terribly depressing due to the cancer, instead it sounds to be very interesting :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I love the cover too! I haven't read it yet, but I am looking forward to it. The excerpt really helped pull me in. Thanks for stopping by!
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