Valentine Valley # 5
By: Emma Cane
Releasing October 28th, 2014
Avon
When Tony De Luca's ex, Kate Fenelli, waltzes through the door of his tavern and pulls up a bar stool, she turns his balanced world on end. Once they'd been each other's first love, first everything. But then life happened, and they walked away with broken hearts. Now Kate is back in Valentine, and they can't seem to stay out of each other's way. When Tony begins wondering what would happen if they rekindled the sparks, he knows he's in big trouble.
Kate can't believe she's sitting at Tony's bar spilling her life-changing problems to him. He's as gorgeous as ever, and she can't seem to forget how incredible he always made her feel. Still, the door on that chapter of their lives closed long ago. Yet with Christmas buzzing in the air, Kate can't help wondering if anything is possible—even a second chance with the only man she's ever loved.
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Excerpt
By the Monday after Thanksgiving, Kate thought she’d go out of her mind. Everyone went back to work and school, and she was alone but for dog Barney, who kept her company at home, since the old guy couldn’t exactly go for long runs anymore. She read a book. She baked the simplest cookies for Ethan after school like he was six, and he humored her, good son that he was. But she caught his worried looks just the same.
She called her lawyer friend Michelle again—no answer. The partners would never reveal details about her sabbatical, but she still felt paranoid. She kept thinking of that report she wasn’t supposed to have seen, and she wished she could talk to someone about it. But obviously her firm didn’t want to listen.
Tuesday, on her late-morning run, she passed by Tony’s Tavern. Without planning it, she turned around and went inside. Compared to Friday night, it was pretty empty, just a couple people starting an early lunch. No one sat at the bar, behind which her ex-husband Tony stood at the POS computer, his back to her, his head bent, unruly brown hair touching the creased collar of his black polo shirt. She felt a momentary need to straighten it. The thought was so shocking that she was about to leave, when he looked up and saw her. She froze, wondering if she’d overstepped her bounds.
He frowned, but he seemed puzzled, not annoyed. It made her feel braver, so she sat down at the bar and pulled off her winter hat and gloves. She casually ran her hands through her hair to straighten it, and he watched her without saying a word.
“Is something wrong?” When his voice emerged with a husky tone, he cleared his throat.
“May I have a glass of water?” she asked lamely. Dammit, why had she come here?
He poured her one from the tap. “Tough workout?”
She nodded. “They always are. I hate running.”
“Then why do you do it?”
“Quick and convenient, keeps me healthy, and holds down the weight.” She held up a hand. “I know, I know, there are ways to have fun and exercise. But this works for me.”
“Do you have any fun, Kate?” he asked softly.
For a moment, she didn’t know how to answer that. “Every weekend when Ethan is with me.”
“No grown-up fun?”
And then she blushed, though she assumed he didn’t mean sex. “I had a pretty good time in here Friday night. I date occasionally at home, too. That’s fun.”
He nodded slowly, almost as if he didn’t believe her. So she added defensiveness to her feelings of panic and desperation.
“I don’t have anything to do,” she finally said in a hushed whisper, her throat tight. “I feel…lost. The thing I’m best at—they won’t let me do, won’t trust my judgment. I’m not even the homemaker type, and I’m cleaning my mother’s house every day. I’m running out of stuff to do. I think I’m driving Ethan nuts—and I don’t mean to! And now here I am driving you nuts. I’m sorry, I should go.”
He looked at her for a long minute, eyes narrowed in thought, but not anger. Still she didn’t go; she only took a long swig of her water.
Then he reached beneath the counter and slid a crumpled apron across to her. “My lunch server, Rhonda—her kid had his appendix out. There’s complications, poor little guy, but he’ll be okay. She’s going to be out a while. Wait tables if you’re so bored.”
She stared at him in shock. There was a faint smirk twisting his lips, as if he expected her to turn him down. He knew she hated serving. It was hard, demanding work, and people were difficult to satisfy.
But…she was alone all day, with not enough to do. She lifted her head and met his gaze with a challenging one of her own. “Are you offering me a job?”
“A temporary one,” he amended, then crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t think you’ll last.”
She straightened her shoulders. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. I’ve never left a job unfinished.” And then she felt a spasm of worry as she remembered her law career, her marriage—the unfinished things in her life. He started to pull the apron back, and she suddenly grabbed it, looking him fiercely in the eyes. “You’re on.” She heard the words coming out of her mouth and couldn’t regret them, although she wasn’t sure why.
Emma Cane grew up reading and soon discovered that she liked to write passionate stories of teenagers in space. Her love of “passionate stories” has never gone away, although today she concentrates on the heartwarming characters of Valentine, her fictional small town in the Colorado Rockies.
By the Monday after Thanksgiving, Kate thought she’d go out of her mind. Everyone went back to work and school, and she was alone but for dog Barney, who kept her company at home, since the old guy couldn’t exactly go for long runs anymore. She read a book. She baked the simplest cookies for Ethan after school like he was six, and he humored her, good son that he was. But she caught his worried looks just the same.
She called her lawyer friend Michelle again—no answer. The partners would never reveal details about her sabbatical, but she still felt paranoid. She kept thinking of that report she wasn’t supposed to have seen, and she wished she could talk to someone about it. But obviously her firm didn’t want to listen.
Tuesday, on her late-morning run, she passed by Tony’s Tavern. Without planning it, she turned around and went inside. Compared to Friday night, it was pretty empty, just a couple people starting an early lunch. No one sat at the bar, behind which her ex-husband Tony stood at the POS computer, his back to her, his head bent, unruly brown hair touching the creased collar of his black polo shirt. She felt a momentary need to straighten it. The thought was so shocking that she was about to leave, when he looked up and saw her. She froze, wondering if she’d overstepped her bounds.
He frowned, but he seemed puzzled, not annoyed. It made her feel braver, so she sat down at the bar and pulled off her winter hat and gloves. She casually ran her hands through her hair to straighten it, and he watched her without saying a word.
“Is something wrong?” When his voice emerged with a husky tone, he cleared his throat.
“May I have a glass of water?” she asked lamely. Dammit, why had she come here?
He poured her one from the tap. “Tough workout?”
She nodded. “They always are. I hate running.”
“Then why do you do it?”
“Quick and convenient, keeps me healthy, and holds down the weight.” She held up a hand. “I know, I know, there are ways to have fun and exercise. But this works for me.”
“Do you have any fun, Kate?” he asked softly.
For a moment, she didn’t know how to answer that. “Every weekend when Ethan is with me.”
“No grown-up fun?”
And then she blushed, though she assumed he didn’t mean sex. “I had a pretty good time in here Friday night. I date occasionally at home, too. That’s fun.”
He nodded slowly, almost as if he didn’t believe her. So she added defensiveness to her feelings of panic and desperation.
“I don’t have anything to do,” she finally said in a hushed whisper, her throat tight. “I feel…lost. The thing I’m best at—they won’t let me do, won’t trust my judgment. I’m not even the homemaker type, and I’m cleaning my mother’s house every day. I’m running out of stuff to do. I think I’m driving Ethan nuts—and I don’t mean to! And now here I am driving you nuts. I’m sorry, I should go.”
He looked at her for a long minute, eyes narrowed in thought, but not anger. Still she didn’t go; she only took a long swig of her water.
Then he reached beneath the counter and slid a crumpled apron across to her. “My lunch server, Rhonda—her kid had his appendix out. There’s complications, poor little guy, but he’ll be okay. She’s going to be out a while. Wait tables if you’re so bored.”
She stared at him in shock. There was a faint smirk twisting his lips, as if he expected her to turn him down. He knew she hated serving. It was hard, demanding work, and people were difficult to satisfy.
But…she was alone all day, with not enough to do. She lifted her head and met his gaze with a challenging one of her own. “Are you offering me a job?”
“A temporary one,” he amended, then crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t think you’ll last.”
She straightened her shoulders. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. I’ve never left a job unfinished.” And then she felt a spasm of worry as she remembered her law career, her marriage—the unfinished things in her life. He started to pull the apron back, and she suddenly grabbed it, looking him fiercely in the eyes. “You’re on.” She heard the words coming out of her mouth and couldn’t regret them, although she wasn’t sure why.
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