Awakening Veronica (2 page)
Juliana (Meyer) Peterson
, an admitted perfectionist, was the manager of Stigall’s Department Store and is now a buyer for Discretion Boutique.
Ash Peterson
, a former bareback bronc riding champion, is the foreman of the Divine Creek Ranch and runs all of the day-to-day operations.
They have a son named Will.
Maya’s Triple Dare
Maya (Daire) Warner
is a registered nurse specializing in obstetric and pediatric care. She works with Doctor Emma Rivers.
Kendall, Boone, and Richard Warner
are brothers, and first cousins of Jack Warner. They are partners in the MWTD Cattle Ranch, which borders the Divine Creek Ranch.
Summer’s Indiscretion
Summer (Heston) Webster
and her sister Margot are proprietors of Discretion, a ladies’ adults-only boutique in nearby Morehead, Texas.
Ace Webster and Kemp Whittier
are adopted brothers who are also partners in a security and private investigation operation. Ace and Kemp have assisted a number of the heroes and heroines in Divine, Texas, including their wife, Summer.
Lydia’s Twin Temptation
Lydia (Webster) Carlisle
came to the Rockin’ C Ranch as a chef and wound up falling in love with both Chance and Clayton Carlisle.
Chance and Clayton Carlisle
are twin brothers who own the Rockin’ C Ranch, a very large cattle operation outside of Divine.
Their Divine Doctor
Doctor Emma (Guthrie) Rivers
is a family practitioner in Divine, Texas.
Duke Rivers and Gage Randall
are cousins who were raised as brothers. They’re IT consultants and also work on a contract basis for Ace Webster and Kemp Whittier.
Divine Phoenix
Lily (Valentine) Cook
is a student and works with her husband at Clay Cook Jewelry.
Clay Cook
is a jeweler and sculptor and
Del Cook
is a rancher and former private military subcontractor.
Sparks Fly! A Divine Creek July 4
th
Family Reunion
Jayne (Sheridan) Carter
is head librarian at the Divine Memorial Library
Seth Carter
is a tattoo artist and owner of Divine Ink Tattoo Studio, located in downtown Divine.
Sparks Fly!
features their introduction to each other and sexy reunions with all the previous main characters in the series, centered around a July 4
th
family reunion.
Margot’s Hunger
Margot Heston
and her sister, Summer, are proprietors of Discretion, a ladies’ adults-only boutique located in nearby Morehead.
Jake Redman
is a private investigations and security subcontractor.
Gil James
is the foreman at the Rockin’ C Ranch.
His Tattooed Virgin
Jayne (Sheridan) Carter
is the head librarian at the Divine Memorial Library.
Seth Carter
is a tattoo artist and owner of Divine Ink Tattoo Studio located in downtown Divine. They have a son named Toby. Jayne and Seth were introduced to each other in
Sparks Fly!
Their full love story is told in
His Tattooed Virgin
.
Tiny Dancer
Camilla (O’Neal) Parks
is the owner of the Twisted Bull night club and Chantilly’s Steakhouse, located in Morehead.
Ben Lawrence
and
Quinten Parks
are business partners with Ethan Grant in the Dancing Pony nightclub.
They are the parents of brand new twin boys, James and Joshua.
Tangled In Divine
Gwen (Henderson) Alvarez
is a retired world barrel racing champion and a consultant specializing in horse training and teaching barrel racing techniques.
Julian Alvarez and Chris Potter
are full-time ranchers who run the Bucking H Ranch in Colorado and the Bucking H2 Ranch in Divine.
Lucy’s Revenge
Lucy (Carter) Owen
is a self-employed licensed massage therapist and owner of A Divine Retreat located in downtown Divine.
Patrick Owen
is an architect and single dad to his five-year-old son, PJ, and
Beck O’Malley
is a beekeeper.
Maizy the Bear Charmer
Maizy (Owen) Welsh
is a kindergarten teacher in Divine. She is Patrick Owen’s sister.
Cody Welsh, Heath Lindsey, and Spencer Ketchum
, known affectionately to their friends as “the bears,” provide security at the Twisted Bull nightclub in Morehead, Texas.
I hope you enjoy the next installment in the Divine Creek Ranch Collection…
Table of Contents
AWAKENING VERONICA
Divine Creek Ranch 17
HEATHER RAINIER
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One
Late October in Billings, Montana…
Veronica Benedict’s heart raced and she barely took time to blink as she tried to keep up with the rapid-fire, somewhat schizophrenic pace of the live, online chat. Several people conversed at the same time on more than one topic, all related to her latest book—her fledgling attempt at erotic romance, which had been released the week before. Normally, online promotion came easy for Veronica because she enjoyed interacting with readers, but these live chats were too much like being inundated face-to-face, which made her anxiety soar.
A smaller instant message window suddenly popped up, blocking her view of the conversation. Irritation rose inside her until she saw who it was from.
KinkyLustyMama: Hey, sweet girl! When are you coming to visit me?
Grandma Kate. Veronica pictured her kind face and her comforting voice, and the anxious knot in the pit of her stomach unwound just a fraction.
There were fifteen minutes left in the discussion and she had to stay on task or she’d lose track of all the questions amongst the chatter in the room.
Veronica Benedict: Give me about fifteen minutes, switch to Skype, and then we can talk about it, okay?
KinkyLustyMama: Sure thing, sweet girl!
Veronica closed the instant message box and gasped at what she saw.
BookAddictedWhore: I think Veronica doesn’t want to answer the question because the bitch is scared of how we’ll react.
Veronica cleared her throat, trying to rid it of the lump that grew there every time this particular reader, who had been stalking her online, started in on her. The laughing emoticon that followed the statement was meant to soften the wording for the other readers in the chat room but it didn’t fool Veronica.
Veronica Benedict: I’m sorry, guys. I got distracted for a moment. What was the question?
There was no sense in scrolling back because she’d just lose more of the conversation in the interim while she searched the messages for the question.
BookAddictedWhore: Gina Vagina asked if you plan to continue writing sweet romance or permanently change to writing hotter stories since you can make more money.
Veronica Benedict: Oh.
She thought to herself, no easy answer to that question. She liked writing both for different reasons. Before she could reply, BookAddictedWhore continued on.
BookAddictedWhore: Who would want to continue with that boring shit when we can delve into that sweaty, nasty, dirty mind of yours? I’d much rather wallow around in your cum-soaked imagination.
Once again, the laughing emoticon popped up at the end of the statement.
Veronica was trying to frame a reply when several others popped up with laughing responses, too, some along the same line as BookAddictedWhore’s statement, others framed much more nicely. She sighed. Was there even a point now in responding?
Veronica Benedict: I’m not limiting myself, BookAddictedWhore. I plan to keep my options open and see where my muse takes me.
BookAddictedWhore: I want to know if you did up close and personal research on all those double penetration and anal sex scenes we’re looking forward to reading when your next book comes out. Probably not as sweet when you write those, eh? Ever taken it up the ass before?
A giggling emoticon followed those words and Veronica felt an angry flush creep up her neck.
Veronica Benedict: With all due respect, I’ll decline from answering your question, BookAddictedWhore.
BookAddictedWhore: Chickenshit! Don’t get coy now, bitch. We’ve already had a glimpse inside your dirty mind. Answer the question.
Caressa MacFarland: Given what we’ve seen so far from Veronica with her debut erotic romance novel,
Bound at the Bonfire
, I’m sure readers will be very satisfied with the heat and heart in Veronica’s love scenes. Does anyone else have a legitimate, respectful question for Veronica?
Gratitude filled Veronica’s heart for Caressa MacFarland. The lady had guts and class.
Moments later, another instant message box popped up, this time from the group moderator, and Veronica tuned the chatter out while reading the message.