Riley's Pond (New Adult Romance)

BOOK: Riley's Pond (New Adult Romance)
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Praise for
Riley’s Pond

 

 


Smart, sexy, and sassy…Brooks drives home what it means to be young and in love.”


Kelli Ann Morgan

Author of “The Rancher”

 


With a colorful cast of characters, this spicy teen romance tugs at every emotion from laughter to tears, and shows the meaning of compassion, forgiveness, and unconditional love.”


J. Cole, author

 


RILEY’S POND took me down memory lane, reviving feelings of elation, angst, and the unbridled passion teenage romance is all about. The tenderness and crushing heartbreak of young love are captured perfectly in Brooks’ characters. You don’t have to be a teenager to enjoy this delightful read.”


K. W. Green

 


Brooks created characters that are vivid and believable—hard to do. Great story!”


Tiffany Helmer

Author of “Impact”

 


Harley Brooks shows teen-boy angst so accurately, she should be required reading for anyone (of any age) who wants to understand the adolescent male heart. Witty, edgy, tender and true, RILEY’S POND will draw you in and make you gasp—like plunging into a cold pool. You’ll emerge shaking tears from your eyes and envying Taylor as Riley morphs into the superhero her strength and love inspire him to be.”


K. Kelly

 


A charming and realistic read through the ventures of a teenage boy who encounters desire, love, and heartache through a journey that will make you giggle and weep. RILEY’S POND is addictive!


S. Ovard

Riley’s Pond

 

 

a novel by

harley brooks

 

 

 

 

AMAZON KINDLE
 
EDITION

PUBLISHED
BY

Harley Brooks

Riley’s Pond © 2012 Harley Brooks

All rights reserved

Amazon Kindle Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. The ebook contained herein constitutes a copyrighted work and may not be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, or stored in or introduced into an information storage and retrieval system in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the copyright owner, except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This ebook is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Editing by Joelene Coleman

Cover Design © Kelli Ann Morgan

Inspire Creative Services

www.inspirecreativeservices.com

Formatting by

Bob Houston eBook Formatting

http://about.me/BobHouston

ISBN: 978-0-9856598-0-6

About the book: Riley’s Pond

Riley Martin finds being the middle son, standing in the shadow of a wayward older brother and a "baby archangel," challenging. He feels responsible for keeping his parents happy by compensating for his older brother’s bad choices, while unable to sow his own wild oats because of his impressionable younger brother. When his rebel brother, Jaxson, turns their family life upside down and Riley’s into a personal hell, he escapes to the one place he considers his private sanctuary. The pond he and Jaxson built three years earlier, spending an entire summer bonding together while damming the stream at the end of their property and creating a secret swimming hole.

However, when Riley arrives ready to break in the rope swing for the summer, he hides within the chokecherry bushes. Someone has discovered the secret hideaway and is swimming within the dark waters. Someone beautiful inside a revealing wet T-shirt, who captures Riley’s lustful heart immediately.

Taylor Wilson’s peaceful afternoon swim is interrupted when a teenage boy slides down the hill and lands on the banks of the pond. Her hopes for escaping her complicated life in Boston by spending the summer with her grandmother, take a sudden twist when she meets Riley Martin.

A steamy late night rendezvous violates Taylor's grandmother’s only rule—obey a midnight curfew. Fear of being sent back to a life she no longer wants sends Taylor on a speedy retreat, but red and blue flashing lights halt her in the middle of skid. When the sheriff advises Taylor she’s under arrest, her heart stops, especially when she finds out she’s charged with failure to give the sheriff’s son a proper goodnight kiss. Riley's secret is out.

Taylor’s, however, remains hidden and weighs heavy enough on her mind she could sink into a dark abyss and never see light again. Climbing out of Riley’s pond and into his life, Taylor realizes for the first time she can be happy, but the monster following her is far more dangerous than any mythical creature hidden in the depths of a dark lagoon.

Dedication

For Jaycee—my exuberant teenage inspiration and one of the greatest joys in my life.

“Never stop dreaming.”

Acknowledgements

First, my overwhelming gratitude to you, the readers of
Riley’s Pond.
You are the wind beneath my author wings and the driving force in my passion to share the romantic tales my young characters constantly shout in my head.

Second, my heartfelt thanks to Kaye Green, Sascha Ovard, and Karla Kelly, for the endless hours spent editing, reviewing, and basically holding my hand from the moment
Riley’s Pond
became more than a thought in passing. I could not have asked for a more dedicated support staff, or dearer friends. Your talents, inspiration, “cyber tissues,” and ability to push me forward when I tried to give up, took this from a dream to reality. I’m forever in your debt.

Third, recognition and love for a man who spent a good portion of the past two years taking a backseat to my literary love affair with my characters. Without my husband’s patience, understanding, and bank account,
Riley’s Pond
would still be trapped on a memory stick.

I could not have succeeded in seeing my dream to be a writer come to fruition without the support, guidance, and kick in the butt I get from my writing colleagues. Being a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA) and Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) has connected me with an awesome group of authors who I rely heavily on for their banter, wit in the wee hours of the morning when I can’t sleep, and expertise—many having kicked the stones away to make my path to self-publishing smoother. I love you all.

To the manufacturers of Harley Davidson motorcycles, I owe you for giving me the means to stimulate my muse, while straddling a 103 cubic inch powerhouse engine. Clad in leather, the wind in my hair and sometimes a bug between my teeth, you have made it possible for me to ride the edge of life only the brave dare drive. My imagination soars when I’m racing down the open road.

Riley

Everyone experiences one poignant moment in time they never forget. We remember where we were, what we were doing that very second, and the way our heart ached with overwhelming helplessness when it happened.

****

She emerged from the sapphire pool almost in slow motion. Her head flipped, sending her wet, golden mane arcing through the air, the thousands of water droplets sparkling in the sun like a shower of diamonds.

She turned my direction. Dark lashes glistened against pale pink cheeks and full lips still hummed the bewitching tune that stopped my world from spinning. Her wet baby blue T-shirt clung to curves my hands longed to touch and when her delicate fingers braided into her hair, the small silver ring piercing her navel shimmered in the sunlight.

All the saliva in my mouth evaporated. My name escaped my memory and my swim shorts suddenly felt tight. I’d never seen her before, but knew immediately I didn’t want to go without seeing her ever again. Every teenage boy’s fantasy—wet and gorgeous. Swimming in my pond.

What I didn’t realize in this defining increment of time? I faced my future. No clues warned me my summer plans were about to be altered. That I could have handled. What I didn’t know, nor could have prepared for, was that in the three short months of summer my entire life would be redefined. I embarked on an unknown journey having the potential to destroy everything I believed, and possibly everyone I cared about, in its wake.

No, none of this I knew. The only thing I did know…I wanted to jump her bones.

****

One

THE NIGHTMARE

Riley

Mom’s shrill carried up the stairwell and I jerked upright, my heartbeat slamming in my ears. A kaleidoscope of red and blue flashes bounced off the walls of my bedroom. I rubbed the stubble on my chin hard, tearing apart the last sleepy cobwebs, and took in the scene out my window. Charlie’s cruiser sat crooked at the end of the driveway and Pete’s rested against the curb across the street, his light bar the brightest by far. Our neighbors, the Hendersons, had to be thrilled living across from the local sheriff.

The swirling torrent of orange lights from the wrecker truck, danced with the red and blues. When I made the connection
Dad’s
sheriff cruiser dangled from the wrecker, panic swamped me. The front corner of the car crumpled back to the edges of the large star on the passenger door.

Shit.


Dad!” I yelled, rushing from my room wearing only boxer shorts.

An eerie silence permeated the empty hall. Did I dream Mom’s scream? I glanced back through my doorway, the room pulsating with color. No dream. I waited for my heart to settle back in my chest. Years of being a cop’s son taught me to “evaluate” my surroundings before freaking out, but staying calm didn’t work at the moment.

The door next to me leaned ajar, the pigsty void its occupant, my older brother, Jaxson. The disgusting smell of dirty socks and other mysterious odors attacked when I stepped inside.
Such a gross waste of skin.

In the room across the hall, buried under a pile of blankets, the small lump consisting of my little brother, Dirk, lay still. The raspy sounds of a half snore confirmed his immunity to the loud commotion that had blared from downstairs.

When I passed Mom and Dad’s empty room, my panic re-ignited. The unmade bed changed everything calm, back to chaos. A nuclear bomb could be suspended over the house, and my mother would stop to make the bed before she evacuated. She never wanted a news crew with television cameras giving the world a bad impression of her housekeeping skills. However, the image would only hold until someone opened the doors to either my or Jax’s room.

The scratchy transmission of a dispatcher’s numeric response echoed from below and I padded down the stairs, not sure what to expect. My dad’s best friend and partner for as long as I could remember, Lieutenant Pete Lamb, stood in the entryway writing something on a notepad. The radio clipped to his shoulder chirped again, solving one mystery. The fact Pete didn’t race to stop me or hadn’t ventured upstairs in the first place, relaxed me a little. Still, I wanted to hide the horror waging war in my gut, edging me to a total meltdown, so I summoned my cocky attitude.

“How’s it going?” I asked casually, treating Pete as some stranger selling a magic cleaner only available from a door-to-door salesman. Nonetheless, my voice carried an edge of hysteria, but Pete’s wide smile sent relief washing through me. He didn’t notice my knees sudden wobble from delayed shock.

“Interesting underwear, boy,” he laughed, eyeing the heart-covered boxer shorts my girlfriend thought to be an appropriate Valentine’s Day gift. My mother didn’t agree, so I seldom wore them to avoid the lecture.

“Laundry day’s tomorrow.” I flipped the waistband. “Besides, Kaylee’s opinion is all I care about.”

BOOK: Riley's Pond (New Adult Romance)
4.07Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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