Bring The Rain by Lizzy Charles
Genre : Young AdultComing : February 17, 2015Goodreads
Excerpt
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Other books by Lizzy Charles
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Effortless With You
Perfectly Messy
One summer to make the choice of a lifetime…
Everything is waiting in Paris for Autumn—her new home, her mom, the Louvre, and a life where she can experience art, and not just look at it. But to get there, she'll have to survive the summer in the least colorful place she can imagine — her father's Oklahoma cattle ranch
Autumn finds the perfect summer distraction in Colt, the one cowboy hotter than the July sun. But Colt is her father's ranch hand, and he won’t go for the Manhattan-style fling that she's used to. The closer they become, the more she questions which side of the ocean she belongs.
Then her father reveals an unforgivable secret, and Autumn’s illusions shatter. Will the secret destroy everything? Or could Oklahoma hold the greatest masterpiece of all—a love that could mend her heart?
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Light
arms make for easy dancing, even to drawn out country tunes. Turns
out, cowboys aren’t bad dancers. They know where to put their hands
on your waist to help you sway. They share well too, making sure a
new hat accompanies each tune. When my chest burns, I know I've
hit my limit. "Sorry," I say to the only guy at the
party wearing a baseball cap. "I need a break."
"I
can take you outside if you want?" This brown-haired-brute's
eyes are a bit swollen, and lips raw. I swear I saw him making out on
the steps during my last spin on the dance floor.
"No
thanks, I'm good on my own." I quickly zigzag through the crowd
and slip out the back kitchen door. If it wasn't for the couple
making out in a hammock, I would’ve barreled right into the gray
weave. There's a deserted tree a few hundred yards out from
the house. Brushing my ballet flats through the crisp grass, I do a
quick snake check. Phew. I take a seat, tilting my head toward the
sky. The darkness is alive and glittering.
I
breathe out, the beauty above. Stars like this never happen at home.
Here, Hercules and the dippers are too obvious. And, with a jostle of
my memory, I can find the Queen and the Dragon too. I wish I had my
paints and a canvas so I could try to capture it. I’d make my own
Starry Night, but my brush strokes would be looser here than Van
Gogh’s.
A
breeze moves through my hair, reminding me to take a deep breath. It
instantly relaxes me; somehow one breath here is better than any
oxygen bar in the city. I hate to admit it, but that’s another
thing this place has going for it. It’s so much easier to breathe
here.
“Can
I join you?” a husky voice says from behind. I turn to find a tall,
broad-shouldered, sandy-haired cowboy leaning against the tree. He
doesn’t wait for my answer; rather he slinks down the trunk to sit
next to me. His eyes turn toward the sky, but, even though I know
it’s rude, my eyes can’t leave his face. His nose is almost
perfect. It’d be easy to sketch with a soft pencil.
“Andromeda,”
he interrupts my artistic vision, pointing up at the sky. “The
Greater Bear,” he traces the outline in the air. “And my
favorite…”
“Oh,
please don’t say something about your big dipper.” I put the
yellow cup to my lips, finishing my third refill. It slides past
my throat. Finally, the beer’s tasting good now.
“Actually,
my prime constellation is Aries, the ram. That line though?
Golden. I'll use it next time.”
“A
goat?”
He
smiles with a silent laugh and shrugs. “Sounds lame,” he turns
toward me. His eyes sparkle and my heart jumps into my throat. His
jaw is strong and chest obviously solid under his white button down
shirt. “But it’s not.” He flips over my hand, tracing the
constellation on my palm. Tingles crawl up my arm.
Now,
this is a real cowboy.
“Aries
is Zeus, in disguise. Ordinary, but full of power. Cool, huh?”
He
lets go of my hand and returns his gaze to the stars.
My
heart sinks. I want him to look at me. I’m not letting this cowboy
get away. I lean in, close to his ear. “What kind of power?” I
whisper. After Mom ditching me for Paris, I could use a little fun,
and, as my hand caresses his rock hard biceps, I can’t help
welcoming a distraction.
He
doesn’t answer yet also doesn’t move away from my
touch. Good. I take a deep breath and leap. If he didn’t like me,
he’d have moved away already. I kiss the stubble on his jaw and he
stills like a statue so I flip my leg over him, sliding onto his lap.
The constellations spin. I nibble at his lips. His breathing deepens.
Those full lips though? They don't even flinch. I pull back,
repositioning to press my lips down his jaw line and then make my way
up toward his earlobe.
“It’s
not fun if you don’t play,” I whisper.
He
laughs, allowing my lips to return to his. He responds now,
kissing me with a soft, steady pressure and pulling me close to his
rock hard chest. I’ve never been held so securely. My heart
trembles and my muscles melt.
“Okay
darlin’,” he says, pressing his lips against mine, giving me a
kiss that reminds me of chocolate and lemons, before gently helping
me off his lap. “I think it’s time we go.”
“Sure,”
I whisper. The ground becomes wavy water and my hand disappears in
his as I struggle to stand. Take me away cowboy.
He lifts
me, giving me his arm to lean on as he leads me through the house,
passing Gina and Peter making out on the stairs. He stops, pulling
Gina away too.
“Colt?
What’re-ya-doin’?” she slurs.
He
drops my hand, and it burns with the absence of his touch. “Do you
have a ride home Gina?”
She
shakes her head as Peter pulls her back to the step next to him. “I
drove Autumn.”
Colt
unwraps Peter’s arms. “Which is why I'm taking you both
home.”
Peter
stands up. "Hey man, if she wants to stay, she should."
Colt
only has to point to him and say, "Peter. Come on, you know not
to try that with me." Peter nods, holding his hands up in some
mysterious man exchange.
“Fine,”
Gina stumbles like a turkey into Colt’s arms. So funny. I
laugh so hard, my goose noise sneaks in too.
“Was
that a chortle?” Colt lifts his brow with a cocky grin.
“Chortles
are very sexy.” I throw my shoulders back.
He
laughs as he wraps his arm around Gina to support her and takes my
hand, leading us out the front door. “Into the truck, girls.”
It’s
warm in the truck, and with Gina to lean on, comfy too.
Sleep takes me away with a few bumps of the road. Gina’s shoulder
is soon replaced with a leather jacket. The smell lulls me in and out
of sleep with Colt’s whistled tune. My shoulder rocks and I wake.
He reaches behind me, propping me up.
“Want
some?” He hands me a yellow cup of that watered down beer.
“Thanks.”
I say. I am so thirsty. I put the plastic to my mouth, taking a small
sip. The liquid slides past my tongue. This must be from the bottom
of the barrel because it doesn’t taste right. It’s thin and a
struggle to swallow. First goal of the summer, do not spit on the hot
cowboy.
“Like
it?”
“It’s
super watery.”
“Yeah.”
He laughs and my stomach tickles with the sound. “Have a few
more sips.” He holds the cup back to my lips.
I
sip again. It’s horrid, laced with iron and something else that I
can’t pinpoint. It’s so hard to slide past my throat. What is he,
like, trying to drug me? I hold the liquid poison in my mouth.
Wait.
What if he is trying
to drug me? Holy
crap.
While he's focused on the road, I reach for the door handle, trying
not to shake. I’m in a truck with a total stranger with his
muscles of steel, in the middle of nowhere. What's wrong with me? I’d
never let this happen in New York. My heart beats in rhythm with the
buzz in my ears. I need an escape plan, like now.
He
flips off the headlights. We’re in complete darkness except for the
stars. I glance out the window; a light from a lone farm-house is
about a mile away. No one will hear me scream.
We’re
completely alone.
Effortless
With You: Amazon
Perfectly
Messy : Amazon
When Lizzy Charles isn't scrambling to raise her two spunky toddlers or caring for premature and sick babies as a neonatal intensive care nurse, she's in a quiet corner writing or snuggled up with a novel and a few squares of dark chocolate. She married her high school sweetheart, a heart-melting musician, so it's no surprise she's fallen in love with writing contemporary YA romance novels.
Connect With Lizzy
Twitter: @LizzyCharles_
Email: LizzyCharlesScribbles@gmail.com
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