I hope you enjoyed Ripple Effect. To find out if RJ and Dani make it out of the parking lot alive, look for the full-length book releasing in 2021.
*This partial story was written exclusively for this anthology and was condensed to fit into five cohesive chapters.
In the meantime…
Does Mother Nature have a beef with the AnyDayNow boys?
RJ’s bandmate Bodhi might say yes when he’s caught up in a swift-moving wildfire in the hills of the California coastline. Like the Wind is a love story set amidst an all-too-current fiery landscape and was originally written as an exclusive Audible Original. Like the Wind is now out in ebook and paperback.
And if you’re looking for more sharp dialogue, strong women, and damaged rock stars check out J. Bengtsson’s Audie Award Nominated, Top 10 bestselling debut novel, Cake A Love Story. Survivor of a childhood stranger abduction, Jake thinks he’s put his past behind him. He thinks he’s okay. It isn’t until he meets Casey that he realizes all he’s been missing out on in life.
Amazon
Audible
J. (Jill) Bengtsson is the bestselling author of the Cake Series. She writes contemporary novels focused on love, humor, passion, and family. Her heroines are strong, nurturing, and quirky while her heroes are what dreams are made of - gorgeous, committed, and in need of a little saving. A native Californian, Jill’s novels are set under the glittering lights of the West Coast entertainment industry. They are for the dreamer in all of us.
Be sure not to miss new releases and sales by J. Bengtsson by signing up for her newsletter.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Lucian Kane is sex personified. A popular musician with a bad boy reputation, Lucian always gets what he wants. And what he wants more than anything is the virginal new girl. She’s not like anyone he’s ever known. He’s spent his whole life only looking out for himself. Why does he suddenly want to take care of her?
Blaire Barton is a sheltered farm girl. Promised to the convent from a young age, Blaire has never been able to make a single decision for herself, until now. Running away from all she’s ever known, she finds herself alone, broke, and working for the most beautiful man she’s ever seen. Why is she considering giving up everything to have him?
When the devil meets an angel, who will be converted?
Sometimes baptism happens in the flames.
The night holds the secrets we bury.
What is it about the dark that brings to light all the questions we’ve left unanswered during the day? I close my eyes in the hope that sleep will quiet my mind, but sleep won’t come. There must be a reason. The night has always been my safe place. When everyone goes to bed, I can finally turn off their voices and focus on mine. I can try to differentiate between their expectations of me and what I want for myself.
I should be tired, but I’m not. The current of change simmers under my skin and creates the electricity of possibility. Deep in my soul, I know that if I’m going to make a decision, it has to be tonight.
I sit up in my bed and change my clothes. My inner voice is loud and unyielding. My long repressed needs are shouting to me in the hope that I listen this time. Every sentence I say to myself makes more sense than the one before it. Go. You’re not meant to be here. Run. I quickly stuff my bag. I hurry, not because I’m afraid I’ll change my mind, but rather because I’m afraid someone will stop me and change it for me.
Slowly opening my door, I glance left and right. I sigh in relief when I find myself alone. My feet seem to have a mind of their own as they quickly and quietly lead me down the dark corridor. When I reach the door leading outside, I glance back one last time. I’m relieved when that last look only confirms my decision. It’s time.
Blaire
A storm is brewing.
I gaze up toward the sky through the window of my seat on the bus. My daddy taught me how to read the clouds. As a family of farmers, we learned how to see, feel, and smell when rain was on its way. The prickles on my skin coupled with the nimbus clouds in the distance are a clear indication it’s about to happen. I’d give it twenty minutes, based on the strength and direction of the wind. I wonder if I’d be able to smell it in the air if I were outside.
Closing my eyes, I picture my brothers putting the horses in the stable and see my daddy with his hands on his hips staring up at the heavens and sniffing the air. Oh, how I wish I was going home right now. But I can’t go home after what I’ve done. They’d be so disappointed in me.
The bus screeches to a stop. This is the fifth stop since I climbed aboard.
My headrest pulls away from my neck and I feel little fingers touch my hair. I smile and turn around slowly. Her mother has her eyes closed this time.
“Only two left,” she whispers.
“Thank you for telling me. What would I do without you?”
She shrugs before twirling her left pigtail with the yellow ribbon around her finger. Esmerelda, the little girl behind me, is traveling with her mother to visit her grandmother for a month. She’s pretty much told me her life story since she woke this morning. I stare at the pink ribbon in her right pigtail and grin. Her pigtails don’t match because she thinks matching is boring. I admire her ability to be so confident in her decisions at the ripe old age of five. Maybe I should ask her for some advice on mine.
“Are you ever getting off the bus?” she asks innocently.
“I think they’ll make me eventually.”
Her mother cracks open one eye and sighs loudly. “What did I tell you about bothering Miss Blaire?”
I smile. “She’s no bother.”
“Momma, I think she’s lost. She doesn’t know where to go.”
Esmerelda’s mother briefly glances at me then starts rummaging through her purse. I assume she’s trying to avoid admitting her daughter has me pegged.
Facing forward, I blow a stray hair from my eyes. Out of the mouths of babes. Esmerelda’s right. I’ve been hoping for a sign telling me where to go, but so far, I’ve got nothing. Maybe I’m more lost than I realize.
Her mother distracts her with some pretzels and I slump down in my seat and get lost in my thoughts. When I slipped out the back door of the convent late last night, I had no plan for myself. My whole life I’d been told what to do and where to go. This was the first time I’d ever made a decision completely on my own. I hopped on the first bus I could find that was going in the opposite direction of home. It felt good, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I’m completely freaking out about what I’d done.
Glancing at my watch, I realize that by now, surely Sister Alma Jo knows I’m missing. I hope she found my note. Tears threaten my eyes. I hate letting people down and I hope they don’t think I’m a bad person. I mean who makes a lifelong promise and then abandons it?
Leaning my head on the window, I watch several people pulling their bags down the stairs and off the bus. I turn my head to count the empty seats when out of the corner of my eye, a large red brick building with a familiar shape draws my attention. It’s not just any building. It’s a beautiful old church with a steeple and stained glass windows. Leaning toward the seat next to me, I strain to get a better look at it through the opposite window. It’s old, but well-kept and cared for. It’s like a magnet and I feel it pulling me. When I almost fall out of my seat, my gut tightens.