Each of these men are struggling to put their lives back together.
Published: November 29th, 2019
Publisher: Laura Dawes
A broken relationship.
A mother’s death.
A mistake made.
Each of these men are struggling to put their lives back together. Whether it be from the loss of the woman who blessed them with their children or a decision made in the heat of passion that changed everything, all they know is they have to try — for their children and for themselves.
From these amazing authors comes “All of Him: A Single Dad Collection.”
Before Her by Anita Maxwell
When Jenny arrives in River Falls, a sleepy little town in Montana, she sets herself on a mission to find a job and a place to stay for a few weeks. After traveling the west coast for the last couple of months, she is ready to chill and get some cash behind her before she leaves on the next leg of her journey.
Enter the Lonesomes with their gorgeous twin baby boys. The three rugged cowboys steal her breath away and the little boys steal her heart. Before she knows it, she’s agreed to be their nanny for a few weeks while they look for someone permanent.
But something Jenny didn’t know when she first entered River Falls was that the town was built on a polygamous way of life. Once the Lonesome brothers set their sights on Jenny, there is almost nothing that will stop these sexy single dads from making her their own.
This is a Reverse Harem story, light on steam, but heavy on tension and angst.
The Baby Drop Off by Kelsie Rae
I’m not father material. Hell, I’m not boyfriend material, either. I’m looking-for-a-good-time material with a side of no-strings-attached.
But when a baby shows up on my doorstep with a note saying I’m the father, everything changes. With no other options, I reach out to my neighbor.
Tasha is the girl-next-door with a side of sugar who’s nice enough to step in as a nanny while I figure out what to do with a freaking kid. I never thought Tasha was my type until I see her loving on my baby.
I just wish I could convince her to give me a chance, but she won’t even let me try.
Only the Lies by Elle Thorpe
Him: Six foot, four inches. Thor look-alike. Kickass black belt ninja man, and gym owner.
Me: Barely five foot. Resembles an overstuffed dumpling. Semi-decent receptionist of the office across the road.
Match made in heaven? I think so. Which is why I get to work early each morning, and stare longingly out the window, desperate for my daily glimpse of him.
The man doesn’t know I’m alive, and I don’t have the lady balls to do anything about it. Until the postman delivers the gym’s mail to my office. It’s the perfect excuse to strut over there and introduce myself, right?
Wrong.
When he mistakes me for someone else, I’m so blinded by his abs that I don’t correct him. And now he’s calling me someone else’s name, and I don’t know how to turn this around apart from to bolt back to my desk with my ass jiggling behind me.
I never expected he’d follow me.
Or anything that happened next.
Broken Down by Paige Taylor
As a teacher, It’s Savannah Torvel’s duty to make sure every student is given the best possible chance at education. When a little girl starts acting out, and calls to the parent go unanswered, it’s perfectly acceptable to storm the parent’s workplace and confront them, right?
Broken Down follows the story of Savannah and Mason Bell, two people whose lives keep intersecting. Will they embrace fate or risk disrepair?
EXCERPT
“The Baby Drop Off” by Kelsie Rae - EXCERPT
The call disconnects, and I shove the
phone into my back pocket before opening the door and jumping out of my skin.
“What the hell?” I mumble under my
breath, assessing the soft pink lump on my welcome mat. Squatting low, I tilt
my head to get a better look. What the hell is a car seat covered with a
pink blanket doing in my hallway? As I lean a little closer, a soft cry
squeaks through the blanket, and I fall flat on my ass. You’d think it was the
grim reaper with my overreaction, but I’m still trying to wrap my head around a
kid being at my front door.
So, sue me.
The crying escalates until I’m looking
up and down the hallway, afraid someone’s going to complain about the noise
while praying they know how to make it stop at the same time.
With the sole of my sneaker, I nudge
the car seat to rock it back and forth, but the motion doesn’t quiet the baby
inside. As if the kid’s a ticking time bomb, I edge closer and slowly lift the
blanket. Sure enough, a little human is tucked inside, its face red with anger.
Shit.
“You okay, little buddy?” I ask
cautiously, inspecting the rest of the car seat for any clues about who this
kid is and why it’s on my doorstep. Tucked between the baby’s kicking legs and
the side of the seat, a white envelope catches my eye.
Releasing a slow breath while giving
myself a mental pep talk, I reach into dangerous territory and snatch the
letter like it’s a damn viper. After I give myself a mental high five for my
bravery, I slide my finger below the lid, pull the note out, and start reading.
Shane,
In the diaper bag, you’ll find the
papers that give up my rights as a mom. I’m signing her over to you… her dad. I
also added her birth certificate and anything else you might need to get you by
for a few days. I’m sorry to spring this on you, but I can’t be the mom she
needs. Her name’s Adaline. Please take care of her, and please forgive me for
screwing up your life. This was the only thing I could think to do. If you don’t
want her, I added the adoption papers. Do what’s best for you and her… whatever
that might be.
-Molly
Scanning the message a few dozen
times, my hands shake as the baby continues to wail from the car seat.
Unfortunately, I’m too stunned to move a muscle. What the hell am I supposed to
do with a freaking kid?
When the baby’s screams reach a
decibel that could break glass, the door across the hall opens to reveal my
neighbor, Tasha. Long, red hair that reaches her lower back, quirky purple
glasses that frame her toffee colored eyes, and the sweetest smile you’ve ever
seen.
Yeah, you heard that right. Sweet.
Which means she’s off limits, and I
wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole.
I don’t do sweet. I do dirty and hot.
I do sexy and passionate. But never sweet.
“Only the Lies” by Elle Thorpe - EXCERPT
The clinic door banged open. “Did I
miss him?” Bree panted, staggering over to join me at the window.
I shook my head. “Not yet. Should be
any minute now.”
We both peered through the slatted
blinds like the stalkers we were, neither of us bothering to acknowledge
Damien, my boss and Bree’s boyfriend, when he struggled through the door a
minute later, juggling coffee and breakfast for the three of us.
He dumped his armful of takeaway bags
and trays on the reception desk, then leaned back on it, picking up the pile of
mail I’d left there.
“Bree,” he said casually, “you do
remember that I’m your boyfriend, right? I’m nice. Funny. Somewhat attractive?
A lesser man would be devastated by your actions, you know.”
Bree looked over her shoulder and blew
him a kiss. “You know you’re my number one, babe. But this guy…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Buns of steel.”
I dragged my gaze away from the
parking lot that was still irritatingly empty of one oversized black ute and
the oversized man who drove it. “Buns of steel? Really? You think that’s why we
stare out the window each morning, waiting for him to drive in? It has nothing
to do with that.”
He snorted. “Oh, really?”
I grinned. “Nope, it has more to do
with the biceps, and the abs—”
“The man has a shirt on every morning,
Cleo. How have you seen his abs?”
“Oh, we’ve seen them, all right,” Bree
confirmed. “You can see them through his shirt. That’s how cut he is.
And there was that one time…”
I let my head drop back on my
shoulders and made prayer hands while I thanked the big guy upstairs. “The day
he ran to work with no shirt on. That blessed day where the heavens
opened and birds sang and—”
“Hey!” Bree squealed as Damien covered
her eyes and dragged her away from the window. “I’m going to miss the show.”
“How ‘bout I give you a show of my
own?”
“Oh, really?”
“Mmmm hmmm.”
Damien’s lips brushed Bree’s neck, and
suddenly Bree was more interested in her man than being my wing-woman. I
groaned good-naturedly when Damien dragged her back toward his office and
closed the door.
“Patients will be here in thirty,
Damien! I’m not covering for you!”
“Move my first appointment,” he yelled
through the closed door. “I’m gonna need at least an hour.”
Bree’s laughter echoed back.
“Before Her” by Anita Maxwell - EXCERPT
Autumn of 1989
Turning the ignition off, I took a
deep breath as I readied myself for my next adventure. River Falls, a little
ranching town in the absolute middle of Montana. Named for the tenth most
breathtaking waterfall in the United States of America, according to the New
York Times. And everyone knew the Times was always right.
This was going to be home for me for
the next couple of weeks. I had to build up my reserve of cash so that I could
continue my tour of every state. Thirteen had already been crossed off my list;
River Falls would make Montana number fourteen. I hadn’t quite figured out how
I was getting to Alaska or Hawaii just yet, but that would come.
I’d been planning this tour ever since
I went on a middle-school excursion to Eugene, Oregon to visit the University
of Oregon’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. Not only had I gotten to see an
amazing oriental artwork exhibit, but it had also given me the bug to see the
rest of my country. That’s when I’d started babysitting the kids in the
neighborhood, saving money away. I hadn’t mentioned it to my parents, knowing
they would completely flip out. By the time I’d graduated college with a fine
arts degree, I’d had the money I needed to make my dream a reality.
Reaching over to the passenger seat, I
grabbed the canvas tote I’d picked up in New Orleans at a street fair. The
thing was massive, which was perfect for me, since I carried my camera
everywhere I went, along with multiple film canisters. It also had the usual in
it: purse, lip gloss, pepper spray…
Hey, a girl had to protect herself in
this day and age.
I locked the door of my blue Ford
Taurus, my going away gift from my dad. I made a mental note to find a payphone
and call home today, let them know where I was up to on my travels, get an
update on Joey’s wife, Ceilia, and if she’d had the baby yet—their third. Maybe
they could even send me a picture since I was going to be here for a couple of
weeks.
Hefting my bag up onto my shoulder, I
turned and surveyed my options. I had two objectives for the rest of the day.
One, find a place to stay. Two, find a temp job. Squinting through the
afternoon glare falling along Main Road, aptly named since it was basically the
only road and was just an offshoot from Route 200, I took in my surroundings.
All of the stores and entertainment River Falls had to offer faced off along
the road for about five hundred yards, brick and glass fronts with awnings in
various shapes and colors that flapped in the breeze. From here I could see the
hardware store, the post office, and a diner on the corner. Excellent, the
local gossip center; if anyone knew where there were jobs available, the owner
of that establishment likely would.
After pulling my camera from my bag, I
fiddled with the settings and then snapped a few pictures of the main road and
the sun hovering over the mountain ranges in the background. Sometimes I could
sell the pictures to the town, or even get commissioned work. It had only
happened a couple of times, but I never forgot it was an option. Tucking it back
away, I checked the street for cars, though I didn't really need to bother.
Unlike where I grew up in Seattle, there was no real traffic and the one truck
lumbering toward town in the distance didn't count. My eyes rolled at how quiet
it was as I headed for the diner.
“Broken Down” by Paige Taylor- EXCERPT
My doorbell rang, and I had to take a
few steadying breaths. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, the kind that you
got on a first date, as I approached the door. Opening it, I found something
that made my heart melt. He had cleaned himself up. In front of me stood not
the usual greased up, mechanic Mason, but a cleaned up, sharp version of Mason.
He had an off-white button-up, short-sleeve shirt with his blue jeans on.
Simple, but God did he look good. His normally pulled-back hair was down, the
ends just resting on his shoulders, messy enough that he looked like he’d just
come from a Calvin Klein shoot rather than straight out of bed. Seeing his hair
down made everything in me tighten, and I had to force myself not to squeeze my
legs together to ease the ache. God, I just wanted to run my hands through it
and pull his lips to mine. He smirked, a very self-satisfied smirk, and it was
enough to break my heavy-lidded gaze.
“Hi,” I croaked, my mouth totally dry.
If he was going to be a tease, so could I. I ran my red nails from my neck,
down the side of my breast, over my little waist and then briefly over my ass.
“Hi back, ready to leave for work?” he
asked. His voice trailing off toward the end as he watched the path of my nails
over my body.
“Absolutely,” I replied as I bent down
to grab my handbag from the floor. He beat me to it, picking it up for me, and
gestured me forward, as if him carrying a handbag was just a regular
occurrence.
I could feel eyes on my ass as I
locked my door. Putting a little more sway in my hips, I headed toward the F150
parked in front of my house. Don’t ever underestimate the value of body
language, as my mother always said. A small head popped up from a car seat in
the back, her arms tangling in her hair as she tried to put it up into piggy
tails. I held in a laugh as I saw the lopsided final product; so freaking cute.
A little girl with blonde hair and lopsided piggy tails, my heart just about
died. Opening Jordan’s door, I caught sight of the playground she’d turned the
back seat into. Toys, scrunchies, clothes, and dolls filled the back seat.
“Hello, Jordan, did you want piggy
tails today?” I asked sweetly.
“Hi, Miss Torvel! Well, daddy put my
hair in a ponytail, but I didn’t like it, so I changed it,” she explained, her
small hands coming up to play with the hair sitting lopsided on her shoulders.
“Ah well, if you would like, I’d like
to do them for you, just so they are extra pretty,” I suggested, waiting for
her to decide if she wanted my help.
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