Losing Control (36 page)

“You’re welcome. Like I said, I’ve enjoyed getting to know you, and my kids love you. I’m excited to see how far you go.”

Jagger sat with Layne and Drew laughing over Drew explaining the attributes of a young girl in his class. Apparently, he had taken to noticing the things that became important as boys grew into young men.

“Layne,” Steele cut into their conversation. “There was a call for you on the club answering machine. It came from Calabasas, California.”

Layne stilled and he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. “Was it a woman?” he asked, getting up, grimacing as he put too much weight on his leg.

“It was. She said she was looking for you and mentioned something about Nashville.”

Layne cursed softly. “If y’all will excuse me, I gotta go check this,” he indicated a message he had on his cell.

“If you need something, let us know,” Jagger offered. There was only one person he knew that Layne knew lived in California. Almost sounded like Jessica was coming to Nashville, and he wasn’t sure how Layne would handle that.

“Will do,” Layne said as he pushed some buttons on his phone and walked out of the clubhouse.

“Who does he know in California?” Rooster asked, having a seat at the table.

“Dude, if I told you, you wouldn’t even believe me.”

An hour later, Bianca sat opening the gifts that had been given to her. Some were funny, like the one she got from Steele that was a shirt that said ‘Damn, I wish I had a teacher that looked like you’. Others were thoughtful, like the gift from Meredith and Tyler, a gift card to a local teacher store for more money than she cared to admit. Meredith had told her that she knew setting up a classroom was expensive and they wanted to do their part to help her.

Tears had been shared because the gift was so thoughtful, and then Denise and Liam had left in a flurry as her water broke while she and Meredith were hugging. Bianca hadn’t been sure they shouldn’t all pack up and head to the hospital, but everyone assured her they should hold off for at least an hour and she should continue to open her gifts.

There was one left and she grinned as she saw the writing on the card. This one was from Jagger. “Read it,” he told her, his eyes leveling on hers.

Inside the card was a coupon, good for one session of sex playing good teacher, bad student. She laughed, her face burning a bright red. “Seriously?” she questioned him.

He winked. “You can use that if you want, but it’s not your real gift. I just wanted to see you blush. This is your real gift.” He lifted a large box from behind his seat. “There’s a couple things in there, so be careful.”

She nodded and ripped open the paper and box. On top was a velvet box from a local jewelry store. It wasn’t small enough to be a ring, but that didn’t matter. They hadn’t talked about that, yet she was very interested in what sat inside. Carefully opening the box, she saw a Pandora bracelet with a few charms already on it. “Jagger, it’s beautiful,” she told him, fingering the charms. There was one that was an apple, she assumed for a teacher, a music note, she assumed for their shared love of him singing, and then there was one of an infinity symbol, she hoped to symbolize their commitment to one another.

“Keep going,” he told her.

Pulling out a couple of shirts, she marveled at his ability to know things that she would like. One even read ‘Property of Jagger’ on it. Everyone laughed as she pulled that one out and showed it. The box had been very heavy though, and she had to wonder what was making it so heavy. Pushing aside the tissue paper, she saw smooth black leather.

“Jagger?” she questioned as she looked up, catching his eye.

“Look at it,” he instructed her.

With shaking hands, she pulled the feminine cut jacket out of the box, her eyes immediately going to the patch that did in fact proclaim her Jagger’s property. It also told of her affiliation with them, but all she cared about was that patch. That was as big as an engagement ring in this world. “Are you sure?”

“I’d be honored if you wore it,” he told her, stepping forward and helping her put it on.

It fit like a dream, and she breathed in the smell of Jagger and leather, putting her hands around his waist. “I’d be honored to wear it,” she told him, pulling his lips to hers.

“Welcome to the family then.” Tyler clapped his hands, and whistles rang up as they stood there wrapped in one another.

He pulled away and she buried her head in his chest. Her story really had come full circle. Gone was the fear and indecision of not believing in herself. With this group of people she had come to know herself more than she ever had, and with that, she realized how out of control she’d felt about her life before. It was still there. But this time she welcomed it. Sometimes being out of control brought you to the most beautiful place ever.

T
HE
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About the Author

Laramie Briscoe is the author of the Amazon Best-Selling Heaven Hill Series.

Her grandmother sparked a love of reading when she secretly passed along her romance novels after completing them. That love of reading sparked a love of writing.

An avid TV and movie enthusiast, a nail polish hoarder, Starbucks addict, an obsessive book reader, and a lover of all things that sparkle and glitter. She lives in South Central Kentucky with her husband and her cat. She is currently writing and editing the millions of stories that roll around in her head on a day-to-day basis.

Follow along with her as she tries to make all her dreams come true!

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Acknowledgements

The fans of the Heaven Hill Series amaze me every day with how excited they are for anything that I do. If it weren’t for every single one of you, I would not be here! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Allison Jewell – We have known each other over half our lives and there is no one else I would rather be on this journey with. Thank you for listening to every single one of my worries, fears, stresses, and freak outs. Thank you for sharing in every single one of my accomplishments, excitements, and victories. I’ll always be grateful that we met on that snowy January afternoon for coffee. Seems like forever ago huh?

My family – My husband is amazing and my biggest supporter. I’m so thankful to have in my life. My sister-in-law never ceases to amaze me with the way she pimps me out and how excited she gets. I hope it always stays like that!

My friends – Thank you all for being so excited for me and supporting me, I can’t tell you how much it means to me.

Shellie – Thank you for convincing me that this was worth it when I was really second guessing it!

Lindsay, Kari, Sherri, and Paul – Thank you so much for helping me bring these books to the masses! I couldn’t do it without you and to be honest, I don’t want to!

Fellow authors – KIW & Cover to Cover. Thank you so much for teaching me, listening to me, and including me in these amazing groups. I wouldn’t be where I am without you all. I look forward to forming more friendships!

Thank you all for allowing and encouraging me to do what I love!

(Coming early 2014)

Heaven Hill #4

Chapter One

N
ashville traffic sucked a big one – especially when it kept Layne O’Conner from getting to the one person in the world who had the power to make him drive seventy miles without questioning why. His hands beat a rhythm against the steering wheel in time with the rock station he listened to. Today, the music that normally calmed him down, set his nerves on edge.

“Move your ass,” he shouted as the person in front of him tapped their brakes. It was times like this, he wished he could always drive his motorcycle. If he had been on the back of it right now, he could have maneuvered through this mess in ten minutes flat. Instead, he had been sitting in almost gridlock for over an hour. He’d also been flipped off more times than he cared to count, what he wouldn’t give to show these drivers the kind of artillery he carried with him. Probably one of the reasons he
shouldn’t
carry his artillery with him.

A trip that should have taken an hour and a half at most – was well into its second hour. Cursing loudly, he picked up the phone that sat in his cup holder and dialed Jessica Shea’s number. The fact that she was on his speed dial was telling considering the only two other people on his speed dial were Liam and Jagger. He refused to look deeper into that as he waited on the ringing of his phone.

“Hey,” he forged ahead when she answered. “I haven’t forgotten you. This traffic is a mother fucking mess. I’m tryin’ to get there, but there’s a shit ton of Sunday drivers,” he yelled for good measure.

“I know,” her voice was soft on the other end. “I figured you were on your way.”

“You’re okay, right?” He had to ask her because something didn’t sit right with him. They were friends, great friends, but not friends in the way that you just show up at each other’s home. In the past when they had gone to see each other, it was planned for weeks in advance. He’d had hours this time. His intuition and instincts were on high alert.

The silence was deafening. “I’ve been better, but I’ll be fine until you get here. I’ll just find a place to sit. Let me know when you’re close.”

A harsh laugh escaped from his mouth. “I’ve been close for over an hour, but this damn traffic won’t move,” he honked his horn and disconnected, throwing the phone back into the cup holder.

Traffic made him twitchy. In his time in the Army, with the Rangers, he had seen more than one roadside bomb on a highway as congested as this. Another reason he loved his bike, he wouldn’t on this congested road if he was on the bike of that thing. He would have easily taken the emergency lane and gotten to his destination. Finally inching up so that he could see the exit he needed to take, he noticed there in fact was an emergency lane. Using his training from the military to his advantage, he looked behind him, noting there was just enough room for him to back up. Throwing it in reverse, he jerked the wheel hard, ignoring the horns honking at him and then maneuvered the front end of the car so that he had enough room to jockey it out of line. Clear of the car in front of him and the car behind him, he checked his rearview to make sure no cops were around. Once he saw he was in the clear, he used the Dodge Charger (thank you Uncle Sam for your disability compensation when medically discharged honorably) to its full capability, blowing past the line of vehicles.

Now on a clear stretch of road, he could breathe easier. The hair on nape of his neck didn’t stand on end, his palms weren’t sweaty, his stomach not rolling with awareness. He took a deep breath as he eased his foot off the accelerator. He didn’t need to get a ticket – not after everything he’d already gone through to get to the airport. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he saw his destination and picked up the phone, once again calling Jessica.