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Authors: Deborah MacGillivray
Riding the Thunder
RAVE REVIEWS FOR
DEBORAH MacGILLIVRAY'S
THE INVASION OF FALGANNON ISLE
!
“What makes MacGillivray's romance so special are the eccentric characters, right down to the cat, and Desmond and B.A.'s growing relationship.”
âBooklist
“This is an entertaining, humorous and heartwarming tale of love, friendship and a bit of magic. The hero's struggle to make peace with his past and the heroine's determination to help him are nicely depicted. The secondary characters are great fun, especially The Cat Dudley, and the peek into the lives of the main character's siblings whets the appetite for their stories.”
âRT BOOKreviews
“In a word, âPerfection!'”
âHuntress Reviews
“
The Invasion of Falgannon Isle
is a masterful tale woven by an incredibly talented author. The juxtaposition of the modern day intrusions with the timelessness of Falgannon Isle creates a world readers will want to visit, over and over again.”
âCK's Kwips & Kritiques
“Ms. MacGillivray creates characters that seemed so alive that I almost believed Falgannon Isle really exists. If it did, I would really love to move there!
The Invasion of Falgannon Isle
is one of my best reads for 2006âit has many laugh-out-loud moments, wonderful characters, a hint of the paranormal, and a great romance.”
âMystique Books
THE COMING STORM
The soft breeze ruffled his wavy black hair and caused his silk shirt to ripple. He'd unbuttoned it half-way down his chest and had no T-shirt underneath. One long leg was stretched out before him; the other was cocked against the low creek-stone wall for bal-ance. Jago Fitzgerald was waitingâwaiting with that stillness inherent to all of nature's nocturnal hunters. Men like this were quite treacherous to females. They sensed small changes in a woman's body, reaction to the lethal peril they posed. The pounding of her heart, the rapid short breaths. Andâdamn itâthe tightening of her breasts.
Fortunately, Asha's black sweater hid that reaction from this arrogant man in the darkness. It was her little secret. A woman needed every advantage in dealing with a male like Jago Fitzgerald, for she had the unshakable sense Netta was right.
He was waiting for
her
.
Other
Love Spell
books by Deborah MacGillivray:
THE INVASION OF FALGANNON ISLE
DEBORAH
M
AC
GILLIVRAY
Dorchester
Publishing
DORCHESTER PUBLISHING
Published by
Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.
200 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Copyright © 2007 by Deborah MacGillivray
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Trade ISBN: 978-1-4285-1769-1
E-book ISBN: 978-1-4285-0394-6
First Dorchester Publishing, Co., Inc. edition: October 2007
The “DP” logo is the property of Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.
Printed in the United States of America.
Visit us online at
www.dorchesterpub.com.
For Monika Wolmarans, Leanne Burroughs,
Dawn Thompson, Diane White, Carol Ann Applegate
Sandi
and
Bobby “Boris” Pickett
Riding The Thunder
ROLOGUE
June 1964, Kentucky
“I
don't
believe you want to marry me!” Laura cried.
Not crocodile tears either, Tommy Grant knew. Laura Valmont felt things more deeply than most people, one of the special traits that first attracted him to her.
She had just moved to the small Southern town of Leesburg, Kentucky, when he first laid eyes on Laura. Not there one day, she'd taken on three bullies cruelly tormenting a stray cat. Fifteen, womanhood blooming on her body, she failed to recognize the peril she'd stepped into on that hot summer afternoon. With singular determination, and wearing the aura of a warrior princess, she had placed herself between the mangy cat and the older thugsâMonty, Reed and Ewen.
They were dangerous,
not typical bullies
, but out-of-control, budding psychosâespecially Monty. There was something seriously
wrong
with Montague Faulkner. Raging hormones saw the situation as combustible as tossing a lit match into gasoline. Tommy doubted Laura noticed all
three had serious hard-ons as they watched her, almost licking their lips. It wouldn't have slowed her down. Her sole focus was on rescuing that piteous cat.
At nineteen, Tommy was a shade taller than the younger Reed and Ewen, but not Monty. Monty had three inches and a few pounds on him. Nevertheless, the punk stepped back when Tommy moved before Laura, shielding her. Monty was a bully, and like all bullies a coward at his core. Once you crossed him, there would be trouble down the road. Tommy would have to watch his back. There'd be hell to payâone didn't clash with Montague Faulkner and not expect to find his tires slashed or his windshield shot out.
Or worse
.
Tommy had asked drolly, “Is there a problem here?” The steel of his words had instantly diffused the volatile situation.
It never occurred to Tommy until much later that with her act of rescuing the cat, and his rescuing her, their lives had changed in a single heartbeat. He might've as well gone down on his knee and proposed then and there.
The die was cast
, as the old-timers loved to say.
During the following two years, she'd made his life hell. In the small town of Leesburg there was no escaping Laura. Anytime she caught him on a date, she'd stared until he had this strange fear his balls would shrivel and drop off. She'd buzzed around his home, brought flowers for his widowed mother, and aided in planning tea parties and summer barbecues. His mother wore a knowing female smile saying,
bide your time, son, you're already hers
.
At first, he'd fought the inevitability. What red-blooded, twenty-year-old male wanted a wide-eyed teenager mooning around him, even if that sweet seventeen-year-old had a pair of world-class breasts and an ass that made him swallow his tongue? Heaven to look at, she was a severe pain in the groin and numerous cold showers to get over. Seventeen still had that sign:
Look but don't touch.
Sane males ran for their lives. He ran. Only, Laura had made up her mind. He never stood a chance.
Last summer when she turned eighteen, she'd come at him, no-holds-barred. In short order, everyone in the jerkwater town knew they were a couple and would marry soon. It was only a matter of setting a date.
Precisely what now had Laura in a tizzy. She had graduated Leesburg High back in the spring. With no intention of going to college, she wanted to get married, and next week wouldn't be soon enough. A year seemed a lifetime away to her.
“Damn it, Laura, I want to get married, too. I have one more year of law schoolâwhich you know well. What? You want to marry and move in with my mother and uncle? That'd be fun. I can't swing it, honey. Let me graduate. My uncle will take me into his practice then.” He explained the factsâas he had weekly since her graduation. “My part-time clerking isn't enough for us to live on.”
“Maybe your uncle would help us if we got marriedâ”
Tommy gritted his teeth. This broken record of explanations was getting him nowhere. Sighing, he repeated it all once more, hoping he would
finally
get through to her. “My uncle barely has enough to keep his law practice going. Leesburg isn't the richest place for an attorney. Poor man has spent his life taking care of my mother and me after dad died. He just doesn't have the money, Laura. I
can't
ask him.”
“But he gave you this new car for your birthday, Tommy.”
She referred to his fire-engine red Ford Mustang. One of the first made, Ford was so high on the car that they jumped the gun and released it weeks ago instead of waiting for the mid-September rollout of new '65 year cars, calling it the '64½ model.
“My Chevy was falling apart. He was ticked he had to cancel appointments three times to come pick me up because of it breaking down.” Tommy pleaded quietly, “Please, be reasonable. You know we'll marry this time next year. You can be a June bride. A
beautiful
June bride.” He squeezed her hand and glanced over at her, love filling his heart.
“Oh, Tommy, my dad is being transferred out of state.
They're moving next month. Mom broke the news to me last night,” she choked out.
“What?” Tommy took his eyes off the road, unable to believe she was serious. He had to swerve the steering wheel back when the car accidentally crossed the centerline. Traffic on Leesburg Pike was dangerous. They promised the newly opened I-64 would someday help the situation; however, since construction remained mostly in unconnected pieces, heavy trucking traffic still came flying down the pike at a breakneck speed. An oncoming trucker gave Tommy a blast of his horn and then held up his middle finger.
“They said if we don't get married . . . I have to go with them.” Laura sat stiff and pale in her seat. “To Texas.”
Rattled, Tommy failed to notice the black pickup bearing down on themâuntil it banged the rear bumper. Damn! His Mustang was only weeks old and already a dent in the rear end. Tommy could see his insurance rates going sky-high. What he didn't needâanother expense. He was saving for an engagement ringâLaura's Christmas present.