The Bird Day Battalion

By Genevieve Dewey

The Bird Day Battalion is a short, sweet and sexy little Thanksgiving story. Meet Katelyn Anderson, a play by the rules, temporarily out of work archaeologist desperate to pull off the perfect Thanksgiving dinner for her family. Enter Dominic Valentini, her oldest friend and former neighbor, a take chances, take control, think outside the box kind of man. She needs his help. He just needs her.

This is a quick, hot and fluffy read served up free on a platter of gratitude to my readers for all your kind support. It's the usual blend of family shenanigans, love, and romance in a small uncomplicated dose. Enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Genevieve Dewey
• Release date: Oct 13, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301217410

Genevieve Dewey

Genevieve lives in Nebraska with her husband and three children. She has a Masters Degree in Anthropology and a passion for reading, writing, and research. Her favorite subjects are organized crime, anthropology and Chicago. She also loves designer shoes and guns.

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THE BIRD DAY BATTALION

By

Genevieve Dewey

Smashwords Edition

© 2012, 2014 by Genevieve Dewey.

All Rights Reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction; any resemblance to living persons is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

CHAPTER ONE

Katelyn Anderson tucked the stray bit of hair behind her ear for the tenth time then blew a frustrated breath out.

You can do this, Kate. No sweat, she muttered. You have a Master’s Degree, for crying out loud.

Of course, said diploma was currently doing nothing more than collecting dust over her cluttered desk, but that was beside the point. Surely cooking an entire Thanksgiving dinner by one’s self couldn’t be that hard. Her mother had done it for years with no problems, in her high heels! Unless her mom secretly had a changing room in the back of the kitchen like Clark Kent, she had never gotten covered in flour and grease and cranberry sauce as she cooked like Katelyn currently was.

She briefly amused herself picturing her Perfectly Put Together mother with a secret identity before another wave of panic hit her. She checked the cooking App one more time on her iPad and told herself – again – to ignore the comments section. She had been feeling moderately confident until she read all the supposedly well-intentioned advice to, in essence, completely ignore what the recipe said to do.

She had prepped the bird the night before just like the instructions indicated and stuck the beast in the oven. She had already prepared her rolls and cranberry dressing and pies. That left her with only two side dishes left to accomplish, along with regular basting of the bird, before her family arrived. She should really be feeling accomplished, if it weren’t for the fact she had forgotten the oysters for the creamed corn dish.

Maybe it wasn’t necessary, Katelyn thought, batting at the errant piece of hair again.

Except, everyone knew creamed corn with oysters was her father’s favorite Thanksgiving side dish next to giblet dressing, and she really didn’t want to disappoint him. The trouble was she couldn’t possibly make it to the store, if they were even open, and get back in time to baste the bird. Maybe it wasn’t totally necessary to baste at regular intervals, but she didn’t know for sure and, in general, Katelyn was in favor of following the rules. Then, of course, if it didn’t turn out right she could always say, ‘hey, not my fault, I followed the directions, blame it on the recipe’.

She paced back and forth, trying to find a way out of her dilemma without caving and calling one of her sisters. They had both laughed themselves silly at the idea of Katelyn attempting Turkey Day all on her own. Then they had pestered her with calls and emails and texts insisting they bring a side dish or dessert, since clearly, she wouldn’t be able to accomplish such a feat on her own. Even her brother, a workaholic cop with the Omaha Police had offered to help. Apparently, to the Anderson clan, not having managed to snag a man or gestate a fetus meant she was incapable of culinary success in their minds.

Well, I’ll show them, Katelyn muttered, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

It totally wouldn’t count as cheating if she called an old family friend for one teeny tiny little favor. She picked up her phone and texted Dominic:

I need you bring oysters! K

She had just realized she forgot the ‘to’ in her haste when it vibrated a reply:

Sounds kinky! Should I bring chocolate and strawberries as well? Dom

What? Katelyn wondered.

She could feel a flush coming on. It was possible it was just the heat of the room, but… The trouble with Dominic Valentini was Katelyn never knew when he was serious or joking even though they had known each other since they were in nappies. He had always been an incorrigible flirt with everything that