Tackled by the Girl Next Door

By Susan Scott Shelley and Veronica Forand

Jason Black is a newly retired professional football player. Forced off the playing field due to an injury, he returns to his hometown to contemplate his future and finds solace in his relationship with his best friend, Samantha O’Brien. Sam has spent the past five years caring for her younger brother. Home from college for Thanksgiving break, he parties hard and bullies his sister. When Jason comes to her defense, protecting her from a crowd of drunken college kids, Sam begins seeing him as more than a friend. Yet, she fears acting on their attraction could ruin the friendship she’s grown to depend upon. Just one kiss changes everything for Jason. Sam is no longer the girl next door but the woman of his dreams. Now, he just has to convince her that his feelings are real. But when the football world comes calling again and career decisions are on the line, both sacrifice all to put the other’s needs first. They must decide whether to follow their hearts and make the catch of a lifetime.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
• Release date: Oct 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781628304565

Book preview

Inc.

Tackled

by the

Girl Next Door

by

Susan Scott Shelley and Veronica Forand

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Tackled by the Girl Next Door

COPYRIGHT © 2014 by Susan Scott Shelley and Veronica Forand

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Contact Information: [e-mail]

Cover Art by Kim Mendoza

The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

PO Box 708

Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

Publishing History

First Champagne Rose Edition, 2014

Digital ISBN 978-1-62830-456-5

Published in the United States of America

Dedications

For my husband, my forever hero.

Thank you for encouraging me to chase my dreams.

~Susan

~*~

For Jim, my husband and best friend.

Your passion and dedication to both work and family

is inspiring.

~Veronica

Chapter One

Saturday

Jacket collar turned up against the chill, Samantha O’Brien inhaled the crisp air and raked more leaves into the large pile by her side. Her brother’s chore, but with his friends lounging on her couch and sprawled over her rug, Kevin’s promise of later was as empty as the beer cans littering her kitchen table. His hostility toward her role as his guardian had only intensified since he’d gone away to college and begun to ignore every request she’d given him.

College kids had to blow off some steam after midterms, but only two weeks into being twenty-one, Kevin was overdoing it.

Music blaring from the open door competed with the voices of the four guys walking from the house and into the front yard.

Kevin swaggered toward her. Sam, I’ll be back in a few. I need to take a drive to the liquor store.

God, more alcohol? Lips briefly pressing together, Sam gripped the rake. You’re not in any condition to drive.

I’m fine. With keys dangling from his fingers, he lumbered closer. Three of his football teammates flanked his sides.

No way. She tossed the rake aside, snatched the keys, and stuffed them into her jacket’s inside pocket.

Hey, what the hell? Kevin’s hand reached for the keys, then formed a fist. Built like a linebacker, he towered over her—a large, imposing giant. He’d inherited her share of height along with his.

I said no. She craned her neck to keep their gazes connected.

His eyes narrowed. You can’t tell me what to do. I’m not a kid anymore. Hand ’em over.

Enough. She pointed toward the street. Party’s over. Everybody needs to walk home now.

You can’t kick my friends out of here.

I can, and I did. Heat spiked through her limbs and tightened her stomach. Being ten years older and the person who paid all the bills and Kevin’s tuition, she not only had the right, but the responsibility to shut the party down. After all, he was the only reason she’d abandoned her dream career at a wealth management firm in New York City, returned home, and settled for a job with the local accounting company.

Kevin wrapped his hand around her elbow. Give me my keys.

She jerked her arm away, and her nail scraped her neck. Damn it. Kev, back off.

A kid as tall and wide as a refrigerator stood at her back. Come on, Sam, lighten up.

She glared at him before she focused on her brother. "The keys are to my car, and you’re not allowed to drive it right now. Go inside and drink some water or coffee to sober up."

Large, meaty hands grabbed her arms from behind and manacled her wrists. Don’t be such a killjoy, sweetie.

She twisted against the iron grip. Her pulse pounded like a jackhammer in her chest. Go home, all of you.

Kevin grabbed her jacket. His knuckles whitened, and he tugged her toward him, knocking her off balance.

His aggression sent tremors up her spine. With adrenaline coursing through her system, she kicked out. Her knee connected with his thigh. "Get off me."

Let her go. A deep, rich baritone barked out the order. Large hands gripped the collar of Kevin’s coat and pulled him away.

Jason Black, Sam’s best friend and six feet four inches of chiseled perfection, filled her view, blocking her from Kevin, and facing down the goon holding her wrists. His leather jacket outlined shoulders as