The First Day of Christmas

By Kassanna

A Trip for the Holidays. Martina "Marty" Partridge was traveling solo across Florida to meet up with her sisters for the New Year.
A little case of trespassing...
An unexpected car repair...
Fielding some unwanted and technically illegal advances...
This wasn't just a trip it was an adventure of epic proportions.
A man had to wonder...where did the woman come from? Dyson Arbre did more than just -
Keep Marty from getting gored...
Find her a mechanic...
Almost kill a man for putting his hands on her...
She was on his territory. It wasn't simply a case of helping her out. They were long past that.
Somehow he had to find a way to entice her to stay. Could he keep a woman who didn't want to be kept?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kassanna
• Release date: Dec 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463000328

Kassanna

Kassanna is a strong believer in love at first sight and happily ever afters. After meeting her husband in November and marrying him three months later in February the two have survived and mostly enjoyed every adventure life has thrown their way. Ten years, two children, a couple of dogs and a wild turkey that came out the woods and somehow adopted them - later- the adventure continues. Writing has always been her passion but fate sometimes has other roads that must first be taken . Navigating the road less traveled was not only unexpected but in the end extremely rewarding. Her books are mainly contemporary romance but she has delved into the paranormal and plans on expanding into other areas as the ideas come to her. Right now she is enjoying life and seeing her work come into fruition make it that much more pleasurable especially when her books make others smile. Kassanna wouldn't have it any other way.

Book preview

The First Day

of Christmas

BY

Kassanna

*****

Copyright © Dec 2019, Kassanna

Cover art by C.V.A Dwight Copyright © September 2018

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this novel are fictitious or used fictitiously. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

FlavorFullove Unlimited

Florida, USA

www.Flavorfullove.com

Chapter One

Marty spun around searching for anything slightly familiar. How the hell did she manage to come so deep into the woods? That damn butterfly, its large, vibrant yellow and blue wings were beautiful against the varying shades of brown in the weeds and trees that surrounded it. She automatically grabbed her camera and followed it, snapping pictures. Dropping her head, she sought the path she originally followed. Dappled sunlight illuminated spots on the pine needles and leaves that littered the ground. Gone was the crushed stone path she’d taken previously. An aggravated sigh escaped through her lips. The damn insect fluttered away, and she was stuck in the middle of nowhere. A stem with violet petals caught her eye. Temporarily forgetting her predicament, she lifted her camera and adjusted the focus concentrating on the lone wildflower growing up through the heap of scrub.

Low grunts drifted on the light breeze. Marty cocked her head toward the sound. Curious she moved in the direction of the noise. Dead foliage crunched under her sneakers as she walked. Her grip tightened on her camera and the bag she wore strapped across her body bumped her hip. The thicket opened up into a clearing with sparse pine trees stretching into the sky. The sun hadn’t quite reached its zenith, yet the heat was still oppressive. Winter was not meant to be so damn hot. Christmas was a little more than a month away for heaven’s sake. She used the back of her hand to wipe the sweat off her neck.

Movement caught her attention. Marty raised her head, in the trees above her a man was waving his arms over his head. How the hell was this guy levitating? Oh shit! This wasn’t possible! He was well over six foot off the ground. She squinted to see better. It looked like he was clutching a bow. Ah hell, was she in the middle of that zombie movie set? No fucking way! Her first instinct was to lift her camera and get a few pictures because nobody was going to believe this. Another fella smaller in stature rose up next to the first guy. Big dogs, bearing their teeth appeared between the legs of the men. Her heart stopped. This wasn’t so much a movie set she’d invaded. It was more like she’d crossed into, some in-bred, back country, family territory. Chords of banjo music resounded in her head. She gripped her camera and clicks filled the air around her as the camera went off.

What a way to spend her holiday. Running for her life would be wise, only her feet wouldn’t move. Standing in place wasn’t going to get her out of there. Mentally, she yelled at the body parts to get going.

Go! Someone yelled.

The dogs leapt, flying through the air. Their ears flapping and their maws ballooned to expose sharp teeth. Oh shit. Folks appeared around her, emerging from the trees, just as high up as the first guy. She was going to die in some hick ass, lost town that probably didn’t exist anymore, and only Ollie her cat would mourn her disappearance. Scratch that, Ollie would be pissed because he would starve. Funny the shit the spurned a person to move. She spun on her heel and sprinted in the direction she’d come from. Ollie was counting on her to feed him.

Run for the truck lady! a deep baritone voice bellowed.

No way in hell was she twisting around to find out who was yelling. That’s how people died. She wasn’t falling for it, dammit, she’d seen more than a few true crime television shows. The truck was a trap. Marty dodged branches, her bare arms getting scratched as she squeezed between bushes. A dog howled in the background followed by yelps as if the animals were communicating with each other. Heavy thuds sounded behind her; they were getting closer. She slipped on moist leaves and skidded across the damp ground; mud coated her jean covered thighs. Her hands sunk into muck as she pushed up.

Growling, and deep squeals alternated behind her. Her biceps burned as she strained to get free of the sludge. A hand, larger than hers wrapped around her wrist and yanked. She gazed up into the dark eyes of a young man that couldn’t have been more than sixteen or seventeen.

"Seriously, when my brother says run for the truck – you run for the damn truck." He gripped her bag strap and shoved her in front of him.

She was going to die. Marty swung around and dipped her head freeing herself of the bag. She scampered in the opposite direction.

The guy grabbed her by the elbow and twisted her around. This way if you don’t want to get gored. He jerked her his way and ran.

It was hard keeping up with him. Her shorter legs pumped harder to stay close. What the hell did he mean gored? The camera somehow twisted around her neck, strangling her as it thumped her back. Marty got ahead of the teen. She ducked to avoid a thick limb and dropped to her knees slipping under it.

The young man behind her grabbed her collar and snatched her up as he passed her. Keep up lady! He shook his head. Boars don’t give up easily. There was a big smile on his face.

Surreal wasn’t the word for whatever the hell was happening. The young man grinned like he was enjoying the run. Multiple vehicles loomed in front of them and to the right was a massive truck with tires that came to her hip. Huge dogs stalked around the fender; their muzzles pulled back to expose lengthy canines. She skidded to a stop and shuffled back.

Lettuce, Tomato…Go get your bacon. The first man she saw jumped from the truck bed. He raised a rifle and aimed it in her direction.

The dogs lunged her way.

Marty dropped into a crouch and covered her head with her arms. She shut her lids tight. Her life flashed before her eyes in black and white. Dear Lord, let me just say I am sorry for all and any wrongs I may have committed. Amen.

She was snatched up. Woman do you have a death wish? The guy with the gun snaked an arm around her waist and swung her around.

The dogs surrounded a large boar with tusks that curved up next to its snout. They snapped at its legs, backing off before attacking in a tag like formation. She turned her head, the young man that had run with her had the gun and lifted it