Dawn of Persuasion: Other Worlds Forever, #3

By E.L. Thorne

Kelsey Torrent has only loved one man Guilt pushed her away. Secrets kept her away.

She agreed to work for Mae, getting the new B & B ready for a big wedding. She did not agree to work with the man who broke her heart.

 

Bear shifter Teague Navarro has always been a one-woman kind of man. Why did Mae call him to work with the one woman he can't exchange a civil word with?

• Language: English
• Publisher: ELTH
• Release date: Jul 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201141318

Book preview

Chapter One

Kelsey

I flinched when the phone rang, disturbing the serenity of the salon, Forester Cuts.

Chelsea, a stylist and one of my friends, ran the brush over my locks, pushing the unruliness into submission, merging the highlights with the dark lowlights. She sprayed a light mist over her creation.

The scented spray filled my nostrils.

Astra, another friend, sat in the empty chair next to Chelsea’s station, waiting for me.

Chelsea, Mae, Astra, and I were going to lunch after Forester Cuts. Chelsea wanted to talk more about her wedding. Yes, she was getting married to her recently acquired boyfriend, Grant Waters.

I didn’t mind, even though weddings reminded me of what I didn’t have anymore. I had to admit, it was exciting to have a wedding at the grand reopening of the bed & breakfast Mae had recently acquired.

The bed & breakfast was the reason I was in Bear Canyon Valley. My mother and Mae were distant cousins, so when Mae needed someone to run the B&B, my unused degree in Hotel and Hospitality provided an answer.

It wasn’t as though I didn’t know what my mother was up to. She’d been plotting to get me to start a job, move away, and get a life, anything to keep me from being the shut-in I’d pretty much become over the last two years.

I’ll get my purse from the back, Chelsea said, and walked away.

The phone rang, this time not as alarming as the first time. Mae came out from the back and answered it. She spoke softly into the receiver then hung up the phone and turned toward me.

That’s the contractor I hired to redo the bed & breakfast. Mae clapped her hands together in glee, her pretty face lighting up. I want it to be phenomenal for the wedding. She turned toward Astra. Maybe a double wedding? What are you and Kane waiting for?

You’re kind of rushing it a bit. Astra laughed. We’re enjoying each other. Let Chelsea and Grant have theirs, okay?

Sure, okay, fine. There he is. She pointed. My new contractor.

A hunk of a gorgeous man, dark-haired, dark-eyed, tall and muscular, stepped out of a pickup and ran his fingers through his hair. Then he pulled a jacket off and surveyed the street.

Teague.

I gasped, paled.

No way. No. It couldn’t be.

I reached for the chair’s arm to brace myself. What the heck was Teague doing here?

Mae had an innocent look on her face, like she had no idea what could be going on. Was it possible Mae had no clue? Was my mother behind this? How…?

Ugh.

I couldn’t tear my eyes off of him. In two years, he hadn’t changed. Well, maybe he had. If it was possible, he was even sexier.

His shoulders were broader, his chest wider. His face was just as handsome, a predator in repose, always intent, always ready. He closed the truck door—the same pickup he’d had back when we were dating. The same truck in which we’d been intimate in the first time.

A slow heat started just below my navel and radiated throughout my body. I hoped my face wasn’t giving away the feelings I still had for him.

Darn it. Shouldn’t I be over him already? Shouldn’t he not matter?

Seeing him was like a mortal wound to my soul, stabbing, piercing, searing. I hadn’t imagined seeing him again would hurt this much.

I tried to breathe, but air didn’t travel all the way to my lungs, like it was stuck in my throat, blocked by the largest, driest lump ever.

Mae was talking, her lips were moving, but I couldn’t concentrate on what she was saying. I’d been sucked into a whirlpool of emotions. My heart was on a spin-dry cycle, and the stupid machine was in was stuck on high.

That was when I saw the look of recognition on Astra’s face.

You know him? I asked her.

She glanced at me. No. But then her expression turned guarded. Do you?

I think… I didn’t want to lie, but I didn’t want to tell the truth, either. So I settled somewhere in the middle, and turned toward Mae. And that is…?

Teague. He’s the contractor who’s going to be renovating the bed & breakfast.

The B&B that I was supposed to run. The B&B that I was at daily, redecorating. I took a deep breath.

Great.

As if feeling my gaze on him, or maybe overhearing our conversation, Teague snapped his head toward the salon. His eyes narrowed, like he was trying to look inside the tinted windows. Or maybe he could see through them.

I knew that, as a shifter, he had supernatural vision. Maybe he could see me and was angry about my being here.

Screw him and his shifter ways, and his heartbreaking love.

Mae stepped out from behind the counter. I’ll bring him here and introduce him.

Ah…um… I wanted to come up with a reason to back out but had no idea what to say.

It didn’t matter, anyway; Mae was out the door and halfway across the street, waving for Teague, before I could put a thought or an objection together.

Are you okay? Astra put her hand on my arm. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.

I gulped some air down. I’m fine.

Chapter Two

Teague

A sensation pricked at my nerve endings. My sensors were working overtime.

Teague. Mae headed across the street, waving for me. She reached me and wrapped her arms around my waist, looking up at me. Glad you could make it. Thank you.

I gave her a hug in return. I’m hoping now you can tell me why it was me who had to come up here—thousands of miles to do a job. Is Bear Canyon Valley short on contractors? I wished my sensors would relax and quit sounding warnings.

It’s short on contractors like you. Mae’s smile was innocent.

Like me? I raised a brow. What did that mean, exactly?

She pulled away from the hug but wrapped her fingers around my wrist and tugged gently. Let’s go meet some of my friends. You’ll be working with one of them. We’re going to lunch. Want to join us?

We crossed the street, the sun brilliant above, not a cloud in the sky, the mountains a panoramic display around us.

I forgot how beautiful the valley is this time of year. Though I did enjoy my home in New Mexico, I relished the beauty of the valley.

How long has it been since you were here?

"A while. I couldn’t come for the cleanup you needed a while back. I’m sure it wasn’t