Storm Ryder

By Jennifer Castro

A young woman who is trying to get her life together and move on after the loss of her father finds herself in a whirlwind romance set to last one week with the towns ultimate playboy and to make matters worse she falls in love her once simple life now becomes very complicated and she has to fight against the love she has for him and against the complications men like him bring to reclaim her once simple life

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796035537

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Copyright © 2019 by Jennifer Castro.

Library of Congress Control Number:    2019942643

ISBN:                  Hardcover                        978-1-7960-3276-5

                            Softcover                           978-1-7960-3275-8

                            eBook                                978-1-7960-3553-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 05/22/2019

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Ellieanna Santiago lives on the edge of the woods in a place called Death Valley. Not many people live there because of the name legend has it that a merciless king buried all the victims of a massacre he ordered in this valley. If you ask her it’s the living you should fear not the dead her father felt the same way. When she was 4 years old her mother died in a tragic car accident and her father packed them up and moved here. He passed 5 months ago after a 6 year battle with cancer and now she lived alone in this small home he built for them. It is a one story building with a kitchen, a dining room, a living room with a fire place, and two bedrooms that line the rear hallway of the home the back door leads to the backyard which is fenced in where she has a garden and an old wooden swing her father put there for her. When her emotions got the best of her and she misses him she would sit there and sometimes it made her feel better closer to him and not so alone, then there are other times when she would have to go to the other loves her father instilled in her, music and poetry. She is a private person so she had only a few friends a widow Lillian Summers who moved in next door last year, her employee Angela Vasquez who lives in town and Emma an elderly woman who knew her mother and had been her midwife when they lived in Canada and never lost contact with her father and her she came to see them from time to time but last time she saw her was at her father’s funeral she had told her if she ever needed to get away she was welcome in her home in Canada. They were not Canadian but they lived there where her father had taught at a private University. She owns a classy hair salon in town that has 3 employees Angela and 2 other girls Marry and Rebecca her salon is the only one in town so business is booming now that the town has started to grow with the prospect of fertile land and beautiful women who have come to town some who were widowed or women who wanted a small town life away from big cities, or young girls who were now becoming women who’s daddy’s drug them here much as her dad did with her, the guys in town where all nice boys but that was the problem boys all the women in town wanted nice men. She was happy with her all by-myself status better alone than in bad company.

One cool October morning I woke up at 5:00am much like I did every morning I took a warm shower got dressed for work, suddenly I felt that eerie feeling that I was being watched I turned around looked out my bedroom window and was shocked to see the outline of a man mounted on a massive horse. I was frozen in place I could not even move my heart was pounding wildly. The man kicked the horse on his sides and the massive animal took off towards the rising sun without looking back, as if all the feeling had hit me at once I ran to my window and drew the curtain shut. My heart continued to beat as if it would break out of my chest I didn’t know what to think or how to feel.

What is wrong with you today Angela asked when the bell for the door rang for a delivery and I jumped for the third time. Nothing I lied.

Please she said in that sassy tone of voice as she signed for the delivery you came in looking as pale as a ghost and your brown by the way you haven’t been able to focus and you are as jumpy as ever what is going on with you today.

It’s probably just that I’m still not sleeping well.

Do you need to go home and rest? She asked.

No I will be fine. She continued to lecture me about taking better care of myself for at least the next 20 minutes Marry and Rebecca were not in today and normally I would have been upset but after that morning I was glad it was just Angela and I. At exactly 12:00 the bell rang I assumed it was Miss Bell a perky 16 year old who came in every week around that time, sit and I will be with you in a minute sweetie I said without turning around Angela went out to get lunch she can do your eyebrows when she gets back the entire salon filled with the most sweet sounding baritone voice that chuckled and responded saying that it was quite all right and all he wanted was a trim I spun around to look at who had spoken sitting in my chair was the most gorgeous man I had ever laid eyes on I walked slowly to the chair I’m so sorry I thought you were someone else

That’s alright he said flashing me an ultra-sexy smile with his gleaming green eyes playing havoc on my senses.

I guess I should be the one apologizing to you.

For what I said wondering what on earth he had to apologize to me for.

For startling you now and also earlier.

Earlier I asked

Yes I was riding my horse Storm thru Death Valley and came across a house near the edge of the woods and was admiring the skill it must have took to build

That was you I interrupted my temperature began to rise

I’m sorry he said

You scared me half to death.

Look I really didn’t mean to do that

Well you shouldn’t be staring through people’s windows

Oh come on I was on the hill looking at the house

"Yeah my house.

Okay okay I’m sorry let me make it up to you.

How? I said in a cold tone.

Dinner tonight the Brilliant Star.

Sure and you can pull that off it takes months to get a reservation in that place.

I eat there every Friday the owner is a good friend of mine almost like brothers.

Of course well my answer in no.

Oh why?

Why why I have no clue who you are.

Ryder Cross, Angela’s voice said from the door way.

He gave me a wicked smile hello Angel he said.

Hi she responded Ellie this is Ryder Beth’s oldest son

What about River?

He is the second oldest.

Alright now that you have my family tree will you reconsider letting me take you to dinner at the star it is a beautiful place Ellie say yes.

How do you know my name, and how did you know that I owned the salon and, that that was my house? I asked almost slicing him with every question.

I asked my mom.

How come I have never seen you before?

Well I lived in town and you live in Death Valley and your father home schooled you so you never went to school in town and I doubt we ran in the same circle of friends.

Let me guess Beth told you that too.

Yes he responded. All the while that little voice in my head was saying do it he’s gorgeous what have you got to lose. My heart was saying your virginity, that I’m happy alone status. Look I’m sorry that’s really sweet but,

I’m not taking no for an answer he interrupted I will pick you up at 6:30 at your place and dress to impress princess see you later he said as he stood and walked out when he shut the door I remembered he did not get a trim that was an excuse to walk in and practically force me to go to dinner with him. Who does he think he is I burst out. Angela laughter filled the salon. What is so funny?

You have got a lot to learn about the Cross’s.

What do you mean?

They are the town’s golden family no one says no to them and what the Cross men want they get and right now the Storm Ryder wants you.

Storm Ryder really again Angela laughed.

I stood in front of the full length mirror in my room staring at my reflection wondering what I was doing and how I let the most beautiful man I had ever seen talk me in to this. I was half tempted to put on my pajamas and hide but the man seemed to know an awful lot about me including where I worked, but who I was kidding I was attracted to the Storm Ryder which was what everyone called him. The man stood 6ft3in with a massive wave of curly hair that flowed around his shoulders, green eyes and, a smooth creamy coco complexion he was the kind of man woman fantasied about in their dreams and here I was going to one of the most exclusive restaurants in town with him and I was thinking about hiding. I took one final look at the outfit I was wearing a short black dress with a diamond studded neckline, silver heels that sparkled and long diamond earrings with a matching bracelet, my hair was in a very elaborate and classy