Christmas with the Alpha

By Susan Horsnell

Marietta Forsythe is a well known and respected news reporter based in the outer western suburbs of Sydney, NSW. The Christmas season is approaching, and with it, her much anticipated wedding on New Year's Day. But something isn't right, and hasn't been for a long time, in her relationship with Ryder.

 

Three days before Christmas, Marietta does the only thing she can think of…she runs to where her heart has always belonged. To a place where she can heal.

Graham Donovan is a paramedic in charge of an ambulance response station located in Penrith, NSW. He and his partner, Parker, are a well know search and rescue team in the area.

 

When Marietta makes a rookie mistake, circumstances leave her life in grave danger in an almost inaccessible part of the Blue Mountains National Park. People who disappear into the forbidding landscape aren't often found alive, but luck is on her side when Graham and Parker, who are spending a few days in the area, get the call she is missing…They are no regular search and rescue team.

 

Can the young news reporter accept who the men really are, or are they in danger of having their identities revealed, crushing their lives and all those they love?

Will being forced to spend Christmas in a small cabin in the mountains have Marietta falling for the Alpha?

 

And what will put all their lives in danger?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lipstick Publishing
• Release date: Dec 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223928195

Susan Horsnell

I’m an Australian author who lives in Queensland when not travelling and I write in a variety of Romantic sub-genres, including Western,  Historical, Gay, Mafia, and Contemporary Romance.  I have published over 60 books and novellas, many of which feature strong, independent heroines and rugged, alpha male heroes. Some of my popular series include the Outback Australia series and The Carter Brothers series. My books are known for their well-researched historical details, vivid descriptions of the Australian landscape and real life experiences. My work has garnered praise from readers and critics alike, and I have been a Finalist in both the Rone Awards and Laramie Awards as well as being a multiple times International Bestselling Author and USA Today Bestselling Author. If you're interested in learning more about my books:  Linktree https://linktr.ee/SusanHorsnell   

Book preview

Contents:

Contents:

Copyright

Dedication

Information

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Epilogue

About the Author

No 1 Best Sellers in 2018:

Matt—Book 1 in The Carter Brothers Series

Clay—Book 3 in The Carter Brothers Series

No 1 Best Seller in February 2019

Andrew’s Outback Love—Book 1 in The Outback Australia Series

1 Best Seller in July 2019

Ruby’s Outback Love—Book 2 in The Outback Australia Series

No 1 Best Seller in May 2019

Eight Letters

Amazon Best Seller in April 2020

Cora: Bride of South Dakota

Christmas with the Alpha

Copyright

© 2023 by

USA Today Bestselling Author—

Susan Horsnell

The right of Susan Horsnell to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000

All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed, or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon, or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, or mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the author.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

Dedication

This one is for Leanne. I have no idea what I would do without you, beautiful lady.

Thank you for your love, your loyalty, and being a wonderful best friend who is more like a sister.

Love you x

Edited: Redline Editing

Proofread: Leanne Rogers

Published by: Lipstick Publishing

ABN: 573-575-99847

A lipstick and a heart Description automatically generated with medium confidence

Information

PLEASE NOTE: There is no such thing as a Search and Rescue Paramedic. The title is for the sake of the story.

The Blue Mountains National Park west of Sydney has several distinct areas.

Common to each are magnificent waterfalls, creeks, brooks, and streams, and landscape that is unique.

The place names in this story are real, business names are fiction.

The characters and situations are all fictional and a product of the author’s imagination.

Chapter One

A wolf and ornaments Description automatically generated

Marietta

We’ll now cross to Marietta Forsythe who is on the banks of the Nepean River where the body of missing man…Frederick Bowen has been found and is currently being recovered. Marietta, do we know yet if the man is a victim of foul play, or is this a tragic drowning?

Good evening, Felix. This is indeed a tragic situation for the family and all those involved in the search over the past two days. There were high hopes he would be found safe and it’s extremely sad that he has passed just two days before Christmas. I have spoken to a few of those involved and apart from being exhausted, they are distressed for Frederick’s family. At this time, the body has only been out of the water for about twenty minutes and the police officers I spoke with said it will be days, maybe weeks before the results of an autopsy are known. I have his eldest daughter, Cassandra, here with me and she has kindly agreed to a few words.

I turned towards the woman at my side and Hudson, manning the news camera, stepped back to allow her into the frame, adjusting the lens as he moved. I held the microphone towards her, keeping it at chest level so as not to be intrusive.

Cassandra…First of all, I am so very sorry for your loss. I have heard your father was a much respected and loved man in the local community. Do you know why he would have come to the river?

Cassandra pointed to a group of older homes around fifty metres away from where we stood. The house with the blue railing was where Mum and Dad lived for almost sixty years. As a family, we spent a lot of time swimming in the river here during the warmer months. Dad had advanced dementia so I think he may have been reliving his past. The current is running strong at the moment and he wouldn’t have had the strength to get himself back on land. I honestly believe this was nothing more than a tragic accident, and although I am devastated to lose a man I loved with all my heart, lately he had been increasingly unsettled and asking continually for Mum who died four years ago. I take a little comfort in knowing they are together again.

The middle-aged woman was clearly distressed so I didn’t push for further information.

Thank you, Cassandra. I’ll leave you to grieve your loss with your family.

Thank you, Marietta. And I would like to thank everyone involved in the search. Although the outcome wasn’t the one we’d hoped for, my family appreciates their efforts.

The woman crossed back to where her husband and two sons stood and I smiled when her husband gathered her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

Well, Felix, that looks like all I have for tonight…Marietta Forsythe for KBN News Sydney.

Thank you, Marietta and please thank Cassandra Grosvenor for speaking with us at such a distressing time.

I nodded and stood where I was for a moment as Hudson lowered the camera. I watched two of the search and rescue paramedics making their way back to an emergency vehicle. Their shoulders were slumped and it was clear they were unhappy the outcome hadn’t been the one they would have preferred.

The taller of the two men glanced my way and our eyes locked for barely a second but during that time, a strange sensation danced down my spine.

Even from this distance, I could see the man was mouthwateringly handsome and his eyes were the palest of silver. Almost white hair, threaded with brown and black strands was unusual and fell over his forehead in waves.

You done? Hudson asked, somewhat startling me and I spun to face him.

When I looked over my shoulder, the rescue paramedic was loading equipment into the truck some distance away.

Turning back, I handed the microphone to Hudson and he crouched down to where his equipment bag lay on the ground. He looked up from where he squatted, storing the camera and microphone safely away.

Coming for drinks at The Panther Bar? he inquired?

Not tonight. Ryder is working late at the hospital again so I’m going home to soak in a bath with a glass of wine and my book.

Okay, I’ll catch up with you at the studio tomorrow.

I bid farewell to Hudson and made my way to where my pride and joy, a deep blue Toyota Rav 4 AWD was parked. The car chirped and lights flashed when I hit the remote to unlock before sliding into the driver’s seat. I sat for a moment, looking over the scene of organised chaos. Police, rescue workers, locals involved in the search, and other television and news reporters stood around talking while paramedics wheeled a gurney containing the bagged body to a nearby ambulance for transportation to the morgue. I had no desire to join them. I was tired…mentally and physically.

I reflected on my relationship with Ryder as I drove towards home. Something was off and had been for almost six months. For a couple who were supposed to be marrying on New Year’s day, a mere eight days away, there seemed to no longer be any connection between the two of us.

I loved the man and had since my first year of high school when I’d tripped up the steps to the library. He had swooped in like a knight in shining armour to save me and my armfuls of books and I’d fallen for the handsome boy instantly. Now aged twenty-nine, with less than a couple of months separating us in age—I was older by seven weeks, we’d grown apart. Although Ryder insisted nothing was wrong when I questioned him, I could feel it to my very bones.

I zigzagged my way through a few streets before guiding the car onto the Great Western Highway. At six o’clock at night, negotiating the highway through the city of Penrith was a bloody nightmare. Eventually, I reached the intersection of the highway and Parker Street and turned onto the latter, heading for the property in Jordan Springs that I had purchased almost nine years earlier. For the past five years I had shared it with Ryder. Shortly after Parker Street became The Northern Road, I turned right into the welcoming estate and wound my way through the streets until I neared home.

I frowned at the sight of a red Hyundai sitting in the driveway, it was one I had never seen before, and I hoped we weren’t the victims of a burglary. I slowed and approached cautiously, reaching into the handbag on the seat at my side for the mobile phone so I was able to call the police if needed.

As I neared, the front door of my home opened and Ryder stepped outside. A tall woman followed wearing a very short dress and heels so high I wondered how she walked without falling and breaking her neck. I slowed my car and performed a U-turn, stopping a few houses away where I wouldn’t be seen. I watched in disbelief as Ryder turned the woman into his arms and appeared to devour her mouth.

Freezing in place, from shock or disbelief…maybe both, I sat like a stunned mullet and watched as Ryder, one hand on the woman’s backside, walked her to the red car. Once again, they attempted to devour each other’s mouths before she slid into the car, backed out of the driveway, and drove off. As her rear lights disappeared into the distance, anger rose.

I travelled the short distance along the street and pulled into the driveway, hitting the brake just in time to stop me from crashing through the garage door. I shoved the car into gear, killed the engine and climbed out. The sound of the door slamming echoed in the quiet of the evening like a clap of thunder descending.

The thought of locking the vehicle didn’t cross my mind because I knew my time at home would be brief. Long enough to rage fire and brimstone at my soon to be EX fiancé. The front door was unlocked, which was fortunate for Ryder. Had I needed to fish the keys from my handbag, where I’d tossed them after leaving the car, my temper would have reached nuclear levels.

Storming inside, I flung the door back, leaving it to crash against the wall.

Ryder, where the fuck are you?

My ex-fiancé appeared from the direction of our kitchen, wiping his hands on a tea towel with a grin plastered across his face.

Etta, I wasn’t expecting you before nine. He stepped towards me with his arms outstretched but stopped and dropped them to his sides when he noted the look on my face. What’s wrong, darling? Bad day?

I took a deep breath and spoke through gritted teeth. You have until the end of this weekend to get out. The look of disbelief on his face was almost comical. I’m sure your slut will be happy to welcome you into her home. I have one question…How long?

Etta…

Don’t fucking call me that name, I fucking hate it!

It’s not what you think?

Really, he was going to try that with me? I stomped down the hallway to our bedroom where I found our bed half made. Ryder hadn’t had enough time to hide the evidence of his betrayal. I spun around to find him standing in the doorway and it took all of my control not to reach out and slap his face.

Marietta, please let me explain.

I slammed both fists on my hips. "Explain what, Ryder? I SAW you…I SAW you and that woman trying to devour each other. How. Long?"

Ryder paled. You were here?

"I came home early to have a relaxing bath after a tough day before my loving fiancé got home from the hospital where he was working overtime…AGAIN! I can’t believe how stupid I’ve been, believing you’ve been working late when in actual fact you’ve been fucking that slut behind my back. Well, you’re free to go and be with her. I’ll