Little Tree

By Rafe Jadison

A few days before Christmas, David Weathers finds himself hopping a plane to his childhood home in Florida and doesn’t know why. His parents are gone, he has no siblings, yet something draws him on.

David can almost feel the magic in the air, but then he discovers Jared Acosta, the man who broke his heart twenty years earlier, has moved three doors away. Reluctantly David accepts Jared’s invitation to dinner, only to find that twenty years may not be enough for some wounds to heal.

Soon David seeks advice from his mother’s best friend Marisol, a vibrant, wise woman who believes in second chances. Can she convince David to take a chance on the man who is working so hard to be near him now? Will he be able to forgive a past that left both him and Jared unlucky in love?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Dec 8, 2018
• ISBN: 9781634867788

Rafe Jadison

Rafe Jadison is the author of The Divorceary, Little Tree, Snowed In: Dane and Heath, Seduced by Shark Shifters, Seduced by Shark Shifters II: Logan’s Tail, Seduced by Shark Shifters III: Tom's Turn, Seduced by Shark Shifters IV: Mark's Midlife, Reap This, Reap This Too, Blake Blacks Out, and Peter Passenger and the Mothman. He has a great love of the water and of people, and tries to show that in his writing. You can find out more about Rafe at rafejadison.com. He looks forward to hearing from people legally old enough to read the things he writes.

Book preview

Little Tree

By Rafe Jadison

Published by JMS Books LLC at Smashwords

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2018 Rafe Jadison

ISBN 9781634867788

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Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It contains substantial sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which may be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

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To the fountain runner and the storm chaser. It was a wild ride.

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Little Tree

By Rafe Jadison

Prologue

Jared Acosta pulled the hose out of the greenhouse in his back yard and wrapped it up near the side of the house. It was close to midnight, but the stars were shining extra bright tonight. He had worked until late finishing a project, and almost forgotten to water the plants. He stretched, glad to be away from his computer. The sky was blue and deep. He took a breath, savoring the night air.

Christmas was in a few days and he wondered what he’d do. Rarely had he ever celebrated it with anyone else. His father had never made much of the holiday. It’s just there to make us feel better, he would tell Jared. I buy you everything you want anyway.

Jared walked back into the greenhouse, appreciative of the solar powered warmth that kept the big room toasty all day long.

I guess I can spend it with you guys, he whispered to the plants, then closed the door and returned to the crisp night air.

Something in the sky caught Jared’s eye and he laughed. A shooting star. I haven’t seen one in forever.

Jared stared in wonder as another burst from the sky. Was tonight some sort of special meteorological night? He had no idea. Work had consumed him all day.

Jared smiled, remembering old sayings about wishing on shooting stars. Even at forty, the idea seemed appealing. He closed his eyes and opened his heart. I wouldn’t mind feeling a little better, he said to the night.

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Chapter 1

David wasn’t sure why he was going home for Christmas, but he was. He thought of this as he made his way off the plane and into the terminal at Jacksonville International. It was enormous. Well, at least compared to the tiny airport he remembered when he was twelve when they had first moved to Florida. At that time, you could position yourself in the center part of the lobby area and wait, knowing that anyone coming from a flight would have to walk by you. He and his mother had done it a hundred times when they were waiting for his father’s return from a business trip.

Although he’d seen them before, David was a still a little amazed at the changes in the airport. It had been a long time since he had flown home, but despite the fact that he was now forty, every time he landed he still expected to see the airport of his youth.

His early morning flight from LaGuardia was the first flight he could remember in years where he hadn’t spent most of the time talking to the passenger next to him. Every person on the plane was knocked out. Everyone except for him, that is. While they slept, he stared out the window, enjoying the quiet as the plane flew over most of the East Coast that morning. David wasn’t sure if he was excited to be going home, or just glad to be off work for a few days, but for some reason, sleep had not been an option.

That same excitement coursed through him as he made his way to the car rental agency.

Do you have any convertibles? David asked, a mischievous grin on his face, almost bouncing up to the counter.

The car rental agent was old enough to be his mother, and it showed in her response to him.

You do realize that we’re in Northern Florida, don’t you, son?

Yes, ma’am, I’m from here, but it’s a whole lot warmer than New York was this morning, and my phone app has promised a beautiful day.

As long you aren’t expecting Miami Beach weather, she said, and then began to search for something on her screen. So, you live in New York now?

Yes, ma’am, David answered, a smile on his face.

I can tell, the woman