I felt sick to my stomach.After the big reveal, where I’d gathered my brother, stepsister, Ezra, and a couple lawyers into a room and told them about Lana being a murderer, about how she’d changed the will, and how Kaitlynn actually owned half the company alongside Nash, they had each eventually gone their separate ways to absorb the shock of the news.I hadn’t been able to tell Brick about his true paternity though. That would have to wait for another time. I just didn’t have it in me to report any more shocking news today.It had been a tense enough scene earlier between Ezra’s lawyers and the ones I’d called in to support Kaitlynn. She looked so blindsided and overwhelmed. I had an awful, sinking feeling I’d handled it all wrong.Telling them my suspicions about Lana and the secret investigation I was conducting on her hadn’t seemed necessary at the time. But now that it was all out in the open, I felt like a shithead for not divulging any of it sooner.Sitting on my couch in
I looked down at the ring on my finger and sighed happily.Married. I couldn’t believe I was freaking married. For a full twenty-four hours now. To the man who pissed me off as much as he made my heart pound in double time with love.“Your first book club meeting is today, right?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and kissed the top of my shoulder.“Yep,” I answered, smiling as I leaned back against him to feel more of him against me. “And yes, Kaitlynn will be there. So…” I turned to face him and fluttered my lashes dramatically as I silently asked for permission to—“You want to tell her,” he guessed. “Don’t you?”“I mean, if you want to tell her,” I started on a wince, “that’s fine by me. She’s your stepsister, but…?”I would let him decide, even though I kind of wanted to be the one to spill everything.It had been months since I’d met Hayden in Lana’s apartment on Halloween night. In that time, Camille had started an online group that she was calli
Hansel and Gretel – B & E EVER AFTEROnce upon a time, there were two children named Hansel [Hayden] and Gretel [Brick].Their stepmother was very cruel.She took them deep into the forest [a foreign country] and left them there.But clever Hansel [Brick] had some breadcrumbs [Skittles] in his pocket [backpack] and had [accidentally] dropped them on the path so they could find their way back home [to their villa].[Twenty Years Later:]Alas! The birds ate all the crumbs and they couldn’t find the path that led back home. Hansel and Gretel [Gabby needed money. So she went to find some at Preston Estates where she] went deeper and deeper into the forest, hoping to find their way [building, searching for help]. They were hungry [She was desperate] and tired.Finally, after walking for a long time, they [she] saw a cottage [door] made of chocolate, candies, and cake [sparkly bling]. Gretel [Gabby] cried out in delight and ate [reached forward to touch] it hungrily [reverently].
Linda writes romance fiction from YA to adult, contemporary to fantasy. Most Kage stories lean more toward the lighter, sillier side with a couple meaningful moments thrown in. Focuses more on entertainment value and emotional impact.Published since 2010. Went through a 2-year writing correspondence class in children’s literature from The Institute of Children’s Literature. Then graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, English with an emphasis in creative fiction writing from Pittsburg State University.Now she lives with her hubby, two daughters, cat Holly, and nine cuckoo clocks in southeast Kansas, USA. Farm girl. Parents were dairy farmers. Was youngest of eight. Big family. Day job as a cataloging library assistant.Harry Potter House Gryffindor, Patronus White Stallion, character match Hagrid. Supernatural Team Dean. Game of Thrones Team Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister. The Walking Dead Team Daryl. Outlander Team Jamie Fraser. Teen Wolf Team Stiles. Avenger Team Thor...or Hulk (can’t
B & E Ever AfterCopyright © 2019 by Linda KageThis is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses or establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.All rights reserved. No part of this book—except in the case of brief quotations in reviews—may be used, reproduced, or translated without written permission of the author.Contact Information: linda@lindakage.comPublishing HistoryLinda Kage, September 2019Smashwords EditionCreditsCover & Formatting: Kage CoversEditor: Summer @ Red Pen RevolutionProofreader: Shelley @ 2 Book Lovers ReviewsProofreader: Judy @ Judy’s Proofreading Created with Vellum
“Watch it, Broderick! You’re spilling them everywhere.”At my mother’s sharp voice, I lifted my attention from the Game Boy I’d been playing to find her swiping a super-sized bag of Skittles from my little brother.“God, you are such a mess.”Brick hung his head glumly, mumbling, “Sorry,” as she jerked him around until he was facing away from her so she could unzip the backpack he was wearing and cram the Skittles inside, out of his reach.Then she huffed impatiently and started away from us, snapping, “Well, come on. At this rate, the shopping center will close by the time we get there.”Brick dutifully shuffled after her, and I filed in behind him, returning my attention to my game. It was easy to keep track of him out of my peripheral vision; he wore a bright orange shirt and had Bart Simpson on his book bag. So I was able to beat a new record and advance a level without paying attention to where we were going, even though the foreign country we were in had some pretty cool sit
I sat in my car a block from her apartment for nearly twenty minutes, waiting for her to emerge. When she finally did, I sank lower in my seat to remain undetected, though I had no idea why I bothered. She was utterly clueless to my presence, paying no attention to her surroundings as she swept down the street and headed in the opposite direction from where I watched, her head down as she dug for something in her purse. She was probably singing or whistling as she strolled merrily along, too.That sounded like her.She walked right past a stranger who paused to gaze after her as if she were a tasty morsel. My stomach clenched. I wasn’t sure if he was contemplating mugging or raping her, or maybe he just wanted to check out her ass, but I wasn’t a fan of his crude attention.“Dammit, Kaitlynn,” I muttered under my breath, shaking my head in aggravation as she finally tugged her keys from her purse and then paused at her car to unlock the door, still unaware of any possible danger lur
Judge Fashions Industry sat in the heart of the city’s downtown. If legend could be believed, Marcella and Arthur Judge had started the business in a crumbling building that once stood in this very lot, on the second floor above a laundromat with a single Singer sewing machine Arthur had given Marcella on their wedding day and bits of material neighbors had cast off from their own darning endeavors.Marcella had been the art and creation—or what her husband had termed the soul—behind the clothes they made, while Arthur was the businessman. With his animated and persuasive personality, he could’ve sold sand to people on a beach. He could’ve been anything. But what he was most proud of was his wife, so he put his life’s work into selling the designs she made.And within ten years, they were millionaires with three dozen employees and business ventures around the globe. They bought the entire block around that deteriorating laundromat, razed all the buildings, and built up JFI as it sto