Saturday Spankings - An amazing sight

Welcome to Saturday Spankings! I love having an opportunity to showcase all my books. Since I won’t have a new one for a while I’m going to put up snippets from each of my books going back to the beginning. Today’s snippet is from my first book, Cassie’s Space. I can’t imagine any author who is more invested in her characters than I am. I love Cassie and all her friends. I’m hoping you will too. Forgive me, I'm cheating a little on the length today.

Today’s snippet tells of the very first time Tom saw Cassie. He walked into a party and saw her dancing – as Tom said later, “I walked in to see a wondrous sight. I saw Cassie for the first time. She was dancing, and for a moment, all else faded into the background…

Tom didn’t approach me at the party. He has always believed in studying a situation before plunging in. He says he spent the whole party watching me from a distance. He stayed in the background and I never saw him. He noticed several things right away – I drank too much, I could be very forward, and I used unladylike language. After a time, he made his way over to Steve and Andy. Motioning toward me, he asked one question, “Who’s that?”

Both men turned to look at the subject of Tom’s interest and burst out laughing. “That, my friend,” said Steve, “is Cassie, and she’s one of a kind. A very interesting woman. She’s a beautiful, rich widow. Wild as a hare and someone you definitely don’t want to tangle with. Men who get involved with Cassie say it’s like cozying up to a wood chipper – she’ll grind you up and spit you out.” Steve laughed again and shook his head. “Come with me,” he told Tom. “I know a beautiful woman who will suit your taste much better.”

Tom frowned at him and looked back at me. Then he turned to Andy and waited.

Andy laughed, too, but in a much nicer way. “Steve’s not wrong. She’s hard as nails if you cross her. She’s got a temper for sure. But Cassie has a sweet, gentle, loving side, too. I think the temper may just be a cover because she’s scared. I don’t know of what, exactly. We dated for a while and I think the world of her, but I swear dating her was like herding cats. I think she’s obstinate to the point of being self-destructive. I tried to get her to stop drinking one night and instead, she began doing shots. She’s like a kid who won’t turn down a dare. Another time, she and I had a minor disagreement. The next thing I knew, she’d picked up some guy on a motorcycle and taken off with him, her dress hiked up around her ass. Couldn’t find her for two days, then she called Sue to pick her up at the hospital. She had a dislocated shoulder. She never told any of us how it happened, not even Sue. She’s too wild to deal with, Tom. I think she’s determined to kill herself before she’s through.” 

Even today, I can just picture the look on Tom’s face at all the tales they told him. But I still wonder what went on in his mind. Why didn’t he run for the hills as fast as he could? Instead, he wanted to know more. “You say she’s a widow? She’s young. What happened?”

Steve turned serious for a moment. “Now her husband was a real prick, used to beat the shit out of her. When he died of a heart attack every last one of us wanted to throw a party to celebrate. Left Cassie a ton of money, though. I guess she can party for the rest of her life – however long that may be.”

“How did she end up with him?” Tom wanted to know.

Andy took up the story. “Her loving father picked that sorry asshole for her. The guy was in his forties and Cassie was barely twenty. Her old man wanted a merger with the guy’s company and I think he threw Cassie in to sweeten the pot. That sick old bastard knew the guy beat her and never said a word to him. Once she escaped her family and the abusive husband, I guess she decided she’d take care of herself. I just don’t know how long she can keep it up.”

“Quite a story,” Tom mused.

“She’s quite a woman,” Andy agreed. “But honestly, Tom, she’s got more baggage than even you could help carry. She’s not for you. You’ll get hurt. And I don’t want to see that happen.” Andy and Steve wandered off, leaving Tom watching me and thinking of all they’d said.

Without even knowing it, I'd made an impression on the man I'd  love for the rest of my life.

Cassie Space series:

Cassie's Space (book one)   

Cassie's Tale (book two)                       

Cassie on the Move (book three)          

Cassie's River Living (book four)        

Cassie's Conflict (book five)

Cassie's Influence (book six)

Cassie's Ordeal (book seven)

Cassie Corralled (book eight)

Cassie's Road Trip (book nine)

Cassie's Life (book ten)

Paperbacks can be found here. 

Cal's Law Series:

Cal's Law (book one)

Becoming Family (book two)

Educating Jenny (book three)

Searching for Home (book four)

Corbin's Bend

Returning to Us

Check out more great snippet here.