📘🎥Friday's Film Adaptation🎥📘: Green for Danger by Christianna Brand

Summary:

The Inspector Cockrill Mysteries #2

"Hands down one of the best formal detective stories ever written."— Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review

This Golden Age masterclass of red herrings and tricky twists, first published in 1944, features a tense and claustrophobic investigation with a close-knit cast of suspects.

"You have to reach for the greatest of the Great Names (Agatha Christie, John Dickson Carr, Ellery Queen) to find Christianna Brand's rivals in the subtleties of the trade."  —Anthony Boucher in The New York Times

It is 1942, and struggling up the hill to the new Kent military hospital Heron's Park, postman Joseph Higgins is soon to deliver seven letters of acceptance for roles at the infirmary. He has no idea that the sender of one of the letters will be the cause of his demise in just one year's time.

When Higgins returns to Heron's Park with injuries from a bombing raid in 1943, his inexplicable death by asphyxiation in the operating theatre casts four nurses and three doctors under suspicion, and a second death in quick succession invites the presence of the irascible—yet uncommonly shrewd—Inspector Cockrill to the hospital. As an air raid detains the inspector for the night, the stage is set for a tense and claustrophobic investigation with a close-knit cast of suspects.

A Scotland Yard Inspector investigates odd hospital deaths during the London Blitz.

Release Date: December 7, 1946

Release Time: 91 minutes

Director: Sidney Gilliat

Cast:

Sally Gray as Nurse "Freddie" Linley

Trevor Howard as Dr. Barnes

Rosamund John as Nurse Esther Sanson

Alastair Sim as Inspector Cockrill

Leo Genn as Mr. Eden

Judy Campbell as Sister Bates

Megs Jenkins as Nurse Woods

Moore Marriott as Joseph Higgins

Henry Edwards as Mr. Purdy

Ronald Adam as Dr. White

George Woodbridge as Detective Sergeant Hendricks

Frank Ling as Rescue Worker

Wendy Thompson as Sister Carter

John Rae as The Porter

Christianna Brand

Christianna Brand (December 17, 1907 - March 11, 1988) was a crime writer and children's author. Brand also wrote under the pseudonyms Mary Ann Ashe, Annabel Jones, Mary Roland, and China Thomson.

She was born Mary Christianna Milne in 1907 in Malaya and spent her early years in India. She had a number of different occupations, including model, dancer, shop assistant and governess.

Her first novel, Death in High Heels, was written while Brand was working as a salesgirl. In 1941, one of her best-loved characters, Inspector Cockrill of the Kent County Police, made his debut in the book Heads You Lose. The character would go on to appear in seven of her novels. Green for Danger is Brand’s most famous novel. The whodunit, set in a World War 2 hospital, was adapted for film by Eagle-Lion Films in 1946, starring Alastair Sim as the Inspector. She dropped the series in the late 1950s and concentrated on various genres as well as short stories. She was nominated three times for Edgar Awards: for the short stories "Poison in the Cup" (EQMM, Feb. 1969) and "Twist for Twist" (EQMM, May 1967) and for a nonfiction work about a Scottish murder case, Heaven Knows Who (1960). She is the author of the children's series Nurse Matilda, which Emma Thompson adapted to film as Nanny McPhee (2005).

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⏳Throwback Thursday's Time Machine⏳: Somebody Killed His Editor by Josh Lanyon

Summary:

Holmes & Moriarity #1

An isolated writer’s conference. A brutal real-life murder. WAY too many cocktails.

Can a mystery author and an ex-cop combine their powers of deduction to find the killer?

Turning forty has left much to be desired for mystery writer Christopher Holmes. After both his boyfriend and long-time publisher dump him, he worries his life is officially at the start of a steep decline. Stranded at a writing conference for the weekend, he never expected to bump into an old flame… or stumble across a dead body in the woods.

Ex-cop JX Moriarity is soaking up all the newfound fame from his successful crime fiction. When the only bridge into the conference venue washes away to reveal a dead body, Moriarity falls back on old skills to secure and investigate the crime scene. But even his years of experience couldn't prepare him for the discovery of a second body: his irascible, but awfully cute ex-boyfriend Christopher. WAIT. ER, no, the corpse of Christopher's obnoxious editor.

With all fingers pointing to Holmes, Moriarity has no choice but to clear the name of the man who broke his heart. Can the ex-lovers solve the murders and rekindle their passion, or will a killer attendee write them out of their Happy Ever After for good?

Somebody Killed His Editor is the first book in the madcap Holmes & Moriarity romantic gay mystery series. If you like tongue-in-cheek humor, crazy twists and turns, and sizzling chemistry, then you'll love Josh Lanyon's kooky, quirky novel.

Original Review 2014:
I enjoyed this book although not as much as I enjoyed the author's Adrien English or Dangerous Ground series but it was still very good. You couldn't help but love Christopher as he found himself in the middle of a real life Agatha Christie style murder weekend. Considering he writes murder mysteries and yet has never had any "first hand" experience of the subject, he handled himself quite well.

1st Re-Read 2016:

I think I loved this even more the second time around. Kit and JX still aren't Adrien and Jake from her Adrien English series but they are definitely giving them a run for their money. Love the way they play off each other. Even knowing the mystery doesn't take anything away from the enjoyment. Somebody Killed His Editor, simply put, is just plain fun!

Overall Series Re-Read Review 2018:
(Technically, this is only a re-read review of the first three in the series as the fourth was just released a few weeks ago.) There is just something about Holmes & Moriarity that helps them stand out from the typical crime-fighting duo(okay maybe not "crime fighting" more like "crime stumbling" but you get the idea).  Is it their banter? Is it their mystery-solving abilities? Is it their chemistry? It's all of the above and so much more.  Kit and JX are made for each other even if Kit is reluctant to jump head first into the relationship like JX does but that doesn't lessen his want to be there.  I love Kit's devotion to his creation, Miss Butterwith & Mr. Pinkerton even when everyone around him is telling him the spinster detective and her cat have run its course.  As for the mysteries Kit finds himself in the middle of, well generally it's just dumb luck he is where he is but he still finds a way to get to the answers.  I hope we see Kit and JX stumble upon many more cases but whether Miss Lanyon brings us one more or a hundred Holmes & Moriarity adventures I'll be re-visiting them for years to come.

RATING:

Someone was howling—a thin, breathless cry that was, in fact, more breath than cry.

Me.

Far from splitting the night, my bleat barely carried three feet, so I had no trouble hearing my attacker’s exasperated, “What. The. Fuck?”

I knew that voice.

I bit off the rest of my screech and sat up, wincing as pain shot up my spine. I was sitting in a puddle, ice-cold water soaking through my trousers. The last time I remembered being decked had been a playground rumble at Our Holy Mother. I’d been thirteen. My bounce had been better back then. Now I felt like I’d wrenched every muscle in my already worn-out body. And my back… I’d be lucky if I wasn’t crippled for a month. I wiped the mud off my face.

“I am so going to sue your ass,” I spluttered.

“Well, what the hell are you doing out here?” J.X. demanded.

No apology seemed forthcoming. Also, I couldn’t help noticing, neither was help from the lodge. Were we too far away to be heard? Not a happy thought.

“What do you think I’m doing? I’m going to my cabin.”

“Crawling on your hands and knees?”

“I wasn’t on my hands and knees till you knocked me down.”

“You sure as hell were skulking in the bushes.”

“I heard something—you—and I was making sure it was safe.”

He continued to stare down at me. I wished I could see his face. His motionless outline caused my scalp to prickle. Then he reached down a hand.

His hand was warm on my chilled one. Again I was aware of his wiry strength. He wasn’t much taller than me, but he was in a hell of a lot better shape. He pulled me to my feet and dropped my hand.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked, uneasily rubbing the twinging small of my back.

“Grabbing a log for my fireplace.” He reached past me and picked up a nice stout sawed-off limb. “It’s going to be a cold night.” He picked up another log. “Here’s one for you.”

“Thanks.” I stepped out of range, trying not to be too obvious about it. Not that I didn’t appreciate the gesture, but there was something unconvincing in his manner. What had he been looking for out here?

J.X. still held out the log. I took it gingerly.

“I’ll see you to your cabin.”

“Oh. Okay. Thanks.” I remembered my minibar set up. “Hang on.”

I limped back to where I’d set down the tray. Everything was as I’d left it. I lifted the tray and nearly dropped it. J.X. stood right behind me, log in hand.

I managed to save the gin. The tonic water, ice bucket, and glass slid off the tray and landed in the mud.

“What is it with you?” I demanded and thrust the log and the tray at him. I knelt, gathering up the fizzing bottle and glass. The scattered ice cubes winked dully in the pallid moonlight.

“What the hell is this about?” J.X. indicated the tray.

“What the hell does it look like? I’m planning to drown my sorrows.”

“That’s not going to solve anything.”

“I’m not trying to solve anything.” I added pointedly, “I’ll leave that to the experts.”

“It’s your head,” he said. “Come on.” He put his hand under my arm as I started to rise, and I nearly lost the entire load again.

“Do you mind?”

“Sorry. Jesus, you’re jumpy.”

“I can’t imagine why.” I rebalanced and set off—limping—down the path.

“Do you really have a bad back?” he asked, behind me.

“No, it’s just something I say to get chicks.”

He didn’t respond, but as we reached the edge of the meadow, he caught me up so that we were walking side by side. “This way.”

I followed him down the dirt path that cut across the open field toward the cabins. The sodden clouds had parted, and a lackluster moon gilded everything in unnatural light. In the absence of the rain and wind, the stillness seemed uncanny.

Mostly to fill the uncomfortable silence between myself and J.X., I said, “There’s something eerie about the stillness.”

“It’s the eye of the storm.”

“You mean there’s more rain on the way?”

“Oh yeah. We’re a couple of hours away from another downpour.”

“Great.”

“Which is your cabin?”

“That one—with the lights on.”

He said sharply, “Did you leave the light on?”

“Yes.” I cast a quick glance at his silvered profile. “Why? You don’t really think I’m in any danger, do you?”

“No.”

“You could try to sound a little more convincing.”

What he sounded was irritable. “You had to go around telling everyone Peaches had been murdered, didn’t you?”

“That’s it.” I stopped walking. The glassware rattled to a halt with me. “We need to have this out here and now.” I was talking to his back. “Hey.”

He kept walking. I had to trot to catch up—which irritated me further.

“Listen,” I said, “I did not tell anyone anything. Peaches was everybody’s candidate for unnatural selection. From the minute I said I found her in the woods, people were speculating about how she died.”

“And you encouraged their speculation.”

“I didn’t. I didn’t say anything one way or the other. I didn’t know anything one way or the other. I still don’t.”

J.X. stopped walking. His voice was low. “We both know she was killed.”

Saturday Series Sporlight

Part 1

Monday's Mysterious Mayhem

In Other Words . . . Murder

Josh Lanyon

Bestselling author of over sixty titles of classic Male/Male fiction featuring twisty mystery, kickass adventure and unapologetic man-on-man romance, JOSH LANYON has been called "the Agatha Christie of gay mystery."

Her work has been translated into eleven languages. The FBI thriller Fair Game was the first male/male title to be published by Harlequin Mondadori, the largest romance publisher in Italy. Stranger on the Shore (Harper Collins Italia) was the first M/M title to be published in print. In 2016 Fatal Shadows placed #5 in Japan's annual Boy Love novel list (the first and only title by a foreign author to place on the list).

The Adrien English Series was awarded All Time Favorite Male Male Couple in the 2nd Annual contest held by the Goodreads M/M Group (which has over 22,000 members). Josh is an Eppie Award winner, a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist for Gay Mystery, and the first ever recipient of the Goodreads Favorite M/M Author Lifetime Achievement award.

Josh is married and they live in Southern California.

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Somebody Killed His Editor #1

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💻Blogger Review💻: Under His Rule by Davidson King

Summary:

In the Spotlight

Under his rule, nobody is safe

Prince Julian Davaros is heir to the throne of the Lamdera Islands. He’s gorgeous, rich, famous… and just happens to be a serial killer. His family and bodyguard know his murderous proclivities, but to everyone else, he’s simply the heir apparent, loved by many. In reality, Julian can’t stand most people, he doesn’t have relationships, and if he’s alone with you it usually means you’re his next victim. However, once Wynn Carter catches his attention in a small café, Julian’s new obsession isn’t one he wants to kill but instead wants to own.

Wynn Carter has always wanted to visit the Lamdera Islands, and he’s using his thirtieth birthday as the perfect excuse. His plan is to soak up some sun, drink in the culture, and make memories with his friends. His agenda didn’t include catching the eye of the future king. Now Wynn finds himself swept up in a sort of fairytale of lavish dinners, intimate nights, and even some media attention. He doesn’t know what he did to deserve the prince’s interest, but he’s certainly not upset about it.

Unfortunately, secrets don’t stay hidden no matter how powerful you are, and when someone decides to push Julian out of the shadows by hurting the one person he wants more than anything, the quiet monster that lies within him bursts free. Julian’s and Wynn’s lives erupt into chaos, and Wynn finally discovers who Julian truly is. If he can’t live with it, the prince needs to decide whether to surrender everything… or get rid of his obsession.

Under His Rule is part of the multi-author series, In the Spotlight. 14 authors bring you 14 original stories of killers in the public eye. Where everyone is dying to be in the spotlight. Every book can be read as a standalone.

I'm going to start right out of the gate by saying this is not a typical story topic I generally seek out, I don't shy away from it, just not something I go looking for. Don't get me wrong, I've read many a book where the actions of the MC can be labeled ambiguous but killing to "scratch a mental itch"? Not what I usually seek out(truth be told, "scratch a mental itch" is just the simplest way to say it, there's more going on here than that). But Under His Rule is a Davidson King tale and frankly, IMO no one does dark mayhem better, so in I went. 

So freakin' glad I did!  Perhaps it's not going to change my pattern of looking for it, but boy did it entertain, and I can't ask for more.

I won't spoil anything so details will be minimal but I do have to say, at one point I really expected a certain familial relationship to go in a different direction but I was wrong and I think the story is better for my wrongness😉.  The author would have done it well had my directional thought been right but this was better and didn't "weigh it down with added dramatic baggage".

As I started with, Prince Julian's predilections are not my goto choices but I can certainly sympathize with some of his thought patterns.  How can you not love Wynn?  After all, he only wants a memorable vacation with his friends.  Well he certainly got it, not how he probably envisioned it but definitely memorable, to say the least. Together, they complement each other, even if Wynn is reluctant and the prince has a bit(to put it mildly😉) more control over it all.  

Due to the prince's way of life(again to put it mildly😉), Under His Rule may not be for everyone but if you like dark mayhem with your chemistry and romance, you won't be disappointed.  For those like me, who don't usually go there, this is a perfect way to let go of some of that internal frustration and aggression that is probably building up in most of us in today's current climate. I guess you could say I found Under His Rule to be theraputic😉.

I want to add a little note about the mention of flumazenil. I could be wrong but I don't recall ever seeing that drug mentioned in a book I've read before and I'm pretty sure I would because it was a drug that went on my mother's allergy list. Luckily, she was inpatient at the time when the docs used it to help bring her out of a procedure but by the time she got back to her room she had a seizure, with no other cause they could determine, they decided it must have been the flumazenil. Whether she was actually allergic to it or not they thought it best to put it on her list, better to be safe than sorry. Anyway, I want to thank the author for the use of it, not for any personal connection I have but because by not using more widely known drugs, it is just another example of the research Davidson King puts into her work. It's that "extra mile" that really makes her work stand out to this reader.

RATING:

CHAPTER ONE

Wynn

Glass shattered everywhere—like, everywhere. I stood frozen in place in my best friend’s living room as I watched little shards of crystal skitter across the hardwood floor and disappear under furniture.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Seth gently took me by the arm and guided me over to his sofa. “Sit. No more helping.”

“I’m so sorry. I was walking slowly; I think there’s a divot in the wood.”

He blinked slowly. “Right, a divot.”

I shrugged and relaxed into the soft cushions. “I can clean up the mess if you’d like.”

He held up both hands, palms up. “Please don’t. I’m not sure I can afford for you to break anything else.”

“Har har, so funny. I’m not that bad.”

Seth’s brows shot up to his hairline. “Really?” He started counting off. “Three frames, two mugs, the glass on my microwave, and a vase.” He pointed to the floor where the glass had shattered. “That’s just in the last three hours of you trying to help me move.”

I wanted to refute his claim but as I thought about it, I realized he was right. What I wasn’t going to do was agree—I’d sort of agree. “Whatever.” There, that worked.

He rolled his eyes and moved into the kitchen. He returned with a broom and dustpan. “Maybe you can order us something to eat, from the couch.”

“You want me to stay right here and not move?”

“Preferably.” He chuckled.

“I need to leave eventually. Are you going to carry me out of here?”

“If I have to.” He swept up the mess while I scrolled food apps for something to order. “What time is your flight tomorrow?”

“Six in the stupid morning,” I answered as I decided on pizza.

“Gross.” He snorted. “Sorry I can’t come on your birthday trip.”

I waved him off. “Hush, no big. With you moving in and starting a new job, there was no way it was going to happen. But it’s fine, you can make it up to me once I return.”

“Oh, how nice of me.”

I beamed. “Besides, I won’t be alone. Mark and Hannah are coming with me. And anyway, my real birthday was last week, and you were there for that.”

He nodded and brought everything back to the kitchen to toss. “True, but still. I’m jealous, though. I mean, wow, the Lamdera Islands…shit, it’s going to be so beautiful.”

“It’s a dream come true. I always wanted to go, but it was expensive. But hitting thirty made me realize I wasn’t getting any younger and that all this money I was saving, well, I can’t take it with me when I die, so why the fuck not go?”

Seth leaned against the doorjamb with a smile on his face. “I love that for you.”

“Yeah, and you know, there are a lot of fancy royalty there, maybe I’ll meet my prince charming?” I wiggled my eyebrows.

“If he has a sister, hook me up.”

I shot him two finger guns and finished ordering the pizza. We spent the rest of the afternoon with me sitting on the sofa watching Seth unpack, eating pizza, and talking about everything and anything as we always did.

I left his place at about eight. I was all packed for my trip but having to get up at ungodly o’clock for my flight, I needed to hit the sack at a decent time. Of course I was too excited to simply drift off to dreamland, so I took some melatonin and eventually slept.

All too soon my alarm was blaring and I grumbled, noticing that the sun didn’t greet me—just darkness. “Humans shouldn’t be up this early.” I really didn’t have anyone to blame but myself. I’d booked the flights, but it was either this time or midnight and I hadn’t been feeling that at all.

After a shower, shave, and all the things that made me appear awake were done, I poured coffee and sat at my breakfast bar waiting for Mark and Hannah to arrive.

The buzzing of my doorbell had me slithering off the stool and opening the front door.

“Are you ready for v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n?” Hannah singsonged.

I shifted my gaze from her to her husband Mark, who looked as exhausted as I was.

“You have no one to blame but yourself, Mark. You married a morning person.”

He hummed. “Come on, let’s get your bags and go.”

The ride to the airport was pleasant because no sane person was up at this hour. We got through TSA in ten minutes—which was amazing—and that meant we had way too much time on our hands. Our flight wouldn’t arrive for another hour.

“Oh, lookie!” Hannah thrust a magazine in my face. “Prince Julian Davaros is doing an island tour for a whole month. Maybe we’ll get a glimpse of the heir apparent while we’re there.”

Prince Julian Davaros was on the front cover of Royalty Magazine, and he was gorgeous. Truly. His dark-blond hair was swept back away from his face, his gray eyes in shadow against the light, and he wore a black tuxedo. The man stared at the camera like it was prey and he was the predator, and the power emanating off him in the photo sent a shiver up my spine.

“I’d probably stumble and accidentally shove him into oncoming traffic if I met him.” I snorted.

Hannah giggled. “Hey, you only tripped twice in the airport. That’s progress.”

I was clumsy, no way around it. There wasn’t anything wrong with me medically, I just…okay, my head got lost in the clouds sometimes and I’d been diagnosed with ADHD in high school, so that could have something to do with it.

I needed my brain and my body to get organized. I’d tried meds, and they helped, but at the end of the day my ADHD brain was gonna do whatever the hell it wanted. I just had to hold on for the ride and keep the casualties low in the process.

“Oh!” Hannah smacked my arm. “That’s our flight!”

I hadn’t heard the announcement nor felt the notification on my phone. This was why I couldn’t travel alone; I’d either miss my flight or end up on the wrong one.

My carry-on in hand, I followed Mark and Hannah to the gate. Excitement bubbled in my stomach as I walked through the sky bridge toward the airplane. This was going to be a trip of a lifetime. Memories would be made and dreams fulfilled. I couldn’t wait.

Under His Rule

Davidson King

Davidson King, always had a hope that someday her daydreams would become real-life stories. As a child, you would often find her in her own world, thinking up the most insane situations. It may have taken her awhile, but she made her dream come true with her first published work, Snow Falling.

She managed to wrangle herself a husband who matched her crazy and they hatched three wonderful children.

If you were to ask her what gave her the courage to finally publish, she’d tell you it was her amazing family and friends. Support is vital in all things and when you’re afraid of your dreams, it will be your cheering section that will lift you up.

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Monday Morning's Menu: Savor Me by Beth Bolden

Summary:

Kitchen Gods #3

When Chef Xander Bridges leaves the warmth and safety of his car on a cold, stormy night and approaches a stranger, the last thing he expects to find is a future. He’s wanted to leave his job for awhile, but with no good opportunities on the horizon, he’s been stuck in a long, painful rut. But when he befriends the stranger viciously tearing up his own vineyard, Xander discovers something inexplicable. Maybe he’s not the bitter, sarcastic man that everyone, including himself, has endured for years.

Maybe, with someone like Damon in his life, he could be something more. Something better.

Damon Hess doesn’t just want more, he demands it. With his alcoholic past, there are no gray areas for him. Only black and white. In love or not. Sober or drunk. But the chance meeting with Xander opens Damon’s eyes, and gives him a vision full of something he hasn’t experienced in years: hope.

Hope that he can expect companionship and affection, hope that he doesn’t have to grapple with his family’s questionable Napa legacy any longer, and most importantly, hope that there’s a future worth believing in. But the longer he and Xander spend cultivating that future, the more Damon realizes that the key is so much simpler than he ever imagined--it’s Xander.

Savor Me is an 80,000 word contemporary m/m romance starring an irascible man with a soft, gooey marshmallow center and another who knows he likes men, but has never been with one before. It is third in the Kitchen Gods series, but can be read as a standalone.

Hands down, it was one of the best meals Damon had ever eaten. Even though he’d watched Xander prep it with his own two hands, it was a marvel that he’d done it with only those hands. It was a far better meal than any he’d ever had at Terroir, and that was prepared by an entire staff and countless pieces of expensive equipment.

Xander had come to his house with a bag of groceries and a knife, borrowed a pan and a pizza cutter, and had made an astoundingly delicious meal. It was talent and drive, all wrapped up in one package.

A cute package.

Damon had been telling himself not to notice—or if he was going to notice, then he should just ignore the attraction. But sitting across from Xander, staring at him in the candlelight, it was much harder than he’d imagined. Especially when he looked relaxed and much more at peace than he had that night a year ago.

At first he’d been too worked up himself to notice the anxiousness that Xander wore like a cloak. Or a very difficult-to-scale wall complete with archers equipped with fiery arrows and soldiers pouring boiling oil.

But tonight his guard had fallen a little, and despite everything, Damon wanted desperately to believe it was more than just quitting a job he’d really hated.

Damon wanted to believe the smile on Xander’s face had something to do with him.

“Thank you,” Damon said. “If that was an audition, you nailed it.”

“I know.” He was a little smug, and it was more than a little adorable. The way his nose scrunched up, the eye crinkles, the expressive look in his dark brown eyes.

Damon had imagined he might be in danger, hanging around Xander all the time, especially considering the impression he’d made on him in such a short time, but this was Trouble with a capital t.

“You’d better watch yourself. Not sure your head’s gonna fit back through the back door,” Damon teased.

“You wanted a chef,” Xander said, spreading his arms. “You got one.”

“They’re sort of thick on the ground in Napa,” Damon softly insisted, “but it turns out I’m particular.”

“Imagine that, a Hess particular.” The sarcasm in Xander’s voice cut through the dreamy romantic quality of the candlelight and let in a little of the real world. Specifically his family.

He couldn’t exactly tell Xander he didn’t ever want to talk about his family. After all, this land was their legacy, and his trust fund was making the restaurant a reality. Truth was, he really didn’t want to talk about them, and it felt like Xander brought them up as some sort of defense mechanism. Damon still didn’t understand why, and this was definitely not the first time it had happened.

“What’s your deal with the Hesses?” Damon asked. Might as well be honest, at least before Xander walked back in the house and signed the contract that would tie them together for the near future. Of course, that also meant the question had barely made it out of his mouth.

Something ugly churned deep in his stomach, exactly the opposite reaction he should have had after that incredible meal.

What if he changes his mind?

“Nothing,” Xander said, but his chin was jutting out again, and his fingers were drumming anxiously against the wood tabletop. It sure didn’t look like nothing.

There was a definite voice in his head, begging him to leave it, to make sure he didn’t drive Xander away with his insistent questioning. After all, Xander wasn’t signing with Hess Vineyards, he was signing with Damon, who stayed as far away from his family as possible.

But Damon’s last name was still Hess, and it wasn’t going to change.

“Really?” Damon asked.

Xander sighed. “I said it was nothing, and it is. It’s stupid.”

“I don’t want it to interfere,” Damon offered. “Not with what we’re about to build.”

“It won’t. I promise. I know you’re not your family. And to be honest, that’s what it is. I’ve had a few run-ins with Hess employees. But you’re not like them.”

The thing Damon had discovered before coming back to Napa, and definitely after returning to the Valley, was that he could run as far and as hard as he could, but his family was still his family. Time and distance couldn’t alter his blood, no matter how much he wished otherwise.

Saturday's Series Spotlight

Kitchen Gods

Part 1  /  Part 2

Charleston Condors

Part 1  /  Part 2

Miami Piranhas

Part 1  /  Part 2

Food Truck Warriors

Part 1  /  Part 2

Los Angeles Riptide

Trilogy

The Rainbow Clause

Audiobook

Star Shadow

Part 1

Beth Bolden

A lifelong Pacific Northwester, Beth Bolden has just recently moved to North Carolina with her supportive husband. Beth still believes in Keeping Portland Weird, and intends to be just as weird in Raleigh.

Beth has been writing practically since she learned the alphabet. Unfortunately, her first foray into novel writing, titled Big Bear with Sparkly Earrings, wasn’t a bestseller, but hope springs eternal. She’s published twenty-three novels and seven novellas.

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