Sunday, September 29, 2024
Sunday's Short Stack: Harvest Kisses for the Omega by Lacey Daize
Mountain Springs Omegas #9
Sam has always dreamed of moving out west, and as he approaches his 30th birthday, it's time to make that happen.
Sam knows that his future is out west. He has a good job and a good apartment, but it's time to make his dream come true. So he gets on the back of his motorcycle to ride across the country. Unfortunately, an accident outside Mountain Springs causes an extended stop in the idyllic town.
Ethan wants a mate and family of his own, but isn't interested in any of the available omegas. At least he can watch his twin's kids to get his baby fix, right?
Ethan is content enough in life, but after years of watching everybody, including his twin brother, find omegas and start their families, he's ready to settle down himself. If only he had the perfect omega. But he's dated more than he can remember, and none have stuck. At least his twin lets him babysit the kids. Then a new omega rolls into town, and he can't tear his eyes off him.
The attraction is mutual, and instant. But can love flourish when one man has a plan that doesn't include staying in Mountain Springs?
Recipe for Romance
One Lonely Alpha
An omega ready for a change
An lucky accident
The intervention of old friends
Harvest Kisses for the Omega is a 15.5K word , non-shifter, M/M, Mpreg romance, featuring an omega in search of something new, and alpha ready to settle down, and realization that love happens where you lease expect it.
It seems that 2024 has become the year to throw my series-read-in-order policy completely out of whack. Once again I delved into the middle but as Mountain Springs Omegas is a standalone series it really wasn't too affected, though I will state rightaway that I'm glad I read entry #6, Gemini Kisses, prior. It didn't really play a part in keeping things straight or effect the plot but as one of Harvest Kisses' MC is Ethan who is the twin brother of Evan, one of the stars of Gemini, I just think a few scenes and mentions flowed better having read Evan's story first but certainly not a necessity.
Onto Harvest Kisses.
Sam is moving west for a fresh start where he is sure his future awaits. Fate throws a monkey wrench into his trip with transportation breakdown. It's pretty obvious he and Ethan have a connection but will Mountain Springs be west enough or is Sam an omega determined to go further? You know my answer to that: read for yourself, you won't be disappointed.
When we first met Ethan during his brother's story in Gemini I felt he came across as a bit of a player, not a bad guy just not looking for his forever omega anytime soon so I was surprised to see he was getting a journey of his own. Surprised but not disappointed. His love of family just proves his genuineness is the real thing. He knew his brother's romance was the real thing but watching Ethan discover his own chemistry with someone is a beautiful and fun experience.
I feel like I've said too much already but just know that I was not ready to say goodbye to these two when I swiped the last page and for me that is the sign of a topnotch read. I can't think of a better more fitting explanation of the joy that Harvest Kisses brought to my heart than not wanting to see the book end.
Chapter 1 - Sam
I took a look around my empty apartment and grinned.
If anybody had asked a few days earlier I might have admitted to being nervous—even wondering if I’d gone slightly crazy—but now I was excited.
Granted, I still wondered if I’d gone crazy, but it wasn't as prevalent an emotion as it had been before.
I mean, who leaves a damn good job and gives up a rent-controlled apartment in an expensive city on a whim? But that’s exactly what I was doing.
Go west young man…
I couldn’t remember the first time I’d heard the old quote about westward expansion, but somehow it had always stuck with me. I’d even considered heading out to the west coast for college, but then I received an in-state scholarship that I would have been insane to turn down.
For years it had only been a lingering thought in the back of my mind, but as I approached thirty it had started to nag at me again. Finally, as I was handed the renewal paperwork for my lease, I decided: for my thirtieth birthday, I was going to move out west.
The thought was half-energizing, and half-terrifying. I didn’t have a new job or apartment lined up, and had no idea how long I’d be living off savings in motels. But I was doing it. I was listening to that voice that had called me westward for at least a decade and a half.
I’d managed to prepare for the move in record time too. Almost all my stuff was in pod storage, just ready for me to call. And I’d decided to leave my car with my parents until I’d settled into a new place.
But that also left me the ability to fulfill another dream: drive across the country on the back of my motorcycle.
I made one last sweep of the apartment, making sure everything was ready for the inspection with the property managers, then pulled out my phone one more time to go over my map.
As soon as I finished the walkthrough I would be on my way.
I’d picked as many backroads and small highways as I could. Sure, the interstates could get me there faster, but I wanted to see the country. I wanted to be able to roll into a quiet town, visit the shops and restaurants, then continue on my way, and the fact that the trees were just starting to display their fall colors would make my journey even better.
Immediately following the walkthrough I went to get breakfast, then checked my bike over one final time.
I wove through city traffic, allowing both nostalgia and excitement to exist side-by-side. A part of me would always miss my home in the big city, even if I landed in another. But I was ready for a new adventure.
I’d find a new corner deli for lunch, and another mom and pop grocery store to get essentials at. I’d discover my new favorite dive bars, and maybe—if I was lucky—I’d find the alpha for me.
Most of my omega friends had been mated and with kids for several years already. I was the old man of my childhood group, and while I wanted it all, I’d never found my alpha.
In a city of millions, I somehow knew that my match wasn’t there.
My alpha was out west. I was sure of it, and with any luck, I’d find him.
I couldn’t wait to tell my eventual children the story of how papa decided to leave the east coast, and how that led him to his alpha.
The wind whipped at my leathers as I got my bike up to speed, the city shrinking behind me.
Some might say that, at thirty, I was starting over. But to me, I was finally getting started in the first place.
Lacey DaizeLacey lives in New Mexico with her four critters. She’s a Jill-of-all-trades by day, but loves writing in her spare time. She dabbles in a variety of pairings, but jumped feet-first into the deep end of omegaverse the first time she read it. She loves the play on social expectations and the different ways to express romance.
Harvest Kisses #9
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