Title: Depths of Lake
Author: Keary Taylor
Series: The McCain Saga #3
Publication date: October 14th 2014
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Summary:
It was another day at the ranch, training horses and working fifteen hour days. And then the last person I ever expected showed up. Lake McCain: a Marine, tall, ripped—and the best friend of my dead fiancé. Cal died to save Lake, and now Lake claims that he carries a debt to me that he can never repay.
I wanted to brush him off. But then my mom, the manager of the ranch, went and hired him. We spend hours working together with the horses. Lake doesn’t say much. He’s layered and dark and he tries to seem shallow and simple. But he isn’t. There are things under his surface that matter. He works, quiet and strong, and never once lets me down.
Until he confesses that he may be falling in love with me. I can’t deny that there is something between us. But a relationship? I just can’t. I’ve used up all my chances at love. My past relationships have ended in death or disaster, and now I have to live with all of that.
I’m Riley James, and there are depths to Lake—depths to myself—that I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand.
#1
“Lake?” I call quietly. No reply.
I push the door open a bit more and step inside. I look back toward the bedroom. As far as I can see, it’s empty. And the door to the bathroom is open and the light off.
“Lake?” I call once more.
A soft snore pulls my eyes to the couch, and there I find him.
He’s changed into a pair of dry jeans, but that’s all he’s wearing. A thickly muscled arm is lying across his eyes, his other arm hanging down toward the floor. Bare feet hang over the arm of the couch.
His perfectly sculpted chest bears seven stars tattooed over his left breast.
His brows are furrowed, his expression concerned.
He’s a soldier who’s engaged in combat and he’s seen some horrible things. He saw Cal blown to pieces. I can only imagine the hell he must be seeing behind those lids right now.
I’m torn. I want to wake him from whatever nightmare I know he’s having. But I also know about PTSD and how dangerous it can to be to wake a soldier in this state.
His left shoulder twitches violently. His face winces.
“Lake,” I say, soft and gentle.
He gives a little twitch, like me calling his name entered his dream, but he doesn’t wake.
“Lake,” I say, this time louder. I keep my distance, standing by the door.
He jerks up from the couch, half sitting up. His right hand reaches for his hip, as if he’s searching for a sidearm. His eyes sweep the room and fix on me. They’re bloodshot and wide.
“It’s okay,” I say, keeping my tone even and calm. “It’s just me.”
His breathing is hard and fast and it takes a minute for him to calm down and realize he isn’t out on the battlefield, in the middle of a warzone.
“What do you want?” he asks. His voice is hard and flat.
Soldiers don’t like admitting when they’re dealing with post-field issues. I’ve caught him in a moment of trauma, and he doesn’t like it.
“Mom’s just about got dinner ready and asked me to come get you,” I say. I’m not offended by his hard tone. I understand. “I’m sorry to wake you, but you looked like you were in a place you needed extraction from.”
He looks at me for another really long minute. Lake has the most impassive eyes. I can’t tell what’s going on behind them. Is he angry? Is he embarrassed? Indifferent? It’s impossible to tell.
“Yeah,” he finally replies. He climbs off the couch and walks to the bedroom. He looks over his shoulder at me just before he disappears behind the door. My eyes drop away from him, embarrassed to realize he’s just caught me staring and embarrassed for the fact that I was.
But who
couldn’t admire a body like that?
#2
“Thank you for this,” I say, my voice small and quiet. “This was all you. You didn’t have to, and no one asked. But you did it. And for that, I’m grateful.”
Lake slides his hands into his pockets and takes a few slow steps toward me. His eyes drop to the ground at our feet. “You know, for a long time, I’ve felt like I didn’t really matter. If that makes any sense. Being in the Marines helped some. But you know that feeling of emptiness?” he looks up at me, his eyes opening up in a way that I can see. And I do know. “It was always there. But being here lately? It’s changed that. I love what we do here. I love working the ranch and the long days and the feeling that I’m doing something good. That I’m doing something important.”
He takes two more steps toward me. He’s close enough that I can smell him now. The sweat of the day. The scent of his shampoo from this morning. And something that is so Lake that it sends my head spinning.
“But it’s not just the ranch and the work, Riley,” he says quietly. His voice is low and warm, just like the day outside. “It’s you, too. When I’m around you, I feel like I matter.”
Something builds inside of me, something that resembles a thousand hooves beating across the fields at sunrise.
One slow, carefully thought out step at a time, he closes the space between us. He places a hand on the wall on either side of my head, boxing me in. His eyes study my face. My cheeks, my nose, my lips. His face is so close.
Something in my blood jumps to life, and I’m staring at his mouth.
“What’s holding you back, Riley?” he finally says. His voice is low and rough. And there’s a mountain of unspoken words behind it. “Why won’t you let yourself go?”
Ever After Drake(Book 1)
Summary:
It was my first day as a brand new high school teacher. But I got dumped that morning. Via text. And then one of my students hit on me. And the rest of the day was a complete mess. The beautifully single Mr. Drake McCain found me in my classroom, feeling sorry for myself. And not sixty seconds later he had me laughing and electricity racing through my blood.
My family is broken and complicated. I literally don’t know my biological father’s name. My mother is absent and my half-brother barely knows who she is. But Drake? He’s not complicated. He’s sweet and kind and insanely adorable, and comes from a wonderful family. He is everything I want.
The chemistry between us? It’s there in spades. I keep telling myself that I should be feeling really awful and depressed since I just got dumped a few days ago. But I keep getting this ridiculous smile on my face every time Drake is around and it’s kind of hard to keep telling myself that.
I’m Kaylee Ray. I believe in fairy tales and happily ever after’s, and maybe the search for Prince Charming is over.
Cue reality check.
Moments of Julian(Book 2)
Summary:
It was just a work party, filled with kissing the well-dressed rear ends of clients and fake smiles. Until my boss accused me of something I didn’t do. Until I got pissed and then there was this guy who was hot and flirting with me, and then there were his hands and the backseat of my car and a night of everything but you know what.
I never expected to see him again. But suddenly Julian Dohring is everywhere. And I can’t get over the endless tattoos that cover his arms, how he’s apparently a recovering video game addict, and dresses like he’s ready to walk down the red carpet at any moment.
Ten years ago I made a pledge to stay away from alcohol and sex, and to never get too personal with anyone. It’s gotten me this far. I’m twenty-seven, I have a career I’ve worked my heart and soul into, and more money than I could ever blow on shoes and the finer things in life. My attitude and pride have always been enough to keep any man from getting too interested. Until Julian…who claims I can’t dance, and has the nerve to call me a “peach.”
I’m Sage McCain, and needless to say, Julian has my attention.
Playing It Kale(Book 4)
Summary:
Everyone loves Kale . . . Coming January 20, 2015
Author Bio & Interview:
Keary Taylor grew up along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where she started creating imaginary worlds and daring characters who always fell in love. She now resides on a tiny island in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their two young children. She continues to have an overactive imagination that frequently keeps her up at night. She is the author of THE EDEN TRILOGY, the FALL OF ANGELS trilogy, and WHAT I DIDN'T SAY. To learn more about Keary and her writing process, please visit
www.KearyTaylor.com.
Tell us a little bit about The McCain Saga.
This is a family saga about three brothers and one sister. The McCains all have big personalities and crazy love stories. And they always have each others backs. Each book is told from a different woman’s point of view, Kaylee Ray, Sage McCain, Riley James, and Whitney Ford.
Describe DEPTHS OF LAKE in five words.
America-ranch-horses-Marines-love.
Each of the McCain books is told from a different characters point of view. Which of them to you relate to the most?
There’s certainly a little piece of me in each and every one of them. I’d say I have Kaylee’s positive outlook on life, Sage’s ambition, Riley’s independence, and Whitney’s creativity. But the one I relate to the MOST is probably Sage. We both have a bit too much pride and are always reaching for something more.
Writing adult contemporary romance is a new thing for you. What made you decide to make the jump to that genre?
I was actually working on a YA paranormal when I started feeling a bit overwhelmed and burned out. I’d just finished my sci-fi series in one year, and I needed something different. I needed something that was just FUN to write. So I sat down and started on MOMENTS OF JULIAN. It wrote it exactly how I wanted to write it with no readers in mind. It was therapy for me. And then I couldn’t stop thinking about her brothers. And that’s how The McCain Saga came to be!
So, what else have you written?
I have my most popular series, a NA paranormal romance: the Fall of Angels trilogy (BRANDED, FORSAKEN, VINDICATED, and novelette, AFTERLIFE). And then my NA post-apocalyptic romance: The Eden Trilogy (THE BANE, THE HUMAN, THE EVE, shorts THE RAID and THE ASHES). And then I have a YA contemporary standalone, WHAT I DIDN’T SAY.
Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special?
Riley James is a country girl through and through. Both for the fact that she runs a ranch and trains horses, and she’s the daughter of a career Marine. She loves America, and was engaged to a Marine. And then he died. So when Lake, another soldier, comes into her life, she’s a bit broken. But she’s one of the strongest women you’ll meet.
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