Venus in Stilettos

Published by

Citrine Group, L.L.C.

VENUS IN STILETTOS

by Glenna West, C. Deanne Rowe,  

and Magnolia Maggie Rivers

(also known as The Stiletto Girls)

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Published by Citrine Group, L.L.C.

Des Moines, IA

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Copyright © September 2013

by Citrine Group, L.L.C.

This book is a work of fiction.  Names, places, characters, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously.  Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

All Rights Reserved.  Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this book in whole or in part in any form, electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the authors.

First Printing: September 2013

Print copy:

ISBN-10:  1-946122-01-7

ISBN-13/EAN-13:  978-1-946122-01-8

E-book:

ISBN-10:  1-946122-10-6

ISBN-13/EAN-13:  978-1-946122-10-0

Printed in the United States of America

Dedication

The Stiletto Girls was born as the result of three friends fate threw together.  Three friends who loved to tell stories – Glenna West, C. Deanne Rowe, and Magnolia ‘Maggie’ Rivers.

We believe life is what you make of it and you receive back what you put out to the Universe.  We could never have envisioned everything we have received as a result of our dreams and goals.  We could never have dreamed of being known as ‘The Stiletto Girls’ or of people telling us they couldn’t put our book down; they love our stories; they love our characters; or even when’s the next book coming out and so on. 

We would like to thank all of you for being part of our dreams.  We hope the Universe smiles on all of you as it has on us.

Love to all,

The Stiletto Girls

(Glenna West, C. Deanne Rowe

and Magnolia ‘Maggie’ Rivers)

Contents

Home Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

by Glenna West 

Single on Valentine’s Day  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

by C. Deanne Rowe    

Guardian of My Heart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  151

by Magnolia Maggie Rivers

Biographies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

The Stiletto Girls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

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THE LEGEND OF

THE CHILI PEPPER

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For our many fans, we’ve denoted the degree of hotness in our stories by the designation of chili peppers – one being Spicy, two being Steamy and three being Whoa Mama!  Take a chance and read all three!

HOME AGAIN

By

Glenna West

CHAPTER ONE

Ten years. Has it really been ten years? 

Braedi Jones tried to concentrate on the highway in front of her.  It had been ten years since she last saw her home town and Dusty Rhoades, the boy she had almost married.  Thank goodness her divorce from Brad was final and she’d be spared having to deal with that.  Going home after all these years would be enough to handle.

Braedi knew she’d made the right decision for her life and hoped the old saying You can’t go home again didn’t prove true for her.  She needed to find herself again.

Living in the big city, she’d lost track of who she really was and needed to find the little girl who grew up in Two Rivers, Alabama with its one stop light and the big old clock that stood guard on Main Street.

Glancing at the sides of the road as she drove, she noticed the Kudzu vines hanging from the trees and smiled to herself.  She could almost hear her daddy’s voice telling her You jest gotta be careful with that stuff, Braedi.  Throw a piece down on the ground and run for yer life ‘cause it’ll grow faster than you can skedaddle.  It looked as though he had been right, too. 

Remembering her daddy always made her smile. He had played both parenting roles for her after her mom passed away.  Her memories of her mother were those of a three year old.  A remnant of a song her mother sang popped into her mind and just as fast was gone.  Those memories were faded and hard to remember but sometimes, for a fleeting moment they surfaced.

Braedi pulled her old pickup into the driveway of the house where she grew up.  It was nice to be home again.  She’d kept the place after her dad passed away.  Knowing it was there gave her some kind of solace. 

It wasn’t going to be the same though.  While she had some of the old furniture and had had it delivered already, a lot of it was sold after her dad passed away.  She had wanted very little to remind her of all she’d lost and had opted to take the things she wanted to keep and move off to the big city instead.

At first, Washington had been exciting.  With politicians on every corner, she had no trouble landing a very good job but the more years she spent there, the more jaded she became.

Now, with her divorce from Brad, she needed to find her roots and she knew this old house held the key.

Braedi parked her vehicle in front of the house and turned off the ignition.  She sat staring at the house as memories flooded through her mind.  Opening the truck door, she stepped out onto the asphalt drive and walked around to the back yard.  The massive old pecan tree still held its place there. 

She had hoped it would still be there.  It still held the remnants of her tree house and there underneath, protected by its shade, she could see the little white cross, made from Popsicle sticks, which she had nailed to its base all those years ago.  Walking closer she could see the little dog’s name still there; a little faded but there nonetheless.

Squatting down, she traced the letters with her finger.

Hello, boy.  Bet you thought I was never coming back, didn’t you?  Well, I did, too.  I missed you though.  I miss those days.  I miss being Daddy’s little girl, you know.  This being a grown-up isn’t all that much fun.  It’s hard.

Braedi hadn’t realized she was crying until a tear dropped from her cheek.

Well, I’m back now.  I think I’ll be staying awhile, so you rest easy.  Mommie’s here.

Standing up, Braedi wiped at her eyes.

I saw the truck out front and was just checking to see who was snooping around the old place.

Braedi turned at the all too familiar voice.  Her heart pounded in her throat and for a moment her breath caught.  Her skin tingled at just the sight of him.

Hello, Dusty, she replied cautiously.

You’re looking good as ever.

Thank you.

So, what are you doing back here?

I’ve decided to move back home.

Dusty Rhoades stood there in silence.  Braedi watched as his jaws clenched a few times and anger ran across his face.  His right hand reached up and he ran his fingers through his hair, scratching as he did so.

Braedi knew the thoughts running through his mind.  After all, he had been the one to ask her to marry him and live in this town in the first place.  She’d bolted like a young colt let out to pasture.  She was afraid of becoming like the old women of the town. 

She’d listened to their conversations when she’d grocery shopped with her dad.  The younger ones always talking about kids, diapers and babies spitting up formula all over their clean clothes, or worse.  Then the older ones talking about their latest ailments and doctor visits.  She didn’t want that for herself.  She wanted more. 

She wanted glamour and excitement.  At least she thought she had.  Now she only felt the brokenness inside.  She needed healing.  Maybe she could find it here.  She needed the arms of this old house wrapped around her holding her safe.  There were memories in this place.  Good memories.  She was home.

Her life with Brad had been okay but she just didn’t fit in.  He was on a promising career path as a politician.  He could smooze with the best of them and he took every opportunity to show her off.  She should have been wary the first time Brad asked her out to dinner but she was young, inexperienced and gullible.  Brad was ten years her senior.  She should have known it wasn’t love.  At least not the kind of love she wanted.  She felt like a trophy wife and unfortunately for her, she knew that was how Brad saw her, too.  That fact really hit home the afternoon she’d come home early with the flu. 

She wanted the kind of love Dusty had shown her.  The kind he’d laid at her feet and she so stupidly kicked aside.  Her heart sounded as though it was going to pound right out of her chest.  She watched as his emotions registered on his face.  She waited for him to say something but he quickly turned and stomped back around the side of the house.

Braedi stood there not hearing a sound as tears trickled down her face.

CHAPTER TWO

The warm sunshine streamed in through the little bedroom window.  Rolling over in her bed, Braedi lazily peeked out of one eye at the large Tabby stretched out beside her watching her every move.

Well, good morning Sam.  I see you can still find your way into my house.

The big cat stood, stretched itself from the tip of its paw to the tip of its tail, turned, jumped from the bed and headed towards the kitchen.

Guess that’s my wakeup call.

Braedi stretched, threw the covers back and placed her feet on the floor.  Sitting on the edge of her bed, she glanced around the room.  Some of the pieces of furniture she’d saved had been from that room and now she was glad she’d saved them.  She’d opted to sleep in her own childhood bedroom instead of the one her dad moved into after the death of her mother.  She couldn’t bring herself to sleep in the one her parents had shared either.  That would come later.

After showering, Braedi threw on her robe and headed for the kitchen. She poured herself a steaming hot cup of coffee.  After taking a sip, she placed it on the counter and opened the cabinet underneath the sink.  Removing the bowl she had there to feed Sam whenever he graced her with his presence, she filled it with cat food and sat it in his usual spot.  The cat meandered over to the bowl, smelled of its contents, squatted down and began to eat.

Glad to see it meets with your approval, ol’ man.  Braedi smiled and took another sip of her coffee just as the doorbell rang.

Walking into the living room, she took a moment to peer out the window, before opening the front door.

Hello, Abby, come in.

Thank you, Braedi, but I know it’s early and I know you’re probably getting ready to head to the clinic so I’ll jest get right to the point if that’s okay.

Braedi watched as Abby fidgeted with sticking her hands in her jeans’ pockets and taking them out again.

That’s fine with me.  So what brings you here this time of the morning?

Well, Mrs. Albright mentioned t’other day you were coming back and I thought you might be going to open up the vet clinic again.

Yes, I was about to get dressed and head over there this morning.  Do you have a sick animal with you? Braedi glanced towards the pickup sitting in her drive.

Oh, no, nuthin’ like that.  I thought maybe you might need some help.  You know, somebody to answer the telephone when it rings and check them critters in and that kinda stuff.

Well, I probably will but I’m afraid I’ll have to do it all myself to start with.  I can’t pay a full-time employee right now.  I’m just opening it back up again and right now I don’t even have any patients to see.

Oh, I can take care of the patient part.  I can make a few telephone calls and you’ll be up to yore eyeballs in patients afore you know it.  Let me make you the deal of a lifetime.

I’m listening.

I come and work for you for one week and you don’t have to pay me.  But then, after that, you pay me whatever you can afford.  Once the clinic is up and running, you pay me a reg’lar salary.  How’s that sound?

Well, it sounds great but unless I have people bringing in their animals that first week, I can’t pay you for the second week either.

Okay, let’s do this then.  If after the first week you don’t think you’ll have anything to pay me with for the second week, then I’ll quit after the first week and you won’t owe me nuthin’.  Can’t hurt can it?

Are you sure you want to do that?  I mean you’d be working for nothing.

Trust me, Braedi.  I know what I’m doing.

I could certainly use the help alright.  I certainly don’t mind you coming and helping but I feel bad I can’t pay you.

Oh, I ‘tend for you to make it up to me in due time.  She laughed.

Well, I guess you’re sort of unofficially hired then until I can officially hire you. 

Thanks, Braedi, you won’t regret it.  Abby smiled.

Braedi watched as Abby’s smiled danced all the way up to her eyes.

I just hope you don’t, girlfriend.  Now, you want to come in and have a cup of coffee with me?

Oh, no, I’ve got work to do.  I just need the keys for the clinic and I’ll have it open when you get there. 

Well, then, hold on a minute.  They’re right here on the key rack. 

Braedi stepped back behind the door and lifted the keys off the rack hanging on the wall.  Shaped like a key itself, with six hooks protruding from the side to hold whatever item one placed on it.  Braedi remembered watching her dad make it.  He sat right on the front steps with her by his side as he carved the piece of wood into a shape Braedi could recognize.  She smiled at the memory.  Yes, she was definitely where she needed to be.  Here she could heal the brokenness.

Here you go, she said as she handed the keys to Abby.  The one with the red on it opens the front door.  We’ll have to get another set made unless we find a set in the office.

I’ll look around.  There’s probably a set there someplace.  See ya when ya get there, boss, Abby said as she turned and hurried to her truck.

See you there, then, yelled Braedi.

An hour later, Braedi walked out her front door and across her yard to the clinic her dad had built.  It wasn’t anything fancy, but it served its purpose