RJ Scott - Test Upgrade: Excerpts

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The Decisions We Make

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8o_4J-cOHhOXkxZ9EgPQ22VMB9H4GObIjvDyovcloGHnsClk3ZC9usSJjVI0NhTAT9jTZcR4Qpl58WLrPDTcK8C1oqqtpqt1FLIuyaU3eIyCIyvf-IR3B6u95zllKnqn6iVqOxpDpGw/s1600/decisions+again.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8o_4J-cOHhOXkxZ9EgPQ22VMB9H4GObIjvDyovcloGHnsClk3ZC9usSJjVI0NhTAT9jTZcR4Qpl58WLrPDTcK8C1oqqtpqt1FLIuyaU3eIyCIyvf-IR3B6u95zllKnqn6iVqOxpDpGw/s400/decisions+again.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>The Book Daniel Keyes is an orphan, fostered by the Walker’s. The product of a lonely childhood, he is thrown into the chaos of the Walker family and into the life of his new foster brother Jamie. <div>This story is the journey of Daniel and Jamie finding their place in the world. Through Jamie being a victim of hate crime to coming out to family and friends, there are many decisions the boys have to make before they become men.</div><div> </div><div> Buy Links - eBook:  <div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.lovelanebooks.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=10&products_id=20" target="_blank">Love Lane Books</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0070MVAV4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0070MVAV4&linkCode=as2&tag=rjsc-20" target="_blank">Amazon (US)</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0070MVAV4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B0070MVAV4&linkCode=as2&tag=rjsc-21" target="_blank">Amazon (UK)</a> | <a href="https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thedecisionswemake-673763-145.html" target="_blank">All Romance</a> </div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-decisions-we-make-rj-scott/1113845630?ean=2940045062053" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> | <a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Books/the-decisions-we-make" target="_blank">Kobo</a> | <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/250335" target="_blank">Smashword</a> </div> Buy Links - Print Book: <div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1491245336/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1491245336&linkCode=as2&tag=rjsc-20" target="_blank">Amazon (US)</a> | <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1491245336/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=1491245336&linkCode=as2&tag=rjsc-21" target="_blank">Amazon (UK)</a></div> Reviews: <a href="http://top2bottomreviews.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/the-decisions-we-make-by-rj-scott/" target="_blank">Top 2 Bottom Reviews 4/5</a> - "If The Decisions We Make has done anything, it’s proven to me that RJ Scott has definitely found her place in the YA LGBT genre. All the angst, agony, and emotion that make their way into her adult M/M romances translate beautifully with her teenage characters as they struggle to find a place to belong and build a path to happiness on the often turbulent journey to adulthood." <a href="http://www.rainbowbookreviews.com/book-reviews/the-decisions-we-make-by-rj-scott-at-love-lane-books" target="_blank">Rainbow Book Reviews</a> - "If you like angst-y stories, if the task of growing up in today's world baffles you but you’re curious about the way kids deal with it, and if you think you can survive one heck of an emotional roller coaster ride, then give this book a chance. I don’t think you'll regret it - I certainly didn’t!"  Excerpt:</div> "Do you think he loves Star Wars or crappy Transformers like Mark?" Sue Walker looked down at her middle child and smiled at his question. His bright blue eyes shone with excitement, and he hopped from foot to foot. Jamie never actually sat still for anything longer than ten minutes in any one go. Not even when he played video games; he was constantly on the move in his seat. Jamie was the most laid-back of her children. Nothing ever appeared to faze him. He was comfortable in his own skin—athletic, above average bright, and just a very happy open child. Sue had wanted more children after Megan, he youngest, but an emergency operation after her daughter was born meant no more children for her. That didn’t mean her heart had stopped wanting more though, and when Megan turned two, Jamie nine, and Mark thirteen, that was when she’d spoken to Don about fostering. He agreed immediately. They were financially secure, and Sue wasn’t alone in wanting a large family. <a name="more"></a>She and Don, her husband of twenty years, had sat all three kids down and explained they wanted to put themselves forward as a foster family. There was no sense in agreeing to care for a new child if her own family was hesitant. Sue was honest with them all, and one by one, her family told her it was a wonderful idea. She couldn’t have been prouder of a single one of them. Mark, her eldest, who asked if they could get a girl with boobs. Her middle boy, Jamie, who needed reassurance he wouldn’t have to share his room. Lastly, her youngest, Megan, who was just worried it would be yet another boy. All three were excited in different ways to add to their family. So today, it was happening. Their first foster placement would be here soon, and his name was Daniel Keyes. The authorities had explained he was quiet, shy, and a gifted child, one who needed love and attention to make him blossom as a child. Sue had patience and love to spare. She was determined Daniel would be safe here. "He's only four months younger than you, so I'm sure he will love Star Wars." Wasn’t that what most nine year olds liked at the moment? It was certainly what Jamie loved. Jamie took the news in stride, and she loved him for it. Feeling secure was never an issue for Jamie Alexander Walker. "An' he's not staying forever?" "No. Fostering means he will stay just as long as he needs to until a new family is found for him." "And I really don't have to share my room?" "No. Dad is setting up a bed in the spare room." The wide grin that Jamie gave her was confirmation enough he was happy about that situation. She only hoped her other two were as easy to win over. Daniel, the boy they were going to be given, was an orphan. He’d lost his father to cancer and his mother to apparent suicide. He was going to be more than a little lost and lonely nine-year-old, and it would be Jamie's good nature that took the brunt of any emotional problems Daniel might have. Being the same age meant the same class at school and similar interests. "So the only thing he'll use is the den?" Jamie looked up at her. The den was Jamie's domain, where Vader battled with Luke and Han flew to the rescue. Sue nodded and then dropped to her knees in front of Jamie. The den had been taken over by the arrival yesterday of a piano. "Daniel plays a piano, and apparently, he is very good at playing it. It will be good for him to have something he can have here that is his." She subsided into thought at the worry of just how damaged Daniel might be by everything he had seen in his short life. "I'm really excited about him coming. Please don’t be sad," Jamie offered gently. Sue realized her son had picked up on her sudden quiet mood, and she hugged him tight. He might be a bundle of excitable drama, but under it all, he really was the most sensitive of her kids. "I'm fine, sweetie. Are you going to meet him at the door with me?" "How long is it gonna be?" "Ten minute’s time." "'Kay, Mom. I'm going to check his room has make sure it has some more good stuff in it." Mark was away at football practice, and Megan was at a party for a friend. It was just her and Don and Jamie. Jamie was back at her side, peering out through the frosted glass of the front door. He couldn’t keep still and was again hopping from foot to foot with excitement. "Calm down, sweetie; Daniel is kind of shy," she warned him. "Okay, Mom, I’ll try." If Jamie had any faults, it was that he had an overabundance of confidence, enthusiasm, and general all round hyperactivity. They weren’t a family that could be labeled as quiet by any stretch of the imagination. They were a boisterous crowd, but social services said that would be good for Daniel, and when Sue was handed Daniel’s file, her heart just melted. The car pulled up, and a short boy, dark hair flopping over his eyes, a bag clutched in long fingers, stepped out of the car and stood uncertainly, looking up at his new house. He spotted Sue, and a small smile crossed his face, then he turned, exchanging words with his companion, before nodding and holding onto her hand. He lowered his head as he neared the door, not lifting it even as Sue welcomed his placement officer and him in. He just scuffed his feet on the doormat. "Hello, Daniel," Sue said brightly. She noticing her son had stopped hopping from foot to foot and instead was staring at the new visitor. She could feel him visibly bristling with excitement but trying to keep it inside. "’Lo," came the soft reply, still no eye contact. "Why don’t you let Jamie show you your room, Daniel?" Daniel lifted his gaze, his gray eyes filled with an expression of fear. Sue wanted to say something clever to dispel the young boy's fears, but Jamie interrupted in his usual take-no-prisoners fashion. "Yeah, Daniel, come with me and see. We got like painted bits, and posters, and I didn’t know what you was bringin’, but I put like loadsa books in your room and some Star Wars stuff and some trading cards. I mean they're the ones I have two of, but you know you can always swap ’em if you already have ’em, and I’ve also got like this second controller for you to play with me. Come on. Quick." Jamie grabbed at Daniel’s arm, just reaching farther as Daniel backed away a bit startled at the touch, and giving him no chance to argue, Jamie dragged him up the stairs.

The Decisions We Make

The Book Daniel Keyes is an orphan, fostered by the Walker’s. The product of a lonely childhood, he is thrown into the chaos of the Walker f...

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The Christmas Throwaway New Cover Art

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW_dVX0YNkh6CH2wbGtfVJhy_41Iaq8MKvwEx4zNQrx5koqH-QXVEQY3PFMrsuwsMqbu5DC1IIYhWJTR62AZGHzroZm_95Gnr4_NSRGABCyItvY3t0YH5jwjPybgdziCl8zOMQFJmFEtw/s1600/TCT4x6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW_dVX0YNkh6CH2wbGtfVJhy_41Iaq8MKvwEx4zNQrx5koqH-QXVEQY3PFMrsuwsMqbu5DC1IIYhWJTR62AZGHzroZm_95Gnr4_NSRGABCyItvY3t0YH5jwjPybgdziCl8zOMQFJmFEtw/s400/TCT4x6.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>Christmas is a time for giving - what do you do when no one gives a damn? <div> </div><div style="text-align: center;">Buy Links to follow...</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div>For Zachary Weston Christmas means sleeping on a churchyard bench in the freezing snow with nothing better in his future. Thrown out of his home for being gay, he is left without money or, it seems, anywhere to go.</div> Until a stranger shows him that some people do give a lot more than a damn. Ben Hamilton is a rookie cop in his small home town. He finds a young throwaway, fresh from the city, sleeping on a bench in the churchyard on a snowy Christmas Eve. Can he be the one to give Zachary his own Christmas miracle? <div><a name="more"></a></div><div>*****</div><div> </div><div>Reviews for The Christmas Throwaway</div><div> </div><a href="http://heartsonfirereviews.com/?p=1451" target="_blank">Hearts on Fire Reviews</a> This book surpasses even my favorite R.J. Scott book Oracle. Anyone interested in The Trevor Project needs to read this amazing and heart warming book of love, acceptance and compassion. I whole heartedly recommend this book to everyone you won’t be disappointed. <div> </div><a href="http://qmobooks.com/index.php/component/content/article/15153-the-christmas-throwaway-by-rj-scott" target="_blank">Queer Magazine Online Reviews</a> The Christmas Throwaway is a charming, heartwarming love story about second chances, overcoming obstacles, and the importance of a loving, supportive family. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone in the mood for a sweet story which will not only leave you feeling good, but will also remind you to count your blessings. <a href="http://www.reviewsbyjessewave.com/2010/12/13/the-christmas-throwaway/" target="_blank">Jessewave Reviews</a> The Christmas Throwaway touched me, not because Zach was homeless at 17 and had been thrown out of his home by his father one week before Christmas, but his character was so vulnerable and innocent that it would take a much harder heart than mine to resist him. However, this book is a dichotomy. It’s so sweet in some parts but quite harsh and realistic in others. Two years after they met the ending was everything I could have hoped for. There issex but it’s not at the level that some readers are accustomed to, however I would urge you to read Zach’s and Ben’s beautiful story. Definitely recommended. <div> </div><div>*****</div><div> </div><div>Excerpt</div><div> </div>Zach had so hoped to avoid the law, cautiously optimistic that the churchyard might be a place of sanctuary on Christmas Eve. "Sorry," he said quickly, scrambling to his feet as fast as he could manage, which wasn't entirely that fast considering the aching cold that seemed to split his very bones in two. He cursed as his blanket fell from his numb hands and landed in the snow at his feet. That was the only warmth he had, a threadbare piece of material he had stolen from Goodwill when the woman in charge turned her back. And now the damn thing was going to be wet. Still, there was no time to worry about that; the cop wanted him moved on. He leaned down to pick it up, only to see the ground spinning up to his face at an alarming speed. Strong arms stopped him from face-planting in the snow, but he twisted out of them quickly. The man might be a cop, might wear a badge, but no one touched him. Zach knew what men could want from the child he still was. He wasn't stupid, and he had dodged enough of it in the city. "How old are you?" the cop asked, looking concerned and very much in authority. "Eighteen," Zach lied quickly. He took a step back until his thighs hit the back of the bench he had been resting on. The cop stepped with him, looming large despite being a few inches shorter than Zach, his face creased in a frown. "How old are you really?" the cop persisted, his expression calm, his voice low and curious. Zach bit his lower lip, feeling the hot blood against his tongue, the shivering inside him starting to manifest in shakes he knew even the cop would see. Carefully Zach lifted the blanket, damp and ice cold, trying to create a barrier between himself and the police officer with the intense gaze. "Seventeen," Zach finally said, willing his teeth to stop chattering, "but I'll be eighteen in a few days." He added the last bit, giving the cop an out. He wanted to add just leave me alone, I won't hurt anyone. "Ben Hamilton," the cop said softly, holding his hand out as if he wanted to shake Zach's. Zach was confused, waiting for the glint of cuffs, uncertain, and he dug his hands deeper in the wet blanket he was holding. The cop, this Hamilton, didn't move his hand, just held it firm and steady. Finally Zach thrust his cold hand out, the texture of the officer's leather gloves soft and strange beneath his touch. "Zach," he introduced himself softly, remembering not to mention his surname. The cop didn't push him on it, just nodded and pulled his hand away. "So, Zach, what's happened to you? Why are you lying on the bench at the Church of St. Margaret on Christmas Eve?" The officer wasn't shouting; he was asking quietly, but Zach immediately started to go on the defensive. There was a concerned twist to the cop's mouth, and he had narrowed his eyes as he asked. "I…" Zach stopped, assessing the lies he could spin, thinking of the stories he had used to persuade people to leave him alone. Nothing crystallized as right for this moment in time. There was something to this cop, a man who seemed not much older than he was, an officer who wasn't a city cop, but a small town cop. He wouldn't be part of the system the same way as the cops in the city who said he should go home. I don't have a home. Maybe… maybe he should tell him the truth? "I can't be at home right now," he said finally, wincing as the cop's gloved hand traced the bruises over his left eye and down his jaw line. "Who did this to you, Zach? Did this happen here in this town?" The officer's words spun a safe haven for sharing secrets, soft, insistent and not very cop-like. Zach shied away instantly from the gentle touch, an icy blade of uncertainty pinching his skin as he contemplated being in the dark church grounds on his own with this man. He seemed friendly enough, but what if it was just another act? Cautiously, and trying not reveal his intentions, he looked to his left and then to his right. If he was going to run, he needed a head start and being held or cornered would take that head start away. To the right, dense foliage blocked an exit, to the left was the gate to the churchyard and the shadowy grave stones. That was his best bet. He shifted his weight to his right foot, ready in a moment to push himself away and to vault the gate. His leg shook with the added pressure, and he knew he would probably fall at the first hurdle. Still, any plan offered more hope than no plan. "I fell," he said firmly, the same line he had used for most of his life, the same line that earned him looks that ranged from pity to doubt. When he had said those words to people from organizers at the soup kitchen, to cops on the corner, to the owner of the homeless hostel, he had been sworn at, propositioned, cried at, or pushed away in disgust. He wasn't expecting much from another man in authority. "Uh huh." The officer didn't push for any more information, just nodded at the simple statement and took a step back and away. He spoke directly into his radio. "I'm heading home now. It was nothing to worry about at the church." Static broke the calm of the snow-deadened air, and a tinny voice acknowledged the radio message with a series of codes and a single name, Ben. The cop looked back at Zach, and Zach gauged that now the cop was two steps away from him, heading for the gate would be easier. "You can't sleep here. I'll find you a room for tonight, and we'll deal with the rest in the morning." Zach's eyes widened. He wasn't going anywhere with any stranger, not unless he was under arrest. This cop was going to find him a room? Probably some out of the way no-tell motel. Shit. No way this side of never was that happening. He had barely got away with his life two nights before from a proposal far more wrapped in the suggestion of hope than what the cop was giving him. Zach was so past being gullible. Pulling himself to his full height, he thinned his lips in determination. He was not swapping one hell for another, not a chance. "No. Thank you, but, no, I have to… go to the station for the train." He tried not to let hopelessness into his voice, attempted to sound self-assured around the chattering of his teeth. He sounded out the words in his head, and he knew exactly what he was saying. He clearly had some sort of purpose for being on the bench in the snow on Christmas Eve and the cop should respect that. It was a free country. "Okay, Zach," the cop sighed, "we can do this one of two ways. It's late, and it is the night before Christmas. I really want to go home to be with my family and you are kind of making this all very difficult. Now you can come with me, get a decent meal, a shower and maybe some warmer clothes and then you can sleep for the night in a warm bed. This can be all your own choice, or I can make it official and arrest you, then force you to go." *****

The Christmas Throwaway New Cover Art

Christmas is a time for giving - what do you do when no one gives a damn? Buy Links to follow... For Zachary Weston Christmas means sleeping...

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The Gallows Tree - excerpt

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AS5ryD-e1x8/TtFGd4ynBVI/AAAAAAAAAxo/vKB5l4E7Qts/s1600/The_Gallows_Tree-RJ_Scott400x600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AS5ryD-e1x8/TtFGd4ynBVI/AAAAAAAAAxo/vKB5l4E7Qts/s400/The_Gallows_Tree-RJ_Scott400x600.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><a href="https://spsilverpublishing.com/product_book_info/coming-soon-c-2/the-gallows-tree-ebook-p-706" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Available from Silver</a> Blurb Cody Garret is only just finding his way after an abusive relationship ended with his ex in prison. Coming to England to restore Mill Cottage is his way of running so he has time to heal. His goal is simple—hire a company to help make the mill cottage saleable then go back to the States. What he doesn’t count on is meeting Sebastian Toulson-Brown, the brother of his contractor and the man who may be able to show him he can stop running. But first Cody and Sebastian must deal with the ghosts of lost loves and the destinies that are woven into the story of the mill and the sycamore trees that stand on its land, one of which might be the gallows tree. Excerpt They reached central Milton Keynes in very little time at all. The change from village in the middle of nowhere to huge modern city was kind of eerie, almost as creepy as hearing non-existent horses and murmured words that made no sense. Sitting in Pizza Hut and ordering food was a welcome shot of normality, and grabbing the seat diagonal to Seb meant he could concentrate on his food rather than worry about staring at the poor guy. They talked about the film they were going to see, about American football versus rugby, and about the cute waitress that hovered every so often and stared at Tristan. "So you didn't want to bring your girlfriend over from the States with you?" Justin asked coyly. Cody stiffened at the personal question. "No." "What's her name?" Justin added another question with a teasing glint in his eye. "Is she pretty? What does she do?" "I don't have a girlfriend." "At the moment?" Tristan interrupted. "Guys—" Seb said through gritted teeth. "No. No girlfriend at the moment." Cody sipped on his Coke and concentrated hard on the poster proclaiming two for one on Thursdays. He could handle teasing; it's what his sister did best. "No girlfriend at the moment or no girlfriend at all?" Justin asked in a far too innocent tone of voice. Cody looked at him suspiciously even as Seb snapped at him. "Bloody hell, Justin." "Cody, are you gay?" Tristan was clearly the one who had drawn the short straw. Cody put his drink down and took a deep breath. "Why? Is it a problem if I am?" Cody asked. "Hell no…" Seb started, and then buried his head in his hands as Tristan handed a twenty pound note over to Justin with a resigned sigh. "Wait. You bet on whether or not I was gay?" Cody asked carefully. He wasn't entirely sure whether to laugh or shout, stay or walk. "They bet on anything. They bet on when I would come out to our parents. Tris won that one," Seb said with more than a little sarcasm in his voice, which was muffled by his jacket. Cody felt amusement bubble inside, and he couldn't have held in his humor if he tried. Within seconds, he was laughing. He hadn't laughed like this in so long, and he couldn't stop. Seb lifted his head in bemusement, and Cody snorted at the expression. "Your brothers just won me ten dollars," Cody said, finally managing to get the words out. "I had this bet with my sister about how long it would take you all to ask." Tristan and Justin stared like he was mad, and then as they put two and two together, they joined in with the laughing. Seb simply buried his face again with a muttered "I'm surrounded by idiots". "Hey, Cody," Tristan said suddenly, and Seb raised his head with a look of pure horror. "You like Seb?" Cody smiled; he knew where this was going. "Don't start this, Tris; I can get my own bloody dates." "Just saying, little brother. You don't get to meet many guys in Lower Ferrers—" "Tris—" "Yeah," Cody interrupted, "I like Seb. What's not to like?" Wow. That was kind of a brave thing he had said there, putting an actual opinion out there. Seb cast him a grateful look and mouthed "I'm sorry", but Cody dismissed it with a shake of his head. This was normal. This was sibling rivalry, teasing, and it was easy to lose himself in it.

The Gallows Tree - excerpt

Available from Silver Blurb Cody Garret is only just finding his way after an abusive relationship ended with his ex in prison. Coming to En...

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Jesse's Christmas Excerpt

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SmVPVUBIRuo/TqQZTU8kCdI/AAAAAAAAAf8/vEjBDDmbnMo/s1600/25-Jesses_Christmas-RJ_Scott400x600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SmVPVUBIRuo/TqQZTU8kCdI/AAAAAAAAAf8/vEjBDDmbnMo/s400/25-Jesses_Christmas-RJ_Scott400x600.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>For Jesse Connor, Christmas is nothing but a series of bad memories. It takes a man imbued with the spirit of Christmas to help him realize that the Christmas spirit lies in everyone--if they only know where to look. <a href="https://spsilverpublishing.com/product_book_info/coming-soon-c-2/jesse-s-christmas-ebook-p-697" target="_blank">Buy Link</a> Excerpt: "You the photographer then?" the shoveling guy asked. Jesse groaned to himself. Talk about stating the obvious. What a thing to say. Not only that, but the guy probably expected an answer. Snow guy, the hotel owner's son presumably, had a low and husky voice, but Jesse didn't want or need interruptions if he only had five minutes to capture a whole post.  The more photos he took the more likely it was that he would take a photo that mattered. Perhaps, if he ignored the other man, he would shut up. "Do you want to see something?" Shovel Guy asked. "A way up the garden is an old shed. It's where we store the wood for the winter—" "No, that's fine," Jesse interrupted with an abrupt wave of his hand. Maybe the man clearing the path was a sandwich short of a picnic. Why the hell did he think Jesse wanted to see a shed? Jesse bent low at the waist to examine the petals of some winter flower burned at the edges by the sun and filled with small deposits of snow. "It's a good photo." God, the guy was persistent. <a name="more"></a>"Jeez, man, will you leave me alone to concentrate?" Jesse spun on his heel to face the guy as he spoke, the same guy who had now pushed the hood of his huge parka away from his face. Jesse wasn't sure who was more shocked—the guy who looked utterly gobsmacked at what Jesse had just said or Jesse at seeing more face. Jesse couldn't stop himself, photos or no, post or not. He stared. And he probably had his mouth open. It certainly felt like it as the cold air hit his throat. Snow guy was gorgeous. Beautiful, with a strong stubble-darkened jaw and the same brilliant blue eyes as Diana. "Sorry, I was…" Jesse began weakly, but he really had no explanation. Hell. Those were really intensely cerulean eyes. Blue Eyes shrugged at the apology and then smiled. He took off a glove and held out his bare hand, a warm, wide and very strong hand that gripped Jesse’s firmly. "Gabriel McClurey," he said, introducing himself on the shake. "Jesse Connor," Jesse responded quickly. "I get involved," he explained weakly with a wave of his now freed hand at the snow around them. Then he stopped talking because he didn't want to come across as an idiot. "I need to get shoveling," Gabriel said finally to break the uncomfortable silence. Jesse realized he’d stood there with an open mouth and had been staring. "Shed's up that way if you want to go yourself." Gabriel dismissed him. He was sending him off to find the shed himself. Damn. Eye candy like Gabriel McClurey was something he didn't want to lose sight of. "Could you show me—" "Sorry, man, I need to shovel," Gabriel said quickly. He pulled up the scarf back over his mouth. Clearly the conversation was over. "Okay," Jesse said reluctantly. "Thanks." Gabriel resumed the long sweeping motions that cleared the pathway, and Jesse hovered for a while out of sight. He took a few shots of the tall, broad, blue-eyed Gabriel bent over and flexing to clear snow. Gabriel was too wrapped up for Jesse to see what he wanted to see, but a few photos of “man in action” would be okay. Wouldn’t it? Who was to know? He wasn’t taking them for the blog, just for himself. Ass up in the air, Gabriel moved to attack a new path of white. God. Now that was an easy part of body to see, jeans molded Gabriel to like a second skin, stretched across a firm tight butt. Feeling suddenly guilty, Jesse slunk away in the direction indicated. For the first time in nearly a year he was appreciating the male form and it felt odd and more than slightly like a betrayal of his wish to wallow in angst. <div> </div>

*Jesse's Christmas* Excerpt

For Jesse Connor, Christmas is nothing but a series of bad memories. It takes a man imbued with the spirit of Christmas to help him realize ...

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