Kate Jackson is listlessly floating through her life having no idea what or who she wants to be and burdened by the pains of her past. That is until she meets Derrick Kane.A whirlwind romance leads Kate to believe that Derrick is the answer to all her questions and the patch to heal all her wounds.Derrick and Kate’s love is quickly tested as a shocking crime forces Kate to have to figure out how to take care of herself and leads her into a mystery that only Kate has the key to solve.Can she catch an extremely dangerous criminal and keep the love between Derrick and her alive? Find out the conclusion of this thrilling crime drama and contemporary romance in the following books of The Photographer Trilogy.
CHAPTER ONE: Kate Jackson stepped onto the metro car around 8am, heading for work in her usual morning routine on a crisp Thursday morning. She had been working in a sales position for a large company that sold office furniture to companies all over the country for quite some time even though it was unrelated to what she had gone to school for. She had graduated in the top ten percent of her class from the University of Maryland with a psychology degree, so sales was not her dream job, but at least it was a job.
The metro car roughly slammed from side to side as Kate held onto the railing above her and tried not to fall on the people around her. It was not proving to be the simplest task.
Probably not the best day to have worn these heels, she thought, as she warily watched the homeless man behind her eyeing her rear end. Finally, the operator announced her stop and Kate fought her way for the doors before they closed, as everyone else on the car seemed to be doing the same thing in fifteen different directions. Squeezing through, she slid past the crowd and snaked her way to the escalators, then up and out of the ground, onto the street.
She never looked forward to going to work in the mornings even though she appreciated the pay check. The tough economy had made the job market cut throat and Kate felt lucky to at least have found anything to pay her bills. She had been gifted the job from a friend of her late father, who pitied her situation and owned the company. Lenny had become a great father figure for her and her sister since their father had passed away and had helped them out of many difficult situations over the years.
Sighing, Kate spotted her favorite hole-in-the-wall coffee shop, and looking at her watch, she decided to reward herself for her timing by stopping in for a tall vanilla latte. She opened the door to be greeted by the delicious smell fo coffee beans and her favorite smiling barista. The Java Jold was amorning must-have for her and she felt her spirit lifting every tme she walked through those front doors.
“Miss Kate, good to see you this morning, would you like your usual?” asked Jimmy, a high-school student whose favorite days at work are the days that Kate comes in.
Kate was always surprised at the attention she received from men regarding her looks. At five foot six inches, she wasn’t particularly tall. She was far from stick thin, instead probably a few pounds over what she should be. She had dark brown, curly hair that hung all the way down her back and jumped about in any way it pleased, regardless of what she wanted.
Her pale skin contrasted her dark, piercing brown eyes, brunette hair color, and ruby red lips causing an almost doll=like look to her. She dressed simply but professionally, going for comfort more than glamour for themost part, if you didn’t count her high heel shoes. But even with her striking features, Kate often though of herself as plain and which made her oblivious to the hints and attempts at flirting from the young barista.
“Thank you, Jimmy, yes please.” Kate smiles at him.
“Jimmie, add a large brewed coffee, two creams and one sugar to that vanilla latte order,” said a deep voice behind her.
Kate whirled around to see the face that belonged to that deep voice and was struck by the tall, handsome grin staring back at her.“Excuse me? Do I know you?” Kate asked, defiantly, stomping her foot on the ground in an attempt to look more confident.
“Well you should, if you are planning on buying me a drink, or do you just make a habit of buying strange men
their coffee?” The tall man jokingly smiled at her.To Be Continued….
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Derrick woke up with a start and looked around, unsure of where he was and trying to see in the dark. It only took him a few moments to remember that he was at Kate’s apartment in her bed and it was the middle of the night. He
wasn’t sure what had woken him, maybe a dream or a sound? He felt uneasy though, like something was off.
He saw that Kate was still fast asleep next to him. She was laying on her side facing away from him and the sheet was draped
over her hip, leaving the rest of her bare body exposed. Her pale skin glistened in the dark as he took in the curves of her waist and shoulders and then the softness of her neck as her hair landed on the pillow behind her.
Derrick was leaning up on his elbows in bed wide awake and he still didn’t know why but something in his stomach felt off. He decided to get up and go to the bathroom, maybe he had eaten something wrong. He carefully slid off of the bed, taking care to not disturb Kate and wake her up. Derrick headed to the bathroom down the hallway but he paused, thinking he saw something in the shadows.
The living room was at the end of the short hallway and there was some sort of movement in the shadows cast from over there. He slowly approached theliving room entrance, looking down at the wood floors where he saw the unmistakable shape of a person in the shadows. He quietedhis breat and tried to calm himself down,his heartbeat was pounding.
Somebody was in the apartment.
4 out of 5 Pennies
There is a dynamic darkness about this book that keeps the pages turning. Kate’s life is in a holding pattern as she works a job she merely tolerates. Other than her sister, she has no family to speak of. She relies a the long time friend of her deceased father for her livelyhood.
When she is engaged by a stranger in her favorite coffee house, things begin to look up. She begins to think that maybe there is more to life than what she is reluctantly carving out for herself. As she and Derrick begin to date she is the happiest she’s been in years, but happiness is fleeting and danger lurks where you least expect it.
This was a very quick read. Wanting to know what would happen next kept me flying through the chapters. While I had a difficult time warming up to Derrick’s character, I hoped for Kate’s sake he could be what she needed. She had endured so much growing up, you just can’t help but want happiness to find her, wrap her up in it’s warmth and take her away to someplace wonderful.
But those are the things of fairytales, and this book is no fairytale. It will be interesting to see where the second book in the trilogy takes this pair. I for one am looking forward to finding out.
Sarah Robinson is a native of the Washington, DC area and has both her Bachelors and Masters Degree in psychology while working as a mental health therapist with poor and homeless populations with severe mental illnesses as well as an advocate for a national cancer research foundation.Writing has been her hobby since high school and she has been published several times from poetry to short stories. Her blog features her latest poetic accomplishments at http://www.smallvoiceslargehearts.com/.Sand & Clay was her first full length novel and came out in its second printing, a “holiday edition”, in mid-December 2013. Her second book, Tainted Bodies (Part One of The Photographer Trilogy) came out on January 1st, 2014 so make sure to get your copy asap!Her writing often concentrates on the complexity of love and emotions and the struggles of finding your destined path through life as well as overcoming life’s tragedies and misfortunes. Much of her inspirations come from the lovely and spiritual love she shares with her new husband, Justin, and the emotions around falling head over heels in love with your soulmate. She and her new husband are also animal enthusiasts and have 14 pets as well as volunteering with multiple animal shelters and rescues. Her celebrity idol is Ellen Degeneres, she even named one of her dogs after her!You can find more information on her facebook page
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Beau Diesel…He was my “one”. My one that I would sacrifice everything for. My one that I wanted to be with until I took my final breath. My one that completed me.
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