As promised, here’s a bit more about the upcoming anthology Force Recon””Beacon Bayou. I hope you all get as much enjoyment out of it as we did writing it. It was a pleasure writing with three wonderful ladies and I look forward to more projects in the future.
Looking for a splendid place to visit? Welcome to Beacon Bayou! Come wander Big Thicket National Preserve”¦For one four man Marine Recon team a vacation was just what the doctor ordered. Or in their case, the corpsman.
Meet Gunny Brogan Baker, Sergeant Aaron Wolf, Corporal Regan Maxwell, and Chief Gabriel Sanchez. Fresh off a mission in the jungles of South America, rest and relaxation are their number one priorities. Time to unwind and sort things out. But this vacation will test their strength unlike any mission ever has, and they’ll find out more about themselves and each other than they ever thought they wanted to know.
After a string of failed relationships, Brogan Baker has been left reeling and questioning his sexuality. He hasn’t slept in a bed in more than a year, and another team member has caught his eye. Is Regan Maxwell the answer to his problems? Regan’s a former Hollywood pretty boy just trying to prove he has what it takes all the while keeping his true identity in the closet. But, the closer he and Brogan get, the more he wants to toss aside the act and just be himself. Then Lily comes along. Can their growing relationship survive the presence of one tiny female?
Aaron Wolf, the unit lost sheep, agreed to the Texas get away thinking he could finally find himself and overcome the short comings his father points out every chance he gets. Meeting Scarlet might be the way out he’s been looking for, but it’s Ros, Gabe’s new wife, that shows him there’s hope where he thought none existed. Life has dealt Gabriel Sanchez a long string of heartache. After losing his first wife over fifteen years ago, he’s sworn off women. But somehow Roslyn Romero manages to capture his heart. She’s got a host of her own problems that will push Gabe to the brink of what he thought he was capable of.
If what they say is true, and that which does not kill us makes us stronger, this Recon team will either leave Texas in body bags or with a new found resolve. Beacon Bayou beware. Recon never backs down. No mercy, no quarter given.
Corporal Regan Maxwell:
A former Hollywood model and playboy, Corporal Regan Maxwell left behind his lavish lifestyle and memories of his former lover for a more restrained and structured life as a United States Marine. Known as Firewall to his teammates, Regan has to hide his true identity while he functions as a straight laced, black ops man on the job. But the gay man trapped inside is never far away. Memories die hard, however. While on what was supposed to be a peaceful retreat to Texas after a mission in South America, Regan happens upon his ex-lover in the local grocery store. In a desperate attempt to prove to the man that broke his heart that he’s moved on, Regan passionately embraces his team mate, Brogan Baker.
When heat erupts as Regan and Brogan kiss, the prank that was merely an attempt to disguise Regan’s single status leaves him wondering just how fake their relationship might be. But in the midst of sorting out his newfound feelings for a man known for breaking his playthings, along comes one tiny female. Will a nine year old little girl halt the budding relationship between Regan and Brogan before it even gets started? Or will Regan finally be the one to give Brogan what he needs, thus taking what Regan’s been looking for all along? Regan may have to dig deeper than he believes he can to find the strength he’ll need to handle the likes of Brogan Baker.
Please enjoy this excerpt:
While Aaron straightened up Gabe’s box and started cleaning up the blood that had dripped to the floor, Regan stripped the sheets and wadded them into a tight ball. He knew there was a dumpster behind his cabin and that would be the perfect place to dispose of those.
“Uhmm, sorry about earlier,” Aaron offered as Regan picked up the plastic bag the IV line had been contained in.
Had Regan heard him right? Was that an apology? He must have been mistaken. Aaron was too big a bullying ass to apologize for anything.
“Yeah, well you should keep your nose out of **** that doesn’t concern you,” Firewall growled as he moved on to wipe at the table with a bleach soaked cloth.
Before the conversation could go much further, Regan’s phone went off about the same time that Aaron’s did. They looked at each other before answering. Regan knew one thing they probably held in common. He didn’t think either of them wanted to hear that Gabe’s heroic effort had gone without reward.
Regan listened intently as Brogan filled him in on where they were and what was going on. Then he was told that he and Aaron needed to bring another vehicle so Gabe could be mobile when no one else was there with him. It looked like Ros was a bit of a fighter and had made it. Regan hung up and glanced at his watch. Galveston General Hospital. That was perfect actually. He could kill two birds with one stone. He could follow Aaron with the spare vehicle and at some point before his appointment sneak downstairs to the lab to submit to this ludicrous paternity test he had to take in order to prove his gay innocence. Perfect.
When Regan followed Aaron off the elevator on the intensive care unit, the smell of antiseptic hit him square in the face. How many times had they all been assaulted by that offensive odor? Knowing that Brogan was probably gagging and near panic stricken by now, he hurried down the hall to the small waiting area a charge nurse directed them to. Gabe sat in a chair with his head in his hands and Brogan paced the floor. Regan thought it was a miracle a hole hadn’t developed in the sea foam green carpet yet. After a few minutes of strained chit chat, Regan glanced at his watch and knew he had to make a clean escape.
“Say, I’m going to go get some air,” he said and rose from the chair he’d occupied in the corner of the room. “Hospitals, right?”
The last part earned him a nasty look from Aaron and an even nastier one from Brogan. But, apparently he wasn’t so upset he wasn’t willing to ride Regan’s ill mannered coat tails as an excuse to leave himself.
“I’ll go with you,” Brogan said and stood.
“No, you stay,” Regan said, trying to think of a good reason to leave alone. He remembered the perfume that had drifted off of Brogan earlier. “That pretty nurse might have room in her schedule though for you. In fact, maybe you could have breakfast with her tomorrow morning.”
Regan watched as Brogan’s face hardened. Knowing he would more than likely pay for that remark, he turned and left. When Regan approached the receptionists counter in the lab downstairs, his throat went dry and he could barely speak.
“I have an appointment to have a test done,” he told the short blond woman.
“What’s the name?” she asked.
Sighing, Regan responded, “Regan Maxwell, ma’am.”
It was only moments before a lab technician called Regan’s number and he went back. After poking and prodding, and stabbing him four times, the technician finally hit pay dirt and filled the vial, only after an enormous black bruise started to develop from the misfire. Great. How would he explain that away? Trying to figure out how to hide the ugly mark, Regan left the big blue chair and walked back into the waiting area. Turning back toward the elevator, he looked up and spotted Brogan rounding the corner with Regan’s phone in his hand. **** me!
Brogan pursed his lips, approached and thrust Regan’s phone into his chest. “This rang,” he said dryly. “I thought you might want to call whoever he is back.”
Regan flipped open the device and searched missed calls. Kelli’s attorney. Another man. No telling what Brogan thought at this point.
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