And now we get to Book 2 in The Jackson Brothers trilogy, Somebody’s Ex. Thanks to Rae Monet for the fabulous set of covers! You met David Jackson in Somebody’s Lover, Book 1, (Jace and Taylor’s story). You might remember he was not a happy camper. After his eldest brother’s death, David took responsibility for holding the family together. But somehow, he seems to think he’s failed. Enter Randi Andersen. Randi’s got a story of her own. Born of Norwegian immigrant parents, she works at her family’s store. And did I mention her spectacularly unsuccessful attempt at marriage? Now she’s just somebody’s ex, at least in her own mind. I especially love this story because it featured my very dear Norwegian Elkhound Star, though I changed the name to protect the innocent! Star was a wonderful dog and she made a wonderful character in the book. Another reason for fond memories of writing this story was the help my father-in-law Per gave me on all things Norwegian. He even helped me choose Randi’s name, something Norwegian but also pronounceable for my readers. My husband and I lost Per a year ago to cancer, and somehow I feel that reissuing this story now is also a tribute to him. We miss you, Per!
Sit back for a blurb and an excerpt of Somebody’s Ex, The Jackson Brothers, Book 2.
A family torn apart by tragedy...
Three years ago, Lou Jackson, eldest son, died in a work accident. And nothing has been the same since for the Jacksons. They lost their heart and soul the day Lou died, even as matriarch Evelyn tries to keep them together. But things are changing and the family will either find their way back to each other. Or they’ll be torn asunder.
Randi Andersen has a thing for bad boys, tall, dark, sexy, and handsome. But bad boys invariably make for bad relationships. She’s tired of being somebody’s ex, ex-girlfriend, ex-lover, or ex-wife. Now, if she could just fall in love with a nice guy.
David Jackson has lived under the crushing weight of responsibility for holding his family together since his brother’s death three years ago. Randi is too sexy to resist, but the last thing he needs now is a relationship. Too much is at stake with his family falling apart.
Can they each forgive their own past mistakes in order to take the leap of faith that love demands?
This excerpt is a continuation of the excerpt on my website. So if you’d like, pop over there to read the beginning, then come back for a bit more here! Two excerpts for the price of one!
Somebody’s Ex, The Jackson Brothers, Book 2
Copyright 2013 Jasmine Haynes
“I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
She sure as hell had, David hoped. He’d lost his irritation the minute she’d bent down to button her skirt.
She was a wet dream come true. Long blond hair, brilliant blue eyes, plump cherry lips, and a pair of ta-tas the sight of which damn near knocked him upside the head. And if he looked at her bare legs one more time, he’d expire in unfulfilled lust.
It didn’t matter a whit that she was ditzy. He could have killed her. The thought of that beautiful chest crushed between his bumper and her door gave him heart palpitations. He still hadn’t come down off the adrenaline high, which explained his explicit wayward thoughts.
A man, however, couldn’t be blamed for becoming fascinated by such a lovely creature, especially with that pretty blush blooming on her cheeks.
David pulled his thoughts out of his shorts. “Stopping almost in the middle of the road probably isn’t a good idea.”
She rolled her eyes, her long lashes catching his attention. “I didn’t do it on purpose.” She looked at the side of her dusty, beaten truck. It might have been rust-colored or a long-since faded red. “I ran out of gas.”
Ahh. Why did women seem perpetually out of gas? He eyed a can in the truck bed.
She quirked her mouth wryly. “I’m pretty sure it’s empty.”
He hefted the container and sure enough, it weighed almost nothing. “Might be a good idea to keep it full.” He glanced at her face. “For emergencies.”
She closed her eyes and heaved a sigh, scrambling his thoughts all over again.
“If one were prepared for every eventuality, life would be like having to watch Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman every day. Not that Pretty Woman is bad, but once in five years is enough.” She tipped her head, her hair falling across her breasts. “Gives you a chance to forget the ending.”
He agreed with the chick flick assessment. But how could she forget the ending? Didn’t all chick flicks end the same way? She went on, though, before he had a chance to ask.
“Then again, if it were Vin Diesel in Pitch Black...” Eyes closed, arms held slightly away from her body, she shuddered. He almost lost control as her husky voice swept through him. “Well, twice a day wouldn’t be enough.”
Pitch Black. Definitely sounded like a movie to have a girl watch on a Friday-night date.
She shook herself. “Where were we?” Then she batted her pretty blues. “Oh. I was going to ask if you could help me.”
He squeezed between her truck’s rear and his bumper to set the can in his bed, then opened the passenger door. “Hop in.”
She glanced back at the dog face staring at her through the rear window of her truck. Some sort of Husky breed, he presumed, wearing a beseeching expression.
“I can’t leave Royal.”
“He can hop in the bed.”
She tipped her head from side to side, then said, “She is strictly an in-cab girl. You know, dust and dirt in her poor little eyes. I can wait here”—she did that batting thing again—“if you wouldn’t mind bringing the gas back.”
He’d have to come back anyway, unless he forced her to walk, and he wouldn’t leave her. Mom would flay the flesh from his bones if he did.
He slid his eyes to his cab-plus. “Bring her on.”
She smiled. Whoa, Nellie. The knock-em-dead beam almost blinded him with its brilliance. With that smile, the lady could get a man to do for-freaking-sure anything.
She yanked hard on the door, and the dog sprang out, its leash trailing, to bounce all over the concrete. “Bli,” she said. Obviously a command, the dog now froze in place.
Not a Husky, much smaller, he wasn’t sure of the breed, but she was pure something. Just like her owner. The woman grabbed her backpack, then the leash, and led the animal over. Sniffing a boot and a pant leg, the dog seemingly pronounced him trustworthy and started snuffling the truck tires.
“She’s really very good. She won’t drool all over the seats. This is Royal.”
The dog actually looked at him as her name was said, as if she understood she was being introduced. “What breed?”
Leaning over, she put the dog’s paws on the bottom sill of the open door. “Hoppe,” she murmured in that odd dog language, then patted the interior carpet. Royal scrambled into the back behind the seats. “She’s a Norwegian Elkhound.”
“Never seen one before.” But it explained the lilting commands the woman used. He’d have guessed Swedish, but presumed the two languages were similar. Multilinguistic. Maybe the woman wasn’t as ditzy as he first assumed.
“So you speak to her in Norwegian?”
She huffed, hands on her hips. “Well, duh. That’s the only language she understands.”
Was she kidding? The blue sparkle in her eyes said yes. “And you are?”
“Randi Andersen.” She gripped his proffered hand firmly.
The warmth of her skin left a lasting impression with him.
“David Jackson.” He flourished his hand. “Hop in.”
She looked at the height of the sill, and he had the perverse vision of helping her in the way she’d helped the dog. His hands on her hands, his body pressed to her backside.
“You need a hand?” Oh man, he’d give her one.
She raised a brow. “I’m fine.” She waited expectantly.
David didn’t move, entranced by her blue eyes.
“All right. I can see you’re going to make me say it. Unless you want the shock of your life, I am not getting up in this truck until you back off.” She looked down pointedly at her short skirt, then the height of the truck’s sill.
Shock wasn’t what he felt, but he was a gentleman, at least in deed if not in mind. He backed off and rounded the end of his truck, the image of the snaps on her skirt popping open.
His body might never recover from the vision.
I hope you enjoyed this excerpt of Somebody’s Ex. It’s available now on Kindle Kindle UK Kobo Nook Nook UK All Romance Smashwords, iBookstore coming soon. If you missed Jace and Taylor’s story, you can find Somebody’s Lover on Kindle Kindle UK Kobo All Romance Smashwords. And don’t forget Somebody’s Lover is discounted on All Romance through Sun, 2/10, 9:00 AM PST. Somebody’s Wife (Connie and Mitch) will be out later this month (hubby is working on the proofing and formatting for me!).
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