Another Man's Treasure

Published by Wendy Jay

This book is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to people (living or dead)
, events or places is completely coincidental.   This book contains sexually explicit material and is for a mature audience.  All persons in this work are 21 years or older.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

IBSN:  978-1-304-12334-3

Writing my first novel has been quite an adventure for me.  I have officially crossed this off my
bucket list
.  There are so many people I need to thank, please bear with me.  Those two little words (thank you) don’t even come close to portraying my love for the following people.

Gert Erasmus
designed my book cover.  I love it so much.  Your talent is truly immeasurable. 
GertErasmusPhotoEditing
…
Find him on Facebook!

Editing Divas
are the two ladies who performed the editing.  They are fantastic, supportive and knowledgeable.  I love these ladies!  Trish Kuper & Maria DeSouza   You Rock!

John Lodge
is my muse for Jude Delaney.  He has been a pleasure to work with and incredibly inspiring.  He is so much more than a handsome face and gorgeous body. Find him on Facebook!

Dominic ‘Reaper’ Dasinger
is my muse for Ross Guthrie.  This man goes above and beyond to help anyone.  Reaper is a great athlete, fitness model, but more importantly a wonderful man.  He and his wife,
Phoenix
, are simply amazing. Find him on Facebook!

Toni-joy Burke and Benjamin Burke
are my niece and nephew.  When my computer quit, they stepped up and made sure I had a new one with all the programming I required.  I raised them right! *wink*

Ann Tew
my incredible friend.  Your encouragement brought me to this point.  You pushed, cajoled and even threatened me at the right time! (LOL)  There are not enough words to convey how I feel about you…I love you like a sister.

Donnie Miller
you are my BFF.  I love you D…nuff said.

Last but never least…My thanks to
God
for trusting me with His gift of words.

To all my family, friends, and fan page subscribers…I want to thank you all for being a part of my life.  Each and every one of you plays an important part.  I want you to know that you are appreciated and loved.

There is one person that I purposefully omitted from my acknowledgements.  I wanted to be sure she had her very own page.  This woman has been my confidant and friend.  I share my secrets and am completely foolish with no fear of judgment.  She accepts me with all my faults and loves me in spite of them.  I dedicate my first novel to my sister, Jennifer Jewel. 
I love you Jenny.

What the hell am I doing back in this June Cleaver neighborhood?  I must be dreaming!
Miranda thought to herself as she climbed out of bed Monday morning.
Big change from Los Angeles for sure.
She crossed the room and looked out the bedroom window at the promising blue sky.  She threw on some clothes and headed to the kitchen to make some coffee to start her day. No coffee.

“Shit, I have to go to the store. Let’s hope Flannigan’s still opens at the ass crack of dawn!” 

It had been a long time since Miranda lived in this white picket fence, one horse town.  Willow, a sleepy little town located in the Shenandoah Mountains of Virginia, where Miranda called home as a child, held many memories of her adolescence…and a ghost or two.  After her parents died in a car accident when she was 15, she was raised by her brother David.  Miranda felt completely lost without her parents.  David did the best her could, but no one could replace them.  They were the epicenter of her life.

Shortly after her 18
^th
birthday, she moved to the west coast. Los Angeles, to be exact…The City of Angels.  Lights, excitement and a new career awaited her and she wanted it all.  LA held a real estate job she loved, a night life she craved.  Even so, she was compelled to come back after all that happened in LA. 

Driving into town, she started to daydream, and immediately Hank flooded her brain.  Miranda shook her head trying to remove him from her memories, but dammit he followed her everywhere! Hank always said she would never shake him, but for fuck’s sake she sure as hell was going to try. Running into the store, she grabbed a few things she needed for home and waited in the checkout line.

Why is it I am strong in all aspects of my life, except when it comes to that asshole?

“
You son of a bitch.”

“Excuse me lady?”

Miranda shook her head and realized she said that out loud to the convenience store clerk. “I’m sorry, just a book I was reading last night,” said Miranda.  The young girl shook her head and rolled her eyes. Miranda glared back at her until she lowered her eyes.  Miranda groaned to herself as she grabbed her purchases and walked out the door.

Jumping behind the wheel of her Lexus IS C, Miranda turned the key and the engine roared to life. 
Holy hell, I love this car!
 

The red hot convertible she
bought in California and drove cross country back to Willow was the cat’s ass!  She threw the car into gear, popped the clutch and squealed the tires as she pulled away from the curb.  “Whoa, easy Mandy!” she laughed as people turned to see what the commotion was all about.  Whether she was driving this car or jogging in the park, people always turned to stare at Miranda.

Copper colored hair with natural highlights flowing
past her shoulders, big green eyes and fair skin, Miranda had always turned heads.   Her 5’6” frame was curvy and strong, thanks to jogging.  She was considered a beauty by any standard with her ample breasts and curvy hips.  Yes, they all turned to look at Miranda, but she kept it all in perspective.  She had a good heart, light nature, with a touch of sarcasm about her and she smiled easily. 

Miranda slapped the steering wheel
, let off the accelerator and chuckled to herself. 
Shit girl, you need a good run to calm yourself down!
She drove down the street for about a half mile and took a right onto Delaney Road.

As a teenager, Miranda always hated living so far out of town.  But now, it was just what she wanted and needed - peace and quiet to think and get away from more ghosts.  What the fuck?  More ghosts? Apparitions of her past followed her from the east coast to the west coast and now back to this sleepy little town.

“I’ll deal with ghosts later,” Miranda said out loud as she put the milk in the refrigerator and left the rest on the counter.   She walked into the bedroom, rifled through a box for her running top and shorts pulled them on and found her sneakers in another box.  “Fuck, I hate unpacking,” she said while tying them nice and snug.  She pulled on a ball cap, threaded her hair through the hole in the back and headed out the door.  After a couple minutes of stretching and warming up her muscles, Miranda started off slowly down her dirt driveway, turned right and began to pick up speed. 

Jogging had always been cathartic for Miranda whether she wanted to clear her mind or think over “things”. Delan
ey was a very long road and there were no houses around hers for over 10 miles in any direction, as she owned several wooded acres of land and the small yellow house her father built for her mother years ago. After the death of her older brother two months ago, it all came to her in the will.

Ah well, Miranda was accustomed to change. Her whole life was fraught wiairs fraugth changes.  Mom and Dad gone…change.  Brother taking care of her the last three years of high school…change.  Moving to LA, real estate, Hank…more
changes.  Now after her brother’s death, she inherited everything….major change.  At first she just wanted to sell it all and leave it behind, but with Hank’s revelation, she left LA and came back…another change. 
Fuckin’ Hank…the prick!  I should have cut his nuts off before I left. God knows I had the opportunity
.