âSleep. Weâre going to need our rest.â
She glanced over at the narrow double bedâit was going to be a tight fit.
She crawled under the covers and he stretched out beside her.
âCome here,â he murmured.
âExcuse me?â
He held out an arm to her. âThis is only going to work if we spoon.â
Spoon? With him? Heâd rolled on his side and waited for her expectantly. âScoot back against me,â he ordered.
In a second, she was snuggled up against Jim Kelley and he was holding her close to his hot, hard body, his breath warm in her hair. And she was supposed to sleep like this?
âNice,â he murmured. âI never knew what great shape youâre in. Do you do anything besides kickbox and run?â
The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. âI hear vigorous sex is a great aerobic workout.â
Dear Reader,
Itâs always a ton of fun to work on series like the Kelleys of Maple Cove with a group of my fellow authors. But I have to say, this bunch has been a particular joy to work with. Through all our laughter and sorrowsâsometimes eerily similar to those we write aboutâthe bonds of sisterhood proved to be especially strong.
Often the creative process is a lonely one, but the other five spectacular authors in this seriesâMarie Ferrarella, Beth Cornelison, Gail Barrett, Carla Cassidy and Elle Kennedyâ have reached across the miles separating our desks to touch my heart with their stories and support. Hopefully, the six of us have done the same for you, too, dear reader.
And with that, itâs my great pleasure to present to you the final installment in the chapter of the Kelley clanâs ongoing chronicles. Hereâs hoping you have as much fun reading it as all of us did writing it!
Warmly,
Cindy Dees
CINDY DEES started flying airplanes while sitting in her dadâs lap at the age of three and got a pilotâs license before she got a driverâs license. At age fifteen, she dropped out of high school and left the horse farm in Michigan where she grew up to attend the University of Michigan. After earning a degree in Russian and East European Studies, she joined the US Air Force and became the youngest female pilot in its history. She flew supersonic jets, VIP airlift and the C-5 Galaxy, the worldâs largest airplane. During her military career, she traveled to forty countries on five continents, was detained by the KGB and East German secret police, got shot at, flew in the first Gulf War and amassed a lifetimeâs worth of war stories.
Her hobbies include medieval re-enacting, professional Middle Eastern dancing and Japanese gardening.
This RITA>® Award-winning authorâs first book was published in 2002 and since then she has published more than twenty-five bestselling and award-winning novels. She loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at www.cindydees.com.
This book is for my wonderful collaboratorsâ
Marie, Beth, Gail, Carla, and Elle. May the Muse continue to grace you all.
âNext one of you boys who makes a comment about any of my girl parts,â Alexandra Mendez declared, âIâm gonna have to hurt you. Bad.â Sheesh. Wear one lousy skirt to the officeâand not even a sexy one at thatâand the guys went crazy. Pervs.
One of the several dozen soldiers clustered in the ready room passed behind her and flipped her brunette ponytail. âHell, Mendez. I didnât even know you had girl parts.â
The old hurt speared into her, sharp and bright. He didnât know. None of them knew how much she hated being âone of the guys.â Desperate choices ⦠made young ⦠to save her father â¦
She scowled at no one in particular. âAnyone see Captain Kelley? I need to talk to him.â
A predictable chorus of cat calls and rude remarks erupted. She was so not sleeping with Jim Kelley. But it didnât help the rumor mill that he hovered over her as though she was some kind of freaking moron every time anyone in the unit gave her a job to do. Which wasnât to say she wouldnât seriously consider sleeping with Jim if he offered. Sheâd had a massive crush on him for pretty much her whole life.
She rolled her eyes and announced to the room at large, âI swear, youâll never see it coming. A knife between the ribs, nice and quiet.â
Laughter broke out. âYou and what army?â someone called.
She shook her head and didnât rise to the bait. These Special Forces types thought they were such hot stuff. Nothing and nobody could touch them. Problem was, they were right about that most of the time. Just once, sheâd like to give them a taste of their own medicine.
âCaptainâs in the colonelâs office,â someone finally relented and volunteered. âSecure fax came in a few minutes ago.â
Ahh. A mission was coming down to the unit. No wonder everyone was hanging around trying to look busy. They were all here to wrangle a spot on whatever team was about to get sent out.
She clenched her jaw. Sheâd give her right arm and her firstborn child to be sent out in the field just once. Other tech-support types went out to back up the teams all the time. But not her. Never her. Maybe this timeâ