Title: I Found My Heart In West Virginia
Authors: Chelsea Falin & Cory Hammond
Genre: New Age Contemporary Romance
Release Date: Late Fall/Early Winter 2013
Cover Reveal Dates: July 19th, 20th, & 21st
I saw the girls- all four of them- headin' back out of the woods, soaking wet. I whistled and yelled, “Woo wee ladies, y'all are lookin' like some hot messes.” The guys laughed, and I saw Cheyenne blush. The other three girls only rolled their eyes. They did this kind of thing all of the time, but it would seem as though Jace's cousin did not.
I hadn't been drinking all that much, shocking though that might be, but I grinned at the girls like a bobcat. My second go at getting a good look at that girl was just as good- if not better- than the first time around. Looking at her now, in nothing but a blank tank top stuck close to her body and a pair of ripped jeans, I felt about ready to burst. Later, after some subtle prompting by Jace, she ended up beside me, but we didn't talk much at all. It was nice, though, I gotta admit, just being next to her.
Time went by, and around midnight, we all called it quits for the night. I only had two beers under my belt, so I drove Jace's truck home. His cousin sat in the front seat, looking just a bit shiny in the eyes. Jace was nearly passed out and Josh was holding his stomach. Those two had drunk more than their fair share.
I looked back at Cheyenne...or did she like being called Shy better? Eh, who knew. “So how many'd you drink little girl?”
She looked at me. “First, I'm not a little girl, honey. Second, I only had about six or something.”
and here I was thinking that she was, as her name implied, shy. Seemed to me now that she was feistier than she acted. “Well, excu-use me darlin'.”
She half-laughed,half-snorted at me, rolling her eyes as she did. “How many'd you drink then?”
“Two.” She laughed at me. “I figured someone'd better be the designated driver and caretaker, after all.”
“I thought designated drivers didn't drink anything at all.” She retorted. She didn't look at me though. She stared out of the passenger side window. Maybe she was shy and it was just the alcohol doing the talking. Either way, I didn't care. I was going to take advantage of her being pulled out of the little bubble she had seemed wrapped in until she downed her six beers.
Laughing, I said, “Well, you must not be from around here honey, because drinkin' two beers is like drinkin' a bunch of water to me.”
“Does that mean your an alcoholic?”
I snorted. “Hell nah it don't. I just like to have fun I guess. I'm a mite bigger than you to boot.”
She shrugged, and kept looking out the window. We pulled up to the Aker's house in silence, and between me and her, we got the other two inside. I wasn't sure what to do with Josh, so I dumped him on the floor in Jace's bedroom and covered him with a blanket. When I came back into the living room I caught the butt end of a conversation between Cheyenne and Miss Debbie.
“Oh no, honey, I'm sure they're fine. I'd be glad to watch 'em. I promised them me and Jack would take them to go get ice cream in the morning anyways. You go on home and rest.”
“Well, I don't think I can really drive myself...” she started.
Before I knew it, my big mouth had gotten me into something, “I can take you home.”
Miss Debbie smiled at me and looked down at her niece. “See? Jace can bring your truck back to you tomorrow, no worries.”
A few more protests and Cheyenne turned to me. “You sure you don't mind? It's a good twenty minutes or so to my place.”
I shrugged. “I offered, didn't I?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess...thanks.”
We got outside, and I said to her, “Uh, we're just gonna have to walk down to my place to get my truck is all.”
She looked a little nervous. “How far is your place?”
Joking, I said, “Close enough they can hear you scream.”
She laughed genuinely for the first time since I'd met her and followed me up the holler, which was lit only by the pale light of a full moon. It was an unusually beautiful night. Or maybe the company I was in just made it seem that way. I wasn't but four or five houses down the road, and we made it in plenty of time. I opened up the front door, unlocked as usual, and told her that she could come on inside while I got the keys. Matt was sitting on the couch watching television when we came in.
“Hey boy, what do you think you're still doing up?” I asked him.
He just shrugged. “It's not a school night.”
“Uh huh,well I gotta drive her home and when I get back, your butt better be in bed, ya hear me?”
Matt laughed. “Uh huh. Got it.”
“Good.”
“Uh huh.”
Cheyenne just stood there staring at us, the shine of alcohol was slowly leaving her eyes but it was pretty obvious she was still buzzed. I grabbed the keys, told Matt I'd be home in an hour or so, and then I herded Cheyenne out towards my old beat up truck. It was an ancient red Toyota, but it had served me well so far. She still seemed anxious as we pulled out of my short driveway and down the holler toward what served as the main road in these parts. I looked over at her a few times,one hand on the wheel and one arm resting on the open window. When she never said anything, I decided to try and strike up a conversation. She might be one of the most gorgeous things I had ever seen, and I might not be inclined to getting involved with anyone, but a guy could be friendly, right?
I hadn't been drinking all that much, shocking though that might be, but I grinned at the girls like a bobcat. My second go at getting a good look at that girl was just as good- if not better- than the first time around. Looking at her now, in nothing but a blank tank top stuck close to her body and a pair of ripped jeans, I felt about ready to burst. Later, after some subtle prompting by Jace, she ended up beside me, but we didn't talk much at all. It was nice, though, I gotta admit, just being next to her.
Time went by, and around midnight, we all called it quits for the night. I only had two beers under my belt, so I drove Jace's truck home. His cousin sat in the front seat, looking just a bit shiny in the eyes. Jace was nearly passed out and Josh was holding his stomach. Those two had drunk more than their fair share.
I looked back at Cheyenne...or did she like being called Shy better? Eh, who knew. “So how many'd you drink little girl?”
She looked at me. “First, I'm not a little girl, honey. Second, I only had about six or something.”
and here I was thinking that she was, as her name implied, shy. Seemed to me now that she was feistier than she acted. “Well, excu-use me darlin'.”
She half-laughed,half-snorted at me, rolling her eyes as she did. “How many'd you drink then?”
“Two.” She laughed at me. “I figured someone'd better be the designated driver and caretaker, after all.”
“I thought designated drivers didn't drink anything at all.” She retorted. She didn't look at me though. She stared out of the passenger side window. Maybe she was shy and it was just the alcohol doing the talking. Either way, I didn't care. I was going to take advantage of her being pulled out of the little bubble she had seemed wrapped in until she downed her six beers.
Laughing, I said, “Well, you must not be from around here honey, because drinkin' two beers is like drinkin' a bunch of water to me.”
“Does that mean your an alcoholic?”
I snorted. “Hell nah it don't. I just like to have fun I guess. I'm a mite bigger than you to boot.”
She shrugged, and kept looking out the window. We pulled up to the Aker's house in silence, and between me and her, we got the other two inside. I wasn't sure what to do with Josh, so I dumped him on the floor in Jace's bedroom and covered him with a blanket. When I came back into the living room I caught the butt end of a conversation between Cheyenne and Miss Debbie.
“Oh no, honey, I'm sure they're fine. I'd be glad to watch 'em. I promised them me and Jack would take them to go get ice cream in the morning anyways. You go on home and rest.”
“Well, I don't think I can really drive myself...” she started.
Before I knew it, my big mouth had gotten me into something, “I can take you home.”
Miss Debbie smiled at me and looked down at her niece. “See? Jace can bring your truck back to you tomorrow, no worries.”
A few more protests and Cheyenne turned to me. “You sure you don't mind? It's a good twenty minutes or so to my place.”
I shrugged. “I offered, didn't I?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess...thanks.”
We got outside, and I said to her, “Uh, we're just gonna have to walk down to my place to get my truck is all.”
She looked a little nervous. “How far is your place?”
Joking, I said, “Close enough they can hear you scream.”
She laughed genuinely for the first time since I'd met her and followed me up the holler, which was lit only by the pale light of a full moon. It was an unusually beautiful night. Or maybe the company I was in just made it seem that way. I wasn't but four or five houses down the road, and we made it in plenty of time. I opened up the front door, unlocked as usual, and told her that she could come on inside while I got the keys. Matt was sitting on the couch watching television when we came in.
“Hey boy, what do you think you're still doing up?” I asked him.
He just shrugged. “It's not a school night.”
“Uh huh,well I gotta drive her home and when I get back, your butt better be in bed, ya hear me?”
Matt laughed. “Uh huh. Got it.”
“Good.”
“Uh huh.”
Cheyenne just stood there staring at us, the shine of alcohol was slowly leaving her eyes but it was pretty obvious she was still buzzed. I grabbed the keys, told Matt I'd be home in an hour or so, and then I herded Cheyenne out towards my old beat up truck. It was an ancient red Toyota, but it had served me well so far. She still seemed anxious as we pulled out of my short driveway and down the holler toward what served as the main road in these parts. I looked over at her a few times,one hand on the wheel and one arm resting on the open window. When she never said anything, I decided to try and strike up a conversation. She might be one of the most gorgeous things I had ever seen, and I might not be inclined to getting involved with anyone, but a guy could be friendly, right?
Chelsea Falin is the independent author of twelve current
titles. This will be her thirteenth title. Her previous works include the
'Growing Roots Series' and the 'Benson Family Chronicles.' She has wanted to be
an author since a very young girl, and finally made that dream come true about
four years ago. In her personal life, Chelsea is a wife of almost five years,
the mother of a four year old daughter, and a freelance blog/article writer.
Her hobbies and interests include: fishing, writing, reading, football, hiking,
traveling, cooking and history.
Facebook www.facebook.com/CFalinHammond
Twitter @CFalinHammond
Goodreads www.goodreads.com/CFalinHammond
Cory Hammond is currently working on her first independent
title, but has co-written one previous book with Chelsea (Southern Jokes: Funny
But True). This will be her second co-authoring pursuit. Cory is a recent high
school graduate and will be starting college in the fall where she will be
pursing her AA Degree. Her hobbies and interests include: writing, fishing
(particularly cast netting), football, reading, music, and World War II
history.
Facebook www.facebook.com/coryhammondwrites
Chelsea Falin and Cory Hammond are sister-in-laws who first
met over five years ago when Chelsea began seeing Cory's brother. The two have
since become best friends and their similar personalities paired with their
unique writing styles make all of their joint writing endeavors appear
seamless.
Thanks so much for hosting my cover reveal today! :D
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