I snorted. I had thought the same thing about her.
“So why are you here? Did you lose someone?” Suddenly her expression turned serious, and she reached up to touch my face. Tender compassion filled her eyes.
“Not recently.”
She cocked her head to the side and waited for me to finish.
“My parents died two years ago.” I paused. “In a car crash in Italy.”
“Corey, I am so sorry!” She kissed me tenderly. “I knew they were gone, but didn’t realize so recently.”
“Well, actually, Kate, over two hundred years ago for me, right?”
“Right, old man.” She ran her hand over my chest and down my abs.
I almost lost control again and grabbed her hands between mine. I had to say this.
Her eyes twinkled with mischief. I grinned and shook my head, mostly to clear it.
“My parents were very…well off.” I snorted at the understatement. “I inherited everything.”
“Wow.” She raised her eyebrows and mouthed the word silently.
“There’s more.” I fingered the wheat strand wedding band on her hand.
She pressed her lips together and looked at me expectantly.
“It has all been in trust until I turn 18. Technically, that will be in two months.”
“I don’t understand.” She adjusted to her back and tucked an arm behind her head. “Why did you come to Heartwork Village?” She gazed at the stars above us as I played with her fingers.
“To explore my family’s assets personally.”
“I don’t…” Dawning broke across her face and she turned to me. “You own all of Heartwork Village?”
I nodded. “Technically, we do. You and me. I mean now that we are married and all.” I lifted her hand beside mine and showed off our matching wheat bands.
Her face broke into a huge smile. “Corey, do you know what this means?”
“What does it mean to you?” I grinned catching her enthusiasm.
“It means we don’t ever have to leave! First Cabin can be our home forever!”
I cocked my head inquisitively at her. “Kate, I just informed you that you are a billionaire and your first thought is that you can live here in this tiny cabin forever?”
She turned back toward me and her face became serious. “Corey, you are my home. I love First Cabin. I want to live here with you forever and raise lots of babies who look just like you.” She kissed my nose. “But you are my home. Wherever you are is where I want to be.”
I gathered my wife in my arms with full intentions of taking her to our bed. I sat up on the edge of the lounge with her in my lap when a grinding noise began.
We whipped our heads around, when a strange sphere appeared. Instead of rushing water like the Heartwork Village Quantum Spheres, it seemed to be made of tiny shards of whirling glass, like white sand. The sparkling sands dissipated, and a man appeared. In his late twenties, dressed in a deep purple velvet jacket with long tails, he wore a ruffled shirt, and a dark satin cape and cowl. His cape swirled around him as the motion of the sphere faded. He lifted his hands and dropped the cowl. Bright red hair neatly combed back, he turned to find us scrambling with our towels for cover.
He grinned malevolently. “Kate. So good to,” he cocked an eyebrow suggestively, “see you.”
“Who are you?” I moved in front of Kate.
“Come, now, Mr. Chastain, let’s not play dumb. You and I both know who I am.”
“Gregory?” Kate whispered.
“See there. Your wife caught on,” he snarled the word.
“What are you doing here, Mattovdzky?”
“I just wanted to give you a warning, Mr. Chastain.” He tossed his cape over his shoulder and pointed an odd looking cane at me. “Your jumpers killed my wife, my Kate. I think it only fair that I am compensated, don’t you?”
“What do you want?” Dread drizzled down me like molasses. I already knew the answer.
“Just one more dance.” His eyes landed on Kate. They glinted with a voracious lust. His lip quivered and curled into a snarl. Pure evil emanated from him.
I gathered Kate into my arms and took her into the safety of our home where we would await the arrival of the Keepers. The game had just changed. It wasn’t about saving the village anymore. It was personal.
Thank you so much for taking this journey with me. Heartwork Village is a very real place in my head, and hopefully yours too, now. If you enjoyed your jump into the worlds of The Keepers, I know you will love their continued adventures in The Source coming in the fall of 2014.
The land of Ampeliagia, where the jumpers frequent, has its own rich and epic history. You can read about it in The Chronicles of Ampeliagia coming in 2015 with The Sisterhood of the Sword Saga. You will ride along on a quest to save Ampeliagia with three beautiful women, and meet Shanna Wisenberg, Corey’s great great grandmother.
If you have enjoyed the Holding Kate Series, please take a moment to write a quick review at Amazon.com. Reviews are extremely important in helping the books get noticed in the ocean of published works out there.
Thank you for your support,
LaDonna Cole
Thank you to Blue Harvest Creative for the internal and cover designs, promotions, map art, tech assistance, and for the overwhelming support they bring to the table.
To the Musers: Kelsey, Jennifer, Katie, Annie, Kimberly, Donna, Stephanie, Andrea, Natalie, Rob, Robin, and Andrew for being my betas, my support, my guides, mentors and for keeping the muse alive.
Thank you to my team of editors and proofreaders for making this a spiffy manuscript, Thea, Robin, Donna, and Jennifer. You are the A-team of eagle eyes!
To my early betas, so early they are practically alphas: Dana, Dayla, Alice, KimRo, and Kyle.
To my roommates, Emily and Bailey for tolerating the late night clicking, dish pile ups, and laundry mountains while I completed the books.
Thanks to all the volunteers who allowed their images and names to be used for the bridge book, The Keepers Files 1.5.
The Drummer Boy
The Holding Kate Series
The Torn
The Keepers Files 1.5
The Keepers
Multi-author Collections
Through the Portal, A Collection of Short Stories
by ReadWriteMuse.com
In Creeps The Night
The Holding Kate Series
Heartwork Village Divorce and Grief Recovery Curriculum
The Source
The Chronicles of Ampeliagia
A Story and a Cup of Tea
Sisterhood of the Sword Saga
Sisterhood of the Sword
CONTACT THE AUTHOR
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/LaDonnaColeAuthor
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/Latidonna
Blog:
Websites:
www.heartworkvillage.com &
www.ladonnacolern.wix.com/ladonna-cole
Cover design, interior book design,
all interior graphics, and eBook design
by Blue Harvest Creative
www.blueharvestcreative.com
Table of Contents
Description
Title Page
Copyright Information
Also By LaDonna Cole
Dedication
Quantum Perspective Source
Heartwork Village Map
The Immortal Song
The Keepers
One: The Ragged Edge
Two: Reunion
Three: The Great Divide
Four: Fireflies
Five: First Cabin
Six: Barn Doors & Horror Stories
Seven: Honeymoon Crash
Eight: Bereavement
Nine: Seedlings
Ten: Tender Care
Eleven: Shaken Out
Twelve: Jackals
Thirteen: Crushed
Fourteen: Convinced
Fifteen: Broken
Sixteen: The Jackals Lair
Seventeen: Regroup And Go Again
Eighteen: Alone In The Dark
Nineteen: Deeper
Twenty: Dragons & Rhinodudes
Twenty-One: Breaking Point
Twenty-Two: Communal
Twenty-Three: Wrong, All Wrong
Twenty-Four: Tornado
Twenty-Five: Poland
Twenty-Six: Wave Two
Twenty-Seven: Back
Twenty-Eight: Surveillance
Twenty-Nine: Captured
Thirty: The Mother Revealed
Thirty-One: Viva La Revolution
Thirty-Two: Hidden Agenda
Thirty-Three: Abduction
Thirty-Four: Way Of Suffering
Thirty-Five: Crossed
Thirty-Six: Sacrifice
Thirty-Seven: Retribution
Thirty-Eight: Revelation
Thirty-Nine: The Master Comes
Epilogue: The Keepers
Dear Reader
Acknowledgements
Other Books By LaDonna Cole
About The Author
Contact The Author
Meet The Design Team