Jared's Family

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Jared’s Family

Copyright  2017 by V.S. Morgan

ISBN: 978-1-68361-143-1

Cover art by Tibbs Designs

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC

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Dear Readers,

I’m excited to share Virge, Jared, and D with you. They’ve been in my head and heart long before I actually started writing their story. Family comes in so many forms, and I loved bringing these three together.

In the story, D calls any man daddy and any woman mommy regardless age (anyone not a child) and race. I based this on my own son doing this at that age. It still warms my heart remembering the happiness and slight confusion on people’s faces when he joyfully yelled Mama! or Papa! to them. And when he couldn’t quite it my nickname of Ness right so he called me Mama Nest. LOL!

I’d love to hear what you thought of the story. I can be reached at vs_morgan@yahoo.com

Best,

VS

Jared’s Family

After witnessing his mother’s death, a once outgoing preschooler is now a quiet shadow of himself. The little boy suffers nightmares and rarely speaks, choosing to use the basic sign language he learned in daycare. Desperate to help his little nephew, Virge Stevens takes a leave of absence from the LAPD to bring Donovan, known as D to Montana for the therapy he needs.

A chance meeting at the library changes Virge and his nephew’s lives forever.

Jared Malone is one of five brothers, right smack damn in the middle. He is the peacemaker and the one who gets shit done. When his younger brother gets sick, Jared fills in reading to small children at the library. There he encounters a tall, dark, and handsome stranger and his cute little boy. Jared is immediately drawn to Virge but is still dealing with the betrayal of an abusive ex.

As the Malone family welcomes them to the ranch and into their lives, Virge’s instant attraction for Jared grows, but the cowboy is fifteen years younger than him. Will he be rejected?

Both men have secrets. Secrets that could destroy the connection between them. Can they overcome the odds and find happiness together?

Dedication

BIG thanks to my readers. I couldn’t do this without you!

Jared’s Family

By

V.S. Morgan

Chapter One

Jared was going to kill his brother. Taking the stairs two at a time, he prepared to rip Nate a new one. Since his older brother Sam had left early with his wife, Gabi, and their baby, Nate’s no-show meant he’d had to do the work of three—mucking out all the stalls and feeding and watering the horses. And the ass munch hadn’t even bothered to answer his phone.

Reaching the top of the stairs, he yelled, Nate, what the fuck, man?

His righteous anger fizzled at the retching sounds emitting from the bathroom. Hell.

The bathroom door opened, and his brother shuffled out. Damn, Nate looked like crap warmed up. His normally supermodel-worthy hair hung limp, his face waxy, and his eyes dull.

Jared steered his brother back to his room. Nate flopped onto his bed with a moan, and Jared left to get a damp rag and a glass of water, which he passed to Nate when he returned.

His brother took a tiny sip of water. Sorry I missed chores, bro. Feel like shit.

Jared propped a shoulder against the doorframe. You look like shit, too.

Ha ha, Nate said, in a tone as flat as his eyes.

Why don’t you get some rest? I’ll take care of stuff around the ranch. They didn’t have any guests arriving until tomorrow, so he could manage the rest of the chores without him.

Nate settled against his pillows only to spring up. He groaned and held his head in his hands. Fuck, I’m supposed to be at the library today.

Call and cancel.

His brother shook his head. I can’t let the kids down.

Well, you’re not going in sick. He lifted his arm, using his shirt sleeve to swipe the sweat dripping down his forehead.

Jesus, he was too tired for Nate’s brand of drama.

His brother’s eyes widened, and Jared could almost see a lightbulb glowing above his head. Shit, that can’t be good.

You could go in my place! Nate exclaimed.

What? Dealing with kids under five isn’t in my wheelhouse. Hell, he was still nervous holding his infant niece, Olivia.

There’s nothing to it. You just wear the outfit, read them a few books, and hand out stickers. Heck, you could even sign. The kids would love that.

This could result in a complete clusterfuck, but his brother gave his patented puppy-dog look. Jared rolled his eyes and huffed. Fine. But I’m not driving to town in that outfit. Likely get in an accident.

Thanks, man. I owe you one. Nate smiled weakly.

Jared smirked. Damn right you do. You going to be okay?

Yeah, just going to sleep. His brother turned onto his side, pulling the blankets up to his chin.

Your trash can is right there, and I’ll get Wyatt to check on you while I’m gone. Better their patient eldest brother than Jared. The rarely sick Nate could be a real pain in the ass.

A soft snore sounded.

Jared shook his head and left. Time to shower before facing a horde of little ones. Yay.

***

Virge helped D up onto the lobby bench located near the library’s entrance. He gave his three-year-old nephew his snack. Checking his phone, he grimaced. In the short trip to the library, he’d received ten messages from his agent.

He didn’t want to talk to Miranda right now. While she was phenomenal at her job, he didn’t want her bulldog tactics directed at him. His chest tightened, and he glanced down at D to ground himself. Better get it over with. Taking a deep breath, he tapped her number. She answered on the first ring.

Oh, Virge, I’m so glad you returned my call. Miranda’s accent was still hardcore New Yorker despite living in L.A. for the last twenty years.

He refrained from correcting her that he’d received calls in the double digits, not just one. Hey, Miranda. What’s up?

"You need to hire a publicist yesterday. My phone has been ringing like crazy. Now that Death in the Dungeon is in the news for casting, people want to see Malcolm Stone."

He sighed. While he participated in online and print interviews under the pen name of Malcolm Stone, he never used his image,