Do you have a favorite fall memory linked to a train? What do you imagine you would see if you were riding a train in the fall? Join the authors of Wild Child publishing and Freya’s Bower as we Take an Autumn Train Ride through our blogs.
Prizes will include
- Four $50 gift certificates (two for Wild Child and two for Freya’s Bower)
- An awesome swag package that includes:
- Bookmarks
- Books
- Wild Child T-shirt and mug
- Wild Child and Freya’s Bower bags
- Four handmade, crochet coasters by Kit Wylde
- An autographed copy of Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
- A rare DVD copy of the Matheson/Furst classic “Up The Creek” (lovingly used)
- One ebook copy of Nita Wick’s short story, The Dream (previously published as part of a Freya’s Bower anthology.)
- Book trading cards
- Signed Dangerous Waters poster
- copy of “Battle for Blood: The Blood Feud”
- the winner’s name as a character in Kissa Starling’s next sweet romance story.
- A Yankee Candle
- and more…
On the Right Track
Above him, glorious colors of red, orange and gold fluttered in the wind. This is what brought the tourists to the beautiful Tennessee Valley. This is what kept his small business alive. Leaves crunched beneath his boots. Brown, dry, dead leaves. Used up and thrown away like the wrappings of a fast food burger. But each step he took pressed the leaves into the ground where they would nourish the trees and begin the cycle again the next spring. Rain would fall. Flowers would bloom. And the leaves would be green. Such was the course of nature.
If only a man’s life could renew itself so easily.
The train’s whistle echoed through the valley. Dark grey smoke spilled from its stack, spilling puffy clouds into the crystal blue skies. The famous Chattanooga Choo Choo chugged along the track, hauling its passengers down the very path that would lead them back to his restaurant and souvenir shop. The people on that train would eat his fried chicken, sweet potato French fries, and pecan pie. They would buy the wooden train whistles and the plastic replicas of the beloved train.
And then they would leave.
They always did. They would go home to Atlanta or Nashville—or wherever it was they came from to ride the old train with its classic steam engine. They would return to their normal lives and leave Ethan right where he’d always been.
Alone.
Ethan entered through the back door. Familiar aromas filled his nostrils—banana pudding, spiced apples, and cornbread. Southern food at its finest.
“Mr. Jackson! Thank the lord you’re back. She’s here! The critic is sittin’ at our best table havin’ a look at the menu.” Nathea Price, his hostess and dining room manager, twisted her apron between shaking hands.
“Calm down, Ms. Price. She’s just another customer. She gets the same service all our customers receive. Right?”
She sighed and closed her eyes. “Yes, sir.”
“Make sure she has as glass of ice cold, sweet tea. Take her order and bring it to the kitchen just like you’ve done for every other customer who has ever walked through our doors. She’s not special, Nathea. We are.”
Nathea beamed. “Right, sir. She’s goin’ to have the best meal she’s ever tasted.” She winked and grabbed a pitcher of iced tea. “Just like everybody else in my dinin’ room.”
“Atta girl, Ms. Price. You show that fancy food critic what southern hospitality is all about.”
Ethan peeked through the window on the swinging door. His hostess made a beeline to the front table, poured a glass of tea, and whipped out her pad and pen.
The food critic was not what he expected. Dark, curly hair brushed the tops of thin, dainty shoulders. The young woman nodded at Nathea and pointed to the menu as she placed her order. Ms. Price laughed and used the tip of her pen to point out something on the menu. The woman’s brow rose in surprise, but she smiled. Ethan read her soft, full lips. “Okay. I’ll try it,” she said.
Food flowed from his kitchens just as always, piping hot and delicious. The chefs and cooks in his kitchen worked together in synchronized harmony, just as he’d taught them. His customers left with a smile and left generous tips for his waiters and waitresses. All was right in his world.
And it damned well better stay that way.
Ethan personally prepared the fried catfish the lovely little food critic had ordered. Earlier today he’d overseen the preparation of the coleslaw—his grandmother’s recipe. He’d tasted the seasoned sweet potato fries himself before adding them to her plate, and the sweet cornbread muffins were browned to golden perfection.
This food critic would have nothing to complain about. He stood by the window and watched as she nibbled her dinner. A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth. Didn’t she like it? Was something wrong?
Ethan dished up a slice of hot apple pie from the hotplate and added a scoop of his signature vanilla bean ice cream. He left the kitchen and approached the table. “Compliments of the owner, Miss…?”
She lifted dark brown, soulful eyes and locked her gaze to his. “Kennedy. And you are?”
Every thought in his head vanished. He hesitated only a moment. “Smitten.”
Her laughter filled the booth and lingered in the air. The twinkle in her eye hooked him cleaner than a bass on a minnow lure.
He slid into the seat opposite her. “I hope you’ve enjoyed your meal, Ms. Kennedy.”
She narrowed her eyes before picking up her spoon. With consummate care, she tasted the apple pie he’d delivered. “Mmm. The perfect ending to a perfect meal.”
The train’s whistle called a warning to all passengers. Fifteen minutes until departure time.
“And just enough time to finish my dessert,” she added before taking another bite.
Ethan’s mouth went dry. His heart skipped a beat. She was leaving on the train. Just like all his customers. But somehow, the thought pained him. He reached across the table, offering his hand. “Ethan Jackson, owner and chef here.”
She grasped his palm. A warm tingle traveled up his arm. “A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jackson. I am very impressed with your restaurant and the food.”
He shook his head to clear the fog a simple touch had created. “You know, Miss Kennedy, Chattanooga has dozens of fine restaurants and attractions for visitors. Perhaps you should consider staying a little longer.”
The beautiful woman bit her lip. She looked out the window of his restaurant. Bradford pear trees, their leaves a dark, ruby red lined the street. The setting sun shimmered on the water of the Tennessee River in the distance. Fall had worked its magic on the Tennessee Valley.
Ethan held his breath and prayed that the magic was strong enough to keep her here.
Warm, cinnamon-brown eyes met his from beneath long, dark lashes. “I suppose it would be selfish of me to deny the other restaurants the opportunity to impress a New York food critic.”
Ethan smiled. “It would be unforgivable, ma’am. You should most definitely stay. It may take you several days—weeks even to visit all the local attractions.”
Her laugh warmed him to the core and his heart melted faster than the ice cream on the hot apple pie. Maybe, just maybe, the winter months would be a little less desolate this year. If there was any magic at all in this world, he’d be cooking for two in the seldom-used kitchen of his newly renovated home this winter. And if the recipe he had in mind suited her tastes, he’d be having dessert before a cozy fire in the living room. He would not be alone.
“Welcome to Chattanooga, Ms. Kennedy. I will personally see that you receive all the southern hospitality a woman can imagine.”
The End — Not! Obviously that was only the beginning of a happily-ever-after.
Nita Wick
Check out my award-winning western historical, The Wagonmaster
Medical school taught Dr. Adelaide Jennings that there is no cure for her father’s consumption. Determined to reach him in Oregon before the disease claims him, Addie will risk anything. Even her own life.
Joshua Reynolds escorts people along the arduous and dangerous Oregon Trail. He cannot force the members of the train to allow an unwed woman to join them. But the foolish doctor is determined to make the journey, even if she has to go alone. To protect the willful young woman, Josh agrees to marry Addie in name only. Together, they embark on a journey that tests their mettle, challenges their beliefs, and inflames their senses.
But will they be able to resist the temptation to make their marriage a real one?
Purchase in ebook formats at Freya’s Bower and B&N or Amazon
Also available in print! Freya’s Bower – Amazon – B&N
Please visit these sites for more chances to win, the more you visit the more chances you have to win. We have 46 participating authors. You can stop at as many or as little blogs as you wish. At each stop, you will find two chances to enter per blog to win some awesome prizes. If you visit all, that’s 92 chances to win! There will be five, lucky winners.
Take the Blog Train and Visit These Blogs for more chances to win
- Marci Baun/Kit Wylde
- Critters at the Keyboard
- Teresa D’Amario
- Judith Leger, Fantasy and Contempory Romance Author
- Highland Rogue Writing
- The Fictional World of Jaime Samms
- Follow Where the Path will Take You
- The Wandering Mind of Lizzy P. Bellows
- Where Love and Magic Meet
- Kissa Starling
- Marianna Heusler
- Hell’s Ambrosia
- C.M. Michaels
- The Shadow Portal
- The Blog Zone
- My Blog, My iMagine
- Ardyth DeBruyn Author Blog
- Shadows of the Past
- Dear Reader
- Cassie Exline — Mystery and Romance
- Sarcastic Rambling & Writing
- That’s What I Think
- Sue’s Random Ramblings
- Make Old Bones
- Elements of Mystery
- Molly Dean’s Blog
- Kenzie’s Place
- The Forbidden Blog
- David Huffstetler
- Cassandra Ulrich
- Carol Marvell
- Andrew Richardson
- Nick Lloyd
- Fiddleeebod — land of stories
- Nita Wick’s Blog
- Ruth G. Zavitsanos
- Too Poor for Texas
- Jenn Nixon
- City of Thieves
- Musings and Doodles
- Husein
- The Western Writer
- Bike Cop Blog
- The Character Depot
- Allen Currier
- Tracy Holohan
