KAREN’S KILLER BOOK BENCH: Welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench, where readers can discover talented new authors and take a peek inside their wonderful books. This is not an age-filtered site, so all book peeks are PG-13 or better. Come back and visit often. Happy reading!

~~~

A TANGLED WEB
A Seamist Bay Novel Book 2
BY JUDITH LUKE

Blurb

A TANGLED WEB
A Seamist Bay Novel Book 2
BY JUDITH LUKE

Excerpt

Chapter 1

Rudy Manning considered this one of those perfect blue bird days. Clouds gave way to a brilliant sun whose rays glinted like a field of diamonds off the waters of pristine Seamist Bay. This was a day for paying back, to volunteer his time for a worthy cause. His life was full of family, a growing business, and a long-distance relationship with a beautiful woman. 

“Jessie, help me lift this last brick into place, and we’ll call it a day. I have to pick up Nathan from school.” He stooped to the last brick. “Tomorrow we can fill in this last row with sand and then begin setting the top stones.”

Seventeen-year-old Jessie Flynn lived at the Wellington Children’s Home for orphans where they were building the wall. The wall, stairs, and a new dock would give the children access to the bay. He was working for Rudy as an apprentice in the work-for-credit program through the local high school. Less than six feet, he would soon be taller. Blue eyes danced with energy and mirth. His short blonde hair peeked out from under his ever-present baseball cap. 

Remembering his own pathetic childhood, Rudy was patient with Jessie’s efforts. The boy was bright and eager to learn. 

“Why do you have to get Nathan today?” Jessie grasped his side of the brick. 

“Well, my brother Gus and his new wife, Lily, are sailing to Alaska for their honeymoon. Grandpa Ethan has been picking Nathan up at school, but today he has an appointment in Seattle. So, Uncle Rudy has been assigned.”  

Rudy shifted the large landscaping brick into place and stooped to scan the length of the retaining wall and adjusted the stone. “Uncle Rudy. The word still sounds strange.” 

Lily discovered he was part of the distinguished Manning family. Thirty-two years of his mother’s lies made him believe another man was his father. 

Thirty-two years of not knowing who his real father was, and the loss of time when he could have been a kid brother to Gus and Jaime Manning—instead of their tag-a-long friend. 

Thirty-two years of not knowing Ethan Manning was his real father. 

“You’re lucky Gus’s wife, Lily, did all that family history. Maybe someday I’ll find out where my parents are.” The boy’s face turned pensive.

 “I hope it all works out for you. I’ve been very lucky. Not only did Lily discover my real father, but now I know Gus is my brother, or at least half-brother. The loss of Jaime and Nancy in the boating accident gave us their son, Nathan, to care for.”

Yes, he thought, one diary entry made decades ago had made a difference in his life. He was part of a wonderful family. His childhood had been full of lies, his mother’s and his own—the lies about her heavy drinking…lies about why she couldn’t come to his school functions…lies about why she never attended his football games. 

Lying made a child wary and tired. 

The Wellington’s knew Jessie because his grandparents were the caretakers there for decades. Jessie’s grandparents raised him until their deaths. When they died, Jessie was allowed to stay at the home, have his own room in the rambling old house on the bay. 

Rudy glanced over as Jessie fussed with the toolbox, putting everything back to order. His heart went out to the boy. Jessie’s work clothes were worn and faded, but Rudy’s extra-large hand-me-downs would hang on him like a windless sail. The rubber boots he stomped around in were an old pair Rudy gave him.  

“Today is payday.” He took out an extra forty dollars and added the bonus to the money Jessie had earned. After handing the cash to the boy, he changed the subject. “I’m going to take the boat home to get my pickup. I have to change and take Nathan to his tennis game.” 

“You gave me too much.” Jessie worried, his brow wrinkling.

“No, you worked hard this week. Spend the extra money on yourself.” Rudy smiled, teasing. “Got a girlfriend?”

Jessie blushed. “No.”

Rudy bent to retrieve the large level he used on the wall. 

“Watch out!” Jessie yelled as he raised his arms over his head. 

By the time Rudy heard the grunting and crashing, coming from the thick forest above, the rolling ball of pink with the red mane of hair was on him. 

 He dropped the level, and grabbed hold, filling his hands with a firm bottom. His face planted in a well-endowed cleavage. Staggering backwards, his boots sank in the wet sand, and he fell like a sawed-off spruce into the salty water of the bay. Large ripples wafted out behind them. The pink, gauzy skirt of her long dress drifted over their heads. 

The woman’s knee, pressing to his backbone, forced large blurbs of air to bubble around her breasts. He tried to move his face to breathe. 

Rudy pressed his elbows into the mushy beach sand to raise his head from the water, to gasp for air, only to find his head covered in a pink cloth. The woman grunted and inch-wormed backward. The same knee slipped down his abdomen, and pressed into his groin like a giant pestle. The growl of a wounded beast roared out of him. Shoving off the attacker, he rose and staggered to the beach, falling to his hands and knees. Salt water spewed from his mouth and dripped from his head while waves of pain eddied through him.

A small white dog bounded the beach and sniffed his face. The dog barked out a reprimand and then bounced back to the woman. 

He glared over at her, sea water still dripping from his nose. She looked like a drowned rat with wet, stringy hair. The dress clung to her body like pink shrink wrap. But she wasn’t crying—she was laughing. 

Jessie came to the woman’s aid. He wrapped Rudy’s windbreaker around her. 

Was she just a psycho? A druggy? 

Red misty rage filled him. His gut hurt. His sinuses burned from the salt-water flush. He eased to his feet, pain wary, hands on his knees. Filled with water, the bottoms of his construction boots squished. He attempted to raise his arm, to squeegee his hair without relief. 

“Damn.” His whispered voice was barely heard.

Even with her hands over her mouth, giggles escaped. Her infectious laughter rolled over him. Jessie howled, bent over, tears filling his eyes. 

“That was quite an entrance.” Rudy grimaced, his eyes still wary. He stood. His hand came to his head. His hat was gone. Raising his forearm, he ran his wet shirtsleeve over his face, trying not to make any sudden, pain-inducing moves. 

“I am so sorry,” the redhead said as she put the fingers of one hand on her lips to control her amusement. “I was looking for my dog, and he tripped me.” 

By the time she reached Rudy, she had more control and appeared contrite. Her hair ran wet in long, auburn ringlets, accenting her peaches and cream skin. Like part of a Vegas costume, a fern frond stuck out of her hair. A rose flush of excitement colored her cheeks. Her sparkling blue eyes reminded him of the sea on a bright, sunny day. 

She was a head shorter than Rudy. As her hand came toward him, he recoiled, defending himself from any other horror this redheaded witch would bring. She grasped a long string of seaweed, draped from his blonde head and down his shoulder. She let it drop to the sand. 

“Nice hair piece.” Her grin was cautious when her eyes met his.

 “I had it ordered,” he murmured, his voice hoarse. His anger and the god-awful pain in his gut were subsiding. She was a natural beauty. Her ivory skin was now flushed pink from the tumble. “You took quite a fall. Are you sure you’re alright?” He gently pulled the fern frond from her hair.

Her face now showed concern. “I’m afraid you took the brunt of it all. I hope I didn’t hurt you.” She flushed with embarrassment as her eyes darted over him.

 “I’ve had worse accidents.” He grinned at her to ease her worry. Rudy aimed a finger at her cheek. “You have a bruise forming below your eye. You should put some ice there.”

“Oh, that’s not from today.” The bright smiling face became blank, and she stiffened. 

A young man stood half way down the cracked and broken stone steps. His arrogant stance and his leather, biker’s jacket didn’t impress Rudy. 

“Who is that?”

“Oh, a boy from town,” she whispered.

Rudy didn’t take his eyes from the young man. He appeared too young for the woman standing there. He hoped there wouldn’t be any confrontation, because he knew, in his present condition, he would lose.

“I went for a quick ride with him a week ago to help Leon with a pizza delivery. We crashed. Now he seems to follow me everywhere.”

About Author Judith Luke…

Links to Judith’s websites, blogs, books, #ad, etc.:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4yjVXmG

View Judith’s other books:
https://amzn.to/4pn22e5