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    Desert Snow
    Desert Snow
    Desert Snow
    Ebook95 pages1 hour

    Desert Snow

    By KC Kendricks

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Laird Bennett accepts a friend's invitation for a vacation with his eyes wide open. His buddy is pimping for him - in a sneaky sort of way. Why else set up his business meeting in Palm Springs the week of the annual White Party and ask Laird to go along? Laird goes with every intention of enjoying the eye candy, the weather, and behaving himself. Those plans change his first night out while waiting to cross the street and a younger man in white leather greets him.

    Haydn Rinehart is at a crossroads. His pilgrimage to the White Party is to keep a promise before moving into the next phase of his life. Haydn strikes up a conversation with an attractive party-goer while waiting for a traffic light to change, and invites him for a drink. When he discovers Laird is one of his favorite authors, Haydn volunteers to assist in some hands-on research in his hotel room.

    After all, they are at the White Party, and some fun is in order.

    * * * 

    His whiskey-brown eyes held genuine interest. Darn, he had pretty eyes, so clear with a dark outer ring around the iris.

    "When I was a lad, back in the hills of West Virginia, I stumbled upon an old graveyard in the woods. I restored it to get my Eagle Scout award."

    "No kidding? For real, man?"

    "Yep. It led to my writing career."

    I managed to refrain from grinning at him as he blinked at me, his lips slightly parted. He jerked and gulped down a few swallows of his beer, which had unfortunate consequences. He choked. I thumped his back as he coughed.

    "Sorry." He wheezed a few times in my general direction. "I'm such an ass."

    I gave him one last pat between the shoulder blades and reached for my drink. I wanted to touch him far too badly to allow it to continue. I wasn't here to get laid.

    "You're going to have to explain that statement. Why does choking on your beer make you an ass?"

    He cleared his throat and risked a sip from the bottle. "I've never met a writer before. Are you here to take notes for a book or something?"

    I sighed. "Haydn, the whole world is fodder for an author. Everything we see, hear and learn ends up on the page sooner or later." I smiled at him. "I write true crime novels as a profession and gay romance as a hobby."

    Those lovely brown orbs fixed me with a ruttish stare. "Then may I volunteer my services as a research assistant for your hobby?"

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWhite Deer Enterprises/White Deer Books
    Release dateMay 21, 2016
    ISBN9781533714428
    Desert Snow
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    Author

    KC Kendricks

    KC Kendricks calls herself an accidental writer. After completing her first novel writing as Rayne Forrest, she was urged to submit it to a publisher, and everything snowballed from there. Today, the author has had over seventy books published. The author does not use AI in the creation of her books or the book covers.  In May of 2022, she "retired" from her day job, moving from being an Administrative Assistant to an Administrative Consultant. She says it sounds grand, but the job is basically answering emails to her protégé as she becomes acquainted with all aspects of the job.  A native of scenic western Maryland, the author enjoys most activities that don't include snow. In warm weather she might be found walking the dog, biking on the C&O Canal towpath, planting delicacies in her garden for the deer to munch on at night, playing in the creek, or lazing on the patio with her ebook reader or laptop. She recently began to research her family history and can't drive past a cemetery without stopping to search for family sites. Her mission is to photograph old tombstones before the elements erode the stones and the names are lost to time. For more about KC Kendricks and Rayne Forrest's writing life, please visit the Between the Keys blog at http:kckendricks.blogspot.com . If you'd like to know more about the author's country lifestyle and her daily activities full of simple country pleasures (and a lot of work), please visit the Holly Tree Manor blog at http://hollytreemanor.blogspot.com . And for dog lovers, there is Deuce's Day – life seen through the eyes of KC's black Lab, Deuce (http://deucesday.blogspot.com) KC finds YouTube a fascinating place and has recently uploaded a few short videos of life in the country. She hopes to do more in the future. Her channel is called The Hideaway Between the Keys. https://www.youtube.com/KCKendricks KC can be reached through her blog, Between the Keys. All comments are strictly moderated by the author and personal messages are treated as such. Follow the author on X (formerly Twitter) for up-to-date announcements at Twitter.com/KCKendricks.

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      Book preview

      Desert Snow - KC Kendricks

      DESERT SNOW

      KC KENDRICKS

      ––––––––

      Copyright © 2017, 2019 by KC Kendricks

      Cover Art © 2017 KC Kendricks

      ––––––––

      This book is a work of fiction. While references to actual places or events may occur, the names, characters, incidents, and locations are from the author’s imagination and any resemblance to anyone, living or dead, is coincidental.

      All Rights Reserved

      All rights reserved. Reproduction of this digital e-book for file sharing or selling, regardless of whether any type of currency is exchanged, other than what the author grants in writing, is strictly prohibited by law. Piracy is a crime.

      ––––––––

      Published in the United States of America

      An Introduction to Desert Snow

      ––––––––

      ...His whiskey-brown eyes held genuine interest. Darn, he had pretty eyes, so clear with a dark outer ring around the iris.

      When I was a lad, back in the hills of West Virginia, I stumbled upon an old graveyard in the woods. I restored it to get my Eagle Scout award.

      No kidding? For real, man?

      Yep. It led to my writing career.

      I managed to refrain from grinning at him as he blinked at me, his lips slightly parted. He jerked and gulped down a few swallows of his beer, which had unfortunate consequences. He choked. I thumped his back as he coughed.

      Sorry. He wheezed a few times in my general direction. I’m such an ass.

      I gave him one last pat between the shoulder blades and reached for my drink. I wanted to touch him far too badly to allow it to continue. I wasn’t here to get laid.

      You’re going to have to explain that statement. Why does choking on your beer make you an ass?

      He cleared his throat and risked a sip from the bottle. I’ve never met a writer before. Are you here to take notes for a book or something?

      I sighed. Haydn, the whole world is fodder for an author. Everything we see, hear and learn ends up on the page sooner or later. I smiled at him. I write true crime novels as a profession and gay erotic romance as a hobby.

      Those lovely brown orbs fixed me with a ruttish stare. Then may I volunteer my services as a research assistant for your hobby?...

      About Desert Snow

      Laird Bennett accepts a friend’s invitation for a vacation with his eyes wide open. His buddy is pimping for him - in a sneaky sort of way. Why else set up his business meeting in Palm Springs the week of the annual White Party and ask Laird to go along? Laird goes with every intention of enjoying the eye candy, the weather, and behaving himself. Those plans change his first night out while waiting to cross the street and a younger man in white leather greets him.

      Haydn Rinehart is at a crossroads. His pilgrimage to the White Party is to keep a promise before moving into the next phase of his life. Haydn strikes up a conversation with an attractive party-goer while waiting for a traffic light to change and invites him for a drink. When he discovers Laird is one of his favorite authors, Haydn volunteers to assist in some hands-on research in his hotel room.

      After all, they are at the White Party and some fun is in order.

      Table of Contents

      An Introduction to Desert Snow

      About Desert Snow

      CHAPTER 1

      CHAPTER 2

      CHAPTER 3

      CHAPTER 4

      CHAPTER 5

      CHAPTER 6

      CHAPTER 7

      CHAPTER 8

      CHAPTER 9

      CHAPTER 10

      A bonus read from A Hard Habit to Break

      About the Author

      Books by KC Kendricks

      Dear Readers,

      CHAPTER 1

      There is a prevailing wisdom that says if you take care of the big things in life first, the little things will fall into place on their own. While that may be true, it’s not instructional on how to juggle the little things into place without losing patience with the perceived success of the endeavor. A man learns by trial and error that success is in the eye of the beholder, if he learns it at all.

      I’d made more than my fair share of errors in my life, none of them fatal, thank God, and I knew with certainty I’d surely make more. When my closest friend asked me to accompany him on a business trip to Palm Springs in April, I hesitated. My calendar was full.

      And yet, the more I looked at my schedule, the more I realized the appointments and activities I’d marked down were mere filler. They were smoke and mirrors set to disguise the loneliness of my solitary existence. Would denying myself the opportunity to experience something new and exciting be another mistake?

      My friend was right. I wasn’t taking care of the most important thing in my life—me.

      Barry had known me for twenty years, and while he wasn’t gay, he kept up. He made it a point to embrace my occasional lovers as friends. Maybe he didn’t elevate them to the same level I stood on with him, but he didn’t just give acceptance of them lip service. He achieved it, and that made him a man among men in my book.

      And since he did keep up, his desire to go to Palm Springs for his business the same week as the annual White Party, the motive behind his invitation was suspect. He thought I needed to get out more and have some fun.

      I sighed and tossed my tablet onto the coffee table. I was too mature to go to a White Party and turn tricks like some over-age twink, but looking at the eye candy shouldn’t get me into any trouble. I called Barry and agreed to accompany him on his business trip, then cleared my calendar.

      Six weeks later, we landed at Palm Springs International, and I wanted to stay on the airplane. Barry’s corporate jet was a Gulf Stream, and if it was possible to fall in love with a plane, I had. I’d not seen so much leather in one place since my last visit to lower Manhattan.

      We stepped onto the tarmac and into perfect weather—blue skies, eighty degrees, no humidity, and a light breeze. It was a drastic change from the gray clouds of dawn and the constant swipe of windshield wipers we’d left behind in West Virginia.

      When I saw the house owned by Barry’s corporation, I forgot about my budding love affair with his jet. The sprawling rambler-style dwelling had every amenity. He’d said his business was in great shape, even with the recession, and the house confirmed it. I was happy for him. I made a decent living as a writer, but I couldn’t afford a place like this, even as an investment vacation rental that generated income forty weeks out of the year.

      We settled into our respective bedrooms and then met on the terrace for a cocktail. I knew Barry was about to start his spiel, and he proved me correct.

      "Listen, Laird. You need to go have some fun while we’re here. Call

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