Mia Sheridan

Mia Sheridan – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.wownovels.com Sun, 12 Oct 2025 20:52:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 http://www.wownovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png Mia Sheridan – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.wownovels.com 32 32 The Fix Read Online Mia Sheridan http://www.wownovels.com/the-fix-read-online-mia-sheridan Sun, 12 Oct 2025 20:52:21 +0000 http://www.wownovels.com/the-fix-read-online-mia-sheridan Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Suspense Authors: Mia Sheridan Advertisement

Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)

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A chilling take on second chances, where a brutal break-in comes back to haunt the sole survivor with a new threat—and another victim.

Eleven years ago, Cami Cortlandt’s mother and sister died cruelly in a violent home invasion. The trauma and notoriety still linger, but Cami has managed to build a life in her hometown despite everything she’s lost.

Then one day it all comes rushing back.

A distorted voice on the phone: Would you like a do-over? A disturbing video of a room with bars on the window, trapping a young boy inside who looks achingly, impossibly familiar. Four days to find him.

With the help of Rex Lowe, an old classmate whose past is inextricably tied to her own, Cami races to uncover everything she can about the boy—where he is, who he is, and why she’s the only one who can save him.

But as Cami and Rex unravel one clue after another, the past and present converge in an explosion of secrets they never saw coming…and a truth they never could have imagined

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Prologue

She woke with a scream on her lips, attempting to draw back her chest and fill her lungs with the air needed to expel the sound of fear and horror. But her body continued to disobey, a small trickle of air the only sound leaking from her mouth. Where am I? Why is it dark? Why can’t I move? Am I dead?

She envisioned a flash of faces, leering at her, moving closer. One in particular. The betrayal pierced her somewhere inside, where she still felt pain. Why? Why? She’d turned and run. Away from him, from them. But they’d caught her and . . . Another flash, a bottle at her lips, liquid pouring down her throat as she fought and gagged.

The pierce of steady beeping broke through her consciousness. A machine. Close by. Was she in a hospital room? Relief descended. She’d been rescued. She was being cared for. She would heal.

And then I’ll seek retribution.

Who knew revenge better than she?

The squeak of a door opening slowly sounded, and she tried to lift her head, but it felt like a bowling ball attached to her neck.

A shaft of light appeared, and in that light, she saw a tube protruding from her mouth and, far above her, a ceiling encircled by crown molding she knew well. God. No. It can’t be. But, as if in answer, a soft whir met her ears, and her body began rising along with the bed beneath her.

He stood there at the footboard, a wicked smile on his wolfish face. “Hello, Posey.”

And that’s when she knew for certain she was still alive. But it would have been better had she died.

Chapter One

Cami was in no mood for a party. And yet there she was, clad in a bikini with a Jell-O shot in hand as a boisterous game of chicken fight was being played in the pool next to her. Her boyfriend, Hollis, had invited every member of the varsity football team and cheerleading squad to his house for a pool party. It appeared they were all having the time of their lives. Except her. Buck up. What is wrong with you? Except that she knew exactly what was wrong with her. She’d been plagued by a deep fatigue and lingering nausea for the last week. And her period was MIA.

She plastered on a smile as she gazed around nonchalantly and then, confident no one was looking her way, dropped the small plastic cup filled with spiked red Jell-O into a hydrangea bush.

The sun beat down on her bare shoulders, and a fellow cheerleader on one of the O-line’s shoulders let out a shriek of laughter as she was knocked into the water by the whack of a pool noodle.

“Hey, Cam,” Tia said as she approached, handing her another Jell-O shot. Great. Her friend tipped her head back and used her tongue to scoop out the shot, and then swallowed and grinned.

“Here, have mine too,” Cami said. “I’m not feeling it.”

Tia’s brows dipped, and she peered more closely at Cami. “Are you okay?” Tia asked, adjusting her bikini top that had ridden up. “You do look slightly green.”

Cami gave her a halfhearted smile and stepped to the side to avoid the incoming tsunami caused by a linebacker who’d just cannonballed into the deep end. “I’m fine. I think I just ate something that didn’t agree with me.”

“I hope it wasn’t one of the hot dogs. I saw Ray drop half the package on the ground, and then throw them on the grill anyway. He assured me ‘fire cleanses.’” She did air quotes and rolled her eyes.

Cami barely suppressed a grimace as she looked away. The talk of hot dogs had notched her nausea up at least a few levels. A couple more and Tia’s French pedicure would be covered in vomit. “I need to use the bathroom. I’ll be back.”

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Unnatural – Men and Monsters Read Online Mia Sheridan http://www.wownovels.com/unnatural-men-and-monsters-read-online-mia-sheridan Sat, 30 Aug 2025 08:41:44 +0000 http://www.wownovels.com/unnatural-men-and-monsters-read-online-mia-sheridan Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Suspense Authors: Mia Sheridan Advertisement

Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 124341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 622(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)

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A new heart-pounding, suspenseful, and supremely romantic novel from New York Times bestseller Mia Sheridan.

She'd carried her boy made of moonlight in her heart all this time, the driving force that kept her searching, kept her looking for answers even when they seemed impossible to attain.

And he'd carried her with him as well.

Autumn Sterling knows more than she'd like to about pain and survival. As one of only a handful of children who made it to adulthood after being exposed to a horrific drug that swept impoverished communities decades earlier, Autumn is focused on living a full, rich life as a nurse.

And yet, she can't seem to let go of him: the boy she once called her moonlight monster. The boy they tried to convince her was merely a dream brought on by her medications. But how could he be anything but real when she touched him, felt him, made him laugh? When she woke with tangible signs of him still on her skin?

Years later, when Autumn spots that same moonlit hair on a busy city street, her new life turns upside down. The boy, now a man, has suffered on a level even Autumn can't imagine. And it is this anguished soul—Sam, her moonlight monster—who is the link to every question about her past that's ever haunted her.

As a murky picture of cruelty and corruption emerges, it's only Sam who can fully expose an evil too ghastly to comprehend…and it's only Autumn he'll let close enough to his dark and wounded heart to see the truth

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Prologue

Present Day

The answers to every burning question Autumn had ever had about her history might be sitting in one of the four file cabinets across the room.

She leaned forward in her chair, craning her neck until she could see her social worker, Chantelle. The older woman was standing on the other side of the hall just outside her office. Her back faced the partially open door as she spoke to the coworker who’d interrupted her meeting with Autumn to have a stack of—apparently urgent—forms signed.

Autumn had come there begging for information and clarification from one of the only people who could give it to her, but it’d quickly become clear that Chantelle was only going to continue to stonewall. The same way everyone had, all her life. If Autumn wanted answers, she was going to have to steal them.

It’s now or it’s never.

With a deep inhale, Autumn pushed herself off the chair, rounded the desk, and slipped quickly past the door, cringing as she waited to hear her name called in a warning tone. But the only sounds were the continued noise of a busy office and the murmurings of Chantelle and the man she was conversing with as she signed his forms.

Autumn blew out a slow breath as she put her hand on the nearest file cabinet and pulled the handle of the top drawer. Her heart pounded as she prepared for a squeak, but it glided open noiselessly. Thank the heavens. Autumn’s gaze flew over the labeled tabs, attempting to quickly ascertain Chantelle’s filing system.

Years. She has them organized by year. These are the most recent.

Chantelle’s laugh rang out, and Autumn jerked, her breath hitching. Just another minute. I’m so close.

She was all in now. She couldn’t fathom leaving this office with nothing.

Nothing about her childhood.

Nothing about her moonlight boy.

No. The thought of him bolstered her courage, and she took a step to the right, making a guess about where her own file might be. She’d entered the system twenty-three years before as a newborn baby. It had to be in one of the two farthest cabinets.

Autumn squatted down and pulled the bottom drawer of the third cabinet open, but this time, a squeak emerged from the older hardware. She froze, her heart pounding so hard she felt mildly dizzy. She caught a few words from the man speaking to Chantelle that sounded like “…court-ordered hearing, and…” It was only a snippet but enough to tell her they were still talking business and were otherwise occupied. For now. She pulled the drawer open a little more, just enough to see the dates.

Not this one. But very close. Hurry!

Autumn sprang to her feet, pulling open the top drawer on the final cabinet. The blood whooshing in her head slightly muffled the surrounding sounds, but she didn’t think even the smallest squeak emerged.

“Hey, thanks for taking the time…” the man outside was saying. They’re wrapping it up. Oh God.

Again, her gaze flew over the tabs separating the file folders within. Yes! There. The year she was born. Autumn’s shaking hands went to the dated section, riffling through the files, eyes landing on what she’d been looking for.

Mercy Hospital for Children.

“Good luck today,” Chantelle called. Her voice was closer. And Autumn heard her approaching footsteps as she shuffled through the paperwork.

My name. There’s my name.

She pulled her file out, several more coming with it. She didn’t have time to put the others back, instead sticking the short stack under the front of her shirt and then wrapping her large, bulky sweater around herself. She hit the open drawer with her shoulder, and it slid back into place just as Autumn took a giant step away from the cabinets and Chantelle reentered the office.

“Sorry to keep you—” Chantelle stopped, words halting as her brows raised, obviously surprised to see Autumn standing instead of seated like she’d been.

Autumn struggled not to visibly swallow, tried desperately not to appear as though she’d just done something unscrupulous. And illegal.

“Are you leaving?” her social worker asked. Her gaze moved to the purse on the floor next to the chair where Autumn had sat begging Chantelle for information she wouldn’t give. She obviously knew something was off.

Autumn needed to go before the older woman worked it out and demanded that she turn over what she’d stolen. She moved quickly, grabbing her purse and heading toward the door. “Yes. I just remembered I’m late for another appointment. Thank you for your time, Chantelle.”

Chantelle stepped in front of Autumn, taking her by her upper arms and causing Autumn’s heart to jolt. Oh God. Don’t make me fight for these files. I will.

But Chantelle sighed, her face melting into what looked like empathy. “Listen, Autumn, I know it’s hard to accept that you lost fourteen years of your life.”

Autumn stayed still, afraid to move lest the sound of rustling papers come from beneath her clothing, but she was relieved to see that Chantelle wasn’t a total bureaucrat. She still possessed some humanity.

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Heart of the Sun Read Online Mia Sheridan http://www.wownovels.com/heart-of-the-sun-read-online-mia-sheridan Wed, 04 Jun 2025 21:18:34 +0000 http://www.wownovels.com/heart-of-the-sun-read-online-mia-sheridan Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary Authors: Mia Sheridan Advertisement

Total pages in book: 163
Estimated words: 150878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 754(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)

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For a limited time only. From mega-bestseller and TikTok sensation Mia Sheridan comes an all-new epic second-chance romance with an unexpected and gritty speculative twist, in deluxe paperback with beautiful sprayed edges and foil detail. Pre-order your copy today!

When the world is plunged into darkness, who would you turn to?

Amid the sun-drenched orange groves of California, childhood friends Tuck Mattice and Emily Swanson shared a bond that seemed unbreakable—until life ripped them apart.

Thirteen years later, Emily is a rising pop sensation in need of security, and Tuck, a brooding ex-con, is in need of a fresh start. When fate brings them together once again, Emily hires him on as her new bodyguard. They butt heads and bicker, just like the old days—yet neither can deny the heat rekindling between them.

But when a cataclysmic solar flare disrupts the electrical grid, society is suddenly plunged into chaos and darkness. For Emily, the familiar comforts of fame and fortune crumble, but for Tuck, this stark new reality could be the chance he needs to finally prove himself. As they come to terms with all they've lost and the bitterness that's kept them apart, they must find their way back to one another and discover a new place, under the sun

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

prologue

Tuck

Now

Holy shit. What the hell is happening?

Cold sweat broke out across my back as the lights inside the small, chartered plane blinked off and the engine went quiet. I could hear the pilot, Russell, behind the curtain to the cockpit, speaking into the radio with what sounded like growing alarm. I rose from my seat and took a few unsteady steps to the cockpit doorway where I slid the curtain open to see Russell furiously pushing buttons and moving dials. I grabbed the wall to hold myself steady as the plane bumped and jerked, sudden flares of lightning pulsing through the darkened cabin.

“What’s going on?” I asked, voice as shaky as the rest of me.

“The engines and the navigation equipment went down,” Russell said. “Air traffic control cut out and I can’t get them back on the line.”

My heart dipped along with the plane, and I heard a small squeal of fear from behind me where Emily and Charlie were sitting. “Isn’t there a backup system?”

“That’s out too! Copy! Copy!” he called into his headpiece, but again there was no reply. “Shit.”

I ignored Emily’s quiet cries; there was nothing I could do. I had no idea what the hell was going on, and my own fear was mounting as the plane made another small drop. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Russell’s cheek, punctuating the fact that he was panicked as well.

“Sit down and buckle up. I’ll use the manual controls,” he said, obviously trying to insert a note of confidence in his tone. “We can still glide, but I’ll need to get us down quickly. Brace for impact.”

My heart was racing as I turned back toward my seat. “What’s happening?” Emily asked, eyes wide with fear.

“Something knocked out the engine and navigation system and air traffic control isn’t answering,” I said, my eyes sweeping over her to verify she was buckled in. “He says to brace for impact.” I glanced out the window. The sky had dimmed, and I could see zigzags of lightning in the distance. An unexpected electric storm?

Emily looked straight ahead, grasping the armrests as the plane gave a groaning shiver.

I sat down and buckled myself in just as the plane dipped and then dipped again, my stomach rising and falling quickly as a small piece of luggage went flying past my face. Then the plane took on a bumpy flight pattern and strange milky clouds streaked past my window, splintered by a spidery bolt of white lightning right next to us.

I could hear the muted blast of the wind outside, highlighting the dead silence of the engine.

Brace for impact, the pilot had said. But I didn’t know how to do that other than sitting still and silent, terror pounding through my body.

We plunged yet again, the force jolting and lifting me and causing the seat belt to bite harshly into my hips. For a minute I was afraid the belt would break against the immense pressure. When I turned my eyes toward Emily, she was still gripping the armrests, her face ashen, eyes clenched tight. Next to her, Charlie had his eyes squeezed shut as well and looked to be hyperventilating. The plane began to shake, making a long, shrieking sound as though it was at risk of being torn apart by the rapid descent. My heart slammed, the hair rising on my nape and arms.

Just get us on the ground, Russell. Please get us on the ground.

We bumped and shook and for a moment, the sky went even darker, then seemed to split. The plane lowered again and this time didn’t straighten out for several long seconds. My breath lodged in my throat. The aircraft straightened, and as the nose rose, the sky parted once more, and I glimpsed the ground. It was red and fiery, smoke billowing everywhere. I swallowed heavily, the bony fingers of terror gripping my lungs.

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The Broken Places Read Online Mia Sheridan http://www.wownovels.com/the-broken-places-read-online-mia-sheridan Fri, 06 Dec 2024 20:24:22 +0000 http://www.wownovels.com/the-broken-places-read-online-mia-sheridan Genre: Alpha Male, Suspense, Thriller Authors: Mia Sheridan Advertisement

Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 111860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)

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In this twisted journey into the shadows of the Golden Gate, an inspector and an FBI agent must track down the source of an unknown drug, but their attraction and their own secrets keep getting in the way.

The streets of San Francisco aren’t as sunny as the city pretends they are. Inspector Lennon Gray has learned this the hard way, and it’s starting to wear on her. When a new case plunges her into the depths of the transient community, Lennon must once again face ugly truths about humanity.

Her new partner makes things a little easier, though.

Agent Ambrose Mars is charming—innocent, somehow, despite his own hard years in the field. The combination leaves Lennon fascinated and disturbed at the same time, and she’s even more drawn to him for it.

As they investigate the hallucinogenic drug that’s forcing homeless citizens into bizarre and dangerous role-plays, Lennon and Ambrose find their relationship intensified with every new twist. But when these revelations begin to uncover secrets she wasn’t prepared to know, Lennon will have to decide how much more she can take…before something important is taken from her.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

CHAPTER ONE

“Cherish”

Episode from podcast The Fringe

Host of podcast, Jamal Whitaker

“Hello, welcome to The Fringe. Thanks for being here, Cherish. Very pretty name.”

“Thanks. It’s my real name, not just my street name. That’s what my mom named me, Cherish Joy.”

The interviewer, Jamal, sitting in a chair across from Cherish, smiles. He’s a dark-skinned man with a shaved head who appears to be somewhere between forty and fifty. “Can you tell us a little about yourself?”

The young prostitute with the pale, sallow skin, wearing a pink crop top and jean shorts that barely hit the crease at the top of her thighs, brings her thin legs underneath her on the blue velvet sofa. “Who’s us? You and the mouse in your pocket?”

“For now, just me and my cameraman, Franco, but the show has three and a half million subscribers.”

Cherish repositions herself, sticks her hands between her knees, and then removes them almost as quickly. It’s difficult to tell whether she’s nervous or on something. “I was just jokin’. One of my stepdads used to use that line about the mouse. Can’t remember which one, and I never really knew what it meant anyway. It seemed stupid, but here I am repeating it.”

“How many of them were there?”

“Mice or stepdads?” She lets out a throaty laugh that fades almost immediately. “Sorry. I make dumb jokes when I’m nervous.”

Jamal smiles kindly. “Don’t be nervous. If, at the end of this conversation, you decide you don’t want this interview aired, you have my word no one will ever see it.”

She gives a jerky nod. “Anyway, yeah, there were a lot of stepdads. My mom only actually married two of them, or maybe three, but she made me call the rest of them dad, too, so that’s what I did, and I guess that’s also why they blend together.”

“Did you grow up here in San Francisco?”

“Yeah. Over in the Mission.”

“So, it sounds like your mom had a lot of men in her life while you were growing up. Other than that, what was your childhood like?”

Cherish plays with a long string on the edge of her shorts for a second and then shifts again. “Pretty shitty. I hated school and got in trouble a lot. My mom did drugs, so we never had much food in the house. She tricked, too, when there was no man in the house, and she’d bring me with her sometimes.”

“Bring you with her?” Jamal’s eyebrows rise, but his voice remains calm and almost unaffected in a way that makes it obvious he’s used to hearing stories like Cherish’s. “For what reason?”

Cherish shrugs, and she seems to zone out for a moment before sitting up straighter. “Sometimes I just watched, or I waited in the bathroom. Sometimes I went next.”

“Went next?”

“Yeah, you know, the trick paid to have sex with me too.”

“When did this start?”

“I don’t know. Maybe six.”

“Six years old?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“What do you remember thinking about that?”

“It sucked. I didn’t like it.”

“Why do you think your mom let that happen? Even arranged it?”

Cherish’s shoulder jerks, and she wraps her arms around herself as though suddenly cold. “She’d do anything for money, so she could buy her drugs.”

“And do you take drugs? Now?”

“Yeah. Well, I’m tryin’ to get clean. But you know . . .”

“What’s your drug of choice?”

“Heroin.”

“Okay. And why do you think you followed in your mom’s footsteps as far as the prostitution?”

Cherish shrugs. “I mean, I need money. What other way do I have, you know?”

“How far did you get in school, Cherish?”

She looks away for a moment as she twists a piece of her lank brown hair. “Ninth grade, I think? Maybe tenth? I can’t remember. I was flunking out anyway, didn’t matter, so I just stopped going.” Her eyes meet his. “I never got good grades. When I was in elementary school, I used to try to hump the boys in my class. Freaked the teacher out.”

“Did the school address it?”

She zones out again, then meets Jamal’s eyes. “Address it? With who? With my mom?” She looks away. “I got sent to the principal’s office a lot. But he was gettin’ some too.”

“The principal was molesting you?”

“I guess. But I was okay with that. He had this big bowl of candy on his desk, and he’d let me take as much as I wanted afterward. It wasn’t so bad. But anyway, I never got taken away from my mom or nothin’, so I guess the teachers didn’t call anyone but him.”

Jamal remains quiet for a moment. “Has anything bad ever happened to you while working the streets?”

Cherish pauses, her eyes moving upward for a moment. “Sure. Yeah. I’ve got beat up a few times. Once real bad, spent some time in the hospital. And you know, I’ve been stiffed out of the money after servicing a trick.”

“The streets can be rough.”

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Falling for Gage – Pelion Lake Read Online Mia Sheridan http://www.wownovels.com/falling-for-gage-pelion-lake-read-online-mia-sheridan Sat, 11 May 2024 14:57:09 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/falling-for-gage-pelion-lake-read-online-mia-sheridan Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary Authors: Mia Sheridan Advertisement

Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 115468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 577(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)

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How is it possible that perfect Gage Buchanan is still single after all these years?

He can't quite figure it out himself. Perhaps he hasn't met the right woman. Maybe he's spent too many years focusing on work―or maybe he just isn't as perfect as everyone thinks he is.

Gage thought he left his days of one-night stands behind him, however something about the gorgeous cocktail waitress in a town three hours away is far too intriguing. But when she shows up weeks later in his hometown, Calliope, pretending to be an art appraiser, Gage is completely blindsided―not to mention still very attracted to the (apparent) little liar. He can't figure her out: not her angle nor the persistent pull between them.

Aurora "Rory" Casteel is determined to find her father. All she knows from her late mother is that he lives in Calliope and he's an important part of the town. So when Rory's gallery-owning friend offers to run cover for her while she sleuths around town, she jumps at the chance. But she doesn't anticipate the man she spent one wild night with turning out to be a local.

Sure, it puts a wrinkle in Rory's plan, but she can work around Gage Buchanan. Even as it gets harder to pretend her heart doesn't flip every time he's in the room. She has a suspicion he isn't everything he seems, either, but maybe it's "perfect" Gage's flaws that are what she's really drawn to.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

CHAPTER ONE

Gage

“Gage? Earth to Gage.”

I snapped out of the semi-trance I’d been in as I stared mostly unseeing at the baristas behind the counter, who were expediently whipping up frothy drinks for the waiting customers. I turned to see Haven Hale peering curiously at me, a smudge of dirt on her cheek and a leaf dangling from the braid trailing over her shoulder.

“Haven,” I said, giving my head a small shake. “Sorry. I didn’t see you there.”

She smiled, cocking her head to the side. “You must have something important on your mind.”

“Uh.” The truth was, I hadn’t been thinking about anything. I’d been completely checked out. “Work,” I finally said before clearing my throat. “Busy day at work.” I inclined my head toward her, noting her baggy jeans with grass stains on the knees and the bright yellow crewneck she was wearing with the Haven’s Gate logo over the pocket. “You must have started early today.”

Her grin widened the way it always did right before she was about to talk about annuals or perennials or tubers or seedlings or whatever. I didn’t know much about gardening, but it always struck me that Haven was doing just the thing she was obviously meant to be doing. One’s true purpose. The phrase that popped into my mind caused an odd pinch in the center of my chest that I had no explanation for because Haven was a little quirky, but she was a nice girl who deserved every bit of happiness that had come her way since she’d moved to Pelion. I didn’t know all the details of her background, but I knew life hadn’t been easy for her or her brother, Easton, before they’d moved here. “We’re installing a water feature at the Fillmore Estate. They have this big hill behind the house that’s always been a challenge landscape design-wise. I suggested a water feature that starts at the top and winds down to the base with large rocks and plantings along the way and they went for it! It’ll be the first one we design and install and so it has to be right. It has to be perfect. And then, who knows, maybe we’ll hire a bigger crew and expand the business.” She pulled in a breath, winded from the long string of words that had emerged in an excited rush. “So I was up early measuring and planning and well—” She waved her hand around and let out a small laugh as though she’d just realized she’d gotten a little carried away.

“It’s going to be spectacular. I have no doubt,” I said with a smile.

“Thanks, Gage. That’s really kind of you.” She moved aside as the woman next to her stepped forward to grab her drink.

“How’s Travis doing?” I asked. “I haven’t seen him in a while.”

Her face went sort of soft and slack the way I imagined might happen right before a person was about to faint. But she remained upright and conscious as she said, “He’s good.” And for whatever reason, the word good sounded sort of salacious and made me want to glance around to make sure no one saw us dirty-talking. “He’s off today but he’s out hunting a cat.” She rolled her eyes, but even that managed to come off as adoring.

“I’m sorry. Hunting a cat?”

“Mm.” Someone else stepped around her and picked up two cupholders, turning carefully as he balanced eight coffees all topped with whipped cream and caramel drizzles. But then the customer turned back to the counter. “Excuse me, two of these are supposed to have chocolate sprinkles.” Good grief. No wonder there was a wait. When I looked back at Haven, her lips thinned as she watched the man hand his drinks over for an additional dose of morning sugar, certainly some sort of cardinal sin to a woman as health-conscious as Haven. “Clawdia just had kittens,” she said as her gaze moved back to me. “We assumed she was spayed but she obviously wasn’t. Well. You can imagine Travis’s outrage when it became clear his beloved cat was pregnant.”

I could absolutely not imagine any such outrage.

“Anyway,” she went on, “the kittens were born yesterday and they’re all orange. Each one!”

I stared. I had no idea what she was talking about or how I was supposed to respond.

She stared back. “Clawdia’s gray,” she finally explained.

“Ah. I see. So, the guilty party clearly passed on his telltale orange genes. Travis is out hunting a lustful tomcat because he outrageously knocked up his cat without first being granted permission.”

She bobbed her head as I worked not to laugh.

Oh, Travis Hale. Once Pelion’s Most Eligible Bachelor and all-around player.

My how the mighty had fallen.

The last time I’d seen Travis, he’d been helping dig holes for new trees Haven’s business was planting at the revitalized park entrance.

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All the Little Raindrops Read Online Mia Sheridan http://www.wownovels.com/all-the-little-raindrops-read-online-mia-sheridan Mon, 09 Oct 2023 12:39:44 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/all-the-little-raindrops-read-online-mia-sheridan Genre: Dark, Suspense, Thriller Authors: Mia Sheridan Advertisement

Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)

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The chilling story of the abduction of two teenagers, their escape, and the dark secrets that, years later, bring them back to the scene of the crime.

It’s senior-year spring break, and Noelle Meyer and Evan Sinclair have been kidnapped. Neither knows why they were chosen, only that they share a tragic past: Evan’s father got away with killing Noelle’s mother, effectively ruining her family when the death was ruled an accident.

Despite the connection that should have made them enemies, the teens instead unite to face their other common denominator—their abductors. Noelle and Evan survive one sadistic circumstance after another, eventually making a harrowing escape. But every happy ending comes at a price…

Years later, Evan, now a private investigator, revisits the crime when he learns it may be ongoing. He reaches out to Noelle for help, and they discover that the answers lie with a man known only as the Collector. To close their case and solve the ones that followed, Noelle and Evan must unmask this mysterious spectator—the only man who knows enough secrets to take their captors down.

...

Mia: While ATLR's is a complete standalone, it is set in Reno just as Bad Mother was, and there are a few (general) references to the case from that story. For that reason, I'd suggest reading Bad Mother first to plant yourself firmly in that world.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

PART ONE

Man is the cruelest animal.

—Friedrich Nietzsche

CHAPTER ONE

Noelle had tried to keep track of the days, but they were indistinguishable from the nights, both bathed in still silence and utter blackness. So finally, she’d given up. How could she have known how hard it was to measure an hour when that hour was spent in dark, quiet terror?

She’d become aware that there were places where time did not exist. Because even in the absence of a clock, its measurement was based on sensory input: the rising and setting of the sun, the sounds of traffic, a church bell in the distance . . . or a hundred other signals from the surrounding world. Not here in the cage she currently inhabited. And so instead of counting, the way she’d done once she’d gotten her bearings and forced herself to stay as calm as possible, she drifted. She tried not to let her imagination take over, tried not to picture herself in an airtight box deep under the sea. That only made her blood pressure spike and her breath come in ragged pants, as though her air were actually running out.

The only things that did give her any indication of the passing hours were the clues of her own body. She grew hungry and thirsty. But food and drink came at random intervals from some type of small door in the wall just beyond her barred enclosure. She would hear it being lifted, and then a small shaft of milky light would appear, causing her to turn her head away, even the very dim glow too much for her dark-adjusted eyes. Like a bat in an underground cave reacting to a slant of muted sunlight streaming through a crack. But even turned away, she could smell the yeasty bread within, and it compelled her to crawl toward it and reach mostly blindly toward the food, her fingertips just barely reaching the plain piece of bread or a few crackers and a paper cup of water. The first time, unaware of its presence, she’d accidentally tipped the water over, and later, she’d grown so parched, her tongue had swelled and her lips cracked. Now she knew to be more careful when reaching for both. And then, before she could force her eyes fully open, the slot rolled shut, leaving her only with the hazy picture of the shape of the opening.

Sometimes food and drink came when she was so famished and dehydrated that she shook as she reached for the nourishment, and sometimes they arrived when she still felt mostly full. It had to be by design. To confuse her. To torment her. At first, she’d yelled and begged when the food deliveries were made; after all, a human must be somewhere just beyond, but no one had ever answered. She’d thought she heard footsteps somewhere far above. But other than that? Nothing.

If she had to guess, she’d say her cage was about six feet by four feet, and there was a toilet in the corner. She’d found it when she’d finally worked up the nerve to feel around her surroundings after waking there, disoriented, petrified, and alone. She’d felt its shape, determined it was made of metal like one of those prison toilets. Apt. After all, she was a captive. Whose, she did not know. She could not guess. The toilet flushed the same way an airplane toilet did, with a loud sucking sound followed by the soft closing of a flap. At least it offered some dignity. But it wouldn’t save her from dying of thirst.

When she’d realized her predicament and that she’d been kidnapped, Noelle had cried and rocked, imagining how terrified her father must be. He would have been raising hell with the police to find her. Recently, they only saw each other in passing, or not at all, but he would have called her or grown worried if she hadn’t called him back. He was working a night job right now, and because it was currently spring break and school was out, she was working her waitressing job during the day. But they spoke by phone at least every other day or sent quick texts. I love you. There are leftovers in the fridge. Don’t forget to put the trash out tonight. And it’d been at least a week. Right? But maybe she was wrong. Maybe it’d only been a few days. At this point, maybe her job hadn’t even called to see why she hadn’t shown. Eventually she had to stop thinking about her dad because it made her panic ratchet higher, made her want to wail for him. Made her feel like she had when she was a little girl and had woken from a nightmare, screaming for her savior. Her father had always shown up then and taken her in his arms. “Hush,” he’d said. “Daddy’s here. You’re safe.”

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Stinger Read Online Mia Sheridan http://www.wownovels.com/stinger-read-online-mia-sheridan Tue, 20 Jun 2023 02:20:55 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/stinger-read-online-mia-sheridan Genre: Contemporary, Erotic, New Adult Authors: Mia Sheridan Advertisement

Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 128260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >138

Grace Hamilton is the girl with a plan. She knows exactly where her life is going, and prides herself on always achieving her goals. She's never stepped outside the lines she draws for herself, and never considered what her heart truly wants. That is, until him.

Carson Stinger doesn't play by any rules except his own. Working in the adult entertainment industry, he doesn't care what others think of his choices, and takes each day as it comes. No direction, no plan. He knows what women want from him, and in his eyes, it's all he has to offer… until her.

When unexpected circumstances force them together, Grace and Carson are swept up into the electric chemistry between them, surrendering to a steamy weekend in each other's arms. But for two people whose worlds could never coexist, they know their time is short.

That is, until their hearts get involved without their permission…

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

PART 1

CHAPTER 1

Grace

Las Vegas, Nevada

As I walked into the luxurious Bellagio Resort and Casino, tired and rumpled from my flight, I saw two signs directing guests to the conferences being held that weekend. There was the one I was in town to attend, the International Law Students Association Conference, and then there was another one, the Adult Entertainment Expo. Well. I guess that’s Vegas for you, I thought. Where you can see everything from law students and tourists, to porn stars, and perhaps even aliens from distant planets. It hadn’t taken me long to realize—just walking through the airport actually—that when it came to the City of Sin, shock value was practically nonexistent.

If I didn’t figure that out from the pantless man the cops were chasing through the airport upon my arrival, then I definitely got it from the G-stringed Elvis impersonator who flew by me on roller skates as I stepped from my shuttle in front of the hotel. “You’re not in Kansas anymore, honey,” the driver had said, laughing as my head swiveled to watch the rolling, half-dressed Elvis glide away.

Apparently not.

As I walked farther into the lobby, my mouth dropped open and I halted as my head fell back. The ceiling was filled with the most stunning glass blossoms—hundreds of them in every color imaginable. I moved in a circle, my breath halted, unable to look away from the gorgeous, overhead art. Wow.

When I finally tore my eyes away from the ceiling, I realized there was beauty everywhere. I was so completely awestruck by the stone pillars and gallery of fresh flowers and floating hot-air balloons behind the check-in that I almost didn’t hear the woman desk clerk call out to me. I wheeled my small suitcase up to the counter and smiled brightly at her. “Grace Hamilton. I have a reservation.”

The desk clerk smiled back. “Okay, let me just look you up… Okay, here we go. You’re here for the law student conference starting tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“What school do you go to?” she asked as she took my credit card and swiped it quickly.

“Georgetown,” I said, returning the card to my wallet.

“Great school! Well, have a good time. You’re on the twenty-sixth floor, checked in until Monday. Checkout time is noon. Here’s a folder for those attending the law student conference. You’ll find a schedule, a name tag, and some other information you might find handy for this weekend.”

“Thanks,” I said, taking the folder and then grabbing my suitcase handle before turning to walk toward the elevators. As I rounded the corner, I ran smack-dab into a hard, male chest. “Oh, gosh! I’m so sorry!” I exclaimed.

“No, I’m sorry—” he started to say at the same time. Our eyes met and we both fell silent, me blinking as he steadied me with both hands on my upper arms.

He was about my age, twenty-three or so, with sandy-colored hair that was just a little too long and curling up at the ends, and one of those handsome faces that manages to be both manly and boyish at the same time. Simultaneously rugged and pretty. Double wow. His hazel eyes were fringed with thick, dark lashes, and his full lips were curved into a half-smile.

I cleared my throat, pulling myself together as I managed to quickly take in his frame. He was lean but muscled, clad in dark jeans and a conservative, button-down, white shirt, sleeves rolled up.

He stared at me for a couple beats and something in his expression seemed to soften as my eyes moved back to his and his smile grew bigger, revealing a small dimple to the left of his bottom lip. He bent to pick up the key card I had dropped when we collided.

As I watched him scoop up my card, the strangest feeling washed over me, almost like déjà vu, like we had met before. I frowned, confused by the odd sensation, wondering if he was a law student that I had seen in passing at school, here for the same conference. Yes, that had to be it.

He straightened, holding the key card out to me, and I caught sight of the name tag clipped to his shirt. “Oh, you are here for the conference,” I exclaimed. “I thought I might—” And that’s when I read it: Carson Stinger, Straight Male Performer, Adult Entertainment Expo.

I stared at the words for a couple beats, re-arranging them, digesting them, and then meeting his eyes once more. He was smirking now and his eyes no longer held that softness I had seen just a minute before.

I pulled my shoulders back. “Well, then, I’m sorry again for the…uh, not watching where I was…” I let out a small, uncomfortable laugh, beginning again. “Well, have a good time…er, a nice time, um, enjoy”—I gestured toward his name tag—“the show. Or rather, not the show, but the…well, enjoy the weekend.”

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Kyland – Signs of Love Read Online Mia Sheridan http://www.wownovels.com/kyland-signs-of-love-read-online-mia-sheridan Tue, 09 May 2023 20:48:32 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/kyland-signs-of-love-read-online-mia-sheridan Genre: Contemporary, New Adult, Young Adult Authors: Mia Sheridan Advertisement

Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 98538 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >105

From the NYT bestselling author of Archer's Voice , Mia Sheridan, comes a small town friends-to-lovers romance. Dirt poor. Hillbilly. Backwoods hick. Mountain folk. Tenleigh Falyn struggles each day to survive in the small, poverty-stricken mining town where she lives with her sister and mentally ill mother. Her dream of winning the yearly Tyton Coal scholarship is all that keeps her going. With it, she would get a free ride to a college of her choice and finally escape the harshness of this life. Secure a career that could one day get her family out of Dennville. But Kyland Barrett has worked just as tirelessly to win this scholarship, desperate to leave behind the town that has brought him so much pain. Through near-starvation, deep loneliness, and against all odds, he'll let nothing stand in his way―certainly not the girl who's his main competition. Then, one moment changes everything. Tenleigh and Kyland find themselves turning from strangers to friends, then tipping dangerously close to love. They're both determined not to form any lasting attachment, but the longer they're together, the more hopeless it seems. Only one of them gets to win. Only one of them gets to leave. And when that day comes, what happens to the one left behind?

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

CHAPTER ONE

Tenleigh

Seventeen Years Old

The first time I really noticed Kyland Barrett, he was swiping someone’s discarded breakfast off a cafeteria table. I’d glanced away, attempting to preserve his dignity, a gut reaction on my part. But then I’d looked back as he walked in my direction toward the doors, stuffing the small portion of leftover food in his mouth. Our eyes met, his flaring briefly and then narrowing, as again, I averted my gaze, my cheeks heating as if I’d just intruded on a deeply personal moment. And it was personal. I should know. I’d done it myself. I knew the shame. But I also knew the achy emptiness of a Monday morning after a long, hungry weekend. Evidently, Kyland knew it too.

Of course, I’d seen him before that. I’d bet everyone who was female had let their eyes linger on him, with his strikingly handsome face and his tall, solid build. But that was the first time I really saw him, the first time I felt a throb of understanding in my chest for the boy who always seemed to wear an expression of nonchalance, as if he didn’t care much for anyone or anything. I was well acquainted with men who couldn’t give a rat’s ass. That was trouble I didn’t want any part of.

But apparently I was the only girl in school who had a problem with trouble because if he was in anyone’s company, it was always someone female.

It was a large school, serving students from three towns. I’d only had a few classes with Kyland over the three and a half years we’d been in high school, and he’d always sat in the back of the room, rarely uttering a word. I always sat in the front so I could see the blackboard—I guessed I was probably nearsighted, not that we could afford an eye exam, much less glasses. I knew he got good grades. I knew he must be smart despite his seemingly careless attitude. But after that day in the cafeteria, I couldn’t help looking at him differently, and my eyes always seemed to find him. I searched for him in the overcrowded hallway—packed with teenagers moving slowly to class like cattle being herded to greener pastures—in the cafeteria, or walking ahead of me up our mountain. Most times I found him with his hands stuffed in his pockets, and if outside, his head down against the wind. I liked to watch the way his body moved, and I liked that he didn’t know it. I was curious about him now. And suddenly that look on his face seemed more wary than immune or removed. I only knew a little about Kyland. He lived up in the hills like I did. And apparently, he didn’t have enough to eat, but there was no shortage of hungry people around these parts.

In the middle of rolling green hills, breathtaking mountain views, waterfalls, and quaint covered bridges lies Dennville, Kentucky, a part of the Appalachian Mountains that would put any urban slum to shame, where hopelessness is as commonplace as the white oak trees and unemployment is the rule more so than the exception.

My older sister, Marlo, said God had created Appalachia and then had promptly left and never come back. Something inside me suspected that more often it was people who disappointed God than the other way around. But what did I really know of God anyway? I didn’t even go to church.

What I did understand was that in a place like Dennville, Kentucky, Darwin was the one who had his facts straight: only the strongest survived.

Dennville hadn’t always been as bad off, though—there was a time when the Dennville coal mine was open and families in these parts made a decent wage, even if some had to supplement with food stamps. That’s when there had been at least a few thriving businesses in town, jobs for people who wanted one, and folks who had a little money to spend. Even those of us who lived on the mountain in a sad collection of small houses, shacks, and mobile homes—the poorest of the poor—seemed to have enough to get by on in those days. But then the mine explosion happened. The papers called it the worst mining tragedy in fifty years. Sixty-two men, most with families relying on them at home, were killed. Kyland’s father and older brother both lost their lives that day. He lived in a tiny house a little ways below mine on the mountain with his mother, who was an invalid. What she suffered from, I wasn’t sure exactly.

As for me, I lived with my mama and sister in a small trailer nestled in a grove of pine trees. In the winter months, the wind would come howling through and rock our trailer so violently, I was sure we’d tip over. Somehow it had managed to hold its ground so far. Somehow, all of us on that mountain had managed to hold our ground. So far.

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Travis Read Online Mia Sheridan http://www.wownovels.com/travis-read-online-mia-sheridan Wed, 12 Apr 2023 20:59:48 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/travis-read-online-mia-sheridan Genre: Contemporary Authors: Mia Sheridan Advertisement

Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 92777 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >98

From bestselling author Mia Sheridan comes the emotional, highly anticipated follow-up to Archer’s Voice, following Archer’s troubled brother Travis.

Perhaps Travis Hale’s past is riddled with regrets, but his future looks limitless. He’s the police chief in idyllic Pelion, Maine, women are regularly falling at his feet, and his family has mostly forgiven his mistakes. But when the new guy in town crosses him, things start to look shaky—especially when he meets the stranger’s smoothie-making, birdseed-eating sister.
Haven Torres’s life fell apart. Or, rather, burned to the ground. At the time, it seemed like a solid idea to jump in her car, her brother a mostly-willing co-pilot, and embark on a cross-country adventure for the summer. Especially if she can catch the attention of Pelion’s most eligible bachelor, Gage Buchanan, before she goes. And after the local police chief tells her of her brother’s scandalous misdeed, she knows without a doubt that Pelion is just another town where their stay is best short-lived.
Still, she and Travis form an unlikely friendship, and at first, it seems simple enough. She’ll help him make her brother sweat a little, and he’ll help her win over Gage. But then Haven starts to see the man beneath the brooding, and Travis starts to see the woman beneath the mess.
However, Haven refuses to be tied to Pelion. And Travis has vowed never to be second best ever again.
Before they know it, simple has started to look pretty complicated.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Prologue

Travis

Seven Years Old

“Mommy? What’s wrong?” I approached slowly, my heart drumming as I watched my mommy’s back shake. Her head was in her arms on the kitchen table in front of her, her soft sobs muffled.

But at the sound of my voice, she sat up. Her cheeks were wet with tears, her mouth twisted in what looked more like anger than sadness. My mommy’s face did that a lot. Her eyes said one thing, but the rest of her expression, and even her words, said another. Sometimes my mommy confused me. I didn’t know if I should try to help or run away from her.

My daddy didn’t confuse me like that. My daddy smiled with his whole face, and when he was sad, I could tell that too.

My daddy seemed sad a lot. But he loved me and I loved him. He was my hero and someday I was going to be a policeman just like him. Then he wouldn’t be sad anymore because I would make him proud and happy.

My mommy’s shoulders rose and fell as she took a big breath. “Your daddy’s left us,” she said.

I blinked at her, my heart giving one strong knock in my chest. “Left where?” I whispered. On a trip? To the town on the other side of the lake to do policeman business?

“Who knows where!” she said loudly, suddenly, her eyes sparking with the same anger on her mouth. “He’s snuck off like a thief with your aunt Alyssa and cousin Archer. He wants them to be his family now. He doesn’t want us anymore.”

I stepped back. Away from my mommy and the words she was telling me. “No,” I whispered. “My daddy wouldn’t leave me behind.” With you. He loves me. “He wouldn’t.”

“Oh, he would and he did,” she said, her tears stopping as she tapped her fingers on the table, her long fingernails making sharp clicking sounds. Tap, tap, tap. I wanted to clap my hands over my ears and make that sound stop. I wanted Mommy to stop. The crying. The yelling. The tapping. It felt like someone was pressing on my chest.

I felt scared and sad.

He wouldn’t leave me.

He loves me.

But I didn’t cry. I was tough, like my daddy, and I wouldn’t cry.

My mommy glanced at her phone on the table next to her, her fingers tap, tap, tapping harder and faster. “But maybe there’s something I can do,” she murmured, her lips tipping upward but her eyes still narrowed.

She grabbed the phone and began pressing the buttons, calling someone.

“Why, Mommy?” I whispered, my voice breaking, begging for a different answer than the one she’d given. Desperately needing something that made sense. “Why did he leave?”

My mommy stopped dialing, raising her head to stare at me. She watched me for several moments before saying, “Because I’m second best, Travis. We both are. We always have been.”

It felt like something withered and fell inside me, like the shriveled apples that dropped to the ground in our backyard. Thud. They were the ones nobody wanted.

Second best. Second best. You’re nothing but second best.

And second best didn’t even deserve a goodbye.

Chapter One

Travis

The lake sparkled beyond the trees as I pushed open my brother’s gate, the squeak from the rusty hinges breaking the silence of the still summer evening. Noise that was quickly and boisterously joined by the front door banging open and my nephews—and several mongrels—rushing from inside, racing up the sloping yard to greet me.

“Uncle Travis! Uncle Travis!” the boys yelled in unison, their short legs carrying them swiftly uphill, the dogs barking and dancing around, tails wagging in a way that would have let any knife-wielding burglar or serial killer entering the property know they were more than welcome to join the family.

I laughed as Connor and Charlie reached me, bending and scooping them up, one in each arm. “I have two stomachs!” Connor declared. “My daddy says.”

“It’s a Hale trait,” I explained. “It’s how we grow big and—”

“I prolly have three stomachs!” Charlie stated, not to be outdone by his twin.

I peered down curiously at his stomach, using my fingers to tickle his side. Charlie shrieked with laughter. The dogs wove in and out of my legs, and I sidestepped the brown one who seemed to always be grinning. I didn’t trust it. Anything that grinned that constantly was obviously insane.

“Did you ever see an elephant, Uncle Trav?” Charlie asked.

“Not in person—”

“What about a bear?” Connor inquired.

“Too many to—”

“Elephants weigh more than cars!”

“Bears sleep all winter! It’s called hide your nation.”

“Hide your nation? What’s a nation?” I asked.

Connor leaned in, cupping his hand over his mouth as he whispered loudly, “It’s prolly his hairy butt!”

Then both boys howled with laughter, their little bodies shaking with hilarity. I laughed too because, if you were a guy, the phrase hairy butt was funny, whether you were five or over thirty. Or a hundred fifty, I was going to assume.

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Travis (Pelion Lake #1) Read Online Mia Sheridan http://www.wownovels.com/travis-pelion-lake-1-read-online-mia-sheridan Sat, 24 Jul 2021 22:16:05 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/travis-pelion-lake-1-read-online-mia-sheridan Genre: Contemporary, Drama, Romance Authors: Mia Sheridan Series: Pelion Lake Series by Mia Sheridan
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Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 92938 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >100

Read Online Books/Novels:	(Pelion Lake #1) Travis
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Mia Sheridan
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	9798533401098
Book Information:
Travis Hale has it all. An important role as the chief of police in the idyllic town of Pelion, Maine. Looks that regularly and consistently make women fall at his feet. Two nephews and a niece he adores, and a family who’s mostly forgiven him after a series of unfortunate decisions years before. Perhaps his past is riddled with regrets and misguided choices, but his future looks bright and limitless. Until the new guy in town crosses him in a way both shocking and indefensible. A guy who, as it turns out, has a sister who may be equally as disastrous to Travis’s well-ordered plans, though in an altogether different manner. Not that there’s any real risk of him falling for the smoothie-making, birdseed-eating wild woman. She’s not even his type. A plant lady from California with a head of unruly curls and an equally messy past. More than that, she’s only in town for the summer, busy mooning over perfect-in-every-way Gage Buchanan. And if Travis knows anything, it’s that he refuses to be second best. Ever again. Haven Torres’s life fell apart. Or more to the point, it burned to the ground. At the time, it seemed like a solid idea to jump in her car, her brother a mostly-willing co-pilot, and embark on a cross-country adventure. When they land jobs at an exclusive tennis and golf club in a picturesque lake town in Maine, Haven’s hopeful it might prove a summer to remember. Especially if she can catch the attention of the most eligible bachelor in town and her current crush. Even the kindest, most upstanding, perfect of men aren’t opposed to summer flings, right? But when she meets the local police chief—all swagger and arrogance—and learns of her brother’s scandalous misdeed, she knows that Pelion is just another town where their stay is best . . . short-lived. Still, she and Travis strike up an unlikely friendship and Haven sees that the gorgeous lawman isn’t only easy on the eyes, but he has . . . layers. Not that she’s going to peel any of them. He’s only her friend. A friend willing to scratch her back, if she scratches his. It seems simple enough. She’ll help him make her brother sweat a little. And he’ll help her win over Gage. But before either Travis or Haven knows it, simple turns complicated, friendship gets flipped on its ear, passion faces down perfection, and they both discover that sometimes you have to lose it all to find exactly what you need.
Books in Series:	Pelion Lake Series by Mia Sheridan
Books by Author:	Mia Sheridan

PROLOGUE

Travis – Seven Years Old

“Mommy? What’s wrong?” I approached slowly, my heart drumming as I watched my mommy’s back shake. Her head was in her arms on the kitchen table in front of her, her soft sobs muffled.

But at the sound of my voice, she sat up. Her cheeks were wet with tears, her mouth twisted in what looked more like anger than sadness. My mommy’s face did that a lot. Her eyes said one thing, but the rest of her expression, and even her words, said another. Sometimes my mommy confused me. I didn’t know if I should try to help, or run away from her.

My daddy didn’t confuse me like that. My daddy smiled with his whole face, and when he was sad, I could tell that too.

My daddy seemed sad a lot. But he loved me and I loved him. He was my hero and someday I was going to be a policeman just like him. Then he wouldn’t be sad anymore, because I would make him proud and happy.

My mommy’s shoulders rose and fell as she took a big breath. “Your daddy’s left us,” she said.

I blinked at her, my heart giving one strong knock in my chest. “Left where?” I whispered. On a trip? To the town on the other side of the lake to do policeman business?

“Who knows where!” she said loudly, suddenly, her eyes sparking with the same anger on her mouth. “He’s snuck off like a thief with your aunt Alyssa and cousin Archer. He wants them to be his family now. He doesn’t want us anymore.”

I stepped back. Away from my mommy and the words she was telling me. “No,” I whispered. “My daddy wouldn’t leave me behind.” With you. He loves me. “He wouldn’t.”

“Oh, he would and he did,” she said, her tears stopping as she tapped her fingers on the table, her long fingernails making sharp clicking sounds. Tap, tap, tap. I wanted to clap my hands over my ears and make that sound stop. I wanted Mommy to stop. The crying. The yelling. The tapping. It felt like someone was pressing on my chest.

I felt scared and sad.

He wouldn’t leave me.

He loves me.

But I didn’t cry. I was tough, like my daddy, and I wouldn’t cry.

My mommy glanced at her phone on the table next to her, her fingers tap, tap, tapping, harder and faster. “But maybe there’s something I can do,” she murmured, her lips tipping upward but her eyes still narrowed.

She grabbed the phone and began pressing the buttons, calling someone.

“Why, Mommy?” I whispered, my voice breaking, begging for a different answer than the one she’d given. Desperately needing something that made sense. “Why did he leave?”

My mommy stopped dialing, raising her head to stare at me. She watched me for several moments before saying, “Because I’m second best, Travis. We both are. We always have been.”

It felt like something withered and fell inside me, like the shriveled apples that dropped to the ground in our backyard. Thud. They were the ones nobody wanted.

Second best. Second best. You’re nothing but second best.

And second best didn’t even deserve a goodbye.

CHAPTER ONE

Travis

The lake sparkled beyond the trees as I pushed open my brother’s gate, the squeak from the rusty hinges breaking the silence of the still summer evening. Noise that was quickly and boisterously joined by the front door banging open and my nephews—and several mongrels—rushing from inside, racing up the sloping yard to greet me.

“Uncle Travis! Uncle Travis!” the boys yelled in unison, their short legs carrying them swiftly uphill, the dogs barking and dancing around, tails wagging in a way that would have let any knife-wielding burglar or serial killer entering the property know they were more than welcome to join the family.

I laughed as Connor and Charlie reached me, bending, and scooping them up, one in each arm. “I have two stomachs!” Connor declared. “My daddy says.”

“It’s a Hale trait,” I explained. “It’s how we grow big and—”

“I prolly have three stomachs!” Charlie stated, not to be outdone by his twin.

I peered down curiously at his stomach, using my fingers to tickle his side. Charlie shrieked with laughter. The dogs wove in and out of my legs and I sidestepped the brown one who seemed to always be grinning. I didn’t trust it. Anything that grinned that constantly was obviously insane.

“Did you ever see an elephant, Uncle Trav?” Charlie asked.

“Not in person—”

“What about a bear?” Connor inquired.

“Too many to—”

“Elephants weigh more than cars!”

“Bears sleep all winter! It’s called hide your nation.”

“Hide your nation? What’s a nation?” I asked.

Connor leaned in, cupping his hand over his mouth as he “whispered” loudly, “It’s prolly his hairy butt!”

Then both boys howled with laughter, their little bodies shaking with hilarity. I laughed too, because if you were a guy, the phrase hairy butt was funny, whether you were five or over thirty. Or a hundred fifty, I was going to assume.

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(Pelion Lake #1) Travis

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Pelion Lake Series by Mia Sheridan

Mia Sheridan