Palessa started reading her first romance novel, at the age
of 11. Then she got introduced to V.C. Andrews, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Anne
Rice and many more notable contemporary authors as well as some of the
classics, A Tale of Two Cities, Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Great Gatsby
and others. It was during her teenage years that she dabbled in writing. First,
it was in her diaries, then she started creating characters, stories about
romance, the supernatural and much more. Being an International Baccalaureate
student as well as entering college, left little time for writing and so she
put it and the ideas aside to pursue a career. It would take almost 20 years, a
radical move from the city she grew up in, Miami, FL back to her Caribbean
birthplace, and a chance Facebook meeting with Sable Hunter to start the juices
flowing again. After some fits and starts, the Baxter Family Saga was born.
Unchained Hearts is Palessa's first published fiction book with Beau Coup
Publishing. Book 2: Portrait of Gray was released April 2014. She considers
herself just a storyteller that sees no reason to shy away from the juicier
romantic elements. She currently lives in the mountains of Jamaica with her
crazy, cracker-munching-mutt Ivy and a farm, primarily managed by agribusiness
partner, also known as Dad
Book 1 in the Baxter Family Saga Series Kyle Avery, CEO of
Mama Avery Foods, has been summoned to a special meeting by a note from her
late mother, Virgilia Avery. When she arrives, she meets the elusive mogul
Newton "Cass" Baxter, CEO of Baxter Chemicals and learns of the
nearly forty year history her mother shared with Cass, as well as the obstacles
they'd been forced to endure. As Kyle struggles to understand their history,
she's forced to confront the man who loved and left her, Brandon Hall, VP of Baxter
Chemicals and the adopted son of Cass Baxter. Kyle and Brandon unite in love,
but separate in tragedy. They are forced to deal with the sad legacy of their
parent's lives as well as their own heartbreak. It's up to them to finally
break the chains which bind their hearts and find their own path to happiness.
Buy Link:
Unchained Hearts - AfterGlow...
Virgilia woke up to a grumbling noise coming from her
stomach. Not long after, she heard another one coming from behind her. She
fumbled in the dark for the clock on the side table. It was almost eight in the
evening. Her body was spent, but energized. She smiled down at her sleeping
Cass. She gave him a gentle kiss and walked to her bedroom. Donning an
oversized shirt, she went to the kitchen. After the lovemaking session they’d
had, she craved something to feed body and soul.
She got out some bacon, eggs, flour, milk, seasoning spices
and proceeded to prepare a feast. Virgilia loved to cook and rarely went out.
She’d watched her mother as a child and how she would experiment with recipes
she found in magazines until she got them just right.
Her father had abruptly moved out a year ago, figuring he’d
done his duty and needed to live his own life. The house had always belonged to
her mother and when she turned eighteen, it legally became hers, along with a
small inheritance, which she’d barely touched. Her mother had vision and knew
that owning a house meant a lot more than a piece of paper. It meant she had
something to pass along. She scrimped, saved, did without and paid the house
off quicker than anticipated, much to the bank’s shock. She never liked being
beholden and taught her little girl that same lesson.
She heard Cass stir and call for her. "I'm in the
kitchen," Virgilia yelled.
He walked into the kitchen gorgeously stark naked and she
giggled. Her Cass had the body of a god and she looked forward to worshiping it
as often as he wanted her. The thought of what they had together possibly being
finite was a bit too real for her. She turned away quickly and attended to the
stove. As if reading her uncertainty, he came up behind her and gently lifted
her shirt, caressing her bare stomach.
"Something smells good," he mumbled, pressing
himself against her back. He had one hand between her legs, playing with her
thick hair and labia lips, and the other caressing her stomach.
"After what you did to me, I got hungry."
Cass laughed. "Oh, really? And what did I do to
you?"
"You made me feel—" She stopped. What she was
about to say would change everything and she became unsure.
"Don't," he said. "Don't hide from me, Lila.
I want to know. Please."
"Wanted," she said in a small voice, feeling tears
burn at the back of her eyes.
"You are. So very wanted and needed by me."
Virgilia could feel his dick press against her bottom and
she smiled and moaned.
She turned off the stove, turned in his arms and gave him a
long, deep kiss.
"I think we’d better eat something and get our strength
back," Cass growled.
"We're definitely going to need it," Virgilia
agreed.
"Whatever you're cooking really looks good. Let me go
put on my shorts and I'll be back." He got dressed and went into the back.
Finding what he was sure was her bedroom, he dropped his clothes in a chair and
returned to the kitchen.
She moved everything onto the little table and they sat.
They ate in silence, practically inhaling the food.
"I had no idea how hungry I was. My God, this is
amazing, Lila. The waffles are perfect, this egg, bacon, potato concoction is
one of the best things I’ve ever tasted."
"Thanks. My mother always wanted to open a restaurant.
She talked a lot about that before she died."
He swallowed and looked at her. "What happened?"
Virgilia put down her fork. "She was coming home one
day when she started coughing. She said she couldn't breathe and they took her
to the hospital. A blood clot found its way to her lungs and she died suddenly.
I was eight."
"Oh, baby, I'm sorry. I can only imagine what it was
like. I know you told me your dad took care of you."
She chuckled. "I think care is a relative term. He was
an adult presence when I needed it. I figured out a long time ago I was on my
own and if I wanted something, I was going to have to earn it. He did what he
thought he needed to do and about a year ago, he just left."
"Just like that? What about the house, the mortgage?
You're going to school and paying for all of that must be tough."
"My mother already paid for the house. I don't know how
she did it, but this house was fully hers and now it's mine."
Cass beamed with pride. His darling Lila...she was amazing.
She was smart, tough, but so soft and soulful. His father came from humble beginnings
himself and had grown his company slowly. He’d taught Cass the value of a
dollar and hard work in a time when people were living for the moment. He
always told Cass that life was a marathon, not a sprint and that you had to be
in it for the long haul. Julian Baxter was a smart man who made sure his kids
earned what they had.
"So, you said you were going to show me your
drawings."
"You remembered."
He held her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
"I told you I want to know everything about you, Lila, and I meant
it."
Continue the Baxter Family Saga with book 2 Grayson Baxter,
first born of Julian and Joan, has always been the prodigal of the Baxter clan.
He has also been heavily into drugs since he was a teenager. As his brother
Cass enters a new phase in his life and is headed towards taking over the
family business, Grayson’s drug use worsens. When he attempts to break away
from the family that hates him, something goes terribly wrong. After tragedy
strikes and with the help of a unique rehab facility, Grayson gets his life
back. He discovers and pursues his desire to become a therapist and fall in
love with Bindi Gail. Just as they start a life together, one fateful decision
tears them apart. Through life’s twists and turns he finds his way from lost to
found and learns to love again, Grayson’s journey to survive and realize his
path as a Baxter makes his redemption more satisfying.
Buy Link:
Portrait of Gray - Changed Man
It took Grayson a month to detoxify. His dreams were more
like night terrors with him waking up screaming and begging for a fix. Then it
took him another month to learn to eat again. His body didn't want the food and
because he’d used marijuana to stimulate his appetite, he no longer knew what
real hunger felt like. They had to force him into an eating routine that taught
him how to be hungry again.
BrightStar was both a clinic and a compound. All twenty
patients stayed in their own private rooms and spent a lot of time together,
especially hikes and camping trips. Those with at least ninety days of sobriety
got to go on remote retreats in another part of the state. Even though he’d
been at BrightStar for over two months and was beginning to feel better, that
first month had been a fight.
A quick, powerful rap on his door broke his thoughts.
"Come in."
Bindi Gail opened the door and stepped in. She was one of
the leaders in his group sessions. She was almost four months sober and had a
big smile as she opened the door. "Hey, Grayson, Damian asked me to get
you. Something about your father and some report."
Gray furrowed his brow and headed to Damian's office
downstairs. Julian had told Gray he could keep in touch and he’d been true to
his word. He’d called his son practically every week just to see how he was
doing. From that night on, Grayson had seen a different side of Julian, and at
first he hadn’t trusted it. While he couldn't say that he fully understood
Julian, the bricks of their relationship were slowly falling into place.
Damian's door was open and Gray gave it a quick knock before
entering. Damian's office was neat and spotless.
"Grab a seat," Damian mumbled, his tawny eyes
giving Grayson a quick glance. "Your father sent over the report on your
friend Jerry's autopsy."
Grayson caught his breath. He remembered asking for the
report, but he never thought it would come so soon.
Damian closed the folder and looked at his patient. Grayson
had made such remarkable progress since arriving on his doorstep. When he’d
come, his mind had been all but broken and his body…his body had been a
shambles. His blood sugar, cholesterol, kidneys, liver…he’d had no idea how he
was still walking around. Now his numbers were getting better and his mind was
sharper than anyone realized. Grayson's IQ was at least three standard
deviations above normal, which meant that when he applied himself, he’d be on
par with any ivy-leaguer. But he was still tender. Still getting to understand
more about his place in the world, in his own life, and that was why when his
father forwarded the report to Damian's office, he was stunned.
"Gray, why did you ask for this?" Damian narrowed
his eyes. He nibbled on his pen cap as he leaned back in his chair and studied
the man before him.
Grayson swallowed. "I wanted to understand why,"
he said simply. "Jerry had been my best friend for years. We shared a lot
of things together."
"Including fate?" Damian mused. "Do you
somehow think that you and Jerry should have died together? Like some sort of
pact?"
"Maybe. I-I don't know. I just felt like we were
playing this game and something went wrong. No one was supposed to die. I know
it's not a game, I get it. But Jerry was one of the smartest guys I know. He
didn't make mistakes. He was the one who taught me when we were kids at
Riverside. We did almost everything together."
"Except die together." Damian was known for his
bluntness and there were times when it hit harder than a fist. For Grayson,
this was one of those times.
He handed the folder to Grayson, who opened it tenderly,
licking his lips before pursing them together.
He read through the papers and looked up at Damian. "It
says he died from multi-drug toxicity. But I don't understand. Jerry was so
precise in his measurements. I mean, he had me weigh myself regularly for God’s
sake."
"Take a look at the graph there." Damian showed
Grayson a couple of papers with graphs. "That one on the left. You see
that spike? That's purity. The stuff that's on the street is cut with other
stuff to make it weak. That's why dealers make so much money off of repeat
customers."
"Okay, so…?"
"The stuff your friend got was a lot purer than that.
He did his calculations based on an incorrect assumption and when he cut his
stuff as he normally did, the reaction proved too much for him. His heart and
lungs burst."
Grayson slammed the folder shut and ran his hands through
his hair. He felt as if he was going to jump out of his skin, like he needed to
run and run until his lungs couldn’t take it anymore.
"Gray, look at me." Damian could see the anxiety
rise, which meant that he needed to be focused. Slowly, Grayson looked at
Damian. "It was an accident and despite your efforts, you couldn't have
saved him. It was his time, his way, not yours." Grayson nodded, but
Damian knew it was out of habit and not out of belief. It would take some time,
but eventually he’d forgive himself for not dying with his friend.
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