What good is running AWAY when you only end up
lost?
Cassandra Pierce had her whole “perfect” life
planned out by her parents. One night of pure weakness and lust has her running
away from it all and seeking refuge in Alamosa with her best friend. But it
seems life has other plans for her when she finds herself lost in the small
town of Keaton.
Jason Bradley is a charming country guy. He
lives a simple life that’s nothing like what Cassandra is used to. A single
moment in life changed everything he thought he once knew, leaving him with a
broken heart and an unplanned future.
What happens in Keaton is nothing Cassandra or
her heart could have ever prepared for. The instant connection she shares with
Jason is no secret, but what they’re keeping hidden from one another is. Will
these two be able to find a way to trust each other or will their secrets tear
them apart?
Geez.
Where to start…
I
felt so emotional and gutted after reading this book, that I thought it would
be best to give myself time to absorb the story before writing my review. Not a
good idea; I feel sad and gutted all over again. This is a story about finding
yourself and learning how to cherish all the little moments in life. Sometimes
in order to find to find yourself, you have to be completely lost.
Cassandra
is a young woman who has always followed her parents’ rules. She always does
what is expected of her and she has always excelled at it. However, her best is
never good enough for them. One night, she finally gives in to her roommate’s
pleading to go out and have fun at a party. Her one night of “recklessness”
changes her course. She truly believes that she has wrecked her life and
future. In a moment of panic, she runs away. She is headed to see her best
friend, Melanie, to figure out her next move.
On
her way she gets lost in a small town called Keaton. It is here that she meets
and has an instant connection to Jason Dean Bradley. Yes, I said his full name.
I love his name and it just sounds hot to me. Jason is a simple country guy. He
lives his life in the slow lane and takes the time to enjoy every moment.
The
more time Cassie spends with Jase, the more she learns to slow down and enjoy
life as well. Where she is a bit uptight, don’t confuse that with stuck up
because she is far from it, he is very laid back and goes with the flow. She
finally realizes that she needs to start living life on her terms, and not her
parents’. I felt so proud of her when she finally stood up for herself, not
just once, but a few times.
Jason
is… Well, Jason is awesome. He is so sweet and kind-hearted. He has a big
protective streak when it comes to Cassie. He melted my heart so many times.
Jase became her rock, but he doesn’t push her. He always seems to know what she
needs at the time, and that is what he is. Though the two keep getting closer,
they both have secrets that could destroy their budding relationship. It keeps
getting harder for them to keep their secrets.
This
story is very well written. The author keeps it at a really great pace, giving
just enough details to move the story along without feeling rushed. I also
really enjoyed the characters. Jase and Cassie have some pretty awesome best
friends. His parents are wonderful people. I would have liked to know more
about his brother, but I have a feeling that’s for another story. All in all,
great character development.
The
author has a way of pulling you into each moment in the book. There are some
carefree times that make your heart feel light and full of joy. I was reading
along, feeling pretty damn good about where this book is headed, then BAM!
Complete and utter devastation. My heart shattered into a million pieces. I’m
still trying to put it back together. Talk about book hang over. I totally
“Green Light” this story. (If you want to know what that means, you better read
this ASAP.)
This
book does not have a cliff hanger. The author does wrap up the story. However,
from the way the Epilogue reads, I’m guessing that there will be another book
and I can’t wait. I loved B.A. Wolfe’s writing as a whole and will eagerly be
waiting for more from her. (Who am I kidding? I’m totally going to stalk her.)
Chapter 1 – Jase POV
Flipping
my phone open I answered the call. I already knew who it would be.
"If
you’re calling to tell me you’re not coming, I don't want to hear it,
Dan." I waited for his response and only got a sigh.
"Why
man?" I asked him. I didn't want to be upset, but I missed him. I hadn't
seen my brother in a few months. Coming home was hard for him. I tried to
understand, but they're still our parents. "You can't avoid them
forever."
He
released another heavy sigh into the phone and finally responded. "Listen,
Jase. I want to come down. I had every intention but I can’t find anyone to
cover at work this weekend. I promise I'm not avoiding them entirely.”
I moved
the phone to my other ear as I set the piece of paper down on the grass.
"Alright. It's okay Dan," I told him. It was hard to be mad at him. I
just missed him. "How have you been?"
"I’m
good. I haven't received a letter in a few days. I'm starting to get impatient
here," he said.
I
chuckled. "Uh, two way street brother."
"Already
on top of that one, Jase. I mailed yours yesterday. You should get it in a
couple of days."
"Should
have known. You never forget." I couldn't help but grin. Our letters were
a thing we started when I was in high school and he was in college. We could
have called, texted, or hell, even used email. But there was always something
so exciting about receiving a letter the old fashioned way. Technology already
had so much of our lives, why give them one more thing?
"No
bro I don't. So tell me, anything new going on?"
"Not
really. I'm actually just sitting in our spot outside the library right now.
Getting ready to write your letter."
"Okay,
you write, I gotta get back to work. I'm going to shoot for coming down in a
couple of weeks, okay? I’ll try to get Carter to cover for me. He owes me
anyway." He chuckled into the phone. It sounded more nervous than it was
happy. I knew he wanted to come down and I didn't blame him for not coming home
more often. The way Mom and Dad treated him these days, I'd probably avoid it
too. It broke me.
"Talk
to you later, Dan."
"Bye,
Jase."
I
flipped my phone closed and shoved it in my pocket. Releasing a breath I picked
up the blank paper, pulled a pen out of my back pocket and started the letter.
Dan,
As I
began to write my thoughts, something that sounded like a car tire blowing out
caused me to look up. And just like that the world stopped. The wind suddenly relinquished,
the earth stood still, and the term 'slow motion' was in full effect as I
watched it unfold. The car was headed straight for the tree and there was
no time for me to even help. The car hit the tree and screeching metal pierced
my ear drums. My heartbeat was pounding so loud, it took over my senses. I
could feel it and hear it. Thud, Thud, Thud. I looked down at the letter to my
brother. It was now being clutched tightly in between my shaking hands.
"Shit," I
muttered as I watched the steam howling out of the engine. Jase, get it
together. I snapped to and left my spot as I ran over to the car and looked
into the driver's side window and tapped on the window. Oh God, it's a young
girl. My eyes wouldn't leave hers. She had blood coming down her
forehead, she looked panicked, scared, and about to freak out. Jase,
stop staring, you're scaring her. Call 9-1-1. We learned this in elementary
school. My inner thoughts were right. I knew what to do.
“Hold still. I’m calling for help right now. You were
just in an accident. Your airbag didn’t deploy, and you hit your head pretty
hard. I need you to stay put,” I told her. If only she knew how awful this
scene looked. Who knew what condition she was in? At least she was alert. I
reached for my phone in my pocket and dialed 9-1-1. I told the operator what
happened and our location and shoved the phone back in my pocket, returning my
attention back to her tear covered face. I had to keep myself together. She
looked more frightened than anyone I’ve ever seen.
“I know you’re scared, Sweetheart, but help is on the
way.” She was far past scared though. I just didn’t know what else to tell her.
She looked petrified. As if something beyond the accident had her terrified. I
couldn’t be sure, but my gut told me to trust my instincts. A loud pounding on the window drew my
attention back to her. She looked as if she was using all her last energy
trying to fight her way out of the car. I had to help her.
“I need you to calm down. You’re going to be okay. The
cops are going to help get you out.” Where in the hell were they? This town
isn’t that big. They should have been here by now, or at least I should be able
to hear their sirens.
“NO! I need out of here. I need out now!” she yelled. I
had never seen such an alarmed and frightened girl before. Damn it. I was going to have to help her out. I couldn’t take it
anymore. Between her sobbing pleas and the blood on her forehead, I was going
to start panicking if she didn’t get out soon. I grabbed the door handle, with
no luck. It was locked. I ran over to the other side and what would you know.
It wouldn’t open either. I motioned for her to unlock it and after she did I
bent down and put myself into the car. “Hi there,” I told her. I didn’t even
have to try to smile at her. She made it easy. Right away I noticed her
shoulder length blonde hair, soft hazel eyes, and anxious nerves. She was most
definitely a city girl. I’d remember a face like hers, she wasn’t from around
here.
“Hi,” she replied quietly. Her voice was faint as she
appeared to be studying me.
“I saw the whole thing happen from across the street.
Your tire blew, and you hit the tree. You seriously need to stay calm, okay?”
“I just want out of the car. Can you please help me?” How
could you say no to that? You couldn’t.
“Alright.” I nodded my head. “Let’s get you out then. I
need you to climb over your console and come out this way. Can you do that for
me?”
“Yeah… I… I can do that,” she said with a hitch in her
voice. I reached my hands out for her to take. She gripped them tightly and
swung each leg over. She let out a sigh and it was then I knew I had to help
her out the rest of the way. Something inside me shouted to pick her up, and
hold her. And that’s what I did.
A small sigh escaped her as I held her close. “See,
you’re out and you’re okay. What’s your name, Sweetheart?”
“It’s Cassandra. My name is Cassandra. At least I can
still remember my name.”
“Cassandra, that’s a great thing.” I cocked my head to the
side to get a better glimpse of her. “Mine’s Jason. I’m the town’s knight in
shining armor,” I told her, trying to be funny.
“Thanks for the rescue, Jason.” She smiled. It was small,
but it felt huge. Maybe I was helping to ease her nerves. “I have a splitting
headache right now though.”
Oh
shit. I forgot about her bleeding. How could I? “No, no, no.
Don’t close your eyes. You need to stay awake. You hit your head pretty hard.
In fact here,” I told her as I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket and set it
on her lap. “Press that firmly against your forehead. It’ll help stop the
bleeding.”
She looked at the handkerchief as if it were covered in
something disgusting.
“It’s clean, Cassandra. I promise.”
She laughed quietly. “No, it’s not that. I’ve just never
met someone so helpful to a complete stranger before.”
“I don’t know where you’re from, but that’s how we do
things around here. But, it’s not every day that I get to help out a pretty
girl like you.” I wasn’t sure what spell she had over me, but never in my life
have I ever said anything like that before. I was shocked at my forwardness.
“Does the town pay you to say that?” she asked.
I loved that she had some sarcasm in her. I wasn’t sure
what was going on with her but at least she was alive and okay after an
accident like that. “I wouldn’t need to be paid to tell you that,” I whispered
to her.
***
What a stubborn woman. She wasn’t even comprehending what
she just went through and then she was refusing to be seen by a medical team.
Stubborn and persistent. I shook my head and knew I had to intervene. “Cassandra, they need to check you out,” I
told her, trying anything to reason with her.
She didn’t answer, she only ran. I started to follow her
and then saw as she unleashed her insides all over the grass. Clear signs of a
concussion. She was going to the hospital whether she wanted to or not now. My
gut was beginning to tighten as I thought of how scared she must be, especially
being all alone. This wasn’t fair for her. No one should have to be alone.
I knelt down and put a hand on her back and handed her
back the handkerchief.
“I don’t think you want this back,” she said after she
finished wiping her mouth clean.
“Well, you’re right about that. You can keep it,” I told
her, letting out a soft laugh, trying to ease her nerves. “But you’re going to
the hospital now. You could have a concussion, Cassandra. They need to check
you out.”
It was all I had in me not to pick her up in my arms
again and carry her to the Goddamn ambulance myself if she didn’t get up
herself, but she did.
I stood up next to her and protectively put my arms
around her without touching her. She wouldn’t fall on my watch.
“I can walk to the ambulance,” she said. I could tell by
her voice she was more than upset. Something about having to go to the hospital
was not settling with her at all. The only thing I could think was, this poor
girl. She was trying to be independent, but something in me told me she wasn’t
used to it.
“I know you can. I just want to be here to catch you in
case you fall.”
We walked the short distance and they loaded her up in
the back of the ambulance. She laid there with a look I’ll never forget. Her
face was getting paler by the second. “Thanks for your help, Jason.”
My stomach was in knots. The kind your shoelace gets into
when it’s almost to the point where you can’t untangle it. I knew what I had to
do. I raised my hand and waved to her as they shut the doors. But it wasn’t a
goodbye.
Don’t
worry Cassandra. I’m not letting you go there by yourself. I’ll be there.
It was hard to
sleep; I was tossing and turning more than ever before. The butterflies in my
stomach were in full force as I recollected about each kiss Jason gave me; on
my lips and on my bare skin. My thoughts were interrupted as I heard the
beeping on my phone. I saw the light illuminating my room as I reached over to
grab it; it was a text from Jason. I was suddenly extremely grateful I let him
plug his number into my phone after we left the garage earlier today.
Are you asleep yet?
How could I be
sleeping? His lips just rocked my world; my heart was racing too much to be
sleeping.
Not a chance.
Me either.
I put my phone
down and got out of bed. I didn't know what else to do so I let my body decide.
It would have argued with my brain either way. I let my infectious craving for
his lips guide me downstairs to his room as I quietly crept to his door.
I took a deep
breath and tapped on his door. He swung it open immediately as if he knew I was
on the other side. The room was dimly lit, but I could see just enough. He was
standing there in nothing but boxers; I couldn't help but look him up and down
from head to toe. His mouth was open and his breathing was heavy as his chest
rose and fell quickly, matching mine. It didn't take long for the hunger inside
to take over. He stepped forward and grabbed a hold of me, pulling me close to
him as he took us over to his bed. I didn't know where we were going to take
this tonight, and quite frankly, I just didn't care; all I knew was I needed to
be with him. It could have been Jase, it could have been my hormones, but every
part of me was craving his touch. I got a taste and I needed more.
“Cassie,” he
whispered.
“Shhh,” I
whispered back. I put my finger over his mouth. I didn't want to hear what he
was going to say, we had done enough talking for the night.
I stepped up
closer to him, raising myself on my tippy toes so I was closer to his lips as I
pressed mine hard against his. I heard a small moan escape him as he tangled
his hands in my loose hair, pulling us onto the bed.
We fell onto
the bed and I positioned myself with my back against it as Jason hovered over
me, his arms on either side. I took my hands, placed them on his scruffy face,
and pulled him closer to me. Somewhere between being pulled onto the bed and
Jason hovering over me, our lips had lost each other; this was not going to
work for me. I didn't even have to pull hard as his lips curled up and lowered
down to my face. “I've never seen you like this Sweetheart,” he whispered into
my ear as he nibbled on it.
I was sure a
soft moan escaped my lips as he took my ear into his mouth. “I've been holding
it in,” I told him.
“I can tell,”
he said quietly before running his lips down my neck then into the curve of my
shoulder. It was making me shiver from my neck all the way down to the aching
spot between my legs. He was trailing his way down my neck when I suddenly
realized I needed to take off what was keeping him from continuing further
down.
“Wait,” I
breathed out. Jason lifted his lips from my skin as I wiggled my arms enough to
slip off the cami I was wearing, throwing it to the side of the bed. He closed
his eyes and let out a deep breath.
“Damn Cassie,
you are going to be the death of me.” He opened his eyes back up, piercing them
into mine. I needed more.
“Please keep
going,” I begged him.
“You don’t
have to beg, but it's so damn sexy when you do,” he said softly as he brought
his lips back to my skin, taking his time as he moved further down to my bare
chest. He slowly grazed his lips across each breast before making his way down,
trailing kisses until he got to the top of my yoga pants. He was driving me
wild; I was having a hard time not ripping all my clothes off. This was not
normal for me, but I loved every moment of it. He was bringing out a side of me
that hadn't existed before, and I hoped it didn't go away.
I grabbed his
upper arms and rolled us over so I was on top of him. I could feel that
this was just as good for him as it was for me, as his excitement was sitting
between my legs.
“Enjoying
yourself?” I asked in the sexiest voice I could find.
“You have no
idea. Now get down here,” he said as he pulled me down to his lips, biting down
on my lower one before smiling and finally pressing our lips together again.
Kissing him was what I always imagined it should feel like. Not wanting our
lips to ever be apart because they felt too good pressed together. I knew deep
down kissing had to be that amazing or people wouldn’t be so passionate about
it. I completely understood it now and I could finally say the feeling happened
to me. Jason, he made it happen, he was the spark that lit my lips on fire. I
couldn’t help but go insane inside as his lips continued to kiss me like his
life depended on it. I slowly released my lips from his and began placing
kisses on his chin, running them all the way down from his chest to the very
top of his boxers. I slowly raised myself up and loved seeing the satisfied
grin plastered on his face. I put my hands on his shoulders and caressed them
all the way down, feeling his chest form goose bumps as I did. I took my index
finger and traced a line along the top of his boxers, making a soft moan rumble
through him. I lowered myself back down on top of him; his hands grabbing my
back as our bare chests collided together. I leaned my mouth close to his ear,
whispering into it. “I know you green light this.”
That must have
sparked something in him because I heard a growl escape his throat as he rolled
us back so he was now hovering over me once again.
“Just so you
know, I'm not this guy. I'm not normally the guy who has a hard time
controlling himself. You seriously have me going crazy right now,” he said with
a heavy breath.
“Just so you
know. I like it.”
Cowboy Take Me Away – Dixie Chicks
Wanted – Hunter Hays
If I Didn’t Have You – Thompson Square
Crash into Me – Dave Mathews Band
Sure Be Cool If You Did – Blake Shelton
Runnin Outta Moonlight – Randy Houser
Don’t You Wanna Stay – Jason Aldean
Collide – Howie Day
Fix You – Coldplay
Wherever you will go – Lifehouse
Over You – Miranda Lambert
B.A. Wolfe is a girl with a passion for reading
and writing, and lives in the good ol’ state of Colorado with her husband (her
biggest cheerleader), and her two crazy min pin fur babies. These days, her
life is anything but calm, and there isn’t one thing she’d want to change. B.A.
spends all her free time either furiously typing stories on her laptop or
happily reading through her endless TBR on her Kindle. Her list of favorites
would be long enough to fill a book, but most would likely fall under the
romance category. She is a sucker for a good love story that makes her cry, and
an amazing book boyfriend who will melt her heart. ‘Away’ is B.A. Wolfe’s debut
novel.
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