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.)
JASE POV – BAR SCENE
“I gotta go. I promised Kasey a dance,” Moose said before
running off like he was up to something.
I shook my head and took another sip of water.
“Hey there. This seat taken?”
I didn’t even have to look at her to know who the voice belonged
to. The sweet sound made everything inside of me melt. “For a girl like
you? It’s never taken,” I told her as I
finally realized what Moose was up to.
She smiled back, but this time, she didn’t take her eyes off of
me. I knew the feeling all too well. I didn’t ever want to stop staring at her.
She looked away and began fidgeting with her glass. The contents were clear and
only confirmed what I thought I knew.
“What are you thinking about over there Cassie?” She swiveled
her stool in my direction and I couldn’t help but watch her cheeks flush. It
was the perfect shade of red on her. Jase,
get a grip man.
“Nothing,” she replied.
The look in her eyes said otherwise. “I can tell you’re lying.”
“Fine, you seem sad, Jase,” she said.
How could she tell? How did she know? Was I not hiding my
feelings or past good enough? I gazed down at the floor as I held my glass
tight in my hands.
“You can talk to me,” she said, placing her hand on my knee. My
skin blazed with heat under her touch. It was all I could do to keep from
screaming out to her what was wrong. She had too much going on in her life to
have to deal with my problems too. I was stuck. I couldn’t tell her the truth.
She wouldn’t accept it and then it would just be heartbreak. At least at this
point, we weren’t anything but friends. I wanted more. I couldn’t deny that
part of my heart that was internally punching me for not making a move already.
It wouldn’t be fair to her though.
A sudden coldness lingered over my knee. Her hand was back up on
the bar. I missed her touch. I needed to touch her. We had to dance.
I hopped off the bar stool and stood behind her gorgeously
dressed body. It was all I could do not to put my lips on her bare shoulder as
I inched my mouth closer to her ear.
I moved her stool around so she was now in between my legs.
“Let’s dance pretty girl,” I said.
A smile tugged on her lips. Her hand was still in mine as I
started to walk away, except she didn’t budge.
I looked back; her eyes were double their normal size. “There’s
a slight problem,” she said, quietly.
I moved in closer, put my hands on her knees, and leaned my ear
by her mouth. She smelled so good. Jase,
man you have got to stop. Focus.
“I don’t know how to
dance country,” she confessed.
What? I moved back and started laughing, uncontrollably. That
was what her problem was? It was adorable and innocent and in turn, only made
my feelings for her that much stronger. Why couldn’t it have been that she had
to go the restroom or something awkward like that?
The flesh of her palm suddenly covered my mouth and instantly
stopped my laugh. My stomach knotted. It took all of the control I had in me
not to press a kiss to the inside of her hand that so roughly covered my
lips.
“Stop laughing, this is serious,” she said. Yes, it is serious; seriously cute.
I reluctantly took her hand off my mouth. “I’ll lead, you just
follow. You’ll be okay. Just go with it, Cassie,” I told her. This time I made
sure she came with me as I pulled her off the chair similar to a parent helping
a child off.
The song that played through the speakers was perfect. I didn’t
even plan it, but it worked out to my benefit. I really hoped she recognized
it, but I wasn’t positive she would. I didn’t know if she was feeling the same
pull I was and if our moment in the street was one that would stay with her,
like it did me.
I took her hand in mine and placed her other behind my back. I
pressed our bodies together as I wrapped my other hand around her lower back. I
made sure there was no space between us, not even room to breathe. The song had
me wanting her badly, and getting her as close as possible was all I could
think about.
“Don’t be scared, just like we practiced in the street,” I said.
Her eyes gazed into mine as if they were seeing them for the first time.
My mission at first was to get her to let loose and have fun
tonight, but now, all I wanted to do was recreate the moment in the street.
This was far surpassing that though.
I took control and did as I told her I would. I led and swayed
us, keeping it smooth and slow, just like the song. Our eyes hadn’t stopped
staring into one another since we stepped onto the dance floor, and every ounce
of me wanted our skin to touch. The music kept us moving as I slowly rested my
check against hers. The heat of her skin immediately radiated onto mine. It
traveled down to my torso and only continued further. This girl had me flushed
from head to toe. Her body suddenly relaxed into mine as my hand held onto her.
It was that moment that I knew I had her; I had all of her, mind and body. And
it was then that my voice box let loose and started humming along with the
song.
Her body tensed in my arms and a second later her warm soft
cheek slid away from me. Her eyes peered into mine as she searched them. I
continued to hum as the wheels in her head seemed to turn. I know you know this song, Sweetheart. Come on. I know you do.
“This is the song you were humming in the street isn’t it?” she
asked, her lips smirking.
God yes. She knew it. It
came to her. My lips grew into a smile
that was larger than life. I pressed our bodies back together and finally
without having her eyes to distract me, I moved my lips by her ear.
“It’s called Wanted by Hunter
Hayes,” I whispered gently.
Feeling her body mold next to me as I held her, I thought to
myself how nothing could ever explain how badly I wanted this girl.
Her hands moved and delicately cupped behind my neck. Feeling
her latch onto me was enough to make my brain fog over and my knees want to
collapse. I did everything I could to contain myself as I locked both of my
hands behind her back. We were a chain link; nothing could break us apart now.
Our cheeks were no longer side by side, as our eyes were now peering softly
into each other. Her eyes. Those damn eyes could kill a man. The soft hazel
color could get you lost if you stared into them long enough. They swirled
green and brown and became lighter the happier she was. They were like a drug
as they caught your attention and didn’t let go. They pulled me in and I’d be
lying if I said I tried to stop it. Her whole face was drawing me in like a
gravitational pull. Those eyes, those flushed red cheeks, and those pink lips.
They took me in and pulled me so close I could feel her warm breath hitting my
lips. We weren’t inches apart or even centimeters. We were mere millimeters, a
breath and one second apart.
As the song winded down my heartbeat only grew louder. It was
the only thing my ears were hearing. Boom. Boom. Boom. It accelerated faster as
I moved and passed our millimeter mark. One last breath and one more second my
lips would be on hers. The rights, the wrongs, and every reason why I shouldn’t
kiss this phenomenal girl in front of me silenced as my breath hitched and now
we were only one second from kissing.
Her eyes seared into me, her body was snug against mine and her
lips were within reach. They were almost grazing, and then it happened. We
stopped moving toward each other and gravity now yanked us apart. The song
changed, the mood altered, and the crowd around us went chaotic. Our moment was
gone, vanished. Only one second away from our lips connecting and one second
was all it took to steal it away.
Was it a sign? I knew I was playing with fire, but maybe it was
bigger than a matchstick flame and more like a bonfire. I almost kissed this
fantastic girl. What was I thinking? I couldn’t have her. She wasn’t mine to
take. She would kill me if she knew the secret I was withholding from her while
I stood there, trying to kiss her and make her mine. I was more than sure this
was a sign and I was even more positive it was needed.
“My turn next,” Moose shouted as he grabbed her hand. The very
one that was just around my neck.
The stinging pain behind my eyes threatened as I watched her
face. It had lost its luster as we both stared. Was she thinking the same thing
as I was? Were the wheels turning in her mind about the coincidence of the
moment we lost? The first moment I reluctantly stopped and then this one that
was cut short for us? I tried to smile for her but I’d be lying if I said it
was easy.
Kasey grabbed my hand and led me off in another direction, far
away from the only person I wanted to be next to. I lost sight of Cassie as we
got closer to the edge of the dance floor, away from the crowd. We were
dancing, but it was weak and the allure of having fun on a dance floor vanished
the minute my hands left Cassie.
The look in Kasey’s eyes snapped me out of my thoughts. “Why are
you looking at me like that?” I asked.
“What was all that about?”
I popped a brow and looked at her like I didn’t have a clue what
she was asking.
“With Cassandra. Stop playing dumb. I know you better than you
think.”
I felt the tension in my shoulders relax as I let out a breath.
She knew me well. Too well. Growing up together didn’t help the fact that she
already knew the things going on in my life and the blank emotions I wore on my
face to hide my feelings.
“I don’t know what to do Kasey.”
A smile surfaced on her face like she knew something. “Make a
move you pansy ass. She likes you. A whole helluva lot. I had to get the scoop
out of her too.”
“What did she tell you?” I asked her, sounding way too eager for
a guy that’s twenty two.
“I’ve already told you enough. She likes you, you like her. Make
your move already.”
“I don’t think it’s a go-.” She hovered her hand over my mouth
and stopped what she knew was going to come out of it; the reasons why I should
not make a move.
“Just go with it Jason. I see the way you look at her. Even when
you brought her over for dinner at Maggie’s,” she said as her eyes went soft.
“What is it you always say? Let the-the-“
Damn her and her smarts. “Chips fall where they may,” I reminded
her.
“That’s it. Let them fall where they may. Make a move and let
the rest work itself out.”
“We’ll see. I can’t promise anything, but I appreciate the subtle nudge.” I laughed.
“You deserve to be happy too, Jason,” she said. Her eyes went
from determined to soft as she gave me a knowing smile.
She was right. I needed to follow my own damn advice. Tonight
I’d let the chips fall and not look back.
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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