Jaded by Michelle Bellon

Aug 20, 2014 | Book Spotlight, Excerpt, Guest Authors, Writing

To what lengths will a man go for the woman he loves?
Reed Dartmouth will learn the answer to those questions time and time again throughout his relationship with Jade Montgomery.

When he first meets her as a young, gentle boy the heartache from losing his mother only a year before is still fresh and painful. Jade is different from anyone else he’s ever met; tough, sassy, and even a bit cruel. But she’s also the same as he is: she knows what it’s like to lose a parent.

Their friendship begins and a bond like no other is formed. Time passes and Reed learns that not only are Jade’s parents dead, they were murdered and she’s made an oath to one day bring them justice. No matter the price.

As they grow older their love evolves but for Jade, old habits die hard and she can’t stop hurting those she loves the most. Even in the midst of searching for her parents’ killers, passion ignites and jealousy burns as Jade tests Reed’s devotion for her. Will she push him too far?

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*~*
Reed chuckled in unison with Justine as she retold her version of their many shared Driver’s Ed mishaps. “I remember it a little differently than that, but then again, that was nearly ten years ago. I guess my version could be a little sketchy.”
Her laughter faded and her eyes crinkled at the corners as her expression grew whimsical. “Wow, ten years. Has it really been that long?”
“About that, yeah, but I’m glad you gave me a ring while you were in town so that we could meet up like this. It’s been nice.”
Her finger trailed delicately around the rim of her beer. “Of course I did. I’ve always wondered what you’ve been up to all these years. We never really talked again after…that night.”
He stiffened.
Avoiding eye contact, she stared at her drink as if it had all the answers. “Remember that Reed?”
“Yep.” His answer was brief as nostalgic memories resurfaced. Those years had been tucked away, purposefully.
Justine’s body language changed and he knew she was likely contemplating whether to push the conversation or just let it go. Knowing females, and boy did he, as he was raised by many of them, he had no doubt that she’d just have to push it.
“All those years I kept wondering what she had that I didn’t. Then one day I realized that I’d go crazy trying to answer that question, so I chose to just let it go. But right now, sitting here with you, I realize that I still want to know the answer.” Finally, she raised her gaze to meet his.
He could see by the way her jaw set and her fingers trembled, that it took everything she had. He hated to be put in this position, to dredge up old ghosts from the past. He’d do it just to settle the score and hopefully it would ease her pain.
He sighed. “It wasn’t that you lacked anything at all Justine. You were… you are, beautiful, elegant, funny, kind, and quite simply a good person. There should never be a comparison drawn between you and Jade. It just isn’t fair. She came into my life before you and along the way, she asked me to make a promise to her. I kept that promise, even to my own detriment. I’m sorry that you got caught in the middle of that. I never meant to hurt you. You always did mean a lot to me.”
A sad smile haunted her features and it made him sick to his stomach to know she wasn’t sad for herself. She was sad for him.
She reached out and put a gentle hand over his. “Please tell me, Reed, that after all this time you aren’t still keeping that promise to her. She’s been gone for as long as I have. Promises can be a brutal sentence to carry out.”
He snickered. “You have no idea.” He swigged the last of his beer, placed a light kiss on her cheek, and said goodnight. If there was one thing Reed knew in the depths of his soul, it was what it meant to make a promise.

*~*

About the author:

Michelle Bellon lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their four children. She drinks ungodly amounts of coffee and has an addiction to chapstick.

She works at a surgery center as a registered nurse and in her spare time writes novels. She writes in the genres of romance suspense, young adult, women’s fiction, and literary fiction. She has won three literary awards.