#WIPWednesday: Noah lands himself in the ER--and Rory agrees to nurse him back to health

Before I introduce today's #WIPWednesday snippet of You Otter Know, I wanted to share Hans Hirschi's amazing review of King of the Kitchen. He is a dear friend and a wonderful writer, and his opinion means so much to me. Thank you, Hans! (And everyone: Hans has a book coming out tomorrow--I'll be picking it up, and you should, too!)

Even though I missed my deadline for the anthology, I'm still plugging away (slowly) at You Otter Know. Since it will be a stand-alone release and won't have to conform to the shifter anthology's rules, I'm probably going to change a few things. I like the idea of Noah and the other lifeguards being shifters, but I have some ideas about how that's going to play out differently now that I don't have any specifications to meet. Plot twists and shenanigans ahoy! *g*

Today we peek in on a conversation between Rory and Jared, who's one of Noah's closest friends at the resort, while they wait in the Emergency Room after rushing Noah there with a broken hand. Rory's crush is only going to get worse...

---

You Otter Know

Photo credit: Rosser321

“It’s only for a few days.” 

“A few days?” Rory’s voice cracked, his tone full of incredulity.

“A weeks, tops,” Jared said reasonably, gesturing toward the emergency room doors Noah had disappeared behind twenty minutes earlier. 

“Jared, he broke his hand. That’s not going to be better in a few days.” 

“No, but his roommate is visiting family this week, and I don't think Noah should be on his own. He'll be all zoned out with pain killers and he'll need help with stuff.” 

“Why can’t he stay with you?” he whined, knowing full well that Jared was in a tiny cabin at the back of the property that didn’t have room for everyone who already lived there, let alone a guest. He'd wondered why Noah wasn't out there in one, too. Noah was the only lifeguard who stayed at the resort on the staff floor instead of in one of the cabins. 

“Rory –" 

Rory sat heavily in one of the garish orange plastic chairs, holding his head in his hands. Noah’s injury had been, at least in part, his fault. It was amazing, the fact that Noah had made it through the entire summer rescuing children with stupidly heroic looking dives and hadn’t gotten injured at the pool. No, he’d gotten hurt when a group of teenagers had been manhandling Rory on the lobby, tossing him around within their circle while Greg had been off doing whatever it was he did when he was shirking work. Rory had been about to break Jolie’s cardinal rule and take off his costume head when Noah had appeared, jostling through the crowd of teenage boys to push them off Rory. One of them had taken a swing, and Noah had ducked, coming up with a punch when another had tried to kick Rory, only to have that teen sidestep, resulting in Noah’s punch landing against the same lamp post that Rory had walked into earlier that summer. 

“Fine. But first thing Monday morning, I’m going to lodge a complaint against that lamp post. It’s clearly a menace. I’m going to make sure the resort has it removed.”

#WIPWednesday: Mina gets the inside view on Rory's crush

So I didn't manage to get You Otter Know done in time to submit for the anthology it was targeted at, but I do love the idea, so I think I'm going to keep plodding along on it when I'm not working on other projects. Rory and Noah are too cute to abandon. *g*

One of the other projects I've been working on is updating my website. I've finally gotten it looking the way I like, so go check it out if you get a chance! I haven't gotten preorder links for Some Assembly Required up yet, but I'm off from the EDJ tomorrow so that'll be Thursday's project. Go take a look: www.bru-baker.com.

I'm dealing with some major health issues right now, so I may miss a #WIPWednesday here and there. If you're interested in keeping up with how tests and whatnot are going, I whine fairly often on Facebook.

Since I'm feeling guilty about that, you get a little bit longer #WIPWednesday today. Mina is Rory's top confidant about his crush on Noah, since Rory's best friend Greg hates Noah and refuses to talk about him. So here's a little chat session between Mina and Rory. *g*

---

You Otter Know

“I’ve seen the way you look at him,” Mina said, waggling her eyebrows as she held the shirt for Rory to ease into.

“Who, Greg? Everyone looks at him like that. He’s unfit for most social situations, which is why I couldn’t believe it when Jolie assigned him to be a handler. I figured he’d hired as a bellman, or maybe be one of those guys who carry those sticks to pick up garbage.”

Mina rolled her eyes, brushing her hand over the khaki fabric of Rory'a park ranger costume to smooth out the wrinkles. She frowned at a spot of dirt, grabbing a lint roller to clean it up. Rory and Noah were both assigned to the Pup Den, the resort's day camp where parents could drop their children off for the afternoon. Rory would be reading child-friendly books about conservation and forest ecology while Noah led swim lessons.

“No, Noah. You moon after him when you think he’s not looking,” she said, squinting critically at his left shoulder before dabbing at it with the lint roller.

“I do not moon after Noah.”

Mina pursed her lips, sending him a challenging look.

“Alright, maybe I moon a bit. But it’s just looking. You can’t blame me for that. I’d look at Jared, too, if I didn’t think you’d do something evil like replace the lining of my costume with sandpaper.”

Mina grinned. “Itching powder would work better.”

“Is there really such a thing?” he asked, cocking his head.

“As itching powder? Yes. But that’s not the point. Why don’t you just ask him out? I know he’s single.”

Rory wasn't so sure. “He and Jared were talking about going out with Sophia last week, and Noah was talking about her being all over him down at the lake. I'm not so sure he's single.”Mina made a dismissive noise. “The girl from the front desk? She's all over all of the lifeguards. I doubt it meant anything. A bunch of them went for a midnight swim last week or something and had a big party down on the beach. Jared said they've all known each other for years. And you've seen how they all are—they're always all over each other. It's hard to tell who's dating who.”

Which wasn't a big tick in the single column, but that wasn't even the biggest issue. “Did you ever see Sophia? If that’s his type, I don’t fit it remotely. You know – blonde hair, peachy skin, breasts.”
Mina grinned.

“I don’t think he’s that picky.”

“Well, thanks for that, Mina. ‘Oh, go for Noah, Rory. He’s not picky. I’m sure he’d settle for even a hopeless case like you.’”

“Who’s a hopeless case?”

Rory and Mina both jumped at Noah’s voice, whirling around guiltily.

“You are, you ass. We’ve only got five minutes before we need to be at the Den,” Rory mumbled, grateful beyond measure when Mina placed the costume’s head over his, conveniently covering his blush.

#WIPWednesday: Pigtail pulling (or otter tail pulling?) with Rory and Noah

We're back with Rory, Noah and their cast of friends at the resort again this week in the tentatively titled You Otter Know. Tempers can run high when you're as good as marooned on an out-of-the-way family resort, forced to spend all your time together whether you're working or not. Or at least, that's what Rory tells himself about the insults Noah throws his way. On the other hand, it could be a case of pigtail pulling. Or in this case, otter tail pulling? *g*

---

You Otter Know

“It must be your face,” Noah said, studying Rory with mock-seriousness as he gesticulated wildly with a carrot stick he’d taken off Rory’s tray. “Your ears alone are a crime against nature. Must create a lot of drag in the water.”
“I didn’t want to be a lifeguard, Noah,” Rory snapped, snatching the carrot back. He hadn’t wanted to be a character actor either, but Rory didn’t mention that. He’d hoped for a job behind the scenes, maybe as a stage manager or technical director for the shows the resort put on three times a day. Those jobs had already been filled by the time he put in his application, though.
“You'd fall over if you had to life the backboard,” Jared teased. “Not to mention trip over your feet while you were patrolling the poolside. I don't know how you stay up in those costumes, given how many times I've seen you fall over your own feet out of them.”
“Like what you do is so hard.” Greg rolled his eyes, ignoring Rory’s glare when he helped himself to the remaining half of Rory’s sandwich. “You just walk around yelling at kids who run by the pool. Oh, hey, remember that time you choked on your whistle because you almost swallowed it?”
“Once!” Noah yelped, lips twitching despite himself. “That happened once. I didn't choke, I just gagged. And being a life guard is a hell of a lot more involved than leading someone around. Not that you’re any good at that. You walked Rory into a post last week. I saw it on YouTube.”

Greg bristled, distracted enough by Noah’s taunt that he didn’t notice when Rory reclaimed his sandwich.

“It’s harder than it looks!”

“Right,” Noah drawled, lazily flicking his hand at Rory, who self consciously raised his own fingers to cover the bruise on his cheek that had faded to a sickly green.

“That lamp post was new,” Greg said hotly.

“Because the resort routinely adds built-in lamp posts overnight?” Mina asked, arching a brow.

“Just shut up, all of you,” Greg muttered.

“As fun as this has been, my lunch is over,” Rory said, standing abruptly. He tossed the remains of his sandwich onto Greg’s tray, ignoring Mina’s groan of disgust when Greg picked it up and started eating it.

#WIP Wednesday: New year, new manuscript! Meet Rory

Happy 2016! I swear the years are passing faster and faster as I get older. My kids are growing like weeds and our schedules seem to grow every year, no matter how much I resolve to do less, not more. Right now we're gearing up (literally, OMG this shit is expensive) for two hockey tournaments in different states and the Girl is already antsy for the start of soccer season. *sob*

I'm also filling out my writing schedule for 2016. First up is a new adult novella about a group of college students who are spending their summer working at a wilderness resort themed around bears. Rory, our adorable main character, spends his days running arts and crafts stations around the resort and two thirty-minute shifts a day in costume as a giant otter. He has a lust-hate relationship with one of the lifeguards, Noah. As their pigtail pulling progresses, Rory finds out that he's not the only one who spends part of his time as an otter. It's just that Noah's pelt isn't a costume. That's right, I'm writing shifters! *cough* This was definitely something directly inspired by my recent vacation to a certain themed resort with my kids. No sir. */cough* Its working title is You Otter Know, which will definitely change. Probably. God, I hope.

I'll also be starting a three-book paranormal series with Lex Chase. Our first book together, Some Assembly Required, will be out in early February. It's a meet-cute inside an international big box home furnishings chain that just happens to be purgatory on a different plane of existence. Our new series will be just as quirky, as you'll probably come to expect from the two of us. As Lex likes to say, we shouldn't be allowed to be together without adult supervision. *g*

I'm planning to finish up my first YA manuscript within the next few months and start shopping that around for a home, which is exciting.

I'm also plodding along on a middle grade fantasy series that will have some LGBT characters but isn't a romance. That's quite a departure from my usual style, so I won't be sharing that one one here for #WIP Wednesdays.

Here's a peek at Rory while he's on the job, doing a meet-and-greet in his otter costume. *g*

---

Credit

You Otter Know

Rory winced as a particularly husky boy of about six lunged at him, curling himself around his leg. He brought a hand down, gently ruffling the towheaded boy’s hair with his hoof, turning his furry muzzle in the direction he thought the child’s parents would most likely be stationed so he could pose for the obligatory photograph. He gasped in surprise as he felt something being thrust at him, his arms coming up automatically to take the weight of a squirming toddler.

“Taylor, Gracie! Say cheese for Mommy! That’s a good boy, Taylor. Oh, Gracie, what have you done?”

Rory squeezed his eyes shut as he felt the unmistakable spread of wetness down his side. It was pretty obvious to him, at least, exactly what the now screaming toddler had done. Secure in the knowledge that the head piece hid him completely, Rory stuck his tongue out at the bedraggled woman who relieved him of the kicking girl.


This job had seemed like the perfect solution to his problems when he'd seen it advertised on campus. Rory had been looking for summer employment, not being far enough along in his degree to qualify for an internship. The resort was in the middle of nowhere, but it offered free room and board in addition to a frankly ridiculous hourly wage, way more than he could have pulled down working at a fast food restaurant or big box store while living at home with his parents. It had seemed like a win-win, especially when his best friend Greg had agreed to apply with him so they could hang out all summer.

Now, stuffed into a god awful otter costume and besieged with small, sticky children, it didn't seem like such a deal. Especially right now, while Greg was loudly fighting in the lobby with Noah, head life guard, prickly bastard, and the hottest guy Rory had ever met in person. Greg was supposed to be guiding Rory around since visibility was terrible in the costume, but he was too busy inferring things that Rory definitely hoped weren't true about Noah's virility and manhood. Not that Rory stood a chance of ever finding that out first hand, but a guy could dream, he thought sourly as he tromped down the concourse, letting the sound of Greg and Noah’s raised voices guide him back to them. Mina was going to have an absolute fit when she saw the state of his costume. 

#WIPWednesday: There's nothing as electrifying as sex in a storm!

Credit

Today will be the last #WIPWednesday for Tall, Dark and Deported, which is both exciting and sad. Exciting because it means I finished my manuscript in time for my deadline and I'll be sending it off soon. Sad because I won't get to write these two beautiful men anymore. *sniffle*

We'll send them out with a bang, though. A literal one--sex after being caught outside in a terrifying thunder storm. There's not much that gets the blood pumping like running for your life through lightning and hail, and once Mateus and Crawford are safe in a barn, they put all that adrenaline to good use.

I'm not posting most of the scene, just the teaser to their sexytimes, but you'll have to trust me that after all the build-up and tension in the book, the climax is electric.

I'll stop with the storm puns now. *g*

These two have tiptoed around each other through tropes and misunderstandings, and by the time they finally get together, there's no doubt they belong together. I had an amazing amount of fun channeling all the old-school Harlequin tropes I used to love as a teenager, and I can't wait to start reading the other Dreamspun Desires books!

---

Tall, Dark and Deported 

They'd made it a few steps before the rain stopped and the sky lightened. It turned a sickly green, which wasn't something Crawford had ever seen before. Apparently Mateus had, because he looped the picnic basket through one arm and reached back with another, grabbing onto Crawford's hand and tugging him forward as he broke into a flat-out run. “Hurry!” he yelled, tucking his head down. 

Crawford couldn't even get out a question before he felt something sting the back of his neck. Once, twice, and then suddenly there was a deluge, too many to count, sharp pricks battering him all over. He ducked his head like Mateus, then used his free hand to unfurl the blanket, making a shelter for them. He shook free of Mateus's grip and held it up over them as best he could as they ran. The ground around them was littered with tiny pieces of hail. They didn't look bigger than peas, but they'd felt like boulders when they'd been hitting his skin. The blanket didn't keep them all off, but it was better than just being completely unprotected. 

“Do you think it's unlocked?” he yelled as they neared the white clapboard barn. 

“Probably not,” Mateus yelled back. “These pole barns have to be padlocked, and I don't see one.” 

Crawford had no idea what that was, but he vowed to read up on barns and become an expert if they made it through this intact. They stumbled to a clumsy stop in front of the huge barn doors, and he sighed in relief when he realized it was closed with a large piece of timber. There was a spot for a lock, it looked like, but nothing was there.Mateus hefted the large bar up, and the barn doors creaked open. They rushed inside, but Mateus didn't close the door behind them. There weren't any windows in the barn, and closing the door would plunge them into darkness. 

Crawford let the blanket drop with a breathless laugh. “Oh my God,” he panted.Mateus took one look at him and started to laugh. He put the picnic basket down at his feet and closed the distance between them, his hands coming up to pluck at Crawford's hair. Crawford started to laugh when he realized he'd had hail in his hair. Mateus did, too. It felt natural to return the fair, his fingers skating through Mateus's dark locks as he swept the melting ice out of it. 

Crawford's heart was pounding from their run, and it felt unnaturally loud to him in the heavy silence of the deserted barn. He and Mateus were standing close enough that their breath mingled, and Crawford couldn't stop himself from stepping up, close enough he could count the drops of water in Mateus's eyelashes. 

He hesitated, hovering close enough to kiss him, until Mateus's eyes closed and he leaned in the rest of the way, closing the small gap between them. He tasted like rain, wild and earthy. Electric, like the lightning that had chased them into this musty barn. Crawford pressed in, chasing the flavor across Mateus's lips and into his mouth when Mateus melted into the kiss and let him in.

Happy holidays from Great Wolf Lodge! (aka why there's no #WIPWednesday this week)

Hubs and I surprised the kids with a trip to Great Wolf Lodge for Christmas this year, so even though I'm terribly behind on Tall, Dark and Deported, I haven't been writing this week. I have, however, probably swallowed more chlorine than anyone should in a lifetime and gone on a million magic quests in the last two days.

If you aren't familiar with Great Wolf Lodge, it's a chain of amusement park style hotels in the Midwest that have huge indoor water parks and a gazillion other kid-friendly activities. Pretty much hell on earth for parents, but a dream Christmas for kids. *g*

My kids have been having a blast, from the log cabin they're sleeping in inside our room and having ice cream hours past their bedtime to the water park and the magic quest game that has us racing up and down hallways and stairwells for hours a day solving puzzles and casting spells with wands. I'm going to need a vacation from our vacation, but with the Tall, Dark and Deported deadline looming, that's not going to happen. Mommy needs a drink.

Happy Holidays (or should that be Howlidays?)! I'll see you next week for #WIPWednesday, and I promise I won't come empty handed.

WIP Wednesday: coffee orders and hotel beds

I'm running late this week (lately when am NOT?), so I apologize for that. I'm hiding at my desk at the EDJ and doing this on my phone, so fingers crossed. *g*

Today we see Mateus and Crawford right after they've come back to the United States. They were hoping it would go smoothly, but of course it doesn't. They're stuck in the border town overnight until the immigration officer can see them the next morning.

---

Tall,  Dark and Deported

Mateus flopped down on the queen-sized bed, wrinkling his nose when he bounced instead of sinking into it. This was nothing like the feather-soft beds at [hotel name], though the rock-hard mattress and slick nylon coverlets were hardly a surprise for a place that rented for $59 a night.
Crawford had tried to book them into a nicer hotel down the street, but Mateus's pride wouldn't allow it. He'd been mooching off Crawford for too long—it was Mateus's turn to foot some of the bill for this, especially since they were stuck here overnight because of him. Unfortunately, he couldn't afford down comforters and 500-thread-count sheets. But the room did come with a free continental breakfast in the morning, which was kind of exciting.
He closed his eyes and listened to Crawford fumbling with the tiny coffeemaker on the bathroom sink. It was late, but he didn't say anything. He'd learned not to come between Crawford and caffeine, no matter what time of day Crawford was having it. [insert earlier snipy fight over coffee late at night]
Something clattered into the sink with an echoing thud and Crawford cursed softly. Mateus peeked open one eye in time to see him angrily shoving the piece back into the coffeemaker.
“I saw a Starbucks a mile or so back. I think I'm going to give up on this and make a coffee run. You want a decaf cinnamon latte?”
So maybe Mateus hadn't been the only one taking notes on beverage preferences. He tried hard to ignore the fluttery feeling he got knowing Crawford had been paying attention all those nights they'd stopped at the hotel coffee shop for a drink after dinner.
“If you're going out anyway. But don't make a special trip for me.”
Crawford snorted. “I've got about four hours of paperwork to get through tonight. Trust me, I'm going anyway. Possibly more than once.”
Mateus winced internally. Crawford had been so amazing through all of this, never once getting angry about how much this marriage had inconvenienced him. Even now, staying in a second-rate motel with a nonfunctional coffeemaker, he didn't snap or try to make Mateus feel bad. Instead, he offered to pick up his favorite evening drink while he went out to get coffee to fuel a late-night work session that was necessary because he'd spent all day doing things for Mateus.