A dead body in the parking lot of her family’s business, a killer on the loose, and a handsome detective asking a lot of questions… Homecoming Chaos (A Model MD Novel) by D.W. Brooks Book Tour with Rafflecopter
Can Jamie survive the chaos and protect her family’s business, deal with her family, and handle the dance with the hot detective without managing to get herself killed?
Homecoming Chaos
A Model MD Novel
by D.W. Brooks
Genre: Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Fiction
A
dead body in the parking lot of her family’s business, a killer on
the loose, and a handsome detective asking a lot of questions…
Jamie
Scott’s life fell apart four years ago when she broke off her
engagement, turned down a dream job, and went overseas to run away
from her life. Now she’s back, but the reunion is not without
problems. She arrives home just in time to attend the soiree her
mother planned, but she’s not prepared for what she finds—a dead
employee in the parking lot.
Detective Nick Marshall is
assigned to the murder case at the forensics lab owned by Jamie’s
family. He meets the headstrong Jamie, but he has a job to do. And
his attraction to her… well, he’s a professional.
Jamie
knows the stakes are high. She has to face the past and save her
parents’ business while dealing with her family drama and an
uncertain future. She also has to deal with Nick, who wants her out
of the way of his investigation. But fate keeps throwing them in one
another’s paths… and into chaos that they both want to avoid, but
neither can seem to escape.
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Excerpts
Jamie entered the simply appointed
room decorated in blue,
white, and seafoam
green. The attached
bathroom incorporated blue and white
colors. Jamie sat on the edge of
the bed and looked around the room. Since she never lived here, the room didn’t hold many personal touches,
as did Jon’s and Jillian’s rooms. There were plenty of pillows, a complete set of cherry wood bedroom
furniture, and a mid-
sized flat-screen TV above the chest of drawers. It represented a fitting guest room since she was now a guest—a nervous guest at that. What if her mother verbally eviscerated her again? Could she deal? Jamie realized
she was delaying her meeting with her mom for as long as possible. What else could she do to kill time?
She peeked
in the closet to see if she had left any
clothes behind from four years
ago. Unfortunately, she found
nothing that would be appropriate for what would be a formal event on Sunday night.
She went into the bathroom and removed her baseball cap to inspect the state of her hair in the mirror. I
was fine for a quiet home visit, but not for a dressy affair. Jamie had let her relaxer grow out while she was out of the
country. She typically flat-twisted her natural hair to emphasize the wave pattern.
Before this trip,
she had only washed, conditioned, and air-dried
her hair, thinking
that she would have some time after her arrival to moisturize and comb
it. Now, it was just squashed down by her hat. Ugh. Since she wouldn’t be able to prep before talking to her
mother, she would have to atone by looking
her best for the party. For such a formal affair,
she would have to visit a
salon for a trim and style.
There was a knock on the bedroom door. “Come in!” Jamie yelled as she tucked her cap back onto her head and came
out of the bathroom. Jon placed her bags inside
her door. “Mother is waiting for you downstairs. I’m going to my room to avoid the tearful reunion.”
He didn’t live there
anymore but still called his childhood room “his room”.
Jamie sighed.
Time to woman up. “OK. Let me wash
my face, and I’ll be down. Where is she, exactly?” she inquired.
“Still in the study. Good luck.”
_____________________________________________________________________________
“Wait, wait. Hold on.
Do you have a warrant? Do we need an attorney?” Jamison stood up, too. She was
almost as tall as the detective and incredibly pretty up close, which caught
him off guard. “Aren’t there proprietary issues at the lab?”
Nick paused and
deferred to Ronald. Ronald chimed in. “We’re just trying to get information
about this woman’s death. You can call a lawyer if you wish but retaining one
may slow things down.”
“Hmmm.” Jamie stared
at both detectives. She couldn’t read either of them, but the situation gave
her pause. She recognized the importance of finding out what had happened to
their employee. However, the family business needed to be shielded as much as possible.
Jamie hadn’t been back long, and her brain was still cloudy and jet-lagged, but
she recognized the potential perils in just letting the police roam free in the
lab. “Dad, Mother, someone should call Richard,” she said, scrutinizing both
parents.
Margaret said, “Good
idea. I’ll call while I change. He can meet us there.” She gave the detective
and the other officers a superior glance. “Richard Bradshaw, he’s a partner at
Bradshaw, Taylor, and Kline, and he is our son-in-law.” She turned to walk into
the master suite, with Gregory following.
Nick shook his head,
and Ronald was less subtle with a steady scowl. Both had heard about Richard’s
firm and peripherally knew Richard. This situation just got a lot more
difficult. Nick didn’t suspect the family, but involving a lawyer usually
complicated their police work. He turned back to Jamie, who was studying his
reaction. He adjusted his face so she couldn’t sense his annoyance.
Jamie noted the
subtle change and smiled to herself. She could tell she had annoyed him. Even
annoyed, he’s pretty cute. “I need to get my coat. If you will excuse me,”
she said, heading back to her bedroom.
Upstairs, Jamie
changed clothes, retrieving a pair of skinny black jeans from her bag. As she
slid into her jeans, her mind wandered to the detective. She typically dated
guys that were taller than her—with her ex-fiancé being the lone
exception—Eddie had been the same height. A strong jaw, wavy-ish hair, nice
lips, and a commanding presence—which Jamie suspected the detective had in
spades—didn’t hurt either. Just the type of guy she would typically go for if
the circumstances were different. Rifling through the dresser, she found a
white Henley shirt she’d left on a previous visit. She had gained almost
fifteen pounds since then, and the shirt fit snugly. She now had boobs! Placing
the hat back on her head, she was glad she had an appointment at the hair salon
later in the day.
Yikes, she thought after catching herself primping in the mirror. Am I
trying to impress the detective who’s investigating us? Girl, it has been a
long time. Although he is hot. She shook her head exasperatedly. As she
headed out, she remembered to grab her coat.
____________________________________________________________________________
Both Jamie and
Jillian stood up, Jillian lifting Aaron onto
her hip. Jamie marveled at how fit her younger
sister was after giving
birth to four children–-she hoped to have gotten that gene. “Rick and Anthony
are at music lessons, so I dropped in with the boys to see Mother and Dad. Richard
has been out of town for a case, but he’s returning
today. I wish you had told me you were coming.
We could have planned a dinner or something.”
“Jonathan knew.
I’m surprised he didn’t tell you. I don’t
need a fancy dinner because
I’m coming home. Besides, there will be an epic to-do
soon enough. How long has this been
in the works?”
“Actually, not very long. We
were going to take her out for dinner, but about ten days ago, she decided
she wanted a large
party. So, it’s been hectic.”
She moved to the
side to avoid two workers
carrying a table.
“It’s a cool coincidence that you will be here for it.”
“I don’t
know if it was a coincidence.” Jamie
winked at her sister and touched
her nephew’s nose.
Jamie had spoken to Jonathan almost two weeks ago and told him she
was coming home. Coincidence, my ass. Jon had a lot to answer for. He must have blabbed
to their mother
that she was coming,
and Margaret turned
this into a gathering, a celebration of sorts. Perhaps
this reunion would not be as
miserable as she expected.
Jillian frowned. “So, Jon knew you were coming? And Mother did, too? So that’s what caused the change
in plans.” No one had told her, and after four years away, Jamie
still had a party. Perfect Jamie, indeed.
Oblivious to her sister’s
change in mood,
Jamie considered her options.
“I guess I need to find Mother.
By the way, Jon’s upstairs in his room.”
“You haven’t seen her yet? Oh, my. That should be interesting.” Jillian
gave Jamie a sidelong glance.
“I think I’ll take Aaron to see Jon. Good luck!”
She and her son went up the stairs.
Jamie took a deep breath and headed toward the
study. Damn, everyone
keeps wishing me luck. I hope it’s not
a bad sign.
The author is a doctor and editor who lives in Texas with her husband and children. She enjoys trying to stay in shape, sporadically cooking, reading (still), writing, and working on her blog. She is eternally grateful to the woman who donated a kidney to her over 5 years ago and continues to advocate for organ donation as much as she can.
To learn more about D. W. Brooks and future publications and events, visit https://authordwbrooks.com.
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