Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Betting it All
    Betting it All
    Betting it All
    Ebook136 pages1 hour

    Betting it All

    By Cate Masters

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Norah Hawkins wants a new life as far from her old one as possible, but where can she ever find that chance? When a letter arrives promising her the deed to property in San Francisco, Norah packs her bags and flees the broken shards of her troubled past.

    With its anything-goes atmosphere, 1906 San Francisco suits Irishman Gerard MacKenzie just fine. He loves tending bar in Norah’s saloon, and verbally sparring with the shrewd businesswoman for more privileges and work. Her beauty, wit and sass make his blood boil with need.

    But disaster looms over their promising new lives when a terrible earthquake buries their dreams and threatens to shatter their future. Norah and Mac must rebuild their lives from the ruins and they’ll need each other more than ever, but can their ties to each other save them or tear them apart?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDecadent Publishing
    Release dateAug 15, 2013
    ISBN9781613335734
    Betting it All
    Author

    Cate Masters

    Dog lover. Dreamer. Writer, reader, book hoarder. Multi-published in contemporary to historical, fantasy/dark fantasy to paranormal, award-winning author Cate Masters loves a good story, and sometimes mashes genres. She also writes women’s fiction, fantasy and speculative fiction as C.A. Masterson. Visit her at https://catemasters.wixsite.com/cate-masters---c-a, or her blogs at http://paintingfirewithwords.blogspot.com and http://catemasters.blogspot.com and in strange nooks and far-flung corners of the web.

    Read more from Cate Masters

    Related to Betting it All

    Related ebooks

    Western Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Witch Finders

      Jul 16, 2020

      Beth pulled her cloak tightly around her. It was the very last day of October and the air was damp and chill. Dead autumn leaves lay in deep piles in the woods and smoke curled into the night air from her cottage. Not far to go now. She bent her head

      4 min read

    • Article

      Poets

      Dec 1, 2020

      Poets
      19 min read

    • Article

      Ghost Girl, Banana

      Aug 21, 2023

      By the time I was 25, there were only two things I remembered about Mumma. The first was that she smelled of watermelons, the second was that we were happy. We’d taken our father’s name of course, but a name is only half a story. The other half exist

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Bridle

      Oct 10, 2021

      Saliva pooled on her tongue beneath the rusty depressor. She endured a constant urge to swallow, afraid of choking on her own fluids. The taste of metal and blood are so akin, it is easy to mistake one for the other. This early in the day, blood was

      11 min read

    • Article

      Longer on Moon

      Sep 22, 2022

      Longer on Moon
      19 min read

    • Article

      100-WORD-STORY COMPETITION Winners

      Aug 16, 2022

      We’ve been delighted by the huge response to our 100-word-story competition. The entries have flooded in thick and fast during the past few months, but while we’ve enjoyed reading every story, only a few can come out on top! You, our readers, voted t

      5 min read

    • Article

      Our Lady Of The Rockies

      Aug 7, 2023

      Our Lady Of The Rockies
      13 min read

    • Article

      Reach

      Dec 10, 2023

      Jack Benson stands dissolved in an ocean of strangers, humans he couldn’t have known existed until forced to jostle with them for space and shared odors. He recoils imperceptibly with each touch, eager not to offend or stand out any further. As a mas

      10 min read

    • Article

      Reach

      Apr 10, 2021

      Jack Benson stands dissolved in an ocean of strangers, humans he couldn’t have known existed until forced to jostle with them for space and share odors. He recoils imperceptibly with each touch, eager not to offend or stand out any further. As a mass

      10 min read

    • Article

      Six Dart Out

      Sep 10, 2023

      Marc figured the girl was a vegan. Her puke had overflowed the sink and run onto the floor—tomatoes and rice marinated in microbrew lager. He’d told Vegan Girl to slow down, but her friends had won the turning-21-peer-pressure battle. Admittedly, Mar

      9 min read

    • Article

      Nick Laird

      Dec 15, 2017

      I was trying to write like an adult.I had children.I was at the end of something. As I waited at my table by the window for the coffee,I saw that the sirocco had depositeda scrim of dust on the sill overnight,and it was the dark red of powdered blood

      3 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Jan 20, 2020

      Theresa’s former husband Theo has been little but a shadow in her life: he’s spent the past two decades in an institution. Now that he’s dead, she finds herself unsure how to mourn for a man she’s tried so hard to put behind her. But going through a

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Air You Breathe

      Aug 20, 2018

      The Air You Breathe
      23 min read

    • Article

      Marta

      Oct 15, 2019

      Marta
      4 min read

    • Article

      Getting Up

      Oct 15, 2022

      Getting Up
      20 min read

    • Article

      Four Of A Kind

      May 3, 2023

      Four Of A Kind
      4 min read

    • Article

      Parent-child Fencing Class

      Jan 1, 2020

      Because I was too mean to make him a brother,my son has had to learn of hate alone.I told my friend I’d only ever wantedone child for reasons to do with the shapeof an arrow. But in truth I’m so disgustedby what I know of brothers, having given birth

      4 min read

    • Article

      Crescent City

      Dec 1, 2021

      Crescent City
      5 min read

    • Article

      Two Poems by Phillip B. Williams

      Dec 15, 2017

      The masters are yet dead. Wanting to be human,I tried to rewrite The Waste Land. The canon’s reachcasts ruinous light. The masters’ pens breachthis page where, above, my own hand spectates. Babylonrisen, exorcism in reverse, whose nature upended now?

      6 min read

    • Article

      Freedom

      Aug 6, 2020

      Freedom
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Betting it All

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Betting it All - Cate Masters

      The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement (including infringement without monetary gain) is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

      Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in, or encourage, the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

      This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

      Betting it All

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright © 2013 by Cate Masters

      ISBN: 978-1-61333-573-4

      Cover art by Tibbs Designs

      All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

      Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC

      Look for us online at:

      www.decadentpublishing.com

      Decadent Publishing Recent Releases

      A Marine Affair by Heather Long

      Remember Me by Amaleen Ison

      Dom of the Dead by Virginia Nelson

      Gaines & Losses by Camryn Rhys

      Heart of Rock by Karyn Gerrard

      Marine in the Wind by Heather Long

      This Time Next Year by Catherine Peace

      Ice and Peace by Clare Dargin

      Cinderella Dreams by Cate Masters

      The Other Side by Zee Monodee

      Undercover Temptation by Amanda McIntyre

      The Best Ever by Deanna Wadsworth

      His Just Desserts by Dakota Trace

      Charmed by Cate Masters

      Also by Cate Masters

      Dead to Rights

      Death is a Bitch

      1Night Stand Stories

      Tonight You Belong to Me

      A Hard Day’s Knight

      Homecoming

      Cinderella Dreams

      Tease

      Cursed

      Charmed

      Coming Soon from Cate Masters

      Sweet Revenge

      The Ex Factor

      Betting it All

      By

      Cate Masters

      ~DEDICATION~

      For Gary, always

      Chapter One

      Norah Hawkins stepped from the hat shop wearing her most prized possession: a gown of silk. Its green set off her eyes, and honored her dearest love and only thing in the world she could trust: money.

      Her new, smart, up-tilted bonnet with a spray of feathers made her giddy. It perfectly matched her outfit, turning the heads of passersby.

      In this getup, she’d fool the highfalutin San Francisco society folk into believing she was one of them. Not like the Trenton females, who gave her a wide berth as if they were New Jersey royalty and she a mere pauper. Soon, the men would flock to her new saloon like roosters at feeding time.

      Nixing her usual jaunty step, she strolled ladylike—well, as ladylike as she’d ever managed—onto the walkway. Damn this rain. The one snag in her plan to escape this dreary city. She skittered under the shop overhangs until she reached Amos’s Dry Goods. A book would keep her company on the train ride west.

      A copy of Mark Twain’s Following the Equator drew her to the book shelf. The two dollar price outraged her, but Mr. Samuel Clemens was her favorite author, so she’d buy it. The dang book wouldn’t fit in her tiny silk purse. The price of femininity, she allowed, tucking the book under her arm.

      The sight of a man outside the window jolted her. His stare pricked her skin like sleet on a summer’s day. Though a stranger, he watched her as if he knew what she was thinking. She could swear he saw through to her very bones, despite her fancy clothes, with those eyes. Beautiful, blue eyes. They burned with such a fire, her skin near ignited from its heat. Framed by dark locks that curled to his collar, his stare bore into her like a branding iron. Then, with one flick of his brow, he put on his cap and dismissed her with a sly look, like he’d peered inside her soul and judged it to be tarnished.

      Anger heated her cheeks. How dare he! He knew nothing about her, yet he treated her no better than the riffraff in this awful town had all her life. Good thing he was leaving, or she’d give him a good snub.

      His gait purposeful yet slow, he walked away with the bearing of a king—or a predator, all wild energy contained within rippling muscles. She pitied any prey he set his sights on. Lucky for her she wouldn’t have to see him again. Unless the train passed him, then maybe she’d wave her lace handkerchief out the window.

      Passing the candy counter, she palmed a few licorice and peppermint sticks, deftly sliding them into her purse. Not too small for those.

      Her eye caught a familiar figure approaching. Mrs. Hathaway, the snake-tongued biddy. In passing, Norah bumped her shoulder hard into the matronly woman’s.

      Mrs. Hathaway gasped. Oh my. I’m very sorry. I hope I didn’t muss your dress. It’s so beautif— Meeting Norah’s cool appraisal, Mrs. Hathaway appeared ready to spit fire. You.

      Dear me. I do apologize. For not doing this years ago.

      Finery can’t disguise a… Mrs. Hathaway whispered the last. Hussy.

      Mm. Norah slowly scanned the woman’s barrel-like form. Why, Martha, for once, I do believe you’re right. Honestly, a woman of your age shouldn’t wear rouge.

      The biddy resembled a chicken that had lost its squawk. Why, I never.

      Norah leaned close. That’s not what I heard. But then, you of all people, know how untrustworthy gossips can be.

      When Mrs. Hathaway swooned, Norah caught her. There there. Someone fetch a glass of water for this poor dear. Unless you prefer whiskey, as the rumors allow.

      Mrs. Hathaway snapped straight and stomped off with an indignant huff.

      With a shrug, Norah flashed her sweetest smile. It appears she’s fine after all. A little lighter in the purse, but the biddy needed to lose a little weight anyway. Norah was more than happy to oblige, after all the good turns Mrs. Hathaway had done for her.

      Her conscience niggled at her when she noticed the stranger had reappeared and was watching her again through the shop window. Had he seen the crime? Her heart lurched. If he reported it, the sheriff would arrest her, and she’d never make the train. Lifting her chin, she silently dared him to challenge her. The letter in her purse gave her the strength to face nearly anything now. Though she’d read it about a thousand times, she still had to read it a few times every day to be sure it was true.

      Dear Miss Hawkins,

      This letter serves as notice to inform you that the property at 377 Third Street, San Francisco, has been secured in your name. The two-storey building is sound in structure, however, our attorneys await your approval before finalizing the paperwork. Please arrange the earliest possible passage to make an inspection. Should you reject it, similar properties are available.

      Sincerely,

      Nicholas Abernathy, Attorney at law

      At first, she’d believed it a terrible ruse. Dan Jamison, the only man she trusted, had assured her the seal looked authentic. Of course, it had to be a mistake.

      No matter. Since the letter arrived, she’d planned her getaway for real instead of dreaming about it.

      Nothing, and no one, would stand in her way. She glared at the stranger. Disappointment deflated her when he turned away at the approach of another man, older and more distinguished than himself. Together, they strode past the window and out of sight.

      Men. Other than Dan, she’d never met one who could hold her interest. Or was worth the trouble. But she’d always thought of Dan as a father, or the closest she’d ever get to one.

      She gave the store clerk her widest smile and paid for the book. The train would soon leave, with her on it, but she had one last visit to make. Most likely an unpleasant one.

      Cold rain dripped past Gerard McKenzie’s collar onto his neck. Stepping beneath the store’s overhang, he hunched into his overcoat and growled. Damn.

      One check of his inside pocket ensured it was still there. The train ticket. He’d had enough of the East Coast and its uppity folk. After reading that San Francisco held every pleasure a man could dream of, he knew it was the place for him. No more snow and ice. No more playing piano in run down barrooms for unappreciative drunks.

      To block the chill, he stepped closer to the store window and peered inside. The sight of a young lady transfixed him. In a silken dress of green and fancy feathered hat to match, she might have been any snobbish society woman shopping with her mother.

      Until he noticed the deft movement of her hand. He guessed she’d pickpocketed more than a few dollars without the elder woman suspecting. Oh, she was good, and he’d seen some of the best.

      Why, he wondered, would she bother, when she obviously had no need?

      She glanced up and caught his stare. Those eyes, as green as the Emerald Isle on a sunny spring day, sent a jolt through him. Her chestnut hair tumbled in loose

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1