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    Staking Their Claim
    Staking Their Claim
    Staking Their Claim
    Ebook97 pages1 hour

    Staking Their Claim

    By Erika Reed

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    It feels as though Tabitha Stewart has been losing one loved one after the other in her life. Following the death of her last remaining relative, she realizes that it’s time for her to take a leap in life and venture out on her own. Along the way to her newfound freedom, Tabitha hasn’t been paying attention to the weather conditions, and now it’s too late. Not wanting to risk her life in the freezing storm, she is forced to walk to the farmhouse she spotted in the distance.

    After a long day on the ranch getting their livestock settled in for the nasty weather, Tanner and Evan Storm are surprised when a stranger mysteriously shows up at their door. With nowhere to go and nothing to do while the storm rages, the brothers have more than enough time to prove to Tabitha that it was no mistake that she ended up on their doorstep. 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherErika Reed
    Release dateJan 24, 2018
    ISBN9781386125754
    Staking Their Claim

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    Reviews for Staking Their Claim

    4.5/5

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    • 5/5
      Great short story. Well written and very hot. I highly recommend
    • 5/5
      Really sweet story of a girl stranded in a cold storm and rescued by two hunks. Even the dog staked her claim. Enjoy.

    Book preview

    Staking Their Claim - Erika Reed

    A note to my readers

    I have recently received the rights back to this book. Staking Their Claim was previously published under the title Tabitha’s Blue-Eyed Storm. It has since been revised and re-edited with bonus material.

    This book holds a very sentimental place in my heart. It was the very first book I ever wrote and I am still extremely proud of it even after I went through it and re-wrote most of it. I have come a long way in my writing journey and I am thrilled to be sharing this with you all once more.

    Staking Their Claim

    By

    Erika Reed

    Chapter 1

    Tabitha should have listened to the waitress and taken proper shelter before the big storm rolled into town. As she stepped into the frigid air, she pulled her thin coat firmly against her body. The weather had gotten colder since she went inside the diner and grabbed something to eat before she kept driving through. Her body trembled as she walked towards her car. It was colder than she’d expected when she pulled into the small town of Braxton, Tennessee. It was colder than she would have expected this far south, although she supposed she was higher up in the mountains than she was used to driving in.

    The radio no longer had a signal, and the last she’d heard, the temperature had broken the record low in five years and the wind was blowing at about fifty miles per hour. There weren’t as many people out on the streets as she’d expected. Most of them were apparently smart enough to get out of the cold, unlike herself. When she’d first pulled into town for gas and something warm to fuel her body, she never imagined a storm would have followed her in from the north. She was afraid with the way the weather was coming in that she wasn’t going to be able to go anywhere any time soon.

    Not wanting to spend the money she had with her on a motel room for the night, Tabitha decided that sleeping in her car would be sufficient and save her some money. She had slept in her car before, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. She had a pillow and blankets in the back and she planned on adding layers of clothes to her body before she went to sleep. About a mile outside of town, she discovered a road that led to a big shady tree. She found a secluded area where she could conceal her car from any onlookers. It was as good a place as any to wait out the storm and get a little rest for the night. She wasn’t afraid of a little wind and rain. If the weather cleared up, she could get back on the road in the morning. Grabbing the blanket and pillow that she had taken from the last motel as well as all the clothes she had, she piled it all on top of her body and settled in to try to sleep. The wind blew her car harshly back and forth as she lay bundled up in the back seat, making it colder and colder the longer she sat there. The rain began to come down even harder and the temperature dropped drastically, causing the wind to whistle and seep inside her cheap car.

    Pulling a sweater over her head and burrowing deeper into her pile, she thought back to how she had gotten there.

    No child at the age of seventeen should have to see her parents buried after a freak car accident caused by a driver who’d had a seizure. With no other living relatives, she was forced to live with her mother’s sister, Aunt Helen, and her husband Dan. She hadn’t seen them much when she was growing up, but they welcomed her with open arms the minute she stepped foot on to their ranch.

    They’d never had any other children of their own, so her Aunt Helen was pleased to have her, and treated her like their own. Things were pretty good for her while she lived with them. Her aunt taught her how to grow fresh vegetables and fruits. Uncle Dan showed her how to feed and care for the horses on the ranch.

    After she graduated from high school, Tabitha got a job at the local grocery store, earning enough money to buy herself a cheap little car. She wanted to go to college, but she knew her aunt and uncle didn’t have the money to send her and she didn’t think to ask for financial aid, so for the next few years she helped around the place as much as she could when she wasn’t working. She had a few friends she hung out with, but they ended up leaving her to go to college.

    A stranger came into her store one day and asked her to go to dinner with him. She saw nothing wrong with it and actually had a good time. He talked her into coming back to his motel for a nightcap and that night she had sex for the first time. Thankfully, they’d used protection; she wasn’t about to explain to her friends and aunt why she was stuck raising a child on her own. It happened so fast that he didn’t even know it was her first time until it was too late. Tabitha was thankful for the experience and that she would no longer be labeled a ‘virgin’.

    One night, she noticed a shadow outside her window as she was dressing for bed. Her Uncle Dan stood outside in the dark shadows, smoking his pipe. A chill ran through her body and ever since that night she never did feel comfortable being around him. From that day on, she made sure to always close the curtains before she undressed.

    Aunt Helen and Uncle Dan fought more and more as the years passed by. Tabitha wondered if they argued about her, because the minute she stepped into the room they grew quiet, changing the subject. It was time to start thinking about moving out on her own and out from under their feet. She had been a burden to them for too long and, now that she was older, she needed to think about moving out and becoming an adult.

    It was colder than normal that winter and Aunt Helen came down with a bad cough/cold that quickly got out of hand and turned into pneumonia. Tabitha took time off from the store to care for her while Uncle Dan took care of the ranch. Her boss wasn’t as compassionate as she hoped and fired her because she was taking too many days off. Her aunt never got better and one day she asked to talk to Tabitha about something very important.

    Aunt Helen took her hand inside of hers. She coughed into her tissue before she said, Tabitha, the time has come for you to leave here. You have been a blessing since the moment you came into my life. But I’m dying... I can feel it. I can’t protect you anymore from your uncle. He isn’t right in the head the older you’ve gotten. He looks at you differently and when he’s around you—

    Tabitha kissed her hand. Just rest and concentrate on getting better, auntie.

    Aunt Helen sighed, taking a deep breath. "No, you have wasted enough of your life here already. It’s time for you to spread your wings and find yourself.

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