Title: Broken
Author: Kelly Elliott
Published: 11.17.13
Layton
Morris and his brother Mike grew up not knowing what it would be like
to live in a normal home. With no running water or electricity in
their home, no parents around to protect them, they quickly learned
how to survive and depend only on each other.
When
a tragic accident takes Mike away from Layton, and the only other
person that he ever let into his heart walked away from him, leaving
his heart shattered, Layton focuses all of his time and energy into
the ranch he and his brother dreamed of. He makes a vow to himself to
never let love in again. The last thing Layton needed or wanted was
more heartache.
Whitley
Reynolds grew up in a privileged home in upstate New York. When she
landed the star football player in high school no one was surprised,
not even Whitley. She dreamed of a life with Roger living in New York
City and happily followed him there.
The
first time Roger hit her for arguing with him about a dinner party,
she forgave him. The more it happened, the further Whitley withdrew
from her friends and family. One fateful day things go to far.
Whitley makes a promise to herself and finds the courage to do the
one thing she thought she’d never be able to do.
Fleeing
with her best friend Courtney, Whitley was determined to put her past
behind her and start a new life in the small town of Llano, Texas,
where no one would ever find out about her past.
Will
they both ever learn to trust and love again, or will their pasts
come back to haunt them, keeping
them both alone and…
Broken.
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Excerpt #1:
I rode along the fence line, just
trying to clear my head. This was where I did my best thinking. I
loved it out here. I could get lost, just being in the quiet of it
all.
“Motherfucker! Son of a bitch!
Stupid-ass car! Oh my God, I hate you!”
What in the hell?
I came up over a small hill and saw a
silver Lexus RX pulled off on the side of the road. The girl standing
next to the car, kicking the wheel, was obviously from the city. She
was dressed in light gray slacks and a sheer white blouse. Her brown
hair was pulled up and piled loosely on top of her head. The way she
was screaming at the tire and yelling at the car made me smile
instantly.
Too fucking cute. Damn city girls.
“Piece-of-shit car!”
I let out a small laugh. “Excuse me,
ma’am. You’ve got a problem with your car?”
She spun around and threw her hands on
her hips as she tilted her head. When she crinkled up her nose, I
guessed it was something she did when she got mad.
“No, cowboy. I like standing on the
side of the road in Texas in the middle of July, yelling at my
piece-of-shit car. I get a kick out of it.”
Wow. What a bitch. Yep, city girl.
Bet she’s from New York or somewhere like that. “Wow. Full of
spit and fire, and here I was, trying to be a Southern gentleman and
help you out. If you prefer that I keep moving along, I’ll be more
than happy to—”
“No! Wait! Oh God, please don’t go.
I’ve been here for almost an hour, and not one car has gone by. Not
one! My cell phone doesn’t have a signal, and you’re the first
person I’ve seen. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be such a bitch.
I’m late for my first big job interview, and I really wanted this
to go so differently.”
When she tried to hold back a sob, my
heart sank.
Ah, shit.
I guided Cricket up against the fence,
and then I pulled my leg over and jumped.
“Oh shit! Aren’t you afraid your
horse is going to run away?”
I smiled at her and turned to look at
Cricket, who seemed just as amused by her comment as I was. “You
know, I think Cricket might actually like you. She’s not one for
taking to people, but look at how she’s staring at you.”
I turned to see the city girl peeking
over at the horse with a serious face. She slowly turned back to me
and smirked.
“Are all Texas cowboys so…friendly?”
She used air quotes as she said friendly.
I gave her my oh-so-famous smirk with a
dimple. She didn’t want to, but her lips cracked with the slightest
grin. My heart dropped, but I quickly pushed away the feeling.
“Nah, I’m one of a kind,” I said
with a wink. “What’s going on with the overpriced piece of junk?”
She looked back at the car and then at
me. “I didn’t call it that.”
“No, ma’am, you didn’t. I did.”
Excerpt #2:
“Will you do me a favor? I’m going
to slowly start driving. Will you lean out and take a look at the
tire? Tell me if everything looks okay.”
She nodded as she grabbed on to the
bar. She leaned out the side of the Jeep. “Okay…ready.”
I smiled and gunned it while I held the
brake down. Mud flew up everywhere, and she let out a scream that I
was sure Mimi and her husband Frank would hear.
I let off the gas and looked over
toward her. She was covered in mud.
“Oops. Sorry.”
Her mouth dropped open, and she balled
up her fists. “You asshole! My eyes are burning from the mud in
them, you fuckwad!”
I lost it and started laughing. I
laughed so hard that I was pretty sure I’d snorted once or twice.
Whitley jumped out and began walking
away.
“Where are you going?” I called
after her.
“As far away from you as I can get!”
She turned and walked backward as she
shot me the finger with both hands. Then, she dropped out of sight.
I jumped out of the Jeep and ran over
to her.
“Shit! Oh shit! Oh my God…shit!”
She cried out over and over as she held on to her ankle.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Whit,
what’s wrong?” I dropped to my knees.
She looked up at me, and the next thing
I knew, I had a handful of mud in my face. She smeared it all over my
face and down my neck. She started laughing, but then she quickly
stopped when I looked at her.
“You better run,” I said, glaring
at her.
“What?” She jumped up and started
to run.
I gave her a good thirty-second head
start before I went after her. She kept looking back at me, laughing.
She ran up to a group of oaks.
“You think a few trees are going to
stop me?” I asked with a sly smile.
“Layton, let’s just call a truce,
okay? Truce ’cause I’m itching all over. I really need to get
this mud off of me.”
I shook my head. “Oh no, Miss
Reynolds. Payback is a bitch.”
“Wait! You got mud on me first! I was
paying you back.”
I acted like I was going to run to the
left and then made a sharp move to the right. She screamed and tried
to go left, but then she slipped. I ran up to her, picked her up, and
threw her over my shoulder. I looked up and saw we were near the
hunter’s cabin. There was a tank right around the bend next to the
cabin.
Oh yeah, her ass is going in the
tank.
“Layton, put me down! Layton! Oh. My.
God. No, Layton, no! Where are you taking me?”
She must have seen the tank because she
started kicking and screaming.
“Scream all you want, honey. No one
can hear you!” I laughed.
“Mimi! Frank!” she yelled out. “I
know sound travels in the country.”
“Whit, it’s pouring. No one can
hear you.”
I smacked her ass, and she let out
another scream.
“You’re crazy! Layton, please…I’ll
do anything.”
I walked up to the edge of the tank and
saw a snake. Shit. She lucked out!
I turned around and saw a huge mud
puddle. I started walking toward the cabin.
“Oh, thank God! I thought you were
going to throw me in the tank.”
“I was…but I saw a snake.”
She started screaming and kicking
again. “Oh my God! Put me down! I just want to go back to the
house. I want down, Layton! Now!”
“You want down?”
“Yes! Right now, you asshole!”
“Okay then.” I dropped her right
into the mud puddle.
Excerpt #3
“Court, you need to change jobs. I
know you’re looking for that perfect guy, like the ones in all
those books you read, but you’re never going to find him. He
doesn’t exist.”
“Okay, first off, that’s my job.
It’s so not fair to drag my job into my manhunt. I love being a
freelance editor, Whit, you know that. Plus, my ass can live anywhere
I want…hence, being able to pick up my life and move to Texas with
you!”
“I know you love your job, but the
whole reason you’re not with anyone is because you keep comparing
them to the men you’ve read about in those stupid stories.”
“Gasp! I can’t believe you called
them stupid stories. I’m so not buying you a Kindle for Christmas.
Hey, I get more pleasure from my books than anything. I love to read,
and you should do it more often. It might give you some hope, Whit.
Prince Charming is out there, babe. Don’t give up.”
“First off, you buy more books than
anyone I know when your damn job is reading other people’s books.”
“That’s different. I’m working
when I read those. I need pleasure reading.”
“Yeah, pleasure reading. How many
vibrators have you gone through because you get turned-on by those
books?” I placed my hands on my hips.
Courtney started laughing. “Oh my
God. Are you jealous of my Kindle? You want a hot story, Whit? I’ll
recommend one to you. I’ll even buy it in paperback for your ass.”
I shook my head. “Puh-lease. No book
would ever get me to the point where I needed to reach for a
vibrator. Ever!”
The smile that spread across Courtney’s
face said it all.
Ah hell, I’m in trouble.
“One hundred bucks says I can get you
reaching for one.”
I stood there, staring at her. “No
way.”
“You’re a chicken.”
“I’m not a chicken, you bitch.” I
turned and walked toward the stairs.
“Two hundred then.”
I stopped and looked at her. “You’re
really willing to put up two hundred bucks to see if a book will turn
me on enough to need a vibrator?”
“Oh yeah. Just to prove your ass
wrong. Baby girl, you have no idea what you’ve been missing out on
during the last few years you spent with that asshole Roger.”
Just the mention of his name caused a
shudder to travel through my body. “Fine. One book. I’ll read one
book, and if it doesn’t work, I don’t ever want to hear about how
hot your latest book boyfriend made you one night.”
The smile on her face scared me
slightly.
Oh dear God. What is she gonna have
me read?
As I turned to head up the stairs, she
called out, “Wait! What about tonight? Let’s just go and have a
few drinks. I’d kind of like to see a cowboy or two, Whit. Please!”
I really didn’t want that Richard guy
hitting on me all night, but I did want to relax a bit and grab a few
beers. Anything to keep my mind off of Roger and New York.
“Fine, but I’m only going to stay
for a couple of drinks.”
“Yes! You’re the best!”
The next thing I knew, she was flying
past me and up the stairs.
“Jesus, what’s the rush?”
She turned and looked at me like I was
nuts. “I have work to do—shower, shave, search for an outfit, do
my makeup and hair. My God, Whit, it takes work to get beautiful.”
I shook my head. “Pesh, if they don’t
see you for how beautiful you are without going through all that
shit, then fuck ’em.”
“You can say that. You’ve given up
on men for all eternity. I just want one good fuck. I haven’t had
sex in way too long.”
My mouth dropped open as she turned and
walked into her room.
“You’re kidding, right, Court?
Court?”
Oh God…she didn’t just say she
wanted to be fucked, did she? This is going to be one long night.
Who is Kelly Elliott?
Really
I'm just a wife to a wonderful Texas cowboy who has a nack for making
me laugh almost daily and supports my crazy ideas and dreams for some
unknown reason...he claims it's because he loves me.....so I'll just
go with that one! I'm also a mom to an amazing daughter who
constantly is asking me to make her something to eat while she has
her fingers moving like mad on her cell phone sending out what I'm
sure is another very important text message!
Oh...and I like
to sit down and write in my spare time! I live in the Texas
hill country and one of my favorite things to do is go for hikes
around our property with my second favorite man, Gus....my chocolate
lab and my sweet girl Rose, our golden retriever. When I'm not
outside helping the hubby haul brush or move rocks or whatever fun
chore he has in store for me that day, you will find me inside
reading, writing or watching HGTV and soaking in a nice hot bubble
bath.....yeah that last one I just made up but it sure does sound
nice!!!
Connect with Kelly Elliott
My Opinion
I have read EVERY book Kelly has written so far. I fell in love with her writing with Wanted.
She has this crazy talent that sucks you in within the first sentence.
Broken was an amazing book. I loved the characters.
First you have Whitley: She's awesome carefree girl who gets the raw end of a deal. She picks up her life to move to NYC with her high school sweet heart, Roger, who's true colors really come out.
Then you have Courtney, Whitley's BFF. It wouldn't be a TRUE Kelly Elliott book without the crazy, doesn't-hold-anything-in or bites-her-tongue best friend. Courtney is there for Whitley when everything falls apart. They pack up their shit and move to Llano, Texas.
In Llano, Whitley meets the rugged, handsome cowboy, Layton. Layton lost his family few years back. So it's just him and his ranch hands on his big ole farm.
When Layton and Whitley meet, talk about major sexual chemistry. The sex scenes are HOT!
Honestly, words really cannot describe how wonderful this book is. The only thing I can do is recommend you go get it, NOW!
*Don't forget to enter the giveaway below ;) *
My Rating: 5 book marks!
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