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  Take Your Time

  Police Officer Grace Booker’s life is good—but not quite everything she'd hoped. When a good deed goes wrong, she’s left with Dirty Harry, a raucous African parrot who really hates her. When Harry becomes louder and more neurotic, Grace takes him to the new local vet, Dr. Dani Wingate.

  Recently laid off from her dream job as a zoo veterinarian, Dr. Dani Wingate accepts a temporary position in tiny Pine Cone until she can get back to her life in the city. The only thing she wants more than a lesbian who can do uncomplicated relationships is a one-way ticket out of town.

  Dirty Harry brings them together, but their unexpected attraction keeps the sparks flying.

  A Pine Cone Romance

  What Reviewers Say About VK Powell’s Work

  Side Effects

  “[A] touching contemporary tale of two wounded souls hoping to find lasting love and redemption together. …Powell ably plots a plausible and suspenseful story, leading readers to fall in love with the characters she’s created.”—Publishers Weekly

  To Protect and Serve

  “If you like cop novels, or even television cop shows with women as full partners with male officers…this is the book for you. It’s got drama, excitement, conflict, and even some fairly hot lesbian sex. The writer is a retired cop, so she really writes from a place of authenticity. As a result, you have a realistic quality to the writing that puts me in mind of early Joseph Wambaugh.”—Teresa DeCrescenzo, Lesbian News

  “To Protect and Serve drew me in from the very first page with characters that captivated in their complexity. Powell writes with authority using the lingo and capturing the thoughts of the law enforcers who make the ultimate sacrifice in the fight against crime. What’s more impressive is the command this debut author has of portraying a full gamut of emotion, from angst to elation, through dialogue and narrative. The images are vivid, the action is believable, and the police procedurals are authentic…VK Powell had me invested in the story of these women, heart, mind, body and soul. Along with danger and tension, Powell’s well-developed erotic scenes sizzle and sate.”—Story Circle Book Reviews

  Suspect Passions

  “From the first chapter of Suspect Passions Powell builds erotic scenes which sear the page. She definitely takes her readers for a walk on the wild side! Her characters, however, are also women we care about. They are bright, witty, and strong. The combination of great sex and great characters make Suspect Passions a must read.”—Just About Write

  Fever

  “VK Powell has given her fans an exciting read. The plot of Fever is filled with twists, turns, and ‘seat of your pants’ danger. …Fever gives readers both great characters and erotic scenes along with insight into life in the African bush.”—Just About Write

  Justifiable Risk

  “This story takes some unusual twists and at one point, I was convinced that I knew ‘who did it’ only to find out that I was wrong. VK Powell knows crime drama, she kept me guessing until the end, and I was not disappointed at the outcome. And that’s not to slight VK Powell’s knack for romance. …Readers who appreciate mysteries with a touch of drama and intense erotic moments will enjoy Justifiable Risk.”—Queer Magazine

  Exit Wounds

  “Powell’s prose is no-nonsense and all business. It gets in and gets the job done, a few well-placed phrases sparkling in your memory and some trenchant observations about life in general and a cop’s life in particular sticking to your psyche long after they’ve gone. After five books, Powell knows what her audience wants, and she delivers those goods with solid assurance. But be careful you don’t get hooked. You only get six hits, then the supply’s gone, and you’ll be jonesin’ for the next installment. It never pays to be at the mercy of a cop.”—Out in Print

  “Fascinating and complicated characters materialize, morph, and sometimes disappear testing the passionate yet nascent love of the book’s focal pair. I was so totally glued to and amazed by the intricate layers that continued to materialize like an active volcano…dangerous and deadly until the last mystery is revealed. This book goes into my super special category. Please don’t miss it.”—Rainbow Book Reviews

  About Face

  “Powell excels at depicting complex, emotionally vulnerable characters who connect in a believable fashion and enjoy some genuinely hot erotic moments.”—Publishers Weekly

  Take Your Time

  Brought to you by

  eBooks from Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com

  eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

  Please respect the rights of the author and do not file share.

  Take Your Time

  © 2018 By VK Powell. All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN 13:978-1-63555-131-0

  This Electronic Book is published by

  Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  P.O. Box 249

  Valley Falls, NY 12185

  First Edition: August 2018

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

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Credits

  Editor: Cindy Cresap

  Production Design: Susan Ramundo

  Cover Design By Paige Braddock

  Cover Photo By Evelyn Braddock

  By the Author

  To Protect and Serve

  Suspect Passions

  Fever

  Justifiable Risk

  Haunting Whispers

  Exit Wounds

  About Face

  Side Effects

  Deception

  Lone Ranger

  Captain’s Choice

  Take Your Time

  Acknowledgments

  I’ve been blessed to pursue two careers that brought me great satisfaction. The first, law enforcement, allowed me to help people and to work for the advancement of women in a profession that often overlooked them. In the second, I parlay that career into stories of survival, the struggle to balance love and livelihood, and the fight between good and evil. To Len Barot, Sandy Lowe, and all the other wonderful folks at Bold Strokes Books—thank you for giving me and so many other authors the chance to tell our stories.

  To Cindy Cresap, many thanks for your extra time and attention on this project. Your fresh perspective and insights were invaluable. The steady doses of humor didn’t hurt either.

  To friends and BSB sister authors, D. Jackson Leigh and Missouri Vaun—what a ride! Thank you for lunch that day in Napa, the brainstorming that led to this project, the writing retreat at The Tower, and the many rounds of back and forth to make The Pine Cone Romances reality. Working with you guys was the best!

  Jenny Harmon, friend and beta reader extraordinaire, thank you for taking time out of your busy life to provide priceless feedback. This book is so much better for your efforts. I am truly grateful.

  To my friends, Paige and Evelyn Braddock, thank you for the lovely covers for all the Pine Cone books. You made this trilogy even more special with your artistic touches.

  To all the readers who support and encourage my writing, thank you for buying my books, sending emails, and showing up for events. You make my “job” so much fun!

  Dedication

  To two friends who helped turn a “what-if” conversation into three amazing stories and a gentle nod to our Southern upbringings.

  Thank you, D. Jackson Leigh and Missouri Vaun.

  We did it!

  Chapter One

>   Dani Wingate parked her SUV in the alley between the Pine Cone drugstore and hardware store and dashed toward the antique-looking pharmacy for a tube of toothpaste. She wasted most of her lunch hour searching for a convenience store between the vet clinic and town. Dani and rural didn’t mesh, yet here she was. Not the best move, but a necessary one.

  “Afternoon,” the white-haired clerk called as she entered. “Anything I can help with?”

  “Toothpaste.” The woman pointed toward the back of the store, which didn’t help at all, but Dani scanned the makeshift aisles until she found the one marked Teeth. Damn it. They didn’t have her favorite, a recurring theme in this town. Before she decided which alternative to choose, the clerk’s shriek caught her attention.

  “Get over here, young lady.” The woman held on to a terrified-looking teenage girl in wrinkled clothes with one hand and dialed the phone with the other. “Tell Grace to get over to the drugstore. Shoplifter. Hurry.”

  Dani grabbed the closest tube and walked toward the front to check out, but the clerk shook her head. “Got my hands full. Unless you want to hold this one while I ring you up.”

  “I’ll come back later.” Dani dropped the toothpaste on the counter. Any kind of drama was not on her radar. Work, keep her head down, and move on, just like she’d planned. She reached for the door handle but stopped when a sheriff’s deputy got out of a patrol car in front of the store. Dani’s breathing quickened, and everything about the officer blurred except the badge. Dani ducked between a row of shelves and an upright magazine rack. In her experience, small-town cops were just as power hungry and heavy-handed as their city counterparts. She wasn’t about to leave this poor scared child without a sense of how she was going to be treated by the officer.

  “That was quick,” the clerk said when the officer entered.

  “What’ve you got, May?”

  “I think this one is hiding something inside her coat.”

  “Am not.” The girl’s voice shook and her hands trembled before she stuffed them into her jeans pockets. Dani wanted to rescue her or at least let the cop know she was watching, but this wasn’t her fight yet.

  Dani couldn’t see the deputy’s face, but she cocked her head to one side and then stooped to the same height as the girl. “Aren’t you Doreen’s granddaughter?”

  The girl nodded and scuffed worn tennis shoes on the floor. “She’ll kill me.”

  “Are you hiding something you didn’t pay for, Emily?” the deputy asked in a voice kinder than any Dani had ever heard from a police officer.

  The girl shrugged.

  “Empty your pockets and put everything on the counter.” She patted a spot beside Dani’s abandoned toothpaste. “This yours?”

  The clerk moved the tube aside. “Some lady left it.”

  Dani edged closer to the front. Could she sneak past without the officer noticing? She checked for a back door. Maybe she didn’t need to get involved, but she’d been in this kid’s place before and couldn’t abandon her completely. Just a few more minutes to see where things were going. The girl obviously needed help but wasn’t likely to get it. Typical cop.

  Emily placed two birthday cards, a few pennies, and a single stick of chewing gum on the counter. “That’s all I got.”

  The clerk pointed to the cards. “That’s what I saw, Grace.”

  “Do you want to press charges, May?”

  “Well,” the clerk hesitated, “she is concealing merchandise.” The woman didn’t sound convincing. “Why don’t you let her cool her heels in the squad car while you and I discuss the details?”

  “Hold out your hands, Emily.”

  Tears rolled down the girl’s cheeks as she stuck her hands toward the officer. Totally unnecessary.

  “I’d really rather not do this, but it’s procedure, and I’m not a fast runner.” The deputy clicked handcuffs on the girl’s wrists and started toward the door. “Let me know if the cuffs are too tight.” She escorted the girl outside and placed her in the back seat of the cruiser. Nothing Dani could do now.

  She slid out the door behind them and ducked into the alley to her car while the clerk and several bystanders watched the young girl humiliated on Main Street. She drove back to the veterinary clinic gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles ached. Another kid’s life forever altered by inflexible laws and a cop with no compassion.

  * * *

  Grace Booker adjusted the handcuffs again so they wouldn’t bite into Emily’s wrists and eased her into the back seat of her patrol car. Arresting people was the worst part of her job, especially when the arrestee was a child. “I’ll turn the AC on.” When the air cooled, Grace opened the back door, and knelt beside Emily. “You be all right here for a few minutes?”

  Emily nodded. “What’s gonna happen to me?”

  “Concealing merchandise is a crime. You know that, right?” She was already spinning through possible solutions to the situation that didn’t involve criminal charges.

  Emily’s eyes clouded with tears again. “Yes, ma’am. I just…” She wiped her wet cheeks on her shoulder. “Sorry.”

  “Why did you take the cards, Emily?”

  The girl’s tears fell faster. “It’s granny’s birthday tomorrow, and my little brother and I don’t have anything to give her. Daddy’s out of work since the peach packing plant in Fort Valley closed, and mama isn’t getting a lot of sewing jobs.”

  Grace pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry, honey. Sounds like you love your granny. How old are you, Emily?”

  “Just turned sixteen.”

  “Are you going to school every day?”

  “Yeah. I’d get three whippings if I didn’t.”

  “Because your family cares about you. I’ll be right back.” Grace closed the back door of the patrol car and returned to the drugstore counter. “So, May, what about those charges?”

  “I don’t really want to cause her family any more trouble, Grace. They’re having a hard time as it is. I’m already carrying them for some essentials this month. Any suggestions?”

  Grace leaned against the counter and surveyed the store. Boxes of unopened stock littered the walkways between sparsely filled shelves, and a layer of dust on everything made the store feel neglected and uninviting. “You keep saying you want to hire somebody for odd jobs. How about a sixteen-year-old who needs to work and help out her family?”

  May glanced around the store. “Don’t know if I can afford to hire anybody right now.”

  “You can’t sell stock that’s not on the shelves. And nobody wants to shop in a dusty drugstore that looks like it’s about to close. Come on, May. The girl took the cards for her grandmother’s birthday. Help us all out?”

  May pulled at the tight bun at the back of her head. “You sure do come up with some interesting ideas. Fine. I’ll give her a chance, but I can only pay minimum wage.”

  “I’m sure anything will help. And no criminal charges?”

  “No criminal charges,” May confirmed.

  Grace started back toward the door. “And throw in the cards.”

  “You drive a hard bargain, Grace Booker. Send her in, and I’ll put her to work.”

  * * *

  Grace parked the county cruiser in the driveway beside her barely roadworthy Corolla, shucked the heavy utility belt from her waist, and hefted it onto her shoulder. She trudged toward her small bungalow tucked behind the family-owned B and B, desperate to be clean and dry.

  “I wouldn’t go in there.” Mary Jane, who operated the B and B, hurried in Grace’s direction, her energetic approach impressive for someone in her seventies. Her voice, smooth as freshly churned butter, belied the warning tone.

  “Hello to you too, MJ. Of course I’m going in. I’m tired and hot and just want to spend a quiet evening with Karla and a glass of wine.”

  “Good luck with that.” Mary Jane caught up, brushed a strand of gray hair off her sweaty forehead, and blocked Grace’s path. “She’s gone, but she left you a present.�
�

  Grace’s parents said Mary Jane was unflappable, prone to extravagant turns of phrase and gestures, but totally composed at all times. If her flushed cheeks and faster speech were any indication, today was testing her.

  “What are you talking about? Let me pass.” Grace craned her neck around Mary Jane and looked toward the cottage. “What’s that noise?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Right after you left for work this morning, a curvy redhead driving a pickup with North Carolina plates pulled in. An hour later, she and Karla were gone, along with her belongings. Her bird has been squawking his head off ever since.” She pointed toward the cottage. “He’s loose in there, and everything is catawampus.”

  Grace froze. “You mean he’s out of his cage?” The thought of Karla leaving wasn’t nearly as horrific as Dirty Harry being unconfined inside her home.

  Mary Jane nodded, her eyes wide as a barn owl.

  Grace squeezed her eyes shut to blot out the mental picture of the havoc the parrot could cause. “That bird hates me.”

  “I know, and he’s been having a field day. I peeked in the window a few minutes ago, and he’s trashed the place. Sorry, Gracie, but I couldn’t get out here any sooner. All this happened during the busiest time at the house. People checking in and out. Repairmen everywhere. I’ve had my hands full.”