Lady Slippers for My Lady-A Coverton Mills Series Romance

by Lynette Hall Hampton

Coverton Mills Series, Vol. 1

Whether it is coincidence, fate or predestination, 53-year-old author, Heather Masterson’s life changes in Asheville, NC, when a man lays a book in front of her and says, “Please sign this to the real Alex Hargrove.” Alex, a 56-year-old pursued widower has avoided the women in the community who think they can be the next Mrs. Hargrove. None of these women have interested him, but for some reason he finds himself fascinated by Heather. Heather, divorced for twelve years, is not interested in getting serious with any man and is surprised to meet a man with the same name as the lawman in her novels. Finding herself attracted to this six-foot-four cattleman, makes her wonder if she could possibly find happiness this late in her life.. Unbeknownst to Heather, Rachelle Albright, an unstable alcoholic fancies herself in love with the fictional Alex in Heather’s books. She writes a book of her own with Alex marrying a woman named Rachelle, but when the publishing company rejects her book, she is livid. She decides she must kill Heather Masterson and the character of Alex will be hers

978-1-61386-111-0 Also Availabe in HTML and RTF formats

Suspense/Mystery/Romance

Chapter 1

Alex Hargrove shaved, trimmed his white mustache, then showered. He dressed in khaki slacks, a blue oxford long sleeved shirt, and slipped his feet into polished boots. He brushed his white hair and paused to glare at himself in the mirror.

Shaking his head, he muttered, "What the heck am I doing? I'm too old for this crap."

Alex hadn't planned for his life to come to this. He thought he and Anna would always be together. How was he to know when his wife of thirty-two years found the lump in her breast three years ago that it was the beginning of the end of their life together?

Though surgery, chemo, radiation, and several alternative treatments slowed the progress of the disease, in the end the cancer won. Anna slipped away on a Sunday morning almost eighteen months ago. He still missed her more than anyone could know.

Now here he was getting ready to go out to dinner with another woman. It didn't seem right. Oh, he knew the standard customs. Don't make any hasty decisions or start dating until your mate has been dead at least a year. And if you're an older man, don't make a fool of yourself and embarrass your family by running after women half your age.

While he hadn't seriously dated since Anna's death, it seemed every woman in three counties had shown up on his doorstep with a casserole or some type of dessert almost weekly. But Alex didn't want another woman in his life. Though he'd gone out with groups of friends and had attended a few of the single-again events at church all he could think about was how much he missed Anna.

As for the younger women, like any man, he enjoyed looking at the cheerleaders when he watched a football game, but as for one of these babes in real life, it hadn't entered his mind. Of course he'd been a little flattered when some of them came on to him, but Alex didn't fall in the category of men who thought these eager women really cared for him. He knew they were after his money.

His date tonight certainly wasn't one of these younger women. Kate Harris had been in his English class when he was in high school so he knew she was about fifty-six, the same age as he. Though she lived in the area, he hadn't seen her in years. He ran into her by accident at the local hardware store last Saturday. When they recognized each other, they chatted for several minutes. In this conversation he learned she'd lost her husband in a military conflict and had no children. She lived with her sister and her husband on a small farm in the valley.

At the time, he noticed Kate was somewhat wrinkled from age and probably the sun, but she had a nice figure and her red hair had very little gray. He enjoyed talking to her about the people they both knew and on impulse he asked her to go out to dinner the following week.

Now it was Wednesday and here he was, getting ready to pick her up.

He shook his head and headed to the 4-car garage. He made a quick decision to drive his gray Ford F-150 truck instead of the Cadillac Escalade. To him, it still didn't feel right to be going out like this and he didn't want Kate to think he was trying to impress her. Actually, he wanted to call the whole thing off, but Alex was a man of his word. He figured this would probably be the only time he'd take Kate out and since he was committed, he'd go through with it. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad. He hoped she liked steak. He didn't want to drive all the way into Asheville, and Buck's Steak House was the nicest restaurant in the small town of Coverton Mills. By going there he could probably drop her off and get home in time to check on the horse that had been limping today, then catch the last of the Braves game. He hoped so. They were doing pretty good this year.

***

After the surprise divorce ten years earlier, Heather Masterson's life changed more than anyone could have imagined. Though Fred had been almost fair in the settlement, she knew there wasn't enough money to live on until retirement. She dived into her writing with a passion and it paid off. Her books began to sell and she was soon making enough money to supplement her income.

As she went about the southeast promoting her books, she built a loyal fan base which continued to grow with each novel. Three years ago a new series about a mountain lawman surprised everyone and hit the best seller list. She now had a contract to write four more books with this character. The advance she got was, in her estimation, phenomenal. She could stop worrying about her money running out before she did.

Her only problem was since she became a local celebrity, she'd been getting strange mail. Some of it filled with hateful ramblings and it had picked up in recent months. She was glad to be getting away for a while, though William Jenkins wasn't happy about her leaving.

She knew her relationship with William was headed nowhere. There were too many differences. She wasn't about to commit to anything more serious than an occasional dinner or concert. William, on the other hand, seemed ready to take their relationship to the next level, which she was sure, meant to the bedroom.

They'd even fought about it at dinner a few nights ago.

"If you must write your mountain stories, Heather," he'd said over his entrée at P.F Chang's, "can't you do it from your imagination? Why do you have to go traipsing up to the Blue Ridge Mountains again?"

Heather shook her head. "William, the publisher paid me a lot of money to write these books and if they're not up to par, I might have to give the money back."

"I'm not asking you to cut corners, my dear. I simply don't want you to spend so much time away." He set his jaw in the firm position he always did when he was in an argumentative mood. "You know I don't like the mountains."

"I can't wait to get back. I have a book talk in Asheville on Friday."

"Why do you like those hills so much?"

"The scenery is awesome. It's such a beautiful part of God's world and it's a wonderful place to write."

"I thought you said that about the beach."

"I feel the same about the beach."

"I don't like the mountains or the beach."

Heather shook her head. She couldn't help wondering why she bothered going out with William. Eating at nice restaurants and going to the symphony were the only things they had in common.

He went on. "When our courtship gets more serious I think I'll put my foot down about you gallivanting about so much. I get lonely at night when you're gone."

She eyed him. She knew he was implying they consummate the relationship. It wasn't the first time he'd referred to it. Heather ignored these innuendoes. She had no intention of giving in to his desires. Though it would be nice to eventually have a relationship with an understanding man, she knew William wasn't the one.

She responded to his implied suggestion, "You knew when we started dating, after my relationship with God, my son's family is my next priority and my writing follows that. Anything else in my life has to follow."

"You could change your mind with a lover in your life."

"There is no lover in my life."

"But you could have one." He lifted an eyebrow at her.

She changed the subject. "I'm leaving for Asheville in the morning."

"So it'll probably be Saturday before you get home?"

"I have an event in South Carolina on Tuesday and I'll leave from Asheville. It's closer than from here." She sighed. "I'll let you know when I get home."

He mumbled something about her ridiculous lifestyle.

She glanced at him. William was a handsome man who didn't look his age. Pairing his looks with her fair features and size-six figure caused several friends to tell her they made a striking pair.

As she watched him break open his fortune cookie, it hit Heather that at this point in her life, becoming one of a striking pair was not one of her goals. Nor would it ever be.

***

Standing in the living room of her apartment, Rachelle Albright poured herself another glass of whisky and reread the letter from the publisher.

Through gritted teeth she uttered several oaths, followed by, "Why can't they let me write a book about Alex Hargrove? Why is that Masterson bitch the only one who can write his stories? I know more about him than she does. I love him." She took a swallow of whisky. "Why couldn't they publish the book I wrote making him fall in love with a woman named Rachelle? I still had him fighting crime and making women swoon, but he loved Rachelle so much he left the other women alone and came back to her."

She downed the rest of the whiskey and poured another glass. "It's all your fault, Heather Masterson. If you weren't in the picture I bet they'd want somebody to write more Alex Hargrove books ..." Her voice trailed off and a thought began to form in her mind.

After two more glasses of whisky, a toothy grin spread across her face. Things would work out fine. She only had to rid the world of Heather Masterson