Shifter Mountain: A BBW Paranormal Romance Read Free Page A

in advance to book.  Tonight’s show had sold out online in 15 seconds.
    Tonight’s event was In-the-Round with ‘Jordan Lawless and Friends.’  Four mikes were set up in the center of the Bluebird, like a 4-way lug wrench, so each of the four musicians/singers/songwriters would face each other. In addition to Jordan, his own favorite songwriter Trent Eaves would be there, along with his high school buddy, songwriter Jay McDowell. Jay’s wife, songwriter Melinda McDowell, would round out the quartet.
    At the end of the set, w hen Jordan decided to sing High on a Mountain for his last song, Jay McDowell switched out his guitar for a banjo, and Trent and Melinda joined in, singing in harmony, with a clarity that almost brought tears to Jordan’s eyes. 
    He wasn’t just thinking of his mother.  He was watching Jay and Melinda, a husband and wife musical team who had made their marriage work in such a crazy town that ripped couples apart all the time. Their voices and lives mingled with each other, never falling prey to the temptations of infidelity that came out in force whenever one or the other was on tour with either Jordan himself or other bands.
    Jordan wasn’t just missing the last of his family; Jordan wanted his own family, and he seriously doubted that the price he had paid to make it thus far as a C&W superstar left any wiggle room for that.
    Stardom had meant he suddenly had his pick of women, and at first he enjoyed that as any red-blooded man probably would. Fairly quickly, however, he realized that he couldn't really trust any of the beautiful women he was surrounded by.  They wanted him for his money and his fame, but he was sure that if his popularity ever slipped for a moment, they would move on. Maybe some men could be fine with that, but for Jordan the whole scene had gotten old real fast.

Chapter 3
     
     
    Jordan felt perfectly comfortable driving on the windy, mountainous road, while Bob Clark – the man who had directed Jordan’s last two music videos – wasn’t so relaxed. The highway was now presenting hairpin turns, and Bob was used to more predictable, city terrain.  Already he had felt his ears pop as the truck ascended, descended, and then ascended again, around endless twists, en route to Scopes Mountain.
    The day had sent a smattering of rain and thunder but then cleared up. Jordan cruised along at 70 miles per hour – right at the speed limit – as he let the car drift from the inner lane to the outer lane and back in order to lessen the sharpness of the curves. With the sunroof cracked, he felt sunlight finally breaking through, warming his right shoulder, while the rest of him remained in the full shadow of the cab.
    “I’ll be honest, Jordan,” Bob said. “I’m not sure how this is really going to go.  These people don’t like outsiders.”
    “Technically, I’m not an outsider,” Jordan said. “At least, I hope they’ll see it that way assuming someone is still around who remembers my mother.”
    Bob sighed. The open sunroof was causing some wind buffeting now, which was unpleasant on the ears.  So he cracked a window to relieve the air pressure.  He had to admit the view was starting to become impressive.
    Jordan guessed they would hit Scopes Mountain at midlevel, since clearly they already were well above sea level.  The Appalachian Mountains could be deceiving.  Some of the time it felt like you were only driving through some hills, because even the highway was so high up you didn’t realize the full height of where you were.
    The y reached their destination within the next 20 minutes – Scopes General Store where a local statey had offered to meet them. State Police Captain Jimmy Bucks had won backstage passes to one of Jordan’s concerts a few months back, and the two men actually hit it off, especially when Jordan found that he was stationed in Scopes County.
    Jimmy was off-duty, in plain clothes, leaning against a Jeep when Jordan and Bob