The Loving Blue in Red States Collection (eBook)

Books 1-5

Anne Hagan (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2017 | 1. Auflage
162 Seiten
Michelle Hagans (Verlag)
978-0-00-003260-7 (ISBN)

Infos

A collection of five lesbian romantic short stories, mostly sweet with a little spice.

Loving Blue in Red States: Sweetwater Texas 

Emmie Warren is a middle school teacher who is just trying not to rock the boat until she can finish her Master's Degree and find the courage to move herself and her son away from sleepy Sweetwater to diverse, vibrant Austin, the only place in Texas she ever felt free to be herself. She's been hiding her truth for years. She doesn't see any reason to change that before she can make a clean break of things and start all over.

Cass Prater is the brash cowgirl who lives life out loud, wherever she lives. Cass clashes with Emmie the minute they meet. It's a battle of wills from there, on. She's determined to show Emmie she can have it all: her family, a mate and a job that she loves, right there, in the heart of Texas. 

Loving Blue in Red States: Birmingham Alabama

Isabella is young, in love and she thinks she has it all. As a mechanic trained in high school, where being a female in the classroom was accepted, to doing the same job in the Air National Guard where it is too and getting her tuition to aviation tech school paid for by the Guard, she' s got it made...or does she? She figures she's well on her way to working on jets like she's always wanted to and living the life she's dreamed of. Her boss in her day job at the Air Base sees things a little differently, however, and he's just waiting for her to screw up.

Aslyn makes no apologies for being black, out and proud. Nursing is her chosen vocation but women's rights are her passion. She sees Birmingham as a city on the brink of an all new civil rights movements and she wants to be right in the middle of it all. Her family disagrees with that, with her sexual preference and especially with her choice of a girlfriend. 

Will a riot ruin it all for the two young lovers?

Loving Blue in Red States: Jackson Hole Wyoming

Liz Ventura is a semi-retired saddle and tack shop owner who just wants to get out of the house, out among people. Friends in community theater convince her to try out for a part in the summer long Jackson Hole Shootout show and she makes the cut. Jessica 'Jess' Davenport is a six-year veteran of the show. It's been the only steady thing in her life for most of those years as she struggled with loss and the effects of addiction. Sparks fly between the two. Both women are living in the past. Can a Shootout show help them find a future together?

Loving Blue in Red States: Perryville Missouri

What happens in a cave...

Bethany French is a geologist who loves her job. She gets to explore caves and land forms for a living. The only thing missing from her life is a partner to share it all with. Renn Sowell has two doctorates; a formal one in ceramic engineering and one in cover and concealment earned over years of keeping secrets from her ultra-conservative, white nationalist father. She can't keep a girlfriend in her life for long because she doesn't dare do anything to upset the delicate balance she works to maintain. The Two women keep meeting in unlikely circumstances. They feel they couldn't be more different. Will they find common ground in the light of day?

Loving Blue in Red States: Salt Lake City Utah

The banker and the barista...

Amanda and Rebecca were both raised in the male-centric Mormon church. Rebecca broke free. Amanda wants to, but her job is holding her back. What will it take for her to break free herself and find true love?

Textauszug

Birmingham Alabama

Anne Hagan

Thursday, March 2nd

“WHERE ARE YOU?”

“I got off later than I wanted to. I just found a parking place up the block. There must be a lot of people there.”

“Yeah, you could say that. Gram’s here, Izzy.”

“Great. Just what we needed.”

“We should have figured that she would be. Just try and be polite, okay? Try not to provoke her.”

Isabella sighed. “I might as well just say I’m sorry now, then.”

“Why? What now?” Aslyn was already annoyed that Izzy was late and her mother was giving her hell about it. She didn’t want to deal with anything else. She scanned the sidewalk leading away from the house and up the street, looking for her girlfriend.

“For starter’s, for anything that comes out of my mouth that she takes offense to. But...also...I’m in my cammies still. I didn’t have time to change.”

“Damn it Iz! I told you...” She watched as the other woman walked into her view and then stop. Her voice came over the phone again.

“Do you want me to go home and change? Or maybe just go home?” The last bit sounded almost hopeful, to Aslyn.

She waved an arm at Izzy in a ‘come on’ motion while speaking into her phone, “Not on your life. You’re not leaving me alone to deal with these people.”

“Um, they’re your family.”

Aslyn didn’t respond. She hung up and, impatient, continued to motion to Izzy.

When the other woman joined her, Aslyn took her by the hand and led her into her always chaotic family home.

“You’re all dressed up!” Izzy said through gritted teeth. She self-conscientiously swept the mandatory flight squadron ball cap off her head.

“It’s a birthday party.”

“For a one year old.”

“What part of my grandmother is here didn’t you get? You know how it is when she’s around. Everyone has to be ‘presentable’.” Aslyn dropped Isabella’s hand and made air quotes up, over her head.

Izzy just shrugged and kept going, resigned to whatever happened.

Aslyn pulled open the screen door and ushered Izzy inside.

The house was so full, even in the March chill outside, it felt sweltering hot inside, Izzy thought.

“Here she is mama,” Aslyn called out. “She got tied up at work, but she made it.”

Olivia Carter turned and gave Izzy the once over. “So good of you to come dear but you needn't have bothered if you had work to do.” With that, she turned away from the two young woman.

Izzy shot her girlfriend a look.

Her lover ignored it. “Come on,” she said instead. “Come see the birthday boy.” Taking Izzy by the arm now, she tugged her into the dining room where her 17-year-old sister, Alisha, was holding court over the unwrapping of gifts that had been bestowed upon her toddler.

“My gift,” Izzy said. “I forgot about it. It’s in the trunk. I’ll just go get it.” She tried to pull away.

Aslyn tightened her grip of her arm and stopped her. “It’s okay. You can go after it later. He’s already swamped with stuff.”

“Who do we have here, Missy?” A woman’s voice called out from the left side of the crowded room. Izzy knew the voice well and she knew the speaker, Aslyn’s grandmother Rose Carter, knew exactly who she was.

“It’s me, Mrs. Carter, Isabella,” she said as she tried to control the irritation she could already feel beginning to surface.

The old woman looked her up and down the same as Aslyn’s mother had. She pursed her lips and shook her head slightly during her overlong inspection. “So nice of you to finally join us dear. We didn’t think you were coming. You had Aslyn in quite the tizzy.”

Izzy didn’t dare look at her watch or at the clock on the wall but she knew she couldn’t be more than fifteen or twenty minutes late. She ignored the barb and said instead, “Work ran a little long but I really had hoped to be here in time to see Clayton open his gifts. I guess I assumed ya’ll would eat first.”

“Nonsense child! Everyone knows you wait to eat until after the gifts and that you serve the cake immediately after the meal. You may do it backwards in your family, but tradition is that...”

Izzy tuned the old woman out then. She stood her ground several feet out in front of her and nodded as the old woman attempted to lecture her about how ‘non-traditional’ her family must be because they didn’t know the proper way to do things. She knew if she waited long enough, the fact that she had a white father would even come up. It always did.

Aslyn finally tugged her away from the holier-than-thou woman asking, “I thought you wanted to see Clayton?”

“Thanks,” she mumbled low for Aslyn’s ears only. Out loud, she said, “He looks a little busy.”

At dinner, Rose insisted on saying grace. She held court for a few minutes over the assembled crowd until Clayton started kicking up a fuss his mother couldn’t quell, cutting her short.

When she finished, everyone in the room called out a hearty amen but Izzy who’d always thought of prayer as a more private matter. Rose took note and chose to comment but in a roundabout sort of way. As everyone helped themselves to sandwich meats and cheeses and Olivia’s homemade potato salad, she looked to her right at Aslyn, down a couple of seats from her place at the head of the table.

“We’ve been missing you in church on Sunday, child.”

“Grandma, I go to church...sometimes.”

“Where? Not to no church that I’ve seen!”

“It’s downtown. Sometimes Izzy and me both go.”

Izzy sat there wishing Aslyn had kept her out of the running family argument.

“That ‘alternative’ place?” Rose Carter scoffed. “That’s not a church.”

Izzy bristled. She wasn’t ‘good enough’ for Aslyn because she was a woman and a mechanic and because her father was white. Aslyn wasn’t good enough either because she was gay and vocal about it and because she didn’t go to the right church...it just went on and on. She looked over at the teenage mother, Alisha, who sat there, smug, just taking in the abuse that was always heaped upon her older sister. 

‘Hypocrites!’ Izzy thought.

“Do you know how much I love you?” Aslyn circled her arms around Izzy’s waist and pulled her in close. She attempted to kiss her but the other woman pulled back.

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you really?”

“Love you? Yes. Why would you even ask that?”

“If you do, then why won’t you move in here with me?”

“Iz, you know I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t? You’re over 18. You have a job. You’re a big girl. You could still start school, you know. You wouldn’t even have to pay for anything here. Between my job and the Guard, I’ve got it all covered.”

“I would if I could but Mama needs me at the house to help out with Clayton. She’s dead set that Alisha’s going to finish school.”

“What about your schooling?”

“The hospital’s going to cover everything. I’ll be in class during the day and I’ll work evenings and weekends.”

“And how does that let you help your Mama and sister with Clayton?”

“I won’t be working every day. There will be time with him and time with you too; don’t you worry.”

“You’re forgetting you need time to study too. RN training is going to be a lot harder than learning to be a patient care tech was.”

“I know that. But, baby, I can’t live here. I want to, but I can’t. Don’t you see? Besides, it’s not even finished.”

“Dad and me are working on it,” Izzy said as she spread her hands, “most nights and every weekend. It’s livable. The kitchen’s almost done and the bathroom and the bedroom are just fine. It’s going to be really nice when it’s all done.”

“I know it will be but, you have to admit, it still needs a lot of work.”

“I admit that it’s come a long way.” Izzy sounded defensive.

Aslyn held up a hand. “I really don’t want to fight with you tonight. We don’t get much time, just for us, and all.”

Izzy sighed and gave in like she always did. “Not to change the subject but are we still on for tomorrow night?  I mean, Dad’s coming over with the piece of counter top after we get off tomorrow. We’re going to set that in place, right quick, but didn’t you have that meeting thingy you were going to after work anyway?”

“Thingy? For the march, you mean? I thought you’d come to the meeting with me and then we could go out afterward.”

“But...well, my Dad.” Iz rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “I suppose I could call him and tell him we could...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 7.7.2017
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-10: 0-00-003260-3 / 0000032603
• ISBN-13: 978-0-00-003260-7 / 9780000032607