Hi everyone! We’re almost to the weekend, and we’re at #17 of The Book Catalog!
Book #17 is “Lady Guardian: The Ultimate Risk”, part of the Lady Guardian series. The story follows Raven and Ryan, with Raven working as a kindergarten teacher during the day and embracing her adventurous side on the weekends. She loves the thrill of riding her motorcycle, but there's a deeper reason behind her passion for the open road. When she meets Ryan at a parent-teacher conference for one of her students, she never expected to develop a relationship with him. Through a series of losses, they discover that they have much in common, leading them both to learn more about themselves and each other.
Releasing this story was a significant milestone for me, as it was my first major project with other authors. I knew very little about motorcycles or motorcycle clubs, so I had to conduct a lot of research on the topic, which I found incredibly interesting.
One aspect of writing this story that I loved was how it pushed me out of my comfort zone. While there was plenty of romance between Raven and Ryan, it also required me to explore a subject I was initially unfamiliar with, but learned about through my research. I truly enjoyed writing this story and capturing the connection shared between Raven and Ryan.
“Lady Guardians- The Ultimate Risk”, is available only on Amazon. It’s also available for free with Kindle Unlimited.
Here is an excerpt of the first encounter between Raven and Ryan. Enjoy!
The weekend had come and gone, and Raven was back at work wishing she could go home. Today was the beginning of week-long parent/teacher conferences that her school had to perform every six weeks. It was a great way for teachers to interact with their students’ parents, to inform them of their progress as well as make any suggestions on what their kids need improvement on. Raven never understood the concept of having these conferences since her students were in kindergarten, but she guessed it was great for parents to be involved in their kids’ education at an early age.
She was sitting at her desk, waiting on the first parent to show up, when her mind started to wander about what Tess had told her at The Preston’s Club. It did seem kind like it might be fun to join a female biker club. To be around other women who shared the same interest as she did would be a welcome change of pace compared to just her and Tess being on their bikes. She would love to talk to other women and hear their stories on the rules of the road. Raven even decided to do some research on the club over the weekend. She loved the idea of the various chapters doing charity work as well as just being as one and sharing their love with other people. That was something she would love to be apart of. Checking her watch, Raven saw that the parent she was meeting was late, so she started to look over some paperwork. The door opened and the guy that Raven had seen at The Preston’s Club walked in with one of her favorite students. Well, all of her students were her favorite, but Kendall was one of those students that definitely loved to stand out.
“Mr. Baxter?” Raven asked as she stood up from her desk.
She went over to the guy to shake his hand. What were the odds of the guy she was checking out at the bar was one of her student’s parents? There were two previous conferences that were held, but when Raven sent the invite for Kendall, she always received the invitation back as a decline, so this was the first time meeting him.
Mr. Baxter stared at Raven and grinned. He must have remembered Raven, because he couldn’t stop smiling, which made Raven a bit embarrassed.
“Yes, but please, call me Ryan.” He said as he continued to stare at her.
Raven noticed Kendall was trying to get his attention. “Daddy, isn’t Miss Howard pretty?”
Ryan looked at his daughter and smiled. “Yes, she is.”
Raven could feel her cheeks turning red so she looked away. She couldn’t believe he just admitted that to his daughter.
Raven cleared her throat and smiled. “Why don’t we start the conference, shall we. There is another one starting in 20 minutes.”
“Oh, yes. I’m really sorry that we’re late. I was trying to leave my job early, but I had a meeting to attend and it ran a bit late.”
“It’s fine, Mr. Baxter…”
“Please, call me Ryan.”
“I think I should stick with Mr. Baxter,”
Ryan nodded. “Okay,”
The two went over to a table as they both sat down.
Ryan was having a bit of trouble sitting down, which made Raven giggle. “Sorry, but a lot of parents have a hard time trying to sit down in these small seats; that’s why I planned ahead.” She said, bringing out two adult chairs from the back of the classroom.
Ryan laughed. “You were just going to let me try and sit in one of these small seats, huh?”
Raven laughed. “I’m sorry, but it was funny.”
“I’m sure you have to do it on a regular basis,”
She nodded. “I do, but I’m used to it. You have long legs, so you wouldn’t have made it.”
Ryan gave her a sexy stare, which made Raven blush. She didn’t want to keep looking like that in front of her student, so she had to compose herself.
She cleared her throat again before speaking. “I’m going to make this quick, but your daughter is such a joy and I’m glad that she’s in my class. Kendall’s excellent in all of her subjects, interacts well with her classmates, and is very helpful in the classroom. She’s really wonderful.”
Ryan nodded. “I know she is. She’s the apple of my eye. Even though my job requires a lot from me, I would drop everything to help her with school work or just to spend time with her.”
“That’s wonderful. I’m sure your wife is just as happy.”
Ryan’s smile faded at the mention of his wife. He took a deep breath. “My wife passed away a year ago. Right before Kendall entered kindergarten.”
Raven felt as if her heart was caught in her throat at the mention of Ryan’s wife. She noticed Kendall never really talked about her mother, but of course, Raven had to put her foot in her mouth with Ryan. “I’m really sorry,”
“It’s okay. You didn’t know. I know Kendall doesn’t really talk about her mom a lot. She doesn’t really remember too much of how she died. I sort of shield her from that.”
Raven nodded, looking at Kendall, who was playing with a stack of blocks. She noticed her facial features, seeing that she looked a little like Ryan, but could tell that Kendall got most of her features from her mom. Her skin was a honey tone, her hair was a bit like Raven’s, which was light brown and curly.
The two sat in silence for a few seconds before Raven started to speak again. She really didn’t know what to say, but she had to break the ice between them. “Did you have any questions for me in regard to lesson plans or activities planned for the remainder of the school year?”
Ryan shook his head. “Nope; I’m sure whatever you have planned will be wonderful. Kendall can’t stop talking about you, so I knew I had to come to this conference. I know I haven’t been to the previous ones, which was because of my job.”
“It’s perfectly fine, Mr. Baxter. You came to this one, so that all that matters,”
“Do you have an email address, just in case if I have any questions to ask in the future.”
Raven nodded and went to her desk for a pen and paper. After writing her email down and handing it to Ryan, Raven stepped back to put a little distance.
“Thank you. I’ll put it in my phone now.” He said as he did just that.
After he did, Ryan noticed another set of parents coming into the classroom, which meant his conference was over.
He got up from his seat to tell Kendall that it was time to go. She was talking to her friend and she started to whine. “Kendall, we have to let Miss Howard continue her conferences. You’ll see Helen tomorrow,” Ryan said as he referred to Kendall’s classmate.
He came over to Raven and smiled. “It was really nice to meet you, Miss Howard. I hope to see you again soon.”
Raven smiled. “It was nice meeting you as well, Mr. Baxter.”
“And I’ll definitely will be emailing you if I have any questions,”
“I hope so. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“Likewise,” Ryan said as he gave Raven the once-over.
Kendall went over to Raven to give her a hug, which made Raven smile. “See you tomorrow, Kendall,” Raven said.
As the two walked to the door, Ryan stopped to stare at Raven once more. Raven waved as the two left. Raven took a deep breath, wishing that Kendall’s conference didn’t end so soon. Although she wanted to talk to Ryan more, she knew they couldn’t possibly talk about anything other than Kendall. Now that she knew that Ryan was a parent of one of her students, there was no way she could date him. Never in a million years.
Check back tomorrow, as book #16 will be revealed.
Until next time, happy reading! :-)
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