Title: Distant Stars
Release Date: July 9th, 2022
Preorders begin: May 28th, 2022
Will Rutledge needs a fresh start. After aging out of the foster care system, he and his brother, Kane, have nothing but each other. Maybe that’s why he agreed to his brother’s insane plan to kidnap a millionaire’s daughter for ransom. With his brains and his brother’s muscle, what could go wrong?
Enter Hannah Cole. When her brother died, her family was left shattered. No amount of money could fill the hole in her home… not even if her dad has plenty of it. Hannah thought she knew darkness after a year of living with grief. That is, until she finds herself thrown into the trunk of a car and crying out to God for the first time since her brother died.
Hannah and Will soon find themselves in close quarters, fighting the feelings they are developing for one another despite both their situation and seemingly insurmountable differences. Plans start to unravel and the two risk begging the question: Are some stars just too far apart to collide?
Excerpt:
1
Will
Salty ocean air swept past Will Rutledge as he lounged at a table in the outdoor dining area of a beachside restaurant named Captain Pizza’s. It was a hot summer day in Landau, North Carolina, but the breeze made the smoldering sun tolerable.
His stomach growled as the aroma of pizza announced the arrival of his and his brother’s lunch.
Will tore his eyes from the view of the beach to his right and witnessed his brother take an enormous bite of sausage pizza. Will nodded in appreciation toward the waitress and picked up his own slice.
The pizza was hot against his fingertips as he studied its melted cheese and charred crust from the brick oven. Scattered along the slice were small crumbles of sausage with crispy edges where the oven’s heat had charred the juicy meat. His stomach growled as he took his first bite, a far smaller bite than his brother’s.
“So, what do you think, Will?”
Will’s brother, Kane, continued the ravenous consumption of his pizza and directed his attention back to the beach. It was amazing how much food his brother could fit inside his mouth and still manage to maneuver his jaw.
Will looked out at the busy coast, his eyes finding its target quickly. Both Kane and Will watched the same girl. She was hard to miss. Her skin was paler than most beach bums but not so white her lack of pigment blinded passersby.
The sun bounced off her long, bright red hair as she ran with a football in her toned arms. Her friends chased after her but were no match for her long, lean legs.
Will thought she must have run track in high school, likely playing every sport she possibly could. Her athletic abilities rivaled the chiseled guys tripping over the sand in an attempt to retrieve the ball in her arms.
“Will! Dude, focus.”
Kane waved his hand in front of his brother’s face to redirect the conversation. Will blinked hard before looking back at his brother, watching as the girl accepted high-fives from her teammates.
“I think the plan will work. It’s risky but very possible.”
“I still say we do my plan. I single-handedly could get her to go on a date with me in five minutes. She’d be in my car quicker than you could say no.”
“No. Knowing you, the entire beach would notice your incredible talent of wooing the ladies. There’d be a mob waiting to give their numbers to you.”
Kane puffed out his chest and chuckled, his brother’s sarcasm mistakenly stroking his already enormous ego. Though the two brothers looked similar in many ways, there were several differences in both their physiques and personalities.
Will was lean yet muscular with a rich tan from hours on the beach. His amber eyes and blonde hair seemed to glow in the sunlight. Kane, the older of the two, was an inch taller than his brother, standing at six foot two inches, and had a much stockier build. He had brown eyes, a thick jaw, and short dishwater blonde hair.
While Will was the calm intellect of the two, Kane was cocky and lacked the finesse of his younger brother. When referring to Kane, “bull in a china cabinet” was an understatement.
Kane’s mouth stretched into a wide, crooked smile as he eyed the red-headed beauty across the beach, “If my charm was the answer to our problems, we would be the richest men in America and have one of her on each arm.”
Will rolled his eyes at his brother’s frivolous dreams, “Yeah, and we came so close.”
Kane finished his pizza and shot his brother a knowing look, vigorously rubbing his hands together to rid himself of the remaining crumbs.
“Well, I’d better have some fun before the big event. Watch and learn, little brother.”
The seaside restaurant boasted a setup that could only make sense for a business on the coast. A large reinforced metal door folded into a gap in the wall, opening the entire side of the restaurant closest to the beach and allowing seating to spill out onto the patio.
Will’s eyes followed his brother as he entered the seating area within the walls of the pizzeria. Kane zigzagged through the tables and chairs to the waitress standing at the counter. She was attractive with long brown hair and round blue eyes. Behind her was a large window spanning nearly the entire length of the wall with a view of the street running parallel with the coastline.
As Kane introduced himself, most likely with a ridiculous pick-up line, she smiled flirtatiously and placed her pen in the pocket of her apron. Will had witnessed the same sight time and time again and had little interest in watching the hunt play out. Kane never lost his prey.
Will turned away and gazed at the horizon where the ocean met the sky, letting his own mind wander from the task at hand.
About the Author:
Kassandra Garrison has always been a book lover. After earning her Bachelor's in Business Administration, she decided to follow her lifelong dream and share her stories with others by writing her first novel, The Influencers. She currently lives with her husband and high school sweetheart, Joseph, along with their daughter, Nora. In her free time, she enjoys baking, drinking coffee, and taking her rescue dogs on walks.
Very interesting premise.
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