QSFer Lissa Kasey has a new MM contemporary paranormal romance out: Reflection of a Curse.
A manor filled with secrets is Brand’s last hope for recovery, and maybe love.
After a yearlong battle with declining health, Brand is offered the opportunity to live and work building a small home community in Upstate New York, and reconnecting with his best friend. But Brand is a long way from recovered and doesn’t know if he’ll actually be able to do the job.
Law thought he escaped small town life, and was on the verge of adding to his list of rehab skills when everything shut down. Now he’s in limbo, unable to work with suspended certificates, and back home with a family curse he’d like to keep secret.
Brand needs more than just a physical therapist. And Law is looking for a place to belong. When the truth is revealed, can the two of them find love, despite the mysteries and curses that plague their past?
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Excerpt
Brand pulled into the gas station on the outskirts of the last town before heading out to the manor. He knew the manor wasn’t that far from city life, but the long, empty roads and never-ending trees felt otherwise. He worried he’d be too far from a hospital if something happened.
Not that there was much a hospital could do for him anymore. He would either recover, or remain as he was, forever disabled. This entire trip was to give him a chance to heal, but he wasn’t certain he had much hope left.
He left Hunter in the backseat of the truck’s cab to refill. The cold of winter added a layer of muffled white noise to the edges of his senses even though it was barely October. He stared at the empty station, no one around as far as he could see. He opened the fuel cap and filled the tank to prepare for the last leg of the journey. Was he really doing this?
A man stepped out from the convenience store, not dressed for the cold. Brand wondered if he’d done something wrong, like pumping his own gas, as he could vaguely recall there were some states that didn’t allow that. He was pretty sure that was New Jersey, not New York, but as the man approached, he didn’t look upset or angry, more worried.
He was shorter than Brand by an inch or two, young, maybe mid-twenties, stocky, not fat, more solid through the core, shoulders broad, hair dark under a beanie, but only a flannel shirt over the top of his jeans rather than a winter coat. Not bad looking, Brand thought, though found his eyes the most intriguing and unsettling part about him. They were heavily lashed, and deep brown, even from a distance. What was the phrase Brand had read that fit that? Soulful?
“Hey,” Brand said in greeting.
“Hey,” the man replied, stopping a good ten feet away, “I’m wondering if you’re headed north?”
“Um, yeah, up to the manor?” Brand knew it was a tourist attraction. Would this man have heard of it?
The man’s face lit up, eyes brightening. “Can I get a ride? The spot I need to be dropped off is a couple of miles from the manor.” He glanced away, looking sheepish. “I’ll see if I can grab a mask from the owner,” he pointed at the convenience store, “but I am vaccinated if that helps.”
Brand worried at his lip for a minute. He wasn’t strong enough to fight anyone off if they tried to take his truck or something, but nothing about this guy set off alarms. He seemed normal, looked clean enough, not like he was on a bender or anything. Hunter was in the cab and could be fiercely protective, but he was also strapped in for safety.
“I understand if you don’t want to,” the man continued. “We live in a shitty world right now.”
“Nah, it’s fine,” Brand said finally. How many times had he wished he’d received simple acts of kindness? “I’ve got a box of masks in the cab. Let me grab them. I’ve had both shots, too, but after I already got the nasty.” He finished at the pump, and opened the door to the cab to lean in for the box, grabbing one for himself and one for the new guy. He tugged his mask on and held out the other.
“Thanks,” the guy said, adjusting the mask and wearing it properly. It said a lot about him that he bothered to both offer to wear one and to know how to do it right.
Brand waved to the passenger door. “Get in. Let me know where you’ll need out. Map says there is only one road up.”
“It’s a straight shoot unless you take the long way around to the highway and then over. Roads are pretty slick right now. The curves can be rough.”
“I’ll keep the speed down,” Brand said. He had planned to anyway. “You need to grab anything?” The man shook his head. “Nah. But thank you. I appreciate the ride. Not much for rideshare options out this way.”
Brand snorted a laugh. “Right? Hadn’t thought of that. Probably would pay a left nut for a drive this far out.” He got in, shutting the door and waiting until his guest buckled up, Hunter leaned over the console to sniff the man as Brand turned the truck back on.
“Who’s this beautiful guy?” The man asked, carefully holding out a hand for the husky to sniff. He obviously knew a little about dogs. Hunter examined the man’s hand before leaning in for a scratch.
“Hunter,” Brand said.
“He’s gorgeous. Is it okay if I pet him?”
“Sure,” Brand agreed as he steered the truck out to the road.
The man scratched Hunter’s ears, and the dog leaned into his touch. Hunter was a good judge of character, sometimes growling at people when they got too close, even when Brand didn’t see an issue. Instinct, he’d learned, was important, and he trusted Hunter more than he trusted most people.
“You from around here?” Brand asked.
“Got family up this way.” His voice had the edge of an accent. “It’s been a rough year. Everything shut down. Cost of everything going up. Thought I’d spend some time with family until things are a little more normal.”
“Normal…” Brand grumbled. Was there a thing anymore? He’d never be normal again, would he? He swallowed back bile at the thought. “You have family up at the manor? I know Zach and Sean have been running it for a bit, since the lady who had it before passed.”
“You know them?” Brand wondered.
“Yeah, they employ half the workforce in the area, and the rest feeds into the tourism it generates. Even with the shutdown, there has been a steady flow of folks visiting. Lots of talk of the lake up behind the manor having magical powers. Brings more tourists.”
It was the first Brand had heard of it. “Magical how?”
“A portal to another world,” the man said with a smile as he looked out the window.
The road was a winding thing through the trees. Brand kept his eyes fixed as he felt a bit of ice here and there. “Thought your family might have mentioned it if they are from here.”
“I don’t really have any family,” Brand admitted.
“No girlfriend up there waiting?” The man’s tone was light and teasing.
“Not really into girls,” Brand said, wondering if the guy would freak.
“Boyfriend then.”
“No one wants the mess I am,” Brand said.
“You’re an attractive guy, don’t see why not. The town is small and it’s hard to meet new people up this way, there are more than a handful of gay men up this way.”
This guy thought Brand was attractive? How was that possible? Brand had never felt more unattractive in his life. “My best friend, Montana, works at the house. He’s the chef. Invited me to visit for a while.”
“Ah, sounds like he’s a bit of family then,” the man said. Was his accent Scottish? Brand thought he caught an edge to the tone that reminded him of the movies. “The kind we choose at least.”
“I guess,” Brand agreed. “We grew up in a group home together. He’s an amazing chef.”
“I’ve heard the food there is good.”
“You haven’t been? I thought they did a holiday thing every year for the entire area?” Brand asked.
“They do, but I was working last year closer to NYC.”
“I see,” Brand said. The man’s gaze focused more on the dog than anything around them. Brand glanced his way, studying the shape of his face and his relaxed posture. Those things helped ease his anxiety a little. Brand had never been one to pick up hitchhikers. But they were in the middle of nowhere. Kindness cost nothing, even while he’d seen little of it himself.
They drove awhile, the silence comfortable in the cab, Brand focused on the road. He saw the movement out of the corner of his eye before actually registering what it was, but he slammed on the brakes, the truck sliding for a few seconds, his heart pounding.
He lurched forward in his seat belt. Hunter strapped in, behind him, barely moved at all. Neither did the man. But they all stared wide eyed as a group of horses bounded across the road.
Brand blinked. Had someone’s horses gotten out?
The man leaned over and tugged on Brand’s seatbelt, adjusting it until the strap was tight.
Brand flushed, he must have been tugging it too much over the long drive.
“Sorry. Was that insane or what?” Brand asked, happy he’d stopped only feet from where they crossed, but a little shocked he’d been able to stop at all as the road was pretty icy. A bit of vibration began in his spine, a warning of too much stress, meaning he was going to be down-and-out most of the day. He sucked in air, hoping he’d get to the manor before having a breakdown.
“Wild horses,” the man remarked.
“Wild? Or someone’s horses got out?” Brand asked.
“Wild,” the man said. “There are a handful up this way. Not much for stables.” He pointed up the road. “My stop is up there on the left. It’s a little inlet. I’ll walk the rest of the way.”
Brand waited another minute, examining both sides of the road for any more movement, but the horses had vanished into the trees. He steered the truck up the road and to the small inlet the man pointed out. It didn’t look like anything, just a section free of trees. “You sure?” Brand asked as he stared at the space.
There was no road, but maybe a bit of a trail through the snow. “If there’s a road nearby, I can drop you off at your family’s place.”
Author Bio
Lissa Kasey is Ace/Aro and NB. Anti-LGBTQIA+ need not read. Lissa is more than just romance. Lissa specializes in depth characters, detailed world building, and twisting plots to keep you clinging to your book reader. All stories have a side of romance, emotionally messed up protagonists and feature LGBTQA spectrum characters facing real world problems no matter how fictional the story.