QSFer Karenna Colcroft has a new MM paranormal romance out: Chance Met.
Jeremiah Crawford’s need for coffee leads to a chance meeting with Trey Damone and his son Mikey. Mikey’s psychic abilities are obvious to Crawford, who wants to help the child learn to manage his powers. And Trey’s need for someone to care about him and his son is even more obvious.
Trey Damone brought his son to Boston to escape Mikey’s mother’s family–a cult-like group who want to take Mikey away from Trey. Trusting his new neighbors wasn’t easy for Trey. Trusting the man he randomly meets in a donut shop will be harder, especially when Trey isn’t only keeping Mikey’s secrets anymore. He has a secret of his own now: a month ago, he was changed to a werewolf while trying to save his son. If Trey tells Crawford the truth about himself without his Alpha’s permission, the penalty could be death.
Crawford hates secrets, even though he’s keeping one of his own: His employer is a sorcerer. And while Crawford’s life isn’t at risk if he tells Trey the truth, he won’t betray his boss. He trusts Trey and wants to earn Trey and Mikey’s trust, but can he and Trey build a relationship based on the secrets they have to keep?
Portions of this book were originally published as a short novella by MLR Press in 2013. This version has been significantly revised and expanded from the original. The book is not part of a series, but is connected to my Real Werewolves Don’t Eat Meat series and shares some characters with that series. It is not necessary to read the Real Werewolves Don’t Eat Meat books in order to read Chance Met.
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Excerpt
“Daddy, I want a frosted donut.”
“Mikey, a donut isn’t a good breakfast. We talked about this.”
Crawford shook his head. The father in line behind him sounded exhausted. The little boy sounded determined. It was pretty obvious who would win this battle. Kids often won. That was why Crawford had never wanted one.
“If you want me to be healthy, you should wake me up to have breakfast at home,” the little boy said.
“Let’s go outside,” the father replied.
He didn’t sound even slightly irritated, but his anger was tangible to Crawford. The boy protested but followed his father out to the sidewalk in front of the shop. Crawford turned to look.
The man, tall with messy, slightly too-long black hair, knelt in front of his son in spite of the February cold. At least there was no snow on the ground. It had been an unnaturally mild winter.
The little boy wore a navy-blue hat and blue jacket. Crawford could barely see his face amidst the clothes. He didn’t seem worried by his father, and the gentle way the father put his hand on the boy’s shoulder showed no anger at all despite what Crawford had sensed.
Realizing he was staring, Crawford turned to face the front of the too-long line.
“Can I have egg and bacon?” The little boy and his father had re-entered the shop.
“Yes. That would be healthy.”
“And hot chocolate?”
The father chuckled. “Maybe hot chocolate. We’ll see.”
The man and boy now weren’t even directly behind Crawford, yet his attention was drawn to them. He wasn’t completely sure why. He stayed tuned into their conversation, father-son banter now, and wished he could be part of it.
His reaction didn’t make sense. Then again, it didn’t have to. Crawford had learned early in his life that many things made no sense. He had psychic abilities. He worked for a sorcerer. Compared to those things, nothing was too weird.
He finally reached the counter and placed his order: coffee and a toasted bagel. One of the employees handed him the coffee almost immediately. He moved down to the other end of the counter to wait for his bagel.
A couple of other customers got their beverages, then it was the father and son’s turn. Crawford tried not to noticeably watch them, but he was so focused on them he barely realized the bag which suddenly appeared in front of his face contained his bagel.
“Do I get hot chocolate, Daddy?” the boy asked.
“Hang on, Mikey.” The man’s irritation was beginning to show in his tone. “How much for the sandwiches?”
The woman at the register answered, and the man shook his head. “Sorry, kiddo. We don’t have enough for hot chocolate this morning.”
Without giving himself a chance to second-guess the impulse, Crawford went over to them. “I’ll pay.”
The little boy looked up and grinned. A faint glow surrounded him, and Crawford realized why he’d been unable to focus on anyone else. The boy was psychic too. Not only that, but he was something very special.
Author Bio
Karenna Colcroft lives just north of Boston, Massachusetts, and has been in love with the city since childhood, though she has yet to encounter any werewolves, vampires, or other paranormal beings in her travels. At least none that she knows of. Though since in her non-writing life, under another name, she offers services as a channel and energy healing practitioner, it could be said that she herself is a paranormal being. The jury’s still out on that.
Karenna is a polyamorous, nonbinary human who splits time between the home she shares with her husband and the one she shares with her committed partner. She also has two adult children and a bonus son, three grandchildren, and two and a half cats. (Half in terms of time the cat lives with her, not in terms of the cat itself…)
Find out more about Karenna online at http://www.karennacolcroft.com or https://www.facebook.com/KarennaColcroft. You can also sign up to receive a free short story, and be added to Karenna’s mailing list, at https://karennacolcroft.com/get-your-free-short-story/.