Birthday Guest: RJ Scott

Please welcome my birthday guest - RJ Scott!

A birthday based on characters from The Rancher’s Son, book 2 in RJ’s Montana Series:

“What do you give a man who doesn’t remember his last birthday or the one before it? Someone who doesn’t even know what he likes?” Ethan sat at the table opposite Sam and poked at the triple chocolate tray bake slice with his fork. He’d been worrying the closer they got to Adam’s birthday, wanting to get the perfect gift.

Sam frowned. “Surely you can get him anything?” He wasn’t picking at his cake; he was shoveling it in like someone was going to come along and steal it at any minute. He did, at least, stop to give Ethan’s question consideration.

Ethan interrupted the train of thought. “I had some ideas, like the box set of seasons one to five of 24, because he hasn’t seen that, or at least he doesn’t remember seeing it.”

“Nothing says I love you more than a box set of DVDs,” Sam deadpanned, with a shake of his head. “You need help Allens.”

“So help me, you’re the one with the creative ideas.”

“Since when? Jay is the creative one.”

“He’s out all day at the school giving talks on marketing for careers day or something.”

“So I was the second choice as go to for advice then?” Sam chewed on more cake and swallowed. “How about Nate?”

“All Nate said was that I should get Adam a saddle.”

“Third choice,” Sam clutched his chest, “I’m wounded. How about finding some memories for him? That would be a cool present.”

“You know it doesn’t work that way, Adam has lost events and people, and he may never get those memories back. Like about his mom, and his childhood, and most of his early twenties. I can’t just hand him memories on a plate.” He poked at the cake again.

“Okay, so what about a memory you might have that he’s forgotten? Something you know from when he was younger?”

Ethan wasn’t feeling that idea, until suddenly he was. He sucked on a mouthful of chocolate, and was hit by inspiration. He pushed the plate away. “Thanks Sam.”

“No worries.”

“Later,” he said and pulled the door shut behind him.

He just had to find out where to buy what he needed.

But hell, eBay had everything. Right?

The morning of Adam’s birthday was a beautiful Montana day, and Ethan woke his lover with a birthday blowjob, followed by a shower, with kissing, lube and a whole lot of laughing. When they moved to the kitchen, Ethan started to worry that doing this for Adam would be a ‘very bad thing’.

How would Adam take it, seeing something from his past? Would it be a catalyst for more memories? Or, would he have a black day when the weight of everything he’d forgot pressed him down?

Or, and this is what Ethan was hoping for, would it just make him smile?

“What’s this?” Adam peered at the box, wrapped in Transformers paper, “It says, ‘all my love, Ethan’. This is for me?”

“Happy birthday.”

Adam ran a finger over the tape holding the paper together, and wrinkled his nose, “What is it?”

“You may have forgotten this, but generally, someone opens presents,” Ethan teased. Adam pressed a soft kiss to his lips, then poked him in the side.

“Ass,” he murmured. Then he cracked his knuckles and slipped off the paper, revealing a very plain and ordinary cardboard box. “You got me a box!” he exclaimed, and laughed when it was Ethan’s turn to poke him back.

He opened the lid and stared; the frown was back, and then he sat down in one move, tilting the box so he could look better.

“Charizard,” he said. “A Pokémon card?”

“You wanted that card so badly, and I swapped ten of my own cards for it at school and wrapped the Charizard card for you, I think it was your eighth birthday. Do you remember that?”

“I remember the card, the color, Pokémon. Not that you found it for me. I’m sorry.”

“That doesn’t matter; I’m reminding you now. You were so happy because it meant Justin had no chance of beating you when you played. And he was so pissed I didn’t give it to him. He sulked for at least an hour, it was so funny, and you know what you did, you volunteered to give him the damn card because you hated he was upset.”

“I did?”

“Yep.”

“How did that make you feel?” Adam asked. “You got me the card.”

Ethan shrugged. “You always did have a good heart. It turned out, Justin was only teasing, and he gave it right back, wishing you happy birthday—he’d forgotten a gift.”

Adam looked deeper in the box, pulled out a book on horses. He opened it and looked at the inscription, “’To Adam from Ethan’, you got me this as well?”

“For your tenth I think, the birthday when you said you were going to work with horses, whatever.”

“And you kept it after I disappeared?”

Ethan dipped his gaze. “I found it all in storage at Dad’s house, stuff you must have left behind that your dad didn’t want to take with him when he left. Or maybe you’d left it in Justin’s room? I don’t know.”

“It’s wonderful.”

“I remember that birthday, Justin got you a notebook, and you took all these notes about what you were going to do when you were grown up.”

“Is the notebook in there as well?”

Ethan shook his head; he was sad he hadn’t found the small pad. “No, but I got this for you.” He reached into the box and pulled out a brightly colored notebook with a picture of a horse on the front. “It’s a new one. I thought you could start again, write down the stuff you want to do now.”

Adam tipped the box, and saw the small package at the bottom; he pulled it out, and nerves hit Ethan. He’d thought about a ring, but what they had was new, and there was still so much to get sorted out between them. But this wasn’t a ring; it was a promise of sorts.

Adam opened the case and lifted out the pendant, a circle of silver stamped with a horse and on the reverse…

For memories we can make together. E.

And when Adam swept him up in a heated kiss that turned to more, Ethan thought that maybe he’d bought exactly the right present after all.

* * * * *

THE MONTANA SERIES

Crooked Tree Ranch | The Rancher’s Son | A Cowboy’s Home

Further details of this series, buy links, reviews, cover art, can be found at www.rjscott.co.uk

Montana 1 - CROOKED TREE RANCH

When a cowboy, meets the guy from the city, he can't know how much things will change.

 On the spur of the moment, with his life collapsing around him, Jay Sullivan answers an ad for a business manager with an expertise in marketing, on a dude ranch in Montana.

With his sister, Ashley, niece, Kirsten and nephew, Josh, in tow, he moves lock stock and barrel from New York to Montana to start a new life on Crooked Tree Ranch.

Foreman and part owner of the ranch, ex rodeo star Nathaniel 'Nate' Todd has been running the dude ranch, for five years ever since his mentor Marcus Allen became ill.

His brothers convince him that he needs to get an expert in to help the business grow. He knows things have to change and but when the new guy turns up, with a troubled family in tow - he just isn't prepared for how much.

Montana 1 - THE RANCHER’S SON

A man without memories, and the cop who never gave up hope.

When he wakes up in the hospital, the victim of a brutal beating, John Doe has no memories of who he is or who hurt him. The cops can find nothing to identify him and he can't remember anything to help... except the name Ethan and one recurring place from his dreams. Two words, and they're not much, but it's a start: Crooked Tree.

Detective Ethan Allens has never stopped searching for the two boys who vanished. When a report lands on Ethan's desk that may give new leads, he jumps at the chance to follow them up. The man he finds isn't his brother, but it's someone who could maybe help him discover what happened twelve years ago.

What neither man can know is that facing the very real demons of the past could destroy any kind of future they may have together.

Montana 1 - A COWBOY’S HOME

Sam’s story, coming July 2016

* * * * *

RJ Scott

My goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, that hint of a happily ever after.

I've has been writing since age six, when I was made to stay in at lunchtime for an infraction involving cookies and the mixing bowl. You can't tell a six year old not to lick the bowl! 

I was told to write a story and two sides of paper about a trapped princess later, a lover of writing was born.

As an avid reader myself, I can be found reading anything from thrillers to sci-fi to horror. However, my first real true love will always be the world of romance. I love my cowboys, bodyguards, firemen and billionaires (to name a few) and love to write dramatic and romantic stories of love and passion between these men. (Yum)

With over 90 titles to my name and counting, I am the author of the award winning book, The Christmas Throwaway, which was All Romance Ebooks best selling title of 2010.

I'm also known for the Texas series charting the lives of Riley and Jack, and the Sanctuary series following the work of the Sanctuary Foundation and the people it protects.

I'm always so thrilled to hear from readers, bloggers and other writers. Please contact via the following links below:

Email RJ (rj@rjscott.co.uk)
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