Book Title: Melody of the Snow
Author and Publisher: Blake Allwood
Cover Artist: Samrat Acharjee
Release Date: November 16, 2022
Genre: Contemporary M/M Romance
Tropes: Opposites attract, instalove, hurt/comfort
Themes: self-discovery, new beginnings
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Length: 72 850 words/350 pages
It is a standalone story in the Melody Series and does not end on a cliffhanger.
Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited
Family inheritance or his own passion… Can he have both?
Blurb
Hunter’s life is turned upside down when he’s forced to leave his ‘job of a lifetime’. When chance tosses him into the path of a very talented, and handsome young nurse, his life takes on a new direction he never could’ve anticipated.
Cam’s focus had shifted from pursuing his musical passion to nursing. But a one-night stand quickly changes into so much more, especially when that one-night stand ends up helping to run his late grandmother’s resort.
Career changes, inheritances, and a greedy corporation all make it seem impossible for these two men to make it. But, on the slopes of Colorado, they might just find love in the melody of the snow.
“Okay,” she said as we both climbed into the car. “You be on your best behavior. No cussing, and I’ll tell them you’re just hanging out or something.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure they won’t care.”
I couldn’t have been more wrong. Unfortunately, the moment I walked into the attorney’s office with Aunt Monica, which was just one small room with no receptionist or waiting area, I immediately recognized the owner. My Queen-singing, delicious-tasting, big-city bar hookup had stepped out of my dirty fantasies and into this cramped office in the middle of nowhere. Things were about to get awkward as hell, and I swallowed hard.
When he looked my way, his eyes bulged, which told me he recognized me as well.
My aunt rushed over to him, took his hand to shake, and introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Monica Cabot. This is my nephew, Hunter. We were just having lunch when we heard about the meeting.”
“Um, hi,” I stammered. “I can just wait outside.”
The man blushed and shook his head. “That’s not necessary. It’s too cold to wait outside or walk back to town. I’m Cameron Kell, and this is my mother, Peggy.”
As we all shook hands, the man–Cameron, I now knew–kept sneaking glances at me, his face inquisitive. I was struggling to make eye contact, though, considering all the things I’d imagined doing to his body while I got myself off the night before. They were not thoughts I should’ve been having about someone we were about to be in business with, let alone work for, since I technically worked for the resort. I then made the mistake of looking over at his mother and felt myself blush even deeper.
“Okay, let’s get down to business,” the attorney said.
I ended up sitting on a chair in the corner of the office, pretending to read a book I’d downloaded to my phone. I could tell Cameron was just as uncomfortable as I was, which was some consolation, and as the attorney explained the legal predicament they were in, I listened to make sure my involvement with this part-owner didn’t fuck things up too much.
God, my aunt was going to kill me.
“So, do you have questions, Cameron?” the attorney finally asked.
Cameron looked at my aunt. “I’ve only heard good things about your company, and I assure you I’ve done a thorough search, and even spoke to a couple of your clients at neighboring resorts. However, I have one stipulation. My mother has helped run our resort for almost fifteen years, and she will remain the general manager. If she has concerns about how you’re running things, we’ll have to make other arrangements, is that clear?”
My aunt blushed, which was a rare sight, and I almost swallowed my tongue and might have if I hadn’t been biting it. No one told Aunt Monica how to run her business, not that we had many options. This guy had the upper hand. At least, that was what I gathered from the attorney’s discussion earlier.
“We aren’t accustomed to having management outside our own,” Aunt Monica countered. “We are very thorough in our work, as I’m sure your investigation demonstrated. In my experience, too many bosses often undermine the very foundation of…”
Cameron lifted his hand to stop my aunt, which blew my mind even more. “It’s not negotiable. My grandmother had full rights to manage the property as she saw fit. I’ve inherited those rights. However, my mother doesn’t wish to manage the resort by herself, so since the courts have asked you to take the position in the interest of Optimum Management, I’m happy to agree to that, but only if my mother remains as the property’s general manager.”
My aunt begrudgingly nodded. “I believe we can work around this, but I’ll need full access to you, Mrs.…?”
“You can call me Peggy, everyone else does, and I assure you, Mrs. Cabot, as long as your staff are doing their job, we won’t have an issue. I can meet with you tomorrow morning with a full report of our current staff, the shortages we still have, and the areas of concern, especially the concerns left with my late mother-in-law’s passing.”
That seemed to mollify my aunt because her taut features relaxed a bit.
Cameron glanced at me, then asked, “Will your nephew be working at the resort?”
My aunt seemed taken aback by his question, but she quickly nodded. “Yes, I’ve asked him to step into the ski patrol manager position I was told was being vacated.”
“I see. I need to speak to him alone for a few moments. Would you please excuse us?” he asked, standing up and leading the way outside into the cold.
I looked to my aunt but quickly turned away, knowing what this one-on-one meeting was really about.
“So, did you know you’d be working for me when we…?” he asked, sounding almost accusatory.
I shook my head and had to clear my throat. “Um, no, I only found out when we walked in.”
Cameron took a deep breath. “Okay, well, this could cause legal problems. I’m assuming your aunt doesn’t know?”
“That would be a hell no!” I said, laughing, and a smile broke out across his face.
“Well, she’s about to find out, because I’ll be asking old man Pauley to draw up an agreement stating that you understand that our past, um, fling won’t interfere with your work.”
“You mean I agree not to sue you.”
He nodded. “I don’t honestly know much about all that, except that in the hospital I work for, a couple of nurses dated and had to sign similar paperwork.” He hesitated and bit his lip, which I found damn adorable, as inappropriate as that was. “You sure you didn’t know about all this?”
I shook my head, put my hand over my heart, and said, “I promise, I had no idea. Believe me, I’m as surprised to see you here as you are me. You can’t tell my aunt this, but to be honest, I’m scared shitless of the woman. If I had a clue you were part-owner of all this…”
His relaxed smile warmed me from the inside, and he laughed. “Okay, I believe you. So, I guess that means anything else is off the table.”
I shrugged. “Maybe, or maybe not, it all depends on that human resources document I’m gonna sign.”
He chuckled and turned red. “Okay, guess we better head back in before they all freak out. How do you want to handle this in front of your aunt?”
I cringed. “Delicately as possible,” I said, and could hear the nervousness in my voice.
“Good luck,” he said, still smiling as we walked back into the office to a group of confused-looking people.
“We’ve met before—” Cameron said as he motioned between him and me. “—and will need to have some documents drawn up before we can accept a contract between your company and ours. I’ll have Mr. Pauley do that and include them in any other paperwork we need to have signed before we make this official.”
My aunt pinned me with a knowing look, and I knew I was going to get it later, before she quickly turned toward Cameron. “I think that’ll be fine… Mrs… um, Peggy,” she said, turning toward the mother. “We’ll see you tomorrow at nine.”
Aunt Monica grabbed my elbow and dragged me out of the attorney’s office. “What the hell was that about?” she asked when we were out of earshot of the others.
“Well, we sorta, um, went out… while I was in Denver.”
She stopped, looked at me with the same I could squash you like a bug look she’d given me when I was particularly naughty as a child, then sighed. “Of course, you did,” she said, and, without looking at me, led the way at a fast clip to the rental car.
Blake Allwood was born in west TN, then moved to Kansas City MO after attending college in Lamoni, Iowa. He met his husband in 1995 and they officially married in 2015, once gay marriage was legalized. In 2017, he and his husband sold their home, purchased an RV and began traveling the country with their two dogs. Their travels provide the inspiration and settings for many of his novels.
Typically, Blake can be found relaxing in the RV or by the fire with his laptop and their Jack Russell Terrier, Buddy, curled up between his legs demanding attention. Denver, their Siberian Husky mix is often asleep at his feet or playing tug of war with Blake’s husband.
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