The
Haunting of Hotel LaBelle
The
Hotel LaBelle Series Book 1
by
Sharon Buchbinder
Genre:
Paranormal Romance
When
hotel inspector, Tallulah Thompson, is called in along with her pug,
Franny, to investigate renovation delays, she meets an extremely
annoyed and dapper turn-of-the-century innkeeper. The only problem is
he’s in limbo, neither dead nor alive, and Tallulah and the pug are
the first to see him in a hundred years.
Cursed
by a medicine woman, “Love ‘em and Leave ‘em Lucius” Stewart
is stuck between worlds until he finds his true love and gives her
his heart. When he first sees Tallulah, he doesn’t know what he’s
feeling. Yet, her stunning beauty, and feisty attitude pull him
in.
With
the fate of Hotel LaBelle on the line, Tallulah with the help of a
powerful medicine woman turns Lucius back into a flesh and blood man.
She and Lucius team up to save the hotel, but Tallulah can't help but
wonder if he will ever let go of his past love and learn to love
again.
**On
sale for only .99 cents March 1st-29th!!**
Lucius Stewart, a hard-working innkeeper is thrilled he has finally paid off the loan for his hotel. Now all he has to do is convince the love of his life, Mourning Dove, to move in with him. A late night visit brings bad news.
Prologue
Hotel LaBelle, Billings, Montana, 1905
After five years of hard work, scrimping and saving, today Lucius Stewart’s dream became reality. This afternoon, he paid the Cattleman’s Bank off in full, and now held the deed to the beautiful Hotel LaBelle in his hand. He sat at his desk, sipped an exceptional whiskey from his bar, and dangled a fine cigar between his lips. He liked it when all the patrons and staff were in bed, asleep. During the evening in the crowded bar, with the piano player pounding the keys, it was impossible to even hear his own thoughts.
Lucius blew a smoke ring and stared at the wood ceiling of his office. A good day. Perhaps the best of his thirty-five years of life. Though born and raised in New York City, the West had always called to him. When his mother died, he sold the family home and headed to Big Sky Country. During the ten years of working his way up to general manager in a large hotel in the city, he dreamed of building his own place. He wanted something for city folks like himself who hankered after a taste of the frontier—with the civilized amenities of a soft bed, fine dining, and good wine.
If he’d been married, he would be celebrating with his wife. But the woman he loved turned him down, saying it would never work. In her nation, the women owned the home and all the family possessions. When a man and woman married, the husband moved into the wife’s home. And therein lay the rub. They came from different worlds. To keep the Hotel LaBelle up and running, he had to be present, pure and simple. The place wouldn’t run itself. Lucius knew if he blinked too long the barkeep would water the liquor, the cowboys would tear the place apart, and the hotel would be destroyed.
So, he decided they were getting married, and she was moving in with him. They had to, especially with a little one on the way. An awful thought sprang into his mind. What if something happened to him before he could convince her his way was the right way? Life was unpredictable. Hadn’t his father died when he was a small child? If his father hadn’t provided for his mother, Lord only knew what his life would have been like growing up. Lucius set the deed to the hotel aside, picked up a pen, dipped it into the inkwell, and began to write.
****
An hour later, satisfied with his work, he dropped the pen on the desk. As soon as the ink dried, he’d put the second document in his safe place, along with the deed. Right now, he was plumb beat. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
“Lucius Stewart!”
He fell backward, hitting the chair and his head on the wall. He rubbed the back of his skull and searched for the source of the voice.
“Who’s there? What do you want? I don’t have any money—I took it all to the bank today.”
An old woman stepped out of the shadows. She wore a buckskin dress covered in elk teeth. Eagle feathers perched on her head as if about to take flight. Anger creased her tanned face.
“Beautiful Blackfeather.” The mother of the woman he loved stood before him, the feathers on her head trembling, and her face twisted in rage. “What’s wrong? Why are your arms bleeding? What happened to your hair? Is Mourning Dove not well?”
Shaking from head to toe, his heart thundered in his chest like a bear trapped in a cage. All the traditional signs of mourning were right there in front of him, but he refused to believe his eyes. No, it couldn’t be. His vision blurred and he wailed. “No, no, tell me it isn’t so. Tell me Mourning Dove lives, please!”
“Do not speak of my daughter, you worthless dog,” she spoke in Crow at the same time her hands flew in Plains Indian hand talk so fast and with such fury, he could barely keep up.
“Slow down,” he signed back. “What is wrong?”
“You. You are what’s wrong. You lay with so many women, you thought my daughter was another to toss aside. Now there is a child and you are not man enough to make things right.”
“That’s not true!” Lucius jumped to his feet. “I love your daughter. I want to marry her. Here in my hotel, with a judge. Make it legal in the eyes of Montana law and white folks. Show her she’s worth more to me than a bride price of a horse.”
“Liar,” Beautiful Blackfeather signed. “You love and leave all women. You hurt many and will do it no more.”
“No, no, no. You don’t understand. I don’t want any other women.” Exasperated, he withdrew a gold wedding band from his pocket and held it out for Beautiful to see. “For Mourning Dove.”
She pulled her medicine stick out of her belt and aimed it at his face. A wispy white feather hung on the tip and moved with his breath. She spoke in Crow. Though difficult to understand, Lucius knew enough of the language to recognize she cursed him. Beautiful Blackfeather wasn’t any ordinary mother-in-law to be. The Crow considered her the most powerful Medicine Woman in Montana. He had to stop her, make her comprehend his intentions.
The room spun, colors twisted and whirled like a kaleidoscope, and his fingers and toes tingled. He grabbed the edge of the desk and squeezed his eyes shut to maintain his balance as the floor shifted. He opened them to discover Beautiful Blackfeather was gone. When he raised his hands to wipe away the sweat soaking his face, his stomach hit the floor. His hands had disappeared too.
Legacy
of Evil
The
Hotel LaBelle Series Book 2
When
a wild mustang is shot in Montana, renowned horse whisperer and
telepath, Emma Horserider, is called in to calm the herd and find out
what happened. Once on scene she is almost killed by a bullet-spewing
drone, and calls her black ops brother for back-up.
Emma's
help roars into her life covered in tattoos and riding a Harley.
Remote viewer Bronco Winchester takes the assignment because he is
ordered to, but he wonders what type of assistance, his boss's sister
needs. That is until he sees Emma, a valiant Warrior Woman proud of
her Crow heritage.
Posing
as a married couple, Emma and Bronco go undercover to infiltrate and
stop a hate group. Both are anxious enough without the now growing
attachment they feel for one another. When the lives of many are on
the line, they are not sure if they will live or die—let alone have
a chance at love.
**On
sale for only .99 cents March 1st-29th!!**
Bronco now stood squinting in the late afternoon sun, knocking at a door with no bell, and waiting for a response. Dogs barked and a window curtain twitched. Good. Someone was home. He adjusted his pack, leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and said, “Any time now.” As the words slid out of his mouth, he heard the unmistakable sound of a shotgun being pumped.
Uh. Oh.
He raised his hands. “Don’t shoot. I’m unarmed.” Turning slowly to face his fate, his jaw fell open, and his heart rate kicked up a notch from being on the wrong end of a shotgun or from the weapon holder’s looks, he wasn’t sure A raven haired Amazon in a tank top, jeans, and metal tipped cowboy boots held the Mossberg 500 in a perfect military stance. Long strands of hair blew across her face in the hot breeze. A large purple bruise bloomed on her left cheek. She squinted her dark brown eyes and gave him a laser-beam once over from his dusty black boots to his sweat soaked do- rag.
“Who are you, and what do you want?”
If he hadn’t been so intent on not getting killed, he would have spent more time staring at those full, luscious, kissable lips and thinking about how she would taste. As it was, he guessed he had less than a minute to respond before getting blasted into the next county.
Eye
of the Eagle
The
Hotel LaBelle Series Book 3
One
soars like an eagle. One strikes like a thunderbird.
But for both
hearts, revenge can be deadly when it's nourished.
Anomaly
Defense Director and shapeshifter Bert Blackfeather doesn't need a
boss with no experience. So what if she's beautiful or gives him a
jolt when she shakes his hand? He never plans to get seriously
involved with another woman--not in this lifetime.
Phoebe
Wagner, an empath with psychometric abilities and an advocate for the
deaf, gets more than she bargained for with Bert. One touch and she
relives his IED injuries. So what if he's handsome and hot? She
doesn't need to add his secrets to her own. Phoebe's are bad
enough.
When his niece goes missing from Hotel LaBelle, Bert
goes to Montana to help--and Phoebe insists on going with him. Can
these two hard-headed people share their darkest secrets in order to
work together? It may be the only way to save an endangered
child--and their own hearts when Bert's past rears its ugly head.
**On
sale for only .99 cents March 1st-29th!!**
Day 1
Hotel LaBelle is the hub of activity for the extended Blackfeather family, a clan within the Apsáalooke or Crow Indian Tribe in Montana. Bert Blackfeather works for the Anomaly Defense Division within the Department of Homeland Security and coordinates the efforts of his special agents with paranormal abilities to protect the United States from terrorism. The one thing he never expected occurs when terror strikes his family.
Prologue
Hotel LaBelle, Billings, Montana
Crouched behind a stand of bushes across the river from the Victorian mansion, the stranger surveyed his surroundings to ensure he wasn’t observed by a late- night visitor. He did his best work under the cover of night when people slept, secure in their dreams. By day, the place buzzed with people coming and going. By night, the pace slowed, as if the hotel took deep breaths and drifted into slumber, resting and recovering for the next sunrise. The shadows served as his allies, hiding his peculiarity from the locals. Night embraced him like a lover, keeping his secrets. Tonight, in the preternatural pause before the incoming storm, all was quiet, except for the call of an owl and the squeaks of nocturnal creatures. Predator and prey.
He’d waited a long time for this special child. With the specific family background he wanted, she was exactly what he needed. It would take time, but he could wait. Patience was one of the things he excelled at. That and taking children away from their homes. He had honed his skills, perfected his technique. But the timing was off and he needed to lay low. No need to arouse suspicion. As he always did, he’d blend in. Beneath the surface, in the shadows, keeping his ear to the ground. Listening, listening, and listening for that one sound that told him the instant had come. When the sign appeared to him, he would be prepared, and no one would be the wiser until it was too late, and the little girl with the wild red hair and large blue eyes was in his possession. Soon, very soon, she would be his.
****
Bright-eyed and bushy tailed, as her husband would say, Tallulah Stewart slipped into the kitchen, flipped the switch for the coffee pot, and began to prep breakfast for her guests. As she sliced the homemade cinnamon bread, she smiled at the thought of the still sleeping Lucius, blissfully unaware of her activities. Ever since her darling daughter came into the world, Tallulah had become a morning lark and Lucius a night owl. With a twenty-four hour a day business like Hotel LaBelle, it was good they alternated shifts. No need for both of them to be exhausted. A huge bolt of lightning flashed, bathing the kitchen in bright light. Moments after, thunder shook the hotel. That was close.
Thank God Miriam takes after her father and sleeps through everything.
A frisson shimmied down her back.
Miriam. Something was wrong with Miriam.
Dread bloomed in her chest, and she struggled to breathe. Knife falling out of her numb hand, Tallulah ran to her child’s room.
Shadows draped the space over her daughter’s nest. Pillows and stuffed animals tilted at all angles and a small lump burrowed deep in the blankets. Tallulah let out a long sigh of relief. Hot or cold, that girl loved her blankets, the more the merrier. Active, even in her sleep, Miriam had been an early walker and climber. Despite parental efforts at containment, from eleven months of age on, each morning the little gymnast had been found on the other side of the bars of the crib. They had surrendered and converted the crib to a toddler bed. Tallulah tip-toed next to her precious bundle, gently slid a quilt back—and screamed.
Sharon Buchbinder
has been writing fiction since middle school and has the
rejection slips to prove it. An RN, she provided health care
delivery, became a researcher, association executive, and obtained a
PhD in Public Health. She is the author of the Hotel LaBelle Series,
the Jinni Hunter Series, and the Obsession Series. When not
attempting to make students and colleagues laugh or writing, she can
be found fishing, walking her dogs, herding cats, or breaking bread
and laughing with family and friends in Baltimore, MD and Punta
Gorda, FL.
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