Transforming Love (A Koning Clan Novel)

Acknowledgements

There are people in my life
who
have always encouraged me to follow my dreams
,
even when I didn't quite know what they were. My parents and my sisters have been amazing
,
and I can't thank them enough.

A special thanks to Jen
and Connie
for being my very first beta reader
s
.

I have to give my husband credit for putting up with me and all the people in my head. You've been wonderful
,
even when forced to listen to my ideas. L
ove you.

Also last but not least, you
,
the reader
,
for taking a chance on the unknown. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chap
ter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

    
"Just fantastic." Jenny kicked the tire of the broken hunk of junk the used car salesman said was reliable. Yeah
, reliable her behind. S
team hissed and billowed from under the raised hood. She looked at her watch and groaned, two hours
had
passed without a
single car on this
God forsaken stretch of road.

    
"
So much for my big adventure.
" s
he mumbled into the cold and eerie night. Wind rustled the trees
,
creating monsters from shadows, and the dark secret pl
ace inside her imagination
adults pretended not
to ha
ve. She suppressed a shiver
.

    
"What am I
,
six years old?" She placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Grea
t, now I'm talking to myself."

    
She looked down both sides of the highway. She knew there was nothing behind her
,
so her dir
ection was decided. She opened the front door, cringed when the hinges let out a ghostly wail, and grabbed her purse
,
hoping her things would be safe in the trunk for the time being. She eye
d her Jimmy Choo
s and sighed.

     "This is gonna suck."

    
Sh
e wiggled her toes
,
knowing soon they
would be red, screaming in pain
and cursing the day she traded in her cowgirl boots.
The small
,
delicate
ankle
bracelet glinted in the moonlight
,
temporarily
warming her. The small
charm
reminded her of her mother.
Dull pain filled her chest, and she forced the memories out of her mind.
It wasn't supposed to be like this, her big adventure. She just wanted to see the world. She wanted to feel the coarse texture of sand between her toes and smile as the waves cascaded
over her feet. She just wanted to s
ee the ocean for the first time, and t
hen turn around and go home to her father's ranch deep in the Colorado Mountains. Her home life was peachy, but she couldn't fight the ac
he in her heart telling her
she was meant for
something more. She stuck out
her chin and started walking.

    
She wrapped her arms around her torso
,
trying to protect herself from the biting wind. Her legs throbbed, and her muscles trembled with each step.
It felt like she
’
d been walking for years.
She removed her shoes a few miles back, hoping to quicken her pace and lessen her discomfort.
Her stomach churned. She hated not knowing if she was going to end up as tomorrow's headline. Then the wind died for just a moment
,
bringing the faint sound of m
usic. She bit her lip
,
unsure of what she heard. Maybe she was manifesting the sound, but she didn
’
t care. She started running despite the pain of gravel poking into her bare feet. He
r
shoes
dangled
precariously in her hand.

    
It
was probably stupid. J
enny sneaked
out to movies and saw all the p
otentially frightening ways
it could go, but she hadn
’
t seen another person
,
let alone another car for hours. The music was getting louder
,
matching the pounding of h
er frantic heart.

    
She sucked in a deep b
reath when she saw it, a bar. It shone like a beacon of life. She walked like a ghost being pulled to the light and her salvation.
Gryph's
flashed above the entrance. It looked run down
,
but still the idea of people pushed her forward. She was really racking up her stupidity score. Heck
,
one more couldn
’
t hurt, ri
ght? She started walking
to
ward
the mountainous bouncer positio
ned at the towering red doors.

    
“
Um, Hi. Can I use a phone?
My car broke dow
n, and my cell isn
’
t working.”

    
“
Clint
,
we have a live one
. What are my orders?”
Big and B
rawny asked someone on his ear piece.

    
“
Copy
,
I
’
ll send her in.”
Big and Brawny opened the door
. “
Clint
’
s at the bar.”

    
“
Thanks,”
Jenn
y fisted her shoes and purse, desperate to look
more confident than she felt.

    
The minute she walked over the threshold
,
every male took notice of her.
Unease tickled her spine as she noted the lack of females.
It was like the whole bar stopped whatev
er conversation they were having and knew she didn
’
t belong
there
. She
strolled to the bar
, and they turned back to their flat beers and stale pretzels. She fel
t like the last piece of triple-
layer Dutch chocolate cake at a chocolate addict
’
s convention. H
er sto
mach growled, and she flushed.
She set her purse on a faded black leather stool.

    
“
Hi, can I use your phone?”
Jenny asked the only guy behin
d the bar hoping it was Clint.

     “
No
.”

     “
Then why did you let me in?”

    
“
Not sure
, just curious how you got here
that's all.”

    
Jenny was tired, hungry, and her temper was starting to boil. “
I walked and thanks for you
r help
,
you
’
ve been real nice.”

    
Jenny grabbed her purse, stuffed her shoes inside, and started to st
omp back
out the way she came.

    
“
Now hold on there, I didn
’
t say we weren
’
t gonna help you." He brought his
hand up to his ear. "Gryph, you'
re
needed at the bar.”
Clint winc
ed at what must have harsh words. He removed his ear piece, “
He
’
ll be right out.”

“
Thanks,”
Jenny sat down on one of the cushioned bar stools. Her stomach growled again. She opened her purse and dug through the contents.
The crinklin
g of a wrapper sparked
her hope as her hand gripped her prize. Thank God
;
she forgot about her purchase fr
om the last gas station
.
She opened the Lindt Milk Chocolate bar and bit down into its creamy goodness. It was fantastic
;
the chocolate cascaded over her tongue, and she couldn
’
t help closing her eyes an
d letting out a blissful moan.

    
“
What the
hell i
s that doing in my bar?”

    
Jenny's eyes snapped open
at the harsh tone. The man stood with his thick arms crossed over his chest. He looked angry, to say the least. His black hair fell over his intense blue eyes. His jaw was set firm from his displeasu
re. Then she noticed his full, soft lips. They were a complete contrast with the hard lines
etching
the rest of his face.

    
“
I walked.”
Jenny blurted. She blushed
,
embarrassed. This was worse than the time daddy caught her skinny
dipping with the Jenki
ns boy.

    
Tall,
Dark, and S
cary looked a
t Clint with a raised eyebrow.

    
“
Well
,
you heard her
,
boss. The little darlin' walked.”
Clint
had
a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

    
Gryph pointed at Jenny, “
You come with me befor
e you start a riot.”
He grabbed her
by the hand and pulled her to the door in the back of the ba
r. He opened it roughly and
the hinges squeak
ed
in protest.

    
He motion
ed
to the sturdy bl
ack leather couch.
“
Sit.”

    
“
I would pref
er to stand, if you don
’
t mind.”
She stuck out
her chin
,
tired of pushy males.

     “
Sit.
Down.
”

    
Okay
,
so he minded. Jenny decided not to anger the only chance of help she had. Jeez
,
she felt like she was in the principal's office after her senior prank. It wasn't her fault the
chickens
pooped all over his brand new leather interior. He shouldn't have left the top down on his Mustang. She figured
the chickens would all sort of…
hop out
. Gryph
growled
,
low and menacing. She blin
ked
,
drawn back to the present.