
For today's teaser we're revisiting The Christmas Throwaway.
The Christmas Throwaway is available to buy now – http://rjscott.co.uk/Read-ChristmasThrowaway
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The First Christmas
“Hey! You can't sleep here.”
Zachary Weston had closed his eyes and let sleep pull him under. His sheer exhaustion meant he physically couldn't stay awake any longer. Sleep came quickly, the sleep of the desperate man, despite the furious aching pain in his lower back. He had pushed on through the pain for the last week. Ironically, the ice and frigid temperatures, while freezing his extremities, helped ease the aching.
Behind his eyes he saw a crackling fire in an iron grate, the red and gold flames casting a beautiful light throughout a room decorated for Christmas. A tree stood tall in the far corner, its sparkling fairy lights, colored tinsel, and baubles catching and glinting random colors.
“You can't sleep here.”
Presents were scattered and piled, haphazard and thoughtless in their arrangement, for there were so many. Books and songs and warm clothes sat in wrapped paper festooned with silver and gold bows, his name scrawled in gold on a fair share of them.
“Hey, you can't sleep here.”
Outside the window it was snowing—not a blizzard, but soft fat flakes that fell in a mesmerizing dance to join the soft shapes already hiding the mature garden from view. The cold meant the outside of the windows were frosted with creeping white tendrils that drew random patterns on the icy glass and reflected the colored lights from the tree.
“Hey…”
Zach bent down, picking up the first present, looking back at his mom. She was smiling and happy to see her son so excited, sharing nods of understanding with his dad. They both had so much love in their eyes.
“Hey!”
Someone was speaking to him from outside the room, but he couldn't see who. That didn't matter, because if he concentrated hard, he could focus on the gifts. He shivered, cold seeping into him, and unconsciously he moved himself closer to the fire, frowning when, if anything, the heat near him diminished. Stupid fire. He took his next gift, pulled at red and silver paper and uncovered the softest of sweatshirts, thick and warm and smooth, in a startling blue that his momma said matched his eyes. Despite the fire, he was still so damn cold, and quickly he pulled it over his head, the heat of the soft material on his frost-chilled skin comforting and warm. He smiled as he was as wrapped with affection and love and the sparks of a family Christmas as he was with the sweater.
“You can't sleep here.”
Zach started. The voice from outside the room was suddenly right in his ear and the last vestiges of his dream nothing more than suggestions in his head. Abruptly, his eyes snapped wide open and, after a second, focused on the source of the words. Zach actually saw very little beyond the sudden blur of a silver badge and the navy blue uniform, but then he focused on the speaker's eyes. They were flinty hard in the streetlight, and there were small puffs of white hanging in the air created by the man's breath. Shit! Somehow someone had seen him and reported him, or the cop had spotted him. He was being moved on again. He pulled at the thin jacket that covered him, a memory of soft blue material flashing into his head and disorienting him momentarily.
Zach had so hoped to avoid the law, cautiously optimistic that the churchyard might be a place of sanctuary on Christmas Eve.
“Sorry,” he said quickly, scrambling to his feet as fast as he could manage, which wasn't entirely that fast considering the aching cold that seemed to split his very bones in two. He cursed as his blanket fell from his numb hands and landed in the snow at his feet. That was the only warmth he had, a threadbare piece of material he had stolen from Goodwill when the woman in charge turned her back. And now the damn thing was going to be wet.
Still, there was no time to worry about that; the cop wanted him moved on. He leaned down to pick it up, only to see the ground spinning up to his face at an alarming speed. Strong arms stopped him from face-planting in the snow, but he twisted out of them quickly. The man might be a cop, might wear a badge, but no one touched him. Zach knew what men could want from the child he still was. He wasn't stupid, and he had dodged enough of it in the city.
“How old are you?” the cop asked, looking concerned and very much in charge.
“Eighteen,” Zach lied quickly. He took a step back until his thighs hit the back of the bench he had been resting on. The cop stepped with him, looming large despite being a few inches shorter than Zach, his face creased in a frown.
“How old are you really?” the cop persisted, his expression calm, his voice low and curious.
Zach bit his lower lip, feeling the hot blood against his tongue, the shivering inside him starting to manifest in shakes he knew even the cop would see. Carefully Zach lifted the blanket, damp and ice cold, trying to create a barrier between himself and the police officer with the intense gaze.
“Seventeen,” Zach finally said, willing his teeth to stop chattering, “but I'll be eighteen in a few days.” He added the last bit, giving the cop an out. He wanted to add just leave me alone, I won't hurt anyone.
“Ben Hamilton,” the cop said softly, holding his hand out as if he wanted to shake Zach's. Zach was confused, waiting for the glint of cuffs, uncertain, and he dug his hands deeper in the wet blanket he was holding. The cop, this Hamilton, didn't move his hand, just held it firm and steady. Finally Zach thrust his cold hand out, the texture of the officer's leather gloves soft and strange beneath his touch.
“Zach,” he introduced himself softly, remembering not to mention his surname. The cop didn't push him on it, just nodded and pulled his hand away.
“So, Zach, what's happened to you? Why are you lying on the bench at the Church of St. Margaret on Christmas Eve?”
The officer wasn't shouting; he was asking quietly, but Zach immediately started to go on the defensive. There was a concerned twist to the cop's mouth, and he had narrowed his eyes as he asked.
“I…” Zach stopped, assessing the lies he could spin, thinking of the stories he had used to persuade people to leave him alone. Nothing crystallized as right for this moment in time. There was something about this cop, a man who seemed not much older than he was, an officer who wasn't a city cop, but a small town cop. He wouldn't be part of the system the same way as the cops in the city who said he should go home. I don't have a home. Maybe… maybe he should tell him the truth?
“I can't be at home right now,” he said finally, wincing as the cop's gloved hand traced the bruises over his left eye and down his jaw line.
“Who did this to you, Zach? Did this happen here in this town?” The officer's words spun a safe haven for sharing secrets, soft, insistent, and not very cop-like. Zach shied away instantly from the gentle touch, an icy blade of uncertainty pinching his skin as he contemplated being in the dark church grounds on his own with this man. He seemed friendly enough, but what if it was just another act? Cautiously, and trying to not reveal his intentions, he looked to his left and then to his right. If he was going to run he needed a head start, and being held or cornered would take that head start away. To the right, dense foliage blocked an exit; to the left was the gate to the churchyard and the shadowy grave stones. That was his best bet. He shifted his weight to his right foot, ready to push himself away and to vault the gate. His leg shook with the added pressure, and he knew he would probably fall at the first hurdle. Still, any plan offered more hope than no plan.
“I fell,” he said firmly, the same line he had used for most of his life, the same line that earned him looks that ranged from pity to doubt. When he had said those words to people from organizers at the soup kitchen, to cops on the corner, to the owner of the homeless hostel, he had been sworn at, propositioned, cried at, or pushed away in disgust. He wasn't expecting much from another man in authority.
“Uh huh.” The officer didn't push for any more information, just nodded at the simple statement and took a step back and away. He spoke directly into his radio. “I'm heading home now. It was nothing to worry about at the church.” Static broke the calm of the snow-deadened air, and a tinny voice acknowledged the radio message with a series of codes and a single name—Ben. The cop looked back at Zach, and Zach gauged that now that the cop was two steps away from him, heading for the gate would be easier. “You can't sleep here. I'll find you a room for tonight, and we'll deal with the rest in the morning.”
Zach's eyes widened. He wasn't going anywhere with any stranger, not unless he was under arrest. This cop was going to find him a room? Probably some out of the way no-tell motel. Shit. No way this side of never was that happening. He had barely gotten away with his life two nights before from a proposal far more wrapped in the suggestion of hope than what the cop was giving him. Zach was so past being gullible.
Pulling himself to his full height, he thinned his lips in determination. He was not swapping one hell for another, not a chance.
“No. Thank you, but, no, I have to… go to the station for the train.” He tried not to let hopelessness into his voice, attempted to sound self-assured around the chattering of his teeth. He sounded out the words in his head, and he knew exactly what he was saying. He clearly had some sort of purpose for being on the bench in the snow on Christmas Eve and the cop should respect that. It was a free country.
“Okay, Zach.” The cop sighed. “We can do this one of two ways. It's late, and it is the night before Christmas. I really want to go home to be with my family and you are kind of making this all very difficult. Now you can come with me, get a decent meal, a shower, and maybe some warmer clothes, and then you can sleep for the night in a warm bed. This can be all by your own choice, or I can make it official and arrest you, then force you to go.”
Zach heard every word. He looked around desperately, at the small church, the graveyard, the bench, the snow, and then back at the really young-looking cop in front of him. He was so screwed. The ice beneath his feet had climbed his long limbs, bringing with it insistent pain. The strength in his legs was failing. He had run for so many days, managing to keep ahead of everything and everyone, and he only had two more days until he could stop running. Why was it that his body was choosing now to give up?
“So,” the cop continued, “I haven't got all night. I really don't want to spend my Christmas Eve standing over your frozen body and explaining your death to the medical examiner. So your choice is…?”
He didn't have a choice. This was a no-choice situation. He knew it, and the cop knew it. He straightened as best he could, the pain in his lower back burning back to its usual level despite the cold of the bench that had started to numb the tenderness slightly.
“Okay,” Zach said quietly. After all, this was a cop. How could it be wrong to want to be warm for just one night? “Not a cell?” he asked cautiously.
Officer Hamilton turned on his heel to start walking away from the bench.
“Nope, not a cell.”
“You promise?” Dammit! Could he sound more like a kid? Way to come off as a responsible adult who had control of his life. Not.
The cop stopped and looked back at him, pushing his hands into the pockets of his thick jacket. Zach found himself looking at it enviously.
“I promise.” He turned, clearly expecting Zach to follow, which he did. He stumbled on the icy path, in the same thin sneakers he had been thrown out with only one week ago. He cursed under his breath that the cop's boots afforded him a grip on the snow and that he had to scrabble to keep up. It was humiliating to stumble-trip his way like a pathetic lost puppy behind the cop. At the same time, Zach admitted to himself that he couldn't outrun the cop if he decided to act on the impulse to just get the hell away from the man in uniform. So he followed as best he could.
The Christmas Throwaway
For Zachary Weston Christmas means sleeping on a churchyard bench in the freezing snow with nothing better in his future. Thrown out of his home for being gay, he is left without money or, it seems, anywhere to go. Until a stranger shows him that some people do give a lot more than a damn.
Ben Hamilton is a rookie cop in his small home town. He finds a young throwaway, fresh from the city, sleeping on a bench in the churchyard on a snowy Christmas Eve. Can he be the one to give Zachary his own Christmas miracle?
More info →Sparkle (L.A. Storm Short Christmas Story)
A Christmas Short Story featuring Finn & Cam from Script (LA Storm, 1)
Being in love with a Hollywood star isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Neither is planning a secret holiday wedding to said box-office hero. There’s the press and paparazzi to outfox, the wedding planner to please, and the catering to sort out. All of that while juggling a crushing hockey schedule and dealing with the world’s most annoying neighbor. But despite the setbacks, worries, and flight plans for family, I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. Marrying Finn Kerrigan is everything.
More info →Family First: A Railers Christmas Novella (Harrisburg Railers Series Book 13)
An injury threatens to end Stan’s career. Will he choose to fight for his beloved hockey, or put his family first?
Few goalies are as dedicated as Stan Lyamin, known for his resilience on the ice, talking to his pipes, and his love of Elvis. Add in his adoration of his family and his life has been filled with all the things that bring him joy. However, after a heart-wrenching game ends with a disastrous hip injury, Stan faces the most challenging obstacle of his career: surgery, an extensive recovery, and the looming threat of retirement. It’s now that he has to decide which path to take: the one that will lead him back to the game he adores or the one that will see his jersey lifted to the rafters.
Erik and Stan, once invincible with the Railers, have always skated through life's challenges hand in hand. Their love story, cemented by a shared passion for hockey and the joy of raising their children, has been their shield against the world. But when their son Noah’s life is changed forever by a medical diagnosis, this forever love is put to the test. Erik turns to his husband for support, but Stan is consumed with guilt, overwhelmed by decisions, and retreats into himself when his family needs him the most.
More info →The Christmas Throwaway (Illustrated)
Christmas is a time for giving - what do you do when no one gives a damn?
For Zachary Weston Christmas means sleeping on a churchyard bench in the freezing snow with nothing better in his future. Thrown out of his home for being gay, he is left without money or, it seems, anywhere to go. Until a stranger shows him that some people do give a lot more than a damn.
Ben Hamilton is a rookie cop in his small home town. He finds a young throwaway, fresh from the city, sleeping on a bench in the churchyard on a snowy Christmas Eve. Can he be the one to give Zachary his own Christmas miracle?
eBook ISBN - 9781785643958
Paperback ISBN - 9781785643965
Hardback ISBN - 9781785643941
Stop The Wedding – A Snowed Inn Story
A desperate plea for help and an admission of love sends Patrick racing to stop his best friend from marrying the wrong man.
Patrick never stopped loving Declan, even if he shoved him away at graduation when they kissed. His alpha-type brothers and father, with all their firefighter history, would never accept him being bi, or understand his need to step outside of the family firm and be a cop. So, he hides how he feels, and ends up losing the only man he’s ever really loved. The only reconciliation they tried was the night he found out Declan was engaged, and it broke him that by staying silent he had lost his once chance at happiness. That is, until he receives a desperate phone call from Declan asking to be rescued. Through travel chaos and storms, Patrick finally reaches the Colorado mountains, but with an empty wedding room and no sign of Declan or his fiancé, he knows he’s too late.
All too familiar with rejection, jilted by his fiancé on his wedding day, and lost, Declan has no idea what comes next. He never imagined he’d be entirely alone after the wedding party leave, or an avalanche would trap him in the hotel over Christmas. And worse? Patrick has shown up, is staying in the hotel with him and won’t leave him alone. Sharing a room with his former best friend is the last thing Declan wants, but maybe this is a sign that he needs to confront the past and move on with his life. But when secrets and truths are revealed, Declan has to make the biggest decision of his life. Is it possible for him to fall out of love with the one man who really holds his heart?
All the books In the Snowed Inn collection are standalone stories and can be read In any order.
More info →A Christmas For Holly
Trapped in a snowstorm, Paul and Lucas find that unresolved feelings from a single, impulsive kiss could spark something deeper, leading them toward the most magical Christmas miracle.
The festive season offers nothing but despair for Paul ‘Holly’ Hollister, the once-proud captain of the Albany Harriers. His hockey career has crumbled, leaving him crippled with anxiety and without a sense of direction. After a stint in rehab, Holly is desperate for peace—something his best friend Kai seems to have found in the snowy town of Wishing Tree. Despite his hatred for the cold, Holly is drawn there by friendship—and by the unsettling dreams of Lucas Haynes, the man he drunkenly kissed at Kai and Bailey’s wedding and hasn’t been able to forget since. The only problem? Lucas is determined to keep him at arm’s length.
Lucas Haynes has never felt a romantic pull toward anyone—until that unexpected kiss with Holly at his brother’s wedding flipped his world upside down. Holly arrives in Wishing Tree, single and adrift, and Lucas can’t deny the attraction that still simmers between them. When a snowstorm traps them together, Lucas’ defenses slowly crumble under Holly’s vulnerability. As secrets come to light, old wounds are reopened, and the undeniable spark between them grows into something more, Lucas starts to wonder if this closeness could be the love he never thought he’d find—and if Holly might get the second chance at happiness he so desperately needs.
A Christmas for Holly is an opposites-attract, hurt / comfort, only one bed, Christmas romance featuring a retired hockey captain with crippling anxiety, a guarded gift store owner grappling with unexpected attraction, unresolved tension from a drunken wedding kiss, a charming small town blanketed in snow, meddling but loving family, and a snowstorm that brings honesty and vulnerability to light—leading to a heartwarming holiday happily ever after.
More info →Baby Makes Three
When baby makes three, Christmas will never be the same for Ten and Jared.
There's not much that Tennant Rowe hasn't accomplished, and all before reaching thirty. Hoisting the Cup, marrying the man of his dreams, and becoming a spokesman for LGBTQ2+ athletes' rights have filled his world with great joy. While his successes on and off the ice have been beyond his wildest expectations, he's now wondering if it's time to add one more tiny addition to his already wonderful life.
Being a dad to Ryker and marrying Ten are the two of the best things in Jared's life, only something is missing. He always wanted more children, but with Ten and the Railers riding a wave of success, how could he even broach the subject of adoption or surrogacy with the man he loves? Jared would give the moon and the stars to his husband, so when Ten reveals his desire to be a father, they start a journey that will fill their Christmas with a new and special kind of love.
More info →Gideon
A snowy cabin with one bed? That’s only the first step toward Gideon falling in love.
Gideon is too old to be fought over at Christmas by divorced parents who should know better. The prospect of a Christmas on his own is better than having to face either of them. When Rowan hires him for a wintery break in Maine, it seems like a safe choice until his PA’s meddling family shows him something entirely new: Love.
Rowan hiring his boss for a trip back to his moms’ place for Christmas sounded like a good idea at the time. Killing two birds with one stone, he can cheer up Gideon and possibly steal a kiss under the mistletoe. After all, he’s been hiding his attraction to the man for years, and maybe with some Christmas magic, he can help Gideon see what is right under his nose.
More info →Cupcakes and Christmas
The story of long nights in a wintry mountain hotel, a baking show with secrets, a snowman called Jeremy, and finding the greatest love of all in this "Bake Off" inspired MM Christmas Romance.
After winning season four of ratings hit the World’s Best Baking Show, Brody Thomas had become a sought-after cake maker to the stars. Happily married, he dreamed of a bright future, but his perfect life imploded when he discovered that his husband had done nothing but lie to him. A year later, Brody is mid-divorce, and his life has been turned upside down, so being part of the WBBS charity event is excellent timing. He’s sure it will give him time away from home and space to get his head straight, only he never expected to meet the man of his dreams in a snowy Alberta.
Winning season one of WBBS gave Justin Mallory a chance to outrun the demons of a childhood lost in the foster system. He’s a social media influencer, with millions of followers, and works every hour to make money that equals security for the rest of his life. His marketing team signs him up for the WBBS Christmas charity show, but he’s convinced he’ll fall at the first hurdle. Only, after a few days in the competition, his worry isn’t that he’ll be the first to leave, it’s that he’ll lose his heart to a rival baker, Brody.
More info →Christmas Lights, An Owatonna U Christmas Novella
Under the Christmas lights strung outside a snowy Minnesota cabin, Ryker and Jacob face a future where nothing will be the same again.
Fortunate timing means that Ryker and Jacob can spend a few days together over Christmas in a cabin on the family farm. What’s better is that Scott and Ben are coming as well, with Hayne and Ethan in tow. Ryker can’t imagine a better way to spend time with the man he loves, and the friends he misses, and somehow he knows that this Christmas will be the best one ever. Hockey on a frozen pond, kisses under Christmas lights, and sharing time with Jacob are the best gifts he could ever receive.
Long distance relationships are brutal, Jacob can attest to that fact. So, when Ryker gets a few days off over the Raptors’ Christmas break, the hard-working Minnesota farmer is beyond thrilled. When they find out that their buddies from Owatonna U. are making the trip as well, the holidays are looking to be just about perfect. Jacob has a question for Ryker burning in his heart, and he isn’t asking for much—just a few fun-filled days with old friends and a yes from the man of his dreams.
More info →
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