All The Years We've Waited Debut Novel by Summer Rae!

[SummerRae]

ALL THE YEARS WE'VE WAITED by Summer Rae will be released on Amazon on June 1st, 2024!

BOOK INFO:

A poignant, romantic tale of two childhood lovers, their hearts entwined in a delicate dance of hope and longing. Finally, they discover the depth of their love for each other, as one of them bravely decides to stop waiting and start living.
Samantha McDevot and Jacob Michaelson have been close friends since they were babies, growing up as best friends on farms situated on the outskirts of Jim Thorpe, PA. Though they tried to make a romantic relationship work when they were young, it didn't pan out, and they went their separate ways. Fast forward to the present, and
Jacob can't shake the feeling that there might be something more between them. On the other hand, Samantha has been ignoring her feelings for him for years. Jacob is persistent and patient despite her reservations, showing her unconditional love and begging for forgiveness as they explore the possibility of a future together.
The question remains: will Samantha be able to let go of her doubts and fears and take a chance on true love with the man she's dreamed about for as long as she can remember?

Story Snippet - Chapter 1:

SAMANTHA, assistance on aisle 8,” Laura, my store supervisor, blares over the loudspeaker of the market. I found my sorry ass working after I ditched college. I dreamed of becoming a business major to help my parents with the farm, but I quickly learned that attending school after school was not all it was cracked up to be. It was lonely, depressing, and stressful as all hell. I’ve been working at the Jim Thorpe Market ever since. I am going on what? Six years now? What the fuck am I doing with my life?
Rounding the corner of aisle eight, I see Mrs. Stewart standing on her tiptoes in her dusty brown orthotic shoes, bracing herself as best she could with her cane, about to slip. This woman thinks she’s invincible, doesn’t she? She is 78 years old, acting like she exists in the body of an able 20-year-old. She could slip and break a hip with the slightest movement. Rushing over so that doesn’t happen, I ask her what she needs today.
“Sweetie, can you help me get a full box of condensed milk off the top shelf again?” Mrs. Stewart is the sweetest old lady I’ve ever met. She’s a retired widow with four wonderful sons, two of whom work as ranch hands on our farm. She, like everyone else, is from here. She married someone from here and had kids with that same man. They lived happily ever after until Randall passed away a year and a half ago. Mrs. Stewart is here almost weekly, buying everything stocked in aisle 8, also known as the baking aisle. She often sends her goodies to the ranch when her sons visit.
“What're you baking today, Mrs. Stewart?” I exclaim with an excited smile and a gleam in my eye. Everything this woman bakes is lovely. With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, I get excited because Mrs. Stewart will deliciously deliver on every baked good that makes it to the farm.
“Oh dear, you know I can’t tell you that. It’d ruin the surprise,” she says with a mischievous smile as crow's feet make themselves known around her emerald green eyes.
“Can I count on the usual pecan and pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving and then the peppermint bark and reindeer pretzel cookies for Christmas? As long as those are part of your baking spread for this year's holiday season, I don’t think anyone could make me happier.” I say with a giant toothy grin.
“Well, honey, I guess you’ll just have to wait and see,” she says slyly as I hand her the entire box of condensed milk. She winks and walks away without another word to continue her hunt for the ingredients she uses every year. She’s an intelligent woman. She shops and stocks up yearly to bypass the holiday crowd. Something I’ll be considering if I ever start a family. At this moment in time, though, not likely…
As I walk away and head back toward aisle 5 to continue stocking the chips, I catch a glimpse of what I am pretty sure is Jacob Michaelson through the shelves as I approach the end cap of aisle 4. I’d recognize that shaggy brown hair, sun-kissed skin, and worn black cowboy hat anywhere. I quickly backtracked about five steps and slammed right into Laura's chest. As a whoosh of wind leaves my lungs, she squeaks and falls straight into the free-standing chocolate chip cookie cardboard display full of individual packs of those delicious and addictive treats. Everything happens so fast as those very same individual blue and red cookie wrappers take flight, and all I can say is, “Oh. My. God.” As I rush to her side and attempt to heave her up, I get her feet; my foot catches a blue wrapper with a crunch and a swish, and just like in the movies, my feet fly up, and my ass hits the ground hard, again knocking the wind from my lungs. At this point, I give up on life entirely because guess who comes flying around the corner of aisle 5 with a worried look on his face?
Catching a glimpse of those ocean-like blue eyes, my fears are confirmed. It’s one hundred percent Jacob. Fucking. Michaelson.
As soon as Jacob sees me on the ground, I groan and throw my arm over my eyes. I lay there and just let him take in the disaster who is me. If I remove my arm from my eyes right now, I am 100% going to die. I will die in the middle of the market floor from utter embarrassment. Why am I so clumsy? Why do I find myself in these situations, and why do they always happen when Jacob is there? I don’t understand what happens to my common sense the moment I set eyes on the man. It’s like I turn from a robust and well-spoken woman into a flopping largemouth bass freshly hooked and plucked from the river. And fuck me if this isn’t one of those instances.
It took me a moment, but I finally realized again that I was at work and on the floor, causing a traffic jam. I wrenched my arm from my face and tried to stand up. Before I knew it, Jacob attempted to catch me under my arm to help me up. At this exact moment, I’ve officially decided that the almighty Lord has it out for me when it concerns this man. Jacob also slips on a pack of cookies, sending us both back to the ground, all 6’3” of him crashing down on top of me.
I have somehow managed to cause a disastrous accident consisting of a three-body pile-up with scattered cookie debris right in the middle of this damn store. Lord, take me, please take me now. I recite over and over in my head until Jacob's warm body finally lifts from mine. Before helping me up again, he kicks the disheveled mess far away from Laura and me before helping us both up.
Once we’re successfully up and I have my mind under control, I quietly say, “Thank you. These cookies might have suffered an even more terrible fate if not for you.”
He snickers and does that devilish side grin that melts my heart and says, “I don’t know, Sam; it seems like they’ve seen better days.”
I laugh out loud and ask, “Are you here for your usual energy drink and chips? If you are, give me a second to clean up this cookie massacre, and I can get you a brand-new bag out of the box. I was stocking them before being called to help Mrs. Stewart with her condensed milk addiction.”
“Yeah, that’d be awesome,” he says with a shy smile, almost as if biting back the snarky comments since my boss is likely staring daggers through the back of my skull right now.
Like that, I turned on my heel to gather the broom to clean up my most monumental disaster to date and ran right into Laura’s chest—again. This time, though, she felt like a brick wall. She put her hands on my shoulders and called for Owen to clean up and get Jacob a bag of chips so I could meet her in her office immediately.
Laura is someone I’d consider one of my best friends. I’ve always seemed to attract camaraderie from the older crowd. I don’t know. Maybe it’s because my tastes in music, morals, love, and just about anything else you could think of is something one would consider “older.” Or it could be the fact that I’ve always been told I look older than I am.
She is 32 years old compared to my measly 25. Without fail, anytime we’re out together, at least one drunk is trying to make a pass at us, slurring, “You two could be sisters.”
Sitting in Laura’s office, she looks at me with those curious brown eyes and a wry smile on her full red lips, her short bobbed hair swaying around her perfectly round face as she tilts her head toward me. I already know what’s coming. She knows so much about me; our eyes look so similar that sometimes I feel like she is looking directly into my soul, reading my mind. She knows Jacob and I have a past and believes I’ve been hiding my feelings for him. I don’t have feelings for Jacob. I have much hatred for that stupidly hot cowboy. She is correct if those are the feelings she’s referring to. Just because I think he is pretty doesn’t mean I am supposed to like him. She often tells me I’m in denial at least twice a week for the last month because we have some massacre of goods every time Jacob comes into the store. Last time, a stack of magazines was scattered across the checkout counter while I rang up his groceries. The time before that, I dropped an entire jug of lemonade and slipped. This time just happened to be cookies, and Jacob happened to eat shit right along with us. I feel like Laura enjoys watching the universe assault me like this.
I lean over, place my elbows on my knees, put my palms to my eyes, and breathe a heavy, labored breath. All the while, I still feel Laura’s gaze on me and can hear the impatient tapping of her petite foot on the tile floor. She is much more fierce and assertive than I am, so I’m surprised she hasn’t said anything. She probably hasn’t because I already know what she will say. This time, though, what comes out of her mouth is not what I expected.
“Come out with me tonight. The annual holiday festivities are about to commence with the 41st Annual Fall Bonfire. Why don’t you come with me? There will be lots of free food; you could use a night out. You could also probably use some liquid courage to talk to Jacob about how you feel; he’ll be there,” she says with a wink.
My head snaps up quickly as a whip, “I… I don’t…” Laura stops my stammering by musing, “I don’t want to hear that you don’t feel anything for him. I’ll pick you up at 8. See you tonight,” she says as she waves, dismissing me.
The rest of the day was an absolute drag. Luckily, nothing else happened at the store, and the day continued as usual—probably because Jacob didn’t make another appearance. Thank the Lord. The clock finally chimed at 3 in the afternoon. I hung my apron in the employee break room and dashed out the employee exit to my car. Sitting in my car, I can’t help thanking the Lord that it was Friday and my parents were leaving for a 2-week vacation in a few days. Silence and relaxation are most welcome. I put my car in drive, turn off the music, roll down the windows, and leave myself to the never-ending thoughts running through my head.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hello there, readers!

Allow me to officially introduce myself - Summer Rae, the next aspiring romance author on the block. From a young age, my love for storytelling has been unwavering, and now, I stand on the brink of fulfilling my childhood dream as I release my debut novel, "All The Years We've Waited." Beyond my writing pursuits, I juggle various roles in life – as a 28-year-old mother with a supportive spouse, two adorable kids, and a penchant for embracing every adventure that comes our way. Whether we're diving into sports or simply keeping busy, one thing's for sure - dull moments are a rarity in our household!

The Bookery Bees Editing Co. was founded in March 2024 by myself, my editor, Cheyanne Renteria, and book advisors Alicia Smith, Taylor Jenkins, and Christine Smith. We aim to release collaborative works of art by turning our romantic fantasies, dreams, and ideas into beautifully written novels. We are a close group of women who consider ourselves the Worker Bees behind the scenes, writing the words that eventually turn into honey through lots of hard work, time, and love. We hope that you enjoy everything we pour our heart and soul into!

It's truly amazing to see your work positively impact the lives of so many. I’ve done that through a Mommy Blog, NotSoHotMom.com, that I started back in May of 2023, a year after a mental meltdown that almost took my life. Struggling with mental health myself, I've made it my mission to help moms and others navigate the challenges of life and parenthood by sharing my personal story. I've created a safe space for individuals to find support and encouragement on their journey, and the impact has been indescribable!


BOOK LINK:

https://www.amazon.com/All-Years-Weve-W ... 338&sr=1-1