. .
Divorced. Beaten down. A failure. Until a ray of sunshine comes into my life…
People call me Officer Grumpypants, but wouldn’t you be if life kept knocking you down?
My life is an endless sh*t list that I can’t even begin to unravel.
It all started when my parents died.
It continued when I was forced to sell my house.
And it all came to an epic conclusion when my wife walked out on me.
What I need is to get my mind in order and my life back on track.
So when my old commander offers me a job in Mayberry Holm, I grab the opportunity by the balls.
I’m ready to put my head down and my hands to work.
What I wasn’t planning though was becoming pet food for crows by this infuriating little man who throws seeds at my face.
Or being hired to help said man with his new store.
Or having to protect him from a bunch of criminals that prey on his softness and sweetness.
Even though he drives me insane, I can’t stop thinking of him. And even though he’s annoyingly cheerful, I can’t help but smile around him.
Or fantasize about him doing… naughty things to me.
What the hell is happening to me? Am I falling for the young, bubbly, pink-haired man? And is it too late to stop it?
Welcome to Mayberry Holm, a small island in the Atlantic full of crime, secrets and happily-ever-afters, and the ex-Navy SEALs that come to deal with them all.
Title: Mother Parker
Authors: Rhys Everly
Length: 80K
Series: Mayberry Protectors Series, Book 1
Genre: Contemporary, Romantic Suspense, Military Romance.
Heat: 3 out of 5
Release Date: August 1st
Amazon – Kindle Unlimited – All Regions
Goodreads
“We can “We can watch this one if you want. It’s new. Or this one.”
The movies in question were two of The Rock’s newest action flicks.
“What? Just because I’m a big army man means I only watch action movies?” I gave him a sideways glance, and he frowned.
“Well…I didn’t want to assume, but yeah,” he said.
“Well, you’re wrong.”
“I’m glad. So…what do you want to watch?” He offered me the remote, and I stared at it, but I didn’t take it from him.
“Um…anything.”
He elbowed my ribs and smiled.
“Come on. What’s your go-to? I’ll put it on.”
“It’s okay.”
“Why aren’t you telling me?” he asked and dropped the slice he’d just picked up.
“Because you’ll laugh at me.”
“I promise I won’t,” he laughed.
“You’re already laughing.”
I sank farther into the couch and crossed my arms, refusing to let that man get under my skin, even though he looked cute doing it.
“Only because I’m amused by how shy you are about it. Come on. Tell me. Please, please, please.”
He draped a hand over my arm and caressed it with blinking, needy eyes.
“Please!”
Agh, fine.
How could I resist him when he begged me like that.
I grabbed the remote and searched for the show.
“Oh my God. You watch Jane the Virgin to relax?”
“I knew you’d laugh,” I sighed.
“I’m not. I just think that’s the cutest fucking thing ever! But sooo gay! How did you not know until now?”
“You’re dead,” I shouted and attacked him with tickly fingers and kisses while the first episode of Jane played on, which only indicated he’d never watched it.
I ignored the fact and focused on how wonderful his laugh sounded in my ear. Maybe he had already watched it once. It better be because I didn’t know if this relationship would last if he couldn’t stand Jane the Virgin.
Rhys Everly-Lawless is a hopeless romantic who loves happily-ever-afters.
Which would explain why he loves writing them.
When he’s not passionately typing out his next book, you can find him cuddling his dog, feeding his husband, or taking long walks letting those plot bunnies breed ferociously in his head.
He writes contemporary gay romances as Rhys Everly and LGBTQ+ urban fantasy and paranormal romances as Rhys Lawless.
You can find out more about him and his work by joining his Newsletter or his Facebook group, Rhys Everly After.
Connect with Rhys:
Website: https://www.rhyswritesromance.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhyswritesromance
Instagram: @rhyswritesromance
Twitter: @rhyswritesmm
Tiktok: @rhyswritesromance
