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.
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Excerpt
1
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 ownthoughts.
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 goodwine.
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 notwell?”
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 ahorse.”
“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!!**
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!!**
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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