Calumet Read online

  Calumet

  Synopsis

  Jaxon Lavigne left the small town of Chackbay, Louisiana, to

  escape disapproving parents and has never looked back.

  She’s now a popular English lit professor. Life is good. Really.

  The only problem is the invite in her mailbox. Who in their

  right mind has a fifteen-year high school reunion?

  Iris Long’s days are predictable. She did the safe thing and

  married the high school quarterback. While her life isn’t a

  grand love affair, it’s comfortable, and as the secretary at

  the local high school, she can see her daughter and son

  throughout the day. Her family is great, but Iris longs for the

  one person she can’t have.

  Jaxon comes back to town amid gossip that started sixteen

  years earlier and never really died down. After crushing on

  Iris in high school, seeing her again is a welcome surprise.

  But it’s Iris’s daughter, Sean, whose dark hair, blue eyes,

  and brilliant mind are startlingly like Jaxon’s own who

  exposes scars from small town secrets.

  Jaxon has been kept in the dark by those she loves most,

  including Iris. But when the truth is finally revealed, will she

  leave for good?

  Praise for Ali Vali

  One More Chance

  “This was an amazing book by Vali…complex and multi-

  layered (both characters and plot).”—Danielle Kimerer,

  Librarian (Nevins Memorial Library, Massachusetts)

  Face the Music

  “This is a typical Ali Vali romance with strong characters, a

  beautiful setting (Nashville, Tennessee), and an enemies-to-

  lovers style tale. The two main characters are beautiful,

  strong-willed, and easy to fall in love with. The romance

  between them is steamy, and so are the sex scenes.”—

  Rainbow Reflections

  The Inheritance

  “I love a good story that makes me laugh and cry, and this

  one did that a lot for me. I would step back into this world

  any time.”—Kat Adams, Bookseller (QBD Books, Australia)

  Double-Crossed

  “[T]here aren’t too many lesfic books like Double-Crossed

  and it is refreshing to see an author like Vali continue to

  churn out books like these. Excellent crime thriller.”—

  Colleen Corgel, Librarian, Queens Borough Public Library

  “For all of us die-hard Ali Vali/Cain Casey fans, this is the

  beginning of a great new series…There is violence in this

  book, and lots of killing, but there is also romance, love, and

  the beginning of a great new reading adventure. I can’t wait

  to read more of this intriguing story.”—Rainbow Reflections

  Stormy Seas

  Stormy Seas “is one book that adventure lovers must

  read.”—Rainbow Reflections

  Answering the Call

  Answering the Call “is a brilliant cop-and-killer story…The

  crime story is tight and the love story is fantastic.”—Best

  Lesbian Erotica

  Lammy Finalist Calling the Dead

  “So many writers set stories in New Orleans, but Ali Vali’s

  mystery novels have the authenticity that only a real Big

  Easy resident could bring. Set six months after Hurricane

  Katrina has devastated the city, a lesbian detective is still

  battling demons when a body turns up behind one of the

  city’s famous eateries. What follows makes for a classic

  lesbian murder yarn.”—Curve Magazine

  Beauty and the Boss

  “The story gripped me from the first page…Vali’s writing

  style is lovely—it’s clean, sharp, no wasted words, and it

  flows beautifully as a result. Highly recommended!”—

  Rainbow Book Reviews

  Balance of Forces: Toujours Ici

  “A stunning addition to the vampire legend, Balance of

  Forces: Toujour Ici is one that stands apart from the rest.”—

  Bibliophilic Book Blog

  Beneath the Waves

  “The premise…was brilliantly constructed…skillfully written

  and the imagination that went into it was fantastic…A

  wonderful passionate love story with a great mystery.”—

  Inked Rainbow Reads

  Second Season

  “The issues are realistic and center around the universal

  factors of love, jealousy, betrayal, and doing the right thing

  and are constantly woven into the fabric of the story. We

  rated this well written social commentary through the use of

  fiction our max five hearts.”—Heartland Reviews

  Carly’s Sound

  “Carly’s Sound is a great romance, with some wonderfully

  hot sex, but it is more than that. It is also the tale of a

  woman rising from the ashes of grief and finding new love

  and a new life. Vali has surrounded Julia and Poppy with a

  cast of great supporting characters, making this an

  extremely satisfying read.”—Just About Write

  Praise for the Cain Casey Saga

  The Devil’s Due “A Night Owl Reviews Top Pick: Cain

  Casey is the kind of person you aspire to be even

  though some consider her a criminal. She’s loyal,

  very protective of those she loves, honorable, big on

  preserving her family legacy and loves her family

  greatly. The Devil’s Due is a book I highly recommend

  and well worth the wait we all suffered through. I

  cannot wait for the next book in the series to come

  out.”—Night Owl Reviews The Devil Be Damned “Ali Vali

  excels at creating strong, romantic characters along

  with her fast-paced, sophisticated plots. Her setting,

  New Orleans, provides just the right blend of

  immigrants from Mexico, South America, and Cuba,

  along with a city steeped in traditions.”—Just About

  Write Deal with the Devil “Ali Vali has given her fans

  another thick, rich thriller…Deal With the Devil has

  wonderful love stories, great sex, and an ample

  supply of humor. It is an exciting, page-turning read

  that leaves her readers eagerly awaiting the next

  book in the series.”—Just About Write The Devil

  Unleashed “Fast-paced action scenes, intriguing

  character revelations, and a refreshing approach to

  the romance thriller genre all make for an enjoyable

  reading experience in the Big Easy…The Devil

  Unleashed is an engrossing reading experience.”—

  Midwest Book Review The Devil Inside “The Devil Inside is

  the first of what promises to be a very exciting

  series…While telling an exciting story that grips the

  reader, Vali has also fully fleshed out her heroes and

  villains. The Devil Inside is that rarity: a fascinating

  crime novel which includes a tender love story and

  leaves the reader with a cliffhanger ending.”—

  MegaScene

  Calumet

  Brought to you by

  eBooks from Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com

  eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or

  given away as it
is an infringement on the copyright of this

  work.

  Please respect the rights of the author and do not file share.

  By the Author

  Carly’s Sound

  Second Season

  Love Match

  The Dragon Tree Legacy The Romance Vote Hell Fire Club in

  Girls with Guns Beneath the Waves Beauty and the Boss

  Blue Skies

  Stormy Seas

  The Inheritance Face the Music

  On the Rocks in Still Not Over You One More Chance A

  Woman to Treasure Calumet

  Call Series Calling the Dead Answering the Call

  Forces Series Balance of Forces: Toujours Ici Battle of

  Forces: Sera Toujours Force of Fire: Toujours a Vous

  Vegas Nights Double-Crossed

  The Cain Casey Saga The Devil Inside The Devil

  Unleashed Deal with the Devil The Devil Be Damned

  The Devil’s Orchard The Devil’s Due Heart of the

  Devil The Devil Incarnate

  Calumet

  © 2021 By Ali Vali. All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN 13: 978-1-63555-901-9

  This Electronic Original Is Published By Bold Strokes Books,

  Inc.

  P.O. Box 249

  Valley Falls, NY 12185

  First Edition: August 2021

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and

  incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are

  used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living

  or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is

  entirely coincidental.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any

  form without permission.

  Credits

  Editors: Victoria Villaseñor and Ruth Sternglantz Production

  Design: Stacia Seaman Cover Design: Tammy Seidick

  eBook Design: Toni Whitaker

  Acknowledgments

  Who remembers their last high school class reunion? My

  class decided our senior year ours had to happen every five

  years. They’re always interesting in that you get to see in

  those increments of time what your fellow classmates have

  done with themselves. Some of them really surprise you.

  Thank you, Radclyffe, for the opportunity to create my own

  version of whatever topic pops into my head. Thank you,

  Sandy, for keeping me on track and for all you do. The BSB

  family is an awesome group to be a part of, so thank you to

  the whole team for your support and hard work. I appreciate

  every one of you.

  Thank you to my awesome editors Victoria Villaseñor and

  Ruth Sternglantz. Vic, thank you for all those lessons. I have

  to admit emotions are a good thing. You and Ruth have

  taught me so much and I appreciate both of you. Tammy

  Seidick, thank you for another awesome cover—I love it.

  Thank you to my first readers, Lenore Beniot, Cris Perez-

  Soria, and Kim Rieff. Your comments, questions, and

  commentary really are always awesome.

  A huge thank you to every reader. There’s no way I would’ve

  ever gotten to thirty without you. You guys send the best

  emails, so every word is written with you in mind.

  Hopefully, we’re one step closer to finally seeing each other

  at different events and catching up. A worldwide pandemic

  was not on my bucket list, but hopefully everyone was in

  good company when the world went quiet. Thanks to C, who

  kept me laughing and sane throughout. There’s a whole

  world out there yet to be explored and I can’t wait to get to

  it. Verdad!

  For C

  and

  all my English teachers through the years

  CHAPTER ONE

  Eager. Gung ho. Voracious. Zealous. Dr. Jaxon Lavigne

  glanced back at her class and saw none of that. They were a

  week into the semester, and most of the students in here

  would be free not only for the coming spring but for the rest

  of their lives once they graduated. The key phrase was if

  they graduated. For a few of the overly unmotivated, reality

  meant putting off graduation until the end of May or facing

  her again in the summer.

  “Remember, people.” She put her chalk down and turned

  after writing out the instructions on the board. “There will be

  weekly assignments, and no, they are not worth eighty

  percent of your grade. Your midterm and final will count for

  enough to pull you out of the hole some of you have already

  started diligently digging, so might I suggest you moderate

  your drinking and read.”

  They were awake enough to laugh and lift their heads

  from their various electronics so they could ask questions.

  As seniors they’d lost that shyness most college freshman

  had at the very beginning, which made for a better

  experience as a teacher. This was the reason she’d become

  an educator. It was a bug she’d caught in high school when

  she sat in Miss Landry’s class, enraptured in the new world

  she’d introduced her to. All those books she’d read and

  found escape in were stories she wanted to share with her

  students, and she hoped they’d be as passionate about

  them.

  “Time’s up,” she said when she looked at the clock by

  the door. “Don’t forget the assignment and my office hours.

  Hopefully there’ll be a vast improvement from last semester

  when I saw no one. If you follow that path, I’ll have no

  choice but to believe you know all this stuff and don’t need

  a grading curve on exams. If you need anything, stop by,

  but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to listen to you beg if you

  haven’t done the work. We should get that out there right

  off.”

  “Still a hard-ass.” Dr. Robert Butler was waiting outside

  her classroom and shook his head as she shouldered her

  bag. “If anyone needs to find all the beautiful people on

  campus, someone should send them here. The sexy

  teachers attract all the sexy students.”

  “Have you always been this hilarious?” She lifted her

  hand to flick Bert in the head, but he moved too fast for her

  to make contact.

  They’d been friends since the third grade when the new

  kid with the whitest sneakers she’d ever seen had come up

  and introduced himself. Bert was her best friend and had

  followed her from that small town in Louisiana to LSU when

  she got a scholarship to play softball, then on to UCLA

  where she’d gotten her master’s and doctorate. That felt

  like a lifetime ago, and they were still at UCLA, only now

  they were faculty. Bert had received his doctorate in math a

  year before she’d finished, and she loved that she saw him

  every day.

  “You know you’re a superstar. Most of those girls sit in

  there and talk about Billy Shakespeare only so they can

  undress you with their eyes.” Bert pushed his glasses up

  more out of habit than their needing adjustment.

  “Billy Shakespeare?” She laughed and stepped outside. It

  was sunny and warm, but nothing like summers back home

  where the humidity alone would make you contemplate

  moving to Antarctica. “Thank God you understand calcul
us,

  buddy.”

  “What are your big plans for tonight?” Bert was

  successful in his career, but that luck hadn’t translated into

  his dating life, so he often turned to her for company.

  “There’s a showing of Pride and Prejudice at that place close

  to my house.”

  “Let me check with Margot, but that sounds good.” They

  walked three buildings over and she let him enter first. Her

  office was on the second floor, and the department head

  was on the first. Dr. Ian Hadley was in his late sixties but still

  loved being in the classroom, and he loved the staff he’d

  put together. Jaxon was just glad to be part of his team.

  “Please promise Margot’s not going to try to set me up

  again. I love your girlfriend to death, but she has horrible

  taste in men. Not that I mind going out with good-looking

  actors, but all that last guy wanted to do was comb my

  chest hair.”

  “Do you have chest hair?” she teased him, and it earned

  her a slap to her arm. “And of course Margot has terrible

  taste in men. That’s a big duh.”

  “Well, I need her to start refining her talent. You found

  someone wonderful, and I have a magnet for weirdos.”

  “Come on, if I had chest hair, I’d like someone to comb

  it.”

  “You don’t have chest hair? I find that shocking, Dr.

  Lavigne.”

  “Shut up and keep Viola company in case some of my

  students show up.” Her assistant, Viola Morehouse, blew her

  a kiss when she walked in and followed up with one for Bert.

  “I’m sure there’ll be a few sick grandmothers who need their

  attention, so they can’t be blamed for their apparent

  laziness at the end of the semester.”

  “I fell for that shit the first year I was here.” Bert shook

  his head and dropped into the chair across from her desk.

  “The imagination of the young. It’s entertaining but also

  annoying.” She flipped on the coffee maker Margot had

  gotten her and set up two cups. “Are you getting your car

  back soon?” Her mornings this week had started earlier than

  usual since she’d had to make time to pick Bert up. “Buying

  a new car isn’t a sin, you know.”

  “But I love my car.”

  “It is a step up from the purple Gremlin you had in high