The Responsible Adult Series
by C F White
GENRE: M/M contemporary romance
BLURB:
The Responsible Adult series follows bad boy Micky O’Neill as he
attempts to better his life to bring up his disabled little brother. A past
full of juvenile delinquency and living in a small town rife with idle gossip
means Micky struggles to be seen as anything other than a no-hoper from the
wrong side of the tracks... until he takes a job at the local supermarket and
meets his boss, Dan, a university graduate and self-proclaimed shy, awkward
bookworm.
Dan, older and burned from a past relationship, is the one person
who sees through Micky’s tough-guy facade to the true heart underneath. With
fear and mistrust on both sides, the two must steer their way through a
complicated relationship where outside forces are determined to break them up
at every turn.
Responsible Adult is a series about growing up and learning that
love always brings responsibility.
Book One -
Misdemeanor:
Love
isn’t always responsible
After
his mother tragically dies and his deadbeat father goes off the rails,
nineteen-year-old Micky is left to care for his disabled little brother, Flynn.
Juggling
college, a dead-end job and Flynn’s special needs means Micky has to put his
bad-boy past behind him and be the responsible adult to keep his brother out of
care. He doesn’t have time for anything else in his life.
Until
he meets Dan…
Excerpt:
Dan
froze. He couldn’t move. He meant to have walked back out of the locker room as
soon as he’d given Micky the key, but his previously keen legs were now finding
it hard to take him anywhere. It wasn’t so much the body that had him grounded—the
body was an absolute delight in itself, no doubt about that, and it was a close
toss-up as to what Dan had appreciated more today, the apple pie consumed
earlier or the fine specimen of male stripping down to his boxers in front of
him right then.
Micky
had defined muscles with smooth white skin and was stockier than he appeared
with his jumper on. But what had Dan stuck to the floor, mouth gaping in a
shocking display of corporate unprofessionalism, was the large tattoo etched
down Micky’s right side torso. A black Celtic dragon. The triangle point of the
tail started at his hip bone and the rest of the black ink drew out the
sketched mythical beast, ending with a triangle tongue at just above his
pectoral line. It was a work of art and something Dan had never laid eyes on
before. He discovered his eyes quite liked it and didn’t want to look at
anything else ever again.
Micky
caught the stare and shuffled his feet.
Book Two – Hard Time:
Love isn't always responsible.
After Micky O’Neill is remanded in
custody for breaching his court order, his already tempestuous relationship
with Dan Peters is tested to the limits.
Having to battle their way through a
court case that could end with Micky in jail, social workers breaking up the
family home and the return of Micky’s deadbeat father, it seems everything is
set to destroy their relationship before it even has the chance to start.
With such high stakes involved, not
just for Micky but for once-burned, twice-shy Dan, they both have to learn that
falling in love isn’t always responsible.
Excerpt:
“I think you’re right,” Dan said.
Micky glanced up, finally looking
Dan in the eye. Dan smiled and saw the ease of Micky’s shoulders. He nodded at
Flynn.
“Wales would be good for him,” Dan
explained.
Micky peered back to his brother and
watched for a while. He breathed in deeply and scratched at the contents within
his pockets. Dan could practically see the thinking process going on behind his
eyes. He had to bite his tongue not to demand that Micky spill whatever was on
his mind.
“We could go now,” Micky finally
said, still looking out at his brother.
Dan glided the hand ruffling through
Micky’s hair down to his back and let it drift away. He shuffled and searched
his brain for a response. He seriously hoped Micky wasn’t suggesting what he thought
he was. Running now could never be an option. He knew that. Micky would know
that. The question was, he supposed, did Micky really care at this point?
“What?” Dan urged quietly.
“Fuck all this, Dan,” Micky said
more forcefully and scraped his hands out of his trousers to slap down to his
thighs. “Why wait around in fucking limbo, letting other people decide what
happens to me? To him.” Micky waved a hand in Flynn’s general direction and
turned to finally look Dan in the eye. “To us,” he stated poignantly.
“Micky—” Dan cautioned.
“What, Dan?” Micky scorned. “This
place is toxic. For me. For Flynn. I’ve never really understood that until now.
Until you.” Micky twisted to face Dan and glided a thumb across his cheek.
“There’s a shit ton of bad memories on every street corner here. I need to
start fresh. You said you’d always come find me. Or wait for me. But will you
follow me?”
Book Three - Reformed:
Someone has to be responsible.
Micky O’Neill and Dan Peters now
live in Wales, bringing up Micky’s disabled little brother away from
small-minded Heathwood and close to Micky’s deceased mother’s family.
Things are fine…until Dan begins his
dream career as an English teacher at the local school and Micky, main
caregiver to Flynn, is isolated in a village that only serves to remind him of
his mother’s absence.
With Flynn’s health deteriorating
and his needs becoming more complex, everything is tested to its limits and Dan
seeks solace in a friendship with a fellow teacher, sending Micky into further
turmoil.
After an accusation is leveled
against Micky and it seems he’s slipping back into his old ways, he and Dan are
torn asunder. To repair the rift, both have to accept responsibility—for life.
Excerpt:
“I miss you, Dimples.”
Dan exhaled. Which probably sounded
like a hurricane down the phone. At least Micky chuckled.
“I miss you, too, baby.” Dan curled
his hand around the wooden pillar and squeezed, regardless of the splinters it
could cause to his palm. “Real bad.”
“I’m going to get better, Dan. I
promise.”
Dan blinked. Micky sounded like he
was slurring, or that could have been the added distance and crackle of signal
going in and out of range.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m a shit boyfriend. I know I am.
When I get back, I’m going to be better. I swear to fucking God, when Flynn
gets outta here, I’m gonna get my head screwed on.”
Dan stumbled forward down the front
step, doing his utmost to get a better range of signal. Micky’s voice was
garbled and not just because he was pouring his heart out.
“Micky, baby.” Dan sat on one of the
wooden benches and rested his elbows on his knees. He was shaking. He didn’t
like the way Micky was talking.
“And, y’know, screw you good and
proper.”
Dan laughed, but it was drowned out
by the raucous one that wafted from the open pub door when a man popped out to
light up a cigarette. Dan stood and fumbled farther away from the entrance to
the edge of the car park.
“Where are you?”
Dan scrunched up his face. He spun
to look back at the Old Red Lion. He should tell the truth. But something in
Micky’s voice made him twist and bundle farther into the darkened valley.
“At home. Just putting the rubbish
out.”
Dan closed his eyes. There was a
brief pause the other end of the line. Dan’s hand shook as he held the phone to
his ear.
“I love you, Dan. I do. And I’m
sorry.”
“Get home, Micky.” Dan trotted
faster down the valley, heading toward home, not bothering to go back for the
jacket he’d left on the pub chair. “Bring Flynn home. And we’ll talk it all
out.” He practically ran the rest of the way. “I love you, too.”
AUTHOR Bio
and Links:
Brought up in a relatively small town in Hertfordshire, C F White
managed to do what most other residents try to do and fail—leave.
Studying at a West London university, she realised there was a
whole city out there waiting to be discovered, so, much like Dick Whittington
before her, she never made it back home and still endlessly searches for the
streets paved with gold, slowly coming to the realisation they’re mostly paved
with chewing gum. And the odd bit of graffiti. And those little circles of
yellow spray paint where the council point out the pot holes to someone who is
supposedly meant to fix them instead of staring at them vacantly whilst holding
a polystyrene cup of watered-down coffee.
She eventually moved West to East along that vast District Line
and settled for pie and mash, cockles and winkles and a bit of Knees Up Mother
Brown to live in the East End of London; securing a job and creating a life, a
home and a family.
After her second son was born with a rare disability, C F White’s
life changed drastically and brought her pen back to paper after she’d written
stories as a child but never had the confidence to show them to the world. Now,
having embarked on this writing journey, C F White cannot stop. So strap in,
it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Follow C
F White:
NOTE: The first book in the series will be available for $0.99;
the second book in the series will be available for $1.99; the third book in
the series will be released on December 5.
Responsible
Adult Serial
Misdemeanor (Responsible Adult #1) – Pride
Publishing
Hard Time (Responsible Adult #2) - Pride Publishing
Reformed (Responsible Adult #3) - Pride Publishing
St. Cross
Series
Won’t Feel A Thing (Coming 19 December by Loose ID)
The District Line Series (Indie)
The District Line - Amazon
Giveaway:
A signed copy of the first book in the series (US/Europe – other locations will receive a gift card substitute)
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better
your chances of winning.
2 comments:
Thanks so much for hosting!
All of the books sound great.
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