Blog Tour Review
The Fall
by
Kate Stewart
~ Synopsis ~
Dallas
He was the beginning of my heart . . . and the
end of it.
I was only fifteen years old when he claimed it
and twenty when he took it with him.
They say what is meant to be will find a way.
But when you have changed to the point of no return, how can anything ever be
the same?
Seven years later, Dean Martin waltzed back into
my life in hopes of resuming what I had fought so hard to forget, but he was in
for a wake-up call.
I was no longer the naïve woman he had left . .
. and I was no longer his.
I met the love of my life and my soul mate when
I was fifteen. I knew that; he knew that. He wanted that girl back. I wanted to
forget she ever existed.
Dean
What I thought was my pre-destined path was very
much an illusion. Living seven years with regret, I realized too late that I
was broken, and that I only had myself to blame.
I thought love could wait . . . but it didn’t.
We’d had it all those years ago, and then I
foolishly left it behind.
She was all that mattered. She was all there
ever was.
There was no life without Dallas, no reason . .
. except her.
No matter how hard she tried to convince me, I
knew I had to once again make her mine, to make her remember . . . the fall.
It was three long years before I heard three
words that would forever change me. I was walking across campus toward the
Marshall Hall building when the voice sounded. “Dean, Dean Martin?” A smile was
already on my lips as I looked in the direction of the voice. Dallas’s laugh
was unmistakable as she walked toward me. What I wasn’t expecting was the mere
sight of her would leave me scrambling to regain basic fucking motor function.
My smile quickly faded as she flew at me in a hug. All the breath left my body
as I inhaled her scent. I gripped her to me tightly as she laughed and hugged
me back. When she pulled away, my arms were still securely around her. I knew I
had to be grinning like an idiot as she beamed back at me.
“How the hell are you?” she asked, a little Texas
twang in her voice.
“Better now,” I said, still refusing to let her
out of my grasp.
We spent a little longer than we should in our
embrace, neither of us willing to pull away from the other. In that instant, I
felt the pain of missing her ease slightly. My chest tightened at the return of
a familiar stir.
It was just that damned easy.
“Let me look at you. Damn ...” My voice was
hoarse as I let her go to take her in. She was wearing tight jeans, knee high,
rider boots and a tight fitting red sweater. I took in every curve as I
whistled slowly.
“I know.” She waggled her eyebrows up then down
and did a little turn for the full effect. She was a far cry from the skinnier
version I left. She had a small amount of curve on her hips and her long legs
remained one of her best assets. This was no longer the tempting Lolita that I
had left. This was the young woman I had always pictured but even more
beautiful than I could have imagined.
“Still dressing like every day is a Sunday at
church,” she said, poking fun of my clothes, as usual.
“I don’t hear anyone else complaining,” I pointed
out, still overwhelmed with the sight of her in front of me. “And you are still
a pain in the ass,” I noted as she laughed.
“You have no idea. So did you miss me, Dean?”
“You know the saying ‘Don’t know what you got
till it’s gone?’ Well, I can’t stand most of the girls at this school,” I assured
her.
“Well, don’t tell me the infamous Dean Martin has
changed his ways,” she teased.
“No, I still sleep with them. I just run like
hell after,” I chuckled. “Anyway, what about you?”
“What about me?” she asked her eyes meeting mine.
I let them stray and sweep down her body slowly bringing them back to her.
“Dean, you wouldn’t be checking me out, would you?”
“Yes, I absolutely fucking am,” I said pointedly,
giving her pause. She gave me a wary glance as she looked around campus. She
seemed more relaxed than when I had left her, more comfortable in her own skin.
Her confidence radiated off her in waves. My mind drifted back to the kiss I
had left her with as I studied the slow curve of a smile forming on her lips.
We quickly made up for lost time and spent the
rest of the day stuck together, holding hands and laughing as I gave her a full
tour of campus. I was on my last year and would be leaving for Columbia next
fall and I was again a senior to her freshmen. I refused to dwell on that. I
felt completely relaxed for the first time since I had left her three years
ago.
We were inseparable our first few weeks of school
as we stayed busy, getting reacquainted. When we were not in class, we spent
our nights either on the phone, walking on campus, going to parties, or hanging
out at my frat house. My friends seemed to like her right away, a little too
much for my liking. I caught their hungry eyes on her and glared at them openly
as they shot a game of pool at the table in what was supposed to be our dining
room. The minute her back was turned, I was bombarded with the inevitable
question of who she was to me.
There was no mistaking my straight answer to
Casey, the newest member of my fraternity. “Don’t even fucking look at her,” I
barked.
“Okay, bud, all right,” he said, backing away to
grab the pool stick from Rob—another brother who was a senior—and eyed Dallas
suspiciously. It wasn’t common practice for me to bring girls back to the house
other than to my bedroom. I had fallen into a bad habit my first few years at
school but had slacked since then, concentrating more on my grades.
New York was a whisper away, but Dallas...Dallas
was here.
I watched her work the table as she made herself
comfortable, shooting off her shit talk at my frat buddies, who happily obliged
her. They were impressed, especially Casey.
Casey was notorious on campus, easily one of the
biggest players. He had absolutely no good intentions when it came to the
opposite sex and though I wasn’t one to preach, he had a rather tasteless way
of discarding the affections of his women. He was doing his best to impress her
and she seemed to notice, humoring him.
Rob was the next to ask, stepping up and handing
me a beer. “What’s the deal?” He asked as he eyed Dallas’s perfect ass as she
took a shot and made the eight ball, winning the game. She looked up at me with
her knowing smile. She was so fucking beautiful. I cursed my stupidity in
bringing her to the house.
“The deal is any woman I bring into this house is
off limits,” I said through clenched teeth. Rob laughed as he eyed me. “Dude,
that’s not exactly fair. I don’t think any of us would get anywhere that way,”
he said loudly. I ignored him and grabbed Dallas’s hand.
“Nice game,” I said, giving her a wink and
pulling her toward the door. The guys frowned as if I was taking away their
shiny new toy.
“Bye,” Dallas said quickly as I pulled her out of
the house.
“Oh, come on, Dean. You aren’t going to pull the
same old shit you did in high school.” She raised a brow. I took a step toward
her.
“No, this will be different. I promise.” Before
she could question me, I swept her in my arms and hauled ass down the steps of
the massive front porch of the house.
“What the hell are you doing?” She laughed as I
ran like a lightning streak toward the quad. “Getting you somewhere safe.
Couldn’t you smell it in there?” I said, running faster as she laughed.
“Smell what?” she asked, her voice choppy as I
kept my legs moving.
“Your pregnancy,” I answered, slowing to a halt.
She rolled her eyes as she jumped from my arms.
“They were just curious,” she said, giving me a
pointed stare. “I’m sure you don’t bring girls home often to meet the parents,
am I right?”
I smirked.
“Whore,” she said without affection. I pushed her
down on the grass as she yelped out in protest, flailing her arms before giving
in to the inevitable.
“You ass!” she said testily as she wiped grass
from her sweater but stayed seated.
“Oh Dallas, always trying to bring out the angry
Spaniard in me,” I teased as I joined her on the grass.
She chuckled. “Truth hurts.”
The night was surprisingly cool for early
September in Texas. I looked over at her, memorizing the perfect outline of her
face, the way her silky hair cascaded down her shoulders and swirled around her
as the breeze lifted it. She smiled at me and the unmistakable jolt shot
through me, the effect the same. This time, I didn’t fight it.
“It’s not like that anymore,” I said in an
attempt to reassure her. I grabbed a stray hair away from her face and tucked
it behind her ear. She sobered up a bit, her smile slowly fading.
“Not what I heard,” she said, hugging her knees
to her chest, averting her eyes. She wasn’t being confrontational, and I knew
that. “They don’t call you the Spanish slut this time,” she said with no humor
in their voice.
“Oh yeah, what do they call me?” I said, nudging
her, hoping to lighten the mood.
“Dean,” she said looking straight into my eyes.
Fuck if I didn’t want to kiss her right at the most inappropriate moment. I
didn’t want to aid in what she already probably thought of me. I had wanted to
kiss her so many times in the past few weeks but had held back for this very
reason.
“You do them a disservice, you know,” she said
thoughtfully as she played with the blades of grass, not looking at me.
“What do you mean?” I asked, plucking a piece of
grass between my fingers.
“Letting them think that’s all you are good for.
They never get to know you. It’s sad.”
I laughed. “They objectify me?”
She looked at me seriously. “Yes, they do.” That
wiped the smile off my face.
“Dallas, I told you a long time ago, I don’t care
about that shit, never will.”
“No, I guess not,” she said, perking up with a
smile I knew wasn’t genuine. “I mean you are the big man on campus again. And
what the hell is up with that frat chair in there, anyway?”
“It’s my throne,” I said defensively.
She rolled her eyes. It grew darker as the lamp
lights came on around us, our faces covered in shadows. We enjoyed a few
minutes of silence before she spoke up.
“Tell me about Columbia,” she prodded. “You are
so close,” she encouraged.
“I can’t wait,” I said honestly. “My parents took
me to New York when I was ten. I just remember being excited the entire time. I
loved the semi-organized chaos. The noise, the culture clash, it was palpable,
you know. Even then at that age, I could feel it, and it was everywhere. At
least that’s the way I remembered it. I made my decision then, I wanted to be
there and Columbia was a big heap of icing on the cake. My father and I spent
hours going over my game plan. He always loved the idea of Columbia, especially
when I told him I wanted to be a doctor. All these years later, I haven’t
changed my mind. I’ve been back a few times since to check out the campus, look
at housing, I still love it. Have you been?”
I hadn’t realized she was watching me closely, a
small smile on her lips. “No, my parents and I vacationed a lot, but mostly to
Colorado and then California to see my aunt and uncle. We never really made it
out east.”
“It’s incredible and nothing like it is here. It
makes our corner of the world seem so small. There is so much potential
bursting out of it. I think you’d love it.”
“Maybe...probably,” she said, lost in thought.
“Then again, you are a true Texan. So damn proud
to be from this fucking state with no plans of ever leaving,” I teased. “Even
your name suits you.”
Before she could attack me for that, I lifted her
to her feet. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.”
“Are you going to do this every night?” she asked
as she leaned in close and I played with the tips of her long hair as I trailed
my fingers down her back, pulling her closer to me. “Maybe, if you want me to.”
“Hmmm, kind of a boyfriend type thing to do,
isn’t it?” I avoided her question, leading with mine.
“Coming to my toga party tomorrow night?”
“Maybe,” she said, glancing my way with a smile.
“You should, Dallas.”
“Why is that?”
“’Cause I will be there,” I said, slowing to a
stop at her dorm.
She turned to me playfully. “Oh, well, when you
put it that way, meh...and change clothes would you, you look like a bible
salesmen.” She hurried up the steps as she chuckled.
“Just come, okay? We can tilt a few beers back
and I want to talk to you.”
“About what?” she asked as I admired her from the
bottom of the steps. She had on a sweater dress that outlined her curves
perfectly and tight black leggings that I dreamt of ripping off her all day.
“There’s just something I want to talk to you
about.” She heard the hint of seriousness in my voice. “It’s important.”
“Okay, I’ll be there.”
~ Links to Buy ~
~ Review ~
What a read! This book had it all, young unrequited love, angst, family, heartbreak, and a second chance at love. If you love books that make you feel than you definitely need to read this book.
Dean and Dallas a/k/a Dally were comical and times and at others I just wanted to shake them both. Their intentions were good but they just had different ways of dealing with their past that made getting on the same page a bit more difficult.
I never felt any wavering in their love but I could understand the reluctance on Dallas' part to let herself "fall" for Dean all over again. Their love was all consuming and she didn't want to leave herself open to the possibility of him hurting her again.
That's not to say that Dallas wasn't at fault for any of their struggles. The secrets that she chose to keep hidden from Dean made it more difficult for herself in the long run. Guilt is a very heavy burden to bear and it's even harder to forgive when the person you need to forgive is yourself.
The family dynamic in this story is very touching. I felt like part of family. The secondary characters where just as important to the story as Dean and Dallas. Rose and Grant were a breath of fresh air and Beatrice....ha, never missed a beat. I loved her mothering and her ability to see right through Dallas and her excuses.
I enjoyed the way in which Kate told the story, alternating between past and present from both Dean and Dallas' point of view. Their journey may have been a long one but the end result was well worth the trip. I will be looking forward to the next installments in this series which will focus on Grant and Rose.
~ Rating ~
~ About the Author ~
Kate
Stewart, a native of Dallas, now resides in Charleston, S.C. She moved to the
city three weeks after her first visit, dropping her career of 8 years,
declaring the city her creative muse. Since her move in 2010, she has published
two novels, the third coming July 2015. She lives with her husband of 8 years,
Nick who is featured on the cover of the novel, TITAN. (Set to re-release some
time in 2015.)
Her other novels include Room 212, Never
Me, and Loving the White Liar which are all available
now.
~ Connect with Kate ~
