Legacy Series by Rain Carrington

My name is McCully Blaylock. This first story you are about to read is mine. Well, it ain’t mine alone. It’s about the family I come from. It might be a little worse than yours, or it might be better. There’s no telling. With people so obsessed with looking up their family trees, this story and the others to follow may be a good warning to rethink that. Things you may find will leave a mark... moreMy name is McCully Blaylock. This first story you are about to read is mine. Well, it ain’t mine alone. It’s about the family I come from. It might be a little worse than yours, or it might be better. There’s no telling. With people so obsessed with looking up their family trees, this story and the others to follow may be a good warning to rethink that. Things you may find will leave a mark. Sure, you might see that you inherited your blue eyes from your great-grandmother, or that weird hairline from your great-great grandfather, but it’s the things that aren’t physical that can define you. You can’t help what happened a hundred years before you were born, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have to pay the price for them, if your ancestors didn’t. This series of stories is about these things, things that happened way back when and the men and women who must clean up after them or learn to live with them now. Our stories are connected, each linking to the next. Like a puzzle, only there ain’t no way to solve it all. Only little bits of it, like getting the outer edge done and missing all the insides. What does happen, though, is that good does come outta all this. When those struggling with the past meet in the present, they pool their strength to be able to face whatever comes. Love does conquer all, even the things that seem like there is no way to beat them. Love, friendship and family, a family of your choosing more than one that you were cursed to be born into. So, sit back and take in my tale. I thought it was just about the worst thing I could think of until I found out about the rest. Now I feel akin to other people, simply because we all have one thing in common. Our ancestors are real dicks. **** To live under the looming shadow of men who not only fought alongside legends, but were legends themselves, if only in their families. That’s what we deal with in the new series, Legacy. The first story on this journey is about the man who introduced himself above, McCully Blaylock. Mac, as everyone calls him, is a timid man who worked his family’s ranch his entire life. When his father died, leaving massive debt, he is sure he’ll have to sell off the land that had been his family’s for generations. His father had secrets, which Mac is starting to see, with the help of his brother, sister-in-law and a man who they sent to Mac to help him figure out what to do with the place. Leo Glover comes into his life like a twister across the prairie. He inserts himself into Mac’s life, frustrating him, but manages to bring out something long hidden. Mac’s own strength. As he finds the truth of what was buried in his family’s past, Mac deals with it the best he can. Unable to sell the land, Leo suggests something unheard of in their part of Texas, but it’s something that can breathe new life into the ranch and the small town struggling nearby. This is the first story, but they are all connected. It will take the combined efforts of the whole group to get through some of the trials thrown at these men, but with a little laughter, a lot of love and passion, they get through what was placed in their hands by people who came before them. These are men determined to be better than those that came before them, and to make their own legacy. less

My name is Matthew Whitehouse, though everybody calls me Matt. This second story is mine, but like my cousin Mac, it’s not mine alone. I come from a big family, bigger than most. I used to think that was great. I loved having over thirty brothers and sisters. There was always someone to play with, and I never got lonely as a kid. I loved having more than one mom because if one wouldn’t sneak me a freshly baked sugar cookie, another one would... moreMy name is Matthew Whitehouse, though everybody calls me Matt. This second story is mine, but like my cousin Mac, it’s not mine alone. I come from a big family, bigger than most. I used to think that was great. I loved having over thirty brothers and sisters. There was always someone to play with, and I never got lonely as a kid. I loved having more than one mom because if one wouldn’t sneak me a freshly baked sugar cookie, another one would. I even loved my daddy, until I found out what kind of man he really was. My family isn’t what most see as normal. See, my daddy and his before him, claimed to be prophets. They claimed to speak to Our Heavenly Father, and He told them to do things, things like marrying a lot of wives and having a lot of kids. That, well, I could have believed it once, maybe, but the other things God supposedly told them, I don’t believe, and never will. It took me getting out to see into what I’d been born into and lived with for the first big part of my life. Outside looking in, that is where you need to be to see the truth. Truth hurts, it’s hard to take, but it’s only when we face it that we can start to heal. I’m not saying to hate the family you were born into, but I am saying to keep one eye open while you enjoy them. Don’t believe everything they say, no matter if God is telling them to say it or not. I had to come to terms with the bad my family was doing, and I had to stop it. It almost got me killed. As Mac said, we in these books have a lot in common. We had to overcome what they did, try to fix it, or live with it the best we could. Read this story, and believe it or not, it’s my life. I found the good on the other side of it, but it was one heck of a struggle to get there. **** Matt Whitehouse needed help, but he had no idea whom he could ask. Everyone on the polygamist compound where he was raised was under the control of the prophet, who happened to be Matt’s own father. It was his father that saved him, though Matt was sure that wasn’t his intention. A warning to a cousin who was far removed from his polygamist family sent people that would become the most important in Matt’s life. Steve Ricci lived in a home in the middle of nowhere, still licking the wounds of a near-fatal gunshot in the line of duty when he was a US Marshal. When Mac Blaylock got a call, warning him to ignore any plea for help from his distant cousin, Matt, the first thing Mac did was to send help. His partner, Leo, sent an old friend and former FBI agent, Stacy Woo, to find Matt, which she did, beaten nearly to death. A mutual friend sent Stacy and Matt to Steve to hide out in his home from those trying to kill Matt, including members of Matt's own family. The only safe place for a thousand miles was Steve’s home, and when he agreed to let the two stay with him, the hard-edged woman and beaten man, he knew his life would change forever. Matt’s heartbreak was worse than his wounds. Unable to give in to his sorrow, his goal was to free those who had no way to free themselves. Not that he ever wanted to ask for help, he needed Stacy and Steve, and the two used every resource they had to jump into the fray with him. In Steve, Matt found not only a savior but a man who needed him too. less

​I’m Ian, and this is my story. Like the others, I have a legacy. I was raised with the best of everything, one of the riches kids I knew. That isn’t the legacy, however. That is to be a part of something I didn’t want, and never asked for it’s tearing me apart, but I can fight it. With some help, I can fight it. Meeting Pat Castaldo, the hot, muscled FBI agent was the beginning of a life I thought was ending... more​I’m Ian, and this is my story. Like the others, I have a legacy. I was raised with the best of everything, one of the riches kids I knew. That isn’t the legacy, however. That is to be a part of something I didn’t want, and never asked for it’s tearing me apart, but I can fight it. With some help, I can fight it. Meeting Pat Castaldo, the hot, muscled FBI agent was the beginning of a life I thought was ending. I am terrified I’ll get him killed, and others, if I can’t stand up to my father and the other men that make up the terrible secret society. My family has been members for hundreds of years, and it was supposed to be passed to me. I don’t want it, but I took it, and I took it to end them once and for all. In the middle of all this, I am falling in love. That was a surprise, and one that possibly terrifies me more than the Gilded Grail. This could hurt, and I could get this beautiful man killed, along with a lot of others if I fail. My money may be able to solve some of my troubles, but there is much more that it can’t. I’ve never had to be brave or fight for anything. This is my fight, though, and I will win. I’ll win it for my friends, for humanity and, maybe most of all, I’ll win it for Pat. Raised in wealth most could only dream of, Ian Andrews III didn’t know another way of life existed until he went to college and learned about the world. There he met friends and came down from his palace to try to be like everyone else, but he had too much money to achieve that. When he was set to finish graduate school, his father took him on a trip to learn the destiny that had been chosen for him. He would become a member of the Gilded Grail, a secret society that had members whose families had been a part of it for hundreds of years. He was a legacy, and there was no choice for him. He would become a member, or he’d die. Learning about this secret society, hearing their ways and goals, then going through the initiation, he was terrified and ran off to hide away from them and everyone. His best friend worried when he’d been gone for days, his phone left in his room, not a word from him. Calling in help, it came in the form of an FBI agent in town on business. He was doing a favor, checking up on the missing college student, and right away smelled trouble. When he saw Ian’s computer history and the name Gilded Grail, he knew he had to find Ian. Once he did, he learned the secrets that no one outside the order knew. Together, they decided to try to stop them from a horrible goal they’d set, one that threatened every man, woman and child in the world. Falling in love with one another was easy but keeping that attraction at bay to try to save everyone a horrible fate, Ian and Pat struggled. Pat called for more help, and Javier Duran came, an old lover of Pat’s, and one of the world best mercenaries. Sparks fly and jealousies ignite. Saving the world and falling in love at the same time wasn’t easy on any man. It could tear them apart or make them more determined to have the other in their lives forever. That was considering if they could stop the Grail and there was a forever… less

Finding peace at last, Javier Duran thought he’d hung up his guns and camo from his life as a mercenary to live in a town surrounded by beautiful mountains. Taking jobs that required him to be out of town periodically was perfect for him, except this time, when someone broke into his sanctuary. Daniel Norman didn’t have an easy life. Abused by his brother and ignored by his father, he only existed... moreFinding peace at last, Javier Duran thought he’d hung up his guns and camo from his life as a mercenary to live in a town surrounded by beautiful mountains. Taking jobs that required him to be out of town periodically was perfect for him, except this time, when someone broke into his sanctuary. Daniel Norman didn’t have an easy life. Abused by his brother and ignored by his father, he only existed. Learning how to get around security systems was the only skill he had that his family gave him credit for, so he did it well. The house on the edge of town, the mysterious man who owned it, they were different for Daniel. Intrigued, he did his job and got their crew into the house, but regretted it as each room he entered told him a little more about the man who lived there. When Javier returned home during the break in, everything changed for them both. Attempting to save Javier, Daniel commits murder, and Javier is determined to save him. To a cabin he’d bought the same time he’d bought his beloved house, he whisked Daniel, getting to know the quiet young man and finding more than he bargained for. The age difference was Javi’s main concern, knowing his feelings for Daniel could only grow. Discarding him like others had, however, could break him. Can Javi chance his own heart to save the heart of the young man, or will his old life creep back in and destroy them both? less

Can a man turn his life around while still a criminal? Can a man in love fall in love again, with someone so different than the other? Can Tommy choose which man is for him, the sweet man who holds him close or the rough one that pushes him away?One thing Tommy never counted on was that being the bodyguard of the local mob boss would be the easiest part of his life. The hard part was not only dealing with the two men that owned his heart but trying to choose between them... moreCan a man turn his life around while still a criminal? Can a man in love fall in love again, with someone so different than the other? Can Tommy choose which man is for him, the sweet man who holds him close or the rough one that pushes him away?One thing Tommy never counted on was that being the bodyguard of the local mob boss would be the easiest part of his life. The hard part was not only dealing with the two men that owned his heart but trying to choose between them. Especially when they hated one another so passionately. On the one hand, his current partner, Diego, made him feel loved and secure, something he’d needed all his life, but Gary made him feel on the edge and unsure, something he craved. Between the two of them was a hard place to be, but it was exactly where he belonged. Trying to convince the two that they should try an uncommon relationship will have to wait, however, as a drug cartel is after them. Hiding out in the Mexican desert, the sun isn’t the hottest thing around… less