MATT'S DILEMMA (BOOK 2 IN THE WINSTONS SERIES) BY ROWENA DAWN

RELEASED ON DECEMBER 5TH 2017

Matt Winston, member of a family with paranormal abilities, is a good and caring man. After a bad experience, he enjoys only brief affairs, unwilling to engage his heart. Yet, life doles its own brand of fun and changes everything when it throws Nora Barnes into his path. 
Nora’s marriage comes to a bitter end and she is determined to make ends meet and offer a good life to her son. A shooting changes everything for her, and Matt Winston’s interference in her life will turn it upside down. Surprises never end. 
Rebecca Winston, angry with her husband’s betrayal and her daughter’s suicide, cursed the younger generations of the family. The curse has a deadline, and Matt, her oldest great-grandson, with only two months to spare, knows he is out of time. 
He decides to live his life exactly the way he wants and forget about curses and love. He doesn't believe in a special someone to spend his life with and who could help him lift the curse. 
In this second novel of the Winston series, Matt finds his peace of mind and happiness after a long battle with himself and others, and especially with the woman he loves. 
If you love a paranormal romance, with strong characters and a touch of humor, then this is the book for you. ​
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EXCERPTS

CHAPTER ONE 
 
“Becka, move your butt upstairs, now,” Bryan’s voice boomed, and made Matt smile.
Matt knew Becka’s policy of not locking the front door. He also knew Bryan didn’t have much success in making her heed his advice.
That was why Matt didn’t even bother knocking. He just came inside. After all, he felt there like at home. Becka and Bryan were some of the kindest in the family, although their couple was strange by far.
“I thought you liked my butt,” Becka shouted from the study, and then stormed out of the room.
She missed Matt by an inch. She didn’t even notice him, and started taking the stairs two at a time.
“I love your butt, and you know it. But right now, bring it up here. She levitates, damn it, and she won’t listen to me,” Bryan’s harangued voice came from somewhere above, and Matt burst into laughter.
Matt’s imagination wasn’t very strong, but, at least, he guessed how stressed Bryan felt, having two gifted children.
As an outsider in the Winston family, Bryan had to put up with a lot of things. However, no one could say he shrunk his responsibilities.
Even if he didn’t have a clue what to do in some circumstances, he dug his feet in the ground, and took everything in stride. Now, though, he seemed overwhelmed with his one-and-a-half-month daughter, who inherited her mother’s family’s heritage.
Only whispers came from upstairs, so Matt decided to go there, and visit with his niece and nephew. He knew his apparition would make Bryan roll his eyes. He’d understand Becka had failed to lock the door again, and he’d probably give her hell after Matt left.
He wouldn’t say a thing in front of Matt. No matter how upset he was, Bryan never said anything to Becka in front of others. He thought they had judged her enough for marrying a man twelve years older, and she didn’t need to hear any ‘I told you’.
Matt knocked on the nursery door, and Bryan looked up, concern edged on his face. When his eyes fell on Matt, his tension eased away, and he smiled, shaking his head.
“You haven’t locked the front door again,” he said in a resigned voice, glancing at Becka.
“I forgot,” she shrugged, and patted his hand. “Don’t worry, no one will come in, but Matt. Hi, Matt, what’s up?”
Matt couldn’t hide his amusement. His younger cousin was always a delight, and he enjoyed seeing Bryan struggling both with his concern for her, and his ineffectiveness in making her understand the dangers of the city.
“Just passing by. I’ve got an hour to kill and thought of coming and seeing you two. And the munchkins.”
Matt came inside and went to Becka, who was holding Lea in her arms. He kissed Becka’s cheek, and then, stroked the baby’s head and put a kiss on the top of her head.
“She’s already causing problems, I hear,” he turned to Bryan, who raised an eyebrow inquiringly. “I heard you when I came in,” Matt confessed, and a naughty smile appeared on his lips.
Becka blushed. She remembered what Bryan had shouted to make her come upstairs. She speared him with a pointed look, and Bryan just grinned.
Matt chuckled. He loved both of them and his heart burst with joy whenever he thought how good they were together. Yet, he was jealous of them sometimes, because he couldn’t have the same thing. 
“So, the problems started, I understand,” he said, nodding to the little bundle in Becka’s arms.
‘Yep, and it scares me shitless, to tell you the truth. Thank God, Sean hasn’t manifested any kind of powers yet,” Bryan replied.
“He will… In time,” Matt told him, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “You’ll manage, don’t worry. You’ve never struck me as a man who can’t handle everything.”
Bryan scowled, but didn’t reply. He glanced at Becka, ready to say something, but she shushed him, putting her finger to her mouth.
“She’s asleep again,” she whispered, and Bryan came to her to take his daughter and replace her in her crib.
Becka and Matt started to the door, expecting Bryan to follow. When Matt looked back, Bryan was still watching his daughter sleep, and his expression was priceless.
Matt had liked Bryan since the moment they met. Yet, once he got to know him, his respect and feelings for the man evolved.
Bryan was a devoted husband and father, and it crushed Matt to see that hulk of a man so deeply in love with his family. 


.....


 
When the alarm rang off, Matt woke up mumbling, then growled, and stopped it with a violent slap. He sat up and rubbed his face, trying to dislodge the sand scratching his eyeballs. He ruffled his hair, running his fingers through it.
He glanced at the clock and scowled. He’d slept only three hours and the lack of sleep had left his brain in a dense fog.
He got out of bed and went to the bathroom, wondering where the days, when he didn’t need more than an hour or two of sleep, had gone.
He leaned on the wash bowl and dared to glance at his reflection in the mirror. He regretted it at once. Oh, man. He almost didn’t recognize the man staring back at him.
When, the heck, have I grown so old? Lines marred his forehead and black shadows outlined his eyes. His one-day stubble hid the civilized man, he liked to show to the world.
He shook his head in puzzlement. Not even six years ago, he could party all night, and then, go to the court the following day, his mind clear and focused on the case. Of course, he hadn’t partied so hard ever since.
Pondering that mystery, he turned on the faucet, and picked up his toothbrush. Brushing his teeth, he thought he was fortunate enough that day. At least, he didn’t have a court day that morning, and, if he remembered correctly – which could have been questionable, considering the blur in his mind, he didn’t have any pressing appointments.
His eyes narrowed to slits. Why, the heck, did I wake up? I could have slept a couple of hours more.  


***


Bryan opened the door, a smile on his lips. His smile stopped when his eyes lay on the bundle Matt had in his arms. He could see only a mop of brown-reddish hair, sticking everywhere on the head of a toddler, whose face was hidden in Matt’s shirt.
“Hey, there,” Bryan greeted them in a soft voice and with a small smile, although he’d already noticed the storm brewing in Matt’s eyes. “Would you like to come in?” he asked when Matt didn’t answer.
Matt, unable to speak yet, nodded curtly and passed by Bryan into the house. Bryan shook his head, and then, closed the door behind him.
“Let’s go out on the patio. We’ve decided on a brunch today,” Bryan explained to him, just to fill in the silence. “Becka has no school and I took the morning and half of afternoon off,” he continued.
Matt didn’t seem to hear a word.
Bryan was aware of Matt’s strange disposition, and he didn’t want to push him. He’d always known Matt was very deep and his calm was a mere fabrication. He’d always believed Matt would explode one day, and he’d proposed himself to be far away when that would happen.
“Look who came to visit, Becka,” Bryan told his wife in a cheerful voice, stopping next to Matt.
The toddler still held on Matt’s neck and didn’t dare to look around. Bryan saw the stuffed leg of a plush toy coming from between the child’s body and Matt.
“Hi, Matt,” Becka said softly, standing up, and coming to him.
She touched his cheek, looked straight into his eyes and shook her head.
“Why don’t you two take a seat?” she invited them. “And maybe you can introduce us to your little friend.”
Matt nodded and sat down, the child always hanging on him. With a few whispers, he convinced the boy to sit in his lap and face his cousins.
“This is Nathan, Nat for short,” Matt told them. “Nat, these are my cousins, Becka and Bryan. They’re fine, don’t worry,” he said, stroking the toddler’s head.
“Would you like a cookie?” Becka asked Nat. “Bryan bakes the best cookies in the land,” she continued cheerfully, and made the child smile shyly.
When she presented a plate with cookies to him, Nat chose carefully, and started nibbling on the chocolate cookie immediately.
“You’d like some milk, too,” Bryan guessed, and poured milk in a cup, which he handed to Matt.
Matt took the cup, but froze for a moment. Bryan held his look, and gradually, he got to something close to his normal self, and helped Nat to drink some milk. When the boy pushed the cup away, Matt chuckled – a white mustache rimmed the child’s upper lip. 


***


​The moment he entered the room, she turned her head to him, and he felt the intense gaze of those green eyes right in his chest. She watched him with something akin to hatred.
He was only a few feet away, but even from that distance he noticed the tears clinging to her lashes. He felt the impulse to console her and balled his hands into fists to prevent any dumb move.
She looked paler than he remembered, even though the fever, which glimmered in her eyes, had flushed her cheekbones. The dark shadows under her eyes had expanded and swallowed almost half of her face.
Under his scrutiny, she made an effort to wipe the tears off her face, but one arm was hooked to the IV unit and she couldn’t make use of the other, yet not for lack of trying.
She seemed determined, and, afraid she’d hurt herself worse, Matt rushed to the bed, quieted her movements, and wiped off her tears with his thumbs. The gesture felt extremely intimate. Uncomfortable with that closeness, he hurried to step back.
She’d trembled under his touch, and his eyes searched her face to see whether she was afraid of him. The display of emotions didn’t reassure him.
“I want my son back,” she enunciated, and her voice was strong, far from the weakly form she presented.
“Don’t worry about that right now,” Matt replied quietly. “Just…”
“I want my son back,” she almost shouted at him, interrupting him.
“As soon as you get out of the hospital you’ll have your son back,” he said, always patiently. “Right now, I don’t see how you could keep him here with you,” he waved his hand, showing the antiseptic hospital room.
“I won’t let you take him away from me,” she said, as if he’d never said anything.
Matt sighed, bowed his head resignedly, and ran his fingers through his hair. He needed patience with her, no matter what.
The nurse had already bad-mugged him, and he didn’t want to be the recipient of her looks if he failed to reassure that woman. 
“Look, Nora…” he began, but of course she interrupted again.
“I won’t let you,” she interrupted in a mulish voice. “You’ve attacked my dignity, insulted me in any possible way and made everything in your power to leave me penniless – and I’m talking about the money belonging to me, not to that sorry excuse of a human being that was my ex…”
Matt noticed she gathered more steam along her declaration, and the flush of her cheeks intensified. He worried her fever went up and decided to end that stupid sparring.
He stepped next to the bed and leaned over her. He hushed her with his hand, which covered half of her face. Her eyes widened, and, again, he wondered whether he frightened her.
“Now, I want you to keep silent until I finish what I have to say. I don’t want to hear one word from you, Nora,” he warned her in a stern voice. “Do you understand?” he asked her.
He waited a couple of seconds, but she didn’t answer. She just kept staring at him with those shimmering green eyes, which pierced him straight into his soul.
“I’ve asked if you understand,” he repeat, sterner than before, trying not to think of what he felt.
After a second, she licked his palm, and he practically jumped out of his skin. He took his hand off her mouth immediately and watched her, shocked.
“You wanted an answer,” she shrugged. “Well, with that shovel over my mouth, I couldn’t have answered. So…” she explained, a quirky little smile in the corner of her mouth, and Matt had a glimpse of the naughty girl she must have been a few years back.
“But you’ll keep your mouth shut and listen,” he concluded, after taking a deep breath to calm his senses.
That lick had reached deep inside him, and all his nerve endings stood to attention. He didn’t doubt she’d see the proof of his arousal if she looked closely, and he prayed she wouldn’t. He’d have a hard time to explain that.
He tried to pry on her thoughts, but came back blank and that stunned him. He might not have had full ability, but still could read something from everyone. 

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