Dandelions on the Road Read online

  Dandelions on the Road

  A romantic comedy

  By

  Brooke Williams

  Copyright 2015 Brooke Williams

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Cover Art by Sean Williams

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are the product of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded, or distributed via the Internet or any other means without the permission of Brooke Williams. Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Published by: Author Brooke Williams

  ISBN-13: 978-1514605592

  ISBN-10: 1514605597

  First Edition, 2015

  Published in the United States of America

  Contact info: [email protected]

  www.authorbrookewilliams.com

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  There are a number of people I would like to thank and dedicate this book.

  My husband, Sean…for laughing as I tried out pieces of scenes on him. For shaking his head at my craziness when I am in the process of writing. And for creating an amazing cover for me. Also for just being who he is and putting up with me for the past 13 years.

  My daughters, Kaelyn & Sadie…for being the craziest little girls I know. For opening your bright blue eyes every morning and calling me mommy. For allowing me to write by resting for an hour or so on a daily basis. For inspiring me with your antics. And for being the greatest gifts I’ve ever had.

  My mom, Jean…for encouraging my writing over and over again. For helping me with proofreading and editing. For laughing at my jokes and getting true joy out of what I do. Also for being there for every important moment in my life and even those that weren’t so important.

  My dad, Chuck…for always having outlandish suggestions when I need them for titles and so on, they always spark something. For sharing strange instances and things that have happened to him…they often end up in my books. And for making fun of me often enough that I gained a healthy sense of humor.

  My in-laws, Cheryl and Todd…for on-going support. And for reading my books out loud to one another and showing a great interest in what I love to do. Their amazement at my fast writing makes me feel like I do something special.

  Kris Dickinson, Cathy Franklin, Patricia Hansen…for being faithful beta readers. For encouraging me when I’m unsure and for offering wonderful suggestions to make the plot better.

  This book is part of a series, it can standalone and be read exclusively, but if you enjoy the novel, you may be interested in the others. Here is a list of the current novels in the Dandelion Series:

  Book 1: Accept this Dandelion

  Published February 4th, 2015

  Book 2: Dandelions on the Road

  Book 3: After the Final Dandelion

  (Written, but not yet published)

  Book 4: Dandelion Sprouts

  (A possibility for the future)

  Dandelions, like all things in nature are beautiful when you take the time to pay attention to them.

  ― June Stoyer

  When you look at a field of dandelions you can either see a hundred weeds or a hundred wishes.

  Unknown

  Because they’re roses and I’m just a dandelion…

  Unknown

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  PREVIEW: AFTER THE FINAL DANDELION

  CHAPTER ONE

  “DAISIES ARE MY favorite flower.” Eva Merida smiled into the bright light of the camera.

  An exasperated sigh sounded from the other side of the darkness. “The show is about dandelions. You’ll be handing out weeds, not flowers.”

  Eva shifted in the chair. The producer wasn’t a patient man, but he needed to ask better questions if he wanted her to give certain answers. He asked about flower preference and she told him the truth.

  “Okay,” Mike, the producer, spoke again, this time from the side of the camera allowing her to see half his outline. “Tell us what you like about dandelions.”

  “Dandelions.” Eva pasted a smile onto her face. Her cheeks hurt. She didn’t know what she was getting herself into when she agreed to be the Bachelorette on the local show Accept this Dandelion. Granted, she appeared on the first season of the show, but she was one of many girls then. This time, she was alone and there was a lot more pressure. And the men hadn’t even been chosen yet. “I like the idea behind dandelions. Technically, they’re weeds. But they grow fast and spread furiously and no matter how hard you try, there’s no stopping them. It’s what I want from love.”

  Mike scoffed. “That’ll work.”

  As his shoes squeaked against the studio floor, Eva watched his outline fade into the dark background before she stood. He must be done with her. What a rude man. She didn’t remember him being that abrupt when she taped Accept this Dandelion. Of course, her judgment was more than a bit clouded by Ben McConnell, the bachelor the show revolved around. Eva really believed he could make her happy, but she came in third on the show. And in a way, she was glad. Ben ended up with Renee and they were a match made in heaven. Eva and Renee became close on the show and had stayed in contact ever since. Renee was a good friend and she deserved the happiness she found with Ben.

  Eva hoped she could find the same kind of love on the show. The odds were good. She’d have twelve potential suitors, surely one of them would be “the one.”

  She approached the nearby camera operator. “Need anything else?”

  The man stuffed the remainder of a Pop Tart into his mouth and brushed the crumbs from his fingers. “Don’t think so.” Eva winced as crumbs flew from his lips. She smiled and turned on her heel, removing the battery pack from the back of her skirt and unthreading the microphone through her shirt.

  Microphones were a pain, but she was used to messing with them. One of the blessings that came from being on Accept this Dandelion, the local version of The Bachelor, was the new job she got because of her appearance on the show. Eva had worked for Furry Friends Rescue League for years, but once her employer saw her on television, she knew Eva was a good fit for the new spokesperson position they created.

  Eva loved her job. She got to travel the city on a weekly basis, carting along one furry animal or another. She showed them off on TV news shows, radio programs, and to local papers. There were a lot of
other elements involved with her position, but spending time with animals and helping them find good homes was her favorite part. The pets she took on the air right there at KETO always got placed in a home the same day.

  Eva enjoyed her life. She had the job of her dreams, good friends, and a solid family. She was only missing one thing...someone to share it with. She hoped and prayed she would find that person on the other side of a dandelion.

  BRIAN SCHAFFER TIDIED the stack of papers on the news desk. Everything was digital these days, but he still liked having paper nearby. Sometimes, he jotted notes. Other times he shifted them around to make himself look busy when the cameras were panning away from the program as it went into commercials.

  “Brian, great show today.” The morning producer stepped out of the shadows and approached the news desk.

  Brian squinted into the studio lights. “Thanks, Mike.” It wasn’t like Mike to throw compliments around. Brian wondered if he was about to ask him to take the weekend shift again.

  “I have an opportunity I’d like to share with you. Would you mind stepping into my office?”

  “Sure, give me a minute.”

  Mike nodded. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

  Brian headed to the news crew’s green room. The long, narrow room was equipped with bright lights, a small counter, and bar stools. The women spent quite a bit of time there getting camera ready. Brian only had to wear foundation to smooth his skin color. But the first thing he did after every show was rush to the green room and wash it off. He didn’t want more time than necessary in makeup of any kind.

  Once the foundation was cleared from his skin, he sighed. No reason to stall the inevitable. He trudged down the hall and directed his steps to Mike’s office. He was already coming up with excuses in his mind. Maybe a long lost relative could visit him that weekend. It wasn’t that he minded the weekend shift, but seven days straight of getting up at 3:00 am wore him down. He needed a break. At the same time, Brian knew he wouldn't turn the extra shifts down. He never said no.

  Brian knocked on the doorframe as he arrived at the microscopic office. Mike spent most of his time on the newsroom floor and in the sound room. He didn’t need much office space.

  “Come in.” Mike turned from his laptop and flattened his hands on the desk.

  Brian folded himself into the one remaining chair in the room. He and Mike were less than three feet apart, their knees crushed against a narrow desk.

  “The morning news ratings are good,” Mike bragged.

  Brian raised his eyebrows. “We have a good crew.”

  “And a good anchor, but I didn’t ask you in here to talk shop. I have an opportunity for you.”

  “Have at it.” Here it comes.

  “You remember when we put together that dating show last year?”

  “You mean, Accept this Dandelion? Of course, the whole city remembers that.”

  Mike looked pleased. “It was a smashing success. The station manager wants to bring it back.”

  “We’re going to do another show?” Brian was interested. He didn’t see any of the tapings last year, even though he worked at the station that put the program together, but he followed it closely as it aired and enjoyed it as much as anyone.

  “We are…with a twist.” Mike tapped his knuckles on the desk. “It’s going to be a lot like before. Local people, more simple than the national TV show, but this time, we’re hitting the road.”

  “You won’t tape the show here?”

  “Not all of it. We actually have the sales staff dedicated to selling the show in a couple cities. We’re going to schedule dates in various locations to spread the fun around.”

  Brian nodded. “Good idea.”

  “It’ll be the same format and we’ll still call it Accept this Dandelion. Only, this time, we’ll have Dandelions on the Road.”

  Brian ran his hand up the side of his face and rubbed his neck. “Nice.” He still didn’t know what Mike wanted.

  “Last time we did the show, things were a bit scattered.”

  Brian laughed. “Are you talking about Renee?”

  Mike rolled his eyes. “Renee was a disaster.”

  “Yeah, she lit herself on fire, had an allergic reaction, ruined a race car, just to name a few things…but you have to admit, she was the highlight of the show.”

  “She captivated the viewers all right.” Mike conceded. “Even though she didn’t win.”

  “But she ended up with Ben,” Brian corrected.

  “Okay, I can see you’re on Team Renee. But back to my point, other than Renee and her hilarious antics, there was another part of the show that went awry.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Feedback from viewers told us that the announcer who narrated the show came off overdone and smug.”

  That was an understatement. A faceless voice chronicled the show, introduced the contestants, and updated the audience on the progress but the voice, along with the script, was beyond cheesy.

  “Anyway, I want to insert more of the KETO spirit into the program. The Bachelor has Chris Harrison, right? He’s there to talk to the contestants, console the Bachelor or Bachelorette and tie things together. While I’m sure we can’t afford him, KETO has someone who could do the job.”

  Brian frowned and poked his finger into his chest. “Me?”

  Mike lit up. “You. What do you say? Brian Schaffer…the next Chris Harrison?”

  Brian shrugged. As an anchor, he was good at writing and reporting the morning news, but host a dating show? That was a whole different animal. Did he really want such a position? He wasn’t sure. “How will it work?”

  “Well, we don’t have all the details worked out yet, but you’d have to take some time away from the news desk. Since we’re taking the program on the road, you would go too.”

  Take time off from his normal job? Brian loved what he did, but he could stand to sleep in for a few days. “How long would we travel?”

  “Nothing extensive. A few days here and there. So far, we have Ashland, Nebraska and Des Moines, Iowa on our list of stops.”

  “Exotic.” Brian chuckled.

  “People can fall in love anywhere.”

  “True.” Brian couldn’t base that on personal experience. He’d thought he was in love once, but his last girlfriend decided he was too perfect and not the one for her. It was impossible to grasp.

  Mike stood and grabbed a binder from the shelf behind his desk. “I needed to make sure you would step up before putting more plans into place.”

  Brian ran the possibilities through his head. Stay in Omaha…up before dawn, work, eat, sleep, repeat…or travel to a few fresh cities, enjoy new experiences and sleep in. He was game. “I’m in.”

  “Great.” Mike pushed the binder across the small space between them. “Take a look at the plans so far and see if you have any suggestions. We interview the male candidates this week and we hope to start filming by the end of the month.”

  “You don’t know who the new bachelor on the show will be yet?” Brian asked.

  “Bachelors…plural. That’s the other twist. This time, it’ll be a bachelorette passing out the dandelions and men vying for her heart.”

  “Anyone I know?” Brian thought Renee Lockhart from the first season of Accept this Dandelion would be perfect, but rumor was she and Ben McConnell were still together…and engaged.

  “Oh yeah, you know her all right. Read the file. It’s all in there.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  EVA NEEDED TO concentrate on work, but it was hard. She was the new Bachelorette and would have twelve bachelors from which to choose. The idea was exciting, but not as delicious as the thought of being in love. Eva wanted love like her parents had more than anything in the world. She’d give up everything for it.

  Nothing else had worked for her so far, but maybe this show would be her ticket to happiness. Eva pulled her soft, dark hair into a low ponytail. She had chosen a large dog to take on her media rounds toda
y. He was a sweetheart, but very active. She would have to stay on top of his antics or things could get out of control.

  She entered the long hallway that held the dogs waiting for adoption. As usual, the kennels were nearly full and it broke her heart. She wanted there to be lots of empty rooms. Not only because there were dogs out in the cold needing to be rescued, but also because it meant animals were matched with new homes. It was a goal she strived toward.

  “Hey there, Roscoe.” Eva greeted the giant dog. “Ready to smile for the cameras and find yourself a family?” The dog jumped up and placed his huge paws on her shoulders. Eva was petite and the Saint Bernard was enormous. When standing on his back legs, they were about the same height. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  She slipped the leash through the loop on Roscoe’s collar. He was a lucky dog. His family moved overseas and couldn’t take him along, but at least he had loving care in his past. He hadn’t been abused or dumped on the streets. But he still needed a good home and Eva planned to find it for him.

  Roscoe walked beside her with an even trot. If he went any faster, he would pull her off her feet. The rest of the building remained quiet except for the occasional bark or meow. On Wednesdays, Eva worked early so she could arrive at the TV and radio stations during their morning show time slots. People watched and listened to the shows while they got ready for work and often came to adopt the featured pet before the end of the day. Many times, families would be too late to get the animal she showed off and would choose a different one instead. Her appearances made a difference in the animals’ lives and it compelled her to continue the crusade.

  Eva wrapped the leash around her wrist a few times as she and Roscoe exited the building and headed into the parking lot. The Furry Friends Rescue League vehicle was parked close to the door. Eva was grateful they had a van she could use. Not only did it keep the continual hair and animal smells out of her car, but it also advertised the organization wherever she went.