HELLO and welcome to The Book Lovers stop on the Bullet tour.
I’d like to thank Shh Moms Reading for setting up the tour because if you are an avid follower and reader of my blog, you know that I have read and reviewed many of Jade’s books and I have loved every one of them. She’s a great author and a great person to talk to, so I’m so happy to be a part of this, because she truly deserve all the attention she gets!
Anyway, The Book Lovers has a special post for you.
I know we ALL love Bullet, so how would you like a deleted scene?
I’ll tell you now, its a good ‘un. So without further ado, I present the deleted scene to you all!
Enjoy !
Deleted scene from Bullet
Jade C. Jamison
“Hello?” I didn’t recognize the number on the caller ID, but I answered it anyway. I knew Clay was working on getting some execs at his studio to listen to our CD, so I didn’t want to potentially miss an important call just because I didn’t recognize the number.
The voice didn’t sound familiar either. “Is this Valerie?”
“Yes.” At this point, I didn’t know what to expect. “Who is this?”
“This is Burt Richards, Ethan’s father. We met a while back.”
My mind transported back to that time I’d met this gruff man in his squalid apartment. He’d been intimidating and had created emotions in Ethan I had seen neither before nor since. Well, intimidating or not, he was reaching out to me for some strange reason. I had to be polite. “Uh, hi, Mr. Richards. How are you?”
“I just got home earlier today.” There was an uncomfortable silence settling on me. He had something else to say, and I didn’t know if I should ask or just let him say what he needed to say. Finally, he coughed and then said, “I was in the hospital and…I wondered if I could speak with Ethan.”
“Uh…Ethan’s not here right now.” I wasn’t going to tell him, but Ethan was at Brad’s drinking. I was okay with it, though, because he was with Brad. Anyone or anywhere else, and I wouldn’t have been happy. “Can I…take a message for him?”
Again, that heavy difficult silence. “You can do me one better, actually.”
I sensed desperation in his voice. “What’s that?”
“I’m…dying, Valerie. I don’t have long. More than anything, I’d really like to see Ethan one last time.”
Shit. How could I get Ethan to agree? I only knew I couldn’t say no…not to a dying man’s wish. Still…I didn’t know that I’d be able to do it. I knew how Ethan felt about his father. “I’m sorry to hear that, Mr. Richards. I’m not sure how I can do it, but…I’ll try.”
“Thank you. And…I’m sorry I haven’t been a good father-in-law.” Frankly, he hadn’t had a chance to be any kind of father-in-law.
I simply promised the man I’d see what I could do and hung up, wondering what the hell I’d agreed to.
When Ethan returned home that evening, I was pleasantly surprised. For a change, he wasn’t drunk…and he was in a good mood. Those were two rarities, and I was relieved…because I was feeling anxious about what I had to talk with him about.
I hugged him when he came through the door. Ethan sensed something was up and held me at my shoulders. “What’s wrong, Val?”
I took a deep breath and looked in his eyes. “I…have to tell you something, and I don’t think you’re going to be very happy about it.”
His eyebrows lowered, but he sat on the sofa with me. “So…spit it out.”
I swallowed. My tongue felt like it had been wallpapered to the roof of my mouth. I tried to smile but it didn’t work. “Your…uh…your father’s sick. He’s—”
Ethan went from concerned to pissed in a matter of seconds. “Is that what this is about?” He stood up quickly.
“Ethan, listen. He’s dying. He wants to—”
“Why should I give a fuck what he wants? He never once cared about what I wanted, what mom wanted. So I’m returning the favor. He doesn’t deserve pity, compassion, love. He has this shit coming to him. Couldn’t happen to a better person.”
I stood then too. I couldn’t believe my ears. I knew Ethan had some issues, but I also knew he was hurting inside. “Ethan, he’s dying. Can’t you find it in your heart to forgive him?” His lips were pursed together. I could see that now he was shut off to me. But I couldn’t give up. Not yet. “Don’t you…want to see him before he dies?” Ethan just shrugged and looked off toward the kitchen. “Don’t you want to at least say goodbye?”
“Say goodbye to that son of a bitch? You’re kidding, right? He never said goodbye to me. He was never even there for me. When I made my first home run…when I finally managed to get a B in math. When my voice grew deeper…when I started dating and had questions. When I managed to fucking graduate… So now the fucker’s dying and he wants my forgiveness.” He let out a breath. “It’s a little late. I never had the father I should have had, so why should he have the son he wants?” Ethan stormed across the room and punched the wall, putting a hole through the drywall. When he turned around, he gave no indication that his hand might hurt, but I could see pain in his eyes nonetheless…but it wasn’t physical pain he was feeling. “Goddammit.” His voice choked and I could barely hear him. He was looking toward the ceiling. “How could he do this to me?” He turned again to face the wall, his hand wadded in a fist.
“Ethan?” I walked over to him and laid my hand on his shoulder.
When he looked at me, his jaw was tight, his teeth clenched. The pain in his eyes was indescribable. “I’ll go for you, Val. That’s the only reason. For you.”
I didn’t plan to argue. I was just relieved he was going to do it. He thought it was for me but it wasn’t, and it wasn’t for his father either. It was for him. And I hoped it would help him begin to heal.
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You can also find my REVIEW of Bullet HERE
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Bio:
Jade C. Jamison was born and raised in Colorado, moved from one city/town to the next, and she’s decided she likes it so much she wants to stay…although travel is not out of the question. She lives in a big town in Colorado (not unlike Winchester!) with her husband and four children. She is working on becoming a crazy cat lady. Okay, so maybe not.
Still want more? Jade has a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Theater, a master’s degree in English, and a master of fine arts in Creative Writing. Obviously, she loves school and the student loan folks love her. She works in human services by day, teaches English and creative writing at night, and—in between playing soccer mom and community leader—writes like a fiend. Someday soon, she’ll narrow it down to just writing, but let’s get all those kids off to college first.
Z. Elizabeth 