Romance Novel Excerpts: The Hunter's Baby

Feast upon one of Jamila Jasper's steamiest romance novel excerpts! This BWWM Romance is the story of a city girl and a country boy who are forced to put aside their many differences to find love. 

Like many of Jamila's stories, this romance novel is an adventure from start to finish. Check out the description below and keep scrolling to get a sneak peek of the first chapter before it's released... 

Kezia is furious when her mother and step-father force her to spend her summer vacation from college in Indiana. Kezia is a 21 year old Long Island vegan who has never spent that much time out of civilization and she is totally unhappy. 

By going to Indiana, she's giving up a relationship with her dream guy from college... 

When Kezia gets to Indiana, she's not sure she'll fit in. When she meets Levi Pine however, her life begins to change. Kezia sees a world beyond the city and a possible life with Levi.

As tragedy shakes the town, Kezia finds out some disturbing news. Either her life will change forever or she'll leave Indiana and never look back.

Romance Novel Excerpts: The Hunter's Baby

|Chapter 1|

Kezia’s first day of summer vacation was already terrible. Her mother had insisted upon sitting her down for breakfast even if she wouldn’t eat the eggs and bacon spread. Kezia eyed her kale smoothie as the ingredients separated slowly.

She huffed, “Do we have to wait for Seamus.”

Her mother glared, “Yes Kezia, we have to wait for Seamus. It wouldn’t kill you to be a bit kinder to him.”

Kezia knew that it would kill her. She couldn’t stand being around Seamus for more than a few minutes. Kezia took her spoon and stirred her smoothie around a bit more as she waited. Her mother was trying to force her to have a father-daughter relationship with Seamus but Kezia knew that it just would never work. Kezia pulled her long black curls with bright purple tips into a messy bun on the top of her head. The worst thing about summers in Long Island (besides the tourists) was the heat.

Kezia was twenty-two years old and about to enter her final year of university. One gap year and a couple failed classes had put her behind everyone else her age. So Kezia was stuck in that awkward place between childhood and adulthood. She paid taxes but she also paid mind to her mama’s instructions considering she needed a place to live. Kezia was by all accounts a beautiful girl. She had the athletic body of a dancer with thick toned legs, a plump buttocks and nice full breasts. Kezia’s skin was a gorgeous mahogany color and her natural curls fell down to the middle of her back.

Kezia’s Jamaican grandmother always said that it was because “Kezia got that coolie hair” from her grandfather. Kezia didn’t know (or care) where she got her hair from as long as she could dye it crazy colors or wear it in a long braid down the middle of her back. Kezia had dark anthracite colored eyes that seemed to absorb every fleck of light around them giving her a mystical and ethereal look.

Kezia and her mother looked nearly exactly alike with a similar heart shaped face, apple cheeks and deep set dimples that gave them both a smile that could light up the world. Kezia couldn’t resist taking a sip of her breakfast smoothie as she waited for her mother’s new (two years) husband to arrive downstairs. Kezia had never been attached to the idea of her parents being together so by the time her mother and father had ended things, Kezia wasn’t upset. Even as a child she knew that they made a horrible couple. But Kezia still didn’t think Seamus was a catch even if he was white and wealthy.

He arrived downstairs and Kezia tried to hide her disgust. Seamus came downstairs topless with his hairy potbelly protruding out from every angle. His pale, pinkish skin was covered in sunspots and most of his skin was wrinkly. Seamus had olive colored eyes and deep auburn hair that was in a greasy ponytail 24/7.

“G’morning Kezia… Good morning Nicki,” He said, planting a kiss on her mother’s lips.

Kezia almost tasted her kale again.

“Good morning Seamus,” She mumbled. If she treated Seamus with anything other than utter deference her mother would be furious. Nicki began to portion out her meat eaters breakfast while Kezia waited eagerly to dig into her drink. They sat down and Seamus led them in prayer. As usual, he prayed for nearly a full ten minutes before they were allowed to dig in. Kezia’s smoothie looked like it had never been frozen. She reluctantly sipped on the green goop as her mother and Seamus made conversation over her head.

She tried to ignore the way Seamus kept staring at her throughout the entire conversation. He seemed to be riveted by the way she slurped her smoothie and his eyes were glued to Kezia while her mother kept going on and on. Why didn’t she notice? Kezia tried to ignore his creepy stares but it was getting harder and harder. She shot Seamus a pointed glare and that seemed to break him out of his reverie and send him into a coughing fit. Kezia couldn’t help but crack  smile as he coughed and coughed. She hated his lascivious staring but she knew that if she told her mom about it, she wouldn’t believe her.

“Well… ahem… I’ve got a big announcement to make,” Seamus grunted.

Kezia rolled her eyes and downed the rest of her drink. Her mother starting clapping and wriggling in her seat with excitement. It would have been cute if Kezia didn’t loathe Seamus’ ideas most of the time.

“Well Nicki, you know that I love you very much. You’re my dark, robust beautiful berry and I want to make you very happy so I’ve decided to take us on a trip for the summer to allow you to unwind.”

Her mother bounced up and down, “A trip?! All of us?!”

Seamus cleared his throat and fingered his red beard. “Yes, a trip.”

“Where! Oh my is it to the Caribbean?” Her mother cooed.

Seamus shook his head. “As you all know I’ve got a few other properties around the country. My cabin in Indiana is available for the summer and I figured we would go out to the midwest and get a break from the East Coast lifestyle.”

Kezia’s face fell. This bad idea topped all of Seamus’ other bad ideas -- an accomplishment in itself.

“Out west?!” She spat out.

Nicki glared at her daughter.

Seamus didn’t notice her disdain and kept beaming.

“Yup! We will be in complete isolation and we can bond with each other as a family.”

“What about my friends?” Kezia muttered.

Nicki glared at her and said, “Well dear, I’m sure you can make friends in Indiana. This is supposed to be a family trip so I think we should all do our best to make this work as a family.”

Kezia knew from her mother’s tone that protesting would only get her into more trouble. Apparently, her mind was already made up about Seamus’ crazy idea of a “vacation”.

“Okay, well what about a summer job?” Kezia said, “I was supposed to work at Dairy Queen this summer.”

“Oh there’s plenty of jobs in Indiana! Plus I think you’ll love it out there Kezia,” Seamus said.

Kezia nodded listlessly. There was no point putting up a fuss. Her summer plans had just been railroaded and there was nothing she could do about it now. The only thing Kezia had been looking forward to that summer was spending time away from her family. Kezia had just started dating a new guy and her friends were planning on throwing pool parties throughout July. Now, she was going to Indiana of all places. Were there even black people out there?

As her mother and Seamus droned on excitedly about their “thrilling” plans, Kezia was starting to slip into fury. Who did they think they were? She was an adult but she still lived under their roof so they still treated her like a child. Kezia was desperate to be free of them but if she dared leave breakfast early, her mother would certainly chastise her for it later.

After what felt like an eternity, Kezia was finally free to leave the table. She quietly stormed upstairs wondering how on earth she was going to deal with spending an isolated summer with her mother and Seamus. Kezia desperately wanted to be happy for her mother and to help her have the perfect family that she always wanted but Kezia felt like an adult too and she wanted to live like an adult: free to make adult decisions, free to do whatever she wanted without being carted off halfway across the country. Filled with angst, Kezia decided the one person who could cheer her up was her latest beau.

She rang Jason’s phone. They’d been going out for three months and Kezia was crazy about him. Jason was a multiracial black guy who was one of the few people from her university who lived in her town…

“Hey Jason it’s me, Kezia.”

“Hey baby girl how you doing?”

“Shitty. Frustrated. The works.”

“Mom’s driving you crazy?”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Kezia mumbled.

“So wassup?”

Kezia knew she’d have to break the news to him at some point.

“I’m leaving town this summer.”

“Huh?”

“My mom and her husband have this cabin out in Indiana and they want to take me out there for the summer.”

“Indiana? They got niggas in Indiana?”

Kezia chuckled. “I don’t know. I don’t think so,” She said.

“So you’ll be gone the entire time?”

Kezia sighed, “Yup. I’ll be in Indi-fucking-ana.”

“Well Kezia, what about us?” Jason asked.

That was exactly the question Kezia was afraid he’d ask. What about them? In Kezia’s fantasy, Jason would promise to wait for her and she’d spend three months in not-quite-misery eagerly wanting to come back to Long Island.

“I don’t know Jason, it depends on what you want,” Kezia lied. A part of her wished that she had the balls to just demand what she wanted from Jason but Kezia was protecting herself from putting all her cards out on the table.

“Well, I want a girlfriend this summer you know… A real girlfriend that I can take out to the movies.”

“So…”

“So I don’t know if this is gonna work Kezia. Unless you have no problem with me seeing other girls.”

Kezia felt hot rage rising to her face. She might have been young but she was not cool with Jason seeing other girls.

“I do have a problem with that actually,” Kezia said, flying off the handle.

“Well chill Kezia, chill. Maybe this is just a sign that we aren’t meant to be.”

“So you’re saying our relationship is over because I’m going to Indiana for a few months?”

Jason continued, “Well when you say it like that, it sounds bad.”
 

“I can’t believe you Jason…”

“Listen Kezia, let’s just part on good terms okay?”

Kezia didn’t feel any good will towards Jason at all. He’d led her to believe that he cared about monogamy and he was looking for commitment, but just a short time apart was enough for him to want to leave her in the lurch.

“I don’t think I can do that Jason.”

“Kezia…”

“No, don’t say my name please. If it’s over, then it’s over. Don’t bother calling me.”

Kezia hung up and flopped back on her bed. This was the worst day ever. Kezia couldn’t believe that Jason had been such a scrub. He was one of the hottest black guys on their predominantly white campus and as far as all of Kezia’s friends were concerned, he was a catch. Emphasis on “was” a catch. Kezia knew that her next tasks would be far more daunting: breaking the terrible news of her summer vacation and her break up to her best friends.

Briona and Jada were some of the most dramatic girlfriends ever and Kezia wasn’t sure that they wouldn’t try to kidnap her just to stop her from going to Indiana. Kezia braced herself for dealing with them. Just as she was about to call, her mother knocked on her door.

“Kezia! It’s me!”

Kezia opened the door and tried to hide the sadness that was all over her face.

“Is everything alright?” Her mother asked.

“Yeah,” Kezia lied.

“Okay! Well we just printed out the boarding passes for our flight and Seamus wanted you to hold onto yours.”

“Thanks,” Kezia mumbled as she grabbed the plane tickets.

Her mother left the room and Kezia sat on her bed staring at the boarding passes that represented her ruined relationship and by extension, her ruined summer. Realizing that things were really over with Jason, she started to cry. Kezia’s hands trembled as she gripped the boarding passes and fought the temptation to rip them to shreds.