Tori McGrew, Author

Books 1 and 2 of the Peyton's Cross series are available on Kindle Vella! Why not hop over and give it a go? Second chance, small-town romantic suspense.

Peyton's Cross Book 1, Kick Me When I'm Down is gaining traction on Kindle Vella. Want to see what all the fuss is about? Just follow the link!

https://www.amazon.com/Kick-When-Down-Peytons-Cross/dp/B0BCPK9PFC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ZLXWVNNRLAWP&keywords=tori+mcgraw&qid=1662563701&s=books&sprefix=tori+mcgrew%2Cstripbooks%2C142&sr=1-1

Kick Me When I'm Down, Peyton's Cross Part One | Kindle Vella Serial stories to read one short episode at a time

For being such an amazingly supportive bunch of Sunbeams, I give to you the cover of Peyton's Cross Book 2; Let Me Love You Through It! Coming to you live on Kindle Vella on October 1, 2022!

THIS IS NOT A DRILL; BOOK 1 OF PEYTON'S CROSS IS LIVE ON KINDLE VELLA! I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!!

Alright, my lovely sunbeams! It's the final countdown! One chapter left to go, and Peyton's Cross book 2 will be complete. And not only does book 1 go live tomorrow, but you will also get the cover reveal of book 2!!!! Are y'all as excited as I am?! SQUEEEE!

Only four chapters left to go, and book 2 of Peyton's Cross, Let Me Love You Through It, will be complete! Keep an eye out for the cover, coming soon!

Teaser time!!! This is a sweet and sappy excerpt from Peyton's Cross book 2, Let Me Love You Through It. If you want a silly and slightly steamy excerpt then hop on over to Robin Eldridge's page :)
Enjoy, and as always, please feel free to like, comment, and share.

The afternoon passes quickly in a flurry of laughter and smiles, and before I know it, it’s time for me to take my kids and head home. Shy and McKayla have dinner plans with Michale and Martha, but we agree to meet up over the weekend and let the girls play. We may even take them to the zoo over in Davenport or something.
Dinner at home is a somewhat quiet affair, and I can feel and see the happiness radiating off McKenzie as she tells me all about her day. This is more than she’s talked to me in almost a month, and I can’t explain how much I’ve missed it. I just paste on a d***y grin and nod along with her as she animatedly tells me about how she accidentally kicked Maverick Jenkins in the privates with the kickball in gym and how she almost made it all the way to the top of the teacher board during regular class, but she kept trying to talk to McKayla about getting off the bus at her house, so she got moved down. According to her, it was worth it, and she can try again on Monday to get to the top.
Franky is unusually quiet and just keeps looking around like he doesn’t recognize his own home, and my heart breaks a little. I did that to him; it’s my fault that he doesn’t know where he belongs and that he’s afraid I’m going to disappear. I know it will take some time for him to readjust, but I’m hoping that I didn’t do any lasting damage. When it comes time for the kids to be in bed, I don’t even bother to try and put the crib together. I just take him to my room and build a wall of pillows on my side of the bed and take the couch cushions and place them on the floor on the other side.
McKenzie appears in the doorway and asks what I’m doing as I’m laying them on the floor. I tell her I need to keep her brother safe while he sleeps, so I’m putting the cushions down in case he rolls off the bed. She gets a look on her face, then looks at me with bright shiny eyes and whisper asks,
“Can I sleep with you too, daddy?”
My heart goes out to her, she has had just as much upheaval as Franky in the last few months, and I’ve been a right s**t father, expecting her to be okay just because she is older. I pull her into a tight embrace.
“Of course, you can, Kenz, you want to use the cushions as a pallet, or you wanna be up in the bed with Franky and me?”
“With you.”
“With us, it is, princess. Go get ready while I get Franky changed and set, okay? I’ll meet you in the living room for a story.”
The grin she gives me solders my heart back together, and I smile back as she rushes from my room to get ready for bed. I change Franky, get him into a mismatched set of jammies, and hand him a bottle before snuggling him into my bed. I turn my phone on to a lullaby radio station and dim the lights. He seems perfectly content until I start to close the door, and then he becomes a wiggle worm to the nth degree, trying to crawl to me. We repeat the process another few times until McKenzie is standing in the doorway waiting for me.
“Daddy, maybe he wants to hear the story too.”
I smile at her and scoop Franky up, plopping him on my hip.
“You got a story picked out already?” she nods, and I nod along with her,
“Lead the way then, princess.”
Once we are all situated in my recliner chair, I start to read a story about a momma raccoon comforting her scared baby by kissing its paw. I’m a teary mess by the end, but thankfully neither of my kids can bear witness to me crying, yet again, as they are both fast asleep in my arms. I’m loath to move them but know that the three of us sleeping in the chair is going to get mighty uncomfortable before the night is over.
Slowly, I scoot McKenzie to the side and squeeze out from under her, jostling Franky a good bit, but both manage to stay asleep. I deposit him into the middle of the bed and go back out to retrieve McKenzie. She looks so peaceful that, for a moment, I contemplate leaving her there, but I promised she could sleep with me, and I don’t want her to be upset if she wakes up in the middle of the night, out here all alone. Slowly we make our way down the hall, and I almost crash and burn when I step onto the couch cushion and slide a little, but I manage to plop her down safely without landing on her or hurting Franky.
I straighten up and stretch out my back from tweaking it on my awkward landing, then go to my side of the bed; well, the sliver of it that is left unoccupied anyway. I stand there for a moment, looking at my whole world, and I’m struck with a pang in the chest that two very significant people are missing. Crawling into the bed, I lean over and place a soft kiss to the center of both my kids’ hands before snuggling into my pillow and drifting off to sleep, unassisted by alcohol for the first time in almost a month.

Teaser time! Do we want a sweet and sappy excerpt or a silly and slightly steamy one? Will be posting up around 8pm!

Does anyone want to beta read for me? I need a few people who will actually read it and give crucial feedback. they are novellas, meaning they are only between 25k and 30k words. If interested, please PM me an email address

Not Peyton's Cross related but just a little something I wrote down today....

My brain has turned to rust.
My words become mush.
All my good intentions crumble to dust.

Some days I'm fine,
Others, I walk the line.
Both are ok, and neither define.

Most days, I feel like I'm losing the battle.
I'm not good enough, and I don't matter.
I want to scream and cry, and I look to the sky.

The rumble of thunder,
That causes people to shudder.
It holds me near and whispers in my ear.

Hold tight little one,
The storm is almost done.
The rainbow is coming, and you can follow it home.

My lovely Sunbeams, Peyton's Cross book 1, Kick Me When I'm Down, is complete, and book 2 is underway! Here's a little teaser excerpt from Let Me Love You Through It for your reading pleasure...

She hangs up before I can even say anything else, and I’m sure that some of it has to do with the fact that we destroyed the window and cracked the door frame last night trying to get into Whit. But I’m left reeling at the thought that something is circulating about my husband and Whit’s involvement.
Then it hits me. Jordan is Sharon’s son. He collected the su***de notes last night and took pictures of them; of course, he read them, and of course, he would have shared that information with his mother. The only problem is that Sharon is one of the town gossip biddies. She has to know everyone’s business and has no problem making sure everyone else knows everyone else’s business as well.
My blood runs cold. I hadn’t planned on telling Ry that Whitney had left me a letter as well. The things she told me would ruin him. I look over at him and see him sitting in the recliner again. Franky snuggled up to him with a bottle. It would genuinely crush him to find out.
“What was that all about? The building?”
“Yea…The seller doesn’t want to sell anymore, though, just offering a lease. They’ll call me back in a few days to set up the day and time for the closing.”
“Why would they do that?”
“She didn’t say, just that the option for a full sale is off the table at the moment. So I can either accept a lease or wait until another building opens up, and we both know that I could be waiting a really long time for that.”
“Yea, I’d take the offer. They’ll see that it’s profitable and offer the sale, I’m sure of it.”
I hold my phone to my lips and hum in agreeance, hoping he doesn’t see the turmoil in my eyes for what it really is; fear of him finding out the secret that I’m holding close to my chest, well, that he is holding close to his anyways.

It's today, it's today, it's today!!!! All of my lovely Sunbeams, I am humbled and honored to present to you the cover of book 1 of the Peyton's Cross series; Kick Me When I'm Down. Release date to be announced soon!

Only four more chapters to go and book 1 of Peyton's Cross is complete!!!! Squee!!!!

Not only is it our nation's birthday but today also happens to be Mr. Zackariah Dane Beckett's birthday as well! I would like to introduce to you my inspiration for Mr. Beckett's physical appearance, Mr. Zach Ward. Now that you can put a face with a name and you have been introduced to him in two small snippets, today we would like to invite you to ask him any questions you might have. He will answer honestly and from his heart, lol, promise. Fire away my lovely Sunbeams!

Here's a lil' teaser from Zachariah's POV for y'all :) From the current WIP Kick Me When I'm Down book1 of the Peyton's Cross series. Enjoy and as always please feel free to comment and share :)

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“What did they ask?”

She pulled away,

“If Makayla could stay the night. Which will not be happening.”

I scrunch my face up in confusion at her vehemence.

“Why not?”

“Because Mr. Beckett, we don’t know you.”

Her words cut me deep, and I know she sees the hurt in my eyes because she drops her gaze again.

“Wow. Well, Miss Barrows, it would appear that I know you, and my daughter knows your daughter, so please explain how you don’t know me.”

“Zack, this isn’t-“

“Don’t call me that!” I snap

“Call you what? Your name?”

“You have never called me Zack. Not one single time in your entire life.”

“Everyone calls you Zack, except your momma when she’s mad at you.”

“You are not everyone.”

“Oh, but I am. And I am going to stay just like everyone else. It’s Zack or Mr. Beckett. You choose.”

She crosses her arms over her chest, and I notice for the first time how frail she looks. Shy was never the stick-thin thing that she is now, and in my limited experience, women who have had children don’t usually end up this much smaller than they were before having the kid. I mean, my momma and Whit are good examples of that. Neither of them shrunk past where they were at before they got pregnant. But it’s not just her size that’s alarming. It’s the missing fire in her eyes; that spark of eternal sunshine is dimmed like it’s hidden behind a bank of storm clouds.

“What happened to you, Shy?”

I can’t help the question from falling out of my mouth.

“Don’t call me that. My name is Shylah or Mrs. Amoroso.”

And there it is. The bullet that had been nestled up against my heart for seven years, four months, and two days just finished pushing its way into the beating muscle, and for a minute, it truly feels like I’m dying. With one hand held to my chest, I hold my other out to my daughter to take, which she dutifully does, and I pull her away from the duo. At some point, I dropped the basket I had been holding, and I don’t even bother to pick it back up; I just tug McKenzie along behind me.

“Duly noted, Shylah, duly noted.”

Alright my Sunbeams, time for a teaser. This is the prologue to my new WIP, Kick Me When I'm Down, book 1 of the Peyton's Cross series. Hope you enjoy! As always, please feel free to comment or share! :)

Prologue
Suds in the bucket

Shylah

Deep breaths, I can do this. I can. It’s just opening the door and then one foot in front of the other, and then another, and another, until I get to the truck.
I put my mental pep-talk into motion and reluctantly grip the old brass lever. The cold bite almost makes me jerk my hand away, but I just heft my bags up higher and force myself to pull the door open. Then, it’s just as I said, one step in front of the other all the way to the truck. The snow is coming down harder now, and I know my tracks will be long erased by the time everyone wakes up.
I open the back door and toss my bags in before climbing into the passenger seat. He doesn’t even look at me, and I’m ok with that for now. I’m preoccupied anyway, and look at the house I grew up in through the rearview and am unbelievably thankful that my parent’s room is on the backside of the house and that Meaghan snuck out an hour ago. She won’t be able to alert my parents without ratting herself out, so she’ll stew until morning and put on a performance worthy of an Emmy.
Finally, he clears his throat, and I look over at him.
“You’re really doing this then? You know you can go right back inside, and I won’t breathe a word of this to anyone.”
I take one last deep breath, then kiss my fingers and press them to the mirror’s reflection.
“Let’s go, Ry. There’s a bus calling my name.”
Forty-five minutes later, he pulls into the Greyhound Bus Station and slams the old truck into park. I know he’s mad as an old wet hen, but he’s trying really hard to be supportive. We stare at each other for a full minute, both of us brimming with unspoken emotion. I hate goodbyes, so I just tell him thanks and give him a small wave before reaching for the handle. He heaves a sigh before reaching over and grabbing my wrist.
“Really, Shylah? We aren’t gonna talk about this? About us?”
I can feel the tears threatening to fall, but I do my darnedest to keep them at bay.
“Don’t do this, Ry. We both know I have to do this. I ha-”
“No! I don’t know this! You made this decision. Yes, your parents are against you going to UCLA, but you aren’t just leaving them. You’re leaving me! Me, damnit!”
I flinch at his raised voice and cursing. If there’s one thing Zachariah Dane Beckett doesn’t do, it’s yell at me. He’s been my best friend for as long as I have been able to walk, my confidant since I could talk, and my everything since I knew what that word meant. And I’ve been all of those things to him too, at least I had thought I was. But something shifted in the last six months, and then two weekends ago, when I found him with my best female friend, Whitney, sitting in his lap on his bed with her tongue down his throat, something broke in me.
We haven’t discussed it. I don’t think he even knows that I walked up. His hands were firmly planted on her hips, holding her in place and his eyes were closed. I only stood there for a moment before turning away from the window and walking back home. We were supposed to be together, not him and Whit. Everyone in town thought so too. The only ones against it were my parents, and that’s just because my father is a control freak who has to have the final say in all things Shy’s life, who I love included. He has his heart set on me being married off to the son of the neighboring town’s Pastor.
They’ve pushed meetings and chaperoned dates with him, and I know deep in my soul that I can’t spend my life with that boy. Ry and I always joke about it, but I know it bothers him that my parents don’t think he’s good enough for me. That’s part of the reason I’m doing this. David has mentioned several times how his wife will be a stay-at-home wife and mother, but that’s not me. I have dreams, aspirations, and goals. And while I do want to be a wife and mother, I want to still be me. Between my father’s pushing and David’s chauvinism, I had decided to run while I still could and started putting in applications for financial aid four months ago. The final nail in the coffin had been finding Ry and Whitney together.
I let the anger at his last set of words fuel me.
“What us?! There is no us. There is a ‘you and Whitney’. You know Whitney, who you have make-out sessions with on your bed at one in the morning!?”
All the color drains from his face before he turns as red as his hair.
“She’s lying! I wouldn’t do that to you. She’s your best friend!”
And my heart breaks even more because she hasn’t breathed a single word of it, and he’s lying directly to my face. Snatching my arm from his grasp, I let him have it.
“No, Ry. You are the only one lying to me. She hasn’t said anything. She didn’t have to. I saw you. It was about two weeks ago after a grueling date my dad made me go on. I came to your window and saw you, so lie to me again, and say that you wouldn’t hurt me like that. I dare you.”
I don’t bother swiping the tears away. I just shake my head, trying to clear the anger and hurt, and jump out of the truck, grabbing my bags before slamming the doors behind me. I can hear him roaring in rage and slamming his hands against the wheel, but I don’t stop. It’s just one foot in front of the other, then again and again, and again, until I reach the door. Then I’ll be free to start over without the control and sting of betrayal.

Hello, my Sunbeams! We will discuss upcoming Tori McGrew contemporary romance novels, life, love, and advice here! Please feel free to interact and post to your heart's content. To kick things off, we will have a few teasers posted in the next day or so pertaining to the new book called Kick Me When I'm Down, the first book in the Peyton's Cross series. Enjoy!!!