GRANT ME THE MOON WON!

What a great week! I received a surprise email from the Independent Digital Award Contest held by Oklahoma Romance Writers.  My book GRANT ME THE MOON won first place in short contemporary. 

The idea for this book occurred to me as Hero and I drove from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to Lubbock, Texas to visit family. Our route took us through Post in Garza County, just below the Caprock escarpment. A fork of the Brazos River runs through the county that is mostly ranch land. There are also wind farms.

View of the Caprock in the distance

Evidences of early man found in Garza County include Clovis spearheads. In 1934, archaeologists also discovered the sixteen-foot-long tusk of a prehistoric imperial mammoth. A type of arrow point used by hunters before A. D. 1500 was uncovered in the county during the 1960s and named the Garza point. The archaeological site is called, what else, the Garza Site. That's on private land and not available to us for a tour.

A Clovis spearhead

Nevertheless, Hero and I always wished we could visit the Garza Site. We’ve enjoyed visiting places like Chaco Canyon, Hovenweep, and Mesa Verde. Since we couldn’t visit the Garza Site, I invented one on a nearby ranch. 

Writing fiction is so great!

Allow me to share some of GRANT ME THE MOON. Here’s the blurb:

All Tory Fraser intended was to show her high school history club students a local archaeology dig. How could she know the excursion would involve a murder? Or that one of her students would be suspected as the killer? And she had no idea she would meet the man of her dreams.

Grant Grayson has taken over management of Grayson Ranch near Post, Texas to give his grandfather a less arduous schedule. A flash flood washed away an old talus slope on the ranch to reveal a prehistoric cave that is a Clovis site. Being a good citizen, he invited the nearest large university archaeology department to excavate the cave. When a gorgeous blonde high school teacher asks his permission to take her students to the site, how can he deny her? Especially when he's instantly attracted to her.

Tory and Grant are drawn into the investigation to clear her student but unintentionally make themselves a target. They must ferret out the murderer before they’re killed.

Now I’ll share an excerpt from GRANT ME THE MOON:

He guided her inside [the restaurant] and they were shown to a table.

After they’d placed their orders, he asked, “Your grandmother, is she all right?”

“Grandpa died last spring. She’s not ill, just frail and deeply in mourning. I was lucky there was an opening in the school.”

“Where did you teach before?”

She offered a wry smile, almost as if embarrassed. “Assistant professor at Texas A&M.” She shrugged and tilted her head. “I realize it appears I took a backwards step, but I was the one who could rearrange my life to move here. Fortunately, I genuinely enjoy teaching high school history.”

“So your grandmother is sad rather than ill. Does she get around well?”

She raised her eyebrows and nodded. “In fact, she can keep up with me. After Grandpa passed away, she was so heartbroken that we were afraid her health was deteriorating. Actually, it was. She wasn’t eating properly and not sleeping well. Or, she was staying up most of the night and sleeping most of the day. With me here, she keeps regular hours and we have breakfast and supper together.”

He reached across the table and laced his fingers with hers. “But not tonight.”

She met his gaze and smiled before she slid her hand to her lap. Disappointment claimed him at the loss of her touch.

“I stopped by the store on my way home and bought her a chicken pot pie in a brand that’s healthy. I only hope she’s doing as I asked and having that and a salad for dinner.”

After they’d eaten, he drove under the speed limit on the way back to Post. Her company fascinated him and he wished he could prolong the evening. When they reached the edge of the Caprock above Post, he pulled over at a wide space on the shoulder and opened the sunroof.

“I love this spot. You can see the lights of our little town below and the stars above.”

She relaxed against the seat and head rest. “The almost full moon tonight obscures many of the stars. This is a beautiful vantage point, though. As if we’re divine and are hanging above the world. I could almost reach out and touch the moon.”

He reached for her hand and entwined their fingers “Should I grab it for you?”

She offered a whimsical smile. “Let’s leave it there so everyone can enjoy the moonlight.”

You can purchase this book for only $2.99 at these sites: 

Amazon: http://a.co/iy1DX2X

Amazon UK: http://amzn.eu/g1QwOmL

Amazon Canada: http://a.co/5cBYOeQ

GRANT ME THE MOON IS NOW A SINGLE TITLE!

A word of caution. I wouldn't want you to buy GRANT ME THE MOON twice. If you read the contemporary western romance box set COME LOVE A COWBOY, then you’ve read GRANT ME THE MOON. I pulled my book from that set so I could release it as a single title because I am currently working on a sequel, CAPTURE A STAR. Both are set in and near Post, Texas.

Hero and I grew up in Lubbock, Texas, which is forty miles or so from Post. After we married, we drove from where we lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to Lubbock and back to visit family a million, gazillion times.  Maybe not that many, but that’s what it seemed. We went so often we knew when ranchers or farmers painted the barn or got a new pickup truck.

View approaching the Caprock
my photo

On the way, we passed through Post, founded by the cereal magnate Charles William Post, at the foot of the Caprock escarpment. Post bought 250,000 acres to start an experimental colony. This included a number of ranches. He fenced off the land in 160-acre tracts, laid out a townsite, built houses, and in other ways worked to attract settlers. In 1907 Garza County was formally organized and Post City designated as county seat. The name was later shortened to Post.

Someone holding a Clovis point
photo from Google Commons

Evidences of early man found in Garza County include Clovis points (spearheads) like the one pictured above. In 1934, archeologists also discovered the 16-foot-long tusk of a prehistoric imperial mammoth. A type of arrow point used by hunters before 1500 AD was uncovered in the county during the 1960s and named the Garza point (shown below). The site is called the Garza Site and is on private land so we couldn't visit for a tour.

Garza Point
from Google Commons

Nevertheless, Hero and I always wished we could visit the Garza Site. We are amateur archeology fans and have enjoyed visiting places like Chaco Canyon, Hovenweep, and Mesa Verde. Since we couldn’t visit the Garza Site, I invented one on a nearby ranch. Writing fiction is so great!

I don’t know why Post captured my imagination, but it did. The thought of C. W. Post’s Utopian community in dusty West Texas both tickles and puzzles me. Post remains very nice even though it is not exactly what Post visualized. The area has a particular desert beauty, although it is primarily ranch land. A branch of the Brazos River passes through the county. Cotton and hay are grown in Garza County, but I believe most cotton is grown above the Caprock. Oil wells dot the ranchland and wind farms spread along the edge of the Caprock. 

Photo from Google Commons

Our parents are no longer living so we don’t drive through there very often now but my fascination with Garza County hasn’t diminished. Perhaps that’s why Post seemed the perfect setting for GRANT ME THE MOON, available for 99 cents for a limited time. This is book two of the Texas Caprock Series. Book three, CAPTURE A STAR, will be released in a couple of months.

Allow me to share some of GRANT ME THE MOON. Here’s the blurb:

All Tory Fraser intended was to show her high school history club students a local archeology dig. How could she know the excursion would involve a murder? Or that one of her students would be suspected as the killer? And she had no idea she would meet the man of her dreams.

Grant Grayson has taken over management of Grayson Ranch near Post, Texas to give his grandfather a less arduous schedule. A flash flood washed away an old talus slope on the ranch to reveal a prehistoric cave that is a Clovis site. Being a good citizen, he invited the nearest large university archaeology department to excavate the cave. When a gorgeous blonde high school teacher asks his permission to take her students to the site, how can he deny her? Especially when he is instantly attracted to her as he’s never been to anyone.

Tory and Grant are drawn into the investigation to clear her student but unintentionally make themselves a target.

Now I’ll share an excerpt from GRANT ME THE MOON:

This evening, she’d traded her business suit for a blue sundress and left her golden hair down, which he liked much better than the bun-like twisty thing she’d worn this afternoon. Instead of the killer heels she’d worn earlier in the day, she wore low-slung white sandals.

The forty-mile drive to Lubbock passed quickly with talk of archaeology and travel to ancient ruins.

As they entered the city, he asked, “Do you have a food preference?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want liver or Brussels sprouts. Anything else is fine.”

A laugh erupted from deep inside him. “I don’t like liver either. How about a steak house with a variety of food?”

“Your call, Grant, because I’m not familiar with what’s available. I’ve been reclusive this year. Except for school functions, I’ve spent evenings and weekends with Grandma.”

He chose a restaurant on 82^nd Street and pulled into the parking lot. “Monday evenings are not especially busy, so we shouldn’t have trouble getting seated.”

He guided her inside and they were shown to a table.

After they’d placed their orders, he asked, “Your grandmother, is she all right?”

“Grandpa died last spring. She’s not ill, just frail and deeply in mourning. I was lucky there was an opening in the school.”

“Where did you teach before?”

She offered a wry smile, almost as if embarrassed. “Assistant professor at Texas A&M.” She shrugged and tilted her head. “I realize it appears I took a backwards step, but I was the one who could rearrange my life to move here. Fortunately, I genuinely enjoy teaching high school history.”

“So your grandmother is sad rather than ill. Does she get around well?”

She raised her eyebrows and nodded. “In fact, she can keep up with me. After Grandpa passed away, she was so heartbroken that we were afraid her health was deteriorating. Actually, it was. She wasn’t eating properly and not sleeping well. Or, she was staying up most of the night and sleeping most of the day. With me here, she keeps regular hours and we have breakfast and supper together.”

He reached across the table and laced his fingers with hers. “But not tonight.”

She met his gaze and smiled before she slid her hand to her lap. Disappointment claimed him at the loss of her touch.

“I stopped by the store on my way home and bought her a chicken pot pie in a brand that’s healthy. I only hope she’s doing as I asked and having that and a salad for dinner.”

After they’d eaten, he drove under the speed limit on the way back to Post. Her company fascinated him and he wished he could prolong the evening. When they reached the edge of the Caprock above Post, he pulled over at a wide space on the shoulder and opened the sunroof.

“I love this spot. You can see the lights of our little town below and the stars above.”

She relaxed against the seat and head rest. “The almost full moon tonight obscures many of the stars. This is a beautiful vantage point, though. As if we’re divine and are hanging above the world. I could almost reach out and touch the moon.”

He reached for her hand and entwined their fingers “Should I grab it for you?”

She offered a whimsical smile. “Let’s leave it there so everyone can enjoy the moonlight.”

Amazon: http://a.co/iy1DX2X

Amazon UK: http://amzn.eu/g1QwOmL

Amazon Canada: http://a.co/5cBYOeQ

GRANT ME THE MOON will be available at Nook, Kobo, and iBooks soon.

Happy Reading!

STORIES THAT NAG AN AUTHOR

Every new book has its specific challenges. My latest, GRANT ME THE MOON, appears with seven others in the contemporary western anthology COME LOVE A COWBOY. The anthology is available now at http://amzn.com/B01D5876UK

Years ago, I had a movie in my head of the moment when the heroine is lecturing her students at the archaeological site while the hero and his brother look on. That’s not the first scene in the book, but it’s the one that kept nagging at me. That scene nagged at me all this time.

When Keta Diablo approached me about doing a contemporary western anthology, that project immediately called to me. This book is set primarily in Post, Texas just below the geological feature known as the Caprock. To me, this is a fascinating area. Here, the Caprock cliff rises 1000 feet above the small town of Post as you head northwest on Highway 84 toward Lubbock.

Caprock near Post TX

Old photo of the Caprock near Post TX--now giant wind turbines
of massive wind farms dot many area mesas

Some of you know that I grew up mostly in Lubbock on the High Plains, labeled the Llano Estacado by early Spanish explorers. You can understand why this area captures my imagination. I love to park at the crest of the Caprock and look back toward Post. The view is striking.

Near Post, which is the seat of Garza County, there is a little-known Clovis archaeological site known as the Garza site. It’s on private property so Hero and I have never seen it. I thought how nice it would be if a similar—but slightly better—site were discovered on the hero’s ranch. That’s what’s nice about writing fiction: you can arrange fiction to suit your story as long as you stick to the rules about facts for actual places.

Here’s the blurb for GRANT ME THE MOON:

All Tory Fraser intended was to show her high school history club students a local archeology dig. How could she know the excursion would involve a murder? Or that one of her students would be suspected as the killer? And she had no idea she would meet the man of her dreams.

Grant Grayson has taken over management of Grayson Ranch near Post, Texas to give his grandfather a less arduous schedule. A flash flood washed away an old talus slope on the ranch to reveal a prehistoric cave that is a Clovis site. Being a good citizen, he invited the nearest large university archaeology department to excavate the cave. When a gorgeous blonde high school teacher asks his permission to take her students to the site, how can he deny her? Especially when he is instantly attracted to her as he’s never been to anyone.

Tory and Grant are drawn in to the investigation to clear her student but unintentionally make themselves a target. Now they must evade the killer to celebrate their new found love.

Excerpt from GRANT ME THE MOON:

This evening, she’d traded her business suit for a blue sundress and left her golden hair down, which he liked much better than the bun-like twisty thing she’d worn this afternoon. Instead of the killer heels she’d worn earlier in the day, she wore low-slung white sandals.

The forty-mile drive to Lubbock passed quickly with talk of archaeology and travel to ancient ruins.

As they entered the city, he asked, “Do you have a food preference?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want liver or Brussels sprouts. Anything else is fine.”

A laugh erupted from deep inside him. “I don’t like liver either. How about a steak house with a variety of food?”

“Your call, Grant, because I’m not familiar with what’s available. I’ve been reclusive this year. Except for school functions, I’ve spent evenings and weekends with Grandma.”

He chose a restaurant on 82^nd Street and pulled into the parking lot. “Monday evenings are not especially busy, so we shouldn’t have trouble getting seated.”

He guided her inside and they were shown to a table.

After they’d placed their orders, he asked, “Your grandmother, is she all right?”

“Grandpa died last spring. She’s not ill, just frail and deeply in mourning. I was lucky there was an opening in the school.”

“Where did you teach before?”

She offered a wry smile, almost as if embarrassed. “Assistant professor at Texas A&M.” She shrugged and tilted her head. “I realize it appears I took a backwards step, but I was the one who could rearrange my life to move here. Fortunately, I genuinely enjoy teaching high school history.”

“So your grandmother is sad rather than ill. Does she get around well?”

She raised her eyebrows and nodded. “In fact, she can keep up with me. After Grandpa passed away, she was so heartbroken that we were afraid her health was deteriorating. Actually, it was. She wasn’t eating properly and not sleeping well. Or, she was staying up most of the night and sleeping most of the day. With me here, she keeps regular hours and we have breakfast and supper together.”

He reached across the table and laced his fingers with hers. “But not tonight.”

She met his gaze and smiled before she slid her hand to her lap. Disappointment claimed him at the loss of her touch.

“I stopped by the store on my way home and bought her a chicken pot pie in a brand that’s healthy. I only hope she’s doing as I asked and having that and a salad for dinner.”

After they’d eaten, he drove under the speed limit on the way back to Post. Her company fascinated him and he wished he could prolong the evening. When they reached the edge of the Caprock above Post, he pulled over at a wide space on the shoulder and opened the sunroof.

“I love this spot. You can see the lights of our little town below and the stars above.”

She relaxed against the seat and head rest. “The almost full moon tonight obscures many of the stars. This is a beautiful vantage point, though. As if we’re divine and are hanging above the world. I could almost reach out and touch the moon.”

He reached for her hand and entwined their fingers “Should I grab it for you?”

She offered a whimsical smile. “Let’s leave it there so everyone can enjoy the moonlight.”

For now, GRANT ME THE MOON is only available in COME LOVE A COWBOY. In June, I’ll release my book as a single—but the anthology is a much better bargain. You get eight books for only 99 cents. What a deal! http://amzn.com/B01D5876UK

IDEAS INTO BOOKS

People often ask authors where we get our ideas. My friend Bobbye Terry (who also writes as Daryn Cross) answers that she gets hers from a small idea factory in Ohio. Yes, she does have a fun sense of humor. I sometimes say a fairy sprinkles magic dust onto my keyboard. In reality, even the smallest event can present the kernel of an idea.

For instance, when I was a student at Lubbock High School, I took theater. My teacher, Mr. Black, was terrific as an instructor and as a person. He and his wife were on their way back to Lubbock from Dallas when they encountered a fierce rainstorm. In a basically flat terrain, heavy rains produce flash floods as the water heads for the usually shallow creek- and riverbeds.

Between the Texas towns of Snyder and Post (founded by cereal magnate C.W. Post), the railway is built on a raised earthwork dike that acts as a dam for floodwaters as roiling torrents rush for the local fork of the Brazos River and to Sandy Creek. Mr. Black was driving through this water and watched in horror as a watertight VW bug was swept away. Fortunately, the VW lodged on the railway bank. Mr. Black was in an old, old (teachers don’t make much money) Renault, and water came in one door and exited the other. Still a frightening experience for he and his wife, but they made it home safely.

Aurora

Years and years later, my husband and I were returning from visiting our parents in Lubbock and heading toward home in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. We passed by the spot mentioned above after a downpour. It reminded me of Mr. Black’s story, and started me thinking. What if a woman traveling through this area was caught in a downpour like that? What if she was able to leave her car, but the vehicle was swept away? What if she had to walk along the railroad looking for help?


That’s how Aurora O’Shaunessy leaped from my imagination into a book called BE MY GUEST. She’s on her way to Colorado with the intention of buying a gift shop from a family friend. Aurora has definite plans for her life. This stage doesn’t include romantic complications. First, she wants to get her business firmly under control, perhaps then she will be open to love. Hmmm, when did life ever follow our plans?



Rancher Will

 One Sunday the newspaper had a feature on an elderly rancher whose horse fell, trapping the rancher on a red ant bed. Ouch! The horse was all right, but the rancher--in addition to numerous ant stings--broke his leg. His fighting spirit allowed him complete recovery. But what if the rancher was young and handsome? What if he was a widower with a child? Enter Will Harrison, a rancher whose wife died of leukemia. At least he has his daughter Kelly, his ranch, and extended family. But when a beautiful woman is his guest and the floodwaters have them cut off from the rest of the world, he realizes his family is right. Although he'll always love his wife, it’s time to move on. Can he convince Aurora to give up Colorado and remain with him?


Available on Smashwords
and Amazon Kindle


In reality, the small idea factory is not in Ohio, but in the writer’s imagination. We can’t help ourselves--everything makes us think PLOT! Every news story, documentary, non-fiction book, and family story fuels our muses. BE MY GUEST was first published by Kensington. Now that the rights hav reverted to me, I’ve published it on Smashwords and Amazon Kindle for only 99 cents.

Here’s an excerpt from BE MY GUEST:

The clock on the dashboard displayed one o'clock when Aurora was free to concentrate on lunch in Snyder. Clouds gathered and rumbled with thunder over the West Texas town. Aurora's empty stomach rumbled with them. After a hazardous morning, fatigue overshadowed her usually cheerful nature. She passed by the fast food places before she spotted the family restaurant recommended to her by the Texas State Trooper a few minutes ago.

Cars and trucks filled the parking lot. What a lucky break, she thought, when she spotted illuminated taillights and a car backed out of the prime parking slot at the entrance. Aurora saw the lone man in the dusty red pickup truck facing her, waiting for the space. He sat in the very same type and color truck used by two ruffians who had terrorized her earlier in the morning. Although she knew this man could not be one of those two men, an unreasonable anger bubbled up in her directed toward all cowboys, especially those in red trucks.

Her normally pleasant nature turned aggressive and she zipped the Mustang into the vacated park before the less maneuverable truck could occupy the space. The man honked the truck horn at her as she got out of her car. She just smiled and blew him a saucy kiss as she hurried into the restaurant. After all, any real gentleman would have let a lady have the only space in the first place, she told her nagging conscience.


Her conscience would not be quieted so easily. She must be in shock from her morning encounter. Never had she acted so rudely. Regretting her impetuous actions already, she thanked goodness the exchange occurred with a stranger and not someone she might meet again.


Seated in the corner booth, Aurora ordered a hamburger, French fries, and a large Dr Pepper. While she waited for her food, she reviewed the items listed under the town of Snyder in her Texas guidebook. Suddenly, she sensed someone standing beside her booth. As she looked up--and up--a huge cowboy with most of his left leg in a cast leaned his crutches against the side of the booth. He slid onto the seat beside her, which pinned her in the booth with him.


Aurora scooted to the right as far as possible. "Hey, who do you think you are? This is my booth, and no one invited you to share it with me!"


"Your car's sitting in my parking space, so I'll sit in your booth," he said calmly as he removed his Stetson and ran his fingers through sandy brown hair. He turned in his seat to hang the hat on the hook at the end of the booth by his crutches.


Aurora blushed when she realized this must be the man whose parking space she mischievously stole. Oh no, how terrible. He must have had to park a long way from the door and hobble in on those crutches. How embarrassing. The one time in her life she acted rudely, her victim turned out to be a man handicapped by a leg cast and crutches. Still, he had his nerve sitting beside her without so much as a "may I."


Her chin came up defensively. "Okay, I apologize. If you used one of those disability placards on your rear view mirror, people would know you have a problem."


"Lady, my problem is that you stole my parking space," the cowboy said coolly. He lifted his left leg so that the cast-encased foot rested on the seat facing them, then swiveled to gaze at her.


Aurora smelled the cowboy's after-shave mixed with the clean scent of his breath when he turned his face toward her. His stone gray eyes met hers. She saw anger drain from his eyes, replaced by stunned amazement. He leaned toward her.


Her awakened senses rocketed into response. Each thread on the sleeve of his blue chambray shirt seared where it touched her arm. For a moment Aurora had the astonishing thought that this cowboy might lean further forward and kiss her right here in public. Equally astonishing, but fleeting, came the thought that she wouldn't mind a kiss from this man. Her tongue flicked across her lips and she gave herself a mental shake, unable to turn away from his mesmerizing gaze.


What can you be thinking? You have absolutely no business falling for some good-looking cowboy out here in the middle of nowhere. Get a grip on yourself.


Her heart quelled the voice of reason within her mind. Aurora’s her stomach somersaulted from butterflies to flip-flops as she stared into the cowboy's wide gray eyes. She broke his gaze and peered at her folded hands a second before she threw them up in capitulation.


"Okay, Okay. I just don't know what came over me. I know you saw the parking space first, but I'm on Bubba-overload. Look, it's a long story, but it's been a real killer morning. Once again, I apologize and plead temporary insanity" She placed her hands palms down on the table.


His gaze raked over her, and one eyebrow elevated. "Well, well. I'm almost convinced there's remorse here. Almost--but not quite. Would you like to explain to me what 'Bubba-overload' is and what it has to do with me?"


"Listen, I apologized. Let's just drop it. Okay?" Surprised at the petulant tone in her voice, she adjusted the dark green scarf that held the hair back from her face


The man peered at her steadily, his voice polite but firm when he spoke. "No, ma'am, we can't drop it. I think I deserve an explanation after that 'Bubba' line. It sounded very much like an insult to me."


This man obviously had his hackles up and wanted a full explanation. After her morning's adventures, she found herself impatient with this cowboy, even though her mind recognized his request sounded reasonable. Finally, Aurora swiveled at her waist to face him as much as the limited space allowed. "Oh, well, if you insist. You wore that western hat and were in a pickup truck. At a glance, you looked like the typical red-necked Bubba. All you lacked was a big wad of tobacco bulging in your cheek."


She raised her hand and shook a finger at the man as if he were a delinquent school boy. "Listen, I've had my fill, and then some, with you guys. You follow me, whistle at me, lean out a truck window to sing to me, shout, or wave to me. I even receive various very rude gestures and get mooned. Believe it or not, I do nothing either to initiate or encourage any of this behavior."


A skeptical smile appeared and he raised his eyebrows. A flush of color heated her face at the memory of her behavior in the parking lot. She held up one hand to stop any comment he might make before she continued.


"Oh, I know, I acted brashly with you outside just now. Let me assure you, that's entirely unlike me. In fact, it's truly a first. I've never, ever done anything like that before."


She shook her head in wonder. "I don't know what came over me. As I said, it must have been temporary insanity due to Bubba-overload."


She pinched the fabric on the leg of the neatly creased blue denim jeans she wore. "Look at me. My jeans aren't skin-tight. They’re not painted on me." With a tug at the hem of her hunter-green knit top, she added, "My shirt isn't too tight, it has three-quarter sleeves, and the neck isn't low or revealing."


Aurora moved her knees and elevated a foot to display canvas shoes. "I'm wearing my little Keds, not flashy pumps with stiletto heels. All in all, I think I'm dressed very sedately and not at all in a provocative way."


The cowboy slid his glance slowly up and down her then back to her face before he smiled a slow, lazy smile that lit up his eyes and brought a dimple to his cheek. He reached over to grasp her untouched water glass and took a drink from it, his eyes returning to her face as he sipped the icy water.


Her own mouth opened as she watched his mouth against the rim of the glass. The tip of her tongue slid against her upper lip as the water slid into his mouth. She could almost feel his lips as they received the liquid. To hide the rising turbulence in the pit of her stomach, Aurora glared at him. In vain she tried to avoid thoughts of his stare or the dimple that appeared with his smile.

She forced herself to concentrate on her defense. "Um, I just drive along in my little blue Ford Mustang, enjoying the scenery and minding my own business. I do nothing to call attention to myself. I even try to be a good sport about the immature behavior some guys display."


She took a deep breath. "I try to take it all in stride and just keep on schedule but"--Aurora slammed her hands against the top of the table--"this morning, two very frightening Bubbas tried to run me off the highway and hijack me or my car."


His eyes widened and his mouth gaped, but she continued, "I'm only here because a State Trooper happened by in time to interrupt my abduction. Frankly, that scared the life out of me. The longer I thought about it, though, the angrier I became. By the time I got to this restaurant, I had completely lost my cool."


Aurora took a deep breath and gazed at her hands. She recalled the fright that consumed her when she realized the two men followed her. Only quick thinking on her part prevented the two ruffians from succeeding at their attempt to run her off the road and get her out of her car. She shuddered to think what might have happened if not for the State Trooper. And never, never would she forget the faces of those two men!


She waved her hands in a fluttery motion. "When I saw you in a truck the same color as the one that ran me off the road...well...I guess I just went bananas, berserk, crazy. That's why I'm pleading temporary insanity." Aurora leaned back and crossed her arms in front of her.


At this moment the waitress appeared with their food. Aurora stared in amazement as the waitress set the burger, fries and Dr Pepper in front of her and a duplicate of the order in front of the man beside her.


The waitress flashed what she probably thought of as her most seductive smile at the man. In a low, honeyed voice, she asked, "Anything else today, Will?"


He seemed unaware of the invitation in her voice or the hopeful sparkle in her eyes. "Not right now, Norma Sue, thanks. Go ahead and leave the check now and save yourself time."


When the disappointed waitress left, Aurora appraised Will. How could he fail to notice the waitress’ blatant invitation? Had he any idea how attractive he was? Hold on, this guy might be too good to be true.


Aurora gazed over he shoulder at the departing waitress. "How on earth did she know what to bring you? When did you give her your order?"


"When I came in." He leaned across her to get the salt and pepper. Will paused to flash her a truly breathtaking smile and the bottom fell out of her stomach again. "I also told her you’d pick up the check.”

To purchase BE MY GUEST for only 99 cents (and I hope you will), here are the links:

The Smashwords buy link is http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/36811?ref=CarolineClemmons

The Kindle buy link is http://www.amazon.com/BE-MY-GUEST-ebook/dp/B004M8T1EC/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1321284462&sr=1-3

Thanks for stopping by!