{"id":7064,"date":"2017-08-14T01:05:49","date_gmt":"2017-08-14T05:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kate-hill.com\/blog\/?p=7064"},"modified":"2017-07-23T09:01:41","modified_gmt":"2017-07-23T13:01:41","slug":"bonnie-edwards-whole-lot-o-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kate-hill.com\/blog\/?p=7064","title":{"rendered":"Bonnie Edwards – Whole Lot O\u2019 Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thanks so much for bringing me in as a guest. I\u2019m excited to say that my short, sexy, \u201csecret baby\u201d novella Whole Lot O\u2019 Love is officially available for sale on its own. \u00a0You can find it here from your favorite retailer: https:\/\/books2read.com\/WholeLotOLove<\/a><\/p>\n

Ashlee Branton\u2019s lottery win is giving her and her son a new, settled life back home.<\/em><\/p>\n

Except that returning to Blaine, Washington means facing her son\u2019s father, Brick Harcourt, in a most unsettling way.<\/em><\/p>\n

As a teen Ashlee deserted Brick and his less-than-accepting family when she\u2019d become pregnant. In hiding, she worked hard to raise their baby on her own. But as luck would have it, she has a chance to repair what she broke back then. Dare she take one more chance on love?<\/em><\/p>\n

But Ashlee has two pasts now, one with Brick and one with an ex who wants to crash their reunion. Will she run again or stay and sacrifice money for love?<\/em><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a taste of what you can expect from Whole Lot O\u2019 Love:<\/p>\n

Chapter 1 by Bonnie Edwards<\/p>\n

Life had a lot of peculiar twists in it for the Branton clan. Cousin Tyce married an heiress who turned out to be his first love, but their other cousin Teri Branton was ditched at the altar and married a stranger within weeks.<\/p>\n

Yes, Ashlee decided, the Brantons were given different, unusual paths to walk, and now Ashlee had one, too. Considering she was only twenty-three, she\u2019d already been handed some doozies. A teenage pregnancy made her run off alone to take on single motherhood. After a short stint in school, she\u2019d landed a decent job that paid the bills if not much more. Lost that job and started waitressing at a diner and lived broke\u2014very broke.<\/p>\n

And now this. The biggest, weirdest twist she could imagine.<\/p>\n

She stretched out on the bed, propped her head on her hand and stared at her lottery ticket again. The numbers blurred on the strip of paper as she blinked through tears. Fearful she somehow had the numbers jumbled she checked the screen of her phone again. Not jumbled. There they were; her birthday, Cory\u2019s birthday, and Tommy\u2019s.<\/p>\n

She fisted a hand into her mouth to stop a shout of triumph? Fear? Excitement? With Cory asleep on his side of the bed, she had to be quiet. No shrieking, no giggling, no wild crazy joy. Her son would be cranky if he didn\u2019t get a full night\u2019s sleep.<\/p>\n

Tracing the numbers on the ticket with a fingertip, she checked the screen on her phone again. She\u2019d used Tommy\u2019s birthdate out of habit, though they\u2019d broken up last week.<\/p>\n

The shakes began when she formed the amount in her mind. Half a million dollars. Half a million.<\/p>\n

Five hundred thousand. Dollars. Real dollars.<\/p>\n

Okay, that part had to be wrong. Luck like this didn\u2019t happen to people like her. People from the La La Land Trailer Park did not win big. Not in the money department.<\/p>\n

Except her cousins Tyce and Teri had won the game of love. And Tyce\u2019s wife, Lisa, had inherited a ton from her husband, so in a way Tyce and Lisa had won in the money game.<\/p>\n

Why couldn\u2019t Ashlee win money? Maybe it was her turn.<\/p>\n

Tommy, that\u2019s why. He\u2019d want half, if not more. But Tommy was gone, wasn\u2019t he? He\u2019d walked out of their lives a week ago because she wouldn\u2019t let him move in. But she had Cory to consider and he\u2019d never understood that.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t get that being with him for six months wasn\u2019t long enough to take a chance. Not with Cory. And she hated the idea of living with a man just for the shared rent. That path led straight downhill to dependence and no way would she get talked into being dependent on a man. She\u2019d been stuck there too often as a kid.<\/p>\n

She was better off without Tommy, even if it meant she and Cory had to stay in this crappy motel until one of her job prospects panned out. She was an experienced administrative assistant and soon she\u2019d leave the diner behind.<\/p>\n

Soon, meaning first thing in the morning. She didn\u2019t have to wait for a new job.<\/p>\n

Because life had just taken another strange turn.<\/p>\n

And she and Cory had to get the hell out of town. She\u2019d walked away from her life before and she could do it now.<\/p>\n

~ ~ ~<\/p>\n

At seven a.m. she showed up at work to get what pay Luis owed her. He cursed her out when he learned she was leaving him short a server. \u201cI can do the breakfast rush. Sue-Ellen needs the help. But I\u2019ll be gone right afterward.\u201d Luis snorted his acceptance and got back to the griddle.<\/p>\n

Cory waited silently behind her. He knew something big had happened and he seemed scared. No wonder, she\u2019d had all their belongings packed and stowed in a corner when he\u2019d woken.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until she\u2019d seen his worried face that she realized she could leave everything but their clothes and his toys behind. She gave him a coloring book and crayons out of his pack and set him up at a stool at the counter.<\/p>\n

Two hours later, Cory was bored, well fed and ready to leave. So was she.<\/p>\n

Sue-Ellen called her over after Luis headed into his shoebox of an office to get her pay. \u201cIs Tommy hurting you? Did he come back and do something?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Tommy\u2019s gone for good,\u201d she said and shook her head for emphasis, \u201cbut he\u2019s not a bad guy and he\u2019d never hurt me or Cory.\u201d She smiled at Sue-Ellen. Behind them she heard Luis grumbling about undependable people. The sound of his shuffling feet drew close.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have family stuff to see to and I have to leave right away.\u201d They hugged and Ashlee took her pay from her boss and left the diner for the last time. She held Cory\u2019s hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze. \u201cI\u2019ll never have to sling burgers again.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled up at her. \u201cGood. I didn\u2019t like that job. I liked your old one. Are you going back there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, sweetie, I\u2019m not. We\u2019re going to live better than that motel, though. I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n

If she were wearing a hat, she\u2019d toss it in the air and twirl. Here she was, Ashlee Branton, single mom from the La La Land Trailer Park, completely free to do whatever she wanted when she wanted. She picked Cory up in her arms and swung him in a circle. \u201cWe\u2019re moving away, Cory, and we\u2019ll be happier than ever before, you\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

She staggered under his weight. He giggled, as he was meant to. \u201cWhen did you get this big?\u201d She dragged in a breath and set him down.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you feeded me.\u201d Their private joke made her laugh. \u201cI\u2019m five, Momma, not a baby,\u201d he explained as if she needed to learn something important. She supposed their joke had grown old for Cory.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you are.\u201d She held his hand to cross the street for the bus stop. Cory\u2019s mittens were sodden from rain. February in Tacoma could be wet and miserable. Maybe they should go somewhere warmer instead of home to Bellingham. But Cory should have the benefit of more family, and she missed her mom and her cousins.<\/p>\n

The bus arrived and she and Cory climbed on. She pulled his mittens off and warmed his hands in hers. She needed the anonymity of the bus, so she\u2019d left her car behind the diner. Heading to the state lottery office to collect her win, she wanted her privacy. She did her mental checklist again.<\/p>\n

Her lottery ticket was signed, her identification up to date, and she had a void check folded neatly in her wallet. Since she\u2019d never actually used a check before, her mom had told her how to fill it out correctly. Unsure what to expect once she got to the office, her nerves jangled at the thought of her picture in the paper. But with it being a secondary win, and not a big jackpot, maybe they wouldn\u2019t badger her about going public. Winners\u2019 names may be public, but if it wasn\u2019t a major jackpot then there shouldn\u2019t be much fanfare.<\/p>\n

She had enough money to pay for a nicer hotel than the dump they\u2019d called home for the last three weeks. Once the money was hers, she\u2019d go to a financial advisor at her bank and make decisions.<\/p>\n

And then, in a couple of days, they\u2019d go home to the La La Land Trailer Park and her mother. Tommy would never look there. But then, maybe he wasn\u2019t looking. He hadn\u2019t returned in the week since he\u2019d left. Maybe she was concerned for no reason. If he didn\u2019t care to come back then the money was hers, free and clear. He\u2019d already left when she\u2019d bought the ticket anyway.<\/p>\n

Two days to gather her thoughts, make some plans and get advice. Easy. For once, her coming days would be easy.<\/p>\n

~ ~ ~<\/p>\n

Brick Harcourt took one last walk through the bungalow that would finance his dreams.\u00a0 It had been a long hard road to get to this stage, but the house was ready. The stagers had done a good job. The furniture was cool and sophisticated, the knickknacks and pictures perfectly placed. He\u2019d worked his butt off on these renovations and he wanted to be the one here on open-house day.<\/p>\n

Now all he had to do was put some cookie dough on a tray and slide it into the oven. The house would smell homey and welcoming, and small touches helped on open-house day. At least that\u2019s what his buddy Kyle McNamara told him. Everything he\u2019d worked for hinged on this house selling, and the sooner, the better.<\/p>\n

He pulled the tube of dough out of the grocery store bag and sliced it the way the instructions told him to. He should have pre-heated the oven first, but he did it now and had to wait. No problem; if this was the worst thing to happen today, he\u2019d be a happy man. He could afford to be patient for a few more minutes.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d wasted a lot of years hiding from life, doing nothing, being angry and spinning his wheels. These last two had been spent on hard work and dreams. Patience had been key to this project.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d grown up next door to the McNamaras and Kyle\u2019s dad had given Brick his carpentry apprenticeship. Once he was licensed, Kyle had opened up a place for him in his renovation business. Working with Kyle had forced him back into life and this house was the culmination.<\/p>\n

Selling the house was also the beginning of the next phase of him putting his life in order. It represented success and moving forward. For the first time in years he felt free of loss. Free of anger and rebellion and all that rebellion meant. It was his time now and he would make the most of it.<\/p>\n

He walked to the front door to check that the flags were flapping in the light breeze. The sun was out, rare in Bellingham in February. The day looked perfect. He heard a ding from the kitchen and guessed the oven had heated to the right temperature. He slid the cookie sheet inside and closed the door just as he heard a young voice coming from the front door. \u201cCan we go inside now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so,\u201d came a woman\u2019s voice in that singsong they used with kids.<\/p>\n

His first prospect was here. He rounded the corner and stood in the hall, a welcoming grin on his face. There stood a boy and his mother. They were both young.<\/p>\n

She had dark-blonde hair and wide, frightened blue eyes. Her mouth hung open in shock.<\/p>\n

\u201cAshlee?\u201d He looked from the woman to the boy who hopped through the front door like a frog. Shock rose, causing his mind to stall out. And then some other emotion grew near his heart as he gaped at the boy. He thought he\u2019d never get the chance to feel this warmth as he looked into the eyes of his own son. She\u2019d run off pregnant, and now here she stood, with a kid who looked just like him. The boy rose to full height and blinked at him, not like a frog at all.<\/p>\n

The boy had his eyes, brilliant blue, and his hair, midnight black. Ashlee put her hand on the boy\u2019s shoulder and meant to pull him backward out of the front door, but Brick strode straight for them. The boy must have felt the tension, the shock, the tangle of fear, anger and raw pain because his eyes widened and stopped Brick in his tracks.<\/p>\n

He fell to his knees to meet the boy\u2019s eyes dead on. To show him he\u2019d never need to be afraid, not of Brick, not ever. He worked to soften his expression.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t leave.\u201d It was all he could come up with. The rest of whatever he wanted to say flew out of his head.<\/p>\n

The boy looked up over his shoulder at his mother. \u201cMomma?\u201d He shrugged the shoulder Ashlee Branton was holding. \u201cYou\u2019re hurtin\u2019 me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wanted to snatch up the boy, grab him to his chest and bury his nose in his neck to smell him, to know him. How he felt, how he smelled, how much he weighed, how soft his hair was, how deep his soul was, how fast his heart beat and how strongly. \u201cWill you tell me your name? Please?\u201d he addressed the boy.<\/p>\n

Ashlee drew in a sharp breath but released their son from her grip and rubbed his shoulder where she\u2019d pinched. \u201cGo ahead, it\u2019s okay,\u201d she said, her familiar husky voice icily calm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Cory,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Brick Harcourt, Cory.\u201d And I love you already.<\/em> \u201cI\u2019m pleased to meet you,\u201d he said solemnly. Cory. His name was Cory. He blinked back tears.<\/p>\n

Ashlee got a strange look on her face and then went board stiff. She tapped Cory on the head so he\u2019d look up at her. When he did, she spoke softly. \u201cCory, you\u2019ve asked about your dad, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, the other kids in school have dads.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d she said, \u201cBrick Harcourt is yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For more info and sample chapters: http:\/\/www.bonnieedwards.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"Amazon author page: http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Bonnie-Edwards\/e\/B001IO9UTO<\/a><\/p>\n

Twitter: https:\/\/twitter.com\/BonnieEdwards<\/a><\/p>\n

Facebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Bonnie.Edwards.Author<\/a><\/p>\n

Pinterest: https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/bedwards1342\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Goodreads: https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/283636.Bonnie_Edwards<\/a><\/p>\n

Sign up for her newsletter:\u00a0 http:\/\/oi.vresp.com?fid=4ecdcb6889<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thanks so much for bringing me in as a guest. I’m excited to say that my short, sexy, “secret baby” novella Whole Lot O’ Love is officially available for sale on its own.  You can find it here from your favorite retailer: https:\/\/books2read.com\/WholeLotOLove Ashlee Branton’s lottery win is giving her and her son a new,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[846],"tags":[794,430],"class_list":["post-7064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bonnie-edwards","tag-featured","tag-romance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kate-hill.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kate-hill.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kate-hill.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kate-hill.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kate-hill.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7064"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kate-hill.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7067,"href":"https:\/\/kate-hill.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7064\/revisions\/7067"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kate-hill.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kate-hill.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kate-hill.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kate-hill.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}