With my first YA story, I had a ten-day countdown, but that seemed to last WAY TOO long, so I'm shortening it to five this time around to see if that goes better.
On the first day of this countdown, I guess I should provide you with a blurb, video, and excerpt in order to let you know just what story we're throwing a countdown party for! And without further ado:
By Linda Kage
Available : August 6, 2010
from The Wild Rose Press
THE TOMBOYPilot B.J. Gilmore is Tommy Creek, Texas’s tough tomboy who loves to fly planes and gamble and doesn’t give a whip what anyone thinks or says about her…until Grady Rawlings steps into her life.
PLUS THE WIDOWER
Heir to an oil dynasty, Grady has inner demons to battle. Ever since his wife and unborn child died two and half years ago, he’s developed a deep-seated hatred for sympathy and can’t handle anyone feeling sorry for him or treating him like some pitiful widower.
EQUALS TROUBLE IN TEXAS
Grady hires B.J.'s plane service to fly him to Houston for an overnight business trip. While there, she coaxes him into accompanying her to a late dinner, where she decides it’s time for him to move on with his life. A month later, she turns up pregnant with his baby, and neither of them is prepared for the chaos that follows.
"I heard about five minutes ago that someone had knocked up B.J. Gilmore.”
That finally evoked the response he’d expected. Her face drained of color, and she dropped her bag of popcorn, spilling kernels around her bare feet.
“Who told you that?”
Grady folded his arms and stared hard. “I overheard Gabe Watson telling Ulrick Pullson about it at Herb’s Quick Stop. Both of them already knew.”
“Who?” she demanded, and then she shook her head furiously. “I...I just wasn’t sure how to announce it,” she answered quietly. “I mean, was there any way to break it to you easily?” Grady opened his mouth, but B.J. hurried to add, “One thing was sure, I definitely wasn’t going to tell anyone else until you knew.”
She stopped suddenly as if just realizing something. Then she scowled and pressed her hands to her hips, snapping, “Wait a second. What even makes you think this is your kid?”
She’d already given it away, but his answer was a quiet, heartfelt, “Because I’m not that lucky.”
B.J. looked like she was going to cry, and he felt like a heel for saying such a thing. He wasn’t typically a rude man. But B.J. wasn’t the type to break down and bawl when her feelings were hurt either. So, why did the two of them together seem to bring out the worst in each other?
God, he wanted to scrub his face with his hands and mutter, “What a disaster,” but he didn’t want to hurt her any further. She already looked like she was on the edge and might crumble any second.
He sighed then and really did scrub his face with his hands.
“I guess we’ll need to get married,” he announced, sounding none too pleased.
If you'd like to enter my contest in an attempt to win a free copy (print or ebook) of this story, then head right on over to my contest page HERE and sign up. Good luck!
I'll see you all tomorrow for DAY 4 of the TTWT Countdown!
Wow--what a great excerpt!
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