#NewRelease -- Once Upon a Dream by Nan O’Berry -- #Giveaway

Like most little girls, I was brought up on the Disney Princesses. I adored Aurora, Cinderella, and Snow White. I believe in the happy ever after just like my character Gillian Malone, in the first novel of the Indigo Spring Series. So, it’s with great pleasure that I bring another adult tale into the series, with Once Upon a Dream.

Once Upon a Dream is a bit different than the first book, Prince Charming Wore Spurs, in that Karleigh Jordan is trying so hard to be the perfect daughter. Her brother, Emmett was killed and she is her father’s only living relative. But her dad is very set in his ways. Girls aren’t really heads of ranches, however with Emmett gone; his way of life is slipping through his fingers.

Growing up, I lost my father in my teen years. I felt the heavy burden of responsibility, which is why I search for that elusive happy ending. Is Karleigh a bit like me??? Perhaps, I think she’s better, smarter, pretties for sure. Perhaps Jason Malone is the hero I dreamed of, hoping that one day, a handsome cowboy would sweep me off my feet and make some of those every day worries go away. 

Did love work out for me? Yes, I was lucky to find the man of my dreams. So, Once Upon A Dream is dedicated to my husband who always makes life a little bit more mysterious and brings laughter to everyday settings. Which is what we all may want, that happy ending in Once Upon A Dream.

Blurb:

Karleigh Jordan is an old flame in Jason Malone’s past that he’s never forgotten. But the bitterness her father, Marcus, has exuded toward the entire Malone family after the death of Karleigh’s brother has finally reached a boiling point. When Marcus suffers a debilitating heart attack, Karleigh must try to fill his shoes and run the Flying J Ranch alone.

Karleigh discovers a huge debt that her father is having trouble paying, a crooked ranch foreman, and the overpowering fear for her father’s precarious health—and if that weren’t enough, there are cattle rustlers on the prowl.

Jason steps in to help Karleigh with whatever he can, and they discover their love is untainted by Marcus Jordan’s bitter accusations, even five years later. As their relationship flames to life from the burning embers of the past, Jason swears to help Karleigh hang on to the Flying J—even if it means taking a drastic step neither of them had planned or anticipated. This might be the beginning of the life they’d both hoped for—ONCE UPON A DREAM…

Read a little excerpt here....

     They were close enough that their shoulders brushed. So close, she could smell the scent of fresh cedar shakes and aftershave. She wanted him to take her into  his arms. Would they be stronger than they were five years ago? Would his kiss leave her mind blank, desperate for the intimacy that she’d left when he walked away? Her lips parted and a soft sigh rippled in the stillness of the night. He turned toward her. Eyes focused on her lips, the warmth of his arm slid around her waist and her hand braced her body against his bicep. Beneath the cotton of his shirt, the muscles hardened as he drew her close. His head lowered. Her eyes searched his face, half-wanting, half-fearing what they both knew would come.

     “Nothing is as beautiful as Karleigh in the moonlight.” The velvet ripple of his voice made her shiver as his lips captured hers. Behind her eyelids, lightning flashed and the bones of her body melted away. Nothing existed but the delight of his mouth upon hers. Her hands slid across the well-developed muscles of his chest, and she delighted at the rapid beat of his heart as it played beneath her fingers. She wanted to open the door, to pull him into the house, and let all the misery of the day wash away with the delight of his lovemaking skills. However, her Jordan pride took that moment to resurface. Hand upon his chest, she pushed him away.

     “Karleigh.” He whispered her name, and her heart turned over.

     “Don’t.” She held her head down to stare at the tips of his boots and placed her fingers on his lips. “Please, let’s not drag up something that can’t be.”

     “Karleigh, darlin’.”

     Tears pooled against her lashes. “Thanks for the ride home, Jason.” She turned, her fingers found the key in the doorway, and she let herself in. "Good night." she murmured and closed the door before he had a chance to challenge her. Leaning against the door, she waited. Her ears straining to catch one last sound as he walked away.

     “Karleigh? Honey? Can’t we talk about this?”

     Tears slid in slow progression down her cheeks as she turned. The bolt and the lock clicked into place. Her forehead against the grains of wood, she listened to the sound of his footsteps fading into the night.

Be sure to leave Nan a comment to be entered in a drawing for a free ecopy of her new book, ONCE UPON A DREAM.

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