The Dead Tree
By Lori L. Clark
Genre: New
Adult Romantic Mystery/Family Saga
Expected Release: June 10, 2014
About
the book:
When Ariel Fountain walks in on her boyfriend having
sex with two of her friends, all the dreams and plans she's made with him turn
to dust. Angry, confused, and hurt, she doesn't know what she's going to
do, but life tosses her another curve -- her great aunt Blythe has died…leaving
Ariel a very wealthy woman.
In taking possession of her inheritance, Ariel
learns of the Legend of the Dead Tree. It seems her great aunt's lover hung
himself from the tree, but many believe it was not suicide.
When she meets Grady Tucker with his sexy bod and
gorgeous dimples, Ariel is attracted to the handsome landscaper, but little
does she know -- she and Grady have a lot more in common that raging hormones.
The past is about to rear its ugly head and change both their lives forever!
Excerpt
The engine of the Bobcat sputtered a few times
before dying. Grady swore and climbed down from the machine. I watched him out
of the corner of my eyes as he sauntered up the hill. His feet stopped right
under my nose. "I have to run back to town and get some gas."
I raised my head and stared at his gorgeous pale
blue eyes. He surprised me by holding my gaze.
"Um, I think there's some in the garage. I'll
check, if you'd like," I offered. He was still watching me intently. I
blinked and looked away. I reached behind me to push myself off the ground and
immediately felt a searing pain in my left palm. I jerked my hand back and felt
something warm trickle down my wrist. I'd just managed to impale my hand on the
garden shears I'd laid in the grass behind me. "Damn."
Grady knelt beside me, gently taking my hand in his.
He inspected the wound, while I was too afraid to see how bad it was. Judging
from the way it felt, it wasn't good. "You're gonna need stitches,"
he said.
My eyes went round. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, Ariel, I'm sure." He quickly removed
his t-shirt and wrapped it around my bleeding hand. I grimaced when I caught
sight of the amount of blood trailing down my arm. "Hold it above your
heart and apply pressure with your other hand."
The edges of my vision went dark, and I thought I
was going to pass out. Not from the loss of blood, I was squeamish when it came
to the sight of blood. I whimpered and wobbled on my feet. "Oh,
shit."
Grady wrapped his arm around my waist and half
carried me to his pickup. He opened the passenger door and helped me inside.
"You okay?"
I shook my head no but said, "Yes."
He laughed. "Hang in there."
As it turns out, I had a pretty nasty gash. Fourteen
stitches and some kick ass pain meds later, we were on our way back home.
"Thank you," I whispered.
"Let this be a lesson," he said.
I peered sideways at him. "A lesson? For
what?"
"I told you, you jinxed yourself when you said
you weren't accident-prone, and look what happened."
I rolled my eyes. "Pfft. As if."
He chuckled. "One of these days, you'll trust
my superstitious nature."
I lowered my eyes and nodded. "We'll see."
When we returned from town, Grady shut the truck off
and jumped out. He hurried around to open my door and help. The warmth of his
hand radiated through my tank top when he pressed it against my lower back and
guided me toward the front door. "Let's get you inside. I think it's safe
to say you can have the rest of the day off, Princess."
The pain meds must have made me loopy, because I
would never have said what I said next, had I been in my right frame of mind.
"If I'm a princess, then you must be my knight in shining armor."
"Something like that," he said softly.
Author Bio
Lori L. Clark was born in Iowa, where she spent the
first forty-six years of her life. In 2007, she loaded up a moving van and
relocated to Missouri, where she currently resides. Lori's only child is a very
spoiled Min Pin named Barkley. When not writing, she reads and runs. She
completed her first half marathon at the age of fifty.
In 2009, after participating in NANOWRIMO, she began
to take seriously the voices in her head. Two New Adult contemporary romance
novels, Different Roads, and I Breathe You, were published in 2013, and showed
early success. The Heart Knows What the Heart Wants is set to release in March
2014, and has her venturing into the realms of Romantic Suspense.
Lori is a member of Savvy Authors, the St. Louis
Writers Guild, and Romance Writers of America.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/clarklori
Personal blog: http://www.lorilclark.com
Book review blog: http://www.shereadsnewadult.com
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/clarklori/
Amazon author's page: http://www.amazon.com/Lori-L.-Clark/e/B0085953FA/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
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Thank you for posting. :)
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