Holding Aces by Nikki Groom ♥ 5 Star Review & Release Blitz

Title: Holding Aces (The Kingdom #1)

Author: Nikki Groom

Release Date: May 29th 2014

Genre: Adult contemporary romance

5 Star Review

When I was offered the chance to review this book, I was on the fence. My thought was a book the deals with Vegas and Casinos just not my typical choice of a good read. I was dead wrong and very glad that I took the chance. This was one of the best reads I’ve had this year. Funny, hot as ever and keeps you on the edge of your seat ( just the way I like a book). The emotion that you experience in this book are amazing!

The plot is great and let me warn you there is a cliff hanger, as you all know I use to didn’t like them but now I love them. I can’t wait for the next book in this series to get here!

You are going to fall head over heal in love with Denham!

Blurb

They say that time heals all wounds.
But mine are set in so deeply, they’ve taken on a life of their own, lurking in the shadows at every turn and haunting my thoughts.

The girl I once was has been replaced by a stranger.
I don’t even know who I am anymore.

I run.
And I hide.
Pretending to be someone I’m not…

Until I meet Denham King.
My burst of color in an otherwise grey world.
And for the first time in my life, I find myself running towards someone instead of running away.

But fate can be cruel,
and I can’t escape my past.
Can I?

**Holding Aces is part one of a two part Adult Contemporary Romance series that contains mature sexual content and language and is not intended for readers under the age of 18.**

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Excerpt

Denham greets the croupier and guides me gently with a hand on my waist to one of the available seats. He stands behind me and leans down to speak softly. “You’ve played before?”

His breath tickles my ear and I swallow noisily. “Yes.”

He nods to the croupier who is waiting attentively, Denham holds up one finger and a small stack of red chips is pushed across the smooth green felt toward me.

“Red or black?”

I spin my head around to him. “You want me to choose?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t want to lose your money.”

“You won’t. I feel lucky.” He shrugs.

“Okay, I call red. No wait, black. Put one on black,” I say, getting more excited by the second but also nervous with the pressure of gambling with someone else’s money.

He steps forward and slides the entire stack onto the large square marked BLACK. I pull at his free arm in a panic, but I can’t deny that this is exciting. “No! I said one. Put one on black.”

He leans in so he’s just millimeters from my ear and whispers, “I’m all or nothing, sweetheart. When I do something, I do it with everything I’ve got.”

“No more bets,” the croupier calls and the moment is broken.

About the Author

Nikki Groom is a hopeless romantic, lover of all things happily ever after and firm believer that love makes the world go around.
In her spare time, you will find Nikki laughing with her very treasured family, walking with her beloved dog in the hundred acre wood or curled up in a cosy corner with words and wine.
She lives in East Sussex with her husband and two children. Having turned her hand to many things over the years, Nikki is now proud to add ‘author’ to that list.
Having always been a dreamer, Nikki’s imagination stretches far and wide, which enables her to get lost in faraway places and imaginary people.

Nikki loves to chat, especially about books! You can find her here…

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The Seduction By Roxy Sloane ♥ Cover Reveal

Title: the Seduction 2

Author: Roxy Sloane

Genre: Erotic Romance

Release Date: June 12, 2014

Synopsis

Show me a woman who doesn’t like to be dominated, and I’ll show you a liar.

It’s OK, you can admit it. I won’t tell. You want it rough and deep and dirty. You want to hear the steel in my voice when I tell you exactly how to please me. And you want to know, I won’t hesitate to punish you if you don’t follow my commands to the letter.

Yeah, that’s right. I’ll punish you, and I won’t go gentle either. I’ll bend you over and spank that sweet ass until it’s branded with my handprint. Until it hurts so good, you forget where the line is between pleasure and pain.

Who am I? The Seducer. And now I’m in way over my head.

I thought she was just a job to me, another girl to screw. But now she’s under my skin, and I can’t just walk away. My secrets are spiraling out of control, but I can’t quit now. She doesn’t realize the danger she’s facing — or that her biggest threat is me.

I want to protect her, but I could wind up destroying us both.

**Part two of a filthy, seductive new serial**

About The Author

Roxy Sloane is a romance junkie with a dirty mind. She lives in Los Angeles with her hot ex-military hubby and her two kids. She loves writing sexy, complex stories about pushing the boundaries and risking it all.

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Greetings From Sugartown By Carmen Jenner ♥ Cover Reveal

Book Title: Greetings From Sugartown (Sugartown #2.5)

Author: Carmen Jenner

Publisher: Independent

Genre: Contemporary New Adult

Release Date: August 2014

Cover Designer: Cover It! Designs

Synopsis

Life in Sugartown hasn’t always been easy, not for an ex-con like Elijah, and certainly not for Ana, who grew up desperate for a way out.

Meeting Elijah changed all that; Elijah changed a lot of things.

You’d think that after three years together and the worst behind them that life would be a walk in the park, but Sugartown’s sexiest couple may be about to face their biggest obstacles yet. Between failed marriage proposals, a trampy ex-lover and a tempting new biker, Sugartown is suddenly not so sweet.

They’re head-over-heels in love. It should be simple—but it rarely is.

Will they make it down the aisle to the happy ever after they deserve? Or are some relationships just destined to fail?

Author Bio

Carmen Jenner is a thirty-something, USA TODAY Best Selling Author, doctor, pilot and CIA agent.

She’s also a compulsive, flagrant prevaricator who gets to make things up for a living.

While Sugartown may not technically exist, Carmen grew up in a small Australian town just like it, and just like her characters, she always longed for something more. They didn’t have an Elijah Cade, though.

If they did, you can be sure she would have never left.

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Life After Taylah By Bella Jewel ♥ Release Blitz

Title: Life After Taylah

Author: Bella Jewel

Release Date: May 26, 2014

Blurb

My mother’s name is Taylah, and once, a very long time ago, she was my best friend – she was everything I wanted to be.

Until the night she disappeared.

Ten years on and my life, my families lives and the world around us has never been the same again.
How can it be when you are left not knowing?

No leads. No connections. Nothing. Just pure emptiness.

My dancing is the only way I can separate myself from the pain that lies in my home, in my father’s eyes and in my brother’s spirit. They need me and I’ll fight with everything I am to be there for them, but who will be there for me?

Then I meet Nate.

Champion Motocross racer and everything my father doesn’t want for me. He’s forbidden, he’s beautiful, and he’s carrying a bundle of his own secrets.

When I step into his world, there is no turning back.

He will consume me.

He will teach me how to breathe again.

He will put a tiny piece of my broken heart, back together.

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About the Author

Bella Jewel is an Aussie girl through and through. She spent her life in Western Australia, growing up in many different areas of the state. She now currently lives in Perth with her husband, children and mass amounts of pets. She’s crazy, fun, outgoing and friendly. Writing is her passion, she started at the young age of 18 but finally got the courage up to publish, and her first novel Hell’s Knights was released in August 2013.

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One True Thing By Lynne Jaymes ♥ Release Blitz

Title: One True Thing

Author: Lynne Jaymes

Release Date: May 29, 2014

Blurb

Can one true thing save a love built on lies?

“That was all before…” Jenna waves her hand in the air, but we both know what she means. Before I touched her in the most intimate places. Before I felt her shudder under my tongue. Before she tasted the salt on my skin. Before I promised a lot more than I could deliver.

Ty Branch has wanted one thing his entire life—to play professional baseball. When he gets a chance to move from San Francisco to play at Texas powerhouse Garvin State University, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to make his dream come true, even if that means hiding his past. But when he meets dance major Jenna Taylor, the chemistry is so strong his single-minded quest begins to weaken. As he gets to know her quirky, small-town family, he falls more deeply

in love, but becomes even more sure he can never tell her the truth about his family. When a surprise visitor blows his past wide-open, Ty is forced to come to terms with his secrets. But is the damage already done with Jenna or can he find a way to sacrifice everything he’s worked for in order to win back the heart of a once-in-a-lifetime love?

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Excerpt

“I’m glad it was you at the bar tonight Ty,” Jenna says, looking up at me.

I glance down at the worn, grey carpet. “I’m glad it was you too. I’ve wanted to talk to you all year.” What am I doing here? I should tell her goodnight and walk away instead of standing here sounding like a teenager at the prom.

“Really?” She looks like she’s trying decide if that’s just a line. “Why didn’t you?”

I look back down and Jenna bites her bottom lip just slightly in a way that’s both innocent and undeniably sexy.

“I just…” I can’t look at her anymore, so I pull my eyes away and stare down the empty hallway. Why haven’t I spoken to her in almost seven months? Because I’ve spent that time becoming someone new and I can’t wreck all of that hard work. Because I’d have to tell her about all of the things that I’ve kept hidden from everyone if we got involved. Because I’d have to be honest with her—and right now I can’t be honest with anyone. “It’s complicated.”

“Oh,” she says vaguely and I know she doesn’t understand. How could she? Jenna puts the key in her door. “Do you want to come in for a minute? I’ve got a couple of beers in the fridge.”

I glance at my own front door down the hall. The one I should be walking through right about now. “I should go…”

There’s no denying the disappointment in her eyes when she looks at me and it’s painful to know what I could have if I just take that one step forward.

“Okay,” Jenna says. She stands up on tiptoes and bends toward me, her lips grazing my cheek. My head is filled with the soft, powdery scent of her mixed with something deeper and sexier. “Thanks for the ride.” She lifts one finger and draws it down my neck slowly and that’s all it takes for me to lose every ounce of my resolve.

Before I can think about what I’m doing, I bend down and kiss her so hard that I feel the breath leave my body as I press her up against the door and lace her fingers through my own. I’m starting to get lost in the kiss when the reality of what I’m doing hits me.

“I’m sorry,” I say, taking a step back from her. The taste of her is still on my lips and I want more, so much more, but I can’t. It’s not right.

“Don’t be,” she says, grabbing my hand and pulling me closer.

But I resist, glancing away because I know if I look into her eyes I’ll lose every ounce of willpower I’m trying to summon. I can’t believe I’m about to undo everything I’ve put together these past few months. But Jenna is right here in front of me and she deserves to know the truth. “Listen…there are some things you don’t know about me…”

She looks into my eyes and I’m caught. “An STD?” she says boldly.

I wince. “No.”

“A felony? A girlfriend? A baby?”

I can’t help but laugh. In light of her guesses, maybe it’s not such a big deal. “No. Nothing like that.”

She grabs both of my hands and pulls me to her and every shred of resolve melts away. “Then I don’t care.”

About the Author

Lynne Jaymes is a life-long reader and accidental writer living in Northern California. She writes contemporary fiction that is sometimes funny, sometimes sexy and always from the heart. Although this is not her first venture into writing – Lynne is traditionally published in another genre under another name – she loves the indie world for the freedom it gives her to write the stories that call to her, the ones that mean the most and the ones that editors have said would never sell. ONE TRUE THING is the adaptation of the first book she ever wrote and the story is one that is close to her family and has lived deep in her soul for years. She is also the co-author of the second book in the UNFILTERED Series, UNFILTERED & UNKNOWN. Keep up with Lynne at www.lynnejaymes.com or on Facebook and Twitter.

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Holding Aces By Nikki Groom ♥ Release Blitz

Title: Holding Aces (The Kingdom #1)

Author: Nikki Groom

Release Date: May 29th 2014

Genre: Adult contemporary romance

Blurb

They say that time heals all wounds.
But mine are set in so deeply, they’ve taken on a life of their own, lurking in the shadows at every turn and haunting my thoughts.

The girl I once was has been replaced by a stranger.
I don’t even know who I am anymore.

I run.
And I hide.
Pretending to be someone I’m not…

Until I meet Denham King.
My burst of color in an otherwise grey world.
And for the first time in my life, I find myself running towards someone instead of running away.

But fate can be cruel,
and I can’t escape my past.
Can I?

**Holding Aces is part one of a two part Adult Contemporary Romance series that contains mature sexual content and language and is not intended for readers under the age of 18.**

Excerpt

The ding sounds on the elevator, bringing me back to reality from my daydream and when the doors open, I instinctively step forward, my feet thinking before my brain, and walk straight into the person exiting. My hands fly up to correct myself, landing on a hard, wide, chest, and I look up to apologize.

Time stops.

I take in the features of the very cute guy in front of me. Wrong. Cute is not the word I’d use to describe him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this kind of handsome and I lived in freakin’ LA. This guy is not botoxed or surgically sculpted, but he is chiseled—all natural. There’s something…just something…

His hands grasp my shoulders to steady me, strong but gentle at the same time. He must be about 6’2 as he stands a head above me, and is dressed in a slate gray suit, with a crisp white shirt which is unbuttoned twice, giving me just a peek of his flesh at my eye level. As my gaze slowly travels upwards, I notice his dark hair is damp and falls gently across his forehead.

His lips curl into a sexy little grin, and that simple movement breaks the trance-like state I seem to have put myself in. I blink twice and shake my head.

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About the Author

Nikki loves to chat, especially about books! You can find her here…

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Blurred Lines by Jennifer K. Brand ♥ Release Blitz

Title: Blurred Lines

Author: Jennifer K. Brand

Release Date: May 28, 2014

A stand alone novel

Blurb

The moment I met Davide Valenti, I wanted him.

He was alluring in the kind of way that makes good girls like me want to break all the rules.

So I did. I broke my rules for him, and in turn, he gave me what I craved.

Hearts and Flowers.

Yet I wanted more. I wanted to know him, claim him the same way he had claimed me. But you can’t claim that which doesn’t exist. A mirage. A man who showed me one face while showing the world another. A complicated man. A dangerous man.

Now I’m caught up in his world. Trapped under all that is dark and dangerous. From hearts and flowers to guns and knives.

I want out. But I fear it’s too late.

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About the Author

Jennifer K. Brand writes erotic romances with witty curves and dangerous edges. She loves travelling and therefore her stories are set in exotic locales or have exotic male leads. Her stories are those with an element of intrigue or suspense, but wrapped in hot steamy romance.

Her favorite kind of hero is possessive with a dangerous edge, but has a sweet heart beneath it all. Her heroines are strong and witty and can’t wait to tame their men. She loves Gin and Tonics, Spain, Monopoly and kittens 🙂 Look out for her new book Blurred Lines, releasing May 28th!

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Spike By Jennifer Ryder ♥ Release Blitz

Title: Spike (Spark, #2)

Author: Jennifer Ryder

Release Date: May 28, 2014

Series: Spark

Synopsis

I, Aidan Stone, got the girl.

My beautiful Eevie is sweet and sassy, and she owns my heart like no other. I promised her, I’d always protect her, and I meant it, but shit just got serious.

Blackmail. Extortion. And Eevie is the target.

Sometimes the past comes back to haunt us. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to distance yourself from it, it comes back and bites you on the arse. And in walks Mr Hotshot Detective, Ryan Clark, thinkin’ he can save the day and take my girl.

Well, I’ve got news for him

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Excerpt

Today, I feel like a king with a convincing win under my belt, and the beauty on my arm is the envy of most of the guys here. Life can’t get any better.

I introduce Eevie around. She shakes hands like she means it, holds her own in conversation, and gets the occasional laugh out of guys I didn’t think had a sense of humour. She must’ve been taking note of some of the ins and outs of motocross, having the balls to ask some interesting questions.

Take note, people: funny, intelligent woman with the guts and looks to match. That confidence is heartbreak material. They’re practically drooling over her. It’s almost pathetic. If they thought they had half a chance, they’d be down on their knees in a millisecond begging for a shot.

Boys, it ain’t gonna happen. Every delectable inch of her is mine, including her heart.

Talking with some of the support crew, Jones edges his way into the conversation, standing a little close to Eevie for my liking. He puffs out his chest, and hooks his thumbs through the front loops of his jeans. Blonde hair and a baby face, he’s a pretty boy. A mummy’s boy. From the way he carries on, he probably got everything he ever wanted as a kid, and had all the latest gear. Mum could barely afford to buy my jerseys, and when she did, I wore them until I outgrew them. I had no choice but to make them last. Last round Jones threw a tantrum like a three year old over something stupid. He got what he wanted, though. Disgusting. Not that I give a shit where he’s come from; at least I know I don’t carry on like a fucking twit.

My eyes are on Jones, and he knows it. Damn it, if he doesn’t like pushing my buttons, and having Eevie here he’s gonna do anything he can to push. If he weren’t on my team I’d barely give him the time of day. He’d be half an alright bloke if he wasn’t so self-absorbed.

He acts like he’s engrossed in what Eevie’s talking about, but his eyes travel down her chest, and even lower, as if he’s trying to rip her clothes off purely with the power of his mind. It heats my blood more than it should.

“When you’re ready for a real man, Eevie, come knockin’ on my door,” Jones says. His eyes dart in my direction before resting back on Eevie’s tits. Fucking douchebag.

Eevie frowns, and purses her glossy lips. “Sorry, I don’t understand. If I’m ready for a real man, why would I knock on your door? Wouldn’t I just go home?” She bats those long lashes. That’s my girl.

Everybody erupts into a fit of laughter, me louder than most. Jones shakes his head, and playfully punches me in the arm. “You’re killin’ me, Aidan. You win today, and I hate you for it, and now your woman’s gonna break my heart,” he says, faking a southern American accent. He clutches his chest as if wounded, and winks at Eevie.

I take a long swig of my beer. “Life’s a bitch, Jones.” Now fuck off.

About the Author

New Adult and erotic romance writer, and author of the Spark series. The second book in the five part series, Spike, is to be released on 28 May 2014.

A sexy imagination, a life-long love of books and a sucker for romance, Jennifer Ryder couldn’t stifle her creativity any longer.

Writing steamy adult romance has become her new focus. Living on a rural property in New South Wales, Australia, she enjoys the best of city and country.

Her loving husband is ever willing to provide inspiration, and her two young cherubs, and sheep that don’t see fences as barriers, keep life more than interesting.

Jennifer placed third in the International Stringybark Erotic Short Fiction Award 2013.

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Rules Of Harte By Brooke Harris ~ Release Blitz

Title: Rules of Harte (Harte, #1)

Author: Brooke Harris

Release Date: May 27, 2014

Synopsis

Eva doesn’t want him, but she needs him. Julian doesn’t need anyone, but he wants her.

Evangeline Andrews is sassy and feisty, or at least she was – before; before she left New Jersey. She’s a different person in Dublin, and she’s trying hard to be normal here. But the office bitch, her nymphomaniac best friend, and the nice-guy-she’s-just-not-sure-about all threaten to complicate things. The social event of the year is looming. Everyone who’s anyone in the office will be at the masquerade ball. And Eva is invited, well instructed, to attend by her mysterious boss – or else! But she can’t go alone.

Julian Harte is a rich, powerful, Irish alpha with a fascination for games. He’s used to getting what he wants, at all costs. When Julian offers his services as an escort, Eva is about to learn the game is complicated and he doesn’t do loosing. Will Eva’s thick skin be enough to protect her when all the masks come down, or is she about to learn she’s not the only one wearing more than one mask?

Let the games begin…

*** Author note *** Brooke Harris is an Irish author, Rules of Harte is set in Dublin, with a cast of primarily Irish characters. It is not a violent book but there are questionable amounts of swearing, native sexual slang and explicit sex scenes. Julian Harte is Irish, he thinks Irish, acts Irish and says F*ck a lot. Eva Andrews is not. But she still says f*ck a lot. Please do not read if you are under 17. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this note xx

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Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HTNGNAW

***

Excerpt

It was just two simple words. Julian had heard them before from lots of different women. But there was something different about this time. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. This wasn’t the first time he’d bought a beautiful women a beautiful dress. Of course, every woman was excited when he took them shopping. Their faces usually lit up when they saw the price tag, and they could barely contain their excitement when Julian took out his credit card. Eva hadn’t even checked how much the dress was. Julian knew it wasn’t the price that mattered, just the gift itself. It was refreshing and it made him more curious than ever about this amazing woman.

‘Do you like it?’ Eva said, stepping out from behind a curtain. She caught the side of the flowing skirt and swished it from side to side as she spun around. Julian could see a sparkle in her eyes that wasn’t there before. He would buy her every dress in the shop if it would keep that sparkle there.

‘Beautiful,’ he said. ‘But your body is way too delicious to hide.’

Eva look worried.

‘Here, try this one.’ Julian had spotted a little violet number early that afternoon. Eva in that dress was the first thought that came into his head. Or, ripping that dress off Eva, to be truthful. Either way he wanted to buy it for her.

‘It’s a little more…’

‘…revealing,’ Eva interrupted, taking the dress from him.

‘I was going to say flattering. Just try it on, please?’

Eva nodded and skipped back to the changing room.

This time she emerged silent and obviously nervous.

Julian exhaled sharply. His cock bulged in his trousers. ‘Fuck. You look amazing.’

Eva lowered her head and fixed a strand of stray hair back behind her ear with shaking fingers. Julian knew she had no idea how stunning she was. He was going to change that.

‘I can’t reach…’ Eva spun around to show Julian the open zip that exposed her whole spine.

Julian sighed hard. It took all his self-control not to rip the dress from her body and fuck her there on the shop floor.

‘Come here, beautiful.’

About the Author

Brooke is from Dublin, and even though she bitches about the weather, she’s proud to have shamrocks in her blood. Anyway, what would she do if she couldn’t blame the rain for a bad hair day? She has too much of lots of things, kids, wine, books and shoes…luckily she loves them all to pieces.

Rules of Harte is her debut novel and it’s a little* on the filthy side.
*disgracefully

Come says hi to Brooke on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/brookeharris…

Or check out her blog http://brookeharrisauthor.blogspot.ie/

She’d love to hear from you.

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Black Horse By Addison Kline ~ Cover Reveal

Coming on June 28th!

Black Horse by Addison Kline

An erotic Romantic Suspense Novel that will leave you gasping for air…

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Synopsis:

There is no sensation, no experience more delicious and tempting to the senses than the taste of forbidden love. The longing… The desire… The unquenched thirst for his touch. He was the man I was never supposed to love. I was supposed to hate him. I suppose part of me did and that is what made the desire so much more intense. He set a fire under my skin that burned white hot with every smoldering glance. He sets my soul ablaze, the slow burn of passion aching in every inch of my body.

Black Horse. The name haunted my dreams… But regardless of family vendettas, old hurts and contemptuous blood shed, the heart wants what it wants… and mine has a mind of its own and my mind is set on Colton McClain.

His family is known by his father’s nickname: Black Horse. Like one of the four horses flying out of the gates of hell, Tom “Black Horse” McClain ripped my world apart fifteen years ago. I was only seven when I found my mother and father dead in their beds, with Tom McClain standing over them with a blood stained butcher knife. He would have come for me, too, had my brothers not saved me. Seth, my older brother, swooped me up before I had the chance to scream and covered my mouth with his hand.

Tom McClain sought out the services of my father in a time of great need. My father, Nathan Ford, was a highly reputable criminal defense attorney, who took on Tom’s case when he was accused of murdering his wife after she was caught in bed with another man. Tom didn’t have the money to pay for my father’s services, so he took on the case pro bono because he believed in Tom’s innocence. I remember my dad meeting with Tom in his study while my mother looked after Colton, my brothers and I in the kitchen. We had become very close. My brothers once considered Colton their best friend. Not anymore.

My father got Tom off on a technicality. The prosecution had no reliable witnesses and they weren’t about to rely on the testimony of a five year old boy; Colton himself. He had witnessed the whole ordeal himself. How does Tom repay my father for his kindess and generosity? He murdered him in his sleep. He killed Daddy first. Momma screamed when she saw a man standing over her bed, and that is what woke me. In just my nightgown and socks, I tip-toed down the hall past Timmy, Randy and Seth’s bedrooms and as I entered the doorway to Momma and Daddy’s room, Tom McClain plunged a knife through my mother’s chest. My blood ran cold. I tried to scream but no sound would come out. The next thing I knew, Seth had his hand over my mouth and we hid in the hall closet. Tears streamed down my face as my arms and legs shook. I could her Tom’s boot echo against the hard wood floor of the hall.

“Sssh… Don’t say a word…” I remember Seth urging.

The air in the closet was stifling; warm and dead like a coffin. I could hear my brothers’ heavy breathing. Our dog Micah’s frantic barking from the back yard. She knew something was horribly wrong. His bootfalls were getting closer… louder… I took a deep breath and didn’t dare exhale in fear that he would hear me. Somehow, I was able to stifle my tears, but something happened that was out of my control. My throat caught from my sobbing. Tom heard it. The foot steps intensified, beating a path to the closet door. Seth, still firmly holding me, swung around so I was facing the inside of the closet. I focused on the faded floral pattern of the shelf lining that was barely visible in the dark lighting of the closet. I focused on anything but the sound of Tom McClain’s approaching footsteps. Then a loud clicking sound made it impossible. The sound of a shot gun barrel banging into place. He didn’t even bother opening the door.

Bang! Bang! Then silence.

Out of instinct I jumped into the shelf before me and cowered behind the extra blankets mother kept neatly stored on the shelf. I was stunned that I was still alive, until reality set in. Seth had slumped down against the door of the closet, unrecognizable and motionless. The shotgun blast had obliterated his once handsome face.

I am supposed to hate Colton McClain, but I can’t. When the police showed up the next day, they found Colton locked in his father’s pick-up a block away, hungry, thirsty and distraught. He was taken away by the state and put in foster care because none of his relatives wanted to have anything to do with the Black Horse name. Black Horse was caught trying to jump the border with my father’s wallet in his pocket and $10,000 in cash in a duffel bag. He traveled alone, having abandoned Colton in his truck back in Oakely. I guess his boy knew too much. When officials apprehended him, they ran my Daddy’s license and discovered that he was found murdered. Tom pleaded insanity, but after a thorough psychiatric evaluation, it was concluded that Tom McClain knew exactly what he was doing. He was sentenced to prison for twenty years, having received a lenient judge; a rarity in the State of Texas.

My surviving brothers Randy and Tim could never know about Colton and I. They’ve had it out for him for years. Bloodlines run thick around here. The sins of the fathers will forever haunt the sons, and women are to stand back and stay out of the way. Well, I have something to say about that… Fuck that, Colton McClain didn’t murder my family. His father did… and he suffered just as much as we did. Now fifteen years after the crime that screwed both of our lives up royally, Black Horse is getting out of jail. Just four days until his release. Colton wants to hide me. He said we can run… Start over somewhere else. My brothers are armed to the teeth and a war is about to break out. I have no intentions of sitting down or running away like a little girl. We cannot hide from this anymore.

Our past does not own us, and we owe it to our hearts to show the world that love can arise from the darkest of places.

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