BLOG TOUR: Love and Music in Texas Series by Nikki Lynn Barrett +GIVEAWAY

Baby Stetson

Love and Music in Texas

Book 1

By Nikki Lynn Barrett            

Genre: contemporary romance/ suspense elements

ASIN:  B00BWIE1GI 

Number of pages: 455

Word Count:  103k

Cover Artist: Robert Barrett

Available Here:

Amazon | BN | Kobo

Blurb: 

In small Texas towns, strangers come and go...
Left in a Stetson hat, on the steps of the local bed and breakfast, Avery Callimer came into the world on a wing and a prayer. Raised by loving adoptive parents, she’s never lacked for love ... only the knowledge of her past.
By day she works at the inn, but by night ... Avery comes alive as lead singer in a band. Life was good ... stable, until new guests blew into town.
Some strangers come with secrets and lies.
Lucas Bennett is one such stranger. Drifting from one mess to another has left him jaded. Doesn’t matter the dramas are never his doing. Giving it one last shot to make a fresh start lands him Harmony’s Echo, Texas and smack dab in front of the tantalizing Avery.
Despite his best efforts to ignore the burn Avery’s ignited within, he’s intent to keep his distance. Secrets have followed him. Secrets he doesn’t want Avery to know.
Each time they’re near the other, things heat up like a brushfire on a dry Texas prairie.
But maybe, after the dust settles and the smoke clears, love can bloom with a fresh start.

“You have.  So much.  More than you’ll ever realize.”  Lucas kissed her palm, then each of her knuckles, his lips brushing against them lightly.  He gently pulled her closer to him on the bench, and they turned their attention to the west, where the sun sank lower  on the horizon,  casting orange  and red  colors

across the sky and the water.  The ocean became a sea of red.  It was one of the most spectacular sunsets Avery had ever seen.  Sitting on a bench near the pier with Lucas made it even more amazing.  It’s the little things such as this that mattered.  All the little things added up today, making for a perfect memory, one Avery would treasure forever, no matter what happened.  Lucas’s touch, the way he caressed her shoulder, they gave her comfort.

          They needed each other.

          Words formed in her mind.  Avery had a new idea for a song.  She reached in her purse and pulled out a pen and pad.  Good thing she always carried one.  For times like this, when the mood struck and lyrics popped into her mind.  Lucas watched her in wonder.  “Writing lyrics down,” she explained and tried to hide what she wrote so he couldn’t see it.  That only made him wonder even more.  Avery caught him trying to peek over.  She took the pad and swatted him with it.  “Don’t look.  Not yet.  I promise, if you’re good, I may let you see it later.”

          “Tease,” Lucas muttered, and let her finish her writing.

          “That’s not teasing.  I can tease, if you want,” Avery said coyly.  She ran a hand up his leg.  He moved her hand away, scowling at her, which only made Avery burst into laughter.

          “I’m keeping tabs, you know.  Just you wait.”  Lucas lifted a brow and tried to act serious and stern.  That didn’t last long.

          He brushed strands of Avery’s hair from her face and drew her close.  He dropped little kisses on the corners of her lips.  When Avery went to deepen the kiss, Lucas pulled away.  Avery’s jaw dropped.

          “I told you,” was all Lucas said.  “I can be just as torturous as you.”

          This time, it was Avery’s turn to scowl.  “There’s a difference between a kiss and me writing something.”  She tried to argue, but Lucas didn’t budge.  “You’re mean!”

          As the sky darkened, bright lights overhead began to buzz.

          Avery loved the laughter in his eyes.  He was enjoying this way too much.

          “Are you ready to go?”

          Avery nodded, putting away her pen and pad.  Lucas stood, held out his hand and helped her to her feet.  “Thank you for a wonderful day,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around him.  She rested her head against his chest, knowing she needed to let him go so they could leave, but enjoying him way too much just like this.  The steady beat of his heart thrummed in her ear.  Lucas kissed the top of her head.

          “Thank you for being you,” he murmured.  “I couldn’t ask for anything better.”  Lucas released her, then took her hand as they walked the path back to the parking lot.

          It was time.

The Melody In My Head

Love and Music in Texas

Book 2

By Nikki Lynn Barrett

Genre: contemporary romance/ suspense elements

Blurb:

Welcome back to Harmony's Echo, Texas.....

Melody Roland is on the run from the one person she trusted completely. One who hid a dark past she could never have imagined. When a pregnant woman on the bus she's fleeing on goes into labor, Melody rushes to her aide. Now she finds herself stranded in a tiny remote town just off the highway, with no way to her original destination.

She's alone, on edge, and unsure who to trust. Her instincts scream to get far away and fast. But how and where?

Jameson Grant struggles through the roughest year of his life. Suffering from the loss of his father, one grief stricken night, he made a mistake. One which cost him the only woman he's ever loved. Each lonely day he's faced with the constant reminders of how quick things can change. Throwing himself into the one thing he has left, his music, helps dull the pain he fights to keep hidden. His last salvation begins to crumble as things spiral out of control and he has no choice but to face the 'music' of his past.

The last thing he needs or wants in his life is a woman with more trouble on her heels than the best of country music lyrics. But Melody sings a sirens call within him that can't be ignored.

Jameson and Melody bond in ways stronger than either could have imagined, but one dangerous person from her past may threaten it all...

If she doesn't flee before he can convince her to stay, and that some love songs last an eternity.

“Come with me.” He winked before leaving the room.

Jameson grabbed a couple blankets and his guitar. She would probably call him crazy, but he hadn't

done this in awhile, so it was overdue.

“Jameson, what are you doing?”

Guitar in hand, he faced Melody and just smiled. “Preparing to distract us from our problems for awhile. I

think you might enjoy it. Come on.”

He knew he got her curious then. She followed him as he opened the front door, a brisk chill blasting his

face. Not too bad for October. Gotta love Texas weather. So fickle. Some days were chilly and then there were

some that were warm.

Perfect.

The door shut softly behind them. Jameson grabbed the lantern from the porch and held it out to Melody.

“Here, hold this. We'll need a little bit of light.”

She took it hesitantly from his hand.

Carefully holding the guitar case, Jameson climbed the ladder resting on the side of the house. He

should have taken it down, but until now, he'd forgotten about it. He set the guitar case on the edge of the roof,

then glanced down at Melody. “Okay, hand me the blankets and the light,” he called to her. Stepping down a few

rungs, he reached for the requested items. Once on the roof, he peered back at her again. “Come on up!”

“Jameson, what are we doing?” But she was laughing. When her head appeared at the top, he held out

a hand to her, helping to ease her up onto the roof. He'd already set one blanket down for them to sit on. The

other he brought for her in case she got cold.

“Getting a great view of the stars.” Jameson pointed. One of the things he loved about living in a small

town was being able to see the sky at night. One of the best views ever. Melody settled next to him on the

blanket, staring in the same direction.

“It's beautiful. I can't remember the last time I just looked at the stars.”

It had been awhile for him, too. But he knew when the last time that he'd been up here had been.

He set the lantern at the edge of the blanket and turned on the light. It was bright enough for them to

see, but not too bright to ruin the view of the stars. “Are you cold? I have an extra blanket.” He pointed to it. “The

only thing I forgot to grab was something to drink.”

Melody laughed. “I'll forgive you, you thought of everything else.”

He enjoyed the sound of her laugh.

He shook that thought away and reached for his guitar.

“Do you do this often? Come up on the roof late at night with your guitar?”

“Not in some time.” Jameson held the instrument, pulling a pick out of the case and strummed a few

chords. “Sometimes, I need a different environment other than the garage, you know? Nice thing is, there aren't

a lot of neighbors nearby, so I'm not disturbing anyone.”

“It is nice,” Melody mused, lying on her back. She crossed her arms behind her head.

Jameson started to play the chorus to a popular Taylor Swift song. He even sang along, raising his voice

to mimic the sound. Melody turned her head and laughed.

“I'm not sure that song fits your voice,” she teased. She rested her head on her elbow, now interested in

watching him.

Jameson stopped mid-play. “No? Damn. Here I thought I was being all cool.”

That got another giggle out of her. “You are cool! Just sing a different song.”

“All right, all right. I'll find another one, since my Taylor impersonation isn't appreciated.” Jameson

pretended to pout, which made Melody laugh again. He was on a roll, and his plan had worked. The mood had

been lightened. “Okay, how about this?” He started to play and sing an older Shania Twain song.

Melody sat up, covering her mouth with her hand. Her body shook as she tried to hold in her laughter.

“You know, Jameson, that don't impress me much, either.”

Pretending to be hurt, he put the guitar down. “What am I doing wrong? Is my singing that bad? That's a

first. Usually, I win them all with these songs.”

“Oh Jameson. You're so funny.”

“Okay, one last time, and hopefully third time will be the charm. Are you ready?” Reaching for his guitar

again, Jameson watched her as he started a new tune. This time, he played the melody to the song he'd been

working on with her. Her face lit up as he sang the first few lines from her song.

“You win! The third time is the charm. Now that fits your voice. Bravo!” She clapped her hands.

“How about you sing it with me?”

“Oh, no. I don't think so.”

“Oh come on. Let's serenade the stars. Maybe we'll catch one falling,” he pleaded. “These are your

lyrics. I'd love to hear them coming from your lips.” As he started over, he shot her what he hoped was his best

pout.

“You're relentless!” Melody exclaimed, raising her hands in defeat, laughing.

When Jameson got to the chorus, Melody chimed in. He had to force himself to keep going as he

listened to her voice. She was pretty good! She had this soft, gentle ease about her voice. It didn't ring out with a

lot of power, but she had a sweet sound that radiated into his mind. He lowered his voice a little bit to let her

shine. He couldn't keep his eyes off her as he watched her lips move and heard the words.

When they stopped, it was his turn to applaud. “You sounded really good, Melody.”

He couldn't be sure, but he thought she was blushing. Melody turned away from him for a second.

“Thank you, Jameson. I'm not one for the spot light, but that was really neat to sing my own lyrics.”

“You know, we're still looking for a song or two to add to our demo. I like this one a lot. What would you

think about putting the finishing touches on it and playing it for the band?” As shy as she was about these things,

would she even go for that? The words really were great, and he liked the melody he'd put to them.

“I- are you serious?” She sounded caught off guard.

Jameson nodded, setting his guitar down once again. “I am. I like the way it's progressing. And when

you sang with me just now, I liked the idea of having a back up on it. It would be a great addition.”

Nikki Lynn Barrett lives in Arizona with her husband and son. She's an avid reader, a dreamer, and loves everything about books. She runs a book blog, an online used bookstore, and writes various genres of romance. Nikki can also be found outside with her camera when a storm is near, snapping photo after photo. Her dreams of becoming a writer started when she was young, when she started writing books in one subject notebooks by the fifth grade. The Secret Santa Wishing Well is her debut book.

You can visit Nikki's site at: www.nikkilynnbarrett.blogspot.com  for more information.

She is working on her next book. Nikki would love to hear from readers.

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