Melissa Keir-Small Town Romance Author
  • Welcome
  • Blog
  • Melissa's Books
  • Missy's Children's Books
  • Contact me
  • Privacy Notice
  • Welcome
  • Blog
  • Melissa's Books
  • Missy's Children's Books
  • Contact me
  • Privacy Notice
Search

Melissa's Musings

{Shades of Rose} The Heart of the Hunter by Natalie-Nicole Bates #blogtour #giveaway

10/11/2013

 
Picture
This cover just screams magic, doesn't it? I love that there's this sprinkling of light on the cover that makes it seem out of this world. And the story of two men both after the same woman is a classic. Check it out for yourself and don't forget to enter the giveaway!!
Picture
The Heart of the Hunter by Natalie-Nicole Bates

After a devastating accident, Barret Atkins has accepted a quiet, solitary existence. His life is turned upside down, when he finds the badly injured Kansas Smith, left for dead in a case of mistaken identity. As Kansas begins to recover, Barret must face some deep scars of his own. When the couple begin to fall for each other, their lives spin into a revival of past hurts, jealousies, and betrayals, causing Barret to put a halt to their budding relationship.

Barret’s hesitation causes his best friend-turned vicious rival, Duncan Craig, to pursue a friendship with Kansas. Where will this leave Barret? Can they all hold on long enough to escape Kansas’s attacker, and will they ever conquer their own inner demons intent on keeping them apart?



Excerpt:


     On Saturday morning, Kansas could wait no longer. She could no longer live under the same roof with a man she was deeply in love with without telling him how she felt, and finding out once and for all how he truly felt about her. Now she stood leaning back against the counter sipping a cup of coffee, her stomach ached from nerves for what she was about to do.

     Most of the night she was awake rehearsing speeches on the same theme--confessing her love to Barret. Now all her carefully rehearsed words failed her.

     Barret sat at the kitchen table in t-shirt and jeans, absorbed in the newspaper. A shadow of a beard emphasized his maleness.

     Setting the cup on the counter, she took the few steps to stand beside the table. “Barret, why don’t you like me?” she blurted, immediately wishing she could bite back her words.

     Looking up from his newspaper, his eyebrows slashed together. “Excuse me?”

     Confusion consumed her, and she felt trapped and exposed, hesitant to continue. When he stood, she wanted to shrink away from him.

     “Whatever gave you the idea that I did not like you?”

     The demanding look in his blue eyes only made the words harder to form. Finally, she found her voice. “I love you, and you don’t love me,” she finally admitted.

     His shoulders visibly stiffened and the color drained from his face. Obviously, she caught him off guard. “I...I do love you, Kansas. But...but I don’t love you like you mean,” he stuttered.

     Her heart sank heavily in her chest. She raised her chin and looked back at him. She had to know. “What is it about me you don’t like?”

     “I like everything about you, Kansas. No, I love everything about you,” he told her as he planted his hands firmly on her shoulders causing her to want to crawl out of her skin and away from his touch. She’d said way too much,  and upset their whole stable situation.

     Finally, she looked into his confused eyes. “I’m sorry, Barret. I just couldn’t go on like this. Just tell me what it is about me that...” her voice trailed off as she slowly came to terms with the fact that he didn’t love her as a woman.

     Lifting her chin, he forced her to make eye contact with him. “Listen, angel, it’s not you, you’re absolutely perfect,” he told her,  and  smiled a smile she knew was forced.

     “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and you’re an amazing person. You can have any man you want, but I’m not the right man for you,” he said gently.

     Continuing to maintain eye contact with him, she decided she wasn’t going to allow him to get off with such a broad response “Why?” she demanded.

     “The accident changed me, Kansas. I’m not the same man I was before it happened, and I’m glad for that. You wouldn’t have liked me then. I was an arrogant, self-absorbed bastard, and now I’m not sure who I am anymore,  or what I really want. But I do want you to know that if things had been different, and I wish they were...”

     Finally, she could take no more. “I got it, Barret,” she said shaking loose of his grip and turning away.

     “It’s just the hero thing, Kansas. You’ll get over it. You think you love me because I saved you that horrible day in that swamp. When some time passes, you’ll realize you’d never be happy with an almost forty year old detective. You would only resent me for taking you away from your old lifestyle.”

     She whirled to face him, her hands on her hips. “Why you arrogant… You don’t know me at all!” Finally, she lost the battle not to cry and tears poured freely down her cheeks. “I thought we were so close, but I guess I was completely off base about that. I don’t care about money or scars! I only care about you! We could have been so happy--”

     The doorbell rang cutting off Kansas’s words and she felt some relief that it had interrupted her intense venting. She felt like such a fool now.

     She’d received the answer she was after.  Unfortunately, it was not the one she wanted to hear.

Buy Links:     Amazon     Amazon UK      Barnes & Noble





About the Author:

Natalie-Nicole Bates is a book reviewer and author.

Her passions in life include books and hockey along with Victorian and Edwardian era photography and antique poison bottles. Natalie contributes her uncharacteristic love of hockey to being born in Russia.

She currently resides in the UK where she is working on her next book and adding to her collection of 19th century post-mortem photos.

Author Links:      Site      Facebook    Youtube






Giveaway:
Natalie-Nicole Bates is giving away a $15.00 Amazon Gift Card during her tour!  For a chance to win please fill out the Rafflecopter below.



a Rafflecopter giveaway
Natalie-Nicole Bates link
10/11/2013 02:28:08 am

Thank you so much for hosting The Heart of the Hunter at your most amazing blog!


Comments are closed.

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Melissa Keir

    Gator Girl Extraordinaire

    RSS Feed



    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011

Proudly powered by Romance
Melissa Keir-Author

Photos used under Creative Commons from emilyonasunday, imagesbyk2 Photography, Beverly & Pack, thisreidwrites, jDevaun, Ken Wilcox., jan_krutisch, wiesiek_kr, ginnerobot, Tim RT, erasergirl, wheatfieldbrown, fivehanks, Ⅿeagan, theilr, symphony of love, Abhishek Singh Bailoo, Max Braun, Daniel Leininger, EliJerma, sean_reay, DafneCholet, Pablo Tocagni, kevin dooley, CarbonNYC, Loren Javier, marco monetti, shannonkringen, Peter Werkman (www.peterwerkman.nl), tekkbabe, Aditya Rakhman, MilitaryHealth, almarWho, raganmd, snowkei, wuestenigel, Amal Hathaway, augustineisnotmyname, digitizedchaos, photologue_np, -stamina-, Jessica_Branstetter, I woz ere, Erháld, Tostie14, kdinuraj, feline_dacat, RobBixbyPhotography, glaciernps, aussiegall, Pink Sherbet Photography, Poul-Werner, Loren Javier, Diamond Farah, AForestFrolic, williamcho, shannonkringen, gagilas, ben.fitzgerald, Tony Fischer Photography, rufusowliebat, emilianohorcada, George Deputee, LadyDragonflyCC - >;< - Spring in Michigan!, brick red, citymaus, Emery Co Photo, midiman, Thragor, jdegrazia, dane brian, sibikos, nan palmero, r.nial.bradshaw, US Army Africa, bambe1964
  • Welcome
  • Blog
  • Melissa's Books
  • Missy's Children's Books
  • Contact me
  • Privacy Notice