He abandoned her to face the world alone. Now that she’s with him again, can she forgive him?

Fate brings his greatest regret back into his life…

Lily Spero is searching for her stolen heritage, for a place in the world that is all her own. Sixteen years ago, she lost her parents and siblings to a villain on a white horse. Since, she’s hungered for family, for that love she’d once known. When she visits the Swinging A Ranch, her past collides with her present, opening wounds long buried and shockingly creating hope where none had been before.

Deacon Tolbert is the foreman and a contributing partner to the Swinging A Ranch. He’s carved a niche in the world all his own, finally feeling worthy of the goodness he’s found for himself. But when Lily Spero arrives, the girl he abandoned years ago, he’s forced to face the most gut-wrenching moment of his life.

Despite the pain, love surprises them and blossoms, bringing hope for the future. But the villain from the past comes to haunt them, to steal what they’re trying to build. Deacon and Lily must brave vile evil in order to stay together, and fight with all they have to keep the promises they made to each other.

Excerpt:

He would come back soon. He would. He wouldn’t leave her here.

Lily assessed the park with its strong oaks and maples and winding packed dirt paths. She bit her lip and worked hard not to cry. She was a big girl. She was eleven, and he’d asked her to be brave while he was gone.

As she hid in the shade, she sank down to the grass, huddled against a trunk and hoped no one noticed a frightened, stranded, black girl. Where was he? What was taking so long? He only went to find food for them.

Morning turned into noon. People came. Some to eat their lunches on blankets they spread on the ground. Others to walk the picturesque paths. She pulled her knees into her chest and buried her nose in her dirt-caked pinafore. It had been yellow once. A pretty color as bright as the sun.

As she rocked back and forth, she prayed. She repeated over and over the words her mother had taught her. With her eyes clamped shut and her lips moving without ceasing, she implored to Heaven for Deacon to return.

But hours passed. Faces swam before her, asking her questions, giving her food. She couldn’t answer the nice strangers. Just gazed down the path, hoping, waiting, her heart dying.

Where are you? Please come. Please come back.

She silently begged to see his familiar form, dressed in overalls and a threadbare work shirt, coming around the bend to carry her away. But he didn’t come. And the kind people didn’t leave. They took her home with them, and Lily didn’t argue, even though their pale skin struck uncertainty in her heart. She couldn’t think. Deacon, she grieved.

And his name was the pained whisper on her lips every night, the perpetual cold ache in her heart…that could never be filled.

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Born and raised in Texas, I had to make the state the setting for my first series. From the food to the fun, like floating the rivers, it is the fire in my blood that inspires me. My family and friends take center stage in my books. My sisters and best friends are my heroines, and my husband created my favorite hero. Love and family are the point of my stories, and I seek to entertain, relieve stress, and inspire people. Books can take one on a journey that one can relive over and over. I am extremely grateful to those authors who did that very thing for me. I learned and I fell in love with their words and characters. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

A few questions for the author:

Tell us about your inspiration for this story. Deacon, my main character, was the inspiration for THE COWBOY’S EMBRACE. He first appeared in my third book, THE COWBOY’S CHARMS, and he was strong, steady and smart. I fell in love with him, and I had to give him his own book.

What do you love about the genre you write in? The love, the happily ever afters, the tension and conflict, and the realness.

Tell us about your journey from aspiring writer to published author. I didn’t like the way a book ended. I got so mad. (For me, characters are always real people!) My sister got irritated that I was mad and told me to make up my own ending and quit crying. So, I did. And my writing journey began! I found a critique group and that was really what helped me become published. (It took 13 years to find the group, though!)

What do you do for fun when you’re not writing? I cook, spend time with friends and family, or watch TV. Right now, I’m watching The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon is so funny!

Authors always seem to have a teetering To Be Read pile. What’s in yours?  Fated Hearts by Alina K. Field, Heat Lightning by Joan Reeves, and Cupid’s Beau by Alicia Dean. (There are more but, these three are next up to be read!)

What makes you put down a book without finishing? I don’t like when drama happens for the sake of having drama. I’m not a fan of love triangles, cynicism or mean sarcasm.

Which authors have inspired you? Jane Austen, Mary Balogh, Pamela Morsi, Louisa May Alcott, Lucy Maud Montgomery, and Mark Twain.

Where to Find Kara

Website –  www.karaoneal.com

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