Book Tour & Giveaway ~ Her Hopes and Dreams, Ardent Springs #4, by Terri Osburn

We are extremely delighted to join the Book Tour of

Her Hopes and Dreams

by Terri Osburn

Sweet. Heartwarming.

Book 4 of the highly popular Ardent Springs series.

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Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: November 15, 2016

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If she'd let him in, 
he'd be the man of her dreams.

As a newly single mother, Carrie Farmer isn’t quite ready to jump back into the dating pool in Ardent Springs—especially since her last marriage was such a disaster. But if anyone could entice her to wade in a bit, it would be her hunky neighbor, Noah Winchester. He’s the perfect man: strong, protective, and smoking hot. But her eyes have deceived her before, and she’s no longer willing to hand over her heart so easily.

After completing several tours in the Middle East, Noah returns to his hometown a very different man. The former soldier’s plan to rest and relax is soon waylaid by the intriguing woman next door and her heart-stealing little girl. Something—or someone—put shadows in Carrie’s lovely eyes, and he’s determined to clear them away. But when hidden demons can no longer be ignored, the couple gets a reminder from an unexpected source that love truly can conquer all.

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Excerpt

Three days into life with her new neighbor and Carrie Farmer wanted to shove a tailpipe up the man’s nose. Sideways.

The newcomer had no respect for the people around him. Though, technically, they were the only two houses for half a mile, so in reality, he had no respect for her. And he definitely didn’t think twice about sleeping babies if the last two nights were any indication.

Enough was enough.

“I can do this,” she muttered, stepping through her side gate to cross onto his property.

The farmhouse had sat vacant since Carrie moved in a year ago. She’d assumed the family who owned it would sell off the rest of the land one plot at a time, in sizes similar to the one she’d purchased. Thanks to a small life insurance policy on her deceased husband, Carrie had been able to put a modest single-wide trailer on her lot, and she’d enjoyed blissful peace and quiet ever since.

That peace and quiet no longer existed thanks to the jerk next door.

When she reached his porch, she fortified her resolve with sev­eral deep breaths. Confrontation made her nervous, for good reason. Seeking conflict wasn’t Carrie’s style, but this man had messed with her child, and that could not be ignored.

Plucking up the courage, she knocked on the door and then shuf­fled several steps backward. Nothing stirred inside. She knocked again. No response. What the heck? The red truck next to the house meant someone was home. Carrie moved down the porch to peer through a window, but the second she pinned her nose to the glass, a roaring engine shattered the silence. She nearly peed her pants as her heart threatened to beat right out of her chest. With clenched fists, she bit back the profanity dancing on the tip of her tongue. As Molly was on the cusp of talking, Carrie did her best to keep her language baby appropriate.

But dammit to hell, that thing was loud. Much louder than it had sounded through her trailer walls.

“This is ridiculous,” she murmured, charging down the steps and around the side of the house. Nearly fifty yards away stood the scene of the crime—an old barn turned garage that did nothing to buffer the sound coming from inside. By the time Carrie reached the entrance, the noise cut off, and she hustled to take advantage of the quiet.

The dimness of the garage compared to the blinding September sun made seeing anything inside nearly impossible. One motorcycle hov­ered on a table to her right. Though, upon closer inspection, she realized the frame was empty. Clearly not the source of the problem. Another machine occupied the center of the space, and as her eyes adjusted, Carrie recognized a figure crouched down on the other side of it.

“Excuse me?” she said. “Can I have a word with you?”

Without getting up, a baritone voice said, “If you’re looking for money, I don’t have any. If you’re recruiting for God, I’ve already punched my ticket to hell. Anything else, I’m not interested, so haul your scrawny ass back to the road and take a hike.”

Undeterred, Carrie said, “I’m here to talk about that monstrosity that you’re hiding behind.”

Rising out of the shadows, he said, “Did you just insult my bike?”

Carrie swallowed hard. Dark eyes narrowed under full brows that matched the reddish-brown whiskers covering half his face. With slow, methodical movements, he wiped his hands on a dirty rag, causing the muscles along his shoulders to flex beneath stained white cotton. Years of living with her former husband had made Carrie an expert at recog­nizing danger. Keeping one eye on the looming giant, she scanned the area for a weapon, aware that without one, she didn’t stand a chance against a man this size. His arms were larger than her thighs, for heaven’s sake, and the rest of him was proportioned to match.

A crowbar leaned against the table to her right. She could probably get to it before he did.

“I’m not here to insult anything,” she assured him, hoping her bravado would hold out. “But I have a baby next door who needs to be able to sleep through the night without that thing thundering to life at two in the morning.”

Surely any reasonable person would feel bad about waking a baby. Then again, this bearded behemoth didn’t look at all reasonable.

Instead of offering an apology, he stepped around the bike, his heavy boots thudding in the dirt with each step. Carrie scooted closer to the crowbar.

“Do I know you?” he asked.

“Like I said. I live next door. I’m sure you’ve seen me in the last few days.”

He shook his head, releasing a long, wavy lock to hang over his right eye. “No, it’s more than that. I’ve met you before.”

As if she’d forget meeting a towering mass of muscle who bore an uncanny resemblance to a grizzly bear. “I don’t think so.”

“What’s your name?”

“Carrie Farmer.”

His eyes went wide. “As in Patch Farmer?”

Panic raced like a gas fire up her spine. “He was my husband.”

“You’re that married chick he was seeing the last time I was home.”

“Excuse me?”

“I can’t believe he married you.”

The insult stung like a slap.

“Life is full of surprises,” she said through gritted teeth. “Are you going to stop cranking this machine every night or not?”

He held up both hands in surrender, the rag dangling from callused fingers. “I get the message. I’ll work on something else at night.”

Satisfied, Carrie nodded. “Thank you. I won’t bother you again.”

“Hold up,” he said, following her out of the garage. “Is the kid Patch’s?”

This man took being a jerk to new levels. Without turning around, she replied, “Yes, she’s Patch’s baby. I was pregnant when he died last summer.”

“Slow down.” The moment his hand touched her wrist, she jerked away, spinning to protect herself.

“Don’t touch me,” she snapped.

“Whoa.” Again he held his hands palm out. “I’m not going to hurt you, lady. Patch was my friend. I just want to know about his kid.”

Reluctant to discuss Molly with this stranger, she asked, “If he was your friend, why weren’t you at the funeral?”

His stance tensed. “Because I was stuck in a desert trying not to get my head blown off.”

Recognition dawned. “Noah?” she said, trying to see the man beneath the beard. “Noah Winchester?”

“That’s right.”

She had met him before. Except he hadn’t been anywhere near this size, and he’d been clean-shaven with the typical military buzz cut. Of course, he’d been an ass back then, too. Of all the people who could have moved in next door, why did it have to be one of Patch’s friends?

Pointing out the obvious, she said, “You don’t look like a guy in the military.”

He tucked the rag in his back pocket, stretching the cotton over his broad chest. “The hair and beard were necessary to blend in for my last assignment. I got used to it, so I kept them after I got out.”

“So you’re living here permanently?” Please say no. Please say no.

“I am.” Of course he was. “This house belonged to my grandparents. No one told me a piece of the land had been sold off.”

“The trailer should have been a big clue,” she said.

The hint of a grin drew her attention to his full lips. The top one curved like a perfect bow. She felt the urge to follow that curve with her fingertip.

Blinking, Carrie gave herself a mental slap. Where the heck had that come from? There would be no lip touching. Or anything else touching, for that matter.

“You interested in selling it back?” he asked.

Dragging her brain back to reality, she said, “Sell what back?”

“The land. I’d rather be out here by myself.”

Of all the . . . She’d worked hard for this little piece of heaven, and she’d definitely earned it. Noah Winchester could blow it out his tailpipe if he thought she’d hand over her land so he could fire up his stupid toys whenever he wanted.

“This is my home. I’m not going anywhere.”

Tucking the loose hair behind his ear, he sighed. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

“I have no intention of bothering you again,” she said, more than happy to give him his space, if not his land. “Keep the noise to the daylight hours and we won’t ever have to talk again.”

“Fine by me,” he said. “But I have one request.”

Carrie held the eye roll in check. She’d do just about anything to keep him out of her hair. “What’s that?”

“I want to meet Patch’s daughter.”

Anything but that.



Other Books in the Ardent Springs Series

His First and Last

Ardent Springs, Book 1

Sparks fly when high school sweethearts reunite in this first book in Terri Osburn’s Ardent Springs Series. Lorelei and Spencer thought they’d moved on, but find old flames never really die. But can they let the past go to find their happily ever after?

Purchase Links: 

Amazon | Print | B&N

Our Now and Forever

Ardent Springs, Book 2

A whirlwind romance landed Caleb and Snow in a Vegas wedding chapel making the biggest commitment of their young lives, but married life isn’t quite what Snow expected. Caleb has spent eighteen months looking for his runaway bride, and now that he’s found her in Ardent Springs, he isn’t about to let her out of his arms again.

Amazon | Print | B&N

My One and Only

Ardent Springs, Book 3

A desperate teenage mother becomes a common cause for Cooper and Haleigh, who have been friends forever and nothing more. Seeing this as his chance with the girl he’s always loved, Cooper turns on the charm, but Haleigh’s history, as well as her daunting mother, could be too much for even love to overcome.

Amazon | Print | B&N

Giveaway

Everyone is invited to join the giveaway contest from November 15 - December 14, 2016.

Lots of prizes to be won!

Win $5 Amazon Gift Card
(Open to all participants who leave a comment on this post.)

Be sure to visit each blog scheduled throughout the tour for a chance to win $5 Amazon Gift Card on each stop.

Tour Wide
One Lucky Winner will bring home
A Red Kindle Fire, 4 signed Ardent Series Books in a I-Love-Romance-Novels tote and more!
(Open to US and Canadian residents only)

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Purchase Her Hopes and Dreams today!
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Her Hopes and Dreams Fun Facts

Fun Fact #1 – Much like Anchor Island, Ardent Springs, TN, really exists. Sort of. If you ever get the urge to walk the streets of my quaint, gossip-filled downtown, book a trip to the fabulous Franklin, TN. Though the town as a whole is not as small as I describe Ardent Springs to be, the downtown is the direct inspiration for my little Main Street, to the point that I kept the street names the same, and if you stand at the corner of 4^th & Main, you’ll see the corner store that inspired Snow’s Curiosity Shop. In reality, it’s a frozen yogurt store.

Fun Fact #2 – Round town squares are a thing. We’ve seen quaint little town squares forever in movies and on TV. Always square, as expected. (Take the Gilmore Girls Stars Hollow for example.) But here in TN, they’re often round. I thought it was a fun concept when I found it in Franklin, but then I moved to another small town outside Nashville and our square is round, too. Even has the prerequisite statue in the center. Which leads to…

Fun Fact #3 – When I decided to set a series in middle Tennessee, I had no idea I’d soon become a resident. Back in the mid-90s, I moved to Nashville, and stayed for three years. In the two decades since, I always knew I wanted to move back, but had no idea when or if it might happen. So when Lorelei Pratchett walked into my head in early 2014, I didn’t realize that plopping her into one of my favorite parts of the country would lead to plopping myself back there as well.

About Terri Osburn

Although born in the Ohio Valley, Terri Osburn found her true home between the covers of her favorite books. Classics like The Wizard of Oz and Little Women filled her childhood landscapes, and the romance genre beckoned during her teen years. In 2007, she put pen to paper to write her own. Just five years later, she became a 2012 finalist for the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award, and her debut novel was released a year later. To date, she has released eight novels, two novellas, and one short story. You can learn more about this award winning author by visiting her website at www.terriosburn.com.

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Tour Schedule
Join the book tour! Get more tidbits, excerpts and other info on Her Hopes and Dreams. Visit all the tour stops for a chances to win $5 Amazon Gift Card on each stop.

November 15
Book Unleashed
Cali Book Reviews

November 16
Happy Ever After Romance Book Reviews
Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin'

November 17
Books According to Abby
The Pen and Muse Book Reviews

November 18
The Romance Reviews
What is That Book About
Books,Dreams,Life

November 21
Read Your Writes Book Reviews

November 22
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!

November 23
Dawn's Reading Nook

November 24
Lisa Loves Literature

November 25
Liz's Reading Life

November 28
Tory Richards

November 29
Diana's Book Reviews

November 30
KT Book Reviews
Wander Girl Life

December 1
The Avid Book Collector

December 2
Romancing the Books and More

December 5
Spunk & Hunks

December 6
Crazy Beautiful Reads

December 7
Delish & Yummy Book Boyfriends

December 8
Maari Loves Her Indies

December 9
Romantic Reads and Such

December 12
Paulette's Papers

December 13
The Silver Dagger Scriptorium

December 14
Random Thoughts From a Book Nerd


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