REVIEW TOUR – BABY DADDY by Kendall Ryan

March 3, 2018March 3, 2018Leave a comment

A hot and hilarious new standalone from New York Times bestseller Kendall Ryan.

We met in a trapped elevator.

Emmett was on his way to work, sophisticated and handsome in his tailored suit and tie.

I was on my way to the sperm bank. Awkward, right?

At thirty-five, my life hadn’t taken the path I thought it would and I was tired of waiting—I wanted a baby. And I was ready to take matters into my own hands to make it happen.

After our ill-fated elevator encounter, Emmett insisted on taking me to dinner—he also insisted on something else—that I ditch my plan involving a turkey baster and let him do the job. He would be my baby daddy. He was a wealthy and powerful CEO with little interest in diapers or playdates. And since he didn’t want kids, I’d be on my own once his bun was in my oven, free to go my own way.

But once his baby was inside me, it was like a switch had been flipped, and I got a whole lot more than I ever bargained for.

This full-length standalone contains a hot, swoonworthy hero, lots of playful banter and some hot baby-making ! Enjoy.

WRAPPED UP IN READING’s REVIEW OF BABY DADDY

Amazon | Amazon.UK | Amazon.CA | Amazon.AU | iBooks | Kobo | Nook | Google Play | Amazon.FR

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 1.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. She’s a traditionally published author with Simon & Schuster and Harper Collins UK, as well as an independently published author. Since she first began self-publishing in 2012, she’s appeared at #1 on Barnes & Noble and iBooks charts around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than three dozen times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.

Visit her at: www.kendallryanbooks.com for the latest book news, and fun extras

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REVIEW – BABY DADDY by Kendall Ryan

March 3, 2018February 25, 2018Leave a comment

SYNOPSIS

We met in a trapped elevator.

Emmett was on his way to work, sophisticated and handsome in his tailored suit and tie.

I was on my way to the sperm bank. Awkward, right?

At thirty-five, my life hadn’t taken the path I thought it would and I was tired of waiting—I wanted a baby. And I was ready to take matters into my own hands to make it happen.

But once his baby was inside me, it was like a switch had been flipped, and I got a whole lot more than I ever bargained for.

This full-length standalone contains a hot, swoonworthy hero, lots of playful banter and some hot baby-making s-e-x! Enjoy.

*****Patty’s Review*****

*****4.5 STARS*****
{ARC Generously Provided by Author}

Our time together has a set expiration date, and even though it will be hard, it’s also necessary. For a fleeting moment, the flash of a memory takes hold. I reflect on what my friends told me way back when, that love shows up when you aren’t looking for it anymore.

Just when I think I’m about to give up on Kendall Ryan, she goes and writes a story that reels me back in. She’s written so many books and I will be honest, not everyone has been a winner for me, but it’s when she writes like this, that my faith in her is renewed. ”Baby Daddy” isn’t a deep thought provoking read but it’s 100% fun and steamy! I love romances that start between two strangers who meet while stuck in an elevator together. I don’t know why, I just love this trope!!

Jenna Porter is a thirty-five-year-old bookstore owner who is taking matters into her own hands and is on her way to a fertility clinic in hopes of becoming pregnant. She has zero faith in the opposite sex and is determined to have a child on her own. She wasn’t looking for a man to be a part of her plans but then she gets stuck in an elevator with sexy Emmett Smith.

Emmet is the CEO of his family’s company, Baxter Books. He’s nearly forty and has never been in a serious relationship nor has he been tempted to be in one. Emmett loves his life as a single man and enjoys uncomplicated sex with an endless supply of women. While stuck on the elevator with Jenna, he deduces where she was off to by the floor she was heading for and seeing that he’s a red-blooded American male and she’s a knockout, he offers Jenna his sexual services. He’ll get her impregnated the old-fashioned way and then will go on his merry way without any attempts to be a part of the baby’s life. Sounds like a simple plan, but things don’t turn out the way they expected!

As soon as they become intimate, Jenna and Emmett are blown away by their ”out of this world” chemistry. While the initial plan was to have sex during Jenna’s ovulation period and only until she becomes pregnant, the two come up with various excuses to be intimate on many more occasions even after Jenna becomes pregnant.

When feelings start to blur the lines between Jenna and Emmett, will they both be able to take a chance on love? Or will their fears of the matters of the heart keep them from reaching for that “happily ever after” that is just within their grasp?

Here are my overall ratings:
Hero: 5
Heroine: 4.5
Plot: 4
Angst: 4
Steam: 5
Chemistry Between Hero & Heroine: 5

BABY DADDY is currently available!

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2xRdZxJ
iBooks: https://goo.gl/nUV6kY
Kobo: https://goo.gl/H72ekS
Nook: https://goo.gl/mwQAZ7
Google Play: https://goo.gl/psywcQ
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2ybdZbq
Amazon.CA: http://amzn.to/2ki5N3Y
Amazon.AU: https://goo.gl/d6ri4C
Amazon.FR: https://goo.gl/dRSwcm
Amazon.IT: http://amzn.to/2yaDKIS

COVER REVEAL – TWO WEDDING CRASHERS (Dating By Numbers #2) by Meghan Quinn

March 2, 2018February 28, 2018Leave a comment

I don’t know what love is anymore.

Well, that’s not entirely true, but I’m going to tell you a little secret: I’ve lost the spark.

You know the kind of spark I’m talking about?

Where butterflies take flight in your stomach from two hands innocently colliding. Or catching your breath when you first meet someone attractive. Yeah, that spark.

Except I haven’t felt that feeling in forever; there is nothing left inside of me.

Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem–but I’m a writer on a serious deadline, and my editor is breathing down my neck for a romantic, Nicholas Sparks type love story. No pressure, right?

That’s how I find myself flying across the country to crash a wedding in the name of research, dress and heels stuffed into my small suitcase.

It should be the easiest book research ever. Drinking some free champagne, basking in the love of two strangers, and tapping into my romantic side. That will be a breeze. I’m a pro. I can handle this.

Until I mistakenly end up in the wrong hotel room, naked as the day I was born, with the sexiest human I have ever met staring me down, wondering what I’m doing taking a shower in his bathroom. I don’t think calling it research will get me out of this pickle.

ADD TO GOODREADS

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Born in New York and raised in Southern California, Meghan has grown into a sassy, peanut butter eating, blonde haired swearing, animal hoarding lady. She is known to bust out and dance if “It’s Raining Men” starts beating through the air and heaven forbid you get a margarita in her, protect your legs because they may be humped.

Once she started commuting for an hour and twenty minutes every day to work for three years, she began to have conversations play in her head, real life, deep male voices and dainty lady coos kind of conversations. Perturbed and confused, she decided to either see a therapist about the hot and steamy voices running through her head or start writing them down. She decided to go with the cheaper option and started writing… enter her first novel, Caught Looking.

Now you can find the spicy, most definitely on the border of lunacy, kind of crazy lady residing in Colorado with the love of her life and her five, furry four legged children, hiking a trail or hiding behind shelves at grocery stores, wondering what kind of lube the nervous stranger will bring home to his wife. Oh and she loves a good boob squeeze!

BLOG TOUR – MEMPHIS by Ginger Scott

March 2, 2018March 2, 2018Leave a comment

We’re celebrating the release of Memphis by Ginger Scott! Check out the excerpt below!

Memphis by Ginger Scott

A Contemporary New Adult Romance
Release day: February 23
Goodreads
Amazon: http://a.co/c50FzBy
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2Fe2sNv
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2sJ503C

iBooks – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/memphis/id1350740601?mt=11
Barnes & Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/memphis-ginger-scott/1128010743?ean=2940155140962

WRAPPED UP IN READING’s REVIEW OF MEMPHIS

Blurb:
My mom always said it was just something about the way he moved.

The same swagger Archie Valentine wore in the ring when he took his opponents down followed him like a halo everywhere he went. But make no mistake about it—he was no angel. He was like a drug. My mother was his addict.I never understood it…how love could make you blind and convince you to drink the poison. Not until I met Memphis Delaney.

At first, it was the familiar form. He’s a fighter, built like a god from the past, the kind of man the universe doesn’t make anymore. His eyes hide a story, and every time I’m in his presence I want to keep reading him until I get to the end. And then…there’s the way he moves. His boxing is violent but beautiful, and his body is a seductive weapon. When he’s in the ring, he wears the stare of a man committed to the battle until his very last breath.

He could end me; turn me into her. Too much of him will leave me as a shadow, and I’ve lost so much of myself already.

But I have discipline. It came the hard way. Lessons learned, scars left behind, and trust stripped away from life.

I will breathe his air, but I won’t fall for a man like him. The only boxer who’s ever going to break my heart is the one who gave me my name.

EXCERPT:
I turn so our feet are squared and glance at his home that I think he probably knows I went through while he was gone. Somehow the money he paid for it seems not enough and too much all at once. My gaze shifts back to his, and he steps forward until the toe of his left shoe rests against the right side of mine.

“That’s a nice story, Memphis. I’m glad you found the bike, but I’m not sure what that has to do with me,” I say, my breath catching as his fingertips trace along my jaw, his touch so faint I find myself leaning my head to encourage his palm to rest along my cheek more boldly.

He brings his other hand up with more confidence, and I’m caught. The other option I had, to walk away, is gone. I never really wanted it, though.

Memphis dips his chin, hunching slightly to bring his eyes in line with mine. We’re so close that I can feel the tickle of his breath against my lips, and they tingle at the familiar. Each experience with him weaves itself into my heart in this way that terrifies me. This is how people lose themselves.

But I let it in—each breath, each sound, the smells and words. His story. I am surviving on the very being of him, and I think I have been for a while now.

“I was eighteen when I tracked down that bike. I knew it was mine…”

“I don’t belong to you, Memphis,” I cut in, my heart pounding.

His mouth forms a crooked smile. He holds my eyes hostage in silence for few long seconds. “Maybe it works the other way,” he says, his eyes moving over my face with a softness that feels intimate and vulnerable. His forehead falls forward until it rests gently on my own, and I let go of the grip I have on myself, exchanging it for fistfuls of his T-shirt. My knuckles run along his chest as I gather the material and close my eyes, his muscles hard from discipline.

“I can’t watch you get hurt. I can’t…”

His hand moves to my chin, and he lifts it until our eyes meet. Suddenly, breathing just got a lot harder to do.

“I won’t lose, Liv. I work too hard, and I study too much, and I will never be in a ring I’m not supposed to be in,” he says, and I breathe out what sounds like a laugh but feels like hurt.

“My fifty-year-old uncle kicked your ass in some display of alpha-male, teacher-student bullshit. I couldn’t watch that…how am I supposed to watch you step in with some guy who really wants to kill you? How am I supposed to kiss you knowing that your lips might never be the same after a fight. How…”

Memphis’s mouth takes mine before I can protest anymore, nothing like our stolen moment from earlier. His hands cup my face and his mouth moves possessively over my bottom lip, sucking it in and letting it slide loose through a graze of his teeth. He turns my head with a gentle nudge and kisses me deeper, and his hands fall from my face in long, possessive drags down my shoulders to my waist, stopping with his thumbs just above my hips and his fingers splayed out around my sides.

My hands roam up his chest and neck until my thumbs run along the roughness of his chin, and my touch seems to somehow make him hungrier.

“My god.” He breathes the words against my lips, restraint giving way…

About the Author:

Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling and Goodreads Choice Award-nominated author of several young and new adult romances, including Waiting on the Sidelines, Going Long, Blindness, How We Deal With Gravity, This Is Falling, You and Everything After, The Girl I Was Before, Wild Reckless, Wicked Restless, In Your Dreams, The Hard Count, Hold My Breath, A Boy Like You and A Girl Like Me.

A sucker for a good romance, Ginger’s other passion is sports, and she often blends the two in her stories. (She’s also a sucker for a hot quarterback, catcher, pitcher, point guard…the list goes on.) Ginger has been writing and editing for newspapers, magazines and blogs for more than 15 years. She has told the stories of Olympians, politicians, actors, scientists, cowboys, criminals and towns. For more on her and her work, visit her website at http://www.littlemisswrite.com.

When she’s not writing, the odds are high that she’s somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son field pop flies like Bryce Harper or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork ’em, Devils).

Social Media Links:
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GingerScottAuthor
Twitter: @TheGingerScott
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/thegingerscott/
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Google: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+GingerScottAuthor/posts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/GingerScott
Website: http://www.littlemisswrite.com

BLOG TOUR – FAMILY IS FOREVER (Conversion #6) by S.C. Stephens

March 2, 2018February 20, 2018Leave a comment

We are thrilled to be bringing you FAMILY IS FOREVER, the conclusion to S.C. Stephens’s Conversion series. Lovers of paranormal romance won’t want to miss this one–be sure to grab your copy today!

About FAMILY IS FOREVER

Julian Adams would give anything to rewind the last few months. His sister has been forever altered, a man he distrusts is now a permanent part of his family, and the woman of his dreams no longer remembers him. The only thing left for Julian to do is start over.

Nika Adams is finally content with her life. She’s forever bound to her soulmate, and helping him with a project that has given him purpose. But just when it seems peace is on the horizon, an unintended consequence of Hunter’s work arises, and everyone must pull together to find a way to keep the family safe … forever.

Add FAMILY IS FOREVER to your Goodreads shelf here!

Grab your copy of FAMILY IS FOREVER today!

Amazon / iBooks / B&N / Kobo

Read an excerpt from FAMILY IS FOREVER now!

Arianna had relaxed quite a bit during our conversation. Her demeanor was casual as she played with the strap of her shoe. Her laugh came naturally. It was easy to pretend that we were still together as we sat there talking. Our arms were even touching. It sent a jolt of electricity down my spine to feel my skin against hers again. It felt like we were finally shifting, finally moving in the right direction. It was everything I’d hoped tonight would be.
After a brief pause in talking about our summer plans, Arianna pursed her lips and said, “Why have we never been friends before now? We’re in the same grade, and we must have had classes together before…but I don’t recall ever seeing you before a couple of months ago.”
I sighed, not sure how to answer that. “I don’t know… We must have just kept missing each other. But I’m so glad that’s not the case anymore. You…there’s just something about you. You’re kind, warm, accepting. You see past people’s faults, to the person they are underneath. You’re patient, forgiving, and open to things that are a little…different. But you don’t take crap from anyone either, and you stand up for what you believe in. You’re just…amazing.”
Her expression was blank. “You saw all that, sitting across the room from me?”
I peeked up at her with a small smile that I couldn’t hide. “I see you, Arianna. I see the real you.” Straightening, I met her eye and held her gaze. “And I really like what I see.”
Arianna held her breath as we stared at each other. Her heart rate spiked, and I momentarily felt bad that I could hear it. She’d probably be embarrassed if she knew I could. But then her eyes drifted to my lips, and I really didn’t care that I had a slight advantage. All I cared about was whether she wanted me to kiss her right now. Was she ready to see me as more?
I leaned in, tentative and unsure. Maybe I was misinterpreting this. Maybe, because I wanted it so badly, I was seeing something that wasn’t there. My heart was thumping in my chest so loudly, Nika probably thought I was doing something much more strenuous than just sitting on a bed, staring at Arianna, and waiting for our second first kiss to happen.

Don’t miss the other books in the Conversion series!

Conversion / Bloodlines / ‘Til Death / The Next Generation / The Beast Within / Family is Forever

About S.C. STEPHENS

S.C. Stephens is a bestselling author who enjoys spending every free moment she has creating stories that are packed with emotion and heavy on romance.

Her debut novel, Thoughtless, an angst-filled love triangle charged with insurmountable passion and the unforgettable Kellan Kyle, took the literary world by storm. Amazed and surprised by the response to the release of Thoughtless in 2009, more stories were quick to follow. Stephens has been writing nonstop ever since.

In addition to writing, Stephens enjoys spending lazy afternoons in the sun reading fabulous novels, loading up her iPod with writer’s block reducing music, heading out the movies and spending quality time with her friends and family. She currently resides in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her two equally beautiful children.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Goodreads

REVIEW – MEMPHIS by Ginger Scott

March 2, 2018February 20, 2018Leave a comment

SYNOPSIS

My mom always said it was just something about the way he moved.

I never understood it…how love could make you blind and convince you to drink the poison. Not until I met Memphis Delaney.

He could end me; turn me into her. Too much of him will leave me as a shadow, and I’ve lost so much of myself already.

But I have discipline. It came the hard way. Lessons learned, scars left behind, and trust stripped away from life.

I will breathe his air, but I won’t fall for a man like him. The only boxer who’s ever going to break my heart is the one who gave me my name.

*****Patty’s Review*****

This standalone sports romance had a very bleak and depressing feel to it. While I really liked the Hero, I found it hard to warm up to the Heroine and I guess I wasn’t in the mood for yet another story about two unfortunate souls who weren’t blessed with loving and nurturing families. While Ginger Scott is a gifted writer and I did enjoy parts of this story and I found Memphis’s character to be endearing, there were things about the story that didn’t gel for me. The twist in the plot was one of them. I didn’t see the need to take the story in that direction and neither did it enhance my reading experience.

I’ll end this review with what I liked about the story. I really did like Memphis as the Hero. No matter what challenges life threw his way, he was determined to live a decent life and honor the memory of a father he never got the chance to know before he passed on. He had a huge heart and I enjoyed all the scenes between him and Miles, the homeless war veteran that Memphis would check up on from time to time. The romance was sweet and mildly steamy.

I’m sure devoted Ginger Scott fans will enjoy this one. It just wasn’t my favorite by this author and I think I need to be in the mood to read a book with such a depressing backdrop and overall feel.

Here are my overall ratings:
Hero: 4
Heroine: 3
Plot: 3
Angst: 2.5
Steam: 3
Chemistry Between Hero & Heroine: 3

MEMPHIS is currently available.

Amazon: http://a.co/c50FzBy
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2Fe2sNv
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2sJ503C

LIVE – THEN THERE WAS YOU (Second Chances Duet #1) by Claire Contreras

March 1, 2018February 28, 2018Leave a comment

Then There Was You, an all-new second chance romance from New York Times bestselling author Claire Contreras is LIVE!

Love and the right timing were two things I didn’t believe in.

Love is about walking to the edge of the cliff and taking the leap together.
Timing was never on our side.
My first mistake was hooking up with my best friend.
My second came years later, when we met again, and I fell for her.
My third was letting her go, because I had to. Because a love like this wasn’t built to withstand the winds coming in our direction.

Love and timing.
I didn’t believe in either.

Then there was you . . .

Download Today or Read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2GR2MBu

Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/2oyQx5X

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2F9urR3

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2BNsV5C

TTWY---TEASER-#2.jpg

My Way Back to You
Publication Date: March 15th, 2018

MWBTY AMAZON.jpg

Synopsis to come!

Pre-Order Today!
My Way Back to You for release on March 13th! This title will not be available for purchase on iBooks or Nook after March 13th.

iBooks: https://apple.co/2sfnlFl
Nook: http://bit.ly/2FVKRJs

Releases on March 15th on Amazon and Free in KU!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2FFIX0I
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2HUkcP4
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/2F2Qju9

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2Ebsb7V

Meet Claire:

Claire Contreras is a New York Times Best Selling Author. Her books range from romantic suspense to contemporary romance and are currently translated in seven different languages.

She lives in Miami, Fl with her husband, two adorable boys, three bulldogs, and two stray cats that she refuses to admit are hers (even though they live on her porch, she named them, and continues to feed them). When she’s not writing, she’s usually lost in a book.

Connect with Claire:

Website: http://www.clairecontrerasbooks.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CContrerasBooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Claricon/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ClaireContreras/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ccontrerasbooks/
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2BgzLQ0

COVER REVEAL – LONG SHOT by Kennedy Ryan

March 1, 2018February 28, 2018Leave a comment

Cover Reveal & Giveaway!

Coming March 22!

Kennedy Ryan takes sports romance out of bounds with LONG SHOT, a deeply emotional, thought-provoking standalone love story set in the exciting world of professional basketball.

Be Notified AS SOON AS Long Shot goes LIVE!

bit.ly/LiveReleaseKR

Enter the giveaway for a $25 Gift Card & Signed LONG SHOT Paperback: http://bit.ly/LSCRGiveaway

LONG SHOT (A Standalone Basketball Romance)

Release Date: March 22nd

Cover Design: Letitia Hasser/RBA Designs

Photographer: Dominique Spruch-Desired Spirit Photography

Model: Kevin S

Add on Goodreads:

http://bit.ly/KennedysLongShot

“Satisfying and soul-gripping! — Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon Bestselling Author Lucy Score

Synopsis

A FORBIDDEN LOVE SET IN THE EXPLOSIVE WORLD OF THE NBA…

Think you know what it’s like being a baller’s girl?

You don’t.

My fairy tale is upside down.

A happily never after.

I kissed the prince and he turned into a fraud.

I was a fool, and his love – fool’s gold.

Now there’s a new player in the game, August West.

One of the NBA’s brightest stars.

Fine. Forbidden.

He wants me. I want him.

But my past, my fraudulent prince, won’t let me go.

Join the LONG SHOT March Madness Party for giveaways all month long!

http://bit.ly/LongShotParty

About Kennedy

Kennedy Ryan.jpg

Kennedy Ryan is a Southern girl gone Southern California. A Top 100 Amazon Bestseller, Kennedy writes romance about remarkable women who thrive even in tough times, the love they find, and the men who cherish them.

She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son. She has always leveraged her journalism background to write for charity and non-profit organizations, but enjoys writing to raise Autism awareness most. A contributor for Modern Mom Magazine, Kennedy’s writings have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul, USA Today and many others. The founder and executive director of a foundation serving Atlanta families living with Autism, she has appeared on Headline News, Montel Williams, NPR and other media outlets as an advocate for families living with autism.

Connect with Kennedy

Facebook Group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/681604768593989/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KennedyRyanAuthor

BookBub: bookbub.com/authors/kennedy-ryan

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2Fvhqiz

Instagram: www.instagram.com/kennedyryan1/

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/kennedyryan

Follow on Book+Main: bookandmainbites.com/kennedyryan

Subscribe to mailing list for monthly giveaways & exclusives: bit.ly/KRList

EXCERPT REVEAL – PRETTY AS A PEACH by Juliette Poe

March 1, 2018February 19, 2018Leave a comment

🍑🍑 COMING MARCH 15 FROM JULIETTE POE 🍑🍑

Juliette Poe (Sawyer Bennett’s sweet and sassy alter ego) is taking us back down to Whynot, NC with the release of PRETTY AS A PEACH! Keep reading for a sneak peek into this charming and fun enemies-to-lovers story, releasing March 15!

Read the except below, then stop by Juliette’s page and let her know what you think —-> https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJuliettePoe/

✦✦✦✦✦

I’ve never been to a state fair before. We have them in Illinois and I’d venture to say they’re just as big, if not bigger, given how important agriculture is to that state. But the spectacle all around us as we walk over the massive fairgrounds tells me that the state of North Carolina takes this fair business very seriously.

I’ve mostly enjoyed watching Linnie look around with wide eyes filled with excitement and enthusiasm I just haven’t seen from her in a long time.

Even though I wore my best running shoes complete with personalized arch supports, my feet are absolutely killing me from all the walking we did. Not only did we traverse the midway at least ten times so Linnie could ride the same rides over and over again, but we had to try all the various foods being sold.

Crazy food.

Not only do they have the standard fair fare, like funnel cakes and candied apples, but they have foods that are particular to the state. I had a little bit of Eastern North Carolina barbecue—the kind with the vinegar-based sauce—as well as calabash-style fried seafood.

Then came the really crazy food—much of it deep-fried. There were fried Twinkies, fried Oreos, and even deep-fried butter balls. That’s right… Frozen balls of butter that were then coated in batter and deep-fried.

There were pickle popsicles, chocolate-covered bacon, Krispy Kreme hamburgers, and even one vendor truck that boasted chocolate-covered bugs. We avoided that one.

It’s late afternoon, and we’re all dragging. Colt is gallantly carrying our loot. This includes a bag of gummy bears for Linnie, cotton candy he promised his mama, a goldfish Linnie won tossing Ping-Pong balls into fishbowls, and a huge pink stuffed bear Colt won popping balloons with darts.

“Look… the line for the Ferris wheel isn’t long at all,” Linnie says with excitement as she points that way.

It’s been the one ride she hasn’t been on yet but was on her list to try. I silently groan at the thought of waiting for her to ride it. I’m not into the rides at all. No offense to the carnies, but they don’t look like the most reliable workers in the world. My luck, I would end up on the ride where an important bolt was misplaced, and I’d be facing imminent death.

I wanted to hold to this philosophy with my daughter and forbid her from going on any of the rides, but I couldn’t face her disappointment. So I relented and prayed the entire time she and Colt rode one.

“Okay,” I say tiredly. I hold my arms out for Colt to transfer all the stuff to me. “I’ll just wait over here.”

“You should come on this one with us,” Colt says.

I’m shaking my head before the words come out. “No way. Terrified of heights.”

And you know, this thing is probably not built very solidly.

“Come on, Mom,” Linnie pleads. “Just go on one ride with us. This one is really slow, and I’m sure it’s super safe.”

There’s no way that thing is safe.

But I also see something in Linnie’s eyes I used to see a lot but has been a rarity of late. She truly wants to spend quality time with me.

“I have an even better idea,” Colt says as he nods to the Ferris wheel. “You two ladies go ride that, and I’m going to sit here and hold on to everything.”

“Awesome,” Linnie exclaims without even waiting for my agreement that I’d be a willing participant. She grabs my hand and starts pulling me toward the end of the Ferris wheel line. I look over my shoulder helplessly at Colt, who grins at me. He doesn’t even look the slightest bit worried I might be marching off to my death.

My stomach rolls the entire time we are waiting, and Linnie just chatters on excitedly about the farm animals we had seen in one of the buildings. She’s trying to talk me into some cows and chickens and has promised she will take care of them.

It’s not that I doubt her sincerity, but she is only seven and isn’t the best on follow through. Still, it might not hurt to get a few chickens. Carlos can easily build us a coop. It would be nice to have fresh eggs each day.

It happens all too quick, but we are now at the front of the line and being ushered into one of the carts. A thin-looking bar is placed over our laps, and Linnie starts rocking the cart back and forth.

“Stop doing that,” I say, clutching onto the bar for dear life. We’re currently suspended two feet off the ground, yet my pulse has gone through the roof.

Linnie laughs, but she stops the rocking motion. “Sorry, Mom.”

She doesn’t sound sorry at all.

“I can get off right now, and Colt can get on,” I suggest. “He’d be glad to let you rock this back and forth.”

“No way,” she says. She peels one of my hands off the bar and holds it tightly with hers. “I won’t do that anymore. I want to ride this one with you.”

That was all I needed to hear from my sweet little girl. A burst of confidence and bravery wells up within me, and I give her hand a squeeze back. Besides, if I’m going to fall to my death, at least it will be doing something that makes my daughter extremely happy.

I gasp when the Ferris wheel goes into motion and we shoot forward and upward a few feet before coming to a stop again, so the next people can be loaded into the cart behind us. I refuse to look down and resolve to look straight out at the horizon.

In order to take my mind off my residual fears, I ask Linnie, “Did you have a good time today, honey?”

Linnie nods. Lifting my arm, she scoots under it, prompting me to cuddle her into my side. “I really did.”

✦✦✦✦✦✦

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