Movies, Shows, & Books: BLOG TOUR: South of the Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber

Welcome to the Official Blog Tour for South of the Buttonwood Tree by USA Today bestselling author Heather Webber! Today, on our tour stop, we have an exclusive excerpt AND a cool tour-wide giveaway to share as we celebrate this new release! So... Be sure to check it out and grab your copy now! Follow the tour, HERE!

Genre:

Adult

Paranormal/Fantasy Contemporary

Women's Fiction

Publish Date:

July 21, 2020

Publisher:

Forge Books

Synopsis:

Blue Bishop has a knack for finding lost things. While growing up in charming small-town Buttonwood, Alabama, she's happened across lost wallets, jewelry, pets, her wandering neighbor, and sometimes, trouble. No one is more surprised than Blue, however, when she comes across an abandoned newborn baby in the woods, just south of a very special buttonwood tree.

Sarah Grace Landreneau Fulton is at a crossroads. She has always tried so hard to do the right thing, but her own mother would disown her if she ever learned half of Sarah Grace's secrets.

The unexpected discovery of the newborn baby girl will alter Blue's and Sarah Grace's lives forever. Both women must fight for what they truly want in life and for who they love. In doing so, they uncover long-held secrets that reveal exactly who they really are--and what they're willing to sacrifice in the name of family.

*Excerpt*

Marlo took my hand, holding it tightly, and drew in a deep breath. “It’s not a new employee.” Pulling her shoulders back, she stared at me with a shiny, determined gaze and said, “Blue, honey, I’ve sold the shop. I’m handing over the keys tonight. The Rabbit Hole has a new owner.”

The words swirled in my ears, slurring together. Certain I hadn’t heard her right, I started shaking my head to sort the syllables properly.

She squeezed my fingers. “You must understand, Blue. I’m past due for retirement, and the time has come for me to be with Moe around the clock. I want the transfer to be as seamless as possible—I’ll be staying on the staff for another month at least—but this week is just plain bad timing, especially with the festival. I’m throwing the new owner out of the frying pan and straight into the fire.”

“I . . . I . . .” Tears welled and I blinked them away. I heard what she was saying, and I knew what she said to be true, but to be blindsided like this had stolen my breath. I pulled back, and the tin pail fell from my forearm, spilling cheerful dandelion heads across the tree roots.

She said, “I didn’t tell you my plans ahead of time, because I knew you’d put up a fuss. You’d do something crazy like try to buy the shop yourself.”

I nodded.

“But, Blue, the shop has been my dream, not yours. It would be a burden to you. Don’t you shake your head at me. You know it’s true. You want to leave Buttonwood one day, remember? Besides, the money you’ve saved up is earmarked for something more important—your dream to start a family, to be a mama.”

“Who?” I managed to say. “Who’d you sell it to?”

A smile ghosted her lips. “He’s a grade-school teacher. Someone—”

A cry cut her off. My chin came up at the sound. So familiar. So out of place here in the woods.

Marlo glanced around and said, “That didn’t sound like a crow.”

No, the cry hadn’t sounded like a crow . . . It had sounded like a baby.

My head must’ve been playing tricks on me. Or it was my heart. Either way, I didn’t appreciate it.

As trouble gloated, I looked around. It took only a moment to spot her. I blinked, convinced it was my eyes playing the tricks this time, until she opened her tiny mouth and let out another wail. I sprinted due south of the Buttonwood Tree, to the basket nestled in a patch of daisy fleabane. I dropped to my knees. Netting was draped over the wicker, and I peeled it away so I could pick up the baby, her pink blanket and all.

She couldn’t have been more than a few days old, still wrinkled and looking like an old, wise, ticked-off woman. Warm and oh so soft, she was dressed in a simple white onesie. A headband made of pink ribbon that had a delicate scalloped edge was tied at the top of her head in a small bow that sat prettily in a fluff of pale-blond hair. As I tucked her close to my body, I was oddly reminded of a sack of flour, one big five-pound lump. My hands shook as I held her to my chest, and she quieted, her eyes squished closed.

Marlo came up behind me and gasped. “What in the ever-loving world?”

I stood up, keeping tight hold of the baby. There was no note. No explanation. Peering into the woods, I called out. “Hello?” Surely someone didn’t leave a baby out here in the woods all alone. Was this some kind of coldhearted prank, a cruel joke?

Twigs snapped in the distance, and I saw a quick-moving blur among the shadows. It seemed as though someone had waited to make sure the baby was found and then ran off.

“Blue, look,” Marlo said as she crouched low to the ground.

My heart was pounding so loudly in my ears that I barely heard her.

“It must’ve fallen out of the blanket when you picked her up.” She held out her open palm. On it rested a Buttonwood Tree button, made of wafer-thin sycamore about the size of a half-dollar. On the pale wood, a message was etched in chicken-scratch letters.

GIVE THE BABY TO BLUE BISHOP.

I glanced down at the baby, at her dark eyelashes, pink cheeks, and tiny pointy chin.

A tiny pink bundle of trouble.

And I’d be damned if I was letting her go.

~~~~~

Praise for Heather Webber's MIDNIGHT AT THE BLACKBIRD CAFE

"Full of family secrets, undeniable charm and that particular touch of magic so often found in the South, MIDNIGHT AT THE BLACKBIRD CAFE is a heartfelt and redemptive tale of a daughter looking to move forward in the place her mother couldn’t wait to leave behind. Heather Webber creates a town as dynamic and real as her characters—and a story so compelling that it will stay on readers’ minds long after the final page. I savored every word." —Kristy Woodson Harvey, national bestselling author of Slightly South of Simple

"Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe is an enchanting gem of a novel, brimming with charming characters, heartwarming connections, old secrets, and a southern setting that makes you want to move there. As refreshing as a glass of blackberry tea, this is truly magical realism at its best!" —Karen White, New York Times bestselling author

"Family, fate, and magic intertwine in this endearing Southern tale of long-held secrets, homemade pie, and building one's future from the remains of the past. A tantalizing, delicious delight, through and through. Heather Webber writes with so much detail and imagination that I’ll be craving some Blackbird Cafe pie—and the comfort that comes with it—for a long time to come." —Kristin Harmel, international bestselling author of The Room on Rue Amélie and The Sweetness of Forgetting

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**About the Author**

Photo Content from Heather Webber

Heather Webber is the national bestselling author of more than thirty novels--including Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe, the Lucy Valentine novels, and the Nina Quinn Mysteries--and has been twice nominated for an Agatha Award. She loves to spend time with her family, read, drink too much coffee and tea, birdwatch, crochet, watch cooking competition and home improvement shows, crochet, and bake. Heather lives in southwestern Ohio and is hard at work on her next book.

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