His Heart for the Trusting (21 page)
She chuckled
softly, her dark eyes shining brightly. “I love you, too, Mitch. And don't
you think for one minute I'm going to let you off the hook about marrying me.”
He laughed hard
and then kissed her and oh, what a kiss. It was filled with the promise of a
lifetime of love.
“I wouldn't
dream of it,” he said, smiling down into her deep brown eyes, watching her love
for him shining back at him. “In fact, I might just take you back to the
courthouse and marry you before you change your mind.”
“Not a chance,
cowboy. Let's get our son and go home.”
THE END
Dear Reader:
Thank you so
much for reading Book 2 in my Texas Hearts series, His Heart for the Trusting.
I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please help others find this book.
1. This
book is lendable, so send it to a friend who you think will enjoy it so that
she/he can discover me, too.
2. Help
other people find this book by writing a review.
3. Check
my blog, http://www.lisamondello.blogspot.com for news about upcoming books in
the series. There are two more books featuring sexy cowboys!
4. Follow
me on Twitter @LisaMondello
If you haven’t
read Book 1 Her Heart for the Asking, you can find that online at your local
book retailer.
Book 3 in my
Texas Hearts series is
THE
MORE I SEE
, the story of Cody Gentry. When I pictured Cody, I actually
pictured him as the most handsome of the Gentry brothers. He was confident and
sure of himself as the manager of the Silverado Cattle Company Ranch and as a
top notch cutting horse trainer. He had everything going for him until one day
he heroically saves an ignorant ranch hand from making a mistake. Saving the
boy leaves Cody blind. Suddenly, everything he knows about himself and his
world has changed.
Since Cody is
so handsome and sure of himself, it was only natural for his heroine to be the
opposite. Although Lyssa McElhannon isn’t an ugly duckling by any standard,
she certainly isn’t the beauty she wishes to be. But it’s Cody who makes her
feel beautiful for the first time. I hope you’ll read
THE
MORE I SEE
, a story that was inspired in part by my friend Diane, who for a
time was blind and needed the help of a seeing eye dog named Otis. Diane’s
Otis was the inspiration for Cody’s Otis in THE MORE I SEE. I’ve included a
bonus excerpt of
THE
MORE I SEE
below for your enjoyment.
Many thanks,
Lisa Mondello
EBooks
available by Lisa Mondello
All I Want for Christmas is You ##
The Knight and Maggie’s Baby##
Cradle of Secrets – Harlequin Love Inspired
Suspense**
Her Only Protector – Harlequin Love Inspired
Suspense**
Yuletide Protector – Harlequin Love Inspired
Suspense
Fresh-Start Family – Harlequin Love Inspired
Romance
In a Doctor’s Arms – Harlequin Love Inspired
Romance
##
Fate with a Helping
Hand (Massachusetts)
Series
+ +
Texas Hearts
Series
**
Cradle
Series
The
More I See – Book 3 – Texas Hearts
As a top-notch
cutting horse trainer, Cody Gentry was riding high until he lost his eyesight
after a freak chemical accident. Unable to see the hand in front of his face,
never mind the horse or cattle he trained, he knows his life is over and slips
deep into depression. His whole future hinges on the success of an eye surgery
that could give him his old life back.
When guide dog
trainer, Lyssa McElhannon, arrives on his ranch like Florence Nightingale
coming to save him, he wants no part of her or her guide dog. But something
about Lyssa’s musical laugh coupled with her tenacity digs under his skin and
won't let go. Having been blind most of her life, Lyssa understands the
paralyzing fear Cody feels after losing his vision. But she refuses to let the
stubborn cowboy waste his life away sitting in a chair when she knows
first-hand that a good guide dog can change his world. She just needs one month
to prove it to him.
Falling in love
with Cody was not part of Lyssa’s plan, nor was having him open her eyes to see
that there was a whole lot of living she’d been missing out on.
THE MORE I SEE
Chapter One
There was
nothing extraordinary about Alyssandra Orchid McElhannon but her name. She was
used to being invisible where men were concerned. People for that matter, but
men were an unusual breed for sure. This one was no different.
Lowering her
sunglasses, she blinked as she peered at the long and lean man stretched out on
the lawn chair by the pool. So this was Cody Gentry. The man that insisted
she come all the way from the Houston school where she'd worked to personally
train him here on the Silverado Ranch.
At least Cody
Gentry had a valid excuse not to notice her. He was blind.
He made no move
to indicate he'd heard her approach or the soft sound of dog claws scraping on
the concrete as she led her guide dog closer. No tilt of his head, lift of his
long fingers which were weaved tightly together on his lap, or even a twitch of
his booted feet, crossed and slightly hanging over the end of the lawn chair.
Lyssa slid the
sunglasses back up the bridge of her nose. He could be asleep, she decided.
By the slump of his shoulders and his head cocked to one side, his white straw
cowboy hat tilted over his face ever so slightly, it was certainly possible.
It would explain why he'd yet to have even a slight reaction to her approach.
She knew how
acute the other senses were when one was lost. She'd outfitted herself in the
usual garb, a pair of well-worn blue jeans, a cool cotton button down shirt and
a comfortable pair of sneakers. She could understand how the soft soles of her
sneakers would sound muffled. Lyssa wasn't the most graceful person, but she
wasn't a clod. If Cody hadn't heard the sound of her footsteps, he should have
at least noticed the telltale sound of Otis' paws on the walkway.
Maybe he wasn't
asleep. Maybe he was just being rude. Mike Gentry, Cody's father, had warned
as much.
It had only
been a week ago that Mike Gentry first approached the Houston Guide Dog School
asking for immediate help, insisting his son needed a one on one instructor.
If only the school could send someone to the ranch, it might break through the
deep, impenetrable depression that had overtaken his son since a freak chemical
accident had rendered him blind nearly eight months earlier. Help him get back
among the living again.
Lyssa had been
in the office the day Mike Gentry strode in with deep pockets and endless
arguments about why he needed someone immediately. The director had been
insistent that the school offered only month long classes to students who
stayed on their campus. While what he was asking for his son was not
unprecedented, it was usually reserved for extreme cases.
Mike Gentry's
pockets were deep and the money he offered to gift the school spoke of his
desperation. Right in front of Lyssa he'd offered what amounted to enough
money to service several dogs to those in need. After a failed corneal
transplant, the likelihood that Cody would get his eyesight back was slim to
none. Cody needed to become functional again in his own environment and
without the aid of a guide dog, he wouldn't be able to get around.
He'd assured
the school that Cody was eager to work with a guide dog, but given life on the
ranch, he felt that training must be conducted in an environment where the dog
and handler would spend the bulk of their time.
Lyssa found she
couldn't stay quiet. There was time before the next class started. She had a
dog ready and even with the limited information Mike Gentry had offered about
his son, Lyssa felt the match might work.
Peering over at
Cody now, she realized the depression Mike Gentry spoke of was much worse than
he had let on.
The
desperation, the depression. Lyssa had seen it happen before. Although she
didn't remember feeling it herself having lost her own eyesight at such a young
age. When she regained eyesight again after twenty years of living in the
darkness it was cause for celebration. New miracle surgery. That option
wasn't open to everyone. Yet. But Lyssa was sure that one day it would be.
It astounded her the advances modern science had made.
Until that day
came, she had the incredible task of trying to pull this six foot plus man out
of his despair by showing him that life was still worth living without his
vision.
She sighed,
noticing the heavy slump of his shoulders. She had her work cut out for her.
She made a
command to Otis to sit and as the dog was trained, he heeded to the command
instantly. Lyssa cleared her throat and the man didn't move.
As she
suspected, he'd heard her perfectly well. He simply chose to ignore her.
"I was
told I could find Cody Gentry out here by the pool," she finally said.
The muscles on
his face twitched slightly. "Who's looking?"
The timbre of
his voice was deep, with a faintly ominous edge that reminded Lyssa of the
voices she'd heard as a child when she and Kim would sneak downstairs in the
middle of the night and watch old horror flicks on cable. She couldn't see the
movies, she'd only heard the voices, and that added to the mystery, raised the
level of anticipation, sending shivers racing up her spine.
Cody wasn't
anything out of a horror flick. She ignored the swell of apprehension that had
her confidence faltering.
She knew better
than to extend her hand in a normal greeting for her introduction. Instead,
she drew in a deep breath and hoped her voice sounded pleasant. "I'm
Alyssandra McElhannon."
He didn't
move. "What do you want?"
"I brought
Otis," she said cheerfully.
"What's
Otis?"
"Otis is a
who, not a what."
His whole body
seemed to stiffen. His voice was controlled, but edgy enough to send shivers
chasing over her skin. "I'm sorry you came all the way out here like
this. Apparently someone failed to give you adequate information. I'm not
training cuttin' horses anymore."
"Oh, Otis
isn't a horse. He's a dog. Your guide dog. And I'm here to train the two of
you to work as a team." She said the words with the pride she couldn't help
but feel. Otis, like many dogs trained as seeing aids for the vision impaired,
were a lifeline to independence.
He sat still,
unaffected. It wasn't at all the reaction she'd been expecting.
"Not
interested."
"And you
would be Cody Gentry, I take it?" she asked already knowing he was.
"I just
said I'm not interested."
"And I
heard you. My job is to make you interested."
"Says
who?"
Confused, she
said, "Mike Gentry for one."
He groaned
audibly and straightened up in his chair. "My father sent you, huh?"
"That's
right. He didn't tell you I was coming?"
"Did he
already pay you for your troubles?"
"Well,
yes, a portion is—"
"Then
you're fired. I'll make sure you get the rest of the money you're owed by
mail. I'm sorry he wasted your time."
Lyssa's huff
was slightly exaggerated. Cody was as difficult as Mike Gentry had warned but
in a totally different way than Lyssa had been prepared for.
"In the
first place, the school pays my salary and it is run entirely by donations.
Second, training my dogs and students is never a waste of my time.
Furthermore, you aren't the one who hired me, your father did. In fact, he
asked me to stay on at the ranch until you and Otis were working well
together. So, you can't fire me, no matter how much you squawk."
He made a face
that almost made her laugh. "Squawk?"
Crossing her
arms across her chest, she said, "I call it like I see it."
"Listen,
Ms. McElfen er McEllaf… What's your name again?"
"McElhannon,"
she said slowly. "Alyssandra Orchid McElhannon. If we're going to be
working together, I'd prefer to keep things informal. So you can call me
Lyssa, if it's easier."
Easier and
infuriating, she knew. Just because he couldn't see her, didn't mean he
couldn't hear perfectly well. In fact, she knew his hearing was much better
now than it had been before he'd lost his eyesight.
"Okay,
Lyssa. I appreciate your crusade here, but you really are wasting your time.
And mine, for that matter. I don't need a dog, and I don't need you. I need
my eyes back. And if you can't give me that, then get out of my way! I don't
want you or your dog here."
Anger flared so
strong through her whole being that Lyssa could taste its bitterness. Part of
Mike Gentry's argument that Cody needed a one-on-one instructor was because of
his environment. He'd warned Cody could be difficult to work with, but
explained he was there on Cody's behalf and that Cody was anxious to start
training as soon as possible. He had attitude, but a strong desire. The only
way to show Cody exactly how infuriating he could be was to throw it back in
his face, his father had told her. Fight fire with fire. That seemed to be
the only way to break through Cody's despair lately.