Love Inspired August 2014 – Bundle 1 of 2 (44 page)
Read Love Inspired August 2014 – Bundle 1 of 2 Online
Authors: Allie Pleiter and Jessica Keller Ruth Logan Herne
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Word of advice—they might look cute, but they’re nasty when you rile ’em.”
That got him a flicker of a grin, and he was pretty proud of himself. Until she gave
him one of those troublemaker looks that made any guy with half a brain want to squirm.
“Maybe you know someone who could help you with the retail part,” she said with an
odd glint in her eyes.
Crazy as it seemed, he wondered if she was fishing for details on his personal life.
He wasn’t sure why she cared, but he decided to play along, just for fun.
Rubbing his chin, he pretended to consider her suggestion. “Maybe I do. Could be dangerous
to ask her, though, seeing as the last time I saw her she was in Phoenix, tossing
my stuff out a window and chucking a lamp at my head.”
That got him a withering feminine glare that made him feel about six inches tall.
“I can’t begin to imagine why.”
Her response caught him off guard, and he bristled defensively, which was completely
out of character for him. Most of the time, he couldn’t care less what other people
thought of him. Why did this snippy woman’s opinion matter so much? “That’s kinda
harsh, don’t you think?”
“Men are all the same,” she informed him, as if he needed the lesson and it was up
to her to enlighten him. “You’re big teddy bears until something doesn’t go your way,
then you’re on your way out the door. It’s a wonder any of you ever grow up enough
to amount to anything.”
“Hey,
she
kicked
me
out.” He pointed to his chest for emphasis.
Chelsea’s eyes sparked like furious emeralds. “Did you ever ask her why?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but she traded me in for a guy with a Porsche.
When I called her a greedy gold digger, she didn’t take it well.” It still stung that
what he’d had to offer her hadn’t been enough. The blow to his ego hadn’t quite healed,
and he was determined to avoid a repeat performance.
“So you just walked out, packed up your truck and went to Oregon?” When he didn’t
respond, she shook her head at him. “Same old Paul. Never happy with where you are,
always looking over the horizon for something better.”
The fact that she was at least partially right didn’t help his suddenly sour mood.
“You haven’t changed, either. You’re still judging other people for taking risks you’d
never even dream of. How’s that working for you?”
Dismissing him, she pivoted on one of her fancy shoes and went down a set of steps
to the side yard where they used to unload the trucks. Paul stood there for a while,
trying to get control of his boiling temper before he made the situation worse by
charging after her to continue their...argument? No, that wasn’t quite it, he admitted
as he watched her through a window. It had been more like sparring, each of them testing
the other before squaring up to land their best punches.
Just like old times,
he thought with a grimace. Her last name happened to come before his in the alphabet,
so they’d often been teamed up for school projects. Their efforts had ended up being
more competitions than collaborations, and although they’d scored well, every second
they were forced to work together had been a teeth-grinding clash of wills. Now he
needed her help or this restoration was dead in the water. Paul simply couldn’t let
that happen.
After battling cancer for five years, Granddad’s fight was rapidly coming to an end,
and all he wanted was to see his cherished mill up and running before he died. Paul
had driven across the country to make sure that happened, which meant he had to man
up and apologize to Chelsea for insulting her. Searching for inspiration, he glanced
down at Boyd, who was stretched out in a patch of late-morning sunlight, his brow
wrinkled with what could only be described as concern. More than once, it had flashed
through Paul’s mind that his canine buddy was more sympathetic than a lot of people
he knew.
“Whattya say, partner? Wanna go make nice for me?” Boyd let out a quiet groan, then
closed his eyes to resume his nap. “Yeah, well, thanks for nothin’.”
Groveling really shouldn’t be all that tough for him, he reasoned as he followed after
Chelsea. He’d begged forgiveness from so many women over the years, he’d gotten pretty
good at it. But as he watched her with her rolling measuring stick and camera, so
intent on her task that she didn’t appear to notice him, his gut warned him that this
time would be different.
Because she was brighter than most, and she’d see right through his usual I’m-just-a-guy
approach. That meant he’d have to go with the truth, which could be dicey when it
came to the female species. But this wasn’t about him, he reminded himself as he glanced
back at the half-restored mill. It was about answering Granddad’s prayers to get the
family business back in working order. If Paul had to eat a little humble pie in the
meantime, it was best to choke it down as quickly as possible and watch his mouth
from here on out.
Hoping to appear contrite, he shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and trudged
down the steps. In the yard, he intercepted Chelsea. Summoning every sad moment of
his life into his expression, he kept it simple. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” she countered tartly. “Being you? Please.”
Sharp words leaped onto his tongue, and he sent up a quick prayer for patience. What
he said to her right now would make or break this project, and he wasn’t averse to
calling in a little divine help. “For being out of line. You obviously have a great
life, and I had no right to talk to you that way. I hope you can forgive me.”
The change in her was remarkable. He’d braced himself for a scolding, but what he
got instead was a slowly dawning smile. By the time it reached her eyes, he glimpsed
a sparkle in them he’d never seen before. How many guys had gotten that view of her?
he wondered briefly before slamming the door on his curiosity. He had no intention
of going anywhere remotely personal with her, so there was no point in even asking
the question.
“Thank you, Paul. That can’t have been easy for you to do, and I appreciate it. Believe
it or not,” she added in a warmer tone, “I think your idea for this place has a lot
of merit.”
“That’s good,” Paul stammered, unable to believe what he was hearing.
She gave him a nod, then got back to her measuring. While he appreciated her attempt
to be encouraging, he was smart enough to realize it didn’t mean much in this situation.
When it came to dollars and cents, banks were notoriously hard-hearted these days,
which didn’t bode well for the Barretts.
It wasn’t himself he was worried about, Paul thought morosely. He’d failed before—plenty
of times—and as Chelsea had so deftly noted, he had a knack for burying his mistakes
and moving on.
But this time, he had to succeed. Knowing that scared him to death.
Copyright © 2014 by Andrea Chermak
ISBN-13: 9781460337448
A HEART TO HEAL
Copyright © 2014 by Alyse Stanko Pleiter
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Property Office and in other countries.
Learning To Love…Again
Idyllic Goose Harbor, Michigan, offers a fresh start for broken-hearted Paige Windom.
In addition to securing a teaching job at the high school, she’ll fulfill her dream
of helping at-risk teens in a nearby inner-city mentoring program. But Caleb Beck,
a handsome yet overprotective widower and the center’s founder, doesn’t want Paige
anywhere near the place. He’s afraid she’ll get hurt—just like his late wife. Paige
knows she can do a lot of good—for the kids and Caleb himself. If only she can show
him how to let go of his fear, maybe they’ll both find a way to reopen their wounded
hearts.
Goose Harbor: Love is in big supply on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Paige wondered what Caleb was thinking.
“After tonight,” he said, “after actually seeing this place…do you still want to be
involved with the center?” He spoke so quietly, she had to lean even closer.
Did she? Paige bit her lip. “Yes. Of course.” If only to prove she could.
“But I don’t understand,” he said. “You’ve now—”
“You don’t just back down from something you’ve thought about for years.” Paige tried
to keep the quiver out of her voice.
“It’s not safe, Paige. Don’t you see that?” He braced one hand on her car and one
hand on his truck. “For instance, tonight—what if I hadn’t stayed and made sure you
got to your car safely? This is a dangerous city.”
“So you keep saying.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’ll continue to remind you of that until you
get it.”
Paige folded her arms, hiding her hands so he wouldn’t see that they were shaking.
Why couldn’t he understand?
Books by Jessica Keller
Love Inspired
Home for Good
The Widower’s Second Chance
JESSICA KELLER
A Starbucks drinker, avid reader and chocolate aficionado,
Jessica writes both romance and young adult fiction. As a child, Jessica
possessed the dangerous combination of too much energy coupled with an
overactive imagination. This pairing led to more than seven broken bones,
countless scars and even more story ideas. Jessica holds degrees in both
communications and biblical studies. She lives in the Chicagoland suburbs with
her amazing husband, beautiful daughter and two annoyingly outgoing cats.
Jessica loves interacting with readers. Find all of her contact information at
www.jessicakellerbooks.com
.
THE WIDOWER’S SECOND CHANCE
Jessica Keller
He who was seated on the throne said,
I am making everything new.
Then he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.
—Revelation
21:5
First and foremost, thank you and love to
my husband and beautiful daughter, who overflow my heart with love, making
it possible for me to have the energy and encouragement to keep writing.
Also to the members of the BCGE who helped me brainstorm and add layers to
both Caleb and Paige, the story wouldn’t have been written without you all.
Many thanks to my parents, who are always happy and willing to watch my baby
so I could write—you both believe in me, and that has made all the
difference in my journey. Lastly to the lovely Lisa Marie, who has asked me
for years when I’d start writing
“those stories
about the tourist town in Michigan”
that I
told her about back in our college days. For you, Lisa, Goose Harbor now
lives.