Heart of a Texan by Charlene Sands

Author:Charlene Sands
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-05-08T19:35:28+00:00

Seven

The morning came quickly, too quickly for her to absorb all that had happened last night. She lay in her own bed, her body sore in all the right places. She’d hated leaving Jared last night, and though he’d begged her to stay, she couldn’t leave Sienna alone all night. Besides, it was safer with him downstairs and her living upstairs. It gave her some space, some time away from him to gather her thoughts.

Mostly, she wished she’d met Jared under different circumstances. She wished to high heaven she hadn’t had to lie to him and everyone here at Stone Ridge. She wished she wasn’t in hiding, that she could’ve had a normal upbringing with a reasonable father who wasn’t always trying to run—and had nearly ruined—her life.

But wishful thinking never got her anywhere.

Instead she turned to the one glorious thing in her life. Sienna. Her daughter’s eyes fluttered and she tossed around in the bed. She’d be waking up soon, ready to take on a new day. Sometimes Bella felt it was just her and Sienna against the world.

It was enough. It had to be.

A minute later Sienna’s eyes opened and she immediately smiled. For Bella, these waking moments were precious, seeing the light on her baby’s face when their eyes connected. “Morning, baby girl.”

“Mommy.”

Sienna rolled over, nearly on top of her, and squeezed her neck.

“I’m here, Sienna. I always will be.”

A tear dripped from Bella’s eye. She was emotional today, overly so, and it was fear and doubt and confusion about her future all wrapped up into one tumbling snowball that was picking up speed and growing larger every day.

Being with Jared last night had made all the bad things go away. For a short time he’d made her forget about her problems. But this morning reality set in and she had no idea what to expect when she went downstairs to cook his breakfast.

Fifteen minutes later, after a quick shower for both of them, she dressed Sienna in her favorite cartoon character outfit and put her damp hair up in pigtails, while Bella donned a pair of jeans and a red-plaid shirt. She pushed the sleeves up, ready for work. The two of them headed downstairs to the kitchen.

It didn’t appear that Jared was awake yet, which gave her time to implement her plan. She set Sienna on a blanket on the floor with her ABC blocks and a few of her princess dolls. Cinderella was her favorite. Bella thought it odd that she was in the same situation as the blond-haired fairy-tale princess. With the clock ticking, Cinderella came to the ball magically and quite by accident to spend time with the handsome prince, hiding her true identity and knowing full well her time with him was limited. When would Bella’s clock strike twelve?

If there was even a hint her father was closing in, Bella would have to pick up and run. She’d have to leave Stone Ridge, a place where she felt welcome and safe.

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