Tarnished Hearts by Raine Cantrell

Author:Raine Cantrell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION/Romance/Western
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2013-10-14T04:00:00+00:00

Listless from the fever that had ravaged her body for days, Leah cried out silently in despair. There was no God. He had stolen her love, then battled her will to die, leaving her hopeless. But alive…

With trembling hands, she searched beneath her pillow for the carefully pressed rose that she had begged her mother to leave there. She wanted to believe Trev’s last words. She did want to wait for him.

As the days passed without word from Trev, Leah’s strength returned to her body, but her mind was battered by turns, first by her mother, then her father, and even Frances, all denying her hope that Trev was coming back. There was no place on Rosehall she could go without his memory haunting her, but she tried, unaware of the conspiracy going on about her.

It was Frances who began it after hearing from Robert that Leah developed a tendre for Trev which he did not return. Frances had no doubt that she had been told the truth. She knew Trev’s attraction for women, and knew Leah for a dreamer.

Leah had taken to wandering the rose garden most mornings and it was here that Frances found her.

“You’re looking better, Leah,” she said, cupping a full bloom within her hands. “You’ve had us all worried about you. People, I’ve learned, are very much like my roses. You can give them sun, water, and a good soil to thrive in. But you know what it is that makes my roses so admired? They respond to love, Leah. Just as we do. And for women, dear girl, it is not enough to love, we must be loved in return.

“We need passion in our lives. Do not ever believe a woman has but one passion. We do not. We learn to fill our days with many. That is what makes us strong,” she stated, looking directly at Leah. “Marriage, a home, and children fill up the empty hours. You may not believe it now, Leah, but there is joy to be had when you have nurtured something and helped it to grow. Like my lovely roses.”

Like my love for Trev … But Frances had reached her as no else. Love could not survive without nurturing and hope.

“He’s not coming back, Leah. Accept it.”

She couldn’t. Not until the continued emotional battering brought her to a state of fear that she carried Trev’s child. The knowledge forced her to go see Roddy Cooper. If she had to marry, she would use her pride and do so on her terms.

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