West of Heaven by Victoria Bylin

Author:Victoria Bylin
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2013-08-29T04:00:00+00:00

She hurt for him, low in her belly and deep in her chest. As he had talked about his sons, she felt his fleeting happiness as if it were her own. And when he spoke of his daughter, she had wanted to cradle his hand between both of hers.

She wanted to gallop after him, to wrap her arms around him and offer solace. It wasn’t the same, but she had lost her mother suddenly to apoplexy. For a full year the pain had been sharp and unrelenting. Time had turned that wound into a scar, but she missed her mother every single day.

Jayne swallowed hard at the sight of Ethan riding up the rocky trail. His shoulders stayed straight and his back didn’t bend. She yearned to take him in her arms and comfort him. To hold him to her breast until the pain eased. To wipe away those rare male tears he needed to shed. She wanted to give him so much more than his privacy, but this simple silence and her prayers were all he would accept.

“Oh, God, no,” she murmured.

She’d fallen in love with him. Completely. Irrevocably. She had lost her heart to a man who cherished his first wife more than life itself. A man who liked home cooking but had no interest in sharing his dreams or his bed. He’d kissed her twice, and both times he’d been quick to regret it.

Staring helplessly, she watched as he rode to the crest of the ridge. A smattering of grass reminded her of the hill where they had taken wedding vows. The Reverend’s words came back to her in a whisper.

Hope is a rope. Tie a knot and hang on.

Could Ethan ever love her the way he cared for Laura?

Her hands felt stiff and empty, and her throat ached. Every instinct told her to let go of the Reverend’s rope and escape with her pride intact, but she couldn’t leave Ethan to shoulder his grief alone. Never mind that he slammed the door in her face every time circumstances pried it open. Whether he liked it or not, he needed her—like flowers needed the sun and grass needed rain.

Her heart made a daring leap. If she scattered seeds of love, maybe something wonderful would grow on its own. A field of primroses or a garden teeming with vegetables. Maybe a forest as lush as the one surrounding his empty homestead.

She had to be gentle, though. Too much heat would make Ethan push her away, and too much rain would keep him mired in despair. She had to find a middle ground, a safe place where the seeds could grow at their own pace.

Jayne knew that her mother wouldn’t have approved of her plan, but she loved Ethan enough to fight for him, to hang on to that rope until her hands bled. The trick was patience, and knowing when to prod him with a sassy remark and when to lure him with a little sugar.

A half smile curved her lips.

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