Almost Heaven

“Honey, are you all right?”

“Sure.”

It was only a half fib. She intended to be fine. Tucking away the raw hurt, she kept on going. Gramma needed time alone with her new great-granddaughter, and there was the supper to see to. Kendra was the self-appointed cook for the night, and she wasn’t about to let someone else take over.

That’s the reason she told herself for hurrying from the room. It wasn’t because of the tears in her eyes. Of the sadness that haunted her through the days and into the nights of her solitary life.

Her cell buzzed in her back pocket. She wasn’t in the mood for personal calls, but she withdrew the small handset and glanced at the screen. With her business, she was always on call, emergencies happened.

She saw with relief that it wasn’t Colleen calling her from the riding stable. No, the name on the screen was Cameron Durango’s.

She almost sent the call onto her voice mail, but she remembered what Gramma had told her. His wife had died. How difficult that had to be, to lose so much.

That’s why he was calling. Why he’d helped her with the tire and took the time to talk to her in the hospital. He was looking to make a new life. To fill his empty time with new activities.

How could she not help him? She might never know the depth of what he’d lost when he buried his wife, but she understood heartache. She understood what a future with no love and no marriage looked like.

She answered the call. “Hi, Cameron. You must be pretty anxious to buy a horse.”

“I guess I am.” He had a good-hearted voice, kind and resonant. “You said to give you a jingle. That maybe you could find time for me to come over. Take a look around.”

“I’d be happy to help you out. I’ll be working all morning tomorrow, but I should have a little free time after noon.”

“How about one? Will that work?”

“One o’clock sounds fine. You know how to find me?”

“Wouldn’t be much of a sheriff if I didn’t.”

“Good.” The cool, polite tones had vanished from her alto voice, and she sounded friendly enough.

Cameron took that as an excellent sign. “I’ll be there. I sure appreciate this, Kendra.”

“No problem. Take care.”

“You, too.”

He hung up the phone, the silence of his small kitchen echoing around him. It had been a long time since he’d let hope into his heart.

How good it felt.

Chapter Four

Kendra sliced open the fifty-pound grain sack with her grandfather’s Swiss Army knife, folded the blade away and tucked it safely into her jeans pocket. Sweat gathered along her forehead and trickled into her eyes.

She blinked against the sting, swiped her forehead with the back of her forearm and hefted the awkward sack onto her shoulder.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.