Almost Heaven. Jillian Hart

one-bedroom apartment not far from the campus in Bozeman. They had to work to make ends meet, but Deb had made it fun. She was so easy to laugh with. They laughed all the time.

      He missed that. He missed the dreams they would talk about over doing the dishes by hand in the cramped kitchen. Deb wanted a sprawling house just out of town, so she could see trees instead of neighbors.

      He’d wanted enough land to graze a horse or two on. She’d liked that idea, and wove more dreams of how it would be when times were better, riding their horses in their fields. What a great life they were going to have. Together.

      Grief weighed down his soul.

      The elevator inched to a halt and the doors whispered open. The outside world beyond the long wall of lobby windows was dark, and he hated the thought of going out in it.

      She’d been gone four years, and the pain of heading home to an empty house still ate at him.

      Is that going to change anytime soon, Lord?

      Then he saw Kendra through a glass partition in the far wall. The overhead light haloed her golden hair and caressed her creamy complexion. She wore a simple T-shirt and her denim shorts, nothing pretty or fancy or extraordinary, and she looked so lovely.

      He supposed it was loneliness that made him look. He missed a woman’s presence in his life. The softness and gentleness, the little bottles all over the bathroom counter… He missed all of it.

      It was a puzzle, because he’d seen plenty of women over the years. Not one of them made him feel as if the world had simply melted away until there was only her.

      She didn’t know he was watching as she leaned against the counter, turning to talk to her sister. She sparkled, laughing, tilting back her head to study the array of cheerful balloons floating just out of reach.

      He couldn’t say why that was, but as he strolled through the automatic doors and out into the parking lot, the night didn’t seem as bleak or as lonely as it had been before.

      Chapter Three

      Squinting against the bold afternoon sun blinding her through the windshield, Kendra set the emergency brake. Okay, how was she going to do this? The cookies were in the back seat, all ready to go, but her sister was in the passenger seat beside her. Michelle was bound to notice what was going on.

      If only she’d had more time! The day following Anna’s birth had been jam-packed with errands and work and visits to the hospital. Mom and baby were coming home this evening, and there was a lot of work still to be done.

      She’d been lucky to get the cookies baked. By the time she might get the chance to deliver them again all by herself, they would be beyond stale and as hard as bricks.

      Please don’t make a big deal over this, she silently begged Michelle, who was rummaging through her purse looking for her lipstick. Good, she was distracted. “You wait right here where it’s cool. Don’t move a muscle. I’ll be just a second.”

      “Wait! Where are you going? I thought those cookies were for us.” Michelle’s hand, holding the found lipstick, rested on the small round bowl of her pregnant belly. “They’re not for us?”

      “Nope.”

      “I need cookies.”

      “Don’t worry. I saved a small plate for you.”

      “But—”

      Oh, no, here came the questions! Kendra slammed the door shut before Michelle could get out one more word. Not that she’d succeeded in keeping her mission secret. No, if anything, she was simply delaying an explanation.

      Michelle was bound to notice what was going on, since she had a perfect view of the office’s front door. She would be pelted with questions on her return as to why she was leaving cookies for the town’s handsome and available sheriff.

      Would Michelle believe the truth? Of course not! The truth was too boring. Her lovely sister would see romantic intent in a simple offering of thanks. Kendra would never hear the end of it.

      This is what she got for doing the right thing. She heard the buzz of the window being lowered the instant she set foot on the sidewalk.

      “Ooh, you’ve got a crush on that new deputy, don’t you?” Michelle sparkled with complete delight. “Sis, you’ve got great taste. What’s his name? Frank? I knew it. I knew the right man for you would come along if we prayed hard enough.”

      See? This was exactly the type of thing she was trying to avoid. “I don’t have a crush on anyone.”

      “Sure. I understand. You’re doing your civic duty. Thanking the eligible bachelor who protects our town.”

      “It’s not like that.”

      “Yep, sure, like I understand totally.” Michelle feigned absolute empathy, but there was no mistaking that look on her face. “I’m glad for you, Kendra. You deserve a fine man.”

      Kendra opened her mouth to argue, but what would she say? Denial would only make it look like the truth. She loved Michelle for her kind words, but Michelle didn’t know what had happened that night when everything changed.

      There’d be no man for her. It was that simple. Kendra had been in love once and it had hurt worse than anything she’d ever known. She’d spent the last half-dozen years picking up the pieces of her life.

      She would never give another man that much power over her. She would never trust a man that much. No matter what.

      So Michelle could hope all she liked. She could think whatever she wanted. It would not change the facts.

      The window buzzed upward, and Kendra could feel Michelle’s elation. Now her entire family was going to hear about this. Yep, she definitely should have delivered the cookies later in the week, stale or not.

      There was Cameron’s cruiser, parked neatly against the curb, polished and spotless.

      And why was she noticing it? Didn’t she have enough on her mind with the thousand things she had to do next? She needed to clean Karen’s house, catch her up on her laundry and do a thorough grocery shop so her pantry would be well stocked. Then she needed to figure out what was she going to cook tonight for dinner for her entire family. That’s what she ought to be thinking about.

      Not noticing that she had a perfect view of Cameron’s desk through the generous front window. And her stomach should certainly not be doing little quakes, as if butterflies were trapped there.

      Why was she feeling this way? There was nothing to be anxious about. She intended to say hello, leave the plate on his desk and walk back out. Nothing personal about it. There was nothing personal between them.

      Thank the good Lord that’s the way Cameron felt about her, too. It wasn’t as if he thought, as Michelle did, that romance could be blossoming.

      Before she could reach for the tarnished brass knob, the door swung open. Cameron, looking fine in his navy-blue uniform, took a step back.

      His smile was dazzling. “Come in. I never turn away a woman bringing baked goods.”

      “It’s bad form to turn away free food,” a second man’s voice commented from inside the office.

      Kendra pushed her sunglasses off her nose and up over her forehead, and the shadows became a burly uniformed man sitting behind a desk in the corner, but she hardly noticed him. Cameron drew her attention as the surprise on his face turned to appreciation.

      Appreciation for the cookies, no doubt. She handed him the covered paper plate. “I made a batch with butterscotch chip and my gramma’s famous chocolate-chocolate chips.”

      “I don’t think there are enough words to thank you.” Cameron took the plate eagerly and ripped off the foil. “Frank, you’ve got to try these chocolate cookies. They sell them over at the coffee shop.”

      “Try them? Already