Dandelion Wishes. Melinda Curtis

      

      Will thought dandelion wishes were a waste of time.

      Will thought dandelion wishes spread weeds into the world. Will thought–

      Emma spun around and plucked the dandelion from the side of the road. She didn’t care what Will thought. She and Tracy had been making dandelion wishes since they were kids.

      She turned toward home, stopping in the middle of the bridge over Harmony River. She tried to catch her breath. She tried to be as calm as the water flowing beneath her.

      It wasn’t possible. Not even with a dandelion wish at the ready.

      What would she wish for?

      Dear Reader,

      Welcome to Harmony Valley!

      Things aren’t as harmonious here as they once were. Jobs have dried up and almost everyone under the age of sixty has moved away in the past ten years, leaving the population…well…rather gray-haired and peaceful.

      Enter Will Jackson, newly minted millionaire and hometown success story. He’s been on the fast track too long and is looking for a break. But then his sister, Tracy, and her friend Emma get in a car crash, and he realizes Harmony Valley would be a perfect place for Tracy to stay permanently. If he could just create a business for his sister and keep her away from Emma’s spur-of-the-moment adventurous tendencies, everything would be fine.

      Emma may look as if she walked away from the accident unscathed, but she bears emotional scars. She wants to rebuild her friendship with Tracy and heal. But nothing in life ever comes when you want it, especially not love and healing.

      I hope you enjoy Will and Emma’s journey, as well as the romances in the works for friends Flynn and Slade as they get their winery in Harmony Valley off the ground. I love to hear from readers and you can always check on the progress of Harmony Valley on my website, www.MelindaCurtis.com.

      Melinda Curtis

      Dandelion Wishes

      Melinda Curtis

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MELINDA CURTIS grew up on an isolated sheep ranch, where mountain lions had been seen, and yet she roamed unaccompanied. Being a rather optimistic, clueless of danger sort, she took to playing “what if” games, which led her to become an author. She spends her days trying to figure out new ways to say “he made her heart pound.” That might sound boring, but the challenge keeps her mentally ahead of her three kids and college-sweetheart husband.

      Nothing in my life would be possible without the love

      and support of my immediate family, extended family

      and close friends. This past year was a roller coaster

      and you helped keep me strapped in.

      With special thanks and hugs to A. J. Stewart, Cari

      Lynn Web and Anna Adams for holding my hand and

      kicking my butt throughout the writing of this book.

      And to Carrie Knudson, thank you for the laughter,

      the love and the memories.

      Contents

       CHAPTER ONE

       CHAPTER TWO

       CHAPTER THREE

       CHAPTER FOUR

       CHAPTER FIVE

       CHAPTER SIX

       CHAPTER SEVEN

       CHAPTER EIGHT

       CHAPTER NINE

       CHAPTER TEN

       CHAPTER ELEVEN

       CHAPTER TWELVE

       CHAPTER THIRTEEN

       CHAPTER FOURTEEN

       CHAPTER FIFTEEN

       CHAPTER SIXTEEN

       CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

       CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

       CHAPTER NINETEEN

       CHAPTER TWENTY

       CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

       CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

      CHAPTER ONE

      TODAY WAS THE day.

      There’d be hugs and smiles, reminiscences and laughter.

      And apologies. Of course there’d be apologies. But they’d be accepted and waved aside because best friends stood by each other. Always.

      Today was the day.

      If Emma Willoughby repeated it to herself often enough, this time it might come true.

      Standing in the parking lot next to clumps of cheery daffodils, she checked her purse to make sure Tracy’s gift was inside. She silenced her cell phone. She pasted a friendly smile on her face, passed under the grand portico and headed toward the massive glass doors of Greenhaven Rehabilitation Center.

      The doors slid open as she neared. On previous visits, she’d recognized people in the lobby—elderly actors recovering from strokes, aging politicians recovering from hip surgeries, elite athletes recovering from injuries. But in nearly six months, she’d never caught a glimpse of Tracy.

      The Sunday receptionist, Francie, looked up to greet her, recognition stealing the beginnings of a smile from her face.

      Today, Emma silently prayed.

      Francie pushed her rhinestone glasses up the bridge of her nose, tugged the lapels of her aquamarine polyester jacket tightly together and sent an icy glance toward a tall, aging security guard, who stepped forward to block Emma’s path. In all the months Emma had been coming here, this was the first time Francie, Greenhaven’s gatekeeper, had set a guard on her.

      “Young lady, I’m terribly sorry.”

      Emma’s smile weakened. She would not give up. She would keep coming every Sunday until someone let her in. Tracy’s family couldn’t keep her out forever.

      “I know I can’t go inside, Francie.” Emma reached into her purse for her gift—a Carina Career doll. She’d