Almost Heaven. Jillian Hart

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      Grief weighed down his soul.

      Cameron’s late wife had 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?

      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.

      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 looked so lovely.

      Cameron supposed it was loneliness that made him look. He missed a woman’s soft and gentle presence in his life. He’d glimpsed plenty of women over the years, but not one of them made him feel as if the world had simply melted away until there was only her.

      Kendra 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.

      Looking heavenward, he couldn’t help thinking the good Lord had just given him his answer….

      JILLIAN HART

      makes her home in Washington State, where she has lived most of her life. When Jillian is not hard at work on her next story, she loves to read, go to lunch with her friends and spend quiet evenings with her family.

      Almost Heaven

      Jillian Hart

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

      —Corinthians 13:7

      Dear Reader,

      Thank you for choosing Almost Heaven. It has been my pleasure to return to the McKaslin family and tell another sister’s story. Kendra aches for a family of her own but believes an earlier tragedy will keep her from trusting a man again. Thankfully, Cameron enters her life, a man as stalwart as the Montana mountains. He teaches her an important lesson: that true love is strong enough to heal any wound and bring us into the light.

      Wishing you peace and a life filled with love,

      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

      Epilogue

      Chapter One

      It had been a long, hot day. Exhaustion dulled the edges of Kendra’s vision, but the familiar sight of her hometown fortified her, as it always did. The green of a well-kept park. The neat line of railroad tracks on one side of the main street and the tidy row of old-fashioned buildings on the other. The cheerful awnings of businesses. The friendly neon sign of her family’s coffee shop still burned a bright blue and green in the front window.

      She glanced at the clock on the dashboard—thirty-four minutes past four. Maybe she’d stop and beg for food and drink so she wouldn’t have to find something in her practically empty cupboards at home. There was probably a box of her beloved macaroni and cheese, but she lacked the energy and the will to make it.

      The brief blast of a siren startled her and she glanced in her side-view mirror. Sure enough, there was a patrol car behind her. Was she speeding? No, the speedometer’s needle was a hair past twenty. If anything she was going too slow.

      Maybe the sheriff needed to go around her. Well, she was towing a full four-horse trailer. There was no oncoming traffic. Couldn’t he just pass her?

      No, he stayed stubbornly behind her, not looking as if he intended to pass. That must mean he wanted her.

      What did she do? Too many cars were parked along the street, so she signaled and crossed the yellow lines to the other side of the road. She hoped that wasn’t illegal or anything, but it wasn’t as if she had a choice.

      The patrol car followed her over, lights flashing. Brace yourself, Kendra, here he comes.

      The town sheriff stalked toward her. Gun on one hip, his powerful arms held to his sides, he walked with an athlete’s strength and confidence.

      Cameron Durango. One of the last men she wanted to be alone with in the universe. Had he always looked this good in his uniform? Why hadn’t she noticed that before?

      She was staring at him! And he was likely to notice that. What was wrong with her? She’d given up putting her faith in men a long time ago. It was a done deal, signed, sealed and delivered. A life decision she’d made, and that was that.

      The last thing she should be noticing was how striking Cameron looked in his uniform. Get a grip, Kendra. He’s the sheriff. Nothing more. Nothing less. He arrests people. He pulls over perfectly innocent drivers for no reason at all.

      His boots crunched in the gravel beside her pickup.

      Don’t look at him. “I wasn’t speeding.”

      “Hey, Kendra.” He whipped off his hat and the breeze ruffled the dark ends of his military short hair. “How are you doing this fine summer’s day?”

      “Hot.”

      “Yeah? A fine rig like this ought to have air-conditioning standard, right?”

      “Sure, but I’m pulling a full load. I don’t want to overheat the engine.”

      “I understand. I’d baby a new truck if I had one. You got this, what, a month ago?”

      She stared straight ahead, not wanting to answer. Okay, she wasn’t rude by nature and she felt lame acting that way. But Cameron Durango knew something about her that nobody else did, not even her sisters.

      It didn’t matter how fine he looked or how friendly he seemed, he reminded her of things best left forgotten.

      Couldn’t he just go?

      “Yeah,” she finally said. “That’s why I haven’t been driving around the truck I used to have, the one that kept breaking down on me.”

      “Right.” Maybe he got the hint, because he paused, as if debating what to do next. Did he leave? No. He rested his forearms on the door of her truck. “Bet you’re wondering what you did wrong to get me on your tail?”

      “No. I wasn’t speeding.” Maybe if she was difficult, he’d leave her alone. Ticket her or whatever he was going to do and be on his way. So she wouldn’t have to remember.

      “I was sitting in the shade in my air-conditioning, tucked behind the Town Welcomes You sign, hoping to catch a hoard of speeding tourists and boost the town’s income, when you meander along, driving responsibly and under the limit.”

      “You admit it.”

      “I noticed you were about to lose a tire on your trailer and decided to leave my shady spot behind to come warn you.”

      Was he trying to be friendly? And it bugged her because she didn’t want to like him. It would be