Heart of a Soldier. Belle Calhoune

      “Yes, the Lynches are a hardworking bunch,” Cassidy acknowledged. “It’s impossible not to feel proud of them.”

      Holly flashed a smile in her soon-to-be sister-in-law’s direction. Her best friend was incredibly sweet and loyal. As far as she was concerned, Cassidy was going to be a perfect addition to the Lynch clan. If Cassidy and Tate would only set a date and put everyone out of their misery!

      “So I was thinking you might like to grab a bite to eat in town,” Dylan said, his face full of expectation. “It’ll give us a chance to talk for a spell.”

      White teeth flashed against his sun-burnished skin, causing a little hitch in her heart at the beauty of his smile.

      Cassidy pressed her fingertips against her head. “Dylan, I—I’m not feeling too well.” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “I’m so happy you stopped by, but I think it might be better if we catch up another time.”

      Dylan’s face fell. He recovered quickly, plastering a smile on his face. “Sure thing. Why don’t I swing by tomorrow. I think I’ll head back to town and grab something to eat. Doc tells me I have a standing invitation at his diner.”

      Dylan stood up, placing his empty glass down on the tray before reaching for his Stetson and resting it against his chest.

      The look on Dylan’s face took her breath away. He looked confused. And crushed. Some of the light went out of his eyes. Holly wanted to wrap her arms around him and soothe his disappointment. Although he appeared to be as tough as nails on the outside, with his rugged appearance and soldier’s swagger, she knew all too well about his tender side. And even though she felt a twinge of annoyance toward Cassidy for going off script, she knew all the blame for this entire fiasco lay at her feet. She’d done this. Her insecurities about believing a man could fall for her had led her down this path. For more than twelve months she’d neglected to tell him her most basic truth. And now it was all unraveling, bit by bit.

      Of course, it had all begun innocently enough. Pastor Blake had started a pen-pal program so the members of Main Street Church could correspond with soldiers serving in Afghanistan. Wanting to show her support for the brave men and women of the armed forces, she’d quickly signed up. From the very beginning she’d felt a connection with the brave soldier from Madden, Oklahoma. They’d shared their hopes and dreams, as well as favorite movies, stories about their pets and best-loved ice cream flavors. She’d shared tidbits with him about life in West Falls and the joys of Horseshoe Bend Ranch, as well as her loving family.

      In turn, he’d described a soldier’s day-to-day life in Afghanistan, the triumphs, the tragedies and the struggles. He’d written her about his wonderful mother, who’d raised him as a single parent. One letter led to another until they were receiving letters from each other on a weekly basis. Somehow, without her even realizing it, Dylan Hart had become a huge part of her life. As the door closed behind Dylan, a feeling of emptiness swept through her like a strong gust of wind. A longing to call out to him, to stop him in his tracks so she could make him stay longer, rose up inside her. After so many nights lying awake, thinking about her green-eyed soldier, it was agonizing knowing she would never be able to face him as Holly Lynch. As much as she wished it wasn’t true, Dylan Hart would forever be out of her reach.

      * * *

      Dylan didn’t know how to explain the feelings roaring through him as he headed out the gates of Horseshoe Bend Ranch. He felt like a deflated balloon. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why he felt so disappointed. Holly was gorgeous. Stunning. Any normal, red-blooded man would take one look at her and thank the Lord above for placing her in his orbit. But when he’d finally come face-to-face with her, there had been no kismet, no spark. Nothing special. She hadn’t even seemed stoked to see him.

      Could he have been so wrong about their connection? She’d been much quieter than he’d ever imagined. In her letters, her lively personality had practically jumped off the page. In person, Holly hadn’t been at all as he’d imagined. Something felt off between them. There hadn’t been a feeling of recognition when he met her. Not at all. Not even for a single minute. Although he knew it would take some time for them to adjust to each other, things still should have flowed more effortlessly between them. There had been no attraction, no pull in her direction. And she wasn’t at all like he’d expected her to be. She was skittish and nervous. When he’d moved to pull her into a hug, she’d stood there like a statue, still and unmoving. She hadn’t even hugged him back. She didn’t seem like the Holly he’d gotten to know over the past twelve months.

      And then she’d practically rushed him out the door on the pretext of not feeling well. Not once had she asked about his living arrangements or his four-month rental with Doc Sampson. Truthfully, she hadn’t seemed all that happy to see him at Horseshoe Bend Ranch. Disappointment filled him, leaving him frustrated and full of sorrow. He’d been so sure about Holly, more certain of her than anything ever in his life. Yet now it was looking as if he’d made another gigantic mistake.

      It wouldn’t be the first time, a little voice reminded him. He shook off the memory of his faithless ex-girlfriend, Shawna. It had been a long time since he’d thought about his high school sweetheart, the woman who’d dumped him after his deployment to Afghanistan. After he’d broken his neck and was laid up in a military hospital, he’d been deemed useless in her eyes. He fought against the anger swelling up inside him. There was no time in his life for people who weren’t genuine. And he refused to wallow over past hurts. He had enough scars to last a lifetime.

       Please don’t let me have been so mistaken about Holly. I’ve been so wrong in the past about so many things—relationships, people, situations. Please let me find in her the strong, faithful woman I’ve been seeking. Show me I haven’t traveled all this way chasing a pipe dream.

      Maybe it was just jitters from meeting each other for the first time. It could be that his expectations were way too high. And meeting someone in the flesh was a lot different than writing to one another. She had every right to be nervous, didn’t she? Perhaps it just wasn’t meant to be, he realized as a sinking sensation settled in his stomach. Being so misguided about a situation would be a hard pill to swallow. Sometimes one just got a sense of a person—who they were down to their very soul. And for the past year, he’d come to know Holly as a warm and loving, God-fearing woman. Her goodness had resonated in every letter she’d written him and wormed its way inside him, serving as a reminder of everything he wanted in a life partner.

      Try as he might, he just couldn’t shake off the encounter with Holly. There was something bothering him. It was resting right under the surface, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. All of a sudden it hit him. Her eyes. They’d been a vivid green, not blue. Holly had said her eyes were blue. Or was he going crazy? And he’d noticed she was wearing a ring when she’d poured him the sweet tea. Not just any ring, he realized. It had been a diamond ring planted on the wedding finger of her left hand.

      He pulled his truck over to the side of the road, his breathing shallow as he racked his brain for the facts. Had she been wearing an engagement ring? Could he have been wrong about her eye color? No, absolutely not. He remembered the words she’d written him in her letter. I’m a blue-eyed girl from West Falls, Texas.

      He slammed his palm against the steering wheel. What in the world was going on? The woman he’d just seen, the one pretending to be Holly, was a fraud. Her eyes were a spectacular green. That fact, coupled with the odd way she’d been acting and the sparkly ring, was all the proof he needed. With a wild groan, he did a U-turn in the road, his tires spewing dust and rocks as he made his way back toward Horseshoe Bend Ranch. He didn’t know who was trying to make a fool out of him, but he was surely going to find out.

      * * *

      “That did not go so well.” Holly let out a deep sigh. Things had not unfolded the way she’d envisioned. Even though she hated the idea of tricking Dylan, the idea had come to her in a moment of absolute desperation. As an honest woman, it didn’t sit well with her that she’d taken the low road instead of coming clean to Dylan. An overwhelming feeling of fear had held her back. She now