Heart & Soul: A Guitar Girl Contemporary Inspirational Romance (A Guitar Girl Romance Book 3)

by Hope Franke

Funny thing. There’s a coffee foamer in the cupboard. I have NO idea how that got there.

  HOPE did it, I think.

  I hope you’ll come with me.

  I hope you’ll believe me.

  I love you.

  He checked the time on his phone: 11:30. He wiped down the kitchen, and then went upstairs to clean his teeth and pack his bags. He took another look out the window to the cottage, this time from the room that had a view to the back street. He didn’t know what he thought he’d see. Gabriele packed up and waiting at the curb would be a nice sight but apparently, it was a fantasy, because she was nowhere to be seen.

  Callum returned to the main level, double checked the locks on the window and doors and set the security alarm.

  It was almost noon. He’d promised to be back at the grid by two, and if he wanted to stop by his flat first he had to leave soon. He checked his texts once more. Nothing. He almost rang her, but her silence told him everything already. Disappointment smacked him hard. He had to accept that she wasn’t coming.

  Callum Jones

  You’ve made your decision. I don’t like it, but I respect it.

  Ich liebe dich.

  Callum tossed his bag into the backseat of his refurbished Smart Car and hopped in. He pushed the garage door opener, slid the car into gear and drove away.

  Just as he turned the corner onto High Street, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket so fast he almost dropped it. His mouth widened into a deep grin as he read the text.

  Gabriele Baumann

  I believe you.

  Callum slowed, pulled a tight U-y, and raced back to the cottage. She stood at the end of her walkway. He skidded to a stop and leaped out. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and breathed in her scent, imagining everything he almost lost. He cupped her face with his hands and stared into her gorgeous green eyes.

  His lips found hers, and she kissed him hard like she meant it. Like she loved him. Like she really did believe him.

  IT WAS a beautiful spring day with a bright blue sky and dazzling sunshine. A day as spectacular as this one couldn’t be wasted, especially since it was a rare day off from work. Gabriele held Callum’s hand as they walked across the pedestrian bridge perpendicular to St. Paul’s Cathedral to the south side of the Thames. They stopped to watch the tugboats scoot beneath them and to take in the iconic Tower Bridge to the east.

  Gabriele worked as a translator and interpreter for MI5. Much of her work was done at the grid behind a desk in front of a computer, but more often lately she was in the field, which she loved. Callum didn’t like it when she left the safety of the office, but he agreed to not impede her in any way. If it was going to work between them, they had to respect each other, including professionally. They both knew the risks, that one or both of them might not live through the day.

  It made their relationship even more precious.

  Callum turned to her. “Do you think about him often?”

  She knew he meant Lennon. And it would be a lie if she said no.

  “Yes. Do you?”

  “Yes.”

  Lennon would always have a place in their hearts, but he no longer came between them.

  “I wonder if he sees us,” Gabriele said. “If he knows.”

  Callum shrugged. “I don’t know. But I knew my brother, and he’d want me to take care of you.” He leaned in and kissed her gently.

  They continued until they reached the opposite bank and turned west in the direction of the London Eye. The path along the Thames was a popular one for joggers, tourists and families.

  They stopped at an ice-cream truck and ordered cones. Ahead Gabriele spotted a busker playing a guitar.

  “Let’s watch her,” she said.

  They stood amongst the gathering crowd and took in the talented woman’s performance. She was petite, and she wore a long flowing, shimmery skirt that reached the tops of her black army boots. A baggy, grey cardigan hung loosely over her shoulders. Her head appeared to be bald, covered with a colourful satin scarf.

  She was a good musician with a clear, high-pitched folksy voice.

  Gabriele felt her phone buzz in her pocket and reached for it with her free hand. She smiled when she saw her friend’s name.

  Julia Milch

  How’s London treating you? Still like your secretarial job?

  Gabriele tossed the last bit of her cone into a trash bin, then responded.

  Gabriele Baumann

  The city’s great fun. The job’s a bit of a bore, but the people are interesting.

  Julia Milch

  And Callum? He’s still playing nice?

  Gabriele shot a wry smile Callum’s way.

  Gabriele Baumann

  Oh, yeah.

  Julia Milch

  He better be. Oh, Ulrich’s here. I think he wants to marry me. More later!

  Gabriele chuckled. She wouldn’t be surprised. Julia was a catch for any man who could keep up with her.

  Gabriele Baumann

  Keep me posted!

  “Who was that?” Callum asked.

  “Julia. Just checking in.” Julia knew that Callum was Lennon’s twin, but she didn’t know about the grid. She still believed that Callum worked for the city’s sustainability department. It’s what everyone in Dresden believed.

  A few listeners threw coins into the girl’s empty guitar case when she finished the song. Gabriele approached and dropped a bill inside.

  “Thanks,” the girl said. She looked pale with bluish circles under her eyes. Her eyebrows were barely there.

  There was a small pile of CDs on the ground near the case. Gabriele picked one up. Anna was embossed on the top. “I’ll take them all, Anna.”

  The girl’s invisible eyebrows jumped in surprise. “Really?”

  “Yeah, I have a lot of birthdays coming up.” Not exactly true, but there was something about Anna—her vulnerability, her physical weakness—that made Gabriele want to help. Plus, she knew how hard it was to play for strangers. To put yourself out there like that. It took guts.

  “Thank you,” Anna said with feeling. “You don’t know how grateful I am.”

  “It’s my pleasure.”

  Gabriele returned to Callum’s side and threaded her fingers through his hand. She perked up as Anna began to play a cover.

  Gabriele smiled. “That’s my sister’s song.”

  “Ah, ‘Flesh and Bone,’” Callum said. “I thought it was a Hollow Fellows’ song?”

  Gabriele grinned. Sebastian’s band had made headway into the British music scene recently.

  “It is,” she agreed. “Eve cowrote it with Sebastian Weiss.”

  “Cool.” Callum draped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed. “I’m only two degrees of separation from someone famous.”

  She laughed. “I’m only one.”

  He poked her playfully. “Have you written anything new?”

  “Not recently. Too busy stopping people from blowing up the city.”

  “Well, you know what they say about all work and no play.”

  She stared up at him. “Makes Gabi a dull girl?”

  He lifted her chin and gazed steadily in her eyes. He leaned in and whispered breathily into her ear. “There is absolutely nothing dull about you.”

  He kissed her with soft butterfly kisses as Anna played in the background, “All I wanna do is find love....”

  I hope you enjoyed Heart & Soul! Please consider leaving a review. Reviews really help authors and help readers find the books they love.

  Want more of A Guitar Girl Romance?

  Visit Hope Franke at: hopefranke.com

  and get the behind the scenes stories and photos on the characters, setting and music of A Guitar Girl Romance series.

  Don’t miss out on news of deals and new releases! Sign up for Hope Franke’s reader list and get East of the Sun free!

  Get the behind the scenes stories and photos on the characters, setting and music of A Guitar Girl Romance, plus deals
and updates at hopefranke.com

  Read on for chapter 1 of PEACE & GOODWILL

  Belle gets the best Christmas present ever, a man in uniform! Ian is a soldier home on leave. Neither of them has any idea how good it will feel to fall in love or how hard it will be to say good-bye.

  Anna is spending the holidays alone again with only her faithful dog, Angel, to keep her company. She can’t afford to pay the rent, and her landlord threatens to kick her out. At least she’s finished with her chemo treatments. She can be thankful for that. Plus, there’s Rhys, the handsome visitor with kind eyes.

  One fateful cold and snowy night, a chance encounter changes everything. Love is lost. Love is found. Life will never be the same.

  On Amazon!

  PEACE & GOODWILL CHAPTER 1

  A TIME and a Season

  Belle

  BELLE VAUGHN SWALLOWED the gluey lump that formed in her throat as she arranged the winter scene in the window of King’s Books used bookstore. Mrs. Cowen could be very particular, and she wanted the miniature replicas of the popular landmarks of London and all its miniature inhabitants “to delight and entice” prospective shoppers into the shop.

  Belle arranged the little carolers around the mini version of Saint Paul’s Cathedral. Trees and park benches dotted the edges of a curvy blue ribbon that represented the River Thames. Small bridges, including the famed Tower Bridge, crossed the river. There were even tiny lamp posts and street cars, including the iconic red double-decker buses. She sprinkled shiny, white confetti over everything for a snow-like touch and plugged in the string of white lights she’d tacked around the window earlier that day.

  She gasped at little at her creation, a beautiful, perfect, little world, and the pang in her heart deepened. A glance through the window reminded her that the real world wasn’t so magical. She didn’t live in the romantic ideal of London central but in the lesser-visited eastern end which was crowded with the poor and working poor like herself.

  Outside, holiday shoppers scampered hunched over, chins buried into scarves, bodies pressed into the wind, with no time or inclination to stop and gaze at the fanciful window display Belle had created. The real streets beyond the glass were dirty and the sky was a brooding grey. Nasty weather systems were attacked the United Kingdom from the arctic regions of the pacific.

  Belle sighed and returned to the counter where a stack of books waited for her to catalogue, price and shelve.

  “Any plans for Christmas this year, love?” Mrs. Cowen asked. She asked Belle this every year and every year Belle shook her head sheepishly. No. She was an orphan and without family. She lived alone in her little flat for the last three years since her mother had passed away, and didn’t even have a pet because her miserable landlord forbade it.

  “You’re welcome to spend it with us,” Mrs. Cowen said with a small smile. “Again.”

  Again. Mrs. Cowen was being polite, but the truth was that Belle’s presence at Mrs. Cowen’s family Christmas was an intrusion. For the last two years, she was the only non-family member sitting around the Cowen’s dinner table. Everyone was always pleasant and polite—how could they not be? Belle was to be pitied. No parents, no family. It was their duty to include her. If the dinners were uncomfortable, her arrival to the Christmas morning gift opening was downright painful. After Mrs. Cowen’s daughter and two granddaughters greeted her with fake smiles and stiff hugs, they basically pretended she wasn’t in the room.

  Being alone was preferable to being invisible.

  Mrs. Cowen wore billowing blouses and skirts that hung loosely on her tall, thin frame. Her greying, blond hair was permed into tight, short curls and she penciled in her eyebrows, thin stark lines above sagging eyelids too tired to resist gravity any longer. Belle put on her brave face and stared at her employer. “Thank you so much for the invitation, Mrs. Cowen, but I’ve accepted another this year.” It was a lie, but by the expression of relief that flickered briefly across Mrs. Cowen’s face, Belle knew she did the right thing.

  “That’s fantastic,” Mrs. Cowen said. “I’m so glad you’re making friends.” Finally. She didn’t say it, but it was implied. Finally, she was recovering from her mother’s long drawn out illness and death. Finally she was making friends her own age (presumably. Finally, she was moving on.

  If only it were true. Belle sighed and shook her shoulders in an effort to break free from the gloom that plagued her. Christmas was supposed to be the happiest time of the year, but for her the opposite was true.

  She donned her reading glasses and got to work. Nothing like losing oneself in a mass of accounting numbers to forget ones problems.

  The bell tinkled above the door, and a blast of cold air came in with a customer. Belle glanced up over her glasses. Standing inside the shop was a man, about her age, mid-twenties or so, dressed in army fatigues. He removed his hat when he saw her. She slipped off her glasses.

  Air escaped her lungs and her jaw went slack. He was very good-looking—what girl didn’t love a man in uniform? His hair was buzzed short, blond with a hint of red, his face shaved clean, and he had a firm jaw and straight nose. His skin was ruddy with a smattering of freckles. His eyes were dark in the light of the shop and they crinkled at the corners when he smiled. At her. Belle’s heart flittered around like a bird wanting out of a cage. She pushed her short, dark hair behind her ears in a nervous response.

  “Can I help you?” she squeaked out.

  The soldier ducked his chin as he shook his head. “Just looking.”

  Belle was grateful she didn’t have to stand or walk about the shop for the soldier because quite honestly, she didn’t trust her knees at this point. Her joints felt like pools of water.

  She put her glasses back on and pretended to busy herself, but who was she kidding? How could she concentrate on bookwork with a guy like him in the shop? Her eyes darted repeatedly to the soldier. She was careful that he didn’t catch her staring.

  Until he did. He glanced up from the book in his hand to where she sat behind the counter and then away again. They played that game for several minutes until a chuckle escaped her lips, and she slapped a hand over her mouth.

  The soldier selected a book and approached her. Belle removed her glasses and wiped damp palms off on her black trousers.

  He slid a gently used version of Stephan Lawhead’s book, The Paradise War–first book in the Song of Albion Trilogy, across the counter.

  “Nice choice,” she said.

  “Thanks.” The soldier stared at her name tag, then added, “Belle Vaughn.”

  Belle rang up his order and the soldier handed her a five-pound note. “I’m Lieutenant Ian Connor, by the way. Since I know your name, I thought it only fair to tell you mine.”

  “I appreciate the equal opportunity,” Belle said with a grin. She motioned to his uniform “Are you recently back or on your way out?”

  “I’m on leave for a month.”

  “Nice for you to be home for the holidays.” She slipped his purchase into a bag and handed it to him.

  Ian smiled. “It sure is.” He tucked the bag under his arm. “Thanks.”

  Just as he grabbed the doorknob, Belle blurted, “Thanks for shopping at King’s Books. We hope to see you again!”

  Oh, God. Her face burned with embarrassment. Why did she feel compelled to yell out that dumb, rote response? Mrs. Cowen had drilled it into her, but there was a time and a season for everything (a quote from her mother, God rest her soul) and this was not the time or the season for that.

  Ian eyes narrowed quizzically. “I hope so, too.”

  Belle wiggled her fingers. “Bye, Lieutenant Connor.”

  The soldier disappeared out the door and Belle slumped into her chair with a groan. No wonder she was still single.

  On Amazon!

  THANKS again and again to my beta readers, Angelika, Juanita and Denise and to Debbie Moore for checking that my use of British lingo sounds authentic; my online writing community without whom I’d be toast
in a major way including The Indelibles, Dauntless Authors, Club Indie and my Street Team; my editor Marie Jaskulka, my cover designer Steven Novak and my formatter Ali Cross; the musical artists who believe in trying new colaborations, Tasia Strauss, Andrew Smith, Norm Strauss and Joshua Smith; my husband and musician/music producer, Norm Strauss whose talent and proximity to me continue to make The Minstrel Series possible; to the Donna Petch, Shawn Giesbrecht and Norine Stewart for your ongoing prayer and support, to my parents for holding down the Canadian fort, my kids for being just plain awesome, and to God who carries me through all things.being just plain awesome, and to God who carries me through all things.

  Summertime (remake) Tasia Straus

  Holes in the Night Sky (remake) Tasia Strauss

  Holes in the Night Sky (original) by Andrew Smith

  Lift Me High (remake) Tasia Strauss

  Listen to all the songs from The Minstrel Series on Bandcamp at www.songsfromtheminstrel.bandcamp.com

  Want more info and features about The Minstrel Series?

  Visit TheMinstrelSeries.blogspot.com.

  Andrew Smith

  www.andrewsmithmusic.com

  Norm Strauss

  www.normstrauss.com

  Joel Strauss

  www.joelstrauss.com

  www.joelstrauss.bandcamp.com

  Joshua Smith

  www.joshuasmithtunes.com

  www.joshuasmith.bandcamp.com

  Inspirational Contemporary Romances

  A Guitar Girl Romance series

  Sun & Moon

  Flesh & Bone

  Heart & Soul

  Hit & Miss