Circle of Trust
Hero Hearts Series, a K-9 Inspirational Contemporary Western Romance
Kate Cambridge
Contents
Copyright
Introduction to Hero Hearts
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
23. EPILOGUE
Author’s Note
About Lawfully Charmed by Kate Cambridge
Join Kate’s Reader Group
Also By Kate Cambridge
About Kate Cambridge
Copyright
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright 2018 by Kate Cambridge
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Property of Kate Cambridge
April 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-1-947171-05-3
Print ISBN: 978-1-947171-06-0
Dedication
I want to say a special thanks to my co-authors and friends, Annie Boone and Hayley Wescott—you’re my favorites and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather write this beautiful hero series with!
To my mom, Amber, thank you for always believing in me and encouraging me to chase my dreams. You are an amazing woman, and I’m lucky to be your daughter. I love you.
In the end, this book is about love, about the kind of love that lasts forever with lots of adventure, commitment, and chemistry—so I dedicate it to the man who captured my heart and soul completely twenty-three years ago—my husband, Barry. You continue to amaze me every single day, and I’m the lucky one.
Here’s to toe-curling, heart-pounding, everlasting love.
Introduction to Hero Hearts
Welcome to Hero Hearts, a historical and contemporary Christian romance series.
Join Annie Boone, Hayley Wescott and Kate Cambridge in a world unlike any other; a world where Heroes are honored with unforgettable characters and beautiful, inspirational love stories.
The authors of this series are committed to writing stories of inspiration, hope and love centered in fictional heroes who sacrifice daily to protect and save. A mix of historical and modern-day.
We hope you enjoy the Hero Hearts Christian romance!
~Annie Boone, Hayley Wescott and Kate Cambridge
Don’t miss a book! Join Choice Readers:
https://KateCambridge.com/choice
One
Peyton
Four Corners, Montana
The bright light of the noonday Montana sun bathed the car in sunlight and felt delicious on her skin. Peyton Carter rolled down the window of her car gulping the fresh, crisp air. Oxygen poured down her throat, filling her lungs as her mind filled with memories of the summer she'd shared with her sister the year before. Four Corners, Montana was one of her favorite places on earth. Her busy life as a K-9 FBI agent in the Los Angeles office had pulled her away from it, and this moment reminded her of how much she’d missed it.
The mountains, clean air, and peaceful energy of the area were part of it, but the biggest factor was her twin sister, Paige. She grinned as memories flooded her mind of all the times that they’d used their identical looks and height to their advantage by switching places in class, teasing their friends, fooling boyfriends, and even playing jokes on their family. It had been a while since they’d done anything like that together. Too long, in fact.
Peyton wouldn't be pretending to be her twin on this trip, she'd just be filling her shoes—or trying to, anyway. Paige called her five days ago, distressed over not being able to attend a culinary program she’d been planning on for months because her backup plan broke her arm, Peyton hadn't thought twice about saying yes and stepping in. She'd been on medical leave from the FBI for over four weeks and she had eight more weeks to go. She’d been going stir crazy in her apartment, and this was the perfect diversion.
She remembered how to bake a cupcake—how hard could it be to bake dozens at a time? House sit, goat sit, take care of chickens and a horse? Easy compared to her life with the FBI.
The German Shepherd in the backseat nudged her with his nose then stuck it out the window — butterflies danced in her stomach—Radar was excited, too. He was more than just her K-9 companion; he was her best friend. She knew he had her back.
Thwap, thwap, thwap. His tail hit the backseat in rapid succession; he was ready for a new adventure, too.
Thankfully Radar wasn't injured in the shooting that had put her on medical leave, but he was assigned to her whether she was active or not, and lately, he'd spent most of that time in the apartment or at physical therapy with her. They took short, daily walks, but she knew he missed their former five-mile runs and the adrenaline of their investigations.
She turned down the familiar road that led to Paige's gentleman's farm. As twins, they had spent almost every minute of their childhood together, yet she and her sister were polar opposites. While Peyton adored Radar and was mostly a dog person, Paige loved all animals, and couldn't seem to get enough of them. Peyton liked order and Paige seemed to thrive on chaos. Life in Four Corners wasn't the adventurous lifestyle that Peyton was used to, but her sister seemed to love it, and all that mattered was that her sister was happy.
She parked in front of the small yellow and white farmhouse and a cool wind brushed her skin as she opened the door of her old Volvo sedan. It wasn't the fanciest car, but it was reliable and got her where she needed to be. She caught sight of Paige's dusty old blue truck near the small, red barn and stifled a giggle. She couldn’t believe her sister still had the truck—but then again, maybe she could.
Radar woofed from the back seat and she laughed. “I know, buddy, I feel it, too.” He leaped from the car the second she opened his door, prancing by her side, anticipation in his big brown eyes, waiting for her command. “Go!” she encouraged him, and he raced toward Paige’s house.
"Paige!” she called out as she moved toward the front porch, hoping the open windows would carry the sound of her arrival. She loved her sister's house. Paige had done a lot of the renovation on it herself, and Peyton’s favorite spot was the front porch with two white wooden rocking chairs—one for each of them. Radar stopped when he reached the steps, waiting for his human, his tail wagging furiously. He loved her sister, too.
"Peyton!" Paige threw the screen door open and rushed through it, wrapping her sister in a warm hug. Paige pulled back and huffed. "You're losing weight…”
"Hardly." Peyton rolled her eyes. "I've been sitting on my butt for weeks, I'm surprised I haven't turned into a couch."
"Oh stop, that's never going to happen."
Peyton loved the sparkle in her sister's sea-green eyes—the eyes they both shared.
"Are you sure you're up for this, si
s?” Paige asked, her eyes filling with concern, glancing down at Peyton’s leg.
"Of course, I'm fine," Peyton assured her. “Sorry, I’m late. I hit traffic getting out of LA, and the rest is history. Give me the rundown and then go and have fun—I can't wait to taste what you learn." Her sister was an award-winning bakery chef, and it hadn’t been easy for Paige to get into the highly sought culinary master class, but she had. She deserved to go and not worry about anything.
"Peyton, seriously." Paige grasped her shoulders and took a step back to look her over from head to toe. "I don't want this to be too much for you. You gave me such a scare."
"I'm fine." Peyton gritted her teeth. She loved her sister, but she didn't appreciate the constant questions and worrying about her recovery. "My doctor and physical therapist both approved. Honestly, I think my PT was glad to be rid of me." She raised an eyebrow. "I told him he wasn't requiring enough reps, and he told me that he was the one with the license."
"Ha!" Paige grinned. "Classic Peyton always has to be in charge."
"I wouldn't say that," her eyes narrowed as Paige crouched down to greet the large Shepherd.
“Hey, Radar!” Her sister’s honey blonde hair fell forward across her shoulders, and Peyton flashed back to the moment she'd opened her eyes after the shooting. She'd been knocked unconscious shortly after the second bullet seared through her abdomen and the next thing she knew she’d woken up in the hospital, with that familiar curtain of honey blonde hair falling over her.
Peyton shivered as she recalled the fear in her sister's voice as she begged her to wake up. She swallowed hard and pushed the memory away, covering it with a smile as Radar licked Paige's cheeks.
"You shouldn't let him do that, he'll go soft."
"Oh please, like you don't." Paige rolled her eyes and stood. “I hate to rush, but my transportation should be here any moment. Here are your instructions." She handed Peyton a small notebook. Peyton’s eyes went round and Paige laughed. ”It's all quite simple I promise. If you have any problems, just call me. I should have an hour to spare before my flight leaves once I reach the airport. I typed separate pages for the goats, chickens, horses, bakery, and,” Paige’s voice hitched, “and the special orders.” Her eyes met Peyton’s briefly. “But don’t worry,” she breezed, “Helen, my assistant manager, will be there five days per week. You’ve met her before and she’s very self-sufficient. You’ll be like… her assistant,” Paige declared as she cocked her head and bit her lip.
Peyton snorted at Paige’s attempt to reassure her. ”I'll be fine. Don’t worry.” Peyton took the notebook and wondered how many pages of instructions were inside. She’d helped her sister with farm chores before, so it shouldn’t be that difficult. "I love you, sis." She hugged her and kissed her cheek. “Now go have the time of your life and be safe. Bake a leg."
"Very funny," Paige gave her a lopsided grin as she picked up her luggage and practically skipped down the steps to meet the airport car service pulling into the drive.
Two
Jax
Jax Lawton stepped out of his Jeep with a grimace, rubbing the back of his neck. The journey from Virginia to Four Corners had been arduous with more traffic than usual. He could have flown, but he needed the drive. After arriving home from his final tour in Afghanistan, jumping on another plane was the last thing he’d wanted. Driving from the East coast to one of the most beautiful places he'd ever been was an opportunity to ease into civilian life again and decide what was next.
Integrating back into a normal society seemed to take longer each time he returned from a tour—whatever normal was. In the past he’d lie low at his home for a few weeks, only interacting with people sporadically to avoid the culture shock of adjusting to the fast-paced country he loved. But this time, he didn't have that luxury.
Home was the last place he wanted to be.
His buddy and lifelong friend, Matthew Hawkins, had moved to Four Corners, Montana permanently a year ago. When he learned of Jax’s situation, he immediately offered his house as a place for Jax to stay, as long as needed. Matt had FedEx’d the keys for his house to Jax three days ago, right before shipping out on a mission. He had assured Jax there was plenty of room and he could spend as little or as much time at his home as needed.
Matt shut the Jeep door and walked up the steps to the front door taking gulps of the cool, clean Montana air into his lungs. The house looked small, but the location was perfect. It was only five minutes from town for convenience, yet set back from the road for privacy. Matt had ten acres of land that went with it and a breathtaking view of the mountains.
As he unlocked the front door and stepped inside, he was struck by the sparse décor and chuckled. Matt hadn’t changed a bit. He’d always lived life in the fast lane with very little focus on material things. The house had a small footprint but seemed functional. The floors were bare hardwood, the living room and kitchen were one large room with a couch, chair, TV over the fireplace mantle, and two bar stools at the island that divided the two rooms. The walls were painted white.
Matt and Jax had done one tour in Afghanistan together, but Matt had always been the smarter one, and rather than return for another tour, he’d opted to return to civilian life and accept an offer from BRG Security, a private security firm.
Jax dropped his bag and walked to the fireplace mantle. There were four photos: one of Matt and his dad, one of Matt and Jax, one of Matt and their unit, and one of Matt’s former girlfriend, Hailey.
“Sorry, buddy, but I can't have this.” Jax took the photo of Hailey and put it face down on the mantle. He didn't want any beautiful women staring at him. In fact, he planned to do his best to avoid women altogether. He didn't think that would be too difficult considering his skin was rough from many days spent outside in the desert-like sun and heat, and he hadn’t shaved in days. Attracting a woman was the last thing on his mind.
Maybe that was part of the reason things fell apart. He didn’t value the surface things that many of his friends did—not anymore. He’d learned what mattered in the service: loyalty, keeping the body and mind strong, doing whatever it took to ensure successful missions, patching soldiers up, and saving lives. He closed his eyes, desperate to shut out the memory of what had greeted him when he first landed in Virginia.
“No!” He gripped the mantle. Anger rolled through his body; his nostrils flared, and he took a deep breath. “I'm not going there.” He rolled his shoulders and shook out his hands, but the four walls of the house began to shrink around him. Time for a hike.
Jax rummaged through his bag, grabbed a few essentials and tucked them into a small sack that he slung over his shoulder, swapped out his sneakers for hiking shoes, filled his water bottle, and paced toward the door. He didn't do well in closed-in spaces for long. He hoped being back in big sky country would help.
The Army doc had told him he didn’t officially have PTSD, but Jax realized he was right on the line.
He hadn’t felt close to God in a very long time, yet on some level he wondered if clinging to the faith of his childhood during the darkest hours—hours so dark that in his wildest imagination he could not have anticipated what it would be like — was the one thing that had kept him from insanity or worse. Why hadn’t it devastated him to the extent it had many of the brave men and women he’d served with—people far braver than himself?
Guilt washed over him. He would have switched places with any one of them if it had been possible.
But guilt wasn’t going to change anything. He wasn’t sure anything could at this point, but he had to try.
A few minutes later Jax was on an old dirt road that he knew well. In high school, he and Matt had spent hours fishing, camping, and hiking all through Four Corners. Matt’s father owned a small camp nearby, and it was the perfect place for teenage boys to spend their summers.
Jax hadn’t been back since graduating high school, and a sliver of excitement hit his gut for the first time in a very long time. If there
was a place on earth where he could put the shattered pieces of himself back together again, it would be here.
He put the Jeep in park and stepped out. The ground was littered with beer bottles, the evidence of teenagers trying to get away from the prying eyes of adults. A corner of his mouth lifted. Some things didn’t change.
Jax, eager to find out if their favorite haunts and hideouts still existed, moved further toward the trail. Pine and musty earth surrounded him and he breathed the familiar smells deep into his lungs, breaking into a slow jog. A mile into his run he heard shouts in the distance. Adrenalin spurred him forward. Was someone hurt?
It was a woman’s voice and although it sounded more angry than hurt, he had to investigate. He picked up his pace, and as he drew closer, he heard, “I said get back here!” When he reached the end of a ridge of trees, his pulse slammed in his neck. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d expected—but whatever it was—it wasn’t the picture he had in front of him. A tall, lithe, and very fit woman was running—well, more like limping at a fast pace—toward four goats, all bolting in different directions. He paused to watch.
“Get over here!” The woman huffed and brushed her honey-blonde hair back from her face. Her cheeks were crimson and it looked like she’d either been at it for a while, or her blood pressure was on the rise. One of the goats ran in circles around her and Jax chuckled softly. Eyebrow raised, he leaned back against the tree and watched as she chased after the goats, her long hair streaming out behind her. He noticed the shape of her body as her t-shirt clung to it, dampened by sweat. Yes, it looked like she’d been chasing those goats for some time.
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