Course, could all be an act, but something wasn’t sitting right with Caleb. There was a missing link. A detail eluding him.
Radio in one hand, phone in the other, he once again dialed Hope on Noah’s cell. After a single ring, he was greeted with a recording of an automated woman asking him to hold then the wail of guitars blasted in his ear.
“You could at least choose a decent song,” he reprimanded his brother over the radio. “Real cowboys don’t boogie.”
“She’s probably almost home. You know how service is around here. “
“I’m not taking any chances. I just want to know when to expect her.”
“Hey,” Noah buzzed back excitedly. “I think I figured it out. There’s a crawl space behind the linen closet. Bet that’s where this woman’s been hiding.”
“Run a fine tooth comb over it.” If Caleb had to listen to this awful music a minute longer—
Noah’s voice clicked on, prompting him to leave a message and fear washed over Caleb. “She’s still not answering.” Twice more he redialed.
He looked up her position online and found she was sitting at a standstill on Cove Road. That was a pretty quiet stretch to be parked all alone with no reason. Not a restaurant or gas station or house even, not for miles.
“Something’s wrong.”
* * * *
Branches licked Hope’s face, the rocky, leaf-strewn forest floor thudding beneath her feet. Clammy sweat dampened her bangs to her face, her pulse hammering furiously.
There was no out. No where to go but deeper into the woods, further from true safety. From any hope of help.
Some distance behind her, a mad woman screamed at her to give up and accept death.
“You leave me no other choice!” A bullet fired through the air, ricocheting off a nearby tree. “You won’t die easy but you will die.”
Did her only sister truly hate her so?
The gun fired again and Hope swore she felt a bullet whiz by her ear. Her skin crawled in sheer terror as she zigzagged left then right.
Lord, please. Change her heart…
Hope’s right thigh burned in pain where the vehicle struck her and Corrine was gaining ground fast.
If her sister managed to catch her… Clearly, Hope knew too much now. Corrine couldn’t let her live. Not even if cost her the life insurance payout.
A bullet jumped off the ground at her feet.
Lord, please see me through this. Please, deliver me. I have so much more to do for you. For this world…
The rumble of an engine sounded on the road. Vehicle doors popped loudly, followed by the booming masculine threat, “Hands up, now!”
Noah.
Hope nearly melted with relief on the spot as Caleb demanded, “Where is she, Neil? No games!”
Oh, thank You. Thank You.
Hope ducked behind a large tree. A glance back proved Corrine had also ceased chase, hiding herself in the same fashion. “Caleb! She’s got a gun!”
He took cover behind a huge, jutting rock. “Put the weapon down and show yourself!” Caleb’s demand brooked no debate. “It’s over, Tina!”
Not Tina, Hope sobbed in regret. Her own flesh and blood. The only family she had.
The sound of a bullet thudded into a tree.
“There’s no out!” Caleb warned. “Don’t be a fool!”
The desperate, ear-piercing cry that followed was that of an injured animal, cornered and hopeless.
And then another shot resonated and Hope wailed as she watched her sister crumble. “Oh, please no! She shot herself!”
* * * *
The wail of the ambulance’s siren pierced the air. Tucking Hope under arm, Caleb urged her aside as the emergency vehicle whizzed past. “The medics are hopeful she’ll live. They’re helicoptering her to University General.”
From the looks of matters, Corrine had aimed for her heart but missed. The damage was bad but not necessarily fatal.
“I hope so. I—” Voice cracking, Hope towed in a heavy breath as if the words she were speaking required great courage. “I won’t hate her, no matter what she’s done. She’s my sister.”
Hope’s choice of words indicated the struggle within. “I’m proud of you,” he told her, not sure he was capable such a decision himself. “It’d be a lot easier to scorn her than to forgive her.”
“She said her childhood was awful. To think I’ve had the nerve to complain about mine.” She shuddered. “I can’t believe Daddy was poisoned. No one ever thought to do an autopsy since he’d been having heart trouble.”
Caleb hugged her tighter as Noah led a handcuffed, protesting Neil to his truck. After seat belting the grumbling man in, Noah slammed a door to his shout of, “I want a lawyer!”
“It’s over.” Noah saluted, circling round to his door. “Good job, Ranger!”
In return, Caleb tipped the white hat Hope had urged him to once again wear. She’d been right. Once a Ranger, always a Ranger. Who he’d been had shaped who he was today—there was no future without a past. It was high time he embraced all his God-given talents.
Moments later, the truck rumbled past, leaving he and Hope standing next to Caleb’s truck alone.
“I was worth more to him dead than alive. Now I know what Neil meant.”
“He was a fool with no idea your value.” Any man who could have and hold someone so beautiful and incredible, inside and out…Caleb would never understand Neil’s motivations. “Forget him.”
“Hmmm. Forget him…” Considering the suggestion, she shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I wouldn’t change a thing for the world. I’m glad he turned out to be a jerk.”
“God had a plan, huh?”
“He did.” Tilting her chin, she gazed up at him with those huge doe eyes. Eyes that spoke to Caleb, seemed to adore him. “And if it weren’t for Him placing you in my life…”
Something deep inside Caleb quivered. He didn’t want to consider anything bad happening to this woman. The reality he could’ve lost her.
Not that he truly had her.
“Luckily, we don’t need to worry about Neil or Corrine anymore. They’re done.”
“They are. It’s over,” she agreed, giving a certain finality to matters that left Caleb feeling lost. “It’s over.”
Over the past weeks, protecting Hope had become his existence. “I guess we can do away with the baby monitors and game cameras.”
“But not the radios. I enjoy our nightly talks too much.” Somehow, she knew just what to say. “Caleb, thank you. Not just for looking after me, protecting me, but for giving me so much more. Coming to Serenity Cove was the best choice I ever made.” She lifted her hand to his face, cupping his jaw. Stroking softly, her fingers pinging off stumble. “I really cherish you, you know that?”
“You do?”
His heart kicked in hope. An emotion akin to desperation flowed through him. Let her love me, he prayed. How could he breathe again if she didn’t?
“Of course I do, silly.” Her lips spread in a big, encouraging smile as if hardly giving away a secret and anticipation pitter-pattered within. “I love you to death.” She stroked his face as if he were the only man in the world. Gazed at him with an adoration that curled his toes in his boots.
Then she went on, sinking his ship. “You’re such a good friend. Not to mention a good influence. What did I ever do to deserve you in my life?”
A friend. A good influence. Neither of those were the words he wanted to hear. Disappointment reigned.
It was obviously just her gratitude talking. Her feelings mirrored no reflection of his own.
She said she loved him. But he loved her. Loved her so much, a powerful emotion that’d come on so strong and swift he couldn’t exactly define when he’d gone from feeling protective to falling head over heels.
Maybe it was that day he’d saw her driving little Joe Jackson on a buggy through the store. Or that day out on the lake, when she’d bravely taken his hand, trusting. Or in church, l
istening to her sing.
There were so many moments he looked back on with warmth but he couldn’t say which had been the moment. Only that he’d fallen hard.
Confusion replaced his disappointment. Her fingers were still combing his jaw, her dark liquid gaze speaking to him.
Did she have any idea what she was doing to his heart?
Catching her hand, he pulled it away. “Hope, I—”
“Yes?”
If they stood any chance, he needed to know. Couldn’t bear the idea of pursuing a relationship with her on uneven playing ground. Didn’t know if he could handle living there on the ranch with her, wanting her on a level he’d never experienced with a woman before. Soul-deep.
Sandwiching her hand firmly between his, he looked away. Heat skyrocketed to his face, inundating him with self-doubt, but he forced himself to ask, “How you feel for me, is it…?”
She was so silent, he could barely bring himself to glance her way. Winced as he did and found her mouth agape.
Great. He’d made this weird. Was a total fool.
“It’s okay. I get it.” Patting her hand goodbye, he released her and shoved his fists in his pocket, turning away to hide the color that surely flushed his face. The emotion trembling within. “No further explanation necessary.”
“But I—”
“Really, I get it.” The scar on his face tingled in reminder. “I’m not exactly Prince Charming.”
“You think I—”
“Just forget I said anything. Erase it from your mind and—”
“Caleb, stop! I will not!”
Snatching him by the wrists, she dragged his hands from his pockets and forced his arms around her. Looped hers about his neck.
“Caleb, you’re misunderstanding. Completely.”
“I am?” The storm within suddenly went still. Dare he hope?
“You are. You said you’re no prince charming and you’re right, you’re not. But not so long ago, a very smart man shared with me an very advisable bible quote. ‘Put not your trust in princes.’ Psalms 146:3” Returning her silky soft palm to his cheek, she gazed deep in his eyes. “I love you. The real kind of love, based on the good stuff. Respect, friendship, trust—and believe me, that last one was hard for me.” The genuine affection shining in her smile was heaven itself. “I truly believe God wants us to be together.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. I feel it here.” She bunched her fist and held it to her heart. “From the moment I first saw you.”
“I also.”
“Well?”
“Well?” he echoed.
She wiggled her brows, clearly expecting something.
Caleb, dunce that he was in that moment, had to search his head to figure out what she wanted. “I love you too, Hope Pearson.” On a spur of the moment decision, he decided to take things one step further. “Marry me?”
Birds trilled. Boats buzzed on the lake. The wind whispered. Yet their world ceased to spin. “I know this is hardly the time or the place. But marry me, Hope.”
“Oh Caleb…yes!” She threw her arms around him, doing a little happy dance. “Yes.”
He had to resist the urge to whoop like a fool as he hugged her tight. “You just made me the happiest man in the world.” No amount of pain in the world could stop his smile. “See?”
“I already saw.” Her fingers whisked the edges of his grin. “In your eyes.”
With that, he tipped her chin and planted his mouth on hers, still grinning as tasted the sweetness of her kiss. A deep, soulful kiss he never wanted to end but eventually did, out of respect for the woman he’d soon call wife.
Laying her head to his chest, she curled her fingers into his flannel shirt and sighed. “I have big news.”
“More?” With today’s events, he couldn’t begin to imagine.
“Father left a provision in the will. We’ve everything we need to open Eden Retreat.”
Caleb released his smile as peace settled over him. Eden was his calling. Celebrating his faith with Hope his future.
No longer would he look back at what should have been. Today served as the final chapter in his career in criminal justice.
But his book was not closed.
Now began a new journey. A mission no less wonderful, no less fulfilling he finally realized. From this day forward, Caleb would proudly limp the acres of the Circle C ranch, building, creating, growing what the Lord had called himself and Hope to.
All along, Caleb had been but putty in His hands. Hope as well. But in His own time, God had revealed His plans for both of them.
No, Caleb was no prince charming but counting on God, he was confident he and Hope had found their happily-ever-after.
Epilogue
Clutching the cross hanging around her neck, Hope peered past the curtain at the anxious crowd that awaited. Atlanta was her twentieth stop on tour, yet no matter how many times she managed to fill a room, the sight still stunned her speechless.
Transforming the ranch had proved only the beginning. Just for fun, she’d finally fulfilled her dream of writing several songs to perform at Sunday service. Soon, people started asking for her CD. Calling in to the radio with requests.
Seemingly overnight, without ever trying, she’d become a hit on all the Christian stations.
But this particular concert was extra special to her. The crowd was a blur of pink shirts in honor of breast cancer awareness. Even Caleb, who sat in the front row with their two beautiful little girls, wore the color.
Mary, age five, and Gabriella, age three, both loved to listen to Mommy’s music. In about eight months, a little brother would join their world.
All the pink made Hope think of her old bedroom and the little dollhouse she’d once fantasized in. She hadn’t thought it possible but she finally had all she’d ever dreamed of and so much more. A wonderful husband, a family, even the dog. Samson had finally been found at a farm nearby and the vivacious puppy had grown into a loyal, playful dog.
Together, she and Caleb ran a thriving Christian nonprofit organization. Her music career was on top the world. The following year, after the baby, they planned to travel to Africa to the village her father had given so much to. That they now sponsored.
Oh yes, the Lord promised, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Ever thankful, Hope send up a fervent prayer tonight would go smoothly, stepped into stage and let God shine his light through her.
About the Author
All her life, teachers praised Trinity Hart's writing skills, but she'd never considered becoming an author. A teacher, a dolphin trainer, a veterinarian, and an archeologist—these are just a small sampling of her aspirations growing up. But finally, she's found a way to be a little of everything and anything her heart desires through the characters in her books. Of course, when it comes to heroes, she has an undeniable weakness for a man in cowboy boots and a Stetson!
Raised by a loving, Christian family, Trinity rebelled as a young adult as so many do and through her darkest hours discovered a deeper connection to God that has made her a stronger woman, mother, and wife. She is delighted to now be spreading God's love through her stories.
Trinity Hart resides in Amish Country, Pennsylvania with her husband and daughter and is the proud mother of two grown stepsons. She enjoys gardening, concocting her own recipes and hiking, and is a self-professed yo-yo dieter. For more information and to meet Trinity's “writing partners” Honey and Scooter, visit http://www.trinityhart.com/.
http://www.TrinityHart.com
http://www.InspiredRomanceNovels.com
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