She stilled, straining to hear Collin’s response above the din of conversations going on in the visitor’s “lounge.” Hopefully he would console her father. Reassure Dad with what a strong, upright woman she had become. How she would be there to see him soon.
“I would have brought her with me if I could have.”
Laney’s stomach lurched. That was the wrong voice. That was the voice of a man who’d told her she was pretty and claimed he was going to kiss her and then chose money over love.
Her heart throbbed as if trying to pull her forward to see for herself. She peeked around the corner. Dad sat there—with grayer hair than she remembered, talking to a younger man—with messier hair than she remembered.
Laney spun around to press her back to the wall and hide from their view. Why was Alex there? Why was he talking to her father?
“Did you invite her?” Dad asked it like this was Sunday dinner and the three of them went way back. But even if Dad knew Alex from prison, how did he know Alex knew Laney?
Alex laughed a dry laugh. It didn’t sound like he was laughing at her at least. “Last time I saw Laney she told me to leave her alone. She thinks I was only after the money in Sterling’s apartment.”
“You weren’t?”
Laney’s fingers dug into the brick wall behind her. This was Alex’s chance to explain. Should she steel herself from the lie that he would surely spew in response to Dad’s question or hope that he had a legitimate excuse? How did she keep her heart from hoping?
“Not at all. I grabbed the money because that was the plan. That’s what I thought she wanted me to do. I didn’t even consider the fact it would put us in more jeopardy.”
He sounded so sincere. Broken even. Despite his lame excuse. Gah.
“Did you try explaining that to her?” Did her father want to see Alex and Laney together? Had he been a part of this all along?
Alex’s chair scraped the ground like he’d shifted in his seat. “I told her I cared about her. I told her I wanted to start fresh. You know, like we’d never played cops and robbers in our past. She told me to come back when I wasn’t using her to break into safes.”
Laney squeezed her eyes shut. Wanting him to come back hurt too much.
“Are you going to try again?”
She held her breath and willed her pulse to quiet down enough for her to hear Alex’s response. Because what if he said “yes”? What if she could be with him again right that very minute?
“No.”
No. There were no more chances for them. Even if she’d been wrong about him. Even if he was a good man who truly loved her.
“Why not?”
Because she hadn’t been wrong. Because he was nothing but a thief. He’d used her, for pity’s sake.
She should go punch him like she’d wanted to. Like he deserved.
“Because I made it very clear I wanted to connect with her. If she chooses to connect with me, that’s up to her. If I try to convince her to give me a chance, I’d be starting off another relationship the way I started with Elise. I love her too much for that.”
Laney’s knees gave out. She slid halfway down the wall before she caught herself. Alex loved her? He’d told her father. That wasn’t somebody he should lie to about love.
Could it be true? Was he the man she was afraid to believe he was? How could she know for sure?
“You love her enough to let her go?”
No. Oh no. She didn’t want that anymore.
“I love her so much that I’d wanted to ask you for her hand in marriage on one of these visits.”
Laney gingerly lifted her wounded arm to look at her hand. To stare at her ring finger. The finger that had once boasted a princess cut diamond from Josh. The fiancée who’d left her.
But Alex had pinned her to the wall and told her she was enough for a man as long as she gave him her whole heart. Could she? That was a huge risk.
What if he was lying still?
But what if he wasn’t?
She’d been such a bad judge of character in the past. Help, Lord. She needed help. She needed her daddy.
Laney bit her lip until the metallic taste of blood met her tongue. She licked at it before stepping out from behind the wall. “What would you tell him, Dad?”
Both sets of eyes stared—Dad’s shining with joy, Alex’s wary and defensive.
They remained silent, so she repeated the question. “If Alex asked for permission to marry me, what would you say? You spent five years with him, right? You should know if he’s really a good person or not.”
Dad rose from his chair, and before she knew it she was in his arms, her cheek pressed to his chest. She inhaled his spicy scent.
She could have had this all along. Even though she’d thought he would have judged her, she now knew Dad would have greeted her like this every single time she’d come to see him.
But she’d been afraid. She hadn’t felt like she deserved it. And that same fear could keep her from another man who claimed to love her. A man who looked up at her from his chair with the kind of yearning she’d felt ever since her mother died. The yearning to be accepted.
Dad’s rough lips pressed against her forehead. “Laney, I’m going to tell you something I should have told you a long time ago.”
She tore her gaze away from Alex to look up at her father. “What’s that?”
“Love is a risk. There are no guarantees. You can’t manipulate it as Alex found out. You can’t see into the future to know if you’re going to make a bad choice and accidentally end the life of the person you love like I did. And as you know, hiding from it doesn’t protect your feelings, either.”
She nodded, blinking back tears. Hiding from love had only made her hurt more.
“So now you’re ready to hear my answer.” Dad released her and turned to face Alex.
Alex stood as well. He stuffed his hands into pockets nonchalantly, but his eyes stayed hard. It was the kind of look she’d probably been giving him this whole time. A guarded look.
Roles were reversed. So she smirked and imagined pinning him to the wall if he didn’t listen.
“If Alex asked to marry you, I would say ‘yes.’ Not because he’s perfect. Not because he’s not capable of messing up again. Not because he’s never going to hurt you.”
“Thanks, man. You’re really building me up here.”
Joy bubbled inside Laney. The kind that could laugh at mistakes. The kind that could be real without the fear of rejection. The kind that knew she was treasured whether she deserved to be or not.
Dad needed to hurry up and get to the good part. “Why then? Why do you say yes?”
“Because I believe you will seek God’s will for your life. He’s the father you should be asking for direction right now. He’s the one who knows what’s best for you.”
That wasn’t the answer Laney had been looking for, but it was the truth she’d needed. If she put her trust in God, she wouldn’t have to worry so much about trusting people. If she allowed God to be her security, she could let her guard down and enjoy the gift of life for a change. Knowing she was loved by God—and that He would always accept her back into his arms the way Laney’s Dad had—made Laney want to love others the same way. Like Alex.
Her chest swelled as if her heart were actually growing in size. Or maybe it was because she needed a deep breath before diving off a cliff into the unknown. But when she met Alex’s searching gaze, all fear drained out her fingertips. Was this the kind of peace the Bible promised? If so, she’d been missing out.
“I love you, Alex.” She said it. She’d actually said it. Despite her mistrust, despite the man’s past, despite the walls she’d erected around her feelings, she’d fallen for him. “I’d rather take the risk with you than be wrong in not risking. You’re worth it to me.”
He cracked a little. The one corner of his lips had yet to turn up, but his eyes flashed to a lighter shade of blue.
Her heart flip-flopped. She had it bad.
Like a teenager on her first date. Now what? She knew what she wanted. “I believe I owe you a kiss, but my dad is watching.”
A belly laugh erupted from her father. He stepped away and motioned Alex forward.
Alex smiled then, his eyes dancing as he moved toward her. But he didn’t stop when he reached her. “Excuse us.”
He pushed her backwards into the hallway and pressed her against the wall she’d been eavesdropping from only moments before, probably hoping to get out of eyesight but not escaping the sound of applause following from the room.
“Way to go, Alex,” one inmate shouted.
She looked up at him and laughed. This was right where she was supposed to be. Why had she put up such a fight for so long?
Alex lowered his forehead to hers. “You know what you’re getting into, right? You’re about to have an ex-con kiss you inside a prison.”
“Not if I kiss him first.”
She lifted to her toes and pulled against his neck, choosing connection for the rest of her life. Alex may not be a thief anymore, but he’d definitely stolen her heart.
Also by Angela Ruth Strong:
Love Finds You in Sun Valley, Idaho (Love Finds You Series)
Lighten Up (Women’s Fiction)
The Water Fight Professional (Book #1 in the Fun4Hire Series—Middle-Grade Humor)
The Snowball Fight Professional (Book #2)
The Food Fight Professional (Book #3)
Angela always loved writing, which influenced her study of journalism at University of Oregon. When FBI agents started showing up in her novels and her characters insisted on jumping out of planes, she figured she better write romantic suspense. She currently lives in Idaho with her husband and three kids where she writes for Boise Christian Living.
You can find her online at:
www.angelaruthstrong.com
www.teamloveontherun.com
Facebook.com/angelarstrong
Twitter.com/AngelaRStrong
Framed Secrets
Heather Woodhaven
Prologue
Aldric walked down the sidewalk at a quick pace, with a look over his shoulder. He had gotten careless so close to the end. He’d obtained the information. All he needed was ten minutes with his laptop, and he could encrypt and send the coordinates that would end the American’s invisible spy drone and the engineers responsible for it.
He’d be paid handsomely, and get to watch the Navy’s mission go up in smoke, literally. But of course that was when he’d realized they were closing in. He’d hidden the laptop, but he still had the information tucked away, secure in his pocket.
A black SUV pulled onto the street ahead. A screech of tires behind him—another SUV that undoubtedly carried NCIS agents. Sirens. It was too late to act casual. He was surrounded.
Aldric sprinted down the street and went in the first shop he spotted.
A frame shop.
Chapter One
Today was the day.
Kathleen almost twirled on the sidewalk at the thought. Instead she took longer strides, her white, red-flower print sundress swishing against her legs. She’d dreamed of having her own art display since college. And sure, while it was only the lobby of the library, it was still an exhibit.
The exposure could lead to being featured in city hall’s gallery, and then, who knew where else. Web design paid the bills—barely—but her favorite medium was paint. More times than she wanted to admit she’d gone to work with a streak of cobalt blue, her favorite color, in her hair or underneath her fingernails.
The frame shop had called her that morning to tell her the paintings were ready. During her lunch hour she’d moved her car directly across from the frame shop, knowing she had the order pick-up to look forward to at the end of the day.
Kathleen rounded the corner. Police cruisers and men wearing black NCIS jackets hopped in cars and drove away. Her steps faltered as she glanced at Cecil, standing in the front of his coffee shop.
“You just missed it,” he said. “They chased some guy down the street and through the frame shop. Officers made us stay inside until it was all done.”
A hand flew to her chest. Her paintings could’ve been caught in the crossfire. “Did they catch him?”
Cecil nodded. “Yep. Got him in the alley. Was quite the ruckus, but lasted all of fifteen minutes and it was done and over.” He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back. “Expect it’ll be in the newspaper.”
“I guess,” she said, a little dazed. She quickened her step.
Two doors down, she peeked in the glass door of the frame shop before entering. It certainly looked like everything was okay. She tugged on the door handle, and the accompanying jingle of the bells welcomed her along with a burst of air-conditioned air.
Panoramic photographs lined the entryway: the town from the water tower, the town at night covered in Christmas lights, and the sky covered in jets performing a training exercise from the nearby naval base.
Inside the main area of the shop every inch of every wall was covered in frame corners. It looked as if giant arrows made from different metals and woods, in every color imaginable, pointed up to the ceiling. Kathleen had chosen classic dark walnut and coffee wood tones to best accompany her landscape art pieces.
She looked toward the open hall that led to the alley. It was lined with cubed shelving units where all the finished and unfinished orders lived. In the center sat a long padded countertop she assumed Karl used to work. But the owner was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he’d gone with the NCIS agents as a witness, but it seemed irresponsible to leave his shop open if that was the case.
“Karl?” She took another step and tried again, this time louder. She strained her ears. A small hum came from the back. A door creaked, and the humming grew louder. The elderly gentleman stepped into the work area. He jerked upright at the sight of Kathleen and held a hand to his heart. “That’s the second time today someone’s scared the daylights out of me.”
“I’m sorry.” She threw her thumb over her shoulder. “The sign said open.”
“I think the speaker in my office is busted. I don’t hear people come in anymore. Not that I get many visitors, but we had quite the excitement. I was doing the books, and next thing I knew a whole herd of officers ran through.” He glanced at her face. “Don’t you worry, hon. They didn’t touch a thing.”
He pulled his glasses from the leather apron tied around his waist and perched them on the tip of his nose. “I’ve got your order right here somewhere.” He stepped next to the shelving. His index finger grazed across the sections, as he studied the invoices taped to each stack of frames.
“Do you know why they were chasing the man?”
He shook his head. “No idea. It wasn’t my business. They didn’t harm anything, so I didn’t ask any questions. Expect it’ll be in the newspaper.”
She sighed. “I expect it will.”
The small town of Perry had no television stations but relied solely on the newspaper. And they weren’t picky about what lined the front page. Every child in the area got a turn or ten underneath the headlines before graduation.
“Ah. Here it is. Kathleen Wicks. Library Display. April twenty-second.” He looked up and beamed. “Why, that’s today.”
She almost laughed. “Yes. I’m headed straight to the library now.”
Karl gingerly pulled out the stack of three framed paintings and placed them on the padded counter. He turned and pulled out another stack from the unmarked cube below. “You did some good work. I love the painting of the veranda overlooking the Italian Riviera. Vibrant colors. Ever been?”
Kathleen couldn’t help but smile. While Karl might have been in his seventies, he had seen so much artwork over the years she didn’t take the compliment lightly. “I wish.” She hadn’t been anywhere outside of the Midwest except for Disney World. “Some day.”
**
Kathleen stepped into the library’s lobby. The smell of old books instantly warmed her he
art while irritating her sinuses. She looked through the glass window separating the lobby from the library.
Her sister, Jessica was busy helping a patron at the checkout desk. She’d say hello, but that would mean walking through the security scanners and having to leave her artwork behind. Instead she set right to work.
It took three trips back and forth to her car, but within minutes she stood back, out of breath.
Her first official art show, outside of school. She wondered how many people would gaze at the pieces, and if they would all praise them like Karl.
She looked up to find her sister beckoning her from behind the glass. Kathleen picked up the lone frame leaning up against the wall. She had painted it specifically as a gift for Jessica. Using pointillism, a technique of painting in dots, she’d captured her sister and her husband’s likenesses as they strolled on a stone path underneath a canopy of brightly colored leaves at night, with lanterns lining their path.
She hoped her sister would love the painting as much as she did, maybe because Kathleen desired the same kind of love her two favorite people in the world shared. Although how she would ever find a man in the small town of Perry, Indiana, was beyond her. She lifted the gift and walked through the scanner.
Her sister’s eyes widened. “Did you run out of space?”
“No. This is for you.”
Jessica accepted it. Her mouth dropped open, and she blinked away tears. “Oh, Kathy. It’s beautiful.”
Her sister was the only one in the world who could get away with calling her the nickname. Jessica shifted the frame to one hand and pulled Kathleen into a tight hug. Her sister hugged everyone like her life depended on it, and everyone loved her for it.
Jessica straightened. “You’ve outdone yourself, sis. It’s my favorite. I just wish Cameron could see it.”
“Why can’t he see it?”
She shrugged. “The Navy sent him out this morning. Should only be gone for a couple weeks, though.”
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