Almost Heaven

by Jillian Hart

  “It’s already too late.” She thought miserably of how she’d walked away from Cameron and left him alone.

  Whatever chance she’d had with him was gone. She kissed her grandmother on the cheek, made plans for dinner later in the week. Alone, she sank to the top step, waiting, as night deepened.

  Deer came close to nibble on the roses peeking through the lattice. The whoosh of Jingles exhaling as she bedded down for the night a few feet away. Pounce crawled out his cat door and leisurely curled around her ankles.

  A few stars popped out as clouds moved, only to disappear again. The soothing feel of night, of her horses nearby, of her cat’s company, brought her no peace.

  Was there any chance that she could take that leap of faith and love Cameron? And if she could, was it too late?

  Yes. She loved him. She wanted nothing more than to know his kiss and to share his life. Yet there was no way. She’d been afraid of getting hurt, but in truth, she’d been the one doing the hurting.

  Her heart, like the night, turned cold. She shivered but didn’t go inside. This was her world without Cameron.

  It would never be the same again.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “I might as well get this over with.” Kendra checked the lock on the tailgate. The big horse inside the trailer shifted his weight, restless. “I’d be nervous, too, getting a new home. Don’t worry, big guy. Sally has a nice stall ready and waiting for you.”

  Warrior swished his tail, as if in protest.

  “Yeah, I know how you feel. I don’t want you to go, either, but it’s out of my hands now.” Sally had called first thing, and even though the morning was busy, Kendra needed to do this. She’d started this journey, and now she’d see it through to the end.

  If she felt as if she were dying inside, well, no one needed to know that. She was a businesswoman. She would handle this professionally.

  After a final check, including the tires, Kendra grabbed her wallet and her cell, answered a few questions for Colleen and headed out.

  A quiet morning. Dew darkened the fields, and the earliest leaves were yellowing on the limbs, some showing a deep russet against the sapphire sky and amber meadows.

  Kids huddled together in turnouts here and there along the main road to town, with backpacks and lunch boxes, waiting for the school bus. A few little girls from her classes recognized her and waved as she passed.

  She waved back.

  Odd how seasons changed. So gradual that she’d hardly noticed summer was ending and autumn had arrived in a quiet hush that left no doubt.

  Just like her heart.

  The main street through town was busy, for a small Montana town, anyway. She had to wait a few minutes while cars turning across the railroad tracks to the elementary school had to line up at the crossing for a passing train. While she sat there with a perfect view of the sheriff’s office, she saw a figure move across the front windows. Cameron?

  She imagined he was fetching more coffee as he worked at his computer this morning. Where was his cruiser? Maybe Frank was out patrolling the school zone.

  The last toot of the freighter’s air horn startled her. Traffic eased forward and she put her truck in gear. The deejay on the radio broke in to give the weather report—expect the first frost overnight—and she made a mental note to pick the rest of the squash and tomatoes from her garden.

  A strobe of blue-and-red light flashed in her side mirror. A cruiser was behind her. It wasn’t Frank. She felt Cameron’s presence like an ocean swell inside her, pure tender emotion that hurt as much as it sweetened.

  She lowered her window, watching in dread in the mirror as Cameron marched toward her as if he were a soldier facing execution. He didn’t look happy.

  Why would he? He wanted nothing to do with her, after the way she’d treated him. Shame weighed on her weary soul. “Hi, Sheriff. I know I wasn’t speeding.”

  “Nope.” He crunched to a stop in the gravel beside her. “It’s more serious than speeding. I haven’t checked the law book, but horse stealing used to be a hanging offense in this state.”

  “Like a hundred years ago, and I’m not stealing your horse.”

  “Looks that way to me.”

  Did he have to glare at her with his eyes so cold and hopeless? “I got the call this morning, and I assumed you’d approved the transfer. I should have called, but to be honest, I didn’t want to talk to you.”

  “Didn’t want to, huh? So, you just stole my horse, instead?” Cameron turned away, controlling his anger. She was never going to get it. Never going to understand. “I’d checked into prices at Sally’s. I was going to move Warrior if you were going to make me. I see that you are. You didn’t waste any time getting rid of us, did you?”

  “You didn’t ask Sally to take Warrior?”

  “No. I believe you were the one. Didn’t you call her?”

  “I did.” Through the haze of another night without sleep and the day of emotional agony, she’d forgotten. First, dinner with her Gramma, and now this. “I’m falling apart. I never forget things like that, and now look at me. I’m a mess.”

  “Me, too.”

  She read the pain in his eyes, stark and deep. An echoing ache throbbed inside her. His pain was hers. She thought of Gramma’s words. I can trust Willard, because God put him in my heart. And she knew God had put Cameron in hers, because she felt his pain. Bleak and hopeless.

  It was impossible. He’d never want her now. God had changed her heart with the same quiet force of summer yielding to autumn, and as leaves swirled with the lazy wind along the empty park, she had to be honest with herself. Every dream that mattered to her was at stake. The rest of her life would depend on how she handled this moment. This last opportunity.

  She trusted God with all her soul. If He’d put this bond with Cameron in her heart, then that was a miracle. Didn’t all miracles come from love?

  Cameron’s jaw tensed. “Would you mind stepping out of the vehicle?”

  “Sure.” Gathering her courage, she stepped down. He held the door for her, a gentleman to his core.

  She led the way around the front of her truck to the privacy of the park. Every step felt as if she were marching closer to the edge of a cliff and the earth was crumbling beneath her boots. Would she fall? She didn’t know. She could only have faith in God. In Cameron.

  He fisted his hands on his hips. “What are we going to do about the horse?”

  “A good question.” Her fear fell away like an old coat she no longer needed, and the broken places in her were gone. Like dew vanishing with dawn’s steady light. “Do you remember the flowers you gave me?”

  “The sunflowers? What about ’em?”

  “They stand with heads bowed all through the night, waiting for sunrise.”

  “Yeah. I know about that.” Cameron refused to get his hopes up one more time. This was too important. Losing Kendra had hurt too much. He didn’t want to come crashing down.

  “It’s morning. Is there any chance you’re still waiting?”

  Her question lingered on the wind, and she shivered. It was too late, she knew. She’d been too afraid to believe, and now she’d lost him. It was over, truly. Forever.

  Then he cleared his throat. The corner of his mouth crooked into a grin. “There’s every chance in the world.”

  Joy surged through her, brighter than she’d ever felt. Made more sparkling by the bond connecting them, heart to heart, soul to soul.

  “Come here, my love.” He opened his arms to fold her close.

  She snuggled against his steely chest for the first time. Laid her cheek against his sternum. A sense of rightness surrounded her, the wonder of this man’s unshakable love. She’d been alone for so long, and now she’d come home.

  “I love you.” His confession rumbled through her, and when she met his gaze, she saw the enormity of it, the depth, the power of a good man’s love. To protect and cherish and never to hurt.

  “I know.” She laid her hand ove
r his hand, where she felt the amazing bond of affection that, like the sun in the sky, would light her world for all her days to come. “As I love you.”

  His kiss was tender and sweet, a warm velvet brush of his lips to hers. Their first kiss. A promise of a lifetime of kisses to come.

  “Do me a favor?” He traced her bottom lip with his thumb. “Take my horse back to your stable. Take him home.”

  “For keeps?”

  “Forever.”

  Cameron’s second kiss left no doubt. Theirs was a forever love, forever strong and forever true.

  Epilogue

  “Good morning, beautiful.” Cameron’s warm baritone lit Kendra’s heart every time she heard him.

  Love glowed inside her, soul-deep, as she turned in the chair, balancing her cup of decaf in one hand. The sight of her husband in his flannel pj’s, sipping from his steaming mug, was something she’d never get tired of. To think this man was hers to love, this morning and for every morning to come.

  “Hey, it’s snowing.” He kissed her with a hint of passion and settled into the chair at her side.

  “The first snowfall of the season.” She felt as peaceful as those delicate white flakes floating to rest on the branches of the trees in the forest. “We won’t be quite this happy with the weather after we clear the driveway so we can get over to Mom’s.”

  “Baby, my Jeep has four-wheel drive. Nothing is going to keep me away from your mom’s cooking.”

  “It’ll be our first Thanksgiving together.”

  He cupped her chin in his hand. Affection shone in his eyes. “It’s already the best one I’ve had so far. I get to spend it with you.”

  “As wonderful as this morning is, do you know what can make it better?” She brushed kisses across his fingertips, carefully watching his forehead draw into a frown as he thought. “I took a test this morning. Guess what it said?”

  Hope trembled through him. She felt it as his hand gripped her shoulder.

  “Are you…” He sputtered and tried again. “Are we…is there going to be…”

  “Yes. We’re going to have a baby.”

  With a victorious shout, Cameron abandoned his coffee and swept her onto his lap and into his arms. “I love you,” he said, kissing her the way a loving husband should kiss his adoring wife. “What a good life we have.”

  “Absolutely.”

  Gramma was right. A love like this, so great and true, could only be a gift from heaven. Kendra wrapped her arms around Cameron’s neck and kissed him in return, happy, as she would always be with him in the snug warmth of their little home.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-8390-3

  ALMOST HEAVEN

  Copyright © 2004 by Jill Strickler

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  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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  *The McKaslin Clan