For ten long years, Hattie had turned a deaf ear to her dad's sage advice. And for all those years, she's found herself in a self-imposed prision. Unwilling to admit the mistake that cost her the love of her life, she's been unable to find anything other than her teaching to provide solace. Now her dad has died and she's given up her career to return to Leadburg to run the family store.
This means she has to face Brad Trimble, the boyfriend she'd spurned years before; the man she still longs for deep in the heart she can not hear.
She rubbed her eyes as tears threatened to roll down her cheeks. “Oh Brad, I miss him so much. And now I have to decide what to do. But I don’t know what to do.”
He’d turned to her and watched when the conflicting emotions reflected on her face. “Follow your heart, Hattie McCall,” he spoke softly. “Just follow your heart.”
Her dad’s famous and often-repeated advice flooded her eyes as she stood trembling, blinded by her tears. Harry’s words echoed through her, amplified by the youthful baritone voice of Brad Trimble.
Giant teardrops reflected the last rays of the afternoon sun. She gave him a timid smile before turning away and speaking softly to the forest. “But I have to know my heart, Daddy. How can I follow what I don’t even know?”
Brad moved to face her again, smiling softly and whispering, “Listen, Hattie. Your heart will tell you if you listen well.”
More of Harry’s words. How did Brad know about them?
And then he added, a little louder, “About lots of things.”
Her eyes shot open. Those weren’t Harry’s words! She stared at his facial expression, suddenly enigmatic.
“What do you mean by that, Brad?”
“I don’t know. That just sort of slipped out.”
“But how did you know exactly what Dad would say to me?”
Instead of answering, he grabbed her into his arms and met her surprised lips with his. For long seconds, they locked together in an impromptu embrace as he plied her mouth. The kiss was unlike any they’d shared in the past.
She turned breathless in his intimate grasp. Breathless but not bereft of feeling. Her body had heated to an impossible degree, fireworks going off in her brain, and a feeling of feathery lightness, when he finally released her and stepped back.
As she gazed at him, his face closed like the last rays at sunset. He stared blankly at her, suddenly a total stranger.
“Brad?”
He shook his head and turned toward his vehicle.
“Where are you going?”
He spun around and said, “Home. It’s time for me to go home. Good night, Hattie
McCall.” He trotted to the Jeep before she could say a word.
Questions flooded Hattie’s mind fast and furious when she stared after him. What was that about? What did he refuse to say? How could he have known my father so well?
Why did he kiss me like that?
She rubbed her teary eyes again and watched the Jeep disappear. Something deep inside fairly screamed for her to call out to him. To run to him and throw her arms around him. To kiss him with fire and passion. To...
“Stop it!” she yelled toward the empty road. “No way, Brad. You can’t do this to me. Not again.”
