Heart of Hope Page 25

  “I can’t imagine life without you in it, Jenna. When I think how close we came to losing you, it just makes me want to fall on my knees and thank God for leaving you here with me and the boys.” Josh set down his empty tea glass and wrapped Jenna in his arms. “Thank you for loving this country boy enough to follow along with my dreams and make new ones together. I love you so much. Always have, always will.”

  “I love you, too.” Jenna turned in Josh’s arms to give him a kiss. Before their lips connected, she heard a little voice whispering loudly from behind the bench.

  “I told you they were doing it again,” Jaret said.

  “Yep. They sure are,” Jace agreed. He stood on his tiptoes and peeked over the back of the bench. “Mama, don’t you get tired of kissing Daddy?”

  “Never, Jace. Never, ever.”

  “That makes two of us.” Josh bent his head so his lips hovered above hers. “Close your eyes, boys, or you’ll see me kiss Mama again.”

  “Ewww!” The twins covered their eyes with their hands.

  Josh and Jenna laughed, knowing in each other’s arms, with their boys beside them, was the best place they could ever be.

  Chocolate Bundt Cake

  My husband’s grandmother shared this recipe with me years ago. It’s one I’ve made many, many times and it always turns out moist and delicious - guaranteed to make chocolate fans smile!

  Chocolate Bundt Cake

  1 box chocolate fudge cake mix

  1 small box instant chocolate pudding

  1 cup sour cream

  ½ cup water

  ½ cup oil

  3 eggs

  ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate squares chopped into chunks

  ½ cup chocolate frosting

  Powdered sugar

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  Combine cake mix, pudding, sour cream, water, oil and eggs in a large mixing bowl, beating on medium speed with a mixer until well blended. The batter will be really thick – but that is how you want it.

  Stir in chips and spoon mix into a greased bundt pan.

  Bake for an hour or until cake pulls away from edges of pan and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

  Let cool completely before turning onto a platter or cake stand.

  In a microwave-safe pourable container (I use a cream pitcher) warm the frosting on high for about 10-12 seconds. Pour over the cake then dust with powdered sugar and serve.

  Depending on how many chocolate lovers are around when you make this, you should get about 8-10 servings.

  Want more Women of Tenacity?

  Keep reading to see what happens when Jake Chandler finally meets the girl who captures his heart in Heart of Love.

  Thank you for reading Heart of Hope. Oh, my goodness! It took a bit of work for Josh and Jenna to get their happily ever after, but I’m so excited for them with those two adorable little boys! If you enjoyed the story, would you please consider writing a review? I would truly appreciate it. Reviews are a wonderful way readers discover new books. Thank you.

  If you haven’t yet read them, I hope you’ll check out the entire Women of Tenacity series!

  Also, if you haven’t yet signed up for my newsletter, won’t you consider subscribing? I send it out when I have new releases, sales, or news of freebies to share. Each month, you can enter a contest, get a new recipe to try, and discover details about upcoming events. When you sign up, you’ll receive a free digital book. Don’t wait. Sign up today!

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  Love is about to leave one charming cowboy thrown for a loop. . .

  Heart of Love (Book 3) — Due to a birth defect that left her mostly deaf, Anna Zimmerman has spent her entire life lingering in the shadows. When a cowboy too handsome for his own good unexpectedly bumps into her, the encounter forces her to realize she needs a change. Determined to begin living the life she’s always dreamed about, she grabs onto her courage and faces Jake head on.

  Known as a good-time cowboy, Jake Chandler has left a string of broken hearts in his wake. Convinced there isn’t a woman alive he can’t tease or please into doing his will, he hits a wall when it comes to the shy librarian who works across the street. She’s nothing like the women he typically dates, but she might just be the girl who can finally capture his heart.

  Uplifting, amusing, and heartwarming, Heart of Love captures the spectacular magic of first love, instant attraction, and sweet, sweet romance.

  Continue reading for an excerpt from Jake and Anna’s story.

  Heart of Love

  “There’s one for you, Jake, ol’ boy,” Dave Roberts teased as he stared out the window of their shared office at the brilliant early spring afternoon.

  “One what, Davey?” Jake Chandler asked his coworker and friend, not bothering to lift his gaze from the irrigation map he studied on the computer.

  “What do you think, you knucklehead?” Dave tipped his head toward the window. “A girl, of course.”

  Jake glanced up from his work and looked out the window. A tall girl leaned against the brick wall of the county library building. She stood in the shadows, wearing outdated glasses, a baggy beige sweater, and a long skirt. A severe bun at the back of her head gave her the appearance of a stereotypical librarian. Immersed in reading a book, she remained unaware of the speculative stares cast her direction from the county extension office’s soil and water department across the street.

  “She’s just your type.” Dave smirked then leaned back in his desk chair with his fingers laced behind his red head.

  “Idiot,” Jake mumbled, returning his gaze to the computer and his thoughts to the evening ahead. The date he’d soon be meeting was a beautiful, vivacious blonde who oozed confidence, along with a few other things.

  Too bad he couldn’t remember her name. Vicki? Mickey? Rikki? It would come to him before he picked her up at seven for dinner.

  The girls he dated were shallow, often fickle, and not the type someone would take home to meet their mother, particularly his mother. However, as long as the girls were attractive, fun, and unattached, Jake didn’t require much else.

  He made it clear from the start that his sole interest was in having a good time. Jake thought it was only fair for the girls he dated to know he planned to stay free and unfettered.

  No serious relationships.

  No commitments.

  None of those unnecessary things that sucked the excitement right out of life.

  A few girls decided they could change his mind and failed. For the most part, though, his dating game plan worked out well. He enjoyed himself, the girls had a good time, and no one had any hurt feelings or unrealistic expectations.

  Jake thought of his cousin, Clay, eighteen years his senior. With no siblings, Jake often looked to him as a role model, mentor, and older brother. Clay was married to the most incredible, wonderful, perfect woman in the world, at least in Jake’s opinion. Jake had loved Callan since he was six years old and she treated him as she might have a little brother or son.

  When Jake finally fell for a girl, he wouldn’t settle for a love any less passionate, with any less depth or devotion than what Clay and Callan shared. Even after all these years together, it was blatantly obvious they were more in love with each other than ever.

  Jake was smart enough to realize a love like that didn’t come along every day. Until he found someone who completely captivated his heart, mind, body, and soul, he planned to keep on having a good time.

  And good times didn’t exist with shy librarians afraid of their own shadow.

  Jake glanced out the window again and ran a hand through his thick, dark brown hair. The girl outside of the library appeared mousy. Timid and mousy.

  A grotesque deformity could lurk beneath that oversized dirt-colored outfit big enough to house a linebacker. Not
that he really cared. There was no way in the world he’d ever have an interest in dating her.

  He turned to Dave and flashed a white-toothed grin. “You better run over there, Davey, and ask her out. She seems more like your type than mine.” Jake saved his work, switched off his computer, stuffed papers into his briefcase, and settled a black Stetson on his head.

  Dave chuckled as he gathered up his paperwork and prepared to leave for the day. “Nah, man. She’s all yours.”

  Jake strolled out of the office and paused briefly to wait for a passing car before walking across the street. The county library, extension office, and the education service district shared an employee parking lot located behind the library.

  For the past four years, Jake had enjoyed his work as a county soil and water specialist. After graduating from college, he worked at a biology lab in Portland, thinking he’d never move back to the small town where he grew up.

  Six months later, he’d had enough of the bright lights and big city to last him a lifetime. Since he’d never fully leave behind his rural roots, he instead decided to embrace them.

  His dad heard the county extension office was hiring and Jake immediately applied for the position. At twenty-five, he and Dave were the two youngest employees at the office. They learned something new every day, but still managed to have a lot of fun. The receptionist, Millie, who’d been there for forty years, kept them all in line.

  Briskly walking down the sidewalk, Jake whistled a tune and watched the traffic drive by. Completely forgetting about the girl leaning against the wall, he bumped into her and almost knocked her off her feet.

  “I’m so sorry, miss,” he said, grabbing her elbow to keep her from falling. His fingers tingled from the contact and he experienced the craziest urge to wrap both arms around her and hold her close. Disturbed by the sensation, he tried not to let it show. “I didn’t see you there.”

  Startled, she gasped and pushed her glasses back up her nose. A very cute freckled nose, Jake noted from his position mere inches away from her.

  He looked into her eyes and nearly lost himself in their violet depths. The unusual color astonished him but the way her eyes seemed to see beyond the surface into his very heart left him unsettled yet enthralled.

  “Are you okay?” He released her elbow and stepped back. “I really am sorry.”

  “I’m fine. Thank you.” She bent down to pick up the book he’d knocked from her hands.

  “Here, let me get that.” Jake retrieved the book and glanced at the cover. Much to his surprise, it wasn’t a romance novel as he’d suspected, but a book about turf management he’d read for one of his college courses. “Interesting reading,” he said, handing her the book. “I liked chapter six the best.”

  Meekly, she accepted the book and nodded her head in agreement, not making eye contact with him.

  “Again, my apologies.” Jake tipped his hat and continued down the sidewalk. Before he stepped around the corner into the parking lot, he stopped and looked back at the girl. Dejected, she slumped against the wall, as if she’d lost her last friend.

  At least he knew she wasn’t deformed under that hideous get-up, although he still had no idea about her figure. She was taller than he expected — different from what he expected.

  For reasons he couldn’t explain, Jake started to walk to her, not sure why or what he would say. He stopped when a pickup pulled up to the curb. She rushed over to it and climbed in. As timid as she was, he was surprised she moved with such agility and grace.

  Jake turned back toward the parking lot, hurried to his pickup, and slid behind the wheel. Polished and shined, the dark blue pickup was a source of pride for him. He liked things to look finished and detailed.

  He kept his hair combed to perfection, his jeans neatly pressed, and his shirts precisely ironed. Over six feet tall barefooted, Jake stood out in a crowd, so he made sure he always dressed with care.

  Girls paid attention to a man who put a little effort into his appearance. Most days, Jake put in a considerable amount. His meticulous attention to his personal grooming had been a topic of Clay’s jokes on more occasions than he wanted to remember.

  Jake wasn’t opposed to getting dirty. Anytime his job required fieldwork, he could guarantee he’d come home filthy. He also raised registered quarter horses, helped his parents with their small farm, and worked at his aunt and uncle’s ranch whenever he had the time.

  He had yet to find a way to keep neat and clean doing any of the tasks required by farm or ranch work, and that was fine by him. As long as he had time to clean up before he met a date, life was good.

  Like the date he was meeting tonight. She was a knockout.

  Jake smiled to himself as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed to his place to take a shower and shave before picking up Nicki. Ha! He did remember her name. Unfortunately, instead of seeing her heart-shaped face framed by wispy blond hair, he pictured a pair of soulful violet eyes.

  Anna Zimmerman wanted to die and it couldn’t happen too soon. As soon as her dad pulled up to the curb at the library, she jumped into his pickup, anxious to be home where she could be herself and relax.

  “Hey, Sugar. How’d your day go?” her dad asked with his customary cheerfulness.

  “Peachy, Dad. Just peachy.” Anna stared glumly out the window.

  She couldn’t believe it when Jake Chandler bumped into her, knocking the book from her hands and all sense from her head. Even if he had no clue she existed, Anna recognized Jake as the handsome extension agent from across the street.

  Convinced she couldn’t have looked any worse if she’d tried, today had to be the day he’d accidentally bump into her.

  She’d broken her glasses the previous week. Until her new glasses were ready, she had to wear an old pair that made her feel like a complete geek. Her unruly, wavy hair had been so unmanageable that morning, she’d simply pulled it back into a tight bun, lacking the time to battle it into submission. Between weight loss and a career change, her limited wardrobe included outdated castoffs from her high school days or baggy suits in neutral tones from her last job. Neither option did anything to accentuate her figure or bolster her confidence.

  Although she’d toyed with the idea of purchasing a new wardrobe, she’d put it off mostly because she hated to go shopping. Instead of treating herself to new clothes, her recent wages from the library went into a car that was once again at the shop. And if the stupid car hadn’t been broken down, she would have left the library via the back door, escaping the possibility of a chance encounter with Jake.

  Embarrassed by her appearance, as well as her inability to speak coherently in his presence, she wished he hadn’t bumped into her. It highlighted the extent of her miserable, lonely existence.

  Certain she’d die an old maid living in a tiny apartment full of cats, Anna really wasn’t very fond of house cats and hated the thought of spending her life alone and unloved.

  It wasn’t that she was unattractive. Anna was tall, with an hourglass figure, an abundance of wavy brown hair streaked with gold, and the most unusual violet eyes. Her problem attracting men stemmed from the fact she was bone-deep, to-the-core shy.

  Four years of college and two years of employment in downtown Portland hadn’t knocked it out of her. She wasn’t sure, at this point in her life, anything would.

  Her limited dating experience included three boys she’d been fixed up with by well-meaning relatives and friends. She hadn’t made it past a second date with two of the guys, especially when she found it hard to speak to them and her stomach ached with nervous trepidation.

  The third boy showed decided interest in her, but he bored her to tears. She spent part of her senior year of college hiding out from him before he finally got the message she didn’t want to date him.

  Years ago, her mother gave up trying to get her to “let her light shine.” Anna had always preferred her lamp stay hidden in a corner with a heavy shade covering the top of it.

 
; Lately, though, she’d experienced a growing urge to step out of the shadows and live a little.

  The people who took the time to know the real Anna discovered someone intellectual, funny, and sweet with an underlying current of restlessness.

  She possessed a sense of adventure and a streak of pure, wild passion. Anna had no idea how to deal with either, so she trapped those inclinations far beneath the surface where she could forget they existed.

  The run-in with Jake made her idea of changing, of forcing herself out of her comfort zone, seem crazy.

  “What’s wrong, Sugar?” her dad questioned, giving her a sidelong glance. “Things not go well at work?”

  “Work’s fine, Daddy.” Anna sighed. “It’s just me. That’s all.”

  Ken Zimmerman looked at his daughter with concern. He loved Anna and wanted to see her happy. She struggled with so many things, especially confidence. If he could buy it for her, she’d have more than she would ever need.

  Unfortunately, what she needed was something only she could give herself. Anna was a lovely girl, inside and out, but she tended to shy away from people, avoid relationships, and remain aloof. He supposed he and his wife, Sue, were partially to blame.

  Anna was born deaf in her right ear with extremely limited hearing in her left. Over the years, they shielded her as much as they could from the cruelty of the world. Anna’s shy nature seemed to have compounded the problem. Around strangers, she was very quiet, withdrawn, and unsure. If people took the time to get to know her, they’d have a loyal friend for life.