Heart of Hope Read online

  Josh could be polished and refined when he dressed in his “city duds,” as he liked to call them.

  Despite what she thought she wanted when they were dating, she much preferred seeing him relaxed and at peace in the country. Jenna long ago decided that her husband was most wickedly handsome when he was dressed as he was today in snug jeans, shirtless, with scuffed boots.

  The swanky goatee he grew while she was gone pushed his raw appeal up to a completely new level and drew her attention from his bare chest to his chin.

  She took another step back to study it and tilted her head from side to side, trying to decide if she merely liked it or absolutely loved it.

  Josh caught her studying gaze and stuck out his chin, rubbing his whiskers with his hand. He turned his profile to her and smirked.

  “What do you think? Does it add to my dashing good looks?” He shot her a roguish grin.

  “You are too cocky for your own good, Josh Carver,” Jenna said in a feigned huff. “Just for that, you can get back to work while I enjoy a glass of cold lemonade.”

  Jenna turned and managed to take two steps toward the house before Josh grabbed her around her waist and swept her into his arms.

  “Not without me you don’t.” His lips plundered hers as he carried her into the house. He loved holding Jenna close in his arms every bit as much as she enjoyed being held close to his heart.

  After walking inside the front door, Josh set Jenna on her feet then stooped to pull off his boots in the foyer, leaving his soggy T-shirt there as well. He followed Jenna through the cool of the house to the kitchen, surprised to see a plate of sugar cookies on the counter along with two glasses.

  “Looks like you were expecting company,” Josh teased, raising an eyebrow at the treat. As he stepped over to the sink to wash his filthy hands, he noticed the trail of hay leaves and dust floating behind him. Shooting his wife a panicked glance, he started to backtrack and apologize but Jenna waved her hand at him.

  “It’s fine, Josh. Wash up and sit down. A little hay and dust won’t throw me completely off kilter.” Jenna smiled as she poured the lemonade.

  Surprised at her acceptance of the dirt, Josh washed his hands then sat on one of the swiveling bar stools. Jenna usually pitched a fit if he dragged any mess inside the house, but she didn’t seem concerned at all today. Maybe she missed him more than she cared to admit.

  “I want to hear all about your trip.” Josh leaned back and munched on a cookie. He listened to her talk about the training, the people she met, and places she visited. He sensed there was something she refrained from telling him, but she’d get around to it when she was ready. Josh glanced at the kitchen clock and decided he better get back to swathing. The afternoon was half-gone and he still had a lot of work to do.

  “Thanks for the break, babe.” Josh set his dirty glass in the sink and wrapped Jenna in another hug. “I’m so glad you’re home. If you want, I’ll take you out for dinner tonight.”

  “I’d rather stay right here, with you.” Jenna pulled his head down for a sizzling kiss that made them both struggle to catch their breath when they finally broke apart. “I can’t tell you how nice it is to be home. The peacefulness of your wretched farm has finally gotten to me. I’d forgotten how loud cities can be at night.”

  “That just goes to show what good clean living can do for you,” Josh joked as he walked to the front door. While he tugged on his boots, she ran into their bedroom and snagged a clean T-shirt for him.

  “Your other shirt doesn’t look like it will make it through the rest of the day and we can’t have you showing off all your goods to anyone who might drive by,” Jenna teased, holding out the shirt, emblazoned with a logo from a popular implement dealer.

  Josh yanked on the shirt and smiled down at her. “Who would drive by since we’re the only people who live on this dead-end road? You’re not worried about unexpected visitors. The problem is you’ve been gone so long, Mrs. Carver, that you’ve forgotten just how irresistible your husband can be. Admit it. You’re utterly overwhelmed by my dashing good looks and considerable charm.”

  “Oh, you conceited thing.” Jenna swatted the seat of his attractive posterior and gave him a shove toward the door. “Don’t you have some hay that needs your attention?”

  Before Josh sauntered out the door, he turned back and gave Jenna one more long kiss, their lips tasting of lemonade and sugar. “I love you, babe. Welcome home.”

  She watched him jog across the road and waved when he climbed back in the swather’s cab.

  Josh finished cutting the field just before dinner and called Jenna on his cell phone.

  “Hey, babe, can you come pick me up? I want to move the swather to the field across from the Harold place so it will be ready to go in the morning,” Josh asked when Jenna answered the phone.

  “Sure. I’ll be right there,” Jenna said. Josh heard the clatter of a lid on a pot in the background. “Just let me turn off the oven.”

  Josh drove the swather to a field at the far end of their property. The acreage he’d purchased at the end of the road belonged to a man named Henry Harold, so now he and Jenna referred to the property as the Harold place.

  In addition to the small acreage, it included a four-room house and a barn with a corral. When Josh hired extra help, the house would come in handy. As it was, he hoped to hire some help for the summer and planned to discuss the possibility with Jenna.

  After shutting down the swather, he climbed out and walked across the culvert at the entrance into the field. He waited a few minutes for Jenna to arrive. When she failed to appear, he started walking toward home. Although it wasn’t quite a mile, he was tired and didn’t relish the thought of trekking home in the heat. He’d gone about a quarter-mile when Jenna charged down the road on their four-wheeler.

  The first time he tried to get her to drive it, she refused to go faster than ten miles an hour because it stirred up too much dust. Now, she drove it with dust billowing around her, as if she was in some kind of race and planned to win. She turned the four-wheeler around, stopped in front of him, and slid back so he could drive.

  “I thought maybe you forgot about me.” He looked over his shoulder at her as he shifted into gear and drove home. “Either that or you decided to make sure I was exhausted by the time I got in the door and too tired to consider any extra-curricular activities this evening.”

  “Neither one.” Jenna hugged him around the waist and scooted closer, resting her cheek against his back. “Callan called as I was walking out the door and I couldn’t hang up on her.”

  “Why not?” Josh questioned jokingly. “It’s not like the two of you don’t talk every day as it is.”

  Josh stopped by the back door and gave Jenna his hand as she climbed off the four-wheeler. He stepped off and stomped his boots to dislodge some of the dust then they walked into the mudroom. He removed his dirty clothes before entering the house.

  “Do I have time to take a shower?” He paused in the kitchen as Jenna washed her hands at the sink.

  “If you make it quick. Dinner is more than ready. I’ll have it on the table in a minute,” she said, hurrying to dry her hands and push a pan back onto a warm burner.

  “Quick, got it.” Josh hustled into their bedroom, jumped into a shower, and washed away the dirt and grime of the day. He might not mind being hot, sweaty, and dirty most of the time but he liked to be clean when he ate dinner and spent time with his best girl.

  In five minutes, he was back in the kitchen, dressed in clean jeans and a T-shirt, smelling of soap and his aftershave. Jenna wondered how he could have possibly shaved that fast and quickly looked to make sure he still sported the goatee. To her relief, it still beckoned to her. She might have to mention to Josh how much she liked it.

  After setting their plates on the counter, they sank onto the bar stools and Josh gave thanks for their meal.

  “So, what did that sister of mine want?” Josh asked as he picked up a piece of warm butter
ed bread and took a bite.

  “She had some good news.” Jenna turned to him excitedly. “Some very good news.”

  “Is it final?” Josh set down his fork and bread, looking at Jenna. “It’s all finished?”

  “Yes! The judge finalized the paperwork this afternoon. Isn’t it amazing?” Jenna sighed in happiness over the good news Callan shared.

  For the past sixteen months, Callan and Clay had been guardians of their two young nieces. They spent the better part of the last year trying to adopt the girls. The proceedings would have gone smoothly and ended quickly except for the involvement of Callan and Josh’s brother Bob and his wife. For unknown reasons, they fought the adoption every step of the way.

  Bob and Donna’s only child, Melanie, ran off with a drummer she met in a club in Portland. She left behind signed divorce papers as well as documents granting all parental rights for her two daughters, Audrey and Emma, to her husband. Ted tried to keep the girls for a few weeks but finally asked Callan and Clay if they would watch them for a while until he got back on his feet. Another month went by before he signed over parental rights to them and moved away.

  Callan and Clay were thrilled. Not that Melanie and Ted abandoned the girls, but that they would finally be able to give Audrey and Emma a stable home. Since they were unable to have children of their own, they had often taken the girls on fun outings or invited them to spend the weekend.

  Resolved to making the change permanent and legally binding, Callan and Clay filled out the necessary paperwork to adopt the girls.

  With parental rights already signed over by both parents, it should have been a simple process, but Bob and Donna refused to let it happen. They didn’t want to care for the girls, but they were adamant that Clay and Callan not adopt them. For months, they’d been tied up in court.

  A few weeks ago, Callan and Josh’s dad, Big Jim, had a little talk with Bob and Donna. Josh wished he could have been present to hear what his dad said. Whatever it was, Pop must have driven his point home because Bob and Donna suddenly decided it would be just fine for Callan and Clay to adopt the girls.

  The judge made everything legal and official that very afternoon.

  Josh was excited for Clay and Callan, but also for Audrey and Emma. Melanie and Ted had been unfit parents in every way imaginable. Despite what he, Jenna, Clay and Callan tried to do to help the girls, he knew they would probably always have some emotional scars from the time spent with their natural parents.

  “Babe, that is awesome news,” Josh said, picking up his fork and taking a bite of the casserole Jenna made for dinner. “We should celebrate this weekend.”

  “Callan is one step ahead of you, as always.” Jenna tossed him a saucy grin. “They’re planning a big barbecue at their place tomorrow evening and I said we wouldn’t miss it. Do you think we should get a little present for the girls?”

  “That’s a great idea.” Josh thought of ideas for an appropriate gift for two little girls who’d been awarded a new set of parents. Since he wasn’t that familiar with what little girls liked, he deferred to Jenna. “Did you have something in mind?”

  “I do, but I’m not sure we can find it in town. I may have to run into Portland to get it.” Jenna stirred the food around on her plate. Josh generally had too much work to do to run into the city for no reason and disliked shopping almost as much as attending one of her aunt’s lavish parties. “I don’t suppose you could take the day off tomorrow and come with me. We could have lunch and enjoy the day.”

  “Babe, I wish I could, but the hay won’t cut itself.” Josh watched Jenna’s big brown eyes fill with disappointment and changed his mind. “You know what, one day won’t hurt. I’d love to spend tomorrow with you.”

  Jenna’s eyes lit up and she gave his hand a squeeze. Leaning close to his ear, she kissed his cheek. “I’m so glad, Buck. I promise to make it worth your while.”

  Josh turned his full attention to his wife. She nicknamed him Buck, short for buccaneer, right after they wed. Once she’d gotten over the fact that he truly was not a city boy and had a bit of a wild rugged streak, she informed him he could have come right out of some pirate movie.

  One day, he’d have to find an eye patch and sword and see what she thought of that. In the meantime, he enjoyed hearing her use the name. She didn’t say it very often, but when she did, it always worked in his favor.

  As he offered her a slow, sexy smile, he let himself fall into the warm chocolate depths of her eyes.

  Jenna could feel the warmth start to pool in her belly and spread out to her fingers and toes when Josh turned the full power of his smile on her. She didn’t know if she could handle him with that goatee. Maybe she didn’t want to take him with her tomorrow. She wasn’t sure she could stand to see other women gawk at him all day.

  Intentionally ignoring her feelings, she took a deep breath and turned back to her rapidly cooling meal.

  “Eat your dinner, Josh. It isn’t going to get any warmer or better,” she said, taking another bite of the casserole.

  Josh continued to stare at his wife, watching a blush color her cheeks and wondering what was going on in that pretty head of hers.

  It hadn’t taken him long in his role as a husband to realize that this woman’s thoughts would remain a mystery no matter how hard he tried to understand her. He was okay with that. It kept things lively and exciting.

  He returned his attention to dinner and asked Jenna more questions about her new job and upcoming travel plans.

  “I’m not scheduled to go out on the road for a couple of weeks. I guess they figure by then I should know what I’m doing,” Jenna said with a laugh. “Or at least that is the hope.”

  “You’ll do great.” Whatever Jenna did, she would do well and give it her best. “You’re extremely intelligent and very talented, so don’t sell yourself short.”

  Jenna gazed at her husband with love and admiration. “Thank you.”

  Her travel schedule was going to be hard on them both, but she appreciated Josh letting her follow her dreams. She knew he had some lingering guilt over dragging her out to live on the farm when she was a confirmed city girl. That guilt worked to her advantage because she did pretty much whatever she wanted with Josh’s encouragement and support.

  The truth of the matter was that she liked the farm and the country way of life. She loved how relaxed, open and real Josh was on the farm. In the city, Josh had been like an actor doing a splendid job of playing his part. Here on the farm, though, he was in his element. It was where he belonged and she belonged with Josh, wherever that may be.

  Since she worked in the city, she didn’t really miss any of the conveniences she thought she would. Josh still took her to plays, concerts, and museum exhibits on occasion. Once in a blue moon, they both summoned the strength and fortitude to attend one of Phil and Amelia’s parties, after which they would stop at their favorite steakhouse and enjoy a nice dinner.

  Jenna snapped out of her musings and noticed Josh began cleaning up the dinner dishes. She looked down at her half-eaten plate of food and realized she wasn’t hungry. As jet lag caught up to her, she was incredibly tired. She leaned her chin on her hand and watched Josh load the dishwasher, cover the leftovers and store them in the fridge, then wipe off the stove.

  He walked over to the counter and gave her a questioning look. “Don’t you feel well, babe?” After touching the back of his hand to her forehead, he decided she didn’t have a fever.

  “I’m fine, just tired. The time difference is starting to catch up with me.” Jenna covered her mouth with her hand, attempting to stifle a yawn.

  “Three hours difference can throw you for a loop.” Josh picked up her plate and scraped her uneaten dinner into a scrap bucket before setting the dish and her utensils in the dishwasher. He wiped down the counter, tossed the rag in the sink, and looked around the orderly kitchen.

  “Do I get a gold star for my exemplary efforts?” he asked, moving next to her barstool.
r />   She smiled warmly, gazing up at him with sleepy eyes. “Maybe two if you’re a good boy.”

  “Oh, I’m always good.” His deep baritone voice rumbled in his chest as he picked her up and carried her to their bedroom. “Very, very good, Mrs. Carver.”

  Chapter Two

  Josh couldn’t stop staring at his wife. He missed her so much while she was gone and had no idea how he’d handle her new travel schedule once it started.

  For now, he watched her sleep. Although it was long past time for him to be out of bed, he talked himself into staying beside her for a while longer.

  Reluctantly, he slid out of bed, grabbed the jeans and T-shirt he’d left on the floor last night, pulled socks out of his chest of drawers, and softly shut the bedroom door. After dressing in the kitchen, he drank a glass of milk and ate a banana. In the mudroom, he tugged on his boots, picked up his gloves, and settled his ball cap on his uncombed hair.

  He hurried outside and pushed the four-wheeler toward the barn so the noise of it starting wouldn’t wake Jenna. Finished with the morning chores and irrigating in record time, he decided he could swath a while before he returned to the house.

  Josh made good time cutting two rounds around the outside of the field, creating a back swath, so he started swathing rows. As he neared the end of the windrow, he glanced at the position of the sun and decided he had better get back to the house or Jenna would have his head.

  After shutting down the swather and rushing back to the house on the four-wheeler, he pulled up at the back door. He left his boots, gloves, and cap in the mudroom before washing up in the kitchen, expecting to find Jenna impatiently waiting. Instead, the house was eerily quiet.

  A glimpse of the clock confirmed it was after nine. Since Jenna was usually an early riser, he was surprised to return to their bedroom and find her still sleeping. Exhausted from her trip, he didn’t have the heart to wake her. Josh removed his clothes and climbed back under the covers, snuggling close to Jenna. His eyes grew heavy and he soon joined her in slumber.