A Soldier’s Christmas Wish: Holidays in Heart Falls: Book 2 Read online

  All his focus was on her. And while on that long-ago day he hadn’t yet said the words, his expression clearly said what was in his heart.

  “I love you.” The deep rumble of his voice pulled her back to face him.

  “I love you too. Obviously, since I’m letting you eat cookies in my bed.”

  Mack laughed as he caught her hand. He pressed a kiss to her palm, then a second kiss to where his ring sat. Brooke eased back beside him, accepting his embrace and his caresses, luxuriating in his complete attention as he brought them together again.

  As they finished with limbs tangled and bodies sated, she laid her head on his chest and sighed.

  “I guess there’s nothing more old-fashioned about Christmas than love.”

  Mack stroked his fingers through her hair and rumbled his agreement. “It’s everything I ever wished for.”

  Epilogue

  Early December, one year later…

  There was no reason Ryan Zhao had to go that night other than restlessness had returned with a vengeance, turning his thoughts into a whirl of anger and grief. Sleep was out of the question, and with Talia happily enjoying a sleepover with her friends, he didn’t need to stay home.

  As usual, his wanderings led him to the cemetery outside Heart Falls. His wife wasn’t buried there, but in another silent, cold place far away. Yet the familiar feeling of the place of remembrance was enough to link the spots in his heart. He couldn’t visit Justina’s resting spot, but she was still somehow there.

  And the lights were here. The little lights in the trees and hanging from miniature shepherd hooks, all of them scattered around the setting to add an element of fantasy to the otherwise practical and solemn environment. They were solar-powered, and there’d been so little snow that winter season that all the black-topped panels were exposed to the short daylight sunshine. Batteries charged, the lights burned brightly, although they wouldn’t last all night the way they did in the summer.

  Ryan paced the perimeter of the graveyard, his boots scuffling the scant inch of snow on the tough prairie grass outside the black wrought-iron fence. He picked up the occasional bit of garbage that had been carried in on the wind and caught on the metal railings, tucking the scraps in his pocket.

  Like most, this graveyard was a mix of old and new. Tall markers held older dates, with faded flowers in the holders by the black granite rising from the thin layer of white. In the third row over where someone from the community had been buried recently, the mound of dirt over the grave rose higher than the pathways and grass around it.

  Solemn. Waiting.

  Restful, which made Ryan take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “I miss you, sweet one,” he confessed. “So much. But it feels as if…”

  The wind, the ever-present and seemingly determined wind, gusted at that moment. It lifted his hair as if ghostly fingers had run through it in a caress. Icy cold yet refreshing, his cheeks felt kissed by winter’s touch.

  It feels as if I’m ready to love again.

  Ryan hadn’t expected the confession to come so clearly, not even to himself. But it was true. Or maybe it wasn’t love he was ready for, but Justina had been gone for eight years. He missed her laughter, and her arguments. Missed hearing her talk about the things she’d worked so hard on because they’d been important to her.

  He missed company. Adult company, and no number of boys’ nights out or gatherings with friends, Talia in tow, could meet those needs.

  He wanted a partner to talk with about day-to-day plans. To sit with in front of a fire while they read. A woman he could hold during the night. And yes, if he was having a mental confess-all party, he wanted someone to enjoy physical pleasures with again.

  “It’s time,” he told Justina, offering the words to the sky. “It seems wrong, and yet it feels exactly right.”

  Another gust of wind.

  He laughed, lifting his collar then replacing one of the glittering lights that had tipped onto its side. “Meeting someone here in Heart Falls is going to be tough, though. I might have to ask for help. But God forbid I mention this to my parents. They’ll be matchmaking before I finish saying ‘I plan to start dating again.’”

  The temperature continued to drop, and Ryan moved slowly back to his truck. He was glad his wandering feet had brought him out. It had felt right to be there. To actually say the words that had been in his heart for the last months.

  It was time to live that part of his life again.

  The engine coughed once then turned over, and he made a mental note to make an appointment for Brooke to check it as soon as possible.

  His friends—maybe it was seeing them so in love that had finally made Ryan realize he needed more. Now, nearly a year after he’d teased Mack about it being time to get his act together, it was clear Brooke and Mack were a forever thing.

  Before Mack could start poking about when Ryan was going to get a move on, he would.

  The turnoff from the cemetery to the secondary highway was ice-slick, and even with winter tires, Ryan had to work to keep on the road. He slowed, cautiously following the curving road around Heart Falls to the small house he owned on the semirural outskirts.

  Light snow had begun to fall, the flakes creating a blinding curtain across the road. Ryan adjusted the high beams to better cut through the strange glowing—

  A light flashed to his left where there should be no light.

  Ryan checked in his rearview mirror to make sure there was no one on his tail, then he slowed completely, pulling over far enough to the side of the road so his truck was safe. He glanced back over his shoulder, but nothing seemed out of place. No lights. Nothing wrong.

  It would be easy to carry on. To engage the engine and head home to where warmth waited. But his gut wouldn’t allow it. The same knot of tension that had struck so many years ago when Justina had casually mentioned she had a headache…

  A premonition? Something on the wind calling for his attention? Ryan didn’t consider himself superstitious, but he believed there were things that couldn’t be explained.

  He turned on his hazard lights and pulled his emergency flashlight from under the seat.

  The wind jerked his door from his fingers, and snow slammed into him like rocks. Determinedly, he paced back toward the spot where he’d seen something, the glowing circle from the flashlight bouncing over the ground to allow him to pick steady footing.

  A low hum cut through the wind, and Ryan frowned as he hurried forward, the road still dark and empty. It seemed he was the only one foolish enough to use this relatively remote section of highway this late on such a wintery night.

  He crossed the road, adrenaline pounding through his system.

  Or not the only one foolish enough to be out driving—because tire tracks lay before him, disappearing down the embankment toward the river. The faintest glow of red was visible between snowy whirls, then the sound of an engine choked to a stop and the lights grew dimmer.

  Ryan stepped off the embankment and rushed to help.

  I hope you enjoyed Brooke and Mack’s story. The next book in the series is A Hero’s Christmas Hope, where we’ll discover who Ryan is saving, and how she’ll save him in return.

  Check out The Colemans of Heart Falls, the latest trilogy set in the community. The Cowgirl’s Forever Love features Josiah Ryder and Lisa Coleman, and is now available.

  * * *

  Lisa Coleman’s got six months to work in Heart Falls before she’ll be able to go anywhere, do anything. She wants to enjoy her free time with the very sexy local veterinarian, Josiah Ryder. He’s interested in Lisa, but wants more than knocking boots. He wants forever.

  Are you new to my books? Check out my handy newbie guide to all things contemporary romance by Vivian Arend!

  If you’d like to know what new books I have coming, and stay up to date with releases, please sign up for my newsletter!

  About the Author

  With over 2.5 million books sold, Vivian A
rend is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over 60 contemporary and paranormal romance books, including the Six Pack Ranch and Granite Lake Wolves.

  Her books are all standalone reads with no cliffhangers. They’re humorous yet emotional, with sexy-times and happily-ever-afters. Vivian pretty much thinks she’s got the best job in the world, and she’s looking forward to giving readers more HEAs. She lives in B.C. Canada with her husband of many years and a fluffy attack Shih-tzu named Luna who ignores everyone except when treats are deployed.

  www.vivianarend.com

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  A Soldier’s Christmas Wish

  Copyright © 2019 by Arend Publishing Inc.

  ISBN: 9781941456958

  Edited by Anne Scott

  Cover Design © Damonza

  Proofed by Angie Ramey, Linda Levy, & Manuela Velasco

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations.

  First electronic publication: October 2019

  www.vivianarend.com