Heart’s
Desire
Healing Harts # 1
Healing Harts # 1
By: T.J. Kline
Releasing April 28th, 2015
Avon Impulse
Blurb
TJ
KLINE’s brand new Healing Hart's series kicks off with HEART'S DESIRE
If you could have
anything, do anything… what would it be?
Jessie Hart has a soft
spot for healing the broken, especially horses and children, but her business
is failing and bankruptcy is looming. The one man who can save Heart Fire Ranch
is the last man she wants to take advice from - financial expert Nathan Kerrington
- the same man who broke her heart eight years ago.
Nathan Kerrington has it
all, except the one thing he’d wanted most - Jessie. Now that he’s finally
freed himself from his corrupt family, he wants to make amends. When he’s
called in to save Jessie’s ranch, he sees his chance to win her back - if only
he can prove to her that she can trust him with her heart…
Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/146550-healing-harts
A slight click, like something dropping
behind him, made him jump and turn. “What was that?”
She leaned back on the blanket, staring
up at the stars, and folded her arms under her head, as if she didn’t have a
care in the world. “Probably a squirrel—or a mouse.” She tipped her chin,
glancing back to where he stood, still staring into the darkness where the
horses relaxed. “Calm down, Wall Street. This is where you unwind and see what
the city can’t offer you. The horses will alert us if it’s anything worth worrying
about.”
He watched the woman lying prone on the
blanket, staring up the night sky. “Like what? A mountain lion ready to pounce?”
The sound of her laughter was rich and
sweet as he edged toward the blanket, still listening for wildlife behind them.
Just the throaty sound made him think of those full lips of hers again, and
heat pooled, deep and unwelcome, in the pit of his loins.
He needed to put some distance between
them emotionally as well. He was in trouble if getting mauled by a wild animal
sounded preferable to the longing he was feeling for her again. He lay down on
the blanket next her, trying to keep as much room between them as the small
blanket allowed. He clasped his hands over his abs to keep from touching her
again, reminding himself that he’d made the right decision for everyone when he’d
cut ties with her. His family, the world he lived in, would rip her to shreds,
and he couldn’t do that to her, no matter how much he wanted her. Loving Jessie
was a youthful fantasy he needed to bury again.
She turned her face toward him and
smiled before looking back at the sky. “Bet you can’t find something like this
in the city.”
His brows arched on his forehead. “No, I
have to agree with you on that. It’s definitely beautiful.” His eyes never left
her face, but she wasn’t looking at him.
Jessie pointed up at the stars. “Somewhere
. . . there. Right there is the Big Dipper.”
He followed her gaze into the night sky,
awed at how brilliant the stars were. It was an amazing sight. Pinpoints of
light dotted the sky, more than he’d ever seen before. The inky sky looked like
it went on forever.
“You’re away from any other lights so
there’s nothing to dim them.” She turned her head toward him and he realized he’d
spoken aloud.
“If you watch, you’ll see lots of
shooting stars, too. You don’t see many in the city.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever noticed any.”
“You’re kidding!”
“I told you, I wasn’t exactly raised in
a family that spent a lot of time outdoors.” He frowned as he thought about his
father and his relentless pursuit of financial success, no matter what the cost.
“Or together, for that matter. My father would call this frivolous.”
“Huh.” Jessie sounded surprised by his
admission.
Nathan turned to face her. “What?”
Jessie shrugged and raised her brows. “I
would have thought you’d have it all. The house, the car, the money, the
education. But you don’t sound like . . . never mind, I shouldn’t have said
anything.”
“What were you going to say?” he urged.
“You just sounded nostalgic. Like you
would have given it all up for something else.”
Nathan felt the twist of pain in his
stomach as he looked back at the sky with an acerbic laugh. “You have no idea.”
She looked up at the sky again. “You
never talked about your family much.”
“There’s not a lot to talk about.” That
wasn’t really true. He could tell her about the various crimes his father had
been charged with over the years, how his mother and sister were both stuck in
marriages of convenience rather than love. Love.
He’d come to wonder if the word even really meant anything. It seemed more like
trite expression. Suddenly, a burst of blue light flashed across the sky,
fizzling out quickly.
“Did you make a wish?” she asked,
excitedly.
“A wish?”
She turned to face him, rolling onto her
side, bracing her cheek on her palm. “You’re supposed to make a wish when you
see a shooting star. You really did miss out growing up, didn’t you?”
A sad smile slipped over her lips, and
Nathan Kerrington, financial analyst to millionaire CEOs, a man used to riding
in limos, eating caviar, drinking Cristal champagne, and addressing boardrooms,
was struck speechless as her thick-lashed, deep blue eyes filled with innocent
wonder met his. His years of business success, each dollar in his bank account
and every rung he’d climbed up the corporate ladder seemed worthless compared
to the unadulterated sorrow he saw in her face for his pitiful childhood. She
knew a contentment and security, just in being a Hart, he’d never be able to
comprehend. She had shared her pride in her family, something he’d never
understood existed. Until now.
“Make a wish, Nathan.” Her voice was
sweet, tender, and mildly amused.
Suddenly, the only thing he could think
about was Jessie and the mistake he’d made eight years ago. The cold logic that
seemed to rule his every decision, in business and relationships, failed him,
evaporating into the night sky by way of a shooting star. His hand found the
silken curve of her neck as the inches between them disappeared. Rolling to
hover over her, Nathan dipped his head, his lips finally finding hers, taking
her mouth hostage as he’d thought about doing all day. He forgot the
differences between them, his father’s threats, the reasons this couldn’t work,
and the excuses he wanted to make to keep from touching her. All he knew was
the uncontrollable need, held prison for the last eight years, finally set free
to course through his veins.
His entire life had been ruled by
self-control, logic, and order. Jessie scattered all three to the wind, making
him wonder if all the things his discipline had gained him over the years weren’t
simply cheap imitations, his family’s impressions of what his life should be.
She opened under him, soft and warm, her
kiss vibrant and filled with life, like a lightning storm, so very much like
the woman in his memories. Jessie held nothing back, as if every second was a
celebration of life, and her fingers curled into the flesh of his triceps. His
hands slid over her shoulder, down her arm bared by her short sleeves, feeling
goosebumps break out over her flesh, and filling him with yearning to see what
other reactions he could cause in her. She sighed softly into his mouth and
arched against him.
Nathan had never known a woman to
respond with such abandon. He realized he shouldn’t have expected anything
less. It was how Jessie did everything.
And it scared him.
Author Info
T.
J. Kline was raised competing in rodeos and rodeo queen competitions since the
age of 14, She has thorough knowledge of the sport as well as the culture
involved. She has had several articles about rodeo published in the past in
small periodicals as well as a more recent how-to article for RevWriter. She is
also an avid reader and book reviewer for both Tyndale and Multnomah.
Rafflecopter Giveaway (Digital
Download Bundle of the RODEO Series by T.J. Kline, Including: RODEO QUEEN, THE
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