11th Hour Rose Read Online Free PDF

Frustrated, she cast him a sidelong glance. How could I ever have thought him attractive?
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    After depositing Lilly home with firm instructions to leave well enough alone, David hesitated outside the Hudson’s charming, yet modest home, debating his next course of action. He had no desire to visit his brother’s house for dinner and watch Craig dote on his beautiful wife and equally beautiful children. Davy simply wasn’t in the mood to be reminded of everything he’d lost. He could pay Christine a visit. The barren widow was a few years older than he, and they had a long standing relationship, but he wasn’t particularly in the mood for that either. He patted Lilly’s folded interview notes tucked inside his vest pocket. He supposed he could begin reviewing them this evening.
    With a sigh, he glanced back over the neat white-washed fence enclosing the Hudson’s yard. Bright flowers, lilacs, and rose bushes decorated the lawn. The wooden bench swing in particular captured his attention creating a dull ache in his chest, entirely too close to the region of his heart. Nestled beneath a painted trellis with lacey green vines weaving through the wood slats, the swing portrayed a picturesque haven that begged passersby to step in and forget the world’s troubles. The attractive landscape was all due to Lilly, he knew. How many times had he spied her resting on the swing, a law book propped in her lap? The girl was a spinster in the making.
    Sadness crept up within him. Spinster … Today the term seemed far less cliché in regard to Lilly. After learning of her Daniel, he understoodher. How often had Davy thrown himself into work to keep memories of his wife at bay… of their child that had never had a chance?
    He shook his head, striding brusquely away from the sheriff’s house. Best just to concentrate on work. He should be hearing about his transfer request any day now. Once he moved west this would all be a distant memory.
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    That evening Lilly entered her bedroom, exhausted, and more than ready for bed. She shook the pins loose from her hair and dragged her fingers through the length. She tossed the hair pins onto the vanity and walked hesitantly to the desk tucked in the corner by her closet.
    Despite her irritation at David Langston for his reprimand, his voice rang through her ears. You should read that letter. Lilly swallowed, unable to banish the husky entreaty from her mind.
    Slowly… reverently… she retrieved the retired journal from the locked drawer in her desk. She unwrapped the leather cords holding the volume closed and perched on the edge of her bed. Drawing a slow breath, she opened the book with unsteady hands. Daniel’s letter slipped from the back, falling face up in her lap.
    Familiar block lettering stared up at her. Tears blurred her vision, making it impossible to read the tidy script. How she had longed for Daniel’s letters during the war, prayed for them every night. Dare she open this last missive and dredge up all the emotions, the hopes and dreams they’d shared until he’d marched off to fight and find glory?
    She closed her eyes, trying to recall his face and the exact color of his eyes. Lovely eyes. A combination of green and blue with a hint of brown around the pupils. It had been so long, his visage hazy in her mind, but if she concentrated hard enough she could still see him sitting beside her on this very bed, his gray sleeve brushing the calico of her gown. He’d sweetly kissed her forehead, stood, and left. Funny, but she distinctly remembered the sight of his back and shoulders as he’d strode away
    A fat tear slipped from her lids and splashed onto the unopened letter. Lilly laid back on the bed letting the tears fall that she’d held at bay for so long. She hadn’t cried when he’d left and she’d bottled everything up inside when word had come of his