Change of Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

front of the cabin again, assuming he’d returned at some point while she’d been riding with Jessie. She battled with the urge to go over and apologize to him, yet again.
    When he’d left earlier, she’d seen him watching her in the barn, and she hadn’t missed the look of disgust on his face when he turned away. Leah wasn’t stupid. She knew it was because he didn’t want to be around her. When Jessie had invited him to dinner, he hadn’t even hesitated before refusing. But she couldn’t exactly blame him. She’d been pretty awful today.
    She glanced at the old watch on her wrist. Other than her car, it was the only memento she’d kept from Nicole, the foster mother who’d turned her life around. She felt a twinge of melancholy each time she saw it, missing the vibrant woman she’d shared too little time with. But this wasn’t the time to get sentimental. She needed to head over to the main house. Jessie was expecting her in less than thirty minutes, and she hadn’t even changed yet, not that she had anything but jeans to change into.
    She pulled open several boxes still in the kitchen until she found the box with her black jeans. Tugging them from below two other pair, she located a black button-up shirt that didn’t look too wrinkled from being packed and her knee-high black boots. Hurrying to the guest bathroom, Leah tugged the hair tie from her head, trying to finger-comb her caramel waves back into some semblance of a style before giving up and pulling it back with a barrette. It was a far cry from the professional doctor image she’d wanted to project, but it was going to have to do. Her sweaty tank top and broken-down car had already destroyed that facade.
    Trotting down the steps, Leah hurried to the back gate and let herself into Jessie’s yard. A handsome dark-haired man, who was standing at the barbecue on the patio by the pool, looked back over his shoulder at her.
    “You must be Leah. I’m Nathan. Jessie should be out in just a minute, and I’m sure the rest of the clan is already on their way.” His gaze, sparkling with impish humor, shot to the back door of the house conspiratorially. “Did she warn you yet?”
    Leah felt oddly at ease with Jessie’s husband. She tended to keep her distance with men, but his open, genuine smile made her feel more at home. “About what?”
    “The rest of the family.” He closed the barbecue, letting it heat up while he flipped off the pool skimmer, tugged the machine from the water, and set it aside. “You’ll like them, everyone does, but they can be a lot to handle if you’re not expecting the wild, rambunctious crowd that will be here.”
    Great, this sounds like a blast, she thought, barely keeping herself from rolling her eyes.
    “Justin’s the oldest. His wife, Alyssa, used to be a pretty big deal in Hollywood. They have a little boy, Sam, who’s about six months old. Then there’s Julia and Dylan, Gage’s brother. She trains service dogs and he’s a paramedic in town. They have a little girl, Emily, who’s only about a month old now. I think Bailey’s coming with Chase, too, unless he has to work tonight. She helps Justin at the clinic, and he’s a deputy sheriff in town.”
    “Jessie mentioned him earlier.”
    “Yeah, he refers a lot of kids here. Matter of fact, I think he’s sending over a few this week.”
    “Already?” Leah felt her stomach clench. It wasn’t a shock—this was her job, after all—but she’d been hoping for a little more time to prepare and make some plans.
    He shrugged, a grin spreading over his face. “Jess isn’t big on taking things slow.”
    “Are you talking about our wedding again?” Jessie came out onto the patio with a bowl of salad big enough to feed a small army, which, from Nathan’s description, was exactly how many people might be showing up.
    “No.” Nathan chuckled as she moved closer, slipping his arm around her waist and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “But I’d be happy to if