Heart of Stone Read Online Free PDF Page A

and felt the color rise in her cheeks. Her embarrassment surprised her. She’d been forced to give up all manner of shyness early in life.
    As her cheeks blazed, she again reminded herself he was a preacher. Not only that, but he was a father. A widower. A
real
widower with not one but two children. He was a pillar of the community, in many ways the closest thing Glory had to a mayor.
    Just as she was wondering how to fill the awkward silence, they passed the front window of the
Glory Gazette
building. She glanced inside and saw Hank Larson sitting behind his desk. Thankfully, he looked up, waved, and signaled for them to wait.
    “There’s Hank,” she told Brand. They paused and she slipped her hand off his arm.
    Hank hurried out. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, his bowtie askew. His brown hair looked as if he’d been raking his fingers through it, but there was a huge smile on his face.
    “It’s great to see you both. I’m avoiding work,” Hank said in greeting.
    Laura had never seen the usually thoughtful writer, publisher, and acting sheriff look as happy as he did now.
    Brand must have been thinking the same thing. “Obviously marriage agrees with you, Hank.”
    Laura studied Hank and found it curious that a forty-year-old man could actually be embarrassed by his friend’s comment.
    “I’m a happy man,” he said. “Now if I can just find someone to take over as sheriff…”
    Laura couldn’t blame him for wanting to hand the job over to someone else. After foiling a bank robbery—he claimed his actions were completely accidental—Hank had been proclaimed the town hero and railroaded into the job of sheriff until a replacement could be found. As acting sheriff, he’d almost lost his life in a shoot-out.
    “When can we expect a new edition of the
Gazette
?” She wanted to put a smile back on his face.
    “Hopefully before the week is up,” Hank said. “By the way, Laura, I’ll never be able to thank you enough for hosting our wedding and reception supper.” He’d thanked her every time he’d run into her this past month.
    Brand laughed and nodded. “If she hadn’t stepped in, the wedding would have taken place right there in the middle of your surprise party.”
    Hank nodded. “‘Hold it right there, all of you!’” he mimicked Laura and she grimaced.
    Hank had nearly lost the
Gazette
when he ran out of funds and was laid up after the shoot-out. The town had gotten together to help him out and Laura had hosted a surprise party in her backyard. During the party, Hank proposed to Amelia Hawthorne, who was not only the town healer but Laura’s only close friend. Amelia had accepted and Brand had been ready to marry them on the spot.
    Laura remembered thinking
What have I done?
the minute she spoke up and stopped them. She was adamant when she said,“Hank Larson, this is your surprise party—
not
Miss Hawthorne’s wedding day. She deserves a celebration worthy of her and I for one intend to see that she gets it.”
    Laura cringed even now as she recalled the way she’d taken charge, but she hadn’t been about to let the menfolk rob Amelia of a lovely wedding day. She’d put on a very small but elegant event a week later in her drawing room and had even had Amelia’s gown made for her out of one of her own. To Laura, it was the least anyone could do for the man who had not only established Glory’s first newspaper, but had helped rid the territory of a gang of thieves.
    Knowing that she would never have a wedding of her own made Laura’s part in the planning a bittersweet affair but she took joy in the moment. When Amelia asked her to stand up for her, she’d humbly accepted, though she wasn’t fool enough to believe for a moment that Amelia would have befriended her had she known about Laura’s past.
    She had no regrets. The wedding had been perfect. She only wished the newlyweds would stop singing her praises.
    “Amelia is planning a dinner of her own soon,” Hank