I Cross My Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

seen her at her worst. Probably a relief for him, too, after the image he’d grown to hate during the months when his ex had battered him with Bethany’s perky little message, H appiness Is a Choice .
    Funny thing, though. Bethany believed that message. Her father had been an insecure man who didn’t know how to be happy and her mother had tried her best to keep a pleasant home while married to someone who lacked the confidence to live life to the fullest. Bethany had studied psychology until she’d finally understood all that and was able to create a different pattern.
    The cornerstone of that new pattern was that circumstances couldn’t always be changed, but attitudes could. Her father had chosen to be unhappy. Her mother, for the most part, had chosen to be happy. Had she been a stronger person, she might have also chosen to leave. Part of Bethany’s grief over her mom’s death was regret that her mother hadn’t enjoyed a better marriage.
    Bethany had written her books as much for herself as for others. They’d struck a chord with the public, and while she’d received a few slightly negative reviews, most of the feedback had been positive. Nash had handed her the most devastating critique yet.
    He’d demonstrated how her words could be twisted and used against someone in crisis. At least that would make her a better writer, and now that she was about to launch her new venture, a better talk show personality.
    Being linked with Opal meant Bethany had to be careful not to embarrass her fairy godmother. Opal knew all about the situation in Jackson Hole, and she’d cautioned Bethany to keep it under wraps. Bethany intended to do exactly that.
    At some point she might tell Nash about her new opportunity so he could better understand the stakes involved. Ah, Nash. Inevitably her thoughts returned to the bodacious Mr. Bledsoe.
    He’d had a Reputation with a capital R back in high school. Nash had hung around with Jack Chance back then, and another buddy, Langford “Hutch” Hutchinson. The three of them had cut quite a swath through the senior-class girls.
    If Nash had been good at making love when he was eighteen, and he’d had years to practice his technique since then...it didn’t have anything to do with her, right?
    With a sigh of longing that would go unsatisfied, she glanced at the small battery-operated clock on the counter. It was pink, like everything in this bathroom, a holdover from when she’d chosen the color scheme at fourteen. Amazingly, the batteries had lasted since she’d replaced them a year and a half ago. The clock told her that she had many hours before Nash would show up for dinner.
    She had time to drive into Shoshone and get those spotlights he needed. But first she’d shower, change clothes, choose a menu for tonight and figure out how to make the dining room a more welcoming place. She might never erase his first impression of her as a chair-burning maniac with smeared makeup and ruined clothes, but she could mute that impression.
    After all, she was the author of Living with Grace, and she knew how to create a lovely dining experience. Maybe she shouldn’t have invited Nash to dinner, but now that she had, she’d damned well do it right.

3
    N ASH WAS GLAD FOR AN excuse to leave the Last Chance when five-thirty rolled around. All eight boys in the Last Chance Youth Program had arrived. They ranged in age from twelve to fourteen, and they were all hyper. Emmett had assured Nash they’d settle down once they were put to work, but that wouldn’t happen until tomorrow. Tonight they were like Mexican jumping beans. Very loud Mexican jumping beans.
    Pete, Sarah’s fiancé and the philanthropist who’d dreamed up the concept, had divided the boys into teams for a relay race in the yard before dinner. He’d roped Nash’s buddy Luke Griffin into helping. Luke had the kind of easygoing attitude that made him perfect for the job.
    Nash didn’t know much about kids, so he left with a