Love Inspired August 2014 – Bundle 1 of 2 Read Online Free PDF Page B

said.”
    “Since you told me what to say, that’s no surprise. I’ve lived with your mother for
     nearly forty years. If nothing else, I’ve learned how to follow directions.” Humor
     marked Dave’s face for real this time. It was clear he enjoyed having Livvie back
     home, but equally clear he didn’t want her hurt again.
    Neither did Jack, and the thought of flirting with a woman who might still love her
     ex-husband—a conniving cheat who didn’t deserve an amazing woman like Olivia Franklin
     in the first place—helped keep things in perspective. “I brought some notes you might
     be able to use for the history thing.”
    Liv took the sheaf of paper from Jack’s hand. For just a moment their fingers grazed,
     barely a touch, but enough to make Jack long to take her hand in his. Hold it snug
     and chat about things that would keep her smile firmly in place.
    That’s what had been missing last night, he realized. Liv’s smile, broad and sweet.
     Inviting. Her contagious laugh, the kind that made heads turn and folks join in for
     no particular reason.
    Her smile today said she was doing all right, but a woman like Liv should never be
     doing just all right. She should be happy, joyous and cheerful. The way she used to
     be, he remembered.
    As he followed her up to the porch, he wondered if that girl still existed, or if
     the men in her life had ruined something as precious and sweet as a young woman’s
     joy.
    Shame knifed him, but as Liv settled into the corner of the porch glider, another
     realization hit. God had given him this chance to make things right. But maybe he
     could do more than simply mend old wrongs. Maybe he could restore Liv’s joyful spirit,
     the smiling peace that used to reign within her.
    He sank into the rocker and watched as she perused the papers. “Jack...” She paused
     and sat forward with a start, and for a brief moment he read the excitement of old
     in her eyes. She pointed to an item on the paper he’d printed off the internet. “This
     says that Lester helped bury the time capsule.”
    “That’s important?”
    Liv inched closer to show him the printed lines referring to Lester Shaw and nodded.
     “It could be. With the capsule missing, and no one knowing what was in it, what went
     on, or why anyone would steal an old memory box from a hundred years ago, maybe someone
     in Lester’s branch of the family knows something. Maybe he told his family what was
     in the box. Knowing what was in there might help deputy Cal Calloway and the sheriff’s
     office figure out why it was taken. There could be some tidbit of information that
     will clear up this whole mess.” She ticked off two fingers as she continued, “The
     missing capsule. The fire at the rodeo. Things like this might seem minor in big cities,
     but in Jasper Gulch...? A tucked-in-a-nook town with generations of the same families
     living here decade by decade?” Her look of remorse underscored her meaning. “Criminal
     stuff like that could pull a small town like ours apart.”
    It made sense, but... “Lester never married. Chet did, it’s in his baseball records,
     but Lester died a bachelor. Does it say anything about Chet being involved with the
     capsule burial?”
    She shook her head. The scent of spiced vanilla grabbed him by the throat and wouldn’t
     let go. The smell drew him closer, ostensibly to look at the history papers she held
     out, but what he really wanted was one more breath of that sweet country smell, gently
     spiced.
    Liv’s scent.
    “Well.”
    She seemed totally uninspired by his new proximity, so he leaned back in his chair,
     reclaiming a proper distance in case Dave came around with that nail gun again.
    “I’m going to keep these, if that’s okay?” She looked up and he nodded, pretending
     he didn’t want to draw closer because they both knew better. Well, she knew better,
     and he’d just promised her father to think hard and long before starting something
     he