Mending Hope (Contemporary Western Romance) (License to Love Series:Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

doing this for awhile now as most of the horses had come to the front of their stalls and were moving their heads back and forth to his rhythm. 
    “Is everything okay?” Woody asked as he walked up to Shad.  He’d never seen his big brother in such a state of distress.
    Shad stopped and turned around quickly. “Sorry, Woody, you startled me.”
    “Well?”
    “Well what?” Shad asked. 
    “I don’t know, you’re the one who asked me to meet you here.” 
    “Oh, I guess I did, didn’t I?” Shad asked rhetorically as he stared off into the air above Woody’s head.  “I just wanted to ask your opinion on something.”
    “Okay, but remember if it’s about the farm or the livestock I have no intention of getting dragged back into the family business.” Woody said, making sure that he kept his distance. Over the years, Shad had tried to get him more involved in the decisions on the farm, but he remained adamant that he wanted nothing to do with this life.  He enjoyed working on vehicles and staying away from the headache (and heartache) that farm life brought with it.
    “What?” Shad turned toward him, a look of confusion clouding his features. “Oh, no.  Don’t worry.  It’s not about that at all.” 
    The silence stretched out for a few endless seconds more as Woody waited for Shad to say what was on his mind, but instead his brother just started pacing again.
    “Well then…what is it about?” he finally asked as he positioned his body directly in front of Shad, halting his brother in his tracks.
    “I went to the bank today.”
    “Was there a problem?” Woody asked.  The joint accounts for all three of them had been set up for their homes and land by their father before he died.  If there was a problem in these accounts that could easily explain his brother’s weirdness.
    “No problem, really. But I took something out of the safety deposit box.” Shad said as he held out a small metal box.  Woody recognized it immediately.  There were two sets of rings in the safety deposit box, their grandmothers’ wedding set and their parents’ wedding set.  The metal box was the set that had originally belonged to their grandparents.
    Woody took the box from his brother and opened it.  He hadn’t seen the rings since his father had died five years ago.  By today’s standards, the rings were fairly simple.  A plain silver band for the man, but the woman’s was silver with a woven knot.  It was comprised of thin, intricate bands that overlapped and then met in the center where a small blue diamond connected everything.  
    “So you’re going to ask Clara…”  Woody let his voice trail off as he stared at the ring. 
    “I know we’ve only known each other for a few weeks, but I don’t want to imagine ever being without her again.”  Shad said when Woody looked up from the ring.  “I’m pretty sure that’s how you know, right?  It’s that moment when you try to look into the future and you can no longer imagine it alone. Why would time matter?  I’m still going to feel the same way about her whether it’s tomorrow or two years from now.”
    There was a cloud of desperation in his eyes, and Woody realized that he did know what Shad was referring to.  The time he’d spent with Alyssa was different.  It made the days brighter and the nights tolerable.  Even though she hadn’t been alone with him or talked to him since that first night and that first kiss, he still looked forward to their time together. 
    “What do you say?” Shad asked.
    “Well, first off, I’m pretty sure I’m not the one you’re asking, so I don’t think it’s that important what I say.”  Woody answered, a smile spreading across his face.  “Second, I think that if she makes you happy, that’s all the information you need to make a decision.”
    As he finished the last sentence, Shad scooped him up in a giant bear hug and hefted him off the ground. 
    “Easy now.”  Woody laughed as Shad