Mending His Trust

Jim Larsen waited years for Kat’s widowed heart to heal. Now convinced that he’ll never measure up to the memory of her late husband, he understands it's time to move on. The long drive to his childhood home hundreds of miles away will be a lonely one, but not as lonely as the long winter nights ahead.

Kat Davenport is left in shock at Jim’s sudden departure. The man she was certain would make a move for her heart made a move across the country instead. And now she’s questioning everything she thought she knew about love.

With her heart still in tatters, Kat receives word that the city council has given her one month to shutter her precious rescue or face hefty fines. As she tries to come up with a plan to save the rescue, she receives devastating news about Jim… news that brings back haunting memories of a night many years ago when tragedy struck.

She wants nothing more than to be by Jim’s side until she can be sure he'll pull through, but can she risk leaving the rescue in the middle of a crisis, knowing she's got a houseful of young veterans and rescue dogs depending on her?

“You could wait to open those wipes until we see if I even need them,” Jim said, drying his hands with a towel from the kitchen sink. “I’ve already washed most of the road grime off.”

Kat looked up with flushed cheeks, struggling to open a new package of wet wipes. “Yes, but you still have to put that tire back on before you hit the road. You said it’s going to be a messy job. You’ll need these later on.”

She continued to pick at the closure, but it refused to open. “You haven’t left Liberty Cove yet, and as long as you’re still in town, I’m going to make sure you have what you need.”

Jim looked on in silence as her lips pressed into a thin line. She blew a strong puff of air from her flared nostrils. Her slender fingers lost their gracefulness as they succumbed to trembling. Her chin puckered and then quivered.

Pain radiated throughout his chest. His departure from Liberty Cove was supposed to be the easy way out—not this. He placed his hand on top of hers to still its busyness. The comforting words he’d intended to say disappeared from his mind. Typical. All he could think of was the softness of her skin, the delicate proportions of her hand, and the way his touch calmed her.

His touch calmed her. His heart hammered into his ribs as his eyes traced the drawn features of this friend he cared so deeply for. What kind of a man caused sadness when he was capable of bringing peace?

A low-down, cowardly deserter, that’s what kind. Was protecting his own heart so important that the collateral damage didn’t matter? He sighed. It was too late to change course now. Everything was in motion. He’d purchased land from his sister, given his Texas home to his daughter, and packed his belongings in the moving trailer that was already attached to his truck.

“Kat, I…” His voice was low and gravelly as words struggled to make their way to his lips.

“Hold still,” she said in a quiet voice. Now that calm had been restored to her long, delicate fingers, she was able to open the package without a problem. The plastic crinkled in her grasp as she tugged out a wipe. “You missed a spot.”

She slowly wiped a smudge from his forearm, then looked up into his eyes. His back went rigid, and a shockwave of excitement turned his stomach upside down when she reached for his face.

“And another spot,” she whispered, never releasing his gaze.

The tip of her thumb grazed his bottom lip as she cleaned a smudge from his chin.

Slowly. Gently.

Her eyes searched his the entire time, daring him—no begging him—to make a move. He inhaled sharply, his lungs acting as a bellows and causing the fire in his veins to flare into a raging wildfire.

He leaned in and took her upper arm in his hand, not knowing what his next move would be. “Kat—”

This wasn’t rational. The back of his mind barked orders to disengage, but he disregarded those orders. Kat Davenport wasn’t a woman to be easily resisted.