A Hero for Her Heart (Truly Yours Digital Editions Book 885) Read Free Page A

someone bring you Paige’s costume. Tell me where you’ll be.”
    She did while mentally chiding herself for not bartering for more money. Finally, she turned to the horse, who tossed his head and shuffled uneasily. “Get over yourself, Chester. We’re about to become even better acquainted.”
    ❧
    The sun warmed his skin as Derrick strode down Main Street toward his next goal. Walla Walla was a charming town. He’d been here on business before, but had never walked the streets. The parade, which he hadn’t intended to watch, would start soon. He was drawn by the simplicity of it all. When was the last time he’d seen a parade? He couldn’t remember. Today he’d intended to go for a drive and scour the outskirts of town for land that had potential for developers, then he’d contact the owners and see if they were interested in selling—a partial ruse. He groaned. He had a client interested in developing property, but land acquisition wasn’t Derrick’s actual purpose for coming to Walla Walla, and he was having trouble staying on task.
    Derrick reached into his bag of jelly beans and popped one into his mouth. He’d lost some of the candy running into the petite auburn in front Bright’s, but the loss was well worth it if his hunch was right.
    Allie. A farrier? He smiled at the memory of her holding the hoof of the large horse. Tiny as she was, she likely had a magic touch with the animals in order to do her job effectively.
    Derrick rested his back against the rough bark of a tree and dug into his bag of candy. Allie had special eyes—green and expressive. She was different from any woman he’d ever met—in what way, he couldn’t exactly say. She had shown a flash of interest in him, too. He’d grown accustomed to that kind of attention from women and had used it to his advantage in the past. But Allie’s interest had died as quickly as it had come. The old Derrick would have turned on the charm to engage her again, but the new Derrick lost the desire to lead women on. Besides, he wasn’t here to find a girlfriend. He was here to get information and return to his own life and home.
    Could his search be over already? If God was on his side, Allie and the boy held the answers he needed.
    Derrick stuffed the last of the candies into his mouth and tossed the bag into a nearby trash receptacle. His cell phone rang, and he quickly snatched it from the holder on his belt, glanced at the number on the screen, and flipped it open.
    “Hello, Dad.” Derrick spoke around the chewy candy that threatened to glue his jaw shut. He could practically see his father holding a pen over the leather-bound planner on his desk opened to his to-do list. Now his father could put a line through “Call Derrick.”
    “Just checking in, son. Have you found any potential properties?”
    “Not yet. I’ll keep hunting over the next day or so. Today the town is caught up in this onion festival parade. It’s rather charming the way—”
    “Please keep me posted.” Dad harumphed. “I’m glad you’re taking the initiative to find more business for Owens Realty.”
    Guilt rattled Derrick. His interest in land in Walla Walla gave him a legitimate excuse to be in town, but truth be told, finding property wasn’t his priority. He tapped his fingers against his thigh. Did the omission of certain information constitute a lie? Possibly. And untruths, whether white lies, outright lies, or stretching the truth, had a way of coming home to roost.
    “Your mom said to tell you”—Dad cleared his throat— “that Sandy. . .er. . .Sandy is eating well.”
    A euphemism that meant Derrick’s sister was having a good day and her will to live had given her temporary victory over the lymphoma that was killing her. Their father would not show his emotion, nor would he concede that his daughter was going to die.
    “Good,” Derrick said, blinking back sudden tears. Sandy had little time left. He needed to find what he was looking for here.