Heart of Grace (Return to Grace Trilogy #1) Read Free Page B

is.” The girl
reached across the desk and grabbed a pen and a piece of
paper. “He’s at home today. Cole’s got a ranch on the outskirts
of town.”
“Cole? Cole Jordan?”
“Yeah. He’s at Starhorn ranch, just off I-85. I’m sure he
won’t mind you dropping by. He said you two knew each other
as kids.”
“Yes,” Angela replied stiffly, “we knew each other. Thanks
for the info.” She gathered her things, nodded politely and
walked out of the office.
****
Angela drove toward Starhorn Ranch, the rough country
highway stretching for miles alongside fields sprinkled with
barns and stables. Green covered nearly every inch of ground,
reaching to tease the foothills of the huge mountains in the
distance.
The past was all around her, closing in as surely as those
storm clouds building over the mountains would bring the rain.
She parked in the gravel driveway and walked to the house.
The porch steps still creaked in the same spots. A breeze
knocked the old swing against the railing with a familiar thump,
thump, thump . She couldn’t help but wander over to see if the
ridges – caused by that constant thumping of the swing against
the railing year after year – had ever been repaired. They were
still there, although someone had painted over them. She
resisted the urge to linger, to sit and to remember. She and
Doug Jordan had sat and talked in that swing for hours at a
time.
Cole’s father had filled a void. He had opened his heart to
her, but the son had not been as kind. Cole had great fun in
teasing the gangly girl next door, her knobby knees, frizzy hair
and sour disposition giving him ample opportunity. Even so,
Angela had made it a point to be near Cole whenever possible,
using excuses to play on the ranch or to watch him practice in
the rodeo ring every
Tuesday
afternoon when
she was
supposed to be mucking stalls.
Angela shook her head. Her country roots had long ago
shriveled, and a schoolgirl crush was just a bittersweet part of
a less than ideal past. She found herself worrying over Cole’s
reaction at seeing her on his doorstep after all these years. The
doors to the house loomed ominously.
“Can I help you?”
She startled at the sound of his voice; a smooth tenor with
a hint of gravel. He walked up the porch steps, his stride easy
and confident. One arm was secured in a sling, the other loose
at his side. She dared herself to look at his face as he came up
that last step. She saw what she had expected: the day-old
stubble of a beard, deep blue eyes, and a slightly crooked nose
from getting punched by Harvey Jenkins in the ninth grade.
The air stuck in her throat and she felt like she was twelveyears-old again – shy and uncertain. She was not sure if her
reaction was
from seeing
her childhood nemesis
and
remembering the animosity that had been between them, or if
it was a more basic response to seeing Cole grown up and
looking like….well, like this .
He tipped his wide-brimmed hat and flashed a welcometo-Montana smile. “Howdy.”
“Hello, Cole.” She wondered if he could hear her heart
beating against her ribs. She lifted a fist to her chest in a futile
attempt to stifle it.
“What can I do for you?” he asked, raising a single eyebrow
in a way that told Angela he had no idea how this stranger on
his doorstep could know his name.
“I’m here about The Bullpen Arena.” She could have told
him who she was, but she shouldn’t have to introduce herself
to Cole. He already knew things about her that few others did.
And yet, he did not recognize her. “I understand you manage
it?”
“That’s right.” He shifted his stance. His smile faded.
“Could we go inside?”
His eyes darted to her briefcase. “Is this business?”
“Yes.” She nodded and stepped through the door when he
held it open it for her. She breathed in the familiar scents of
leather and earth. It was the aroma of her childhood, of those
afternoons she had spent in that house. She turned to Cole