Though My Heart Is Torn: The Cadence of Grace, Book 2 Read Free

in the metal bin, plaid skirt tucked around her knees. Lonnie threw her head back and laughed breathlessly as he struggled to scale the steep hill. A smile lifted his cheeks.
    “Someday I’m gonna plant an orchard closer to the house,” he panted.
    She chuckled. “Am I inspiring you?”
    “You’re heavy!” He gasped for breath.
    Lonnie’s voice seemed to float along the cool September breeze. “Keep going; you’re almost there!” She laughed, her long braid bouncing, and her nose, still dusted in summer’s freckles, wrinkled.
    Tempted to tip his cargo over into the dry grass, Gideon grumbled playfully and dug his toes into the moist earth. Lonnie’s fingers clung to the side of the wheelbarrow when it faltered, and her squeal made him think the better of it. The rusted wheel squeaked one last turn, and Gideon dropped the handles. The muscles in his arms burned. Heflexed his hands to calm the blood that pulsed through his veins. He could scarcely breathe, and when Lonnie tumbled out, broken bits of laughter drained his lungs.
    She brushed leaves from her skirt. “See,” she said, “that wasn’t so hard.”
    With his hands free, Gideon tore off his coat and used it to wipe his forehead. “Speak for yourself.” He chuckled, draping the coat over the handle of the wheelbarrow. The autumn air collided with his damp skin, cooling him instantly through his shirt. He lifted a bucket from Lonnie’s grasp and ran his thumb under her soft jaw.
    With a rosy-cheeked smile, she slipped her arm through the crook of his elbow. Her bare feet fell into a slow rhythm with his worn-out boots, and they circled the small grove of trees as they decided on the best place to start. He handed her the pail and then reached for the ladder leaning against the nearest trunk. Untouched for nearly a year, the sun-rotted wood seemed to have become a part of the thick bark. Clouds challenged one another in front of the sun, dimming the orchard, cooling the air.
    He lifted the ladder over his head and settled it into place, cobwebs trailing. “Ladies first.” He wiggled the end into soft soil that was thick with rotted leaves.
    She hesitated, and he glanced at her.
    “You give me a funny smile every time I say that.” He squinted into the sun when it broke through the clouds.
    “I do?”
    “You do.” With a firm grasp, he held the ladder steady. One hand clutching her bucket, Lonnie grabbed the nearest rung and started up the rickety ladder. It never wavered as Gideon held it fast.

    “I suppose …” She stopped when they were eye level. His green eyes were wide, wondering, and in an instant she remembered the man he had once been. A shiver crept across her shoulders but faded just as quick. Those days were gone. She plucked an apple. Then a second, her thoughts distant. “It just makes me happy. That’s all.”
    Slowly, he added another apple to the bucket. A clear pain tugged his brows together. “It was that bad, wasn’t it?”
    The regret she saw in his face put a stitch in her ever-mending heart.
    Lonnie drew in a deep breath, knowing she could speak nothing but the truth, and her silence was truth enough. As the memories formed themselves anew, Lonnie pictured an unhappy young man standing at the front of the church, her unwanted hand inside his. If he could have wished her away, he would have. Hovering on the brink of a life of despair, she had made her marriage vows to the one man she despised most.
    The man who had tried to steal her innocence one starry night.
    His mouth was drawn, eyes sad as he watched her remember. Lonnie blinked quickly, shaking the icy memories from her heart. It was long ago. Her pa’s merciless grip on her life, further gone still.
    The breeze tousled Gideon’s flannel shirt, pulling it tight across his shoulders. “It’s good to remember, I suppose.” He plucked an apple and held it in his broad hand, studying it. “It’s best not to forget what once was.” He smoothed his thumb over