Vibrant Heart: Book 1 in the Great Plains Romance Series Read Free Page B

loft was where her father liked to do “book work,” as he called it, which was anything that didn’t involve grease. The loft’s wall of windows looked out over his eighty acres of farmland. When Melanie still lived at home, she would often find him in the loft, working late into the night. Sometimes she thought he even slept there, especially after he moved in an old couch he found at a garage sale. That was when Melanie realized that her parents’ marriage wasn’t as idyllic as it appeared.
    The sofa was also where she and Raymond had first been together after he started staying in the barn. Melanie blushed at the memory. It was not her proudest moment. Raymond had shown interest in her but never acted on it—not until he fell off the wagon and Melanie found him fumbling with the lock on the barn door. They hadn’t even done much that night, just kissing that led to some sloppy fondling. But the next morning, Raymond ushered her out into the early morning light as quickly as he could and tried to avoid her for weeks, despite her protests that everything was fine. Just when she thought she was past the humiliation of his rejection, he started meeting with her in secret once again, and everything seemed to be working out as she’d hoped. Then she got the publishing job. Now her cheeks burned as she remembered his empty promises to eventually join her in the city. Luckily the blond woman was too busy chatting away, talking about recipes and secret ingredients, to notice Melanie’s flushed face. Melanie refused to look back at Jake, convinced that he could somehow see into her innermost thoughts.
    In the barn, Melanie scanned the people standing in small groups, engrossed in their own conversations. No Raymond. Shuffling after the blond woman, she placed the tray of food on a long serving table set up along one wall, then moved to stand under the open stairway to the loft before she got sucked into another one-sided conversation with the chatty woman. From here she could look for Raymond while pretending to watch the clusters of people—and without being cornered by any of the guests, mostly members of Bender’s small community. They meant well, but she could only tolerate their questions for so long, and their conversations invariably hinged on one idea: When was she going to move back and get married? They couldn’t fathom the idea that someone might not want to live the quiet, rural life. They didn’t understand that she liked the vibrancy of the city just as much as she liked the relaxed rhythm of the country.
    Many of the faces were new to her—probably friends of the bride, although they could just as likely be friends of her dad. Melanie’s dad was active in Alcoholics Anonymous and was always bringing home “strays,” as her mother referred to them. In fact, he had been Raymond’s sponsor, which made Raymond family in her dad’s eyes. When Raymond needed to sever all ties to his drinking buddies, he’d moved out to the farm and started working for her dad. Melanie had been in her final semester of college, although she still lived with her parents and helped out on the farm. She’d been immediately enamored by the tall, dark Raymond, who was undoubtedly wild at heart. The secretive nature of their relationship had made it all the more exciting. But clearly she’d found it more exciting than he had.
    She licked her lips and smoothed her dress over her hips. He’d regret that decision now. If she could only find him.
    “You don’t really strike me as the wallflower type, darlin’.”
    Melanie groaned. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Jake leaning against the wall, watching her. He nodded, tipping an imaginary hat to her, and she wondered where he’d left his cowboy hat. “Don’t you have something better to do?” She didn’t hide her irritation. “Serve the guests or something? Isn’t that what you’re here for?”
    He chuckled, and she turned back to the crowd, furious that the