BELLA WALKED INTO the living room of Grandma June’s house and took a last look around. The scent of pine needles lingered in the air, though the tree was gone and the snow outside was melting.
She smiled, remembering, then moved to the mantelpiece, where the photos sat. She touched them, reflecting on the last few weeks, and the sisters she’d found. The people who’d welcomed her despite the years of no contact.
She and Keira had gotten together and had a chat about Keira’s coffee-cart business. It was such a success that Keira needed help, so Bella had worked with her on the cart in between helping Noah out on the ranch. Now she and Keira wanted to expand, and the perfect place had just become vacant in Jasper Creek itself.
June’s was about to expand into a café called June’s Kitchen.
It was good. It was right.
It was so much better than Seattle that she could hardly believe it was real.
Bella glanced around just in case someone was watching, then scooped the photos up and put them in the pocket of her new winter coat.
No one would know. And they’d look great on the mantel above the fire at Noah’s. Correction, Noah’s and hers.
Still smiling, Bella walked out of the house, pausing to lock it carefully behind her and put her key under the mat.
A tall, broad figure waited for her at the bottom of the porch stairs.
“All done?” Noah’s dark eyes glittered from underneath the brim of his cowboy hat.
“Yep. The house is looking great.” She ran down the stairs to him and slid her hand into his.
His fingers closed around hers, warm and secure.
You’ll find that hand to hold, like you used to hold mine when you didn’t think anyone was paying attention.
Bella’s heart swelled, the sweetest pain. Grandma June had been right all along. She’d found that hand and, most important, it was holding hers right back.
They walked down the front path toward the gate, then Noah paused beside the gnarled shape of the dogwood tree.
“Look,” he said. “Can you see it? Right at the top.”
Bella lifted her gaze and saw what he was pointing at. A fresh green leaf unfurling.
New life after the long winter.
Seemed like the old tree wasn’t as dead as she’d thought.
Like your heart.
She smiled, feeling that new life inside her unfurling along with that leaf. “Oh, good. I’m so ready for spring.” She touched her stomach unconsciously and when she looked at him, he was watching her, everything she’d ever wanted in his eyes.
Noah Faraday smiled that smile, the one he kept only for her, slow burning and sweet as the promise of spring. “So am I,” he said.
Rachel Henderson’s family is falling apart. Becoming a widow—especially at this age—is heartbreaking. And now with her teenage daughter, Emma, leaving soon for college, her life has completely changed shape. Rachel’s never felt more lost—her friendship with local diner owner Adam is the only thing that’s keeping her grounded.
As secrets bubble up, and Rachel’s old life unravels, she’ll need all her courage as she discovers that sometimes, an ending is just the beginning...
Read on for a sneak peek at Secrets from a Happy Marriage, the powerfully emotional new novel by New York Times bestselling author Maisey Yates!