Love Inspired August 2014 – Bundle 1 of 2 by Allie Pleiter and Jessica Keller Ruth Logan Herne

want to have supper at the ranch, and she’d
     made a promise to herself on the way back to Jasper Gulch nearly two weeks before.
     No more pretense. Face life, get a grip and be honest with herself. So she squared
     her shoulders and nodded as she began making notes. “It does sound good, and with
     Mom and Dad away I’m not prone to cooking for one, so you’ve saved me from starvation.”
    “Good.”
    She ignored the quick grin he cast her way as she waited for her screen to refresh.
     “And that way I can check on how our new friends are doing. If we find any today,
     that is. How’s Dillinger?” Dillinger had been her horse of choice at the Double M
     through the years they dated. Jack would mount Roy-O, the large bay, and she’d saddle
     Dillinger, the strong-willed buckskin that reminded her of Denny in The Man from Snowy River. A good horse, brave and true.
    Jack sucked in a breath. His hesitation said more than words.
    “He’s gone?”
    “Back in February. Winters are hard on old animals.”
    “Like Tank.” She breathed deep and stared out the window, the rise of mountains curving
     this way and that, rugged land stretching in every direction. “I forgot that being
     away for so many years really changes things. People gone. Animals gone. Except for
     the beginnings of the new museum, the town has stayed the same on the surface.” She
     bit back a sigh from somewhere deep inside as reality bit deep. “But the real things?
     The important ones, like losing people and things you love? I’m realizing how much
     I’ve missed by being gone.”
    “Time goes on.” Jack paused at a fork in the road, bore right and then added, “And
     just the idea of that museum caused a ruckus with folks.”
    “Why?” She turned to face him and had to steel herself not to get lost in his profile.
     Seeing him...hearing him...simple proximity to him brought back all kinds of memories. She’d held hard to the last memories, her
     broken heart, weeks of tears, years of living in the same Midwestern city while avoiding
     him at all costs, but now? Here in Jasper Gulch? The good memories were starting to
     edge out the bad ones, and she couldn’t let that happen.
    “Jackson Shaw likes things the way they are. Always has, always will. His son Adam
     and the other kids are more easygoing, and Cord’s actually been fighting his father
     on the whole bridge issue—”
    “Cord wants the bridge fixed?” Livvie sat back, surprised. “Good for him. Just because
     Jackson is the mayor doesn’t make him the law.”
    Jack shot her a look that said “get real” and Liv sighed. “Okay, I get it. But just
     because it is that way doesn’t mean it should be. Three cheers for Cord standing up on his own.
     And I heard Julie’s raising sheep on a farm section, so clearly Jackson’s kids are
     trying to find their own paths.”
    “Nadine’s influence on top of Jackson’s stubbornness.”
    “Mothers can be a formidable force, even the gentle ones.” Liv laughed, thinking of
     her mother’s strength and wisdom. “Good for Nadine.”
    A sign for Three Forks came into view as Jack rounded a curve. He eased up on the
     gas. “I was thinking we could get ribs at Willow Creek for dinner.”
    The place with melt-in-your-mouth ribs that she and Jack had loved when they spent
     college breaks in Jasper Gulch? A place they enjoyed thoroughly until the breakup
     that rivaled the big bang with hometown repercussions? Um, no. Not about to happen.
     “A sandwich is fine. We don’t need to go to any trouble or try to be fancy.”
    “I’ve never heard ribs called fancy.” Jack’s voice stayed easy, but Liv knew he was
     calling her out.
    “Let’s keep it simple, Jack. You. Me. The horses. And a sandwich.”
    “You’re warning me off.”
    Yes and no. “I’m protecting both of us from repeating the mistakes of the past,” she
     explained. She kept her voice even, but it was crazy difficult to manage with Jack
     sitting