Love Inspired May 2015 #1 by Brenda Minton, Felicia Mason, Lorraine Beatty Page A

glanced at her, slowing just a little. “You have to stop worrying.”
    â€œI’m not worrying, I’m...”
    â€œWorrying.” He set the boxes in the back of the truck and then jumped up inside. “We’ll get through this.”
    â€œI know we will.”
    She watched him stack boxes along the back of the truck. He turned, keeping his head low because the truck didn’t allow for his height. “You don’t sound convinced.”
    â€œI’m trying,” she assured him.
    He jumped down, landing next to her. He touched her cheek with a large, calloused hand, gently forcing her to look at him. Look into blue eyes that were as clear as a summer sky. His mouth curved in an easy smile as he leaned a little toward her. She focused on the dimples that appeared in his cheeks, because she could lose herself in his eyes, in the promises she saw in them.
    â€œYou need to start believing,” he whispered. “Because I won’t let us fail as a family.”
    Family. But they weren’t a family, she thought to tell him, but she couldn’t form the words. For a moment she was lost because she’d honestly thought he meant to kiss her when he leaned close. And she couldn’t let that happen. Could she?
    The idea of kissing him seemed almost as dangerous as the idea of believing the three of them would be a real family. That wasn’t why she’d come here. She’d come to Martin’s Crossing to give Lilly a chance at being a part of a family, but she hadn’t included herself in that plan.
    She looked up at Duke, putting a stop to the moment stretching between them. “Of course you won’t let us fail. We’re in this together. We’ll be fine.”
    They were in a mess, is what they were in. He knew how it felt to have a family fall apart. She knew how it felt to never have a father. She also knew that if he kissed her she would fall for him all over again. And she couldn’t do that.
    Because she knew how it felt to be walked out on. Not once, or even twice, but over and over again. Whatever the cost, she would protect her heart. She would protect her daughter.
    â€œI know we’ll be fine,” she repeated, ignoring his amused look.
    â€œOf course we will. And you’ve got to learn to relax.”
    â€œI know how to relax.”
    He winked, which didn’t help matters at all. Maybe she shouldn’t have worried about the influence he would have on her daughter. Maybe her first concern should be for how he could undo all of her very carefully groomed self-preservation.
    â€œHere comes Joe and Mr. Mueller. Two of your biggest fans. And maybe I shouldn’t feel so relaxed because they’re puffed up like bodyguards.”
    â€œAs if those two could hurt you.”
    He grinned at that. “Of course they could.”
    â€œOregon, I hear you’re leaving the neighborhood,” Mr. Mueller, dapper with thinning gray hair, asked as he stepped close to her.
    He was the grandson of German immigrants and owned a small store next to Oregon’s where he sold the wood carvings and candle carousel nativities that his grandfather had first made in Germany. A skill that had been passed down through generations, he explained to those who shopped in his store.
    â€œWe’re not leaving, Mr. Mueller, just relocating temporarily. And of course I’ll still be at the shop.”
    â€œOf course she will,” Joe added. “We wouldn’t let Oregon leave us for good.”
    Joe had been so kind since his arrival in town. He’d often stopped by to help her take out trash or carry shipments to the post office. He’d helped Lilly find homes for the puppies their dog had given birth to last winter. She really liked Joe, but she was still wary.
    â€œNo, we aren’t going anywhere,” she confirmed.
    Joe glanced past her, his eyes lighting, and she knew that the beaming look was for Lilly. She heard