Tangled Hearts (Passion in Paradise) by Sarah O'Rourke

now.  “Like you just told me, that is not your
fault.  But, yeah, Granny mentioned that to me before she passed away.”
    “I’m still having some
trouble believing that I’m not responsible for what happened to her, but Jake
reminds me every night that we need to leave the past where it is and
concentrate on helping Honor now,” Harmony admitted with a faraway look in her
eyes.  “At any rate, I’m not sure you know it or not, but Patience and Honor
got in a car wreck month before last.  It was pretty bad.  Touch and go for
both of them for a while.  Patience had the triplets early, and Honor was
impaled in the wreck.  There were some internal injuries.”
    “I knew there was a
wreck,” Melody whispered.  “I had no idea how bad it was.”
    “It gets worse,”
Harmony sighed.  “The brake line on Honor’s car had been intentionally cut, and
someone helped nearly get them killed by running them off the road that night,
too.”
    “Oh, my God!  That must
have been terrifying for all of you.”
    “It was,” Harmony
affirmed with a jerky nod.
    “So…wait.  That means
somebody tried to kill Honor?” Melody asked as the big picture began to
form in her mind.  “Intentionally?”
    “Yeah.  Patience was
collateral damage, but Jake and Zeke believe that Honor was the primary
target.  They think it’s tied back into Honor’s rape and the men they never
caught.”
    “Good God!  Harmony, I
can’t even imagine what y’all are going through right now.  My problems don’t
even seem like problems anymore.  Are Honor and Zeke…. Did they ever…” she
trailed off.  Ninety-nine percent of Paradise County knew that Sheriff Ezekiel Monroe
was in love with Honor McKinnon.  The man had never bothered hiding it, and he
never denied it when asked.  Honor, understandably, had issues after everything
that happened to her.  Melody had hoped that maybe the couple had overcome
their obstacles.
    “Oh, if only I could
convince that obstinate little miss to stand still and hear how much
Zeke loves her, Honor would be wedded and bedded by now,” Harmony complained
about her youngest sister, pulling a giggle from Melody.  “She thinks she’s not
worthy of him because of what happened, Mel.”
    “Well, that’s
bullshit,” Melody returned sharply, pursing her lips.  “If anybody deserves
their happy, it’s your baby sister!”
    “Preaching to the
choir, my friend,” Harmony declared with a sigh.  “But we McKinnons can be a
stubborn lot when we take a notion in our head.  It takes a lot to change our
minds.
    “That sounds like a
Reardon trait, too.  Are we sure our families aren’t related?” Melody asked as
she laughed.
    “Probably we are. I
think the McKinnons are kin to half of Tennessee.”  Leaning her head back
against her leather desk chair, Harmony stared at her friend.  “You know I
didn’t tell you all that stuff to bring you down right?  I just want you to
know that all of us…every single one of us… is screwed up in some way, but each
of us deserves a happy ending.  Maybe now that you’re home, you’ll find yours.”
    Melody smiled tiredly. 
“I’d settle for Hooks and Books being a thriving success.  Love… I don’t know
if it’s in the cards for me.”
    “You haven’t seen
anybody you might be interested in since you’ve been back.  A little birdy told
me that you were helped with some nasty car trouble by a wickedly hot hunk of a
man this morning.  Flat tire, was it?”
    “Oh, my word!” Melody
exclaimed, her brown eyes widening.  “Is there anything in this town you don’t
know?”
    “I’m part-owner of the
only decent restaurant in town, honey.  Not much gets past the McKinnon girls,”
Harmony disclosed with a mischievous smile.  “Patience pays for good gossip
with pieces of pie.  I expect Honor to kill her any day now,” she added with a
giggle.  “Now, who was the hottie?”
    “May I remind you that
you have your own very hot