Season Of Hope. Lisa Jordan

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СКАЧАТЬ best friend since college. And like a second mother since tragedy stole his five years ago in a freak accident.

      Jake sucked down a breath, just enough for his heartbeat to slow in his ears, and rapped weather-beaten knuckles against the red-painted door.

      Midmorning June breezes stirred Claudia’s collection of colorful wind chimes, creating a symphony of low-toned woods clamoring with high-pitched metal. Just enough sound to rouse memories of the scorching desert sun, the air veiled with smoke and sand, the look of hopelessness in the faces of people trapped by a tyrannical government, and the night his life changed forever.

      The night of ultimate betrayal that set him on a journey to bring hope to those courageous soldiers clawing for a way out—an escape from their private wars that raged long after returning home.

      A journey that hit too close to home.

      No wonder he’d taken to stretching out on his back deck and listening to the crickets and cows. Where the stillness served as a balm to the echoes in his head he couldn’t seem to deafen.

      Nestled between a national forest and a man-made lake, the lakefront community of Shelby Lake in northwestern Pennsylvania was a far cry from the Middle East. He preferred hanging out on his family’s dairy farm spanning across most of Holland Hill on the edge of town.

      His place of security.

      Although he disliked coming into town on a regular basis, for once, though, he was thankful for Gossiping Gwen at the feed store. Otherwise, he might not have learned about the sale until it was too late.

      He needed that land. He had a promise to keep. To atone for sins of his past.

      But without Claudia’s land, those promises would remain unfulfilled, and that was a risk he just couldn’t take.

      What was taking her so long to answer the door?

      Cupping his hands around his eyes, Jake peered through the slit in the curtains hanging on the other side of the glass, but he couldn’t see much. His barn boots clomping against the painted gray planks, Jake crossed the wide covered porch, ducked his head under one of the hanging red geraniums and peered around the side of the house to see if her car was parked in the garage.

      Not only was her cherry-red SUV parked in the driveway, but also a champagne-colored Lexus sat behind it.

      Claudia had company.

      At least he knew she was home.

      He flung a leg over the railing and jumped down, missing the hot pink peonies blossoming in the side flower bed. Gravel crunched beneath his feet as he strode to the back porch, where the storm door stood open. Childish giggles streamed through the screen followed by barking.

      Claudia didn’t have a dog...

      Jake opened the door and stepped into the pristine mudroom that smelled of fabric softener. Toeing off his boots, Jake called, “Claudia?”

      “Jake? That you?” She appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, wearing a sleeveless blue dress and leather sandals. She dropped the dish towel she’d been holding into a basket on the washing machine and opened her arms for a hug.

      Jake walked into her embrace, breathing in scents of vanilla and baked bread, and allowed himself to relax. For half a second, he’d worried something had happened to her, and he couldn’t bear losing her, too. His family had suffered too much loss over the past five years. Claudia had been the glue that held them all together.

      “I knocked on the front door, but you didn’t answer.”

      “Knock? Since when does family need an invitation?” She released him, then grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the kitchen. “Come in and grab some coffee. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

      Jake removed his sunglasses and hooked them on the edge of his gray T-shirt. He pulled off his tattered Ohio State ball cap, stuffed it in the back pocket of his jeans and finger-combed his hair quickly as he followed Claudia.

      A childish squeal followed by giggles and more barking sounded overhead as footsteps thundered across the ceiling. He squinted gritty eyes against the bright sunshine pouring through the open kitchen window, over the sink and onto the ceramic floor tile. “I can’t stay for coffee. I just need to talk to you for a minute.”

      “Sure, honey, but conversation is always better over coffee.” She poured coffee into three red stoneware mugs and handed one to him.

      With one hand gripping the back of the wooden kitchen chair, he sipped the dark roast she favored. The first sip went down smooth, warming his stomach. He released a sigh, feeling a little more relaxed since Gwen had shared her news. Claudia would assure him all was well and she intended to make good on her promise.

      He’d stressed out for nothing.

      Needing the caffeine jolt to his weary system, Jake gulped a mouthful of coffee, caught a movement out the corner of his eye and turned.

      He stiffened.

      Jake choked, shooting the bitter brew out his nose and across the white tablecloth. His eyes watered, and his chest burned as his lungs seized. Still coughing, he scrubbed a hand across his tired face.

      Claudia pounded him on the back and handed him a towel.

      He wiped his eyes and tried to scrub the coffee off the front of his T-shirt, but it was no use.

      Heat scalded his neck and crawled across his cheeks. Bracing both hands against the back of the chair, Jake closed his eyes and forced air into his lungs.

      A moment later, he dared a glance and wished he could turn back time to thirty minutes ago when he debated between calling Claudia or stopping by. If he’d known, he wouldn’t have stepped foot on the property.

      What was she doing here?

      And today of all days?

      Struggling for composure he didn’t feel, Jake straightened all six feet two inches of himself and stood with his shoulders back, chest high, feet apart and hands clasped in front of him.

      Claudia crossed the room and linked her arm with the wide-eyed woman frozen in the archway between the kitchen and living room. In her arms, she held a small child with blond hair who tucked her face in the woman’s neck. A Yorkie with a black-and-tan coat wearing a pink collar sprinted over to Jake, sniffed his feet and then put her paws on Jake’s leg.

      “Tori, darling, I want you to meet someone special.” Dragging the woman over to the table, she gestured to Jake. “This is Jacob Holland, the oldest son of my dearest friends. Jake, this is my niece Victoria Lerner and my great-niece, Annabeth. She belongs to Tori’s sister, Kendra, who is currently deployed overseas. And that troublemaker begging to be picked up is Poppy.”

      Lerner? Of course. Did he really expect anything different?

      The whisper of a memory filtered through his mind, but he forced it back into the dark corner where it belonged. Remembering equaled pain, and he’d had enough heartache to last a lifetime.

      “Victoria.” Her name slipped passed his lips in a mix of a whisper and a gasp. He swallowed and reached down to scoop up the furry animal СКАЧАТЬ