Harlequin Love Inspired March 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Patrice Lewis (best large ereader .txt) 📕

When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

Yet she did feel terribly burned. She had gotten way too close to Connor, mistakenly believing that friendship would suffice even though her feelings had blossomed over time. Isabelle had hurt him. She’d seen the raw pain emanating from his eyes. He was a proud man who always tried to shield himself from emotional upheaval. It was a defense mechanism he’d constructed as a child due to the trauma of Sage’s abduction. And now, thanks to her, Connor was dealing with more anguish. She’d wounded him. And that knowledge caused a twisting sensation in the pit of her stomach. Tears swept down her face. She’d lost Connor’s goodwill and friendship. Their relationship had been littered with half-truths. The foundation had been weak at its core.

He didn’t even know her real name. She’d never had the pleasure of hearing him call her Isabelle. And now she never would. Everything felt bleak now. Suddenly her life in Owl Creek felt smaller and less substantial. Connor’s absence would leave a hole the size of Kachemak Bay.

Lord, please help me heal this broken heart. I love this man with all of my soul and I can’t erase what he means to me. The emotions run too deep. He’s too firmly embedded in my heart. And I fear he will always be there.

A knock on her door startled her from her prayers. Was it Connor? Had he come back to try to straighten things out? She raced to the door and flung it open, wanting nothing more than to see Connor’s handsome face greeting her. Her body sagged as she saw Sage standing at her doorstep.

“Sage,” she said. Isabelle could hear the disappointment lacing her own voice.

“Ella! Did you forget I was swinging by to pick you up?” Sage asked.

“Yes. No. I guess so,” she said. She’d made plans with Sage to check out the vintage store on Main Street. They were meeting up with Piper and Rachel so they could shop and have lunch together at the diner.

“What’s wrong? You look shattered. Did something happen?”

“Oh, no. I’m fine,” she said. Her voice was trembling and she could feel the hot sting of tears in her eyes. Before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face.

Sage reached out and pulled her into her arms. Something broke inside her as Sage began whispering soothing words of encouragement. Isabelle began to sob, huge heart-wrenching cries spilling out of her. She had been trying to hold it together for so long now. In the process she had stuffed down all of her feelings of distress, anxiety and pain. In order to make a successful transition to the Witness Protection Program, Isabelle had been forced to maintain a good-natured facade so as not to arouse suspicion. It had all taken a tremendous toll on her.

She wasn’t fine. Not by a long shot.

* * *

Connor wasn’t all right. The weight of pretending as if everything was fine was beginning to weigh on him. He’d managed to sit through a special dinner at his parents’ house without choking on his food. Thankfully, the dinner was in Piper and Braden’s honor. All attention was focused on their wedding tomorrow. Just watching the joyous couple made him think about Ella and all that she meant to him. It hurt so much to come to terms with the fact that she didn’t trust him enough to come clean. Why did this cause him so much angst? Why did she have such an effect on him?

Needing a breath of fresh air, Connor walked toward the front door, shrugging into his jacket before heading outside. The moon hung up in the velvety darkness like a beacon guiding travelers home. He thought back to the night he’d watched the blood moon with Ella and they’d shared tender kisses. That evening had been full of so much promise. Until the bottom had fallen out of his world.

How could he heal this awful ache inside of him when he couldn’t even look at an Alaskan sky without thinking about her? Missing her. Wanting to hold her in his arms. Wanting way more than he’d ever been able to claim.

A slight sound caused him to turn around. His grandfather was behind him, bundled up in his winter coat.

“What’re you doing out here? It’s pretty cold this evening.”

“I just needed to be alone with my thoughts,” Connor said. “No offense.”

“None taken. You’ve been awfully quiet lately. That’s not like you,” the older man observed.

“I’m just tired. I’ve been working too hard, I suppose.” He winked at his grandfather. “You need to tell that wife of yours to go easy on me.”

Jennings chuckled. “As if she’d listen.”

“I need to get some sleep before the wedding tomorrow. It’s going to be a big day for our family.” What he wasn’t saying was that sleep had been elusive lately. More times than not, he tossed and turned until the wee hours of the morning. All was not right within his soul.

“A joyful event. It’s just what we need after so many years of sorrow.”

For a moment they both settled into the silence. After all they had endured during the years when Sage was missing, a wedding truly was a blessed event.

Weeping may endure for a day, but joy cometh in the morning. The passage from Psalms resonated with him. It always reminded him of his family and what they’d been through. It was finally their time to experience unbridled joy.

“So, if you don’t mind my asking, what’s going on with you and Ella? I thought the two of you were on track to become Owl Creek’s next sweethearts.”

Connor made a face. “It never got off the ground. We were just too different, I suppose.” He didn’t want to tell his grandfather the nitty-gritty details that had prevented him from getting romantically involved with her.

“That’s a shame. She’s a fascinating woman.”

Connor