To Have And To Hold

Dawn Temple

Литагент HarperCollins EUR

The way to a woman's heart…When Lindy Monroe separated from her workaholic husband, Travis, after a devastating miscarriage, she fled to her beloved grandfather's country farm. After he died, a brokenhearted Lindy was shocked to learn that he'd left his home to her on one impossible condition: She had to live there with her husband!City boy Travis was definitely out of his element in Land's Cross and with the beautiful woman he'd briefly called his wife. But country life agreed with Travis more than he'd ever expected, and also fanned the fires of a failed marriage that hadn't quite burned to ash. Would Travis be able to set the reluctant Lindy's heart ablaze again?

To Have and To Hold

Dawn Temple

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

Infinite thanks and love to Sandra K. Moore,

Ann Peake and Sandy Thomas for teaching me the true meaning of conflict.

To my guys, Doug, Jacob and Jeremy. Thanks for

the underwear dance. I am so proud of you.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter One

A soft purple glow drew Lindy Lewis Monroe from the solitude of the barn’s dark interior. She slipped outside the wide double doors and stopped suddenly, awestruck. Before her, dawn painted the East Tennessee sky with hope and renewal, a visible reminder that life goes on.

Beautiful day for a funeral, huh, Pops?

She had a ton of things to do before burying her grandfather this afternoon, yet she stood in the barnyard for several minutes, watching the sun break over the horizon, sharing a final sunrise with the one person who’d always been there for her.

“Goodbye, Pops. I love you.” Her raspy voice gave testament to the buckets of tears she’d cried during the past few days.

A chilly spring breeze drifted across the barnyard. Goose bumps spread over Lindy’s skin beneath her dew-dampened clothes. Her teeth chattered, disturbing the barnyard’s unusual tomblike silence.

Quit standing around like a bump on a log, Lindy girl.

Pops’s gentle reminder whispered through her brain, part memory, part wishful thinking.

Heeding her grandfather’s advice, Lindy turned her back on the glorious sunrise and hotfooted it to the house. Thanks to mid-April’s near-freezing overnight temperatures, her damp jeans grew colder and stiffer with every step.

The screen door squeaked as she entered the mudroom and toed off her boots, then quickly freed the button on her jeans, shimmying her lower half until the clingy, wet denim peeled from her hips.

The damp tails of her oversize shirt slapped against her bare thighs, causing more gooseflesh. She removed Pops’s old red-and-black checkered work shirt and lifted it to her nose. His Old Spice scent still clung to the soft flannel. She hated the idea of laundering away that familiar smell.

Burying her face in the fabric, she wiped away a tear and let the shirt fall to the floor. Cold air enveloped her arms. She shuddered. Her T-shirt, which she’d pulled on without a bra, offered little coverage. Or warmth.

Leaving her wet clothes heaped on the floor, she stepped into the kitchen and paused for a heartbeat, letting the familiar warmth surround her, that blanket of welcome that engulfed her every time she stepped foot inside her childhood home. All her life, she’d dreamed of sharing that warmth with a family of her very own.

Not all dreams come true. She’d taken her shot at happily-ever-after and lost everything: her husband, her baby, her heart. Never again would she trust her dreams to someone else.

Don’t rehash the past. Focus on today. She inhaled deeply, a cleansing breath to wash away her maudlin thoughts. The welcome aroma of her favorite Colombian brew filled her senses.

Should’ve known Alice wo