Belle Calhoune - Forever Her Hero

A Time to Heal

Coast Guard officer Sawyer Trask left Cape Cod with a big regret—never confessing his true feelings to his childhood friend Ava. Now a widow with two young children, Ava needs him more than ever. He once promised to watch over her and the kids, and he’s going to honor that—even though he harbors a secret that could tear them apart. Ava could always count on Sawyer through thick and thin, so having him nearby is a huge comfort. But his presence is also stirring her heart in unexpected ways. Can Sawyer and Ava move beyond their past hurts to find their happily ever after?

“We were quite a pair, weren’t we?” Ava said.

“Best friends,” Sawyer said.

They had been best friends, until she’d married Billy. Her husband had been too threatened by her friendship with his cousin to allow the relationship to continue.

Ava looked away from him, suddenly afraid of the intense look in his eyes and the way it made her feel. “There were times you seemed almost mad at me,” she said. “Were you?”

“I could never be mad at you, Ava.” He reached out and caressed her cheek. “I was mad at myself, for not speaking up before I left.”

“Speaking up about what?” she asked. Her throat felt dry. She could barely push the words out of her mouth.

He smiled at her, a tender smile that went straight to her heart. “It’s all water under the bridge.” He reached for her hand, giving it a little squeeze before letting it go.

Something flickered in his eyes. She couldn’t be sure, but it looked a little like regret.

BELLE CALHOUNE

was born and raised in Massachusetts. Some of her fondest childhood memories revolve around her four siblings and spending summers in Cape Cod. Although both her parents were in the medical field, she became an avid reader of romance novels as a teen and began dreaming of a career as an author. Shortly thereafter, she began writing her own stories. Married to her college sweetheart, she is raising two lovely daughters in Connecticut. A dog lover, she has a beautiful chocolate lab and an adorable mini poodle. After studying French for ten years and traveling extensively throughout France, she considers herself a Francophile. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time in Cape Cod and planning her next Parisian escape. She finds writing inspirational romance to be a joyful experience that nurtures her soul. You can write to her at scalhoune@gmail.com or contact her through her website, www.bellecalhoune.com.

Forever Her Hero

Belle Calhoune

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Weeping may remain for a night,

but rejoicing comes in the morning.

—Psalms 30:5

For my daughter, Amber,

who always makes me proud to be her mother.

Acknowledgments

A big thank you to my wonderful editor,

Emily Rodmell—for believing in me and this book.

Many thanks to all the fantastic readers

who have reached out to me with kind words

and encouragement. You lift me up!

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

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Excerpt

Chapter One

Sawyer Trask had been back in Buzzards Bay for two days now. Although he’d stopped on occasion to grab a bite to eat and check in with his team, he’d been in sleep mode ever since he settled in to his new home. He’d slept for a solid fourteen hours straight, which was a record for him. Everything had caught up with him at once—jet lag, being overseas for an extended period of time and his illness. When he finally awakened he’d stepped out onto his parapet just in time to spot Ava Trask walking the path from the beach up to her cottage.

From the first moment he laid eyes on her, something inside him had cracked wide open. He hadn’t expected such an overwhelming feeling, but there it was, settled firmly around his heart. It had been a year since he’d seen her. Three hundred and forty-four days since he’d heard her sweet voice.

Sawyer didn’t stop to analyze the emotions coursing through him—guilt, attraction, regret? An inner voice had urged him to walk over to the cottage and announce his return, because he knew that the longer he waited, the more difficult it would be to confront the situation head-on. Knowing Ava as well as he did, he could only imagine her stunned reaction.

She was way more beautiful than he remembered, a million times more exotic and appealing. Miles and miles away from the scrawny, plucky tomboy who’d quickly befriended the new kid in town. From the moment she’d reached out to him in the sweetest act of friendship he’d ever known, they’d been as thick as thieves. Ava and Sawyer. In Buzzards Bay their names had been blurred together as if they were one. Partners in crime. Swashbucklers. Pirates. She was so familiar to him, yet everything about her now seemed so foreign. He’d caught a glimpse of her as she took her morning jog across the beach, stood transfixed as she frolicked with the family dog and marveled at the way she played with the twins. His cousin Billy’s children. Casey and Dahlia. Dolly, for short. They were six years old, on the cusp of turning seven. Their birthday was coming up in two months. It would be their second one without their father, with dozens of birthdays stretched out before them. A lifetime of events, he thought grimly. Years of special occasions without the man who’d given them life by their side, cheering them on and providing them with guidance.

There was something about the three of them playing on the beach with their dog that pulled at him. They looked like the picture-perfect family, he thought. Minus one. A stab of guilt pierced his heart as his eyes roamed over the family. He wanted to reach out and touch them, to nurture them in any way he could. After all, they were the reason he’d come back. What he really wanted was to be able to give them back every ounce of what had been taken from them. But he couldn’t. Some things couldn’t be fixed.

Returning home wasn’t going to be a cakewalk. He was coming back to the grim reality of what had happened two years ago. It meant acknowledging the way he’d run away like a coward rather than confront his own feelings. He’d have to deal with the lingering grief blanketing his loved ones. And the shadow of guilt that still hung over him. But he was stronger now and more determined than ever. He’d come back to Buzzards Bay with a purpose, one that required commitment and follow-through. It was time to uphold his sacred promise to his cousin. Not another day would go by without him being present in Dolly’s and Casey’s lives. And somehow he needed to tell Ava about his role in her husband’s death. He just hoped it wouldn’t mean she’d want nothing more to do with him ever again.

* * *

“Tully!” Ava ran down the beach at breakneck speed, her steps slowed down by the gravitational pull of the sand. The sand didn’t seem to be slowing down her chocolate Lab puppy as he bounded toward the water. Just as Tully placed his paws in the ocean, she reached down and scooped him up into her arms, nestling him against her chest the same way she’d cradled her babies.