Jillian Hart - Hometown Hearts

Two Merry Matchmakers

While summering in Wild Horse, Wyoming, Dr. Adam Stone’s young daughters gain an immediate hold on veterinarian Cheyenne Granger’s heart. And the tall, handsome newcomer brings with him quiet whispers of fairy-tale endings. But Cheyenne had given up hope of a blissfully-ever-after when her boyfriend walked out on her. And Adam is busy nursing his own broken heart. Yet the girls are determined to draw the two together. Is it possible there’s a happy ending—involving a family of four—in their future after all?

The Granger Family Ranch: Nestled in a Washington mountain town, where family is home.

“You’ll have to excuse the mess.”

Adam spoke to her over one wide shoulder as he crossed the room. “The girls didn’t pick up their toys.”

“I like a little disorder.” Cheyenne wasn’t fooled by his tone. She looked around at the comfortable furniture and caught a glimpse of a tidy kitchen. Not only did he work hard as a doctor, he had made a home for his daughters.

As she remembered how her father had done the same, her throat caught with emotion. Dad had put in long days in the barns and on the range, but he was always there to listen to stories of the school day, help with homework, praise good grades and sympathize with childhood heartaches. As she crossed the room, she saw the same commitment in this home. Hard not to respect and admire Adam for the man he was, a man who did whatever was required to take care of those he loved.

Her feelings for him had changed. She didn’t want to admit it, but they had.

Hometown Hearts

Jillian Hart

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

—Psalms 119:105

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

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Chapter One

“Good boy, Toby.” Dr. Cheyenne Granger laughed as the hound dog standing on her examining table swiped her chin with his tongue. She may have been just out of vet school but she was so happy with her choice of profession she could not contain her joy. She wrapped her arms around the elderly canine.

“You are such a good patient.” She lowered him gently to the floor and gave his ears a rub. “Are we friends again?”

Big chocolate eyes forgave her for having stuck him with a needle a few moments before.

“Thanks, buddy.” No one on earth could forgive the way a dog could. “Are you ready to find your mom?”

Toby swiped her face a second time and wagged his tail. “Yes! Let’s go!” he seemed to say as he tilted his head to one side and glanced toward the closed door.

“Then lead the way, handsome.” She seized his leash. Toby knew the path down the short hallway past the patient rooms to the waiting area where the air-conditioning blew against the hot summer Wyoming sunshine. Several dogs panted with nervousness alongside their owners, waiting for their appointments. One particularly unhappy cat yowled from a carrier in the corner.

“Toby!” Terri Baker Gold rose from one of the cushy chairs and hurried over. The dog gave a cry of relief and raced into his owner’s arms. “What a good boy. Did you think I wouldn’t be waiting for you? I would never leave you, baby.”

The hound licked Terri’s chin at the reassurance. Happy that his appointment was over, he wagged his tail and looked expectantly at the door.

“We should get the results from the lab in a few days. I’ll give you a call. Other than that, I’ve sent a prescription over to the pharmacy.” Cheyenne grabbed a biscuit from the bowl on the counter and held the bone-shaped treat out to Toby. “You let Terri know if you don’t feel better, okay, boy?”

The old dog took the treat politely, crunching away with canine satisfaction on his face.

“Thanks, Cheyenne.” Terri, a lifelong friend, smiled. “Nate must be thrilled to have you join his practice.”

“He hasn’t tossed me out yet,” she quipped from behind the counter where the receptionist, Tasha Wisener, chatted on the phone. Multiple lines were lit up; another busy day. “I’m the one who is thrilled to be here. I’m grateful Nate has taken me under his wing. I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else.”

“Especially with so much going on in your family.” Terri opened her purse and pulled out her checkbook. “The Grangers have had two weddings already with two more to come. Then there’s Rori’s pregnancy and rumors about Frank and Cady.”

“Yes, and you’re about the hundredth person who has hinted for insider information on Dad’s intentions toward a certain inn owner.” She couldn’t help laughing. Her dad’s quiet romance with Cady Winslow had become the talk of the town. “I’m the last to know anything. Besides, even if I did know something and admitted it, guess what would happen next?”

“Me. I would happen,” Tasha intervened. She hung up the phone and tapped a few computer keys. Terri’s bill popped out of the printer. “I would repeat it, my mother-in-law would get wind of it and the whole county would know by nightfall. Nothing is private in a small town.”

“And if it is, not for long.” Cheyenne grabbed the next patient’s chart—the Stone family, who didn’t yet have a pet of their own but had been to the clinic twice already. Little Julianna had a rescuer’s heart.

Wondering what had brought the Stone sisters in today, Cheyenne straightened her white coat, opened the door and walked into the cozy examining room. Sunlight streamed through the window and tumbled onto the soft, buttery walls and tile floor. Two chairs flanked the window, one filled by a tween wearing a frown, a fashionable summery top, shorts and matching sandals. The other girl, grade school–aged Julianna, clutched a shoe box. Tiny holes had been punctured in the lid to let in air.

“Cheyenne!” Her brown pigtails bobbed as she held out the box. “It’s a baby bird. A hawk caught him and I waved the yard rake at him until he let the baby go.”

“Sorry,” Jenny apologized with a big-sister-in-charge attitude. “I told her not to bother. But she insisted. I don’t think there’s anything you can do.”

“I can’t let her suffer.” Julianna blinked back tears and her button face crinkled with the pain she felt for the bird. “It says in the Bible that God loves the sparrows. This is a finch, but I’m sure He loves finches, too.”

“I know He does.” Cheyenne took the box gently, worried over what she would find inside. “I’ll take a look and see what we can do to help this little guy.”

“She’s a girl, or I hope she is. I named her Tomasina. Everybody needs a name.” Julianna sniffled, doing her best to be brave and hold back her tears of concern. Her sister fought the same concern by lifting her chin as if she so did not care.

Cheyenne wasn’t fooled. This was the sisters’ third visit since she’d joined Dr. Cannon’s practice. She understood what the girls could not say. She carefully placed the shoe box on the metal examining table and eased off the lid.