Lenora Worth - Heart of Stone

“Your sister is the bride?” he asked.

“Yes.” She stopped, adjusted her hair. “I’m Tara Parnell.”

Stone was very glad the woman couldn’t see his eyes through his sunglasses. If she had, she would have seen the shock and recognition he was sure he couldn’t hide. He knew all about Tara Parnell. At least, he knew all about her on paper.

“I’m Stone Dempsey.”

“You’re the one who was apparently late getting here. Your family gave up on you even coming.”

“My family gave up on me a long time ago,” he said.

She studied him then, giving him a direct blue-eyed look that became disconcerting in its intensity. Stone almost wanted to look away from her. And yet, he couldn’t.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. But I don’t listen to everything I hear,” she said. She smiled then, which made Stone’s stomach do a little dance.

He took off his shades. “You should listen. And you should get away from me as fast as you can.”

grew up in a small Georgia town and decided in the fourth grade that she wanted to be a writer. But first, she married her high school sweetheart, then moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Taking care of their baby daughter at home while her husband worked at night, Lenora discovered the world of romance novels and knew that’s what she wanted to write. And so she began.

A few years later, the family settled in Shreveport, Louisiana, where Lenora continued to write while working as a marketing assistant. After the birth of her second child, a boy, she decided to pursue her dream full-time. In 1993, Lenora’s hard work and determination finally paid off with that first sale.

“I never gave up, and I believe my faith in God helped get me through the rough times when I doubted myself,” Lenora says. “Each time I start a new book, I say a prayer, asking God to give me the strength and direction to put the words to paper. That’s why I’m so thrilled to be a part of Steeple Hill’s Love Inspired line, where I can combine my faith in God with my love of romance. It’s the best combination.”

www.millsandboon.co.uk

A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will

put within you; and I will remove from your body

the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

—Ezekiel 36:26

To the Surf Sisters—Cindy, Elaine, Sue, Kim,

Jackie, Barbara, Julie, Tina, Charlotte, Carla, Pam

and Mary Ann—friends for life, sisters forever.

Dear Reader,

I truly enjoyed writing this story of a man who showed the world his heart of stone, while he longed for a heart of flesh. Sometimes, it takes meeting one special person to change us and make us see that we need to turn back to God for our salvation.

In the moment when Stone met Tara, he saw the man he had become. But after getting to know Tara and her girls, he also saw the man he wanted to be. This is what love and marriage and faith are all about. Love and marriage mean we’re willing to make a lifelong commitment to another human being, so that the two parts can become a whole in the eyes of God. And having faith means that we’re willing to put God first in all of our relationships.

At times we’re all like Stone. We harden our hearts to God’s love and redemption. We harden our hearts to the people who love us, our families and friends. I hope this story will touch your heart and open it to the possibility of God’s immense love and grace. And I hope you’ll join me for the next story in the Sunset Island series, when Rock and Stone’s younger brother, Clay Dempsey, returns to Sunset Island, to find some rest and redemption of his own, in A Tender Touch, available in September 2004. And in May 2004, look for my Steeple Hill single title After the Storm, a love story about new beginnings, set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia.

Until next time, may the angels watch over you—always.

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

Sunset Island Sentinel Society News Reported by Greta Epperson

H e refused to feel anything.

Stone Dempsey watched as his older brother, Rock, kissed his new bride. They had just married on the beach right in front of the Sunset Island Chapel where Rock preached each and every Sunday, with practically the whole island population and a few tourists witnessing the nuptials. Rock looked happy and so at peace it made Stone’s stomach turn. He didn’t know why his brother’s marriage to Ana Hanson should have him in such a foul mood.

But then, most things kept Stone in a foul mood.

He studied the happy newlyweds behind the cover of his expensive sunglasses. They protected his eyes from the glare of the late-afternoon sun, but mostly they protected his soul from any interlopers. Stone liked watching people, but he didn’t like people watching him.

He’d deliberately arrived late, so he stayed back, away from the crowd, away from his mother who stood dressed in lavender and blue, away from his other brother Clay who had served as best man for Rock’s wedding.

At least I was invited, Stone thought, his mind churning like the whitecapped breakers just beyond the shore. The evening tide was coming in. Soon, the wedding party would move to a small reception on the church grounds, underneath the moss-draped live oaks and centuries-old magnolia trees. The party would continue, with just family, later at Ana’s Tea Room and Art Gallery.

Maybe he’d skip that part, Stone thought. After all, he had business to take care of—that was the only reason he’d even made an appearance today anyway. His business was in nearby Savannah, and since he had to be in the neighborhood…

As if on cue, Stone’s cell phone rang and he turned to hurriedly answer it before anyone else got distracted by the shrill ringing. Not that anyone noticed. Everyone was clapping and cheering his brother and the bride as they headed up the path toward the church.

Stone stepped out of the crowd to duck behind a whitewashed gazebo that had been decorated with trailing flowers and bright netting in celebration of the wedding.

“Hello,” he said into the state-of-the-art cell phone, the latest model on the market. “Yes? Great. I’ll be there tomorrow morning bright and early. Sounds as if our mysterious seller is finally running out of time.”

Stone hung up the phone then turned as he heard a similar ringing nearby. Someone else had received a phone call, too. Someone else had slipped into the gazebo.

And that someone took Stone’s breath away.

Watching as she dropped the single white calla lily she’d been carrying onto the gazebo bench, he realized she had been in the wedding party. One of the bridesmaids, maybe? She wore pale baby blue, something slinky with a gathered skirt flowing to just at her knees, and obviously with hidden pockets just right for a cell phone. Her light-blond hair was swept up in an elegant chignon that begged to be shaken and rearranged. And she wore a dainty pearl choker around her slender neck.