The Promise of Home (Love Inspired) by Kathryn Springer Read Free Book Online

bright smile at Jenna.
    Jenna didn’t contradict her, even though she knew she wouldn’t be in Mirror Lake long enough to join a knitting group. Or any other kind of group, for that matter.
    Watching the way the four friends interacted, with genuine affection and acceptance, Jenna wondered what it would be like to be included in their close-knit circle.
    Other than a weekly cappuccino date with Caitlin Walsh, the image consultant Jenna had met while working on a special makeover issue for the magazine, the majority of Jenna’s time and energy were devoted to her readers.
    The door opened and an adolescent boy walked in, balancing a bulky object on his shoulder. Judging from the smoke blue eyes and sandy brown hair, this was Emma’s son, Jeremy. He flashed a shy smile at Jenna before turning to Abby. “Where did you want this, Mrs. O’Halloran?”
    Abby pointed to the floor. “Right over there.”
    Jenna watched Zoey and Kate kneel down and unroll the hand-hooked wool rug. A butter-yellow border outlined a stunning bouquet of wildflowers in the pattern. The colors brightened the room—and completely covered the blackened area on the hardwood floor.
    “This was delivered to the inn yesterday, but the order was wrong,” Abby explained. “It was too small for the library…but I think it might be just right for you.”
    Tears stung the back of Jenna’s eyes and she blinked them away before anyone noticed.
    “It’s perfect, Abby,” Emma said. “And the colors just happen to coordinate with the curtains I brought over.”
    For some reason, the rest of the women smiled when she emphasized the word.
    “How much do I owe you?” Jenna had read the home style section of Twin City Trends often enough to know that a custom designed rug this size would have cost a small fortune.
    “It’s a gift.” Abby linked her arm through Jenna’s. “A reminder that God provides exactly what we need when we need it.”
    Jenna didn’t know how to respond to that. It was something she’d often heard Caitlin Walsh say, but she’d never experienced it before. It was risky to wait. To hope that someone would notice her. That someone would…care.
    “He does,” Abby murmured.
    Jenna stared at her, afraid she’d voiced the thought out loud, but the other woman was already gliding away.
    “We’ll have this place looking like home in no time,” Zoey said, a determined gleam in her eyes as she advanced on the dusty bearskin rug tacked to the wall.
    “Okay, sisters.” Kate tightened the knot on the bandana covering her copper curls as if she were preparing for battle. “Divide and conquer.”
    * * *
    Dev tossed a piece of birch bark into the campfire and sat back to enjoy the shower of sparks as the flames consumed it. There had been a time when he would have scoffed at such simple entertainment. When he’d believed that a man who had time to sit by a campfire had too much time.
    He took out his pocketknife and began to sharpen the end of a stick.
    Violet, stretched out on a old trapper’s blanket beside him, lifted her head and stared into the deepening shadows at the edge of the woods.
    Dev had a hunch he knew what—or who—had caught the dog’s attention.
    For the past few days, Logan Gardner had been sneaking across the property line to play with Violet. And when he didn’t show up, Violet had been sneaking across the property line to play with him.
    Dev figured it was only a matter of time until Jenna marched over to register a formal complaint.
    “Violet.” He crooked a finger at the blanket, earning a reproachful look. The same one he’d seen the last time he’d given her a bath. “Stay.”
    She flopped back down, her heavy sigh questioning the fairness of the command.
    “Trust me—it’s for your own good,” Dev told the dog.
    His, too. The less contact he had with Jenna the better. Dev had spent the last five years trying to simplify his life, and everything about the woman shouted complicated.
    The fact