Mending Hope (Contemporary Western Romance) (License to Love Series:Book 2) by Amelia Rose Read Free Book Online Page A

can tell that you have other plans.”
    He smiled and responded by kissing her deeply as the water glided over them.  By the time they were done the water in the shower had started to run cool. 
    “See what you did?  Now I’m running late.” Alyssa joked as she jumped out of the shower and toweled off.  They were supposed to meet for breakfast in less than ten minutes and she hadn’t even dried her hair yet.  Instead she wrapped it up in a quick bun and pulled on her suit pants and blouse. 
    “What I did?” he asked, whispering in her ear as he kissed the nape of her neck before licking away a stray droplet of water.
    “Can’t you focus on anything else?” she teased, brushing him away as she struggled to get ready. 
    “As long as I’m near you I can’t,” he said as he winked.  Then he disappeared into the other room to get dressed and to give her time to get ready.
    “Today is important for Clara,” she reminded him as she slipped on her shoes and then carried her make-up bag into the bathroom so she could swipe on some mascara and lipstick.  “Even though it is just the preliminary hearing to go over all of the pre-trial motions, it’ll be the first time that she’s seen him since the attack.  I know how important it is for her to make sure she goes, so that he’ll know that she isn’t afraid.”
    “I can’t imagine,” Woody told her as he turned her around and looked deep into her eyes. “If I was Shad, I think I would have a problem being in the same room with him and not jumping over the table and choking him with my bare hands.  I don’t even want to think about what I would do if someone hurt you.”
    She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.  “Thankfully you don’t have to.”
    Woody nodded, seemingly lost in solemn thought over the proposition of someone hurting her, and then trailed away his thoughts as he headed towards the door.  “I’m going to head on to the kitchen and give you a few minutes to finish getting ready,” he told her as he returned her kiss very briefly and walked over to the door.
    Alyssa was walking on cloud nine as she finished getting ready.  However, a few minutes later she was digging through her suitcase to try and find a pair of earrings when she came across her wedding ring.  Even though she didn’t wear it anymore, she still carried it with her. 
    When she had gone back to pack up some of her things at her house, she had grabbed this jewelry box, unable to imagine living her life without it.  That had been before Woody and that night in the barn.  In the ten days since then she had hardly even thought about Kyle.  It was as if the weight of his accident had finally faded from her shoulders. 
    Now, however, as she sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the ring, she could almost feel the guilt come crashing back down over her.  She put the ring on her finger and closed her eyes, thinking about the other life, the one that she had left behind in Wichita Falls.
    Her eyes still closed, she whispered good-bye and tucked the ring back into her jewelry case.  She sighed.  It felt good to have that weight finally dissolving, to be able to put that part of her life away in a forgotten jewelry container.  Maybe it was about time for something different, maybe it was time to embrace the new possibilities in her life and stop living in the “what ifs” of life.
    *
    Woody had walked back to where he was storing his bike, intending to ride it around to the front door.  However he now patted down his pockets only to realize that he’d left his keys and wallet on the nightstand.  Smiling to himself, he started to whistle softly as he walked back toward the room.
    He approached the door and realized it was still ajar from when he’d left.  He pushed it open and immediately saw Alyssa sitting on the edge of the bed, her eyes closed, and a single tear trailing down her cheek.  Taking a step toward her, Woody reached out but then he stopped when