Tangled Hearts (Passion in Paradise) by Sarah O'Rourke Read Free Book Online Page A

nerves are starting to
get the better of me.  Things will get better when RJ gets home from
Afghanistan.  At least, I hope they will,” she amended, mentioning her older
brother.  RJ had another six months overseas, but he’d get a couple of months
off when he got back to the States.  Fortunately, she knew he planned to spend
that time here with her.
    “How is that handsome
brother of yours, girl?  Still a hunk?  As I recall, Rhythm Blue Reardon was
quite the lady magnet back in his younger days,” Harmony recalled, wriggling
her eyebrows as put her elbow on her desk and propped her chin against her
hand.  “Gosh, I don’t think I’ve seen him in the better part of ten years.  I
guess the last time was when y’all came to visit your granny and came to church
with her.”
    “That sounds about
right,” Melody murmured with a nod as her heart clenched.  Memories of her
sweet grandmother could still steal her breath.  She still missed the irascible
old woman like crazy.  Forcing herself to focus on the question she’d been
asked instead of her pain, Melody smiled.  “RJ is doing great…or as great as he
can be while he’s working in a war zone.  He was promoted to Sergeant 1 st Class last year and he got his degree in criminal justice.  If he ever decides
to retire, he could easily get a job as a police officer.  We usually talk once
a week.  It’s better now that the guys are allowed to have cell phones over
there.  I can call him.  Usually I have to leave a message, but he usually
calls back in a couple of days.”
    “Is he married?”
Harmony asked curiously, her blue eyes interested as she stared at Melody.
    “Lord, no!” Melody
laughed, trying to imagine her handful of a brother tying himself to just one
woman.  His head would probably explode if he tried monogamy.  “He’s still
playing the field.  The man enjoys variety too much to settle on just one
flavor, you know?   I don’t think he’ll ever settle down.  Granny used to say
he had a wanderer’s heart.”
    “Oh, I know something
about those type of men.  My husband used to be one.”  Harmony jerked her thumb
toward the wedding portrait of her and her husband Jacob Stone that hung above
her desk in their den where Harmony had set up her office.  “I think it just
takes the right woman to make a man like that plant his feet.”
    For some odd reason,
thoughts of her friendly giant skittered through Melody’s mind upon hearing
those words.  She wondered if her towering hero from this morning was going to
plant his feet here in Paradise.  Remembering the way his blue eyes had
twinkled when he looked at her, she kind of hoped he did.  Blinking as she
realized that she’d just thought of that mostly rude Neanderthal in a
possessive sense, Melody stiffened.  These were definitely not ideas she should
be entertaining.
    Licking her lips,
Melody quickly turned the conversation back toward Harmony.  “That’s a
beautiful picture,” she remarked, gesturing toward the huge portrait of Jake,
Harmony, and her adorable daughter, Heaven.  “Your little girl…. she’s what? 
Four?”
    “She’s five now, but
she thinks she’s going on twenty-five.  She and her daddy are thick as
thieves,” Harmony said, looking over her shoulder at the picture with a grin.  Turning
her attention back to Melody, Harmony cocked her head to the side.  “I heard
about what happened with Bradley, Mel.  I’m so sorry you had to go through
that.  You know I went through the whole cheating thing with my first husband,
Tanner.”
    Melody paled.  She’d
been unaware that the details of her personal life were making the rounds in
Paradise.  “Wow,” she murmured thickly, “I forgot how quickly news travels in a
small town.”
    “True, but most people
mean well, honey,” Melody offered sympathetically as she reached across the
desk to pat Melody’s hand.  “Girl, we were friends before all this happened to
you.  So. If you need