Her Heart's Promise Read online

  Her Heart’s Promise

  Carolyne Aarsen

  Contents

  Foreword

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Dear Reader

  Coming Soon

  FREE STUFF

  Also by Carolyne Aarsen

  About the Author

  Excerpt - The Only Best Place

  Excerpt - All In One Place

  Excerpt - This Place

  Excerpt - A Silence the Heart - coming soon

  Excerpt - Any Man of Mine

  Disclaimer

  Foreword

  Her Hearts Promise was previously published as A Bride at Last by Harlequin Love Inspired.

  It has been rewritten and updated to make it part of the Sweethearts of Sweet Creek Series.

  Enjoy Nadine and Clint’s story!

  Carolyne Aarsen

  Chapter 1

  Nadine folded the letter she had just read and carefully slipped it into the envelope, as if any quick movement might jar and scramble the disturbing words. She laid the envelope on her desk and ran her thumb along its sharp edge.

  She leaned back in her office chair and drew her hands over her face. Was this it? Would this letter finally help her and her family discover the truth about their father’s death?

  Six years before, her father, Sam Laidlaw, worked for Skyline Contractors as a tree faller. He was killed on the job under mysterious circumstances, and the only information his grieving widow and daughters had ever received was the official incident report the company released, which implied that Sam had died because of his own carelessness. But, Nadine knew better than anyone the care with which he had performed his work—safety was paramount for him, on and off the job. Although she didn’t believe the company, she couldn’t pursue her suspicions further.

  Then, today, she received this letter with no return address and a cancellation marked “Prince George,” which didn’t exactly narrow her options. The anonymous letter gave no specific information but hinted at knowledge of the events surrounding her father’s death.

  Since the day of the accident, Nadine and her mother had fought to discover the truth. Though Nadine’s younger twin sisters, Sabrina and Leslie, missed him badly, they seemed to have moved on.

  But Nadine didn’t let it die. Though she couldn’t spend as much time on the case as she wanted, she was determined to clear her father’s name, so to speak. Nadine had made phone calls, written letters, and gone to meetings with her father’s supervisors and higher-ups in the company. But nothing, no budging from the company line: Sam died because he hadn’t been careful.

  This letter was Nadine’s first break in six years. She only wished she could share this with her mother.

  Six months ago, after a protracted battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease, Brenda Laidlaw had died. Her determined nature could not help her conquer the illness any more than it could help her find out what had happened to her husband.

  Nadine slipped the envelope into her knapsack, wishing her fingers weren’t trembling, wishing she could release the tension the letter had created.

  She snatched her suede bomber jacket from the coatrack against the wall and slipped it over her bulky knit sweater. Fall clothes, she thought, flipping her shoulder-length hair out of the collar and retying it into a ponytail.

  She was dismayed to glance bits of straw still clinging to her corduroy pants, and she picked the pieces off, dropping them in the overflowing trash can under her desk.

  This afternoon, she had roamed farmers’ fields, taking harvest pictures for the newspaper. She could never stay tidy. Growing up, she was always the one with dirt on her elbows and rips in her jeans. Her twin sisters always looked photo-ready, with shining hair and coordinated outfits.

  “Hey, Naddy, you still hanging around here?” Elaine, her friend and the office manager of the Sweet Creek Chronicle, stopped in the doorway, a laptop under her arm. Elaine blew her dark bangs out of her eyes and leaned in.

  “Actually, I’m heading home.” Nadine smiled up at her friend. “What’s with the computer? You taking it home to play ‘Minecraft’ with Drew?”

  “As if my husband would play.” Elaine dropped into a chair across from Nadine’s desk, still holding the laptop. “Clint wants me to go over the circulation records. He wants to bring some of the ex-subscribers back into the fold.”

  “You look tired too,” Nadine said, noticing the faint shadows beneath Elaine’s bright-green eyes.

  “The big boss is a different general manager than Dory ever was,” said Elaine with a sigh. “I have to get up to speed, that’s all.”

  “Excuse me, can I come in?” The deep voice coming from the doorway made Nadine and Elaine both jump. Elaine threw Nadine a look of dismay and turned to face Clint Fletcher.

  “I was just coming with the information, Clint.”

  “That’s fine, Elaine. I’m in no hurry.” Clint stepped into the room, his presence dominating it. A burgundy tie cinched the collar of his crisp gray shirt, his thick brown hair was attractively tousled, and his face was impassive as usual. His hazel eyes were on Nadine as he handed her an envelope. “I received this with my mail and mistakenly opened it. I wasn’t aware it was addressed to you until I read it. I’m sorry.”

  Nadine took the envelope. “Thanks, Fletcher. I’m sure you were discreet,” she said, unable to keep the flippant tone out of her voice. Clint always kept her on edge, and the sarcastic use of his last name was her favorite defense.

  She stifled a flicker of concern as she shot a covert glance at the letter, wondering if it was more information about her father. Thankfully, it was simply another invitation to yet another event on building her connections with other newspaper professionals.

  Pass.

  “I was also wondering if I could see you in my office first thing tomorrow morning?” Clint said.

  “Another editorial mini-summit?” Nadine laughed nervously, uncomfortable with the somber tone of his voice.

  “You might say that,” he said, expression still serious. He turned to Elaine. “Just bring the information to my office whenever it’s convenient.”

  Then he left.

  Elaine caught Nadine’s gaze and raised her eyebrows. “I hope you’re not in trouble. Again.”

  Nadine rolled her eyes at that last word.

  Ever since Clint had started, the usual routines at the paper had been rearranged and turned end over end. Dory Strepchuk, the previous general manager, favored a looser editorial style and had let Nadine make a lot of her own editorial choices.

  Clint, however, made it clear from the beginning that he wanted to be involved in the major editorial decisions of not only the Sweet Creek Chronicle but also its sister papers, the Eastbar Echo and the Fort Henday Times.

  “I wonder if our esteemed boss knows I have a name?” Nadine said. “You get called a name,” she said, “Wally has a name, Julie gets called by her first name. But somehow, he always avoids calling me anything.”

  “Doesn’t help that you always call him Fletcher.”

  “He’s been Fletcher to me for the past nine years. From the first day he went out with Leslie until he broke up with her and broke her heart,” Nadine groused. She hefted her knapsack onto her back, still flustered by Clint’s visit and his cry
ptic tone when he had spoken of their meeting tomorrow. “And what’s with the suit and tie he always wears?” she huffed, still not finished with Clint Fletcher. “He never used to dress like that when he lived in Sweet Creek before.”

  “He’s a big boy now. Not like you, wearing some of the same clothes from grade twelve.”

  “My mother knitted me this,” protested Nadine, glancing down at the bulky cream sweater.

  “And the pants?”

  Nadine waved Elaine’s comment off. She preferred her old, faithful jeans or cords. Usually, she dressed up only for church.

  She disliked shopping for clothes. Occasionally, her sisters would come home and drag her off to a store. The two would laugh together, trying on clothes and having fun coaxing each other to buy new things. However, Nadine would resist as long as she could, buy something to keep her sisters off her back, then come home and hang her purchases in the closet, uncomfortable at the thought of wearing whatever it was her sisters made her pick.

  “It wouldn’t destroy your tough editor image to dress up once in a while,” Elaine continued. “Put on a skirt; show off your legs.”

  “Give it a rest, Elaine. Pants are easier for climbing on tractors and over fences, anyhow.”

  “And fending guys off...” Elaine let the sentence trail, waiting a moment, as if to let the comment settle.

  “Been there, done that,” Nadine replied, fishing in her pocket for her car keys. Jack wasn’t an experience she cared to repeat.

  “Two years ago, I might add,” Elaine admonished her. “I think it’s time you put yourself out there again.”

  “Don’t start,” Nadine begged. “You sound just like my grandmother.”

  She was so not in a place to date again; Jack had been a mistake she preferred to avoid.

  When she found out that a) he had gone out with her only so he could get an in with either of her sisters, and b) he’d been cheating on her for three of the four years they were together, she felt betrayed and like a dumb romantic, blinded by love.

  She was also faced with the reality that not only had Jack been a mistake, her heart wasn’t fully in the relationship. There was another that held a corner of her heart. Who had never returned her feelings. Who had also preferred one of her beautiful sisters.

  Her boss. Clint Fletcher.

  Elaine held up her hand. “Now you’ve crossed a line. I love your grandma a lot, but that’s not a comparison I’d see as complimentary.”

  “You have her sparkling eyes.”

  “Devious eyes,” Elaine returned with a grin.

  “Thankfully, I have a few days’ reprieve from her matchmaking. My sister Sabrina’s not been feeling well since Megan was born. With any luck, Grandma will stay there and drive Sabrina crazy for at least a week.”

  “She’ll be back,” Elaine said. “Your dear grandma won’t leave until you have a boyfriend or until you very firmly say, ‘Barbara Laidlaw, time for you to go home.’ And since you won’t do either, you’re stuck with her. So my advice to you is to get a boyfriend.”

  “Sure. I’ll just head down to the nearest ‘guy’ store and pick one up.”

  “Well, there’s lots of eligible guys in Sweet Creek.”

  “Besides the ones Grandma keeps dragging home?”

  Elaine winked. “Our dreamy boss, for one.”

  Nadine’s heart hitched, and she wondered if she had given anything away just now. “I’m not his type.”

  Elaine pursed her lips as she looked Nadine over. “How do you know? I think you would make a good couple.”

  Nadine tried to ignore the sting of Elaine’s words. She had grown up a short, dark brunette, overshadowed by twin sisters a year younger than her. The fact that they were tall, slender, and blond and twins was a triple threat she couldn’t compete with. Everywhere the three of them went, Sabrina and Leslie were the ones who drew people’s attention. The twins had been the popular ones in school, the ones who guys watched walking down the hall while Nadine’s presence was often ignored.

  While Nadine loved her sisters dearly, she was so different from them. Sabrina and Leslie loved going out, loved being with people, and were the life of any gathering. Nadine preferred staying home, helping her father, and puttering in the garage.

  All of which had been fine with her.

  Until Clint Fletcher came to Sweet Creek High. From the first day he started high school, he caught Nadine’s attention like no other guy. He was tall, had a serious attitude that appealed to her. He shared many of her classes, and he was smart and focused.

  But, like almost every other guy she knew, he was drawn to her sisters. Every time Clint came over, she hung back, secretly yearning that he would notice her instead of Sabrina or Leslie.

  He never did. He flirted with Sabrina and dated Leslie for the three years he was in Sweet Creek.

  Nadine had tried to forget him. Had even managed to find a measure of attraction with Paul, a boy she dated for a few months. For a time, she thought she had found a soul mate in Paul. But the last couple of weeks they were dating she sensed he wasn’t fully committed so, to save herself the humiliation of being on the receiving end of a breakup, she beat Paul to the punch.

  Unfortunately she still thought of Clint.

  When Leslie broke up with Clint and Nadine started university in Edmonton, she thought that would help her get over him; but the first time she ran into Clint on Whyte Avenue—while she was on a date, and he was with another blond—her heart did the same jump it did in high school. And it annoyed her.

  “I’m not interested. End of story.” Nadine spoke the words with a new conviction. After dating Jack and being so badly duped, she was done with guys for a long, long time.

  “Okay, no Clint. But what are you going to do about Grandma?”

  “I should just tell her to move out,” Nadine said, adding a fretful sigh.

  Elaine laughed. “That sweet, tiny woman will just bat those blue eyes, smile at you, and hand you a plate of cookies. And then she’ll tell you that she’s having yet another single, totally unsuitable man over for supper.”

  Nadine groaned, thinking of the last two guys her grandmother had asked to come over. “I know. She’s getting worse and worse. I seriously don’t know what to do.”

  “Find a boyfriend. Or make one up.”

  “Like I could pull that off,” replied Nadine. “I don’t have a good enough memory to lie.”

  “The Lord helps those who help themselves.”

  “That’s not even in the Bible.”

  “So? I’m an office manager, not a theologian.” Elaine pushed herself to her feet, still holding the computer. “I’d better get my meeting with Clint out of the way. I promised my family real food for supper tonight. Want to join us?”

  “Thanks, but tonight I’m going to enjoy being in an empty apartment, put on some music, and eat two bowls of cereal for supper.”

  As they walked out of Nadine’s office and down the hall, Elaine wrinkled her nose and said, “Sounds like a big night.” Elaine stopped outside Clint’s office door. “See you tomorrow, wild thing.”

  “That’s what they call me,” Nadine teased back as she waved.

  Nadine stepped outside, into the late-afternoon warmth of September. In spite of the shared laughter with Elaine, a feeling of melancholy washed over her.

  It was a glorious fall day. She had walked to work this morning wanting to enjoy the last of the warm days.

  Nadine ambled down the tree-lined sidewalks of her hometown, hands in her pants pockets, jacket hanging open, and knapsack slung over one shoulder. She scuffed her running shoes through the layer of leaves lying on the sidewalk.

  It’s a beautiful world, Nadine thought, squinting upward to the mountains that rose at the end of Main Street. Their granite peaks, dusted with snow, were etched against the sharp blue sky—a bright contrast to the bright orange and yellow leaves of the aspen trees lining the street. Sweet Creek lay protected in the valley created by the Elk Riv
er flowing through the center of the town.

  Nadine had grown up in the shadows of the peaks of the Twin Sisters, Hartley Mountain, and the ridges of the Kootenay range. In typical small-town-girl fashion, she had planned her getaway ever since high school started. Her plans had been to take journalism and photography courses, find a job with a city newspaper or small magazine, and work her way up to a position at a large city newspaper doing more investigative journalism. She’d had an internship at the City Beat—a small monthly magazine—a funky apartment in Edmonton, and a boyfriend. Then her father was killed and her mother became ill and needed help, forcing Nadine to give up all three.

  For five years, Brenda Laidlaw fought Lou Gehrig’s disease. When the disease was first diagnosed, the doctor gave her only three years, but he hadn’t counted on Brenda Laidlaw’s temperament or persistence. She vowed not to rest until she found out the truth about her husband’s suspicious death. The saddest part of the disease was that while Brenda’s body failed her, her mind still understood and still fought.

  Six months ago, Nadine’s mother lost the fight. While her death was not unexpected, Nadine was plunged into a deep grief that still materialized unexpectedly. And woven through was anger at the lack of caring from the company Nadine felt was responsible for her father’s death.

  Nadine drew in a deep breath of fall air, willing away the heaviness of heart accompanying thoughts of parents. Willing away the unwelcome loneliness that came with those memories.

  While Leslie and Sabrina had husbands to help them through their pain, Nadine had her grandmother who, while wonderfully supportive, struggled with her own grief.