A Town Called Valentine - By Emma Cane Page 0,116
she call herself an independent woman if she left town because she was afraid of being hurt again? Could she start her own business with the talents she’d been given, or the ones she’d inherited?
“If you leave here,” Nate said, “you’ll just be another lonely person in a big city.”
She thought of Melissa and felt again the woman’s pain.
“People know you here—I know you,” he continued quietly. “You could have a life here.”
She took a deep breath. “With you?”
Nate was the biggest risk of all, standing there patiently waiting for her to make the move. There was a new openness to him, as if he was finally ready to take chances, if she would let him. He had discovered long ago what he was meant to do with his life. He had a quiet confidence, a belief in himself and his town, and mostly in his family.
Did he want her to be part of his family?
He thought he had everything together—but he needed her, she knew. She saw things about him he’d never known about himself. And he was part of Valentine Valley, too. She’d been fighting being a part of it from the beginning.
“I love you, Emily,” he whispered, cupping her face, kissing her gently. “I’ll never hurt you.”
She stared up into his eyes, and everything fell into place, as if her journey here had taught her, brought her to this moment. “I love you, too.”
And then she was crying and smiling and kissing him. He let out a whoop and twirled her around.
“Okay, okay,” she said, when at last she was safely on the ground. “I’ll stay and give this place a try.”
“So you’ll open this mysterious bakery you’ve never mentioned to me?”
“I guess you’ll have to get over the loss of Leather and Lace.”
“But what will you bring on our honeymoon?”
She stared up into his beloved face, no longer the lonely, sad woman she’d been on her first rainy night in Valentine. She’d found a new strength inside her, and she would use it to love Nate as he deserved.
“On the honeymoon? Why, I don’t plan to wear anything at all.”
They shared a grin.
Epilogue
In autumn, colorful leaves swirling through brisk air, Emily’s bakery, Sugar and Spice, had its opening day. A long glass display case ran the length of the room, and a second glass cooler for her cheesecakes and other refrigerated goodies stood perpendicular to it. She already had orders to bake for two engagements and a baby shower.
Now she stood behind the glass counter where the bar had once been, staring with quiet joy at all the people who’d come to wish her well. Monica and Brooke were still arranging the flowers that bloomed at every little table in the coffee corner, while Josh set out the leather key rings he’d tooled with her cupcake logo for the first day’s customers. The widows had asked to help out, and they were her new part-time employees, wearing matching aprons they’d designed themselves with the logo ASK US WHY WE’RE SUGAR AND SPICE. They kept “forgetting” to take them off whenever they went to lunch or dinner.
Nate was the first one to see that she’d come out of the kitchen, and the smile he gave her made tears spring to her eyes.
“Em, come show them!” he called.
There was a general cry of delight when Nate dragged her forward by the hand so they could all see her lovely pear-cut diamond engagement ring.
Her sister Stephanie gaped at it, then at her. “Oh my God, it’s beautiful!”
Emily smiled at her little sister. “You better get used to it. Your job as maid of honor will be to polish it every time you see me.”
Stephanie blushed and laughed, glancing at her parents, who beamed back at her. After a slow start, Emily was making progress becoming friends with her teenage sister. Joe wiped his eyes with a hankie when he thought no one was looking, and his mom, Eileen, covered her trembling smile.
Emily slipped her arm through her father’s. “Dad, you’ll walk me down the aisle, won’t you?” It was the first time she’d called him that, and it felt right.
That set up another chorus of “awws” until Grandma Thalberg pulled her away.
“Emily, you’ll never guess! The Valentine Valley Preservation Fund committee has agreed to set aside some money to help Leather and Lace open their store after all—but don’t tell Nate!”
Emily laughed. “Oh, Grandma, he already knows. Don’t breathe a word, but he’s become a long-distance customer. Aren’t I the luckiest woman in the world?”
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Acknowledgments
I’m indebted to Virginia Aubertine, James Callen IV, Jeffery McClanahan, Maggie Shayne, and Christine Wenger, who graciously answered my research questions. Any mistakes are certainly my own. A Town Called Valentine wouldn’t have existed without the Packeteers and the Purples, who helped me in so many ways, from brainstorming, to emergency meetings, to the overwhelming generosity of their friendship. To my husband, Jim, for making sure I have everything I need, especially him.
To my agent, Eileen Fallon, who has believed in me for so many years. There are no words to express how much your dedication and friendship have meant to me.
And thanks to my editor, Amanda Bergeron, for falling in love with Valentine Valley and giving me all the support, advice, and editorial skills an author could ever want.
About the Author
EMMA CANE grew up reading and soon discovered that she liked to write passionate stories of teenagers in space. Her love of “passionate stories” has never gone away, although today she concentrates on the heartwarming characters of Valentine, Colorado, a small town of her own creation nestled in the Rocky Mountains.
Now that her three children are grown, Emma loves spending time crocheting, singing (although not necessarily at the same time), hiking, and snowshoeing alongside her husband, Jim, and two rambunctious dogs, Apollo and Uma.
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Romances by Emma Cane
A Town Called Valentine
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A TOWN CALLED VALENTINE. Copyright © 2012 by Gayle Kloecker Callen. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition FEBRUARY 2012 ISBN: 9780062102287
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062102270
FIRST EDITION
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Table of Contents
Dedication
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
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Epilogue
More Avon Books
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Romances by Emma Cane
Copyright
About the Publisher
Table of Contents
Dedication
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
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Epilogue
More Avon Books
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Romances by Emma Cane
Copyright
About the Publisher