A Place in Her Heart
Read A Place in Her Heart Online
Authors: Trish Milburn
More
Than
Words
:
Bestselling
authors
and
real
-
life
heroines
Making a difference...transforming lives... This year, the recipients of Harlequin’s More Than Words Award are three women whose selfless deeds and far-reaching goals are helping to build stronger, safer communities. Now three bestselling Harlequin authors honor these remarkable women with stories inspired by their extraordinary contributions.
In
A
Place in Her Heart
, Boston bakery owner and women’s shelter volunteer Katy McShea has traveled far to overcome her traumatic past. But apparently not far enough, because Callum Walsh suddenly reenters her life. The handsome navy SEAL doesn’t have a clue how she felt about him in high school...or what happened after he shipped out.
Five years ago, Cal thought he was doing the right thing. Now Katy—along with her mouthwatering miniature cupcakes—are awakening feelings too irresistible to ignore. All Cal wants is to cherish and protect her. Or will his guilt and Katy’s reluctance to trust keep their chance reunion from becoming a mission possible?
Look for
A
Place in Her Heart
by Trish Milburn, along with two more free ebooks inspired by real-life heroines:
Never Too Late
by Christi Barth, and
A
Wing
&
A
Prayer
by Andrea Laurence. Visit the Harlequin More Than Words website at
harlequinmorethanwords.com
, or your favorite ebook retailer, to download these free novellas today.
TRISH
MILBURN
MORE THAN WORDS
A Place in Her Heart
Dear Reader,
For over a decade, Harlequin has been a leader in supporting and bringing awareness to women’s charitable efforts. Through Harlequin More Than Words we have had the opportunity to celebrate and encourage women who are actively working to improve their communities. Each year we honor three women who have made extraordinary differences in the lives of others, and a donation of $45,000 is divided equally among their charitable causes.
We are also pleased to spotlight the current Harlequin More Than Words recipients by enlisting three talented Harlequin authors who have written fictional stories inspired by these remarkable women and the charities they support. All three ebooks—Christi Barth’s
Never Too Late
, Andrea Laurence’s
A
Wing
&
A
Prayer
and Trish Milburn’s
A
Place in Her Heart
—are free to download at
harlequinmorethanwords.com
and through other e-tailers.
All these stories are beautiful tributes to the Harlequin More Than Words recipients, and we hope they will inspire the real-life heroine in you.
For more information on how you can get involved, visit our website at
harlequinmorethanwords.com
.
Together we can build strong communities!
Sincerely,
Loriana Sacilotto
Executive Vice President, Editorial
Harlequin Enterprises Ltd.
Table of Contents
A
Place in Her Heart
by Trish Milburn
Inspired by Linda Burston, Support Coordinator
at Women’s Lunch Place
Women’s Lunch Place
Recipient Profile of Linda Burston
A Place in Her Heart
Excerpt from
The Doctor’s Cowboy
Women’s
Lunch
Place
Name
: Linda Burston
Hometown
: Boston, MA
Recipient’s
Related
Charity
: Women’s Lunch Place
Website
:
www.WomensLunchPlace.org
The Women’s Lunch Place provides meals, shelter and essential services for homeless and poor women during the day, when many overnight shelters are closed. They create a safe, comfortable environment for over one thousand vulnerable women each year, providing a refuge from the isolation and instability they face on the streets.
The shelter offers nutritious breakfasts and lunches, shower and laundry facilities, a library, art therapy, a job readiness program, and other resources for women to improve their quality of life and restore their self-worth. Women who struggle with mental illness, substance abuse and other serious challenges can seek help daily.
Linda Burston has been the support coordinator at the WLP for over fourteen years. In this role, she counsels and supports homeless and poor women. She finds women on the street and brings them into the shelter and to detox. She accompanies women to the hospital and to court, when they are in vulnerable situations and have no one else to turn to. Additionally, Linda helps to manage the shelter, providing guidance to other staff and volunteers and helping to create a welcoming atmosphere for guests. She helps the women improve their literacy skills, increase their self-confidence and develop a love of learning. ”I tell every woman that I believe in her,” she says. She develops the trusting relationships necessary for women to initiate positive life changes.
Linda works at the WLP because of her deep conviction and desire to give back, and because she has the ability to reach troubled women—she calls this ability a gift. She says, “I got unconditional love here. I work here to give back the love that was given to me. To help women like me. To let them know they are beautiful, and there is hope.”
About the Author
Trish Milburn is the author of several books for Harlequin American Romance, including the popular Blue Falls, Texas series. She’s a two-time winner of the Golden Heart® Award presented by Romance Writers of America and was the 2014 recipient of the Emma Merritt Service Award, RWA’s top award for volunteer service to the organization. She’s a lifelong resident of the American South, enjoys road trips, visiting national parks, and watching TV and movies. She’s a big geek girl and has been known to cosplay on occasion. You can find out more about Trish and her books at
trishmilburn.com
and connect with her on Facebook at
facebook.com/trishmilburnauthor
and via Twitter,
@TrishMilburn
.
Dedication
To Linda Burston and all the rest of the staff and volunteers at the Women’s Lunch Place and at women’s shelters everywhere. Your kindness and aid are a blessing to women in need, a ray of hope at a time when hope is a rare commodity.
Chapter One
With one final
ka-thunk
, the engine in Katy McShea’s aging compact car gave up the ghost, barely allowing her time to steer it onto the side of the road.
“No, no, no,” she said, as if pleading would change the car’s mind. Though she knew it wasn’t going to do her any good, she tried turning the ignition once, twice, then hoping that the third time would be the charm, again. The response was the same each time, a resounding silence.
Katy leaned her forehead against the steering wheel and did her best not to fall into despair. It was only a car, one she could have fixed even if she hadn’t planned for auto repairs in her tight budget. She reminded herself that compared to where she’d been a few years before, she might as well be a queen covered in rare jewels. A broken-down car on the side of the road was a lot better than the cold, windy doorway of an abandoned building, where she used to sit with fear tensing every muscle in her body.
She closed her eyes and forced herself to take slow, deep breaths. She could tackle anything if she just took it one step at a time.
A knock on her window caused her to jump and gasp. Her heart was beating so hard the pounding was surely visible on the outside of her chest.
“Ma’am, are you okay?”
Katy fought to bring her panic under control as she stared out the window at the man in a police uniform filling her vision. The sight of it sent her fight-or-flight instinct firmly in the flight direction, but a shred of common sense told her that fleeing from a police officer wasn’t a good choice, even if she hadn’t done anything wrong. Plus, she wasn’t going to do much fleeing in a dead car.
So, once again she forced herself to take slower breaths as she rolled down the window.
“You can’t park here, ma’am,” the middle-aged officer said.
The past tried to suck her under as she studied the dark, close-cropped hair, the air of authority, the crispness of his uniform. She mentally gripped her panic and shook it, reminding herself this man wasn’t Terry. The officer was older and the uniform was wrong.
She realized he was staring at her as if trying to figure out if she were intoxicated.
“I’m not parked by choice, Officer. My car broke down.”
He gestured toward the steering wheel. “Give it another try.” She didn’t know if he was verifying her story or trying to save her a towing bill, but she complied.
Again, turning the ignition resulted in a big fat nothing of a response.
“Yeah, she’s dead.”
Duh. The thought zipped through Katy’s mind, but she didn’t dare utter it.
“You’ll have to have it towed.”
“Yes, sir.” She reached for her phone and then realized she didn’t know who to call. “Um, do you know the name of a service station with towing near here?”
To her relief, he said he knew a guy and went back to his cruiser to make the call. Her breath came more easily with each step he took away from her door.
She caught sight of herself in the rearview mirror and wondered if she’d ever heal to the point where she’d feel comfortable being alone with a man in uniform.
After a couple of moments, the officer retraced his steps to her door. “They said it’d be about ten minutes. I’ll wait until you’re able to clear the emergency lane.”
“Thank you.”
With a nod, he once again headed back to his car. She watched in the mirror as he spoke into his radio, probably checking her tags to make sure he wasn’t passing up an opportunity to nab someone with an outstanding warrant, or someone in the midst of stealing a car. Or maybe he was simply relaying what he was doing to dispatch.
As the seconds ticked slowly by, she grew more anxious about how late she was going to be for her volunteer shift at Women’s Lunch Place, the Boston-area shelter at which she regularly offered her time and skills. She was about to call Linda Burston, the support coordinator there, when she spotted a tow truck approaching.
Katy found the strength to step outside the car, being careful not to stumble and present the officer still parked behind her reason to give her an unnecessary sobriety test. She watched as the driver backed up to the front of her car, trying not to think too much about the hit her bank account was going to take. Instead, she glanced at the time on her phone and again considered calling Linda. But just maybe she could arrive in time if the tow truck driver agreed to drop her off on the way. The thought of riding in the truck with a man she didn’t know made her queasy, but what choice did she have? A taxi would cost more money she didn’t need to spend, and she wouldn’t know the cabbie any better than she knew this guy.
The driver shoved the truck into park and slid out on long, lean legs. Despite what she’d been through with Terry and the scary nights she’d spent on the streets in the aftermath, there seemed to be a small portion of her female brain that could still appreciate a good-looking man from afar. That part took over as she followed those long legs up to a powerful torso clad in a snug, dark, long-sleeved T-shirt. The chill in the November air didn’t appear to faze him.
She jerked her gaze upward before he could notice her ill-advised appreciation. When she focused on his face, shock nearly knocked her off her feet. He was older, more man than boy now, but she’d have known Callum Walsh anywhere. She’d spent too many years loving him and not having the courage to tell him as much.
Cal’s step faltered when his green eyes met hers, and he tilted his head slightly. “Katy?”
His voice. She’d thought she’d never hear that deep rumble again, and now that she had all she wanted to do was run away as fast as she could. The last time she’d seen him, he had brought Terry home with him after basic training in Illinois. He’d introduced her to the monster who’d launched her into the worst year of her life.
“Cal,” she said, keeping her voice remarkably calm and flat.
He smiled and walked toward her, and it took all her effort not to walk several steps backward.
“I haven’t seen you in forever. How are you doing?”
She pointed toward her car. “I’ve had better days.” Like the ones when they used to hang out together in high school with their small group of friends, ones when she’d lie in bed at night and swear to herself the next day would be the one when she found the resolve to tell him exactly what he meant to her. But that day had never come, and she’d cried herself to sleep the night he’d left for basic training. She’d been on the verge of confessing her love when she’d seen the excitement in his eyes about his impending departure, heard him talk about his dream of becoming a Navy SEAL, witnessed the pride in his parents’ eyes. And she couldn’t do it, couldn’t burden him with the knowledge that she wanted more from him. The fear that he wouldn’t return her love had killed any courage she’d managed to muster. She’d known that if she loved him, she had to let him go.
But when he’d returned after basic, she’d found herself yearning for him all over again, only to have him push his buddy Terry toward her like he was doing her the biggest of favors. Her hopes dashed, and with no family other than a mother who barely kept the two of them housed and fed, she’d latched on to Terry’s subsequent attention and found herself married to him within two months of their meeting.
Cal waved his hand in front of her face, bringing her back to the present. “You in there?”
“Sorry. Just wondering if you could drop me off on your way to the garage. I’ve got a meeting.”
“Sure.” As if picking up on her urgency to get to her destination, he hurried to hook up the car.
She slipped into the passenger seat of the tow truck and felt as if she’d fallen down the rabbit hole into a purely male domain. Though the cab was pretty clean, it still smelled faintly of grease, rubber and coffee.
When Cal took his seat behind the steering wheel, he handed her a clipboard with a form attached. “Fill this out and I’ll call you as soon as we know what the issue is with the car.”
She started filling out the information as he pulled onto the road.
“So, where to?”
She searched her brain, unwilling to have him know where she was really going in case he asked why. If he was still in contact with Terry, she certainly didn’t want information about her movements being passed on to her ex-husband. Instead, she gave him the name of an office building a couple of blocks from the shelter.
“How’ve you been?” he asked.
“Fine.”
He laughed a little. “I remember you being a little more talkative.”
“Sorry. Just have my mind on other things.” Like how fate must have a wicked sense of humor, because Cal was even more handsome now than he’d been when she’d been head-over-heels in love with him. He exuded a raw and incredibly sexy masculine confidence that was likely a product of having a macho profession. Not just anyone could be a SEAL, but she wasn’t the least bit surprised he’d accomplished that goal.
“We should catch up while I’m in town,” he said.
“Yeah, maybe. I stay pretty busy.” She made the mistake of glancing at him in time to see the way the area between his eyes scrunched, as if he were totally confused by her response.
Though the old Katy who still lived deep inside of her wanted to accept his attempts at reconnection, the Katy forged in fire couldn’t do it. There just wasn’t enough left of the girl she’d once been. So she kept the conversation focused on her car, and luckily it only took about five minutes for him to arrive at the drop-off spot she’d indicated to him.
“Talk to you soon,” he said.
She offered a faint smile and nodded. The look of confusion tugged at his features again, but he just gave a little shake of his head and pulled back out onto the street.
She watched until he drove out of sight before she headed toward the Women’s Lunch Place, the shelter that had saved her life. She was halfway there before she took a normal breath.