Meiâs jaw dropped. âYou think I got whatever I wanted, on some silver platter? Or that my life here was happy?â
Jack hadnât meant to insult her, but from the mixture of hurt and defensiveness in her eyes, apparently he had. âSorry.â
She shifted uncomfortably. âMe, too. Coming back here has made me ⦠oversensitive, or something,â she added.
She headed out the door, and without another word, she strode down the hallway with her heels clicking against the floor in a rapid staccato beat.
He watched her go. Five more sessions in her classroom meant five more opportunities to see if he could get past Mei Claytonâs prickly defenses. Did she have a warm heart hidden behind all of that armor?
Rocky Mountain Heirs: When the greatest fortune of all is love.The Nannyâs HomecomingâLinda Goodnight July 2011 The Sheriffâs Runaway BrideâArlene James August 2011 The Doctorâs FamilyâLenora Worth September 2011 The Cowboyâs LadyâCarolyne Aarsen October 2011 The Lonerâs Thanksgiving WishâRoxanne Rustand November 2011 The Prodigalâs Christmas ReunionâKathryn Springer December 2011
Dear Reader,
I hope you have been enjoying each month of the six-book Love Inspired Rocky Mountain Heirs series, which began in July and will end in December 2011. Five of my favorite authors are a part of this series, and they were all absolutely wonderful to work with!
The Lonerâs Thanksgiving Wish is a story that spoke to my heart. It deals with the problems of fitting in and of being different, and the fresh perspective one can have if they return home later, a little older and wiser. It also is the story of two people who were deeply attracted to one another back in high school but who never would have had a chance to be together back then, given their family circumstances. How many of us have wondered about the special gal or guy we knew when we were young?
I love to hear from readers! You can contact me by snail mail at P.O. Box 2550, Cedar Rapids, IA, 52406; through my website at www.roxannerustand.com; or at my blog (the All Creatures Great and Small place) at http://roxannerustand.blogspot.com.
Take care, and God bless!
Mei Clayton veered off the trail near the summit of Belleâs Peak, found the edge of the cliff where sheâd often picnicked as a teenager and surveyed the panorama of rugged ranching country below.
To the west, shadowed by the massive, snowy peaks of the Rocky Mountains, lay the distant, rustic cowboy town of Clayton, Colorado. Her hometown, named after a great-grandfather sheâd never met. The last place she wanted to be.
Especially for an entire, interminable year, though thatâs exactly what she had to do, thanks to a stipulation in her grandpa Georgeâs will.
A yearâbut not one day more.
Mei and each of her five cousins all had to comply, or none would receive a single penny. And though Mei would have preferred to continue teaching in San Francisco, she just couldnât let the others lose out on the inheritance some of them badly needed.
Delaying her inevitable, awkward arrival, sheâd parked along the highway to hike one of the easier trails in this part of the Rockies, just to savor one of the few good memories sheâd kept close to her heart during her years away.
Maybe sheâd never felt accepted by the Clayton family, but sheâd loved every moment that she spent hiking and climbing these rugged peaks.
Yet even up here, she hadnât found a sense of solitude and peace. The snow-dusted trail offered an easy climb and breathtaking vistas, and sheâd already run into several other local hikers taking advantage of the bright sunshine on this first weekend of November.
Sheâd hoped to do a little climbing and had brought her gear in a backpack. But the snow was deeper at this higher elevation, and she needed to turn back. Get in her car. And face her return to the town sheâd so desperately wanted to leave as a teen.
Though it was her impending conversation with her widowed mother that truly had her stomach tying itself in a tight knot. How would Mom react when she heard the news about her son? Lucas had been in a few scrapes when he was a teenager, but nothing like the one he was in now.
At the sound of voices and the merry jingle of bear bells, she stopped at one side of the trail to let a pair of hikers pass.
One of them continued on, but the girl pulled to a stop. âMei?â
Mei looked up in surprise at the pretty teenager standing in front of her in a puffy pink down jacket and jeans. âJasmine?â
Her cousin Arabellaâs ward tucked a long strand of silky brown hair behind her ear, her eyes sparkling. âWhat are you doing back in Colorado so soon? We didnât expect you until Christmas.â