Ashley / Slanina / Cowan Gifts from the Heart

1. Auflage 2014
ISBN: 978-1-942368-08-3
Verlag: Windtree Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 198 Seiten

Rediscover the magic and romance of Valentine's Day with these nine stories of Gifts From The Heart. Stories of best friends, lost chances, first love, love renewed, and new love will bring a tear to your eye and a little skip in the beat of your heart.
Read about a wounded warrior saved by a ring. Empathize with two different widows as they strive to overcome their past and open their hearts to trust again. Follow a survivor of the Titanic as she boards another ship and her past and future collide.
Shiver with the cautionary tale of the prison of love in the legend of Ann'er from the dark world of Thorn. Laugh at the humorous escapades of a young woman led to find love through the questionable assistance of her cat. Then finish this volume by relaxing in the fairy-tale world of a little dog who helps a sad and lonely princess learn to accept the unconditional love of pets.
'The Telltale Heart' by Sarah Raplee
'Is He the One?' by Judith Ashley
'Saved by the Ring' by Diana McCollum
'Be My Valentine' by Susan Lute
'Dancing on Water' by Mercer Addison
'Heart of a Highlander' by Collette Cameron
'The Flaming Heart of Winter' by Pamela Cowan
'Matchmaker Cat' by Jane Killick
'Metro Loves London' by Susie Slanina

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ashley, Judith

Slanina, Susie

Cowan, Pamela

Lute, Susan

Raplee, Sarah

McCollum, Diana

Lynch, Maggie

Leseproben

      Michael Truman blinked at the endless variety of pink and red craft papers lining the aisle at Daffy Crafters. His hands turned cold. Why in hell had he thought shopping here was a good
idea? More than anything, he wanted the grandmotherly saleswoman who stood next to him droning on about shades of scarlet and rose to disappear. He tuned her out, removed his glasses and wiped the lenses with the edge of his green and yellow Oregon Ducks hoodie. Yesterday Carrie had told him his dark retro frames made him look like a teenage, nerdy Leonard from The Big Bang Theory on TV. He sighed. Time to save for a new pair. He donned his now-spotless spectacles and focused on the saleswoman’s smiling face. At least she seemed to be passionate about her work, the way he was passionate about engineering — and Carrie. He’d fallen for the redheaded stranger with sad gray eyes the moment she’d entered his hospital room last February and offered to trounce him at chess. “We have free project guides if you need one,” the saleswoman was saying. She gestured toward a gaggle of middle-school girls huddled around the end cap. Her eyes danced. “It’s nice to find a young man romantic enough to make his sweetheart a special valentine.”   He didn’t bother to explain that:   1. He was a high school senior. Carrie would think he was a pathetic loser if he couldn’t design a valentine without help. 2. She wasn’t his sweetheart. 3. This was his chance to change that situation.   Eyeing the package of lace paper hearts and the selection of multi-colored glitter pens in his cart, he shook his head. “Uh, thank you for your help, ma’am. I can handle it from here.” “I’m sure you can.” Her doubtful smile belied her words. The girls’ strident chatter drew an anxious glance. Frowning, she hurried down the aisle to referee. Gabe Harper’s mocking voice blindsided Michael from behind. “New hobby, Mikey? Or are you trying to get in touch with your feminine side?” Michael’s heart jolted as if Gabe had touched him with a live wire. He spun around to confront the (in Carrie’s words) tall, dark and handsome boy, but Gabe’s hands were empty. Why in hell had his nemesis decided to torment him again after months of silence? He’d better leave the store before the situation got dicey. Gabe had a knack for showing up at the worst possible moment and then goading him into embarrassing himself in front of witnesses. He’d learned the hard way not to engage the pain-in-his-ass in public. Turning his cart around, Michael found Gabe had somehow managed to block his way. “Don’t forget the red construction paper,” the other boy said. “Didn’t you learn anything in kindergarten?” The realization that this time Gabe’s taunts were justified brought Michael up short. He abandoned the cart and brushed past the taller boy toward the exit. “Really?” Gabe stuck to Michael’s heels like toilet paper. “You can’t take a little friendly advice?” Exiting the store, Michael didn’t slow down until he reached his old Jeep. “Actually, Gabe, I’m taking your advice. You’re right. Carrie challenged me to create a valentine that expresses who I am and speaks to her heart. I am definitely not lace doilies and glitter pens.” “You need a whole new plan,” Gabe said, nodding. “I can help.” Michael raised a skeptical eyebrow. “I’m supposed to believe you’ll help me win over your ex-girlfriend?” Gabe went quiet for a moment. He stared at the toes of his black leather motorcycle boots as if considering his answer with care. As if Michael’s reaction to his words mattered. Michael’s eyes narrowed. Was this another setup? Gabe’s intense brown eyes focused on his face. Much as he wanted to, Michael found he was powerless to look away. “We both know I love Carrie, Mikey. And we both know you love her, too.” Michael found himself nodding. Gabe scowled. “I’ve had a lot of time to think since I left town. Carrie and I are no good for each other. She deserves to love and be loved by someone who can be here for her all the time. Someone who can give her everything she needs. I can’t do that.” Michael’s heart thudded. Gabe sounded serious, like he might really be ready to let Carrie go. “Carrie needs …” Gabe paused dramatically. “You.” Michael grimaced and shook his head at Gabe’s over-the-top pronouncement. “You almost had me. Next time don’t be so melodramatic.” “You gotta believe me, Michael!” “No, I don’t.” For once he had the upper hand. Smirking, he opened the Jeep’s door and slid into the seat. Gabe leaned through the open side window and grabbed the steering wheel with one hand. “Tell you what. I’ll bet if you follow my advice Carrie will go out with you. If she doesn’t, I’ll clear out — forever. It’s a win-win situation for you.” For all his faults, Gabe’s word was his bond. And Michael hadn’t made any real headway with Carrie since Gabe left, not even during the months she’d played bedside angel while he was sick. What did he have to lose? Later that night, in his basement workshop Michael laid his pencil on the workbench and smiled in satisfaction. Picking up his graph paper sketch, he examined the side view he’d drawn of a clockwork heart. The dimensions were identical to the dimensions of a real human heart. A windup key protruded from the back. He’d already designed the clockwork mechanism in his head. When Carrie wound the key, the heart would actually beat. But what if his valentine grossed her out? He tossed the drawing onto the bench and picked up his Tesla mug. The stairs creaked. He turned on his shop stool and watched Gabe descend. Raising his coffee to his mouth, he swigged the bitter brew. “I did some research,” Gabe said with his usual cocky grin. Michael choked on a mouthful of coffee. Gabe was allergic to intellectual pursuits. Consumed by a coughing fit interlaced with uncontrolled laughter, he set his mug down. “What?” Gabe said. His eyes dared Michael to speak. “A person can’t change? Get over it!” Damned if he didn’t almost believe him. How crazy was that? Gabe gazed past him at the heart drawing. “Is that your new design?” His hands started to sweat. “Yes. I’ll build a silver clockwork heart that really beats.” Why in hell had he exposed his heart idea to Gabe’s possible scorn? “That’s more like it, Mikey,” Gabe said, nodding. He touched one finger to an old pocket watch on Michael’s project shelf, then stroked the back of a partially built clockwork horse. His lips quirked in a wistful smile. “Carrie values honesty. This design channels your inner nerd — in a good way. And I gotta admit you do quality work.” Michael eyed him with suspicion. “Then what do I need you for?” Gabe’s dark, intense gaze hooked his. “Modify this to show her you see what’s inside her heart. And show her what’s in yours.” He glanced skyward. “Then pray.”   *   Valentine’s Day dawned clear and bright. Michael’s nerves buzzed like his alarm clock. Everything hinged on Carrie’s reaction to his valentine. Because it was Saturday, he arrived at her house at ten o’clock in the morning with a cube-shaped gift box in hand. They sat together on her front porch swing. She opened the box’s red lid. Her raincloud eyes widened and her rose petal lips parted on an indrawn breath. “Michael, it’s beautiful.” Lifting his creation, she dazzled him with a smile that set his heart humming. After winding the key, she laughed at the lovely silver heart beating in her hands. When the rhythm slowed, her smile faded. Then the front sprang open like a locket, transforming one heart into two. He held his breath while she studied what he’d engraved inside each one. Her trembling lips formed the names silently. Michael. Gabriel. She burst into tears and his dreams imploded like a popped balloon. He ignored the pain that threatened to stop his heart and pulled her onto his lap, rocking her until the sobs subsided. “I’m sorry,” he whispered over and over. “I’m sorry.” His future yawned like an open grave, empty and cold. After the storm of grief, because she was Carrie, she smiled and thanked him for his gift as if the clockwork heart hadn’t mortally wounded her. If his own virus-weakened organ had still beaten in his chest, it would have shattered under the weight of his remorse and set his spirit free. But his replacement heart, Gabe’s heart, pounded a relentless rhythm that anchored him on this side of the veil between death and life. Later, because he truly, madly, hopelessly loved her, Michael drove Carrie to the cemetery to visit Gabe’s less-than-restful resting place. Graveside, she closed her eyes and bowed her head. Gabe’s image smiled back at Michael from the headstone, forever seventeen, his whole life ahead of him. An unearthly chill shook Michael’s body. What was it like to die? Gabe’s spectral image leaned on his headstone and...