No Greater Love

by Cate Dean

  Table of Contents

  No Greater Love

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  No Greater Love

  About The Author

  Further Reading: Big Sky Love

  No Greater Love

  Redemption of the Seven Book 1

  Cate Dean

  Copyright, 2016

  All Rights Reserved.

  NO PART OF THIS BOOK may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission of the author, except for use in any review. This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, locales, and events are either pure invention or used fictitiously, and all incidents come from the author’s imagination alone.

  Cover Design by ResplendentMedia.com

  SIGN UP FOR CATE’S list: http://catedeanwrites.com/join-my-list/ to learn about new releases.

  SEVEN MEN, CONDEMNED by a witch for hurting the woman they loved. Only another witch can help them find redemption.

  SERENA GRAY IS AT A crossroads: she hates her job, and is one day away from having to decide whether she can even go back. A mysterious delivery gives her another path to choose. One she never expected.

  She makes her choice—and is transported to a cavern with seven men.

  Seven men, who had been condemned by her great aunt for the crime of breaking a woman’s heart. One by one, she will have to help them find redemption.

  Nick Saunders is chosen first, and finds himself in WWI France, appearing almost at the feet of a beautiful, strong nurse.

  Victoria Belham came to France to tend the wounded soldiers, to give back after losing her husband to the war. When an American arrives at the base hospital, his charm and kindness slowly work through the barriers around her heart.

  But Nick holds part of himself back, hiding a secret that keeps Victoria from letting him in.

  Nick senses her withdrawal, even as she responds to his touch. He has seven days to find his way into her heart. Seven days before he’s condemned to the hell of his own creation, for good this time.

  One

  SERENA GRAY KNEW nothing of the curse, until it fell into her lap.

  Literally.

  She was on the front porch, toasting her 30th birthday, and mourning/celebrating the end of her twenties, when a white delivery truck pulled up in front of her small cottage.

  “I don’t remember ordering anything,” she muttered. With the last of her family gone, there wouldn’t be any surprise gifts. For the first time since she received the letter from her great-aunt’s attorney, informing Serena of her death, she felt truly alone.

  She pushed to her feet—carefully, since she’d lost track of her mimosa toasts. A man stepped out of the back of the truck, carrying what looked like a small trunk. He was tall, with the normal tan of a delivery driver in Southern California, and he filled out his black shirt-and-shorts uniform quite nicely.

  Serena smiled at him, and held on to the front pillar of the porch, dizzy from moving forward.

  I didn’t have that many mimosas. Did I?

  When the delivery man appeared in front of her, she forgot her question. Because he actually appeared in front of her.

  One second he was at the back of the truck. The next he stood at the base of the steps, holding out the trunk.

  “For you, Serena Gray. A 30th birthday gift from your Aunt Adriana.”

  “I don’t—have an Aunt Adriana.”

  His smile dazzled her. “Ah, but you do, my darling girl. This gift has waited for your power to mature. Adriana had regrets before her death, and this is one of them.” He set the trunk at her feet. “Her final wish was for you to remedy this, if you can.”

  The mention of power told her all she needed. “Addie. You’re talking about Addie.” Her great aunt—who had sworn she was 500 years old, and had seen kings rise and fall. It was all because of her power, of course. A power Serena had inherited, Addie had always told her, though she wouldn’t know it until she was old enough to understand, to wield it with the compassion Addie had never had in her own heart. “She left me this?”

  The man nodded. “It was entrusted to me, as her last friend.” He pulled a piece of what looked like parchment out of his pocket, and unfolded it. “She also gave me these words, for you.”

  He handed over the parchment. Serena took it, blinking her eyes to clear them, until she realized it was the writing that blurred, not her eyesight.

  “I can’t read this.”

  He flashed another heart-stopping smile. “Give it a moment.”

  Serena looked down at the parchment again—and almost dropped it when the black scribble leaped into focus. “Oh, my God.”

  She had to sit after she read the first sentence.

  My dearest Serena,

  If you are reading these words, then your power has manifested, and you are ready for what lies inside the trunk.

  I am finally at rest, and my darling friend Malcolm has brought to you my most powerful, most regretted vengeance. I will say no more, as everything will be revealed once you explore the contents of the trunk.

  All I will add is this: you are, and have always been, precious in my heart. Because of this, because of your generous and loving nature, I know you are the only one who can reverse what I have wrought.

  I remain, always, your loving aunt.

  Addie

  Serena read the short letter again, then looked up at the man. Malcolm.

  “Is this some kind of joke?”

  The gleam in his dark green eyes faded. “I fear not, sweet Serena. Adriana had a sometimes unforgiving heart, and in her long life, she cultivated a hatred for men that had her—ˮ He cut himself off. “I am treading ground I swore not to. I can tell you this much; if you have need of me, all you have to do is touch any item inside the trunk, and I will do all I can to assist.” He crouched in front of her, his big, warm hand closing over her shoulder. “You are not alone in this, whatever you may think.”

  He leaned in and kissed her cheek before he stood, then tipped his baseball cap and strode down her narrow sidewalk back to the truck. With a final salute, he slid into the open driver’s side and pulled away, leaving her alone.

  Alone with a small, battered wood trunk, and a mind full of questions.

  SERENA DECIDED SHE needed walls around her, and something warm in her stomach, before she opened Addie’s last gift.

  A pot of strong Earl Grey tea, along with some of her fruit scones from yesterday, sat on her scarred farmhouse table, next to the trunk. It looked—smaller than it had on the porch, and less battered.

  Serena perched on the edge of the sofa in the living room and stared at it, twisting her fingers around each other until they ached from the abuse. She knew her birthday would be a turning point in her life, a day to decide which path to take next.

  The trunk—and the unwanted knowledge that came with it—were not one of those paths.

  “You always liked to blindside me, Addie.” This trumped every other shocking, unbelievable statement Addie had ever made. “All right.” Serena pushed to her feet. “Putting it off won’t make the damned thing go away.”

  She walked into the kitchen, sat at the chair in front of the trunk, and carefully poured a cup of tea, adding a little milk to it. In her mind she could see Addie shudder at her choice, and smiled. Addie drank tea—any tea—with only lemon, freshly squeezed, thank you very much.

  After sipping her way through half the tall cup, she ate one of the scones, got up to clean th
e small plate, and sat again, taking a deep, not so steady breath. She had procrastinated long enough.

  The simple latch on the front of the trunk popped open the second she touched it, and left her fingers tingling. Her heart beat faster as she slowly lifted the curved lid. A second letter lay on top of several velvet wrapped lumps. Serena shook out her hands, picked up the letter, and opened it.

  She decided to read it out loud, needing the sound of her voice to help ground this unreal experience.

  “Serena.” That sounded more like Addie than the flowery note Malcolm had given her. Short, to the point. “By now, you’ve met my Malcolm. He’s the only man I have ever trusted completely. You can do the same.” That was high praise, coming from Addie. She had considered most men worthless. “Stop stalling, Serena.”

  She took another breath, and kept reading.

  “Inside this trunk, you will find three things: my athame, which is a symbolic transfer of my power to you, a set of instructions, and a pendant. Do not touch the pendant until you have finished the instructions. I can’t stress this enough. Without the understanding of what you need to do, you may lose your way, and sacrifice the lives now in your hands.” She dropped the letter, her hand tingling from contact. “God, Addie—what did you do?”

  Serena stared at the contents of the trunk. She could walk away now. No one would know...

  “I would.” She sighed. “And I couldn’t live with such a cowardly choice.” She picked up the letter and kept reading. “Your heart is kind, and true. You are what these men need to find their way back. Trust in your heart, in your good sense. I believe in you, Serena. I always have. It’s a heavy burden I leave you, but one I know you will take on with the courage that has always been inside of you. Follow the instructions, my dear niece, and may the Goddess bless you. Addie.”

  After carefully setting the letter on the table, Serena rested her head in her hands, dread at what she would find in those instructions like a weight in her stomach.

  She had to walk away, just for a minute. Just to breathe.

  She paced through her small, single story cottage, trying to ignore the fact that she felt different since she touched the trunk. More alive, more—aware. She had always admired Addie’s sharp, clear view of the world, if not her cynical commentary. After Serena’s parents died, Addie had taken her in, loved her the only way she could; with a heart that had obviously been abused one time too many.

  But Serena had always known she was loved, and Addie’s often caustic outlook only had Serena looking harder for the good in people, while respecting the truth that everyone can do bad things.

  Serena’s need to do good herself had pushed her into a job she now loathed, as a social worker for Child Protective Services. Every day, she saw the evil in people, and it had worn her down so much she finally took a leave of absence.

  Today was Sunday, her last day of freedom, and she still hadn’t decided whether or not she could step back into that world and keep her sanity. Addie’s unexpected gift might be the answer. Or it might lead her down a path she could never escape.

  “It’s probably already too late,” she whispered, staring down at her hands.

  A pale glow surrounded her fingers; the same glow she had seen around Addie at odd moments. Addie had told her straight out that it was power she saw, and being able to see it meant Serena had inherited her own.

  Until now, Serena had always thought Addie was teasing her.

  She tucked her hands in the pockets of her sweater, and made her way back to the kitchen, determined to finish this.

  “All right.” She sat, and reached in for the long, narrow lump she knew was the athame. The blue velvet fell away from a silver scabbard, decorated with the amethysts and rose quartz she remembered. Her hand tingled again as she closed it around the silver hilt. She set the athame down and rubbed her hand against the leg of her well-worn jeans. “Right—deal with that later. Instructions next.”

  The second lump felt like a box, so she snatched her hand away from that, and picked up the third one. It crinkled, which told her there was paper inside the velvet wrapping. She let the creamy velvet fall open, and took out a thick, folded packet of the parchment Addie had always used for letters.

  The first page almost had her abandoning the trunk and running out of the cottage.

  To Break The Curse of The Seven

  Instead, she set the page down, and pressed one hand to her heart as she read what Addie had done.

  MINUTES AFTER SERENA whispered Malcolm’s name, huddled in the corner of the wide front porch, he appeared.

  “Serena? Oh, my heart.” He strode across the porch and pulled her up, into his warm embrace. “You opened the trunk.” She nodded her head, and burrowed deeper into the soft wool sweater he wore, his woodsy scent surrounding her. “Let me take you inside, darling girl. You’re shivering.”

  He guided her into the cottage, and sat with her on her worn leather sofa. His big hand rubbed her back, slow, soothing, comforting. His presence helped chase away the panic that had threatened to swallow her when she’d read Addie’s instructions.

  “What did she do, Malcolm?”

  He sighed, easing her back until she met his dark green eyes. Blonde hair brushed his wide shoulders, hair that had been hidden by his baseball cap. “Addie told you her age?”

  “I didn’t believe her.”

  “Of course not.” He smiled. “You are a sensible, grounded young woman. Which is why Addie chose you for this task.”

  “To break a curse?” Serena fought to keep the panic she felt out of her voice. “Release men she trapped in some kind of limbo? If I believed it—which I’m not sure I do— how exactly am I supposed to do it?”

  “The instructions are there, simple and clear.”

  She sighed. “Send them back to their own time, give them a second chance to let a woman love them. Simple, but hardly easy.”

  “I don’t believe easy was ever used.”

  She smacked his chest, smiling up at him. “Now I know why she liked you. Same twisted sense of humor.”

  He kissed her forehead, then eased her back to his chest, his fingers caught in her blonde curls. Serena had stopped trying to fight them years ago, and once she let them have free reign, they finally started to behave. Malcolm’s touch soothed her, the steady beat of his heart as calming as his presence. “Addie gave this task to you, because she knew your heart would lead you.”

  Serena sat, pulling out of his embrace. “My head says to run in the opposite direction, as fast as I possibly can.” Once she spoke the words, she knew she’d made her choice. She stood, backing away from Malcolm. “And that’s what I’m going to do.”

  He rose, tall and imposing in her small living room. “Serena—”

  “I’m sorry, Malcolm. I can’t do this.” She crossed her arms, the disappointment in his eyes leaving her cold. “I’m not what Addie always insisted I should be. I’m not a—witch.” Just saying the word out loud left her shaky and unsure of herself. Unsure of who she should be, and who she was. “Despite what Addie thought, I don’t have the power to help them.”

  “Serena—”

  “Please go. I don’t need you.” She wanted to flinch after she said the words, but she swallowed, and lifted her chin.

  “I understand your fear.” Malcolm bowed his head. “I am always here for you, Serena. All you need do is call.”

  He walked away from her, across the living room, and she sucked in her breath when he faded out of sight.

  How had her life gone from boring to strange in one day?

  Two

  SERENA WENT INTO the office on Monday, and quit her job.

  When she walked out, carrying the few items she had put on her desk to make it less sterile, she felt lighter, able to breathe for the first time in months. That told her she had made the right decision.

  She spent the next week cleaning and organizing—something she never seemed to have time for when she was juggling a twelve-h
our work day with the need for eating and sleeping.

  The trunk still sat on her kitchen table, a silent accusation every time she walked past it. She didn’t have the nerve to touch it long enough to carry it out of the cottage, so it stayed, a constant reminder of what she wouldn’t do. What she couldn’t do.

  Saturday night, she got drunk. It didn’t help. The trunk was still there in the morning, and through her nausea-inducing hangover headache, she could see the glow shimmering around it. Could feel it in the tips of her fingers—that shock of electric heat, and the new awareness that came with it. She’d quit her job because of it.

  “I must have been out of my mind,” she mumbled.

  After sneaking past the kitchen table—and feeling ridiculous doing it—she grabbed a bottle of water and the bottle of orange juice she’d squeezed yesterday, taking them out to the porch. Even with the clouds, the morning light threatened to blind her, but she needed to sit.

  She brailled her way to the closest chair and lowered herself, hugging both bottles until her head stopped threatening to fall off her shoulders.

  Even out of sight, the trunk taunted her. She ignored the need to go back in and open it, by drinking liquids until her stomach protested. Then she had to go inside to use the bathroom—which would take her past the trunk.

  “Fine.” She stared up at the ceiling. “Fine, Addie. You win.”

  With a groan, she carefully pushed to her feet, and made her way to the bathroom. After splashing water on her face a few times, she took a deep breath and headed for the kitchen.

  “All right. Decision time, Serena.” Before she could talk herself out of it again, she opened the trunk and pulled out the bulky instructions. She shuffled through the pages until she found the spot where she’d stopped, too horrified to continue. “I have condemned these men to an eternity of isolation—unless you help them, my soft-hearted niece. Even as I regret my actions, I know I can’t face them again. I am counting on your courage, and your need to make things right, to compensate for my cowardice. Read the following carefully before you touch the pendant—I’m not all that certain the papers will travel with you.”