The Business Plan

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  When they both return to their hometown after Kim’s divorce, they end up fighting the attraction between them. Neither is willing to talk about the promise Bruce made…until one summer night.

  And don’t miss the next book in this brand new series coming in April 2016. Kim and Bruce’s wedding in LOVE’S PROMISE

  Click here to download HIS PROMISE

  Chapter One

  There wasn’t a day that Kim hadn’t loved Bruce. Never in a million years had she doubted that they would be together. At seventeen, they were inseparable. She couldn’t imagine, as she stared up at the thousands of stars in the dark Montana sky not kissing Bruce or feeling his touch on every other day like this one, when she would gaze up at the light of the moon or the bright blue sky.

  But then, you never forget the taste of your first love. He touched her the way no other man could. It was imprinted on her soul—the way she molded against him, skin to skin, with each breath. Each moment with him, kissing, touching, or just talking, the sound of his voice melted her soul and had her yearning to see him again before he even left.

  She didn’t believe her lips would ever forget the taste of his love. His touch, his smile, the light in his hazel eyes when he held her face in his hands the very first time he’d kissed her—it was all burned forever in her memory.

  Like yesterday.

  “Hey, baby.” He came up behind her, sliding his hand over the flat of her stomach. He lifted her hair and pressed a kiss to her cheek before sliding his lips down the soft skin on her neck. He was pulling her back with him into the shadows.

  “Where are you taking me?” she asked, then giggled. She couldn’t help it, as he had his hand under her shirt. He’d pulled the long cotton fabric free from the waistband of her jeans and was running his hand over her skin. His belt buckle was pressing into her. She craved the feel of him all the time and mourned his touch when he was gone.

  “Where your daddy can’t find us,” he said. He had his hand on the rail of the wooden ladder that led up to the loft. “Go on.”

  She didn’t hesitate as she climbed the rail. She could hear the tractor purring in the field. The sound carried, so she knew as long as she could hear it in the distance, they had time alone. “You weren’t supposed to be here today,” she said. “You said you couldn’t come, that you had to pack.”

  He pulled her to their space in the loft where the hay bales were stacked against the dark planks. She climbed over the two bales and into their hidden spot, a bed of hay with an old blanket thrown overtop. It was where they always met, where they hid out together. It was where they’d met last night, when she’d snuck out of the house after her parents were asleep. It was where they’d last been together—touching, tasting, exploring each other.

  “I couldn’t leave without seeing you again.” He pulled her down with him so they were lying side by side. Her body had a mind of its own and responded to Bruce, moving closer to him, her legs tangled with his, her hands pulling at his shirt, kissing him as she threaded her fingers through his short brown hair. She loved his hair, how it too seemed to do whatever it wanted. The natural waves always had that messy bad-boy look, and every time he cut it, it made the smile that lit up his face and his eyes stand out on his cheeks. And his lips…full and so kissable. Oh, and could Bruce kiss. She loved his long, lean body, his legs, how much taller he was than her—how much stronger. She truly believed he was forever hers, and he wouldn’t let anything come between them.

  But she was wrong. Oh so wrong.

  “Just one more kiss,” he said as he leaned over her. “I need to know you’ll wait for me.”

  “You know I will. I wish you didn’t have to go.” She wanted to cry. It would be ninety-three days of hell until she could feel his touch again, feel his lips on her again, feel his love again. Life was so unfair.

  “Kim! Kim!” It was her mother calling out.

  “I have to go, but I don’t want to,” she said, rolling onto her back, her hands above her head.

  He kissed her one more time and pulled a strand of hay from her hair. “I’ll call you. I promise I will. Baby, remember I fall in love with you over and over every single day. Nothing will come between us. Remember this, feel this.” He took her hand and pressed it to his beating heart. “It’s for you, only for you, that my heart beats. This moment, the way you look now, the blueness in your eyes and how they smile only for me and beg me into your loving arms, the way your long hair teases me and has that curly, messy look even when you try to brush it straight…”

  Not a day had gone by without her remembering those last moments together—almost twenty years ago, now. She’d promised to be his forever…that was, until she married someone else.

  Chapter Two

  Kim loved the drive into town, the rolling hills, the way the grass had turned brown from the heat of the summer sun. These fields were prime grazing land for cattle and horses. Before long, she was back in the town of Columbia Falls, where she’d grown up, fallen in love, and then gotten married and divorced. She had lived a lifetime even though she was only thirty-six. There were days she mourned how much time she’d lost.

  She had to live with her choices and had given up a few years back on beating herself up and wishing for what she couldn’t have. But she couldn’t help wondering what could have been. At times, it hurt to breathe, loving a man so much that the thought of him had her lying awake for many lonely nights. Oh, she’d tried to move on, but there’s something about your first love that makes you compare every other man to the one.

  She pulled into the parking lot of a block-long strip mall and the grocery store she’d driven across town to visit. She had driven past a much better, bigger grocery store to get here, but then, this store was across the street from Bruce. She stepped out of her dark blue pickup and couldn’t help looking up to the five-story red brick building where Bruce Siegel, now a pediatrician, had his office. She wondered if she’d catch a glimpse of him behind his desk, working through the mountains of paperwork that kept him for hours on end. Just the sight of his thick brown hair—shorter now, but still with a hint of messy from when they were teens—had her needing another look. There were times when she was so close that he’d happen to look out and see her, and he’d wave and come down. She always prayed for those times, like today.

  “Hey, Kim.” Just the sound of his voice still caused a flutter in her stomach.

  She turned to see him walking her way across the parking lot in dark dress pants, a white dress shirt, and a blue tie. He had glasses on—thin, rimless—and they only made him look better, sexier, even more handsome, if that was possible. Then he smiled for her. Damn, her heart skipped a beat.

  He hadn’t always smiled at her, not when he’d first come back home.

  She could feel the dimples in her cheeks, and she stepped to him as if there were an invisible cord attached to her stomach, pulling her forward. “Taking a break?” she teased as he gazed down at her with the mischievous look he’d had since they were kids.

  “Lunch,” he said. “I didn’t pack anything today. This is quick, gives me a break to stretch my legs.”

  His legs…she remembered his long limbs, muscled thighs, and great butt. Evidently, nothing had changed. He was still a head taller. His chest was a little broader, more solid, a man’s chest, one she’d love to feel pressed against her. One she could be held close to.

  “What about you, Kim? What brings you down here?”

  “Well, shopping, of course.” She lifted the strap of her red purse over her shoulder and worried, for a moment, about how she looked. She had washed and brushed her long dark hair even though some unruly waves would always pop up out of nowhere. She wore her new blue jeans, the Levis that gave her an amazing ass. She had tucked in a white sleeveless shirt with a high collar that she knew showed her tanned arms, which, she was happy to see, were firm and toned. But then, Kim didn’t sit around all day: She was always working her small farm, going out with her horse, weedin
g in her garden—always doing something.

  Bruce was smiling. He glanced the other way before looking back at her. “You like driving all the way across town when the Food Mart’s closer to you?”

  “Maybe I like my stores smaller and more out of the way,” she said, teasing him.

  He laughed softly. Oh, man, did she love the sound of his deep laugh. It wasn’t loud and obnoxious like some guys’ but teasing and soft, causing all kinds of havoc to her insides. “You just want to see me, is all,” he said. Still as arrogant and cocky as ever.

  “Yeah, I do. You always make my day.”

  He was watching her, and something changed in the way he stared at her, something she couldn’t make out. It wasn’t happy or mad or sad, but it was confusing.

  “So I didn’t see you in church this week,” she said. The community church their families belonged to was where they’d met again when he returned to Columbia Falls after staying away for eighteen very long years.

  “Had an emergency. I was on call. So how is everyone? Heard Jamie rattled some of the old timers.”

  Kim had to suppress a giggle. Jamie Johnson, the dashing young blue-eyed, blond-haired single pastor, had moved in right before Bruce arrived and had taken over the congregation from the eighty-year-old minister who had been a mainstay in the community for most of Kim’s life. The man had run his church with an iron fist, but Jamie refused to stick to formalities and liked to stir things up, including his own opinions. He was far more “new age” and relaxed than any minister Kim had ever met.

  “Well, at least it was too hot for him to wear his leather jacket,” she said. “Yes, after a few of the elders criticized the locals who never show up for church, Jamie asked what made a better Christian, someone who attends church every Sunday and believes all is well or someone who never sets foot in a church but treats everyone with kindness and respect, each day making an effort to make a difference? You can imagine there were a lot of red faces up front. I think he got the reaction he wanted. He says it often: he’s a devil at times, but he really does call crap out when he hears it.”

  Bruce wasn’t smiling, but he was giving all of himself to her in the way he watched her. It was so unsettling. She felt a thick lump building in her throat, and for a moment she struggled to breathe. It was difficult to swallow, and the air between them was electric.

  “So how are things going out at your place?” he said. “I heard you had the vet out for your horse. Everything all right?”

  “Yeah, everything is fine, he said. I was worried, as Chloe hasn’t been keeping weight on. She lost a fair bit over the winter. She’s going on fourteen, still good for a horse, but she’s slowing down. He said everything looked fine, though. Could have been the quality of hay I had over the winter. With all the spring grass coming up, she usually puts on weight, just not this year.” The vet really hadn’t seemed worried, but Kim was positive he was missing something. After all, she knew her horse better than he did, vet or no vet.

  “Well, trust your instincts,” Bruce replied. “You know your horse. If you need anything, let me know.”

  She didn’t want him to walk away, but they were at that moment she didn’t like, when he was about to say he needed to go, and she would say the same thing and go into the store and pine away all week until she could see him again in town or at church on Sunday.

  “Hey, would you like to come out for dinner?” she asked. Her hands were shaking, and her heart was hammering so hard she felt as if she were dying a thousand deaths as she waited for his response. Maybe he’d let her down gently, tell her no, but thanks anyway. Maybe he secretly had a girlfriend, even though he’d never shown up with a woman at church since he’d been back. She was positive he was alone. Lord, she hoped he was alone.

  “You’re inviting me for a home-cooked meal? Sounds great, when?”

  She had to fight the urge to jump up and down and clap like the young girl inside who still pined for her lost love. Then he smiled again, brighter, wider, lighting up his face, his eyes, and she wondered what kind of silly grin was pasted on her own face.

  “Well, you tell me. I know your schedule is busy. I’m free any time.” Boy, did that sound pathetic. Did he have any idea how lonely she was?

  “How about tomorrow?” He stepped to the side and touched her arm. He didn’t pull his hand away, and she wished he’d leave it there forever. It was a touch that turned her into a seventeen-year-old all over again, into the girl who loved everything about Bruce. He was the first thought in her head when she opened her eyes in the morning and the last thought she had before she fell asleep at night.

  “Five is probably too early for you with work. How about six?”

  “Six is good.” He took a step back and jabbed his finger her way. “Looking forward to it.”

  And she stood there for what seemed like forever as Bruce walked away before spurring herself into action, having an idea what she would make. She remembered what he loved and what he didn’t and hoped nothing had changed. Yes, Bruce Siegel, I’m going to make you an amazing dinner.

  Click here to download HIS PROMISE to keep reading

  Afterword

  Thank you so much for reading The Business Plan and re-visiting Neil and Candy. The Friessen family is one of my favorites, and I love writing about these complex alpha males and their families. Neil and Candy have had a tough road and a lot to overcome and many thought these two would never make it together. Coming in 2016 there will be brand new stories that will intertwine with all the Friessen clan and remember if enjoyed this book or any of my books please leave a review, each and every review you all have left I deeply appreciate.

  Now, although this book and all my books have been edited and proofed, editors, proofreaders, and I are all human. If you spot a typo, please email me at lorhainne@lorhainneeckhart.com and let me know. Also, I would like to thank everyone who has emailed and told all their family and friends about my books. If you’d like to know more about my other books, please scroll to the next section or visit my website at www.LorhainneEckhart.com.

  Stay in touch with me. If you’d like to sign up for my newsletter, I promise not to flood you with emails, but I will notify you of all new releases and special promotions.

  All the best,

  Lorhainne Eckhart

  About the Author

  New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lorhainne Eckhart’s books have been described as Longmire meets old-school Dallas, and she recently received the 2015 & 2013 Readers’ Favorite Award for Romance & Romantic Suspense for her titles The Price to Love & Lost and Found. With over forty titles under her belt, her big family romance series have become a fan favorite. She is frequently a Top 100 bestselling author in multiple genres, such as romance, western, military, and mystery/suspense. She has written multiple series, including The Outsider, Walk the Right Road, The Wilde Brothers, Saved, The Friessens, and her two newest additions, Married in Montana and her high-stakes suspense and sizzling, red-hot romance series Kate and Walker: Deadly, Dangerous, and Desired.

  You can chat with Lorhainne on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AuthorLorhainneEckhart, Twitter @LEckhart, and her blog at http://www.lorhainneeckhart.com/blog/.

  If you’re interested in finding out how to get your hands on early advance release copies of all her upcoming books or receiving exclusive access to weekly giveaways and special limited-time promotions, click here to sign up for my newsletter and all those details will be delivered right to your inbox.

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  Links to Lorhainne Eckhart’s Booklist

  The following Lorhainne Eckhart titles are available in ele
ctronic format. Please scroll down for the links or visit her website at www.LorhainneEckhart.com for available retailers.

  The Outsider Series

  The Forgotten Child (Brad and Emily)

  A Baby and a Wedding (An Outsider Series Short)

  Fallen Hero (Andy, Jed, and Diana)

  The Search (An Outsider Series Short)

  The Awakening (Andy and Laura)

  Secrets (Jed and Diana)

  Runaway (Andy and Laura)

  Overdue (An Outsider Series Short)

  The Unexpected Storm (Neil and Candy)

  The Wedding (Neil and Candy)

  Or grab all the books in this sizzling romance series in one boxed set collection, The Outsider Series: The Complete Omnibus Collection.

  The Friessens: A New Beginning

  The Deadline (Andy and Laura)

  The Price to Love (Neil and Candy)

  A Different Kind of Love (Brad and Emily)

  A Vow of Love, A Friessen Family Christmas

  Or grab all the books in this romantic family saga in one boxed set collection, The Friessens A New Beginning: The Collection

  The Friessens

  The Reunion

  The Bloodline (Andy & Laura)

  The Promise (Diana & Jed)

  The Business Plan (Neil & Candy)

  The Decision (Brad & Emily)

  The Wilde Brothers

  The One (Joe and Margaret)

  The Honeymoon, A Wilde Brothers Short

  Friendly Fire (Logan and Julia)

  Not Quite Married, A Wilde Brothers Short

  A Matter of Trust (Ben and Carrie)

  The Reckoning, A Wilde Brothers Christmas

  Traded (Jake)

  Unforgiven (Samuel)

  Now Available! Grab all the books in this big family romance series in one collection. The Wilde Brothers The Complete Collection

  Married in Montana

  His Promise

  Love’s Promise