Sheltered Hearts (A Hidden Hearts Novel Book 2)

by Mary Crawford

  Originally, my grandma was going to play piano today, but she was feeling a bit shaky this morning so she asked me to fill in for her. It’s interesting to be both bridesmaid and accompanist at a wedding. I’ve been in lots of weddings before, but I’ve never had to play dual roles. Fortunately, Rogue chose not to wear a dress with a long train, so Jade only has to tend to one train.

  As I play the wedding march and watch Isaac proudly march up the aisle with a beautiful woman on each arm, it’s all I can do not to cry on the piano keys. After my friends have reached the front of the church, I grab my flowers from a front pew and go stand beside Jade.

  My grandpa steps up to the pulpit and comments as he surveys the wedding party, “You know, you guys are really good at confounding me. I’ve encountered more things with you that I’ve never run into before in all my years as a minister. First, it was Isaac and Rosa already being married and now you all are throwing two at once at me. I’m not even sure I want to know what comes next.”

  “I believe that’s going to be Jessica,” Marcus answers with a wink in my direction.

  “Son, I already know her wedding is going to be a wild one. She was practicing for that long before she ever met the likes of you,” he quips with a smile. “I apologize for missing the wedding rehearsal last night. Mr. Baumgartner had a heart attack at a rather inconvenient time, but he is feeling stronger this afternoon. I’m not sure of the order you’ve all worked out, so I’ll let you take the lead; just let me know when you want me to say my parts.”

  “I get to go first since I was the one that started this ball rolling,” Ivy responds looking at Rogue. “When I first set out to find you, I expected the worst. Yet, what I found was the absolute best. I found the best sister in the world. Neither of us expected to find our other half, literally. I also never expected to find a beautiful bonus set of parents whose love story inspires me every single day. However, the biggest surprise of all was that I found a man who takes my breath away and helps me find it again. I never expected to fall in love in the middle of an asthma attack, but if I’m truly honest with myself, I really did.” Ivy turns to Marcus and traces the edge of a tattoo that is visible under his shirt cuff with her fingertips as she says. “You were everything I didn’t expect but everything that is absolutely perfect for me. You encourage me to be bold and outrageous. Rogue once told me that your specialty would be teaching me to color outside the lines. It turns out that pushing boundaries and living life in full color is my favorite place to be. I’m so glad you encouraged me to be my true self. Marcus Brolen, I love you so much,” Ivy whispers softly.

  A tear slides down Rogue’s face as she hands Ivy a Kleenex and wipes her own face before picking up the complicated love story, “Before you found me, I was busy pretending to keep it together, pretending that I had it all. That I needed no one. But, I was carrying around a lot of hurt and anger that I hadn’t shared with anyone. I had physical pain I couldn’t describe and I was angry at a nameless, faceless man I never knew.” Rogue turns to Tristan. “When you came into my life, I wanted to hate you and everything you stood for, yet somehow I couldn’t. You were so different from what I expected that I couldn’t seem to muster the proper level of hate for a man who clearly had money but had the morals to match. As time went on, I fell head over heels in love with you but was still afraid to trust what was right in front of me. Watching my sister fall in love with my best friend helped me realize that no relationship is perfect or has the perfect timetable, love just is. You were everything I needed you to be, strong and steady and there when they needed you to help me reunite my family in ways I never dreamed possible and helped me fulfill dreams that without your help, would be unreachable. Without even realizing was happening, I went from skeptic to your biggest cheerleader to your partner. Thank you for loving me through it, Tristan Macklin.”

  Watching my friends become emotional is hard for me to watch. This is especially true when it comes to Rogue because it’s such an atypical reaction from her. She’s usually so calm, cool and collected — it’s like she’s got ice water running through her veins. As I look around, I realize that I’m not the only person affected by the emotional words from the twins. Of course, Isaac and Rosa are crying; but Devon, the new dog trainer at Hope’s Haven is surreptitiously wiping away tears as well and he doesn’t even know any of these people.

  Tristan loosens his tie a little before he begins to speak, “At first, Rogue was just another puzzle for me to solve, but, it took almost no time at all for me to figure out that she is actually the missing piece of the puzzle in my life that makes the whole thing makes sense.” He leans forward and places a kiss on Rogue’s cheek as he murmurs, “I love you, Rogue Medea Sisneros Betancourt.”

  Rogue smiles with a teary grin as she responds, “I love you too, Mr. Super-Secret Spy Guy.”

  Marcus elbows Tristan in the ribs as he quips, “I knew I should’ve gone first, you all are like Shakespeare compared to me. First, you have the super romantic proposal and then you take my best friend to Paris to get engaged; it’s a lot for a guy to keep up with, you know? I’ll give it my best shot though.” He turns to Ivy and says, “You know, for many years, I began to wonder if I was even capable of falling in love. I didn’t know if it was because of my ‘troubled past’, the odd way that I perceive the world or just because I was weird, but love just never seemed to happen for me the way it did for everyone else. When Rogue became my best friend and everyone started to wonder why we weren’t together, I just gave up the thought of finding that perfect match, the person who sees the real me. Then Tristan found you. I know the real story is that he found Rogue for you, but in my mind, he found you for me. From the moment I looked into your eyes while we counted breaths when I was helping you through your asthma attack, you owned my heart and everything else I have. I’m so lucky to be here on this day with you, I could’ve never dreamed it. I love you, Ivy Montclair.”

  Ivy rushes forward and gives him a brief hug as she whispers, “It’s funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

  Grandpa clears his throat as he turns to Marcus and remarks, “Mr. Brolen, I know you were nervous today, but I’m not sure what you were worried about; it seems to be you did just fine. That sounded pretty poetic to me. I’ve been through lots of ceremonies and that one seemed very heartfelt to me. Now, since Ivy and Marcus went up first last go around, I’ll let Mr. Macklin and Miss Betancourt have the honors this time.” My grandpa looks at Jade and Elliott and asks, “I presume you fine people are the keepers of the rings?”

  Jade winks at my grandpa before she answers, “I am, but for the life of me I can’t understand why because I lose everythin— ”

  Suddenly, from the back of the room there is a commotion. We crane our necks to see what’s going on. All of the members of the wedding party blanch a little when my grandpa asks, “What in tarnation? Are you here to object to one of these marriages? I’ve never in all my years of performing marriages had one of those. What is going on here?”

  The woman takes her parka off and I realize that it’s Janice as she gasps and declares, “Oh no, Pastor Walker. I’m sorry to interrupt — but it’s an emergency.”

  “Well, why didn’t you say something? Go on, don’t stand on formalities,” Grandpa demands impatiently.

  “It’s Craig. I can’t find him anywhere. I’m afraid he overheard his father make some threats over the phone and who knows what he thought about them. I didn’t even know he was home. I thought he was with my mom at the movies.”

  Sharlene runs in behind Janice as she confirms, “I’m so sorry. I planned to take the grand babies to the movies, but they were sold out of the kids’ movie so I brought them back home. I didn’t know Calvin was going to be on the speakerphone.”

  “Mom, that’s okay. I just do it that way so I can record it in case I ever need it for court. None of us knew he was going call. Still, I think Craig heard Calvin say he was going to get rid of his little child-support pro
blem.”

  I hear Grandma exclaim from the back of the sanctuary, “To think that Calvin was one of my best students in bible study.”

  Grandpa looks at the wedding party and asks, “Any objection to postponing these proceedings for the moment? It seems that all you really need to do is sign paperwork anyway. You guys have done the mushy feel-good part.”

  Almost in total synchronization, Ivy and Rogue turn to Isaac and Tristan and issue orders, “Go!”

  IT TAKES ME HALF A second to go from wedding mode to rescuer mode and when I do, my heart drops to my knees. I know I have every bit of training that I need to do this correctly, but after what happened the last time I tried this, my head and my heart don’t necessarily agree. I know I need to nix that attitude in a hurry. I concentrate on my breathing for a moment while I mentally catalog what I need to do in the next five minutes to make this happen.

  When I look back up, Devon is standing right in front of me, “Boss? What do you need me to do first?”

  I look down at my dark suit and survey the rest of the wedding party. Nearly everyone who would be a key player in the search is dressed just like me. It’s perfectly appropriate for the wedding, not so appropriate for a search at the end of November. Devon on the other hand is dressed in khakis and a turtleneck and sweater.

  “Devon, please tell me that you didn’t have time to unload all the training gear from the rig last week,” I mutter as I shed off my tie and fancy cufflinks.

  “It’s all still there. I got interrupted by a reporter the other day and didn’t get around to unloading it. All I need to do is go back and get the dogs. Tucker is solid with the seek command and we can also use Hope and Lexicon.”

  “Do you need the Polaris?” Walter offers as he walks up behind me.

  “Actually, I do. I’m really concerned about the water level in the creek at this time year and the weather is not working in our favor. If you can cover the water line, I’ll take the dogs and cover this area since it’s the start of the search. With three dogs, we should be able to cover quite a bit of distance.”

  “How will you manage three dogs with two handlers? I’ve watched you enough with them that I could probably direct Hope well enough,” Jessica offers as she takes off her high heels and her jewelry. “I’m going to run over to the parsonage and change. I’ve got a pair of ski pants stashed in the Jeep. You know what a packrat I am. I’ve got everything from bikinis to a pup tent in there.”

  “I know, I can’t believe at some point I thought your disorganization was going to drive me nuts, but it’s saved my backside more than once. I think Hope will do just fine with you. Some days she listens to your commands better than mine anyway,” I admit.

  Loud enough for the rest of the room to hear, I announce, “We’ll meet back here in ten minutes in more appropriate clothing to start the search. Has anyone called Sheriff Foster and his team?”

  “Nobody needs to call me when I’m sitting right here,” Billy says. “I’ve already called in backup.”

  After we’ve reassembled, relief courses through my body when it becomes apparent that it doesn’t take the dogs long at all to hit on the same scent. Wherever Craig is, he likely went there on foot.

  I’m certain to the non-trained observer, we look like some sort of performance art as all of us are parading down the street. Cars are stopping in the middle of the street to watch our progress. However, the dogs are not deterred as they are charging down the street on a singularly important mission. Things get a little more muddled when we reach the city park; it seems as if Craig may have lingered here for a bit. However, Hope quickly picks up the trail again and we’re having difficulty keeping up with her on the icy sidewalk. Suddenly, Hope veers off at an angle and runs up the stairs toward the library. Inexplicably, she sits down in front of the metal book return box.

  It doesn’t really make any sense that we would be here at all. The library is closed down for the holiday season and there isn’t a soul around. It’s closed up tight and there aren’t even prints in the snow, although with the wind blowing like it is, the snow patterns are not a terribly reliable way to determine who has been coming or going.

  I study Hope’s body language closely to make sure that she isn’t just stopping for a rest in the brutal weather. However, it is very clear that she is alerting us that she has found Craig.

  “Jess, you know this little boy, right?” I ask over my shoulder. “Is he a large kid?”

  Jessica shakes her head, as she answers, “No, he’s built more like a soccer player than a football player. He’s pretty tall, but very thin.”

  “How old is he again?” I ask as an idea starts to form.

  “He’s five, but he acts older because he has a big sister. He is always trying to keep up with her.”

  I call Devon over and point out the oversized opening to the book return box. “What do you think?”

  He shrugs as he responds, “I guess anything’s possible. I would trust Hope’s instincts.”

  “We got bolt cutters?”

  Sheriff Foster steps forward with a set as he says, “Way ahead of you.” He snaps the padlock on the hitch and opens the metal book return cupboard. Much to our relief, Craig is curled up in a slightly awkward position, almost completely upside down and he’s sound asleep.

  Jessica squats down beside him and gently lifts him out and holds him in her arms as she murmurs, “Hey, Sweetie, the library is closed today. What are you doing here? It’s not story day until next week.”

  Craig blinks in surprise at his change in circumstances and then buries his face in her neck as he answers, “I know, Miss Jessica — but I had to come here. ‘Member when you said that the liberry is the place you can pretend to be anything you want to be and everybody loves all the books at the liberry?

  Jessica nods with a puzzled look on her face.

  “I heard my daddy tell my mommy that he don’t love me anymore and he don’t want to be my daddy.”

  “I see. That must’ve been scary to hear,” Jessica acknowledges.

  “I comed here to pretend to be a book so everyone would love me again.”

  “Craig, can I tell you a little secret?” Jessica murmurs, as she sticks her forehead against his. “Sometimes, when grown-ups are really mad, we say stuff that’s really silly and stupid. I bet your daddy never stopped loving you for a single second, even if you didn’t pretend to be a book. You know what else? Your mom and grandma love you bunches and bunches because they sent all of us to come look for you.”

  Craig smiles shyly as he asks, “Really, Miss Jessica, or is you just making up one of your silly stories?”

  Jessica grins broadly as she responds, “Do I do that? I happen to believe all my stories are true, especially the mushy ones about love, but this one is absolutely one hundred percent true. You were rescued by a dog nobody wanted. Hope was given a second chance and trained in the new job and she saved your life. Now, you can grow up to be anything you want to be. That sounds like a pretty awesome story to me. I think you should write it down so that the library can someday publish your book. Does that sound like a good plan to you?”

  “Miss Jessica, can I put parrots in this story, too?” Craig asks.

  Jessica comes over to me and puts a free arm around my waist as she says, “Why not, kiddo? We all have a chance to write our own happy endings.”

  THE END (for now)

  (You can follow up the rest of the friends in Hearts of Jade, which is available now.)

  Although I spend countless hours dictating books alone, writing is by no means a solitary endeavor. I have many people who help me along the way. Chief among them on this project are my editor, Lacie Redding, my beta reader, Kathern Watts, and my extraordinary cover designer, Ada Frost. Put quite simply, without the help of these wonderful women, this book would not exist. Also deserving mention are Heather Truett, Susan Pruitt and Tiffany Fox who do their best to inform the world that I write books. It seems simple enough to publicize books,
but in a crowded field it’s hard to help an author stick out. These ladies do their best.

  As you may have noticed from this book, I am a huge supporter of service dogs. I got my first service dog in the mid-80s. Her name was Molly and I received her from the Assistance Dogs of America, back when service dogs for people in wheelchairs was an unusual concept. I’m also an avid fan of rescuing dogs. I have adopted several dogs from the Humane Society.

  Your purchase of this book will help support Search and Rescue dogs of the United States of America. I will donate 15% of my profits to that organization. You can help maximize this impact by sharing the word about this book with your friends and family. If you like this book, please leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads and Twitter (If you don’t like it, I need to hear that too).

  I have had many positive influences in my life, but one of the most enduring is the pastor that I had growing up, Ken Knoll. I credit the marriage advice that he gave my husband and I in premarital counseling for the fact that I am still happily married after twenty-seven years. Pastor Knoll retired last year and I just want acknowledge the wonderful impact he has had on my life. Thanks, Ken.

  Because love matters, differences don’t.

  ~ Mary

  Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States: