The Strongest Love

by Melissa Storm

  The Strongest Love

  Alaskan Hearts, Book 5

  Melissa Storm

  © 2019, Partridge & Pear Press

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  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only; it may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

  Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination, or the author has used them fictitiously.

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  Editor: Megan Harris

  Cover Designer: Mallory Rock

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  Partridge & Pear Press

  PO Box 72

  Brighton, MI 48116

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  What to Read Next!

  Sneak Peak of The Happiest Place

  More from Melissa Storm

  About Melissa Storm

  To anyone who’s ever wanted to catch a snowflake on her tongue. To all who appreciate winter’s special kind of magic.

  Prologue

  Brenna Barry took in a deep breath of the autumn Alaskan air. Everything felt clearer up here, less complicated. Perhaps that was because she was finally free, but freedom, as she’d already learned, sometimes came with a terrible price. If she hadn’t…

  No, don’t think about it, she chastised herself, willing her mind to stay blank as she marched her way over to the corral.

  A large, tan gelding greeted her with a shake of his head and a wet, breathy whinny.

  “Well, aren’t you just about the sweetest animal I’ve ever met?” she said, reaching over the fence to stroke the horse between its large, satellite-like ears.

  He settled into her touch, his dark gaze full of trust as he watched her.

  “Those eyes melt my heart,” she confided as she leaned her head into the side of his neck and sighed, letting all of the worry and stress of her crazy life go for a few moments. Right now, she would simply enjoy being next to this beautiful, gentle soul who could never choose to hurt her. Horses were better than people in that way.

  A perky, pleasant voice wafted across the field and over to Brenna. “Ahh, I see you’ve met Buddy.”

  Brenna turned and smiled at Elizabeth, the woman who ran Memory Ranch. She’d already made it halfway across the field toward the corral. Another woman paced merrily beside her. They almost looked like they could be sisters with their matching fiery locks.

  “So that’s his name,” Brenna said. “Because he wouldn’t tell me.”

  Both women laughed appreciatively. When in doubt, make a joke. It was one of her rules for making sure people liked her and that they also didn’t dig too deep.

  “Yup, Buddy,” Liz confirmed. “He’s kind of what you could call our ranch greeter. He likes to make sure everyone knows he’s here and that he enjoys being loved.”

  Liz clapped a hand on the other woman’s back. “And this is Ellie. She’s a guest at the ranch, too.”

  Elizabeth Jane laughed softly, then turned to smile at the other woman.

  Now that they were closer, Brenna realized she’d briefly met Ellie before at the barn dance a couple nights back. She nodded and said hello.

  “Well, I guess she was a guest. I don’t think she’ll be staying much longer now.”

  Ellie reached out to shake her hand. “You’re the new girl from… England? Is that right?”

  Brenna shook her head. “I wish! I’ve never been to Europe. Maybe one day.” She let out a wistful sigh. If only she could change this important fact about herself. If only she could be someone sophisticated and foreign, someone who grew up with a completely different life—but, no. She was Brenna Barry, for better or for worse. Often for worse.

  She felt the other women’s eyes on her and rushed to finish the topic. “This is the farthest I’ve ever been away from my home state, which is Florida, by the way.”

  Ellie slapped a palm to her forehead. “Of course, I knew it was somewhere far away, but—boy—was I wrong on that one. You know, I’m here because I have some troubles with my memory sometimes.”

  Liz laughed heartily, and Brenna felt herself relaxing in their company. She liked this Ellie. It was a shame she was leaving. Brenna would have liked to be her friend.

  When the laughter quieted, Ellie said, “I’m sorry that your first couple of days here have been a bit chaotic. Things just kind of went up in smoke the night of the dance for me, and everyone has been working to set things right. Not that barn dance weekend isn’t already busy enough for all of us, right? But, everything is all worked out now, which means the staff can turn their focus to you.”

  Brenna gulped down a ball of anxiety that suddenly found its way into her throat. She didn’t want everyone’s attention. She just wanted to blend in and be normal for once. Ignored.

  Apparently sensing her hesitation, Ellie added, “This ranch saved my life. It will do the same for you if you let it.”

  Brenna smiled warmly at Ellie. This is a nice person. She’s trying to help you.

  “I think I recognize you, too,” Brenna told her. “I heard you came here after an accident had taken your memory, but that you got your memory back that night of the barn dance. I’m so happy for you. And, I may have heard some talk about you and a certain cowboy who works here finding your way back to each other.”

  Ellie laughed and gave a flippant shrug. “News travels fast, I guess.”

  Brenna motioned toward one of the older cowboys who worked on the ranch. “I was curious about what was going on, so Howard filled me in on some details. He didn’t tell me everything—just enough so I was able to understand that things were happening a bit out of the ordinary.”

  Everyone smiled and waved to Howard before returning to their conversation.

  Elizabeth Jane appeared to be genuinely upset now. “Well, I’m truly sorry I wasn’t around more for your first two days here. I feel terrible, but I had to help with Ellie once she had her breakthrough. I hope you can understand.”

  “Oh, I’m fine. You had to do what you had to do. Seriously, don’t worry about me.” Brenna was used to being ignored. Preferred it, even. It seemed she’d have to make some effort to be social with the others now that she was here, though. So, what could she say to make Liz feel better?

  The words rushed out quickly like an apology. “Umm, I’ve got settled into my cabin and have just been spending time walking around and seeing where everything is. Dorian has shown me around the kitchen a bit. He said once you had some time, you would be the one to help get me set up in there and explain my duties. It’s okay that you haven’t had time yet, though. I understand. I can wait.”

  Brenna had arrived in Alaska two days ago after spending a couple
weeks driving and enjoying some time to herself. It was a long way from Florida, where she’d lived her whole life.

  But that’s why she was here. This was her fresh start and her chance to erase memories from her past that were threatening to consume her. Spotting that ad for a cook at Memory Ranch in Anchorage, Alaska had been a lifeline sent to her from above, and she’d eagerly grabbed onto it with both hands.

  Elizabeth Jane smiled again, putting Brenna back at ease. “I will do that this afternoon, I promise. I just wanted to come down and check on you to make sure you were settling in all right. I know your role here will be a bit different since you’ll be working here but also be a guest for a while. We’ll figure out all of the details, but for now, just know that everything here is set up to help you, whether you need to get your memories back or forget the ones that are preventing you from living.”

  Ellie nodded her enthusiastic agreement like a bobble-head toy and smiled at Buddy, who Brenna was still softly stroking as he leaned his head against her shoulder. “And that boy who’s already showing love to you is a pretty good listener if you ever need to talk. Buddy knows an awful lot about me, too, don’t you?”

  Ellie reached out and patted the horse.

  “I have to admit my heart already feels calmer just by standing beside him,” Brenna said cautiously. In the past, showing love for something was the most surefire way to get it taken away. But that part of her life was over. She was safe now and with people who cared.

  Stop being so guarded!

  Brenna forced another smile and looked around at the ranch that sprawled before them. The leaves had turned color and were starting to fall, so she knew soon everything would be a blanket of white, something she’d never experienced in all her years as a Floridian.

  But she was more excited about it than anything she could remember in her life. There was just something about this place…

  “I think Memory Ranch is exactly what I need,” she said, hoping beyond hope that her words would prove true.

  Chapter 1

  Brenna tied an apron around her waist and stood back silently as Elizabeth Jane gave her a tour of the ranch’s main kitchen. Dorian had already showed her around thoroughly, but it seemed important to the ranch proprietress that she also show their new hire the ropes, so Brenna went along with it again.

  “Not too much to remember, and as long as you take the guests’ various food allergies into account, you’ll be just fine,” the red-headed woman said with a sweep of her hand over the counter.

  Brenna smiled and nodded, eager to prove herself, to start a new life. She’d worked in a few kitchens before but had never been the one in charge until now. Of course, this kitchen was nowhere near the large, stainless steel kitchens she’d seen in most restaurants—but then again, the coziness of the ranch’s setup felt so much more comfortable to her.

  Kind of like a home.

  The small butcher block island in the middle of the kitchen offered more than enough room for Brenna to work on as she prepared meals for the guests on the ranch. Elizabeth Jane asked if she might sometimes be willing to cook for the staff, too, as needed, which of course would be no problem at all. Brenna also secretly planned to have fresh baked goods available every day for anyone who wanted a treat.

  Cooking and baking were the two things she’d loved all her life. No matter how hard—how scary—everything else became, the kitchen had always served as a place of warmth and safety. Now they were the source of her newest adventure in this place so far from the home she’d known. A good thing, too. She needed time to heal and put the memories to rest that still haunted her, pulling her under a bit more each day. Memory Ranch was a refuge, yes, but it was also a last resort. If she didn’t get out from under her terrible memories soon, she didn’t know what would become of her.

  She desperately hoped it wasn’t too late, that she wasn’t too broken to fix.

  Suddenly, Liz’s voice cut into her stream of consciousness. “Brenna? Are you still with me?” Her new boss wore a patient but concerned expression.

  Oh, no! Did you seriously mess things up already? Way to ruin everything before it could even get started.

  Brenna shook her head to dislodge the ugly, little voice inside it and offered Liz an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. Go on.”

  Liz nodded and rushed full speed back into the conversation, leaving Brenna to wonder how much else she’d missed while she let her inner monologue get the best of her. “Yeah, so I was just saying… well, I know you said that we’d just use your pay to go toward your cabin rental and your stay at the ranch. But I can’t in good conscience have you working for free, so while you are making use of the facility’s therapy sessions and other resources, you won’t receive full pay, but you will be getting half of your wages. Then, once you feel you’re ready to work as staff only, we’ll work something out so that you can choose to stay living on the ranch if you’d like and just pay rent.”

  Brenna’s head spun as Elizabeth Jane pushed a stack of employment papers across the island and then a pen as well.

  “As mentioned in the job description,” Elizabeth Jane continued, hardly stopping for even a moment to breathe, “there will be guests who will be coming to assist you each day, too. The guests are all required to do certain chores around the ranch during their stay, so you’ll have plenty of help. Not that I think you’ll need it, but it’s good for those who are healing to feel like they still have a purpose.”

  Brenna signed the papers and pushed them back toward her new employer. “Thank you for everything, Elizabeth Jane, really. I can’t wait to get started.”

  The other woman rolled her eyes. “No need to be so formal. I mean, my friends call me Liz, so I hope you’ll consider it, too. And, since you’ll be working Tuesday to Saturday, with Sunday and Monday off, my husband Dorian will take over those days. But if he gets under your feet any of the other days you’re working, feel free to tell him to get out of the kitchen. He’s been in charge of the cooking since we opened, and he loves it, but the truth is we just have so much else he needs to be taking care of around here that he doesn’t have the time anymore.”

  “I heard that.” Dorian walked into the kitchen and pretended to scowl at his wife. “I won’t get under anyone’s feet. This is your kitchen now, Brenna, and not a moment too soon.”

  Brenna averted her eyes as the husband and wife embraced and shared a quick kiss.

  “Are you off to a good start, then?” Dorian asked, keeping his arms around Liz’s waist as he spoke to Brenna.

  “Yes, I think so,” she answered with an awkward smile. She hated seeing public displays of affection, but then again, this was Liz and Dorian’s home. She was the guest here.

  “We sure are!” Liz interjected, shaking loose of Dorian’s embrace and going straight back to business. “Now, since today is Sunday, we’ll wait until Tuesday for you to take over. But if you’d like to spend some time in here tomorrow, we can show you around and what you’ll have to do.”

  Liz quickly looked from Dorian to Brenna before adding, “Unless you already have plans?”

  Brenna swallowed. “Actually, I kind of do have plans. Is that okay?”

  “Of course it’s okay!” Liz said merrily. “That’s good. It means you’re settling in already. What are you going to be doing tomorrow?”

  “You don’t have to answer that,” Dorian said abruptly, then whispered to Liz loud enough for Brenna to hear, “Give the woman some privacy. If she wants to tell you, she will!”

  Liz turned bright red at the reprimand, but her smile didn’t falter.

  “It’s fine,” Brenna shouted, perhaps a little too loudly. “I was just planning to run into Anchorage to pick up a few things. I came from Florida so, to be completely honest, I never really thought my wardrobe through very well, and now I need some warmer clothes.”

  Wow, she’d only been here a couple days and already she was starting to talk like the loquacious Liz. It wasn’t the worst thing i
n the world, but freezing to death definitely would be. Luckily, it wasn’t too cold yet, but she’d already been feeling chilled. She had a couple pairs of sweat pants and a hoodie, but she already knew these paltry items wouldn’t be enough when the weather really turned cold.

  Liz nodded along. “Of course! If you want to run into town in the morning, you can just come and shadow Dorian as he makes the evening meal. That will be the big one anyway.” She pulled out a piece of paper and leaned over the counter. “I can write down a few places you can check out that will have clothes for you. And you’ll definitely need a winter jacket, mittens, a scarf, and hat. Hmm, maybe I should make a list for that, too.”

  Brenna smiled at Liz. “Thanks. I appreciate your help. These are all things I’ve never really had to think about before. Maybe I should have come up earlier in the year to get myself prepared better. My body might go into shock coming from such hot weather to cold Alaska winters.”

  Liz waved her hand dismissively and laughed. “Aww, the winters really aren’t that bad once you get used to it. And I know you’ll love the snow.”

  Brenna’s breath hitched. Snow. “I’ll admit I’m kind of excited to see snow. I’ve never seen it before.”

  Dorian dropped his mouth in fake horror. “How could a person never have seen snow before? I’m speechless.”

  Brenna laughed and shrugged. “Is it bad if I admit I’m more excited about building a snowman than anything else I’ve ever done in my life?”