Voices drifted out from the living room. Sounded like a full house and they sounded boisterous. Maybe no one heard her come in. She eyed the silver plated desk bell on the oak front hall table, before reaching out and tapping it twice with the palm of her hand.
There was a momentary lull in the conversation from the other room. Hayden sucked in her breath and gripped the strap of her purse, but the hold only served to accentuate her trembling hands.
Get a grip.
But she just wanted to fall apart when Ben came around the corner, looking incredibly handsome in an ice-blue chambray shirt, black jeans and a pair of black cowboy boots. His hair was as short as ever, and he looked newly shaved.
It was everything she could do not to throw herself into his arms. Instead she tightened her grasp on the strap of her purse a little tighter and leaned against the desk for support.
“Hayden.” His voice came out rough, shocked. “What are you doing here?”
She pasted on her best smile, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t be convincing at all. Her lips trembled under the effort. With the way her face burned, she was sure she was beet red with excitement and fear.
“I-I was hoping to find a room for the night,” she stammered, belying the confidence she was supposed to exude. But what did she expect him to do? Sweep her off her feet? No questions asked?
“A room?” The shock in his voice transformed into surprise. His brows furrowed over his eyes. But she could see, shining there, relief maybe? The look was all she could hope for. That there was some part of him that wanted her back.
“Yes. I guess I could go back into Burton, or over to Primrose and stay there, but I hear that The Painted Horse Ranch has the wonderful accommodations.”
Ben took a step toward her, his head tilted as if he still couldn’t understand her reasoning for being there.
“How long you planning on staying?”
Hayden shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. It depends on a number of things,” she replied vaguely. Like if her heart wouldn’t explode with her longing to reach out to him, touch him.
But she wasn’t sure. Not yet. He hadn’t given any outward signs that he’d welcome her back.
Ben moved past her and went around the desk. He looked at the computer monitor, and tapped the keys a few times. Taking his sweet time too. Finally he shook his head. “I’m afraid I only have one spot open. But it’s for long-term guests only.”
Hayden’s heart thundered. “I’ll take it,” she said quickly. She didn’t want him to have any doubts about her presence there.
Ben still didn’t smile, but he nodded.
“I’ll take you out there myself, but first I have to run an errand.” he said, his voice low, tight with some pent-up emotion. “I guess you’re dressed appropriately.” He grabbed his sheepskin jacket from a closet behind him.
She followed him out the front door of the house and down to the barn, confused. What the heck? Was he going to put her up there? Her hope diminished like mist in the sun, until he stopped in the tack room, grabbed a bridle off the rack and went down to his horse’s stall.
He led the big paint horse out, and with agility she didn’t expect, he grabbed the horse’s withers and pulled himself up onto his back. He held his hand out to Hayden, his eyes filled with his own hope. Finally he smiled. Just a little one, but it was worth the trip from Maine, just to get one last glimpse of the dimples on each side of his mouth.
She took his hand and let him pull her up onto the horse’s bare back.
She couldn’t believe he held her tight against his body again. His heart beat strongly against her back. He hadn’t asked if she were back forever. Maybe she should’ve told him, as he took her out of the barn on Ricochet. She was confused, definitely, about where he was taking her, what he’d say to her.
But for now she didn’t question, just relaxed against his chest, nestled into his lap, allowing his hand to rest on her belly. Such a familiar, intimate position to be in.
He put Ricochet into a smooth lope and headed out the gate, toward the trail toward Primrose Inn. The horse’s easy gait only served to snuggle her closer to him. She nearly laughed. There’d been a time that she never would have considered riding a horse bareback. She would’ve politely, but firmly indicated that she’d rather walk. But since Ben had taken her under his wings, so to speak, he taught her enough about riding that she no longer felt awkward around the horses. And having Ben hold her gave her shiploads of confidence.
So why were they headed to Primrose? As nice as the sunset ride was, they could have made it in half the time if they’d driven.
But this is so much nicer. She leaned farther into his body, absorbing his heat and vitality. She wanted to speak to him, question him, but instead took in the way the sunset seemed to turn the sky a hundred different shades, from the fieriest red, to the most soothing deep amethyst. The pureness of the colors made her long for her paints. And when she first came to South Dakota she’d thought it was so washed out, so bland. How wrong she was.
The horse moved down the uneven trail with ease, and as they took a corner, nearly to the border of The Painted Horse and Primrose land, a tall tower came into sight.
Ben reined the horse off the main trail and onto a newly formed road and headed toward.
“The Head Light!”
The shock of seeing Clarksport Head Light right there in the middle of the South Dakota prairie nearly knocked Hayden right off the horse. Ben must have sensed it because his hold on her tightened and he slowed Ricochet to a walk.
“What is this?”
As soon as the horse halted, Ben slid off the horse’s back and pulled Hayden down. She walked away from him, staring at the wondrous, impossible sight before her.
Though it was just a bit over half the size as the original, it was close to an exact replica as she could imagine. A white brick tower rose from the grass, the tower loft, enclosed in glass, radiated a beam of light, slowly circling, reaching through the dusk like an outstretched arm.
Waiting for her.
Attached to the tower was a sweet one-story white house with red trim and roof. An exact miniature of the Clarksport Head Light. If she didn’t know better, she’d have thought that someone had scooped it off the Maine coast and planted it there on the prairie.
“How did you do this? How did you know?”
Hayden walked away from him, slowly approaching the building. She reached her hand back and found Ben one step behind. Taking his hand, she brought him to her side, and with her other hand reached out and touched the brick surface. It would disappear, like a mirage. It had to because otherwise she just couldn’t fathom what Ben held in his heart in order to build this structure. For her.
“From the sketches you made of it. Nearly every angle. I had to make a few phone calls and go online to find out more details, mostly of inside the house. The outside, though, is all you.”
Hayden turned away from it, letting her fingers slide over the bumpy, cool surface. Her gaze drifted up to his. The love that simmered in his blue eyes rivaled the lighthouse for her astonishment. It never dawned on her, even while driving to The Painted Horse Ranch, that Ben could feel so much love for her that he’d build this monument for her.
“I wanted you to have a piece of Maine with you always. If you chose to come back.” His words were humble, but his hands held on to hers with an urgency that matched the racing beat of her heart.
“No one has ever given me such a perfect gift as this,” she whispered, though she wasn’t sure if she meant the lighthouse or his love. But at that moment, both were so thoroughly intertwined that she couldn’t begin to separate the two.
“I thought you’d need a studio of our own, that while the main house would be good enough for us, it doesn’t have a sufficient spot for you to paint.”
“A studio? Us?” Hayden whispered, edging closer to him so she touched her body to his, just slightly. She lifted her face to him, hoping he’d understand what she wanted
.
“Yes us,” he replied, just as quietly. “It’s not quite complete. I still have to put the finishing touches on the house so it won’t be ready until spring. But it’s mostly done. Up at the top of the tower has a spectacular view. But you’ll have to share it with the light.”
Ben dipped his head and captured her mouth with his. The familiar taste and feel of his lips made her blood roar through her entire body. Her arms found their way around his neck. She wanted him as close as she could get him while he devoured her. It was more than Hayden could bear. He’d been in her dreams since leaving Burton, and now he held and kissed her, as the setting sun lit the whole prairie on fire. Standing underneath the familiar tower of the Clarksport Head Light—no, the Prairie Light—all she could think about was that her life was finally right.
“Say you’ll stay with me,” Ben murmured against her mouth, his hands roaming across her back, tangling in her hair.
Hayden pulled away, but just far enough so she could look into his eyes. Her body still melted into his, felt his heartbeat against her own chest. The tears in her eyes blurred his face, but she didn’t wipe them away.
“You’ve given me the two things I’ve wanted most in this world. A home as the keeper of a lighthouse, and you.”
Ben smiled tenderly and touched the tip of his finger to a tear. “I love you, Hayden,” he whispered.
As he lowered his face back down to hers, Hayden saw the wide sweep of light circle the expansive prairie.
Her beacon to always guide her home.
THE END
About The Author
Since the age of 12, Cerian has known what she wanted to be when she grew up. Now, many many years later she still says it. It’s been her dream to be an author. Countless notebooks are filled with her stories written over the years while she’s worked jobs like cleaning stalls in New York to booking cruises in Maine. Currently she’s happily settled in southwestern New Hampshire with her husband and four children working for a well-known children’s magazine company, but in her spare time she’s busy weaving stories and continuing to pursue her dreams.
Visit Cerian Hebert's website at www.cerianhebert.com
Also Available by Cerian Herbert
FINALLY HOME
Amazon
SWEET AND WILD
Amazon
NO GOING BACK
Amazon
THE BETTER MAN
Amazon
GOING GOING GONE
Amazon
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Tell Me True
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Bio
Books by Crista McHugh
Good Cop
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
One Week Later
Thank you!
About the Author
The Love I Want To Be In
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
About the Author
The Promise of Paradise
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
One Year Later...
After Paradise
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Epilogue
Note to Readers:
Welcome to the Hometown Heroes series!
About the Author
Lead-Off Bride
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
Other Books by Rebecca J. Clark
About the author
Light The Way Home
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
About The Author
Also Available by Cerian Herbert
Summer on Main Street Page 120
