Diamond (36 page)

Authors: Sharon Sala

Tags: #Contemporary, #Fiction, #Romance, #General, #Historical, #Man-Woman Relationships, #Tennessee, #Western, #Singers

BOOK: Diamond

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The mailbox door yielded to the firm yank she gave it, sending thin shards of icicles flying. Wishing she’d brought her gloves, she grabbed the thick stack of envelopes and had begun to flip through them when a cold gust of wind changed her mind. She began to stuff them inside the daily paper for safe-keeping until she could get inside to read in comfort and warmth.

But the handwriting on two of the letters caught her attention. Her heart slammed against her rib cage with sudden force, and she shivered, afraid to believe…afraid to hope.

“Oh…please…let it be,” she said, tearing into the first envelope. With shaking hands, she pulled out the pages, opened them, and began to read.

Tears came swiftly. When they hit her cheeks, they froze, reminding her once again of her exposure to the cold. Quickly she stuffed the papers back inside their envelope and tore into the second one.

Jesse heard her scream. He was out of the house and off the porch before she had begun to run, scattering letters and papers along behind her like breadcrumbs. Uncertain whether to laugh or cry, she flew into Jesse’s arms.

The terror that had sent him out of the house was subsiding, simply because she kept laughing and waving the mail beneath his nose. He wondered if pregnant women did this often. If they did, he wasn’t certain he could survive many more frights like this one.

“Honey, are you all right?” He cupped her face, touched the traces of tears that still remained, and looked around anxiously, afraid that some unseen presence had caused her pain.

“Oh, my God!” She kept repeating the words, over and over, and then in a fit of joy she threw her arms around his neck and began to cry. “They’re coming! They’re coming!”

“Who?” Jesse said, trying to ignore the mail she was trampling beneath her boots as he returned her hug. It was all he could do. “Who’s coming, darlin’? Don’t you think you should get inside? It’s too cold for you out here, and I don’t think you should be dancing around like this in the snow, especially in your condition. If you want to dance, come inside. I’ll dance with you there.”

Diamond started to laugh and began retrieving the mail she’d dropped.

“I don’t want to dance, you goose. My sisters—they’re coming for Christmas. And they said they’re bringing surprises.”

Overwhelming relief spread a wide grin across his face as he nuzzled against the warm spot below her coat collar.

“That’s fantastic, lady. But you get yourself inside—right now!” he said. “Go tell Henley to expect God knows how many more. He’ll be in a constant panic not knowing the head count, but who cares? Besides, we have a little surprise of our own for them, don’t we, darlin’?”

Diamond covered his hand with her own, and the joy in her eyes as she looked up at him would remain forever in his heart.

“I’m on my way.” She looked across the yard and then smiled apologetically at him. “I hope I didn’t miss any letters.”

“I’ll check,” he said, grinning. “Do as I asked—please.”

Jesse watched her long legs flying as they cleared the porch steps. He winced when she jumped and then sighed in relief when the door slammed shut behind her.

“My God,” he muttered as he began to retrace her steps to the mailbox, “I will not survive these next seven months.”

Moments later Diamond stood at the window and watched Jesse’s dark head and broad shoulders as he walked up the path. Once in a while his red shirt would disappear as he bent down to retrieve another piece of mail, and then when she could see it and him again, she would smile through tears of joy.

The scents of cinnamon and fresh-baked bread wrapped around her, a comforting reminder that she was home where she belonged. She leaned her forehead against the cold panes of glass and remembered what a gamble she’d taken by leaving Cradle Creek with a total stranger. Then she smiled, thinking that Johnny would have loved the hand fate had dealt her. It was a winner!

She saw that Jesse had started home and went to the door to meet him.

About the Author

SHARON SALA grew up in rural Oklahoma as a farmer's daughter and then later lived as a farmer's wife. She began her published writing career in 1991. In 1996 she took on a pen name as well, writing as Dinah McCall for HarperCollins; today she continues to write romantic suspense under both names.

While family is her most cherished earthly possession, she feels blessed to be able to share her stories with people who love to read. December 2001 marks the release of her fortieth novel.

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

Other Books by
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INDERS
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HANCES

Q
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This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DIAMOND
. Copyright © 1994 by Sharon Sala. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Mobipocket Reader March 2007 ISBN 978-0-06-137620-7

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