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Healing His Widowed Heart
Annie Hemby
The Doctor Next DoorWidowed firefighter Mason Benfield is happy putting out fires and running a teen center—anything to distract himself from the loss of his wife. A loss he blames on a young doctor’s inexperience. So when he discovers his landlords’ new houseguest is just out of med school and working at the new health clinic, Mason bristles. Since Lexie Campbell is also donating her time to his teen center, he can’t escape the woman…or the attraction he feels to the pretty doctor. As they work together, they develop a bond neither thought they wanted. But can Mason give her—and himself—a reason to take one more chance on forever?
The Doctor Next Door
Widowed firefighter Mason Benfield is happy putting out fires and running a teen center—anything to distract himself from the loss of his wife. A loss he blames on a young doctor’s inexperience. So when he discovers his landlords’ new houseguest is just out of med school and working at the new health clinic, Mason bristles. Since Lexie Campbell is also donating her time to his teen center, he can’t escape the woman...or the attraction he feels to the pretty doctor. As they work together, they develop a bond neither thought they wanted. But can Mason give her—and himself—a reason to take one more chance on forever?
“I’m a doctor,” she said. “Taking care of people is my job.”
An anchor of guilt settled in his gut. Her heart was in the right place. “Okay then, Dr. Campbell. Please, doctor me up.”
A hint of a smile curved on her rose-tinted lips. He tried not to notice, but she was even more beautiful when she smiled. Noticing Lexie’s beauty felt like a small betrayal to Kristin. His late wife was dead, though, and admiring another woman was harmless.
“I’ll be right back.” Lexie jogged downstairs and was standing back in his living room with a medium-sized black bag a moment later. He dutifully laid his forearm down for her to inspect.
Her forehead creased as she leaned forward. “You need to take better care of yourself.”
He’d heard that before. “Is that your medical opinion?” he asked. She smiled again, and he felt like he’d just won a contest. When he wasn’t resisting her, he found himself being pulled toward her.
Dear Reader (#uc3166721-a72b-5d1b-9f19-284b5627627b),
When making plans for our future, we should remember to do so with a healthy dose of prayer and seeking God’s guidance. His plans for our lives are always better than the ones we create for ourselves.
Lexie had her life all planned out. She was going to marry and start a new job as a doctor in the city. Those plans fell through, though, and led her to Carolina Shores and work at one of the last places she thought she’d end up. It also led her to Mason and exactly where God needed her to be.
After losing his first wife, Mason thought he would remain alone forever. That might be what God has in His plans for other widowers, but it wasn’t what He had in store for Mason. Once Mason aligned himself with God’s master plan, he was blessed with a new relationship and hope for the future.
I hope you enjoyed reading Healing His Widowed Heart! I welcome comments and letters at anniehemby@gmail.com.
God Bless,
Annie
ANNIE HEMBY lives on the east coast with her husband, three children and a rambunctious rescue dog named Carter. Annie loves to start her days with prayer and a good cup of coffee and end them praying with her children at bedtime. When she’s not running after her kids and Carter, Annie combines her love for God and writing to pen heartwarming inspirational romance. You can contact Annie by email at anniehemby@gmail.com.
Healing His Widowed Heart
Annie Hemby
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
—Jeremiah 29:11
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding.
—Proverbs 3:5
This book is dedicated to my parents.
To Mom for your support and encouragement
in all my endeavors. To Dad for teaching me
that no goal was beyond reach. I love you.
Acknowledgments (#uc3166721-a72b-5d1b-9f19-284b5627627b)
First, I want to give thanks to God for giving
me a passion for writing and for this amazing
opportunity to work with Love Inspired.
A big thanks also goes to my family and friends
who are a bottomless well of support and
encouragement. To Rachel for making
my writing better and my stories stronger.
To my tireless literary agent, Sarah Younger—
thank you for your guidance and expertise.
I would also like to thank the Love Inspired
team, especially my editor, Shana Asaro,
for holding the From Blurb to Book pitch
contest and taking a chance on
Healing His Widowed Heart.
I have enjoyed every moment
of this new and exciting experience!
Contents
Cover (#u0e51aeba-c6df-5846-90ab-42b410fcd89d)
Back Cover Text (#u16962110-1322-5e0a-84d2-8e9c08d2d849)
Introduction (#u7c72c75a-33dc-53ab-ae56-72e5b47f2456)
Dear Reader (#ude71de05-0d36-5924-8fed-9e79e1ebccea)
About the Author (#ua0de667e-e344-580d-a34a-9dca8059dc8d)
Title Page (#uf72b4ac1-e985-5988-a08b-8c689879ed2c)
Bible Verse (#u0b8399bf-aef8-5c7e-b392-eb002e07ba59)
Dedication (#u741b079c-56d8-5912-b3c1-f11e4e6dcc7a)
Acknowledgments (#u45273b50-e8b1-5602-b5ca-940ede321bf3)
Chapter One (#ub021d981-2bc1-5184-9c5c-1ce9ccf7487e)
Chapter Two (#u4ba6c21d-a9c0-5f09-8aa2-3c09117f959a)
Chapter Three (#u2f9183bd-e2c9-59e8-8be4-f2778ea41ada)
Chapter Four (#ua5a7326c-087c-5261-9285-ec56f8875e8f)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#uc3166721-a72b-5d1b-9f19-284b5627627b)
Smoke burned the back of Lexie Campbell’s throat as she took a breath and kept walking, staying clear of the officers guarding her evacuated neighborhood. She only needed to get inside her home for five minutes—just long enough to grab the dress.
Heart pounding, she edged along the woods behind a row of houses. From the news, she knew the wildfire was still a mile away. She’d be completely safe to go to the house she’d rented for the summer and retrieve the only thing of importance she’d brought with her. She’d always dreamed of wearing her grandmother’s dress on her wedding day—a day that was supposed to be two weeks from now.
Change in plans.
Tree limbs crunched loudly beneath her leather boots as she broke into a run. Bringing the dress here had been foolish. She’d come to Carolina Shores, North Carolina to take her mind off her problems and focus on helping others. That was her grandmother’s remedy for a broken heart. Not the kind of medicine that Lexie practiced, but her grandma Jean had always known best. When Dr. Marcus had called to ask for help opening a free health care clinic here, Lexie had jumped at the chance. Looking at the black, smoke-filled sky now, she wondered if her decision had been rash. Unlike her ex-fiancé, though, she kept her commitments.
Seeing the house ahead, Lexie breathed a sigh of relief, which ended in a fit of coughing. She hurried toward the front porch and quickly unlocked the door. Inside, the air was stale, the smoke already seeping through the poorly insulated walls. She ran into the back bedroom and grabbed the dress from the closet. In the kitchen, she found a black garbage bag and stuffed the white-laced fabric inside. She wished she could throw herself in the bag right now. Surely no air was better than this.
Her head spun as she cinched the bag tightly.
Time to get out of here!
She hurried out the front door, making the mistake of sucking in another deep breath. Coughing again, she stumbled down the steps and started to cut across the lawn, heading in the direction of the neighborhood’s front entrance. No reason to sneak around now. She’d left her car parked along the roadside. If she could just make it back, then she’d be fine. After arriving and unloading her belongings here late last week, she’d gone away for the weekend to visit a friend, taking a few changes of clothes and her toiletries with her, which were still in her car—a blessing in disguise. Little had she known she’d be returning to a neighborhood evacuation.
Lexie didn’t bother glancing around to make sure she went unnoticed. No one was here. Everyone in Chesterfield Estates had evacuated. And with good reason, she thought now, feeling her world tilt and re-center like a ride at the amusement park.
A siren stopped her in her tracks. Looking up, Lexie saw a man with dark hair and a hard jawline leaning toward the passenger-side window of a white pickup truck. It was marked with the local fire department’s logo.
“What are you doing out here?” he called. “Don’t you know there’s a mandatory evacuation in this neighborhood?”
Lexie erupted into a fit of coughing as she tried to explain. She wasn’t a material girl, but the dress was sentimental to her. She couldn’t risk letting it burn up in the forest fire.
Stumbling toward him, Lexie doubled over as she coughed. “I...was just...”
Just about to fall over if I don’t get fresh air soon.
“Get in,” he ordered.
Lexie straightened, still wheezing. “Am I under arrest?” she asked through painful speech.
His brows lowered over disapproving blue eyes. “I’m not a cop. If I were, then absolutely. Being here right now is against the law.”
She approached his vehicle and pulled weakly on the door’s handle. She’d gladly accept a ride into fresh air. If not for him, she wasn’t sure she’d have made it out of the neighborhood and back to her car without collapsing. Clearly she’d misjudged the situation.
She tried to open the door, but her hands wouldn’t work.
“Ma’am?” she heard him say, although his voice was fading quickly. She thought she heard his truck door open, and then two hands turned her around and firmly grasped the front of her shoulders. “Ma’am? Are you okay?” He leveled his eyes with hers, forcing her to look at him.
Her knees went weak and not because of his rugged good looks, which didn’t go unnoticed even in her condition.
“Take a deep breath,” he told her, his voice calm and in control.
Her vision grew dim. She clutched the fabric of his shirt in her hand, holding on to him so that she didn’t fall. The garbage bag that she’d stuffed the dress into minutes earlier dropped to the ground below. “Don’t let me die,” she pleaded, feeling her legs buckle. Then she felt the weight of her body being swept up into the man’s arms. He opened the passenger door of his truck and laid her inside as she struggled to hold on to consciousness, watching the colors around her blur like the view inside a kaleidoscope.
“You still there?” he asked, flipping the sirens on as he took the driver’s seat.
