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Timeless Pleasure: Timeless Hearts Series
by Sandra E Sinclair
212 pages2 hours
Emily has built a wall around her heart, wanting no part of falling in love after witnessing the turmoil it has caused her loved ones. Ever since her mother walked on out them, she's been the one who has cared for her family. After her cousin goes away again, with no word to her, she goes searching for her so she can finally confront her over feelings she's kept bottled up for the past five years.
Her search sends her back in time, and into the arms of Bradley Stolfi, a lonely cowboy with a shady past and a dark secret, he keeps hidden from the world. Bradley's secret and past are about to catch up to him, and will drag sweet Emily, the woman who's haunted his dreams for most of his life, down with it. In order to save her, he will have to give into the darkness he's spent his life fighting to keep under control.
Emily is willing to risk it all, but will Bradley be willing to let her? Or figure out a way to save them both?
Publisher: Sandra E SinclairReleased: May 13, 2017ISBN: 9781386961376Format: book
Titles In This Series (3)
Timeless Whisper: Timeless Hearts Series, #1
Author Sandra E Sinclair
Timeless Storm: Timeless Hearts Series, #5
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Timeless Pleasure - Sandra E Sinclair
https://www.facebook.com/Timeless-Hearts-404841916527948/
Stunned beyond belief, Bradley Stolfi stood in front of the bank, halfway between tethering his horse to a hitching post and drawing his eyes back into his head. His reflexes were usually a lot swifter than they were acting at the moment. He felt frozen to the spot as he watched the scene play out in front of him. It couldn't possibly be her, the girl destined to break his curse, risking her life
Since the age of fourteen he'd done nothing but dream of her. Almost thirty-five years of age, he'd all but given up. Yet here she was, wearing the tightest pair of pants he ever did see. She wore a man's shirt, a waist-length buckskin jacket, her braided hair like burnt honey made lighter from the reflection of the sun haloing all around her. If angels
She was the nearest vision of what he'd believed an angel would look like. Her beauty needed no paint to make her stand out, her looks unique and oddly familiar. She'd come racing out of Miss Cissie's boardinghouse and into the middle of the street, just as the spooked horses and buggy carrying three young'uns came charging
If his instinct would have kicked in as he saw the scene happening, he'd have been right back on his horse chasing after the buggy and children, in answer to their mother's screams. But catching a glimpse of her had set his heart racing and slowed down any attempts he may have been planning. His feet had
The woman turned to face the clamoring beasts. If she was afraid of her fate, she didn't show any signs of it. She simply held up her hands, whispering under her breath as the snorting, heaving horses descended, hastening toward her. She waved her hands while her legs stayed still as if doing some elaborate foreign hand-waving dance.
Then she shifted to the side, her hands still moving like a tide on a calm sea. Each move she made seemed intricate and slow. Which was impossible when watching the speed at which the horses were rushing along the empty street.
Ignoring the onlookers, she continued to whisper and wave. Bradley couldn't hear what she was saying, but the sounds he could hear and easily make out were ancient. He felt as if he knew them or had heard them before—a long
He rubbed his eyes and looked again as the creatures slowed down. By the time they'd gotten close enough to her, they were walking. The horses sauntered right up to her and began to nuzzle her fingers. She smiled and his stomach clenched. He buckled and caught a hold of the hitching rail to steady himself.
There was a roar of cheers and claps all around him as witnesses to the spectacle showed their appreciation of what this young woman had done. The mother of the children came racing up, fighting through the gathering crowd now circling the woman and horses.
Still anxious, the mother cut through the circle. She stared apprehensively at the strange woman for an instant. Then maneuvered around her to the buggy, gathering her children to her—kissing their little heads one at a time and then back again several times. She stared at them in disbelief, tears streaming down over her strained face as she kissed her children again.
The young woman continued to hold the reins, calming the horses again after they became fired up by the commotion of the crowd. Her gaze darted around her, confusion in the depths of her eyes. It was as if she'd never seen the town before. Maybe she hadn't. He would remember if he'd seen anyone as lovely as her in these parts.
The town had grown, but it wasn't so big you didn't recognize a familiar face when you saw it. He knew her face, his connection to her had longevity and was a lot more personal.
Her death-defying feat seemed to have distracted the crowd from what she was wearing, but not him. He saw it all and none of it was familiar to him. Her leather and suede were not processed in the
Before Bradley chose to be white, he was Indian first. He spent many hours helping his mother soak, smoke, and scrape the hide of various animals. Then his father the leathersmith would work his magic crafting and molding the leather into whatever he wanted it
The bulk of his father's income had come from saddle making. He could just about make anything asked of him, and made a great sum of money doing so. Bradley, on the other hand, never did inherit his father's eye for making something out of nothing.
He was able to follow his father's patterns when he got older, but mainly he soaked, smoked, dyed, scraped, and poked holes. No, what he inherited from his parents being together was nothing he wanted to think about.
He wanted to get closer to her. If she was the one to fix him, he needed to know. Able to move once more, he walked through the crowd like a hot knife through butter, until he was at her side. Her scent made him dizzy.
The mother of the children was thanking her and loading her children back into the buggy. The stranger whispered into each horse's ear, all the while stroking their necks. Then she smiled at the mother.
They should be all right to take you home now, she said, her voice as sweet as a bowl of summer berries. She let go of the reins and stepped aside. The crowd began to disperse after a few folks patted her on the back and furnished her with praise.
She nodded absently, her attention seeming elsewhere as she searched about her. A look of wonder and surprise in her expression, she continued to gaze around her in dismay.
Bradley wasn't sure what to do, so he followed her back to the side of the road in silence. He racked his brain for something intelligent to say and gain her attention. At the moment, he may as well be invisible for all the notice she took of him; surprising, as he wasn't a small man. More of a mountain over most men in
This sensation of her lack of acknowledgment was new to him, making him almost want to grab her arm and spin her around to face him. But he wasn't a man who manhandled women, since he was very aware of his size and strength. A little gift from the curse.
He had to be real careful how he treated and interacted with folks. There was only one day a month when he was unable to control himself and he'd usually take himself off to be alone during those times. Standing here beside her, he felt a calm he'd never known before, not even from the comfort of his
You look a little lost. I'd like to offer you my services, if I can assist you in any way, he said, deciding to get at the grassroots of what seemed to be the most obvious of her plights.
I'll be all right in a little while. At the moment I feel as if I'm in the middle of one of my grandpa's John Wayne flicks. I just need to get my bearings and I'll be fine, she said, without looking
"I'm not sure what a flick is. But I feel safe to say there's no one named Wayne in this town and I just about know everyone
She brushed the free strands of her unusual braid from her face and gazed up at him. Her eyes seemed to shrink him to a mere boy, and her smile made him weak. Her face held none of the astonishment he was used to receiving from women when they saw him, nor did she show signs she desired him. He'd grown used to seeing that look too. Her gaze was void of anything other than a vague interest in what
The feeling of being ordinary in her eyes irked him. He wanted to be more, and from the way she looked at him, he could see he had his work
Bradley Stolfi, you can call me Brad. Everyone else does. He smiled and she seemed to flinch.
Well, he'd never had that reaction to his smile before.
That's good to know. I like Mr. Stolfi, seeing as we aren't friends.
We could be, if you're staying in town, he said, shortening his grin. Maybe he'd shown too many teeth before.
I doubt that. But maybe you can help me. I'm looking for my cousin.
Brad tilted his head, not knowing what to make of this woman. She looked feminine in features and body, but she didn't act in the least way delicate. "Do you and your cousin have
?"
I'm sorry, she said, and her hand jutted forward. "I'm Emily Appleton, and my cousin is
Eyez
So that was why she looked familiar. He'd thought her the woman of his dreams but she was just Mrs.
How could he have been so wrong?
Everything around her screamed she was still in Heartsbridge—in a different time, but Heartsbridge nonetheless. She'd seen too many historical pictures of the town before it had grown to what it was today. Well, as it had been this morning when she'd opened the bakery for the staff. She'd then left to follow the lead her cousin Walt, a deputy of the Heartsbridge Sheriff's Department, gave her for where Raven was
It had been almost a week since Emily had left the Thornton wedding. The second her role had been over, she'd gone back to the bakery to help Raven and the others shut the store, so she and Raven could go home together. Emily had felt bad being at the wedding and not supporting Raven by boycotting the grandest event Heartsbridge had seen for the longest time, as her cousin would have liked.
But Raven needed to remember she'd been gone a long time. People move on and things had changed. Emily had a job to do. The bakery may have been owned by Raven but Emily had been the one overseeing the management of it for the last five years.
Lance and his fiancée had commissioned the bakery to provide the wedding cake and all the other delicacies for their wedding breakfast. He'd also asked Emily to assist him in finding caterers and the like and to help his fiancée manage that side of the event. His fiancée was a New Yorker and wanted to get everything from there. He wanted to keep his spending in Heartsbridge.
Emily had agreed to help him. After all, Lance may have been Raven's ex, but he'd been Emily's friend too. She hadn't told Raven how deep her involvement with the wedding arrangements went because she didn't want to
However, her loyalty to her cousin, now she was back, wouldn't allow her to enjoy the festivities as freely as she'd have liked. So she'd left early, only to discover Raven had gone. She'd left the bakery as soon as the staff had arrived, telling them she'd be back soon. But she never returned.
Emily shut the store and went home thinking she'd find Raven