Healed by Love (Love in Bloom: The Bradens)

  Healed by Love

  The Bradens

  at Peaceful Harbor

  Love in Bloom Series

  Melissa Foster

  This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

  HEALED BY LOVE

  All Rights Reserved.

  Copyright © 2015 Melissa Foster

  V1.0

  This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Cover Design: Natasha Brown & Elizabeth Mackey

  WORLD LITERARY PRESS

  PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

  A Note to Readers

  There is nothing more real and intense than a friends-to-lovers romance, but when you wrap in the death of a best friend and brother, real takes on a whole new meaning. Nate and Jewel’s story is one of true love and deep emotions, and I hope you fall in love with them just like I have.

  Nate’s story is the first in our third family of Bradens. Nate’s five siblings’ love stories are coming soon. To ensure you never miss a release, sign up for my newsletter:

  http://www.melissafoster.com/newsletter.

  If this is your first Braden book, then you have a whole series of loyal, sexy, and wickedly naughty Bradens to catch up on, as well as several other sexy heroes and sweet and sassy heroines. You might enjoy starting with SISTERS IN LOVE, the first of the Love in Bloom series. The characters from each series (Snow Sisters, The Bradens, The Remingtons, and Seaside Summers) make appearances in future books.

  For the fallen

  And those they left behind

  Table of Contents

  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

  Taken by Love Excerpt - Chapter One

  Sisters in Love Excerpt - Chapter One

  BOOK LIST

  Acknowledgments

  Author Bio

  Chapter One

  “ARE YOU SURE you don’t want me to come back after they leave?” Jewel Fisher grabbed her purse from beneath the cash register and checked the posted work schedule one more time, confirming that she wasn’t due back until Monday.

  “Yes. Positive. Go have fun. You haven’t had a weekend off for months.” Chelsea Helms, Jewel’s boss and the owner of Chelsea’s Boutique, gently nudged her away from the register. Jewel had worked for Chelsea for two years, although she’d known her much longer. Chelsea had gone to high school with Rick, Jewel’s older brother, who had died two years earlier while serving in Afghanistan.

  “I had a weekend off in March.” Jewel walked toward the front of the store, straightening the display tables along the way.

  Chelsea rolled her eyes. “That was two months ago, and you know I don’t mean from here. Retail hours are always crazy. I mean from your family and work. Go do something crazy like lose that V-card of yours.”

  Jewel had about as much interest in losing her virginity as she did in taking time off from helping her family. It wasn’t that she thought her virginity was something special or worth hanging on to. It wasn’t something she thought about one way or another. Between helping her mother with her younger siblings for the past several years while going to school and now working full-time, she rarely had free time. Even though sex wasn’t something Jewel thought about often, she could feel it all around her. When she was in college, Jewel had lived at home so she could help with the kids, avoiding the nightly peer pressure of living in the dorms, where sex hovered in the eyes of every guy and in the seductive smiles of the girls. Since college, the few dates she had gone on—all set up by Chelsea—had been duds. At least in Jewel’s eyes. Guys her age were too immature, and she didn’t exactly have the time or the desire to go out and meet older guys.

  And then there was the kiss…

  The kiss that kept her up at night and did make her think about lying beneath a certain man, feeling his hands touch her body in ways that made it hum.

  “Earth to Jewel.” Chelsea’s furrowed brow told Jewel she’d been waiting for a response.

  “Sorry. I, um…” Have one thing on my mind, and he’s six foot two and a million miles away, fighting the war that stole my brother’s life. “I want to go for a long hike and clear my head. I feel like I’ve been running on full speed forever.”

  “You have, Jewel. Go. Take a hike. Read a book. Do whatever will help you relax.” Chelsea raised her brows. “But I still think sex is the greatest stress reliever around.”

  Chelsea waved her off to answer the phone, and Jewel headed out the door. She climbed into her Jeep and drove across town to her mother’s house, trying not to think about Nate Braden, because thinking of Nate only confused her. The kiss they’d shared had been at a New Year’s Eve party at his parents’ microbrewery, Mr. B’s. He could have easily turned at the stroke of midnight and grabbed any other woman in the room. She’d just been the one in arm’s reach—and it was a good thing he’d put his strong arms around her and held her tight, because the kiss had turned her entire body to melted butter.

  She pushed thoughts of Nate away as she parked in front of her mother’s house and found her younger sister Krissy pouting on the front stoop. Her chin rested in her palm, and her eyes were trained on the ground. Their mother was taking Krissy and their other siblings to their aunt’s in the next town over for the weekend.

  Jewel sat beside her on the stoop. “What’s wrong, Krissy?” At twelve, Krissy was almost as moody as fifteen-year-old Patrick.

  “I didn’t get the part I wanted in the recital.” Their father had died when Krissy was four. When their eldest brother, Rick, had joined the military two years later, Krissy was so distraught over his leaving, their mother had thought she needed something fun to focus on besides the gaping hole their father and brother had left behind. It was a good call. Krissy was a natural dancer, and when Rick was killed, Krissy had clung to dance like a lifeline.

  Jewel stroked Krissy’s straight blond hair. With ten years between them, Jewel often felt like a favorite aunt rather than an older sister. As sad as it made her to know that Krissy had lost a coveted part in the recital, she was immensely glad that the issues her siblings faced were normal problems for kids their ages. She’d worked hard to make sure they didn’t grow up with the same sense of responsibility for their family as she and Rick had. She didn’t rue her family for her complicated lifestyle, but she wouldn’t wish the responsibility of three younger siblings at sixteen on anyone else. She’d missed out on a lot over the last six years.

  “I’m sorry, but you’ll get the next one,” Jewel reassured her siste
r.

  “I hope so. Selina got the part this time. She’s really good, and she deserves it, but I really wanted it. It’s dancing opposite Tray Martino, and he’s the cutest boy in dance class.”

  How could a twelve-year-old have more interest in boys than Jewel did at twenty-two?

  She turned at the sound of the door opening behind her. Their mother, Anita, whipped past them carrying a suitcase in one hand and a grocery bag in the other, a messy ponytail perched high on her head.

  “Jewel, honey, you didn’t have to come by. I told you we were all set.” Her mother looked closer to thirty-seven than forty-seven in her faded jeans and T-shirt. She’d had Rick when she was just twenty, and despite losing both her husband and her son in the span of six years, she’d somehow not only kept her sanity, but she was an amazing mother—even if tight on time. She’d worked from home as a part-time bookkeeper before their father died and had taken a full-time office job a month afterward. She’d recently been promoted to senior bookkeeper, and now she was taking classes to finish the accounting degree she hadn’t had a chance to complete before they’d started their family.

  Jewel patted Krissy’s shoulder. “Keep dancing your heart out. You’ll get the next part.” She rose and grabbed two bags from just inside the door. “I wanted to make sure Patrick remembered his science project and Taylor had the lines she needs to study for her play.”

  Anita helped her put the bags in the car and wrinkled her brow. “Science project? He said he finished that earlier this week.”

  “Did you check?” Jewel asked.

  Patrick lumbered out the front door. He was tall and lanky, like Rick had been as a teenager, with a mop of blond hair and the same almond-shaped blue eyes their father’d had. Patrick had sported a perpetual brooding attitude these past few months, and it worried Jewel.

  “I’m his mother. Of course I checked.”

  “I don’t need either of you checking after me.” Patrick threw open the car door and sank into the passenger seat.

  “Did you pack the book you have to read for English?” Jewel asked.

  He sighed, ignoring her question.

  Jewel shot a look to her mother, who pulled the book out of the side pocket of his suitcase.

  “Jewel, we’ve got this,” her mother insisted. Her mother always worked hard to make ends meet, but how was a mother with young kids at home and living on a limited income supposed to be in an office and taking kids where they needed to be at the same time? Not to mention grocery shopping, doctor appointments, and simply trying to survive after losing the man she’d loved since high school. Rick had quit college after their father died and had come home to help with whatever their mother couldn’t manage without jeopardizing her new job. When Rick joined the military two years later, Jewel took over all of those responsibilities, and she’d been handling them ever since.

  “I know, Mom, but an extra set of eyes never hurts.”

  The front door flung open and Taylor stepped outside. She put her hands on her hips and hollered across the yard, “Jewel? Where are my red Converse?”

  Jewel shaded her eyes from the sun. Taylor’s long blond hair hung in loose waves almost to her waist. She wore a pair of cute red shorts and a white scoop-neck T-shirt, and looked thirteen instead of ten.

  “Front hall closet. You wore them to Katie’s the other night, remember?”

  “Oh, right.” She ran back into the house.

  “Honey, what are your plans for the next two days?” her mother asked.

  “I’m going for a hike this afternoon, and tomorrow I’m cooking dinners for the week. I’ll put them in the freezer, and I’ll probably start that book you lent me.”

  Her mother pressed her lips together. “Why don’t you call a girlfriend and go out? Have a drink, get some dinner. Do something fun. You know you don’t need to keep cooking for us, Jewel. I am the mother. I can handle it.”

  “I know, and you’re the best mother around. I don’t mind helping. Besides, between classes and work, you barely have time to breathe.” Her mother was too proud to ask for help. In fact, she’d fought both Rick’s and Jewel’s efforts at first, until she’d realized that they were going to help no matter what. Their mother worked just as hard during her off hours as she did the hours she was paid for, and that made Jewel want to try even harder to help in the ways she could.

  “Speaking of barely having time to breathe…” Her mother hugged her. “I love you, and I appreciate all you do for us, but please go do something fun. For me? I was married with children by the time I was your age, and you have yet to have a serious boyfriend. Go out dancing or something. Do all the things Dad and I took for granted.”

  “I’ll have fun. I promise, Mom.” Jewel’s plan for a hike was fun, even if it wasn’t the kind of fun her mother or Chelsea hoped she’d have. She helped them finish loading up the car and watched them drive away. Then she let out a long sigh, though the tightening in her chest told of the secret fears that kept her in her family’s reach at all times.

  Nothing good happened when family was separated. She’d learned that the hard way.

  “I THINK I’M going to just stay away from Jewel.” Nate Braden filled a beer stein, slid it across the bar to his older brother Sam, and lifted his chin to their sister Tempest. “Tempe? You up for one, too?”

  “Sure.” Tempe didn’t look up from the notebook she was writing in. She was working on a new song for her music-therapy business. Her blond hair covered half her face, but he knew she was listening to every word they said. She was the best listener. Someone who didn’t know Tempe might think she was meek, because she was slim and delicate in appearance and she had a sweet nature, but Nate knew better. She was pretty straightforward and took no guff, which Nate usually appreciated. “No, you’re not.”

  “Not what?” Nate asked as he set the beer in front of her. It was Saturday night, and Nate had just closed down Mr. B’s, one of the microbreweries his family owned. He’d returned to civilian life a week ago, after six years in the military, and he was helping his parents out while he figured out his next move.

  “Not going to stay away from Jewel Fisher,” Tempe said.

  “Yes, I am.” Nate filled a beer for himself and took a long swig. He’d never talked to his family, or anyone else for that matter, about his feelings for Jewel. Unfortunately, his family had always been able to read him like an open book, and for whatever reason, Sam and Tempe had decided it was a good time to give him shit about Jewel.

  Sam scoffed and sipped his beer. He ran his hand through his short dark hair and leaned one elbow on the bar. Sam owned Rough Riders, a rafting and adventure company, and he spent most of his days on the water, taking clients out on rafting or other wilderness trips, as evident from his year-round tan and muscular physique.

  “You can’t.” Tempe shook her head. “You don’t have it in you to stay away.”

  “Maybe not, but I can damn well try.” Nate clenched his jaw at the truth of Tempe’s insistence. Six years ago, after finishing college and ROTC, he’d joined the military with his best friend, Rick. Two years ago Nate had been trying to figure out how to tell Rick that he cared deeply about Jewel and wanted to ask her out. He’d decided not to spring I love your sister on him all at once. It was crazy, because Nate and Jewel had never even dated. Between their five-year age difference and out of respect for Rick, Nate had always kept his feelings for Jewel to himself. But six years was a long time to fight his affections for a girl he’d seen nearly every day for most of his life. Being apart helped. If he’d remained in Peaceful Harbor, Maryland, he wouldn’t have been able to deny his feelings for her. Every time he returned home on leave over the years, it had been torture for him to watch Jewel blossom into a gorgeous woman and refrain from acting on his mounting desires.

  Nate trusted his gut, and he trusted his heart. Two years ago he’d decided that one way or another, he was going to finally come clean to his best friend and see if he could earn Rick’s blessi
ng to tell Jewel how he felt. But the month before the end of their tour, Rick was killed by a sniper while out on a routine supply run. Because Nate had completed ROTC during college, he’d been an officer, while Rick was enlisted. They’d celebrated landing in the same company, but Nate had never imagined that giving the order for Rick to go on that supply run would be the last order he ever gave him.

  Rick had gone home in a pine box, and Nate had been unable to face the town in which he and Rick had grown up together—much less his feelings for Jewel. Nate had reenlisted for two years, but two years hadn’t even scratched the surface of the guilt that consumed him.

  It was hard enough being back home in Peaceful Harbor and facing all the places he and Rick had spent their youth. Add in the fact that Rick’s dying words were for him to protect and take care of his family, and Nate’s plans for a future with Jewel were shot. He was a war hero, a decorated officer, and so mired in survivor’s guilt that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to endure the memories of Rick without losing his mind, much less be able to ignore his love for Jewel.

  “She’s right, Nate.” Sam held his brother’s gaze. Sam was the second oldest of Nate’s five siblings. He’d always been a straight shooter, but tonight it was tweaking Nate’s nerves.

  Nate had already fucked up when he’d been home over New Year’s and had given in to his feelings for Jewel. They’d shared one mind-blowing kiss, despite his knowing he had no business seeking her out when he was the one who had put Rick in the fucking sniper’s crosshairs.

  “You’ve had a thing for Jewel forever, whether you want to have it or not,” Sam added. “That’s not going to suddenly change.”

  Nate swallowed his retort as his mother came out of the kitchen, humming a tune and smiling at three of her six children. She’d always worn her thick, curly blond hair loose and wild, which was in stark contrast to Nate’s father’s polished image. His father was right behind her, tall and broad shouldered—traits his four sons shared—and walking with a slightly stilted gait that most people probably never noticed. He was as dark as Maisy was fair and as clean cut as she was bohemian. Thomas “Ace” Braden had been in the military only a few years before a jumping accident had claimed his left leg from the knee down.