Keeping Her Safe

Keeping Her Safe
Barbara Phinney

He took the fall Hunter Gordon had pleaded guilty to a crime he hadn't committed.And served ten long years in prison. All to save the family who had taken him in: beautiful Rae Benton and her father. But right before Rae's father died, he revealed his daughter was in danger. Hunter had to keep her safe. How was he supposed to get close?Rae didn't know the truth and blamed him for the loss of all she held dear. Hunter would have to earn Rae's trust–without ever telling her what really happened a decade ago.

“Get off my land!”

Rae yelled. “I don’t care why you’ve come, Hunter. You’re not welcome here. You destroyed our lives ten years ago, and drove my father to illness he couldn’t fight.”

Gordon swallowed. Rae had grown into a beautiful woman. “There isn’t anything I can say that would make you feel better, Rae. Still, I…” He faltered. “I just want you to know how much your dad meant to me. He was a good man.”

Her expression wavered. He took a step toward her, wanting to haul her close and comfort them both.

She backed away. “Leave.”

He didn’t move. “I have nowhere else to go. You know this place was my only home.” He’d been crazy to come. To keep a woman who hated him safe from an unknown danger?

Guide me, Lord. Do You want me to help her?

His heart lurched in answer and he knew he couldn’t leave Green Valley.

BARBARA PHINNEY

Barbara Phinney was born in England and raised in Canada. She has traveled throughout her life, loving to explore the various countries and cultures of the world. After she retired from the Canadian Armed Forces, Barbara turned her hand to romance writing. The thrill of adventure and the love of happy endings, coupled with a too-active imagination, have merged to help her create this and other wonderful stories. Barbara spends her days writing, building her dream home with her husband and enjoying their fast-growing children.

Keeping Her Safe

Barbara Phinney

Therefore, there is now no condemnation

for those who are in Christ Jesus.

—Romans 8:1

To my family and friends and church, who put up

with my weird writing moments and risk getting

put into a book. All of you are the greatest!

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

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

ONE

Rae Benton could not believe who had just walked into the mortuary chapel. The man who’d killed her father had the gall to attend his victim’s funeral.

With hands clenched as tightly as her jaw, she lifted her gaze from the inexpensive casket, up Hunter Gordon’s lean frame to meet his eyes. In the muted light, she couldn’t see the vivid blue, just the intensity that carried both empathy and wariness. She could buy the wariness; after all, he couldn’t expect to be welcomed here. But empathy? Hunter might not have pulled a trigger, but he was responsible for her father’s untimely death. He had no right to show any compassion.

He came to stand near her. “I’m sorry, Rae.” His voice had deepened during his years in prison, yet she could barely hear it in the quiet chapel. His words were obviously meant for her alone. “I wish I could have been here sooner.”

“Because you’ve just been released?” she muttered. “How did you get here so fast? Dorchester Penitentiary is a two-hour drive from here. They don’t release inmates at dawn.”

“I hitched a ride with a guard coming off duty.”

“Who told you Dad had died?”