The Sweetest Gift

The Sweetest Gift
Jillian Hart

When he'd first popped through the shrubbery, nurse Kirby McKaslin had found her new neighbor brazen and obnoxious. So she was more than surprised to find Sam Gardner volunteering to pilot an early-morning medical emergency flight…and fixing her fence, making her cocoa when she couldn't sleep, even cooking dinner.But when Sam took Kirby's hand in his, she wasn't surprised to find herself falling for him….Then he gently removed his hand, and closed his wounded heart to her. After he'd shown her that faith and kindness could exist in a man, could Kirby convince him that despite his past, love wasn't gone for him–forever?

Kirby knelt, petting the dog, her blond hair falling all around her face and her shoulders and tumbling down over her nape.

“Good dog, Leo,” she said. “Good boy.”

Sam’s heart seemed to stop beating as he watched her with his dog. He’d never seen such gentle hands. She looked like kindness personified, and it hit him deep in his soul. Leo gazed at her with adoration, and Sam did the same.

There was something endearing about Kirby. With her head bent forward, he could see the careful part of her hair, perfect—not a hair was out of place.

For one instant, one millisecond, he wished he had the heart to try to love again. He wished he could travel back in time and change his life so he could stand here now and believe true goodness could exist in a person, and that love never ended.

So he could kneel down, lay his big, callused hand on hers and ask her to dinner. Ask her to a movie. Ask her to step into his life….

JILLIAN HART

makes her home in Washington State, where she has lived most of her life. When Jillian is not hard at work on her next story, she loves to read, go to lunch with her friends and spend quiet evenings with her family.

The Sweetest Gift

Jillian Hart

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

But the greatest of these is love.

—1 Corinthians 13:13

To two of life’s sweet blessings:

My cocker spaniel, Jessie, and her friend Sam,

the rottweiler, who inspired this story.

Dear Reader,

I first met younger sister Kirby when I was writing His Hometown Girl (LI #180) for the Love Inspired series. I had so wanted to tell her story and was thrilled when I got the chance. Kirby’s story is about a good-hearted woman who finds her greatest love in her unlikely next-door neighbor. It is also the journey of a woman who tries hard to live her faith every day.

Thank you for choosing The Sweetest Gift. Love is one of God’s sweetest blessings. I wish so very many sweet blessings for you.

Contents

Chapter One (#u3b6edca5-003f-5017-ab8c-fdab6ea50456)

Chapter Two (#uad5a5a87-6ab5-5934-b824-6e700d32922d)

Chapter Three (#u42377605-a06c-542c-bf55-ae5f73ff213e)

Chapter Four (#u54908c9f-968c-5859-8a00-84e82736e416)

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)

Chapter One

“Sister dearest, you look as though you need a café mocha with extra whipped cream.”

“Boy, do I.” Kirby McKaslin sagged against the coffee shop’s counter. “Could you make it a double?”

“Gladly.” Older sister Karen’s diamond wedding ring glittered in the overhead lights as she began working the espresso machine. “Come around and help yourself to the leftover cookies. Gramma made chocolate chocolate-chip—”

“Say no more.” Kirby dropped her purse on the counter and swung around the corner. Gramma’s soft, chewy chocolate cookies were heaven on earth. There were only two left in the display case and she grabbed both of them.

“What about the job?” Karen set the double mocha with a froth of whipped cream on the counter, her voice affectionate and understanding, as always.

Kirby couldn’t hide her smile a second longer. “I got it. I’m the new nurse practitioner at the Three Forks Clinic. I start in two weeks.”

“Kirby! That’s fantastic!” Karen circled the edge of the counter, arms wide. “I’m so proud of my little sister.”

“It’s too good to be true. My very own clinic. I’m totally in charge, and I know I’m going to love it.” Kirby stepped into her sister’s hug. “I’m going to get my own patients. I still can’t believe it.”

“I can. I’ve had faith in you all along.”

There was nothing like a big sister. Kirby gave Karen an extra-long hug, careful of the growing tummy beneath her loose T-shirt. Married and expecting, with a new house and a booming business, Karen had it all.

Kirby was glad for her, but, well, it would be great if that kind of future was ahead for her, too. Not that there were any prospects, but you never knew when a handsome stranger with a loving heart would walk into your life and complete it, right?