Delicate Dream (Book Two of the Verbecks of Idaho)

By R.E.S. Tidmore

Bethany Heart communicates with her food. After she accepts a job as executive chef at a restaurant in Seattle, she packs up her car and drives across state lines to start a new life with her daughter, Olivia. As luck would have it, her car breaks down along the way, and she is broke and stranded in a small town in Idaho.

Cole Verbeck, a local rancher, has been taking care of the family ranch by himself ever since his father died. He offers Bethany and her daughter a place to stay while her car is getting fixed in exchange for some housework. Despite being a private man, Cole enjoys having Bethany and Olivia fill the house with lightness and laughter.

As they navigate each other’s space, Bethany’s cooking has opened up the conversation. A tragedy from the past has hardened Cole, but his love for Bethany has made him realize that he has been living too long in sadness. He is finally ready to put the past behind him, but now he needs to convince Bethany to stay.

The second book in the Verbecks of Idaho series is about taking a leap of faith and learning to trust an inner intuition that will open the doors to love and personal transformation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.E.S. Tidmore
• Release date: Nov 3, 2014
• ISBN: 9780989524360

R.E.S. Tidmore

R.E.S. Tidmore is a defective writer who writes. She has a BA and MFA in creative writing. Being dyslexic, she never thought she could make a living from writing. Writing isn’t only about dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s. It’s about storytelling, and doing it in all the best ways. She loves Jane Austen, tattoos, sarcasm, quick wit, gardening, all things Harry Potter, being a writing coach, and a happy ever after.Check out my other adult romance series: The Awakener series and the Managing Mayhem series.

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Delicate Dream

Book Two of the Verbecks of Idaho

by R. E. S. Tidmore

DELICATE DREAM (The Verbecks of Idaho Series)

Copyright © 2014 by R.E.S. Tidmore

Ruthless Writers Publishing

All Rights Reserved

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Print (Dream Collection) ISBN: 9780989524391

Ebook ISBN: 9780989524360

Other Titles

The Awakener Series

Awaken

Oblivion

Torn

The Verbecks of Idaho

Midnight’s Dream

Delicate Dream

Unbroken Dream

Managing Mayhem

Bliss

Coming Soon!

Book 4 of the Awakener Series

Redeemed

Dedication

To my oldest and dearest friend Carmen Moore, I love you more than words can express. You have encouraged and harassed me over the years, to keep pushing for my dreams. You are the one person who lays it out like it is, and you never hold back to spare my feelings. The truth sucks sometimes, you say with unshaken determination.

Thank you for everything.

Chapter One

Bethany’s hunk of junk—a faded, blue Datsun she called Dot—sputtered and died. The glowing, white lights from the glass double doors and the red of the Emergency Room sign were a beacon of hope.

Don’t break down on me now, she pleaded. I promise to get you an oil change and new tires if you can make it to the front of the hospital.

The car rolled to a stop under a parking lot light more than a football field away in the large hospital parking lot. She groaned in frustration and tried to restart the engine. It clicked several times, but never roared to life. She clenched her fists. This was what she got for moving across the country for a new job at eight months pregnant. She had been offered a head chef position at Deveros, one of the most respected restaurants in Washington state. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and she couldn’t say no. Especially after telling them she was pregnant and due in a few months, and they still wanted her. But the baby was coming early and she didn’t know why.

She picked up her phone, and it was dead. Dot’s cigarette lighter outlet had burned out on the second day of her drive from Kentucky to Washington, so she couldn’t charge her phone. Now here she was, alone in the hospital parking lot unable to call and have someone come out.

She glanced at the hospital doors longingly. She was going to have to walk the rest of the way on her swollen feet with a baby trying to squeeze out. There was no time like the present to have a baby three weeks early in some unknown town in the middle of Idaho.

As she peered around the tiny car packed with her belongings, she regretted her choice to drive alone. Her friend Patrick had said he would drive with her and help her get settled into her new place and help when the baby came, since he was on summer break as a seventh-grade science teacher. But it was just her luck, he got a call two days before they were going to leave saying the school needed him to teach summer school.

She had taken a gamble and lost. There was no second-in-command if things went awry. And things were definitely awry.

She squeezed the door handle with both hands, praying the grumpy, old car would consent to her unlatching it. After two good tries and no success, she rested her forehead against the steering wheel and held her breath. The next contraction stole every ounce of her energy. Her abdominal muscles clamped down on her unborn baby girl, desperate to expel her. Bethany growled low, trying to get through the pain. She could feel her baby right between her legs. Deep breath in, deep breath out.

A few minutes later, her abdomen relaxed and again she squeezed the door handle, this time with more determination. Let me out of here. If she didn’t make it into the hospital fast, her daughter, whom she would name Olivia, would be born right here in the driver’s seat.

Come on, you pile of junk, let me out! she said, teeth clenched, squeezing as hard as humanly possible on the handle.

Click.

Bethany sighed with relief and shouldered the door open. She climbed out onto wobbly legs, surveying the parking lot, holding the car door for balance. The hospital was set a mile off the highway cutting through town. It was surrounded by tall pine trees that shielded it from the world. It had been a wonder she’d found it in the dark. A variety of cars and trucks littered the parking lot, but no one was pulling in that could help her.

I can make it, hopefully. Mama’s got you, Olivia, she said.

The warm summer air wrapped around her, easing some of the tension from her body. Waddling slowly, she made her way toward the front of the car when a sharp pain forced her to double over. She protectively wrapped her belly in a firm embrace. Clipped breaths were all she could manage. Her stomach muscles tightened. Somehow, she lowered herself to the ground, ignoring the pebbles sticking to her legs. She wanted to scream for help, but the contraction was too intense. Focused on her baby, Bethany struggled to control her breathing.

An eternity passed as she waited for the contraction to stop, but it only grew more forceful. Something warm ran down her legs. She lifted her simple, cotton summer dress out of the way as an overwhelming fear laced around her heart. She touched her inner thigh to make sure it was amniotic fluid, but the dim light of the parking lot revealed a red, sticky substance on her fingers. Bethany choked on a sob. A metallic scent rode the air around her. Olivia must be in trouble . . . and if she was in trouble, then so was Bethany.

Please . . . no, she whispered. Her heart hammered. Another sharp pain ripped through her. Her vision blurred and the parking lot light grew hazy, as if there was a ring around it. Thoughts of her mother drifted to the front of her mind and tears streaked her cheeks. As tough and as independent as Bethany was, she should have brought her mother with her. She tried to focus on the light, but the world went black and disappeared.

Chapter Two

A bouquet of flowers sat on the front seat of Cole Verbeck’s truck, smelling up the space with a pungent aroma. He couldn’t stop smiling, but damn, it felt good. He was excited to see his new niece. His sister had labored all day to bring another little person into the world.

He meandered down the narrow road of Highway 55, rising and falling with the Payette River. Crossing a concrete bridge, Cole leaned out his open window, breathing in the scent of pine and tall grass. He knew the land and all its twists and turns, having been born and raised in Idaho.

A few hours ago, he was lounging in his living room, his feet aching and hands blistered from a hard day’s work of stacking hay in the barn. Then his phone started blowing up—typical of a Sunday night when Game of Thrones was on. He never understood why his younger siblings, Peter and Emma, and a few other friends included him in the group text despite him never having seen the show. Tonight, when the phone almost vibrated off the coffee table, he’d reached over and grabbed it to see what the fuss was all about. Sure enough, Emma had gone into labor. His brother-in-law, Logan, and Peter were already at the hospital. His two-year-old nephew, Joel Junior, had stayed behind with a babysitter.

And now Cole was on his way, making the hour-long drive to McClain Hospital. Better late than never. When he finally pulled into the hospital parking lot, he drove past an old Datsun that was parked on the outermost part of the lot. He glanced into the rearview mirror and did a double take.

What the . . .?

He hit the brakes and put the truck in park, then turned around in his seat, his eyes squinting through his back window at the Datsun. A heavy feeling settled in his gut when he spotted a foot on the ground, poking out from the other side of the car. He quickly put his truck back into gear and spun around, then parked haphazardly next to the Datsun. He sprang from the truck and rushed toward the foot.

A woman with a round, pregnant belly was lying on the pavement.

Oh my God! Kneeling beside the woman, Cole brushed a few strands of her golden hair away from her mouth. He bent down and turned his ear to her mouth. Her breathing was shallow.

Ma’am, can you hear me? he asked, gently shaking her arm.

No response.

He scooped her small frame into his arms and gazed at the blood flowing down her legs. Dread filled him. The woman’s body tightened in his arms. He could tell she was in labor.

Cradling her securely against his chest, he broke into a dead run toward the hospital. His cowboy boots tapped hard against the pavement. How long had she been there like that? Had someone left her, hurt her even? Why was she alone at a time like this?

The woman groaned weakly and reached a small hand up, gripping the collar of his shirt. She’s coming, she whispered.

Cole looked down, his eyes locking with