Fragile Is the Heart

By Clover Autrey

Her adopted grandmother never kept secrets from her. Yet after her death, Gracie Kincaid found a wedding gown and picture of her grandmother’s wedding to a man Gracie never knew about. Why did she keep this from her? Spurred by grief and a burning need to understand, Gracie drives to Texas to find out who the groom in the picture was.

She never imagined that discovering her grandmother’s tragic past would guide Gracie to a home and family and to a man who seemed destined for her as though Gigi somehow had a hand in it all along.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clover Autrey
• Release date: Jun 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463610879

Clover Autrey

“Clover Autrey’s books are perfect for the time-constrained reader. They are a quick read jam-packed with action, adventure and emotion.” ...from a reader in Utah.Clover Autrey writes the kind of stories she loves to read, high fantasy and time travels with Scottish Highlanders or magical mermen and shapeshifters, with powerful elements of romance, where the hero and heroine must each make sacrifices to gain something even stronger. She is the author of the HIGHLAND SORCERY series and the ANOINTED series.Clover serves as the current president of the Keller Writers Association and is the past president for the North Texas Romance Writers of America. She is a frequent speaker at conferences and workshops.Inspired by her love of Louis L'Amour historical romantic heroes, Clover (yeah, that's her real name), packed up and moved to Texas where she found a real live Texan of her own. She's been there ever since where she and Pat (who else would a Clover marry but a Patrick?) listen to the coyotes howl at the trains each evening.Become one of Clover's LuckyCharmers for exclusive content and free books at http://www.subscribepage.com/luckycharmers

Book preview

FRAGILE IS THE HEART

By Clover Autrey

Copyright 2020 Clover Autrey

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Smashwords Edition

Published by Red Rover Books

Stock photos legally licensed through depositphotos 2020

All Rights Reserved

Dedicated to my siblings and their kids, some of whom you just might happen to meet quietly in these pages as staff members at the inn or around and about Chapel Pines.

Table of Contents

FRAGILE IS THE HEART

WHAT was she doing? Taking a roadtrip from Oklahoma down to the middle of Texas on a whimsical search wasn’t like her. Spontaneity was not in her comfort zone. Her grandmother had passed away less than three weeks ago and here Gracie was on the hunt for a past that Gigi hadn’t wanted any of them to know about. If she had, she would have told them.

Gracie’s hands curled around the steering wheel and her foot pressed a little harder on the gas. She and Gigi had been close. Gigi had practically raised her and Camille when their good-for-nothing mother got herself landed in jail, and then Gigi ran her off when she got out and wanted them back. Gigi wasn’t about to turn children over to a woman who couldn’t keep herself clean and sober longer than a week, even if she was her own daughter.

Gracie signed. Mama hadn’t come to the funeral, although Camille had tracked her address down and invited her. She supposed it was just as well.

She took the exit off the highway toward Chapel Pines, growing more nervous by the mile. She wasn’t sure why she had come or what drew her to find out about the old bridal gown they’d found in a long-forgotten trunk in Gigi’s attic. The gown was beautiful, a well-preserved antique, but it wasn’t the same dress she’d worn when she married Grandpa. Nor was that her grandfather in the black and white photograph they’d found tucked inside the trunk.

It showed Gigi in the gown when she was around nineteen, standing next to her groom in a World War II era uniform. The only clue of who he might be was penciled on the back of the photograph. Eddie and Peg. May 30, 1945.

Gigi had never spoken a word about a first husband or what had happened to him.

And for some unfathomable reason, Gracie had to know the story. It wouldn’t leave her alone.

Gigi had kept all of this from them. Neither had she kept a journal. There was nothing to go on but a name and date…and… She glanced at the box on the passenger’s seat. She’d placed the gown and photograph gently inside.

The gown itself had given them their next clue, or at least pointed them in the direction to look.

It was hand sewn, the stitching small and precise. Camille found one of those silk ribbon tags sewn into the inside hem that dressmakers once used to mark their handiwork. Baubles and Bows was handstitched into the ribbon and the piece of ribbon sewn onto the dress.

An Internet search led them to a little boutique in Chapel Pines, Texas, established in 1933 and still in business, although there was no email listed, nor could they get anyone to answer the phone.

Since Chapel Pines was only an eight hour drive from Tulsa, and Gracie was between clients, she packed a bag, boxed up the wedding gown, and headed out. Camille thought it was a waste of time, but it was Gracie’s time to waste.

And she was driven to find out what their grandmother had kept secret for so long.

Chapel Pines was a quaint little town, the kind made for covered porches and lemonade. Large ample trees lined Main Street, creating shady storefronts. She found herself relaxing as she passed through the charming atmosphere.

The GPS directed her onto a side street that still, quite quaint, seemed a little less kept up. Baubles and Bows sat at the end of the street, a charming two-story with faded green awnings above the two front windows. The sign hung by an iron frame above the oak doorway.

Gracie pulled her compact Honda into one of the empty spaces right in front of the shop and stepped out. It looked like it was closed, dark inside, although there wasn’t an open or closed sign in sight. Neither was there any postings of hours or phone numbers.

She tried the door anyway, surprised when it opened. Guess it was business hours after all. She poked her head inside. The lights were off except a standing lamp in the corner that cast muted light over shelves of fabric and pattern racks. She could see sewing machines and a state-of-the-art serger through an open door to a room in the back.

Hello, Gracie called out. Is anyone here?

Silence filled every corner. Gracie wasn’t sure what to do. Wait inside for the owners to return? Or should she go back and wait in her car? Her stomach rumbled. Third option: grab something to eat and come back.

She’s most likely out to lunch, a male voice said from behind and Gracie about jumped out of her skin. She turned from the doorway to find an amazingly attractive guy grinning at her from the sidewalk. His dark hair was perfectly styled in what must have been a hundred-dollar haircut meant to give him that disheveled look. She usually found that style too, well, styled, but on him it looked completely natural.

Or she could be doing a fitting, he said. She goes on house calls sometimes.

Gracie squinted one eye. Who?

Miss June. She’s who you’re looking for, isn’t it?

"If she runs Baubles and Bows, then yes. Do you work here?"

Me? His dark brows rose. No. I’m here to pick up samples of tulle. For my niece, he added hastily.

Oh, is she a dancer? Small talk. Great. Nothing awkward about that, but the guy’s looks were making her uncomfortable. He was just the right kind of handsome, not too pretty, but also not over-the-top gorgeous, just handsome with a devil-may-care mischievousness that touched his brown eyes. She never was that good at being herself around guys like him.

Good guess. She does take dance lessons, but this is for a flower girl’s dress.

Oh, there’s a wedding. Gracie smiled. She loved weddings. And the picturesque little town would be the perfect setting for one. So, do you know if June will be back soon?

He shrugged. It’s hit and miss with her. I was hoping to catch her myself.

But the door’s unlocked. Would she leave the shop unattended like this?

Most definitely. His grin was infectious and Gracie found herself smiling along. No one messes with Miss June. Shall we? He reached around her to open the door farther and held if for her.

Gracie hesitated. I don’t know. It doesn’t feel right.

It’s perfectly fine. He held out his arm for her to go inside before him. Not that trusting in Oklahoma?

How’d you—?

License plate.

Oh. She went into the shop. We trust just fine. Maybe not enough to leave businesses unlocked and unattended, but Tulsa wasn’t exactly small town Texas either.

She stood in the middle of the room while the guy went into the backroom. He came back with scraps of varying shades of blue tulle and ribbons with a square of paper pinned to the top. Brighton.

I found what I came for. He shook his head. They all look the same to me.

Maybe in this light, but they’re completely different.

His lopsided grin was amused. I’ll have to take your word on that. What were you here for? Maybe I can help you find it.

They were awfully casual here. I really need to speak with the owner. Do you know if she has a different number than what’s listed?

His lips pressed together. He ran a hand back across his dark hair, causing it to look more wind-blown than when he’d come in. "I’m surprised there is