Restless Hearts: Holidays & Hearts Small Town Romance, #2

By Terri Lorah

A SWEET CLEAN ROMANCE!

Tina Miller's life revolves around the hustle and bustle of New York City's real estate market until a family obligation pulls her to the tranquil landscape of Montana. Tasked with selling her aunt's ranch, Tina's plans take an unexpected turn when she finds herself questioning her priorities and desires. She is torn between her newfound love for the ranch and the pressures of her career.

At first, Tina believes that selling the ranch will be a straightforward task, buoyed by the presence of a willing buyer. Then she immerses herself in the tranquil beauty of the Montana landscape, causing her heart to stir with genuine affection, not only for the ranch but also for a man whose presence ignites unexpected feelings within her.

 

Now faced with a pivotal decision, Tina must summon the inner strength to chart her own course, even if it entails embracing uncertainty and risking everything in pursuit of lasting happiness.

 

Single Bells - Book 1

Restless Hearts - Book 2

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lorah Publishing
• Release date: Feb 16, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224161690

Book preview

Restless Hearts

A Valentine’s Day Romance

by

Terri Lorah

Holidays & Hearts Small Town Romance

Copyright © 2024 Terri Lorah All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book. This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.

A Sweet Clean Romance Novella

Tina Miller's life revolves around the hustle and bustle of New York City's real estate market until a family obligation pulls her to the tranquil landscape of Montana. Tasked with selling her aunt's ranch, Tina's plans take a surprising turn when she finds herself questioning her future. She is torn between a newfound love for the ranch and the pressures of her long-standing career.

At first, Tina believes that selling the ranch will be a straightforward task, buoyed by the presence of a willing buyer. Then she immerses herself in the tranquil beauty of the Montana landscape, causing her heart to stir with genuine affection, not only for the ranch but also for a man whose presence ignites unexpected feelings within her.

Now faced with a pivotal decision, Tina must summon the inner strength to chart her own course, even if it entails embracing uncertainty and risking everything in pursuit of lasting happiness.

Chapter 1

Tina missed her best friend, but she knew Missy was spending alone time with her boyfriend Tyler, who just got out of the hospital after a car accident right before the holidays. They were in Happy Springs, Pennsylvania, which was both Tina and Missy's hometown.

Tina had gone home for Christmas. All she could handle was one day with her crazy family and all the memories of growing up that she had shoved deep down somewhere far away in her mind. She had convinced herself there were just too many bad memories to think about home more than once a year.

She shouldn't say they were all bad. But it was no use lying to herself. Her memories of a sweet, cozy home filled with love flew right out the window when it came to her dysfunctional group of relatives. If she wanted a home filled with the joy of the holidays all she had to do was go to her BFF’s house. When Tina was there, she made sure to engulf herself in Missy’s family as much as she could during her teen years.

In order to deal with this family of hers, she had resigned herself a long time ago to get out of Happy Springs and only come home for Christmas day. When she and her best friend both got accepted into college in New York, she never looked back except for the few times she went home to visit her mom. She always made it short and sweet. Well maybe not sweet. Someone was always complaining or accusing another family member of doing something sinister.

By the time her 24 hours were up, she had practically ran to her car to head back to New York without looking back. Her mom never questioned Tina since she knew how badly her daughter wanted to get away from the bad memories.

But now, after the phone call she just got, she was forced to deal with a relative she barely remembered and only talked to on phone calls in a weird relationship the two of them had. And she wasn’t sure if this one was sane or insane!

Tina sent an emergency text to her best friend. HELP! Can we talk in five?

Let me find a quiet spot! Haha! That would be outside in the cold.

Where are you?

At the local firehall. Granny is on the committee for New Year's Eve celebrations. She put me to work!

Tina paced back and forth until her cell finally rang. She pushed her long straight hair out of her face and hit the green button. Did you find a quiet spot? There were voices echoing in the background.

Nope. But this alcove near the back door will do. What's wrong?

Family!

Uh oh! I'm sorry.

You know how toxic my family is. I finally thought I'd get a small reprieve from all the drama, but nope, not happening. I need to plan a murder.

You're kidding, right? I don't have the capability for that. I mean, I can bring a shovel and help you dig a hole!

Funny! They always made a joke about her siblings and relatives. Every single family member had some sort of crazy dramatic event going on. It was one of the reasons Tina had stayed in New York City after college. She thought it was far enough away not to be involved and yet here she was, knee-deep in the middle of it again.

What happened?

What hasn't happened so far?

Missy whistled. Let's see! Your mom and dad's divorce after your dad verbally abused you and your mom for years was probably the worst thing that ever happened. Then, your brother being addicted to drugs and stealing from every single family member might be the second worst thing. Oh, wait! What about your older sister taking your niece and refusing to allow anyone to see her again. Um, I forgot about your uncle on your dad's side who drove into the historical society building and destroyed historical papers and maps that can't be replaced. And then there’s your cousin on your mom's side coming out that she's a lesbian, so the family shunned her! Is there more? I'm sure there is, Missy told her, letting out a deep breath.

Tina grunted. That's just the tip of the iceberg, Missy. This has to do with me.

Please don't tell me you decided to become a nun and you're moving to ancient Rome or somewhere far away and I’ll never hear from you again!

Tina chuckled. It's worse. My aunt on my dad's side, Aunt Chloe, says she desperately needs my help, which is always a red flag if you know what I mean?

Aunt Chloe? Isn't she on a ranch in the wilds of Montana or somewhere like that? That’s probably as bad as a nunnery in Rome.

Tina nodded, then realized she was on her phone and Missy couldn’t see her. It may as well be at the ends of the earth. I saw photos of the ranch years ago and the shack she lived in looked like an old homestead from the 19th century. It may have even been one of those sod houses.

So, what's the problem?

She wants me to help her get it ready to sell. She doesn't trust anyone else.

She doesn't even know you, does she?

Nope, not other than speaking with me every week on the phone. Now I’m starting to wonder if those calls were genuine or she just stayed in touch because she knew she was selling her ranch and thinks she’ll get my help. Apparently, she checked with my broker and spoke to some of my former clients. They all vouched for me and now she insists that I have to be the one person to come out and help her. Since I've done so well in my own real estate business, she insists I help her get the best price for the ranch. If you can call it a ranch. She even had the audacity to buy me a ticket already. I'm worried.

It really shouldn't worry you, Tina. Go online and assess the property from county records. Give her a price after you check with the local realtors and let them put it up for sale and tell her that you can’t possibly accept her generosity buying her a ticket. You know how to do long distance market analysis.

I told her as much but she isn’t taking no for an answer. She insists I come all the way out there to discuss the property. Honestly, the old woman wore me down. I feel as if there is something else going on, but I can't put my finger on it.

Either way, it'll be a nice vacation for you, Tina. You worked your butt off and took what, one day off so far all year? Half of the day was spent traveling to visit your mom. Then you turned around and went home the same day. You need to give yourself a break.

Tina knew she was right. I dread going there and finding out the place is in shambles. How am I going to help her? If it isn't worth anything, she's gonna be so disappointed. What if she needs the money? I know she's getting older but maybe she thinks I'll buy it since I'm her New York City Slicker. That's what she calls me.

Stop beating around the bush, as my mom would say. Are you going to do it?

I suppose I will. Looks like I have no choice. If I let her down, my family, all of them, each and every family member no matter how close or far away will be on my case until I explode, even if they want nothing to do with her, which is so extreme. But, if one family member does something to another, you better believe it will be like striking down the whole family. My phone will never stop ringing. Even though they don’t ever hear from Aunt Chloe, family is family. That’s how they’ll behave and I’ll be stuck smack dab in the middle of it all.

It's not that bad, Missy tried and failed to reassure her. Except Missy knew better.

You know it is that bad, Missy. I'll talk to you when I get to Montana. I'm heading out tomorrow morning.

Be safe. Happy travels. Love you!

Tina hung up the phone. She felt better. Her best friend always talked it out with her and made her see reason. She needed a peppermint mocha and checked the clock. She had thirty minutes until Harper's Café closed. Grabbing her coat and scarf, Tina headed to the café which was only a few blocks away.

Tina wrapped the scarf around her neck as she walked towards the local café. There was only about a half hour until they closed. Knowing she wouldn't sleep much tonight, a peppermint mocha sounded like a wonderful way to end the evening. People were out everywhere