Free Love Inspired August 2014 – Bundle 1 of 2 by Allie Pleiter and Jessica Keller Ruth Logan Herne

best burgers in all of Montana has me too happy to care.” She followed that by
     taking her first bite, laughing when condiments slid one way while her burger seemed
     determined to go the other.
    Too happy to care.
    Her words brightened everything about the day. Words he reflected inside, a new joy
     taking hold, simply by spending a day with Livvie Franklin by his side. Talking horse,
     chatting baseball. Stealing quick, sideways glances.
    Oh, yeah. Her words held true for both of them. Tucked inside the truck, angled so
     the horse trailer caught the shade from a broad, old maple tree while he and Liv roasted
     in the hot August sun?
    Yup. Like Liv, he was too happy to care. And that felt better than he’d felt in a
     long time.

Chapter Five
    L iv’s conscience scolded nonstop the next day. If her brain was an iTune, she’d press
     Pause and move on, but the common-sense mental directives made her question her quick
     decisions at the livestock sale. By midday she had the downstairs polished, and headed
     to town to mosey around the library archives for a change of scenery. Chauncey Hardman
     took it upon herself to open the library for a few hours every Sunday afternoon, and
     there were times when getting lost in research could prove beneficial. She hoped that
     method worked today. Then she’d face a late-day dinner at the ranch with Jack, Coach
     and the horses. Hanging with Jack yesterday, she remembered how much she loved all
     three.
    She turned down Shaw Boulevard, angled into the library lot and parked alongside a
     metallic blue hybrid, a sweet ride that said “money” despite its diminutive size.
     For just a moment Liv considered moving her worn, red Neon to the other side of the
     narrow lot, but that might insult the trusty old car, so she gave the slightly dented
     trunk a pat and a promise of a car wash as she headed inside.
    The one-story library had little seating, but that didn’t matter today. Liv turned
     to the right, down a short hall, and straight into the history section of the converted
     ranch-style house, a small space that had probably been a bedroom at one time. The
     square room now housed all historical nonfiction on one wall and fiction on the other.
     Chauncey had her own way of doing things and since the Hardmans had bequeathed their
     house to the library thirty-five years before, no one was about to argue with the
     stout middle-aged librarian.
    “Oh. Hey. Sorry.”
    A slim woman with long blond hair swung around as Liv drew up short.
    Liv made a face and tapped the doorway. “Didn’t see you with the turn and there’s
     never anyone back here when I come in to work. Hi.”
    The other woman smiled and swept the small room a look of understanding. “It’s kind
     of fun and odd how small this is, isn’t it?” She extended her hand and said, “I’m
     Robin Frazier. I’m staying in town for a little while and I love to check out old
     stuff.”
    “Then you’ve come to the right room,” Liv noted. As she grasped Robin’s offered hand,
     her gaze fell on the leather-bound document spread out on the table behind Robin.
     “The Shaw history. I was going through that myself the other day. Find anything interesting?”
    “Not much.”
    The woman looked almost disappointed, as if she’d been hoping to find some deep dark
     secret hidden in the old parchment papers. Livvie was pretty sure that if such a thing
     existed, Jackson Shaw would have prettied it up—or excised it. Jackson had a way of
     gilding things with his own special spin, not a quality Liv admired, especially from
     a historical perspective. How could people learn from the mistakes of a spit-shined
     past that didn’t reflect reality? “Were you looking for something specific?”
    “No.” Robin answered too quickly, but before Liv could wonder at her speedy response,
     she went on, “I’m working on my degree and doing a thesis on genealogy. Documenting
     family histories is part of the