Her Alaskan Cowboy. Belle Calhoune

I’ve moved on since then. It won’t serve a single purpose to rehash the past and dig up old wounds. In a few weeks we’ll both be back home in Seattle and Los Angeles living our lives. I can’t imagine either one of us having a reason to come back here.” Just saying the words out loud caused a tightening sensation smack-dab in the center of his chest. It sounded so final.

      For a few moments silence settled over the kitchen. Violet’s gibberish was the only sound in the room. She was in her own world and babbling away. Joshua imagined that Theo, much like himself, was consumed by the past, their grandfather’s passing and being back in their hometown. Not to mention the dilemma of whether or not to sell the Diamond R.

      “We’ll have to contact Pastor Jack and get a list together of all his friends here in town,” Theo said, breaking the silence.

      An invite list. He couldn’t help but think about Honor and her big, bustling family. They had always respected and admired his grandfather, but because of the bad feelings between himself and the Prescotts, Joshua wasn’t certain if they would attend the memorial service. It made his heart ache a little to think about it. Joshua hoped he hadn’t burned all of his bridges in his hometown.

      For some reason, being a father had changed his views about Love. It hadn’t all been negative. He wanted Violet to know the place where he’d been born and raised. The Diamond R Ranch had been a huge part of his upbringing. He couldn’t change the way people felt about his past, but he wanted to show everyone that he had grown and matured.

      Even though he had tried to convince himself that he was over the past, it still sat like an anchor on his chest. When he least expected it, memories rose up and threatened to drag him under. Pain. Loss. Heartache. One fateful decision that had altered the course of his young life. He had kicked himself a thousand times for not telling Honor the truth.

      Even if he was only in Love for a short duration, Joshua intended to extinguish those painful memories before he headed back to Seattle. Since he’d left town he had worked tirelessly to make something of himself. He now owned a home construction business and he’d been flipping houses to bring in more income. He had stashed away a nice sum of money. In the next few months he intended to purchase a medium-sized starter home for himself and Violet. All in all, life was good.

      His life had moved on in the aftermath of the dissolution of his relationship with Honor. When she had broken off their engagement, the very foundation of Joshua’s world crumbled. Although he had been forced to adjust to living without her, it had been the most difficult undertaking of his life.

      She’s too good for you, Ransom.

      Those words had been seared into his brain, courtesy of Sheriff Boone Prescott and his brothers. As much as he had hated Boone for being so blunt, Joshua had always known it had been true. Despite having loved her, Joshua knew he hadn’t been worthy of the reigning princess of Love, Alaska. Honor had been the shiny brass ring completely out of his reach. Against all odds, he had earned her love, which had made him the happiest man in all of Alaska. But love hadn’t been enough.

      Joshua winced as bitter memories washed over him. In one reckless moment, Joshua had shown his complete unworthiness and given Honor no choice but to walk away from him. And even though he had moved on, Joshua still wasn’t over it. Not by a long shot.