Read Online Precious Blessings (Love Inspired) by Jillian Hart - Free Book Online Page A

Hayden?”
    â€œNo.”
    Katherine’s heart twisted tightly, protectively against the painful shards of the past brought to the surface. Also from Jack’s wince of hope lost. He looked down at his capable hands, loosely fisted on the table, a strong towering man who looked defeated. She knew it wasn’t the answer he had wanted to hear.
    But it was the truth.
    Why did she feel so much for him? She could tell herself she didn’t like this guy, but it wouldn’t be the truth. If she was one hundred percent honest, then shehad to admit she did like him. There was no sense denying it. How could she not care for this man, the one beneath the mask of commander and protector? He radiated earnestness and integrity, and it touched her, for he had a heart to match.
    Maybe she liked this Jack best of all.
    â€œI’m out of my depth with Hayden, I’ll admit to it. Just when I think I’ve got this parenting thing figured out, she goes and ups the ante on me.”
    â€œPlus, she’s got you wrapped around her little finger.”
    â€œYou’re right about that.” He shrugged, a gesture of defeat. “It’s not a good thing, I know. I just can’t help it.”
    â€œA teenager is an awesome responsibility. As much as you love your daughter, which is always a good thing, there’s so much you can’t protect her from. You would do anything to keep her safe.”
    He nodded once, staring out the window and not seeing anything at all. “Then what do I do? I can’t accept the direction she’s heading in. I won’t let it happen. Somehow, I gotta get her through this. I’m at a loss. She was in counseling for a while and I thought she was doing better. Looking forward in her life, not back.”
    â€œThat’s a tall order for any of us. It takes a lot of time to get to those roots of pain. They can go deeper than you think.”
    â€œSpeaking from experience?”
    â€œIt’s the same road we’re all on, right?” She tilted her head to the side, gazing up at him through her long, natural lashes. All honesty and compassion. “Life is a tough path to walk, and kids aren’t immune to the struggles of it, no matter how a parent tries to shelter them.”
    â€œThat’s what I’ve worked hard for. To insulate her from anything that could hurt her. And when her mother died, there was no way to shield her from that. In trying to, maybe I got it all wrong. Maybe I’ve done more harm than good.”
    â€œI don’t believe that for a minute.”
    As if her belief in him was the key to a lock within him, he felt a door give way and the truth tumble out. He was a man who prided himself on his strength and discipline. He was a do-the-right-thing kind of man, but as hard as he’d tried, with all the good intentions, still there were shattered pieces, like failure, tumbled, broken at his feet. “I’ve made mistakes.”
    â€œWho hasn’t?” Her understanding made him feel less alone. Less confused. “After my mom left, Dad had such a hard time. We all did. Our world, as we knew it, had ended, and it was never the same again. But my dad, he held it together. He held us together.”
    â€œHe sounds like a good man.”
    â€œThat’s my point, exactly. In the end, he is what mattered. Our mom may have left us, but our dad, he didn’t. It took me a long time to get it, to understand that no matter how much it hurt when our mother left, it did not have the power of our dad’s love and commitment to us. Some people you can count on no matter what. And that kind of love is more important and more powerful.”
    He felt too revealed. She’d gotten too close, and his instincts were bellowing at him to back up, close down, move as far away from this woman as humanly possible. He was riveted in place, torn. It wasn’t only her understanding that had forged a connection