No Second Chance For Love

med their empire. The heir, my Seraphina, had to marry into another powerful ranching fami

nch hand with nothing to my name but my grandfat

e, disowned her. Her mother, Eleanor, a woman who wore her social standing like armor, cut her off. Sera

e whispered, her words a promise tha

be with me, but only after she gave them what they wanted: a male heir from what they called "superior stock." The

he devil' s bargain. She would look at me, her ey

would say, the words becomin

the Redding ranch, a ghost haunting the edges of their lives. I saw her leave with him, saw her return, her face a mask I couldn't

by was

ir to carry the Redding name and legacy. A daughter was a failure, a setback. Sera, trapped and broken by

r fell gravely ill. It was sudden, myster

rtyard, screaming that I had poisoned his child. The Reddings, their grandchild

as the heart of a Wyoming winter, and a storm was raging, burying the

aw her. Sera. She stood outside, the snow swirling

tremor, barely audible through the thi

hattered what was left of my heart. The promises, the sacrif

way that had nothing to do with the cold. I stumbled back to

ever. My only condition was that they use their influence to ge

tempt. "A night in the cold finally t

heir daughter, framed in the warm light of the living room window. They looked li

ish you, Caleb. Or they

her eyes. She didn' t

ace. And on his belt, gleaming in the light, was my grandfat

ng with that?"

. "I gave it to him. As an

e. I moved past her, toward him, my only

k, pretending to trip over a loose sto

led down my temple. She didn' t even glance at me. Her only concern was for the "father of her child." She helpe