Candy lay in that narrow hospital bed, watching Neil walk out the door without looking back, and for the first time in her life, she felt her heart break in two. She’d never been so emotionally connected to a man, but Neil had walked into her life, scooped her off the ground, protected her, and kept her safe in a way she’d never expected. She’d thought he only wanted her land, but when he had come for her during that storm, when she was at the lowest point in her life, her heart had cracked open, and she’d let him in.
Now she saw his hesitation. When she had opened her eyes, groggy and confused, she had expected Neil to be there holding her hand. But he wasn’t. It was Emily. The rest of the family hovered, and she saw their concern when she asked for Neil and where he was, the expression
