Read TEXAS ROADS (A Miller's Creek Novel Book 1) for Free Online Page A

in science class every year.” The memory of her students’ fascination with the process brought a smile to Dani’s face.
    “You know what would happen if you cut open the cocoon so the butterfly didn’t have to struggle so hard to get free?”
    “It would never be strong enough to fly.”
    “Exactly.” Her aunt looked skyward and Dani followed her gaze, the moon now completely clear of clouds. Aunt Beth rocked the swing, drawing her attention. “Victory and growth don’t come through an easy life, but from struggle.”
    The words still rang in Dani’s mind later that night as she crawled into bed, the crickets crooning their nighttime lullaby. What a day. She pulled the soft cotton sheet to her chin and snuggled into the feather pillow that smelled of fresh air and sunshine. Aunt Beth was right. Trouble did follow you wherever you went. The trip to Miller’s Creek proved it. But maybe God had a reason for everything. If things hadn’t fallen apart, she’d probably never have made the trip to Miller’s Creek and wouldn’t have met her aunt or J. C. or Steve. What if God had a bigger plan than she was aware of?
    Steve’s angry distance at dinner made its way into her thoughts, and her heart sank. She had to apologize. Whatever it took, she needed to make it right between them for Aunt Beth’s sake. Besides that, she needed to start things off right between her and the people of the town. After all, they might be her new friends and neighbors.
    Overwhelming joy billowed in her heart at the thought. All these years of longing for home. Had she finally found it in the back roads town of Miller’s Creek? Already she felt an unexpected bond with her aunt, a connection she couldn’t explain, family.
    A soft patch of moonlight filtered through the window and laid a silvery blue streak across the chenille bedspread. Would a move to Miller’s Creek work out? Dani flopped to her other side, folded an arm beneath her head, and pushed the question from her mind. She’d make it work. Any lifeline, even in small-town Texas, allowed her the one thing she’d been missing.
    Hope.

Chapter Five
     
    S teve smiled down at her, in that sweet place between slumber and awakening. Even after all these years, she still beguiled and enchanted him. Breathing in her light fragrance, he closed his eyes and reveled in the serene moment of bliss, his heart burgeoning with gratitude. No doubt about it—he was head over heels in love with his hometown!
    Miller’s Creek, named for the little river meandering through the heart of town, lay before him like a sleeping princess in the rosy glow of a new day. A sense of wonder arose in him as it often did when he viewed his hometown. From the perspective of the rocky bluff where he stood, the land looked like a giant patchwork quilt. Outside the town, squares of green showed where the wheat, coastal hay, and peas were planted, while rich chocolate brown dirt revealed the future location of soon-to-sprout peanuts, cotton, and maize. Barbed-wire fences with rough cedar posts provided the quilt’s stitching.
    The crisp nip to the morning air issued a warning that cold weather could still kill off the chance for fresh plums and peaches, and the homemade jams and jellies which always made their way into his pantry. Sorrow descended as he searched out the town square, bordered by the creek on one side and Main Street on the other. Except for City Hall, a couple of businesses, the church, post office, and firehouse, Miller’s Creek had become a ghost town.
    Not for much longer. Not if he could help it.
    He squinted against the rising sun and surveyed the rolling hills and pasture land, his memory taking him back in time. In some ways, his childhood seemed liked yesterday. A time when Ledbetter’s Furniture, Watson’s Drugstore, and the Piggly Wiggly grocery store thrived in downtown Miller’s Creek. Saturday afternoons had been spent at the picture show with Lauren and Clay, followed by a