by Pamela Morsi
Red got a pink cashmere sweater, which was beautiful and chic and modest, as well. It looked like something that Tasha would have loved to wear.
Daniel got real cowboy boots, which he didn’t have and which he immediately put on.
And Olivia got a pair of earrings.
“They’re not new,” Aunt Phyl told her. “They were mine when I was a young girl. They’re garnets and will look lovely with your complexion.”
Everyone was very pleased. Aunt Phyl opened her own presents and oohed and ahhed over what she received.
“Oh, but there is one still under the tree,” Phyl said, pointing out the tiny red-and-green box to Olivia.
Olivia glanced at it. “Yep, it’s for Cam,” she said, handing it over.
Cam quickly unwrapped the small box. From beneath a swathe of white tissue, he retrieved a key.
“What’s this?” Cam asked.
“It’s part of my big Christmas surprise,” Aunt Phyl said. “You know that new high-rise that just went up?” she said. “Well I bought a two-bedroom condo on the sixth floor. With a view of both downtown and Alamo Heights.”
“You’re moving?” Red asked.
“What about your house?” Cam said. “You’ve always loved this house. Are you selling it?”
“Oh, I could never sell the house,” Aunt Phyl said. “I’m doing with it what I always intended.” She indicated the key, still in his hand. “I’m giving it to you, Cam. It is the Early family home. The last of the Earlys should certainly be the person to live in it.”
“I already have a house,” Cam pointed out.
“Yes, I know you love the bungalow, but here you’d have more room to have musicians over and set up a studio, like you’ve always wanted. The bungalow is just not right for that.” She turned and smiled at Bridge. “What it needs is a nice young family to live there.”
To: [email protected]
March 2 9:08 p.m.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Awesome Sunday!
Nayra—OMG u wil not believe it! U know I had to go to the reopening of the patio at my grammas place today. It was a private party so Daniel and I could go. And it was REALLY cool with lots of people and a band and dancing. There were kids that I'd met before. A few from school. Mia Carson from Daniels class was there with her parents and Mrs. Ramirez's grandkids who I knew from her restuarant. It was pretty neat. Everyone knew Daniel and me. They were mostly friends of Red and Cam and people who come to the bar all the time.
Karl, he is the bartander fixed me an actual drink! It was called a Shirley something and it had a merrychino cherry and an umbrella in it. I felt totally like a teen or something.
So I am thinking that this is it. Nice afternoon party and my mom actually dances with a couple of guys. It's cool, but ordinary. And then Cam gets up on stage and he thanks everybody and all and then he says he's got a surprise that he hopes everyone is up for. And he picks up his fiddle and he starts playing and it is like dum-dum-da-dum dum-dum- da-dum, u know like here comes the bride and here comes Red down the apartment stairs. She is in like a long dress with flowers in her hair and carrying a bowkay. And she gets me and Daniel and Mom and Aunt Phyl and we all go up on the stage and they have a wedding. It was insane!
Everybody was cheering and shouting. I could not believe it! I asked Cam afterward if now I call him Grandpa. He said he would be honored. But I think he will always be just Cam to me.
The weirdest thing they added one extra vows to their vows. They did the regular ones better/worse and sickness/health and anyway the extra vow was something like I promise to always dream like I will live forever and live like I will die today.
Pretty cool.
Livy
Also by Pamela Morsi
Territory Trysts
Wild Oats
Runabout
Tales from Marrying Stone
Marrying Stone
Simple Jess
The Lovesick Cure
A Marrying Stone Christmas (coming soon)
Small-Town Swains
Something Shady
No Ordinary Princess
Sealed With a Kiss
Garters
The Love Charm
Women’s Fiction
Doing Good/Social Climber of Davenport Heights
Letting Go
Suburban Renewal
By Summer’s End
The Cotton Queen
Bitsy’s Bait & BBQ
Last Dance at Jitterbug Lounge
Red’s Hot Honky-Tonk Bar
Contemporary Romance
The Bikini Car Wash
The Bentley’s Buy at Buick
Love Overdue
Mr. Right Goes Wrong
Single Title Historicals
Heaven Sent
Courting Miss Hattie
Sweetwood Bride
Here Comes the Bride
Novellas
With Marriage In Mind in the collection Matters of the Heart
The Pantry Raid in the collection The Night We Met
Daffodils In Spring in the collection More Than Words: Where Dreams Begin
Making Hay
About the Author
National bestseller and two-time RITA Award winner, Pamela Morsi was duly warned. “Lots of people mistakenly think they are writers,” her mother told her. She’d be smart to give it up before she embarrassed herself. Fortunately, she rarely took her mother’s advice. With 30 published titles and millions of copies in print, she loves to hear from readers at her website @ pamelamorsi.com
More places to connect with Pam:
Book Club Questions
We hope you enjoyed this novel by Pamela Morsi.
See the discussion questions on the following page to further enhance your reading enjoyment.
Embracing uncertainty is a little unusual in what is basically a love story. Would a “happily-ever-after” ending be more or less satisfying to you as a reader?
Like Bridge, sometimes we are asked to do things that are in conflict with the responsibilities of taking care of our family. How do we forgive ourselves for that?
Red got a second chance at being a mother, but did she really blow the first chance or was that only her impression?
Gentrifying neighborhoods happens everywhere. How does your community balance needed change with preservation?
Olivia and Daniel handled their mother’s absence in very different ways. Do you think birth order or expectations play the bigger part in these differences?
Red imagined that if her father had not died, her life would have been very different. How common is it for our life direction to be drastically changed by events out of our control?
Events out of their control was the reality for most characters in this story, from Red, Cam and Bridge, to the children, even Aunt Phyl and Kelly, Sean and Kendra. Is control of our own lives actually just a myth?
As soon as he turned eighteen, Cam sought answers to his genetic makeup. With the stakes so high, would you want to know? Why or why not?
When Cam asked Red to face the future with him, he knew how much he was asking. Should he have asked? And would you take this on? Would you want your daughter, mother, sister to take it on?
Is being designated the “bad grandmother” a criticism or a badge of honor?
