I sit here, wide-eyed. James is quiet most of the time. I know he’s got opinions, and when he’s ready to share them, he does. And, most of the time, he’s right.
“Thank you, James.” I stand and stick my hand out to shake his. I want to say, There’s no way to repay you for what you’ve done for me, but maybe, someday, I somehow will. But I don’t say any of this. I hope, through my handshake and the look in my eyes, he’ll read it.
“It has been my pleasure, Ethan. Thank you for your service to our country.”
I leave James’s office and get in my truck, and it’s freezing-ass cold outside. I rub my hands together for a minute and start my truck. I sit here for a minute.
Maybe our lives are already planned. Maybe we have this predestined plan to work out. Maybe all we have to do is just show up for life every single day and let grace do its work.
My phone rings, and I smile at the number.
“Hey,” I answer.
“Hey, yourself. How’d it go?” Bryce asks.
“Well.”
“Good. Come home, baby.”
“On my way.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Yes.” Yes, it is.
“Good. Now, get home. I made a fire.” I hear her smile.
“You did?”
“Alex says I can’t survive a winter in Maine without learning to make my own fire since you guys will be out saving lives and all.”
When Bryce says “saving lives,” I think about how she saved mine. How she came into my life, opened my blackened heart, and turned it to a tone of pink again—with the help of James, too.
Grace.
I pull out from James’s office for the last time and make the drive home.
Thirty-Six
Bryce
Six Months Later
I admire my beautiful wedding ring as I look through the stack of mail in the house on Magnolia Road. How Granite Harbor helped us pull off a wedding in two months, I’ll never understand. Maybe Nana had something to do with it. But we were married in Level Grounds Coffee Shop for two reasons:
1. It was the dead of winter.
2. It just felt right.
And, in true Granite Harbor fashion, the whole town showed up. Somehow, everyone fit. Lyn helped with food. Mayor Thissel married us. And Nana and Grandpa’s picture hung on the wall.
A postcard in the mail catches my attention. On the front side of the postcard, there’s a picture of a beautiful bride, like out of a magazine. She’s laughing, looking into the camera, and I’m mesmerized by her eyes. Familiar eyes. A boy has his back to the camera, and the two of them are holding hands. There’s no location on the front, so I flip over the card.
Some sort of advertisement, I think to myself.
But there, on the back, is a woman’s handwriting.
Thank you.
Love,
S.
Sandra. I put my fingers to my lips and smile through the tears. A postcard telling me she and Landon are okay. Happy. Content. I turn the postcard back over and look at Sandra again. It’s her. A smile I’ve never seen on her face in person because it was shrouded with sadness and fear.
Ethan comes up behind me. Puts his hands on the counter on either side of me, so I can’t move. He kisses my neck.
“Who’s that?” He pulls his lips from my neck.
I flip over the card, and he sees the writing.
“Sandra and Landon?”
“Yeah.”
I turn to face Ethan. “How do you get sexier in that damn uniform every single day, Warden Casey?”
He bends and kisses my lips softly. Pulls away and looks into my eyes. “Behind every strong man is an even stronger woman.” He leans down to my growing belly. “You hear that, Emma? Strong like your mom.”
I laugh and pull his mouth to mine. “Go take off that uniform, and let’s watch a movie by the fire.”
Staring into my eyes, he says, “Steel Magnolias. Again? Is this because you’re pregnant?”
I shrug. I have made him watch it a handful of times. “Come on. I’ll even pop the popcorn while you change.”
Ethan nods, walking toward our bedroom. “All right. Since you said popcorn.”
I’m on the couch with the bowl. An opened beer for him and water for me. Ethan sits down next to me and pulls my legs over the top of his, and we watch the movie together.
Grace.
Love.
One day at a time.
The End
Acknowledgments
It takes a lot of work, not just on my end, to get a book to into readers’ hands.
I want to thank my editor/formatter, Jovana Shirley. Your countless hours spent on my manuscripts, and your attention to detail never ceases to amaze me. Your patience and your grace give me room to fly.
I want to thank my proofreader Julie Deaton. You not only have a beautiful southern accent, but you have an unbelievable eye for detail.
Hang Le, your incredible book covers always blow me away. Thank you for making my books shine.
I want to thank Michael Beas at ebook Marketing Solutions and Nazarea Andrews or the promotion, marketing and time you both put into my books.
Big thank you to the book bloggers. You spend many hours promoting our books for fun and for free. Please know that I appreciate each of you so much.
And, lastly, to my readers—thank you for buying this book. Thank you for taking a chance. Without you, indie authors wouldn’t be able to do what we love.
To my husband and children, I love you three more than you will ever know. Thank you for always giving me a soft place to land.
A Note to the Reader
THANK YOU FOR READING MAGNOLIA ROAD.
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About the Author
J. Lynn Bailey has loved to write since she learned to read, around the second grade. When she isn’t running after her children, watching North Woods Law or COPS, or on the hunt for her next Laffy Taffy joke, you can probably find her holed up in her writing room, feverishly working on her next book. She lives in Northern California with her family.
OTHER BOOKS WRITTEN BY J. LYNN BAILEY
Black Five
Standing Sideways
THE GRANITE HARBOR SERIES
Peony Red
Violet Ugly
Magnolia Road: A Contemporary Romance Novel (The Granite Harbor Series Book Book 3) Page 24
