by Marta Perry
“Well, Sarah?” He looked at her, face alight with love and confidence. “You still haven’t answered me.”
“Yes.” Her heart seemed to overflow with gratitude. “The answer is yes, for all of us.” She blinked back tears of joy. She’d made mistakes, but God had been faithful. He’d given her a man of integrity, a man she and her children could love and trust for all their days.
Epilogue
“Can’t I take the blindfold off yet?” Sarah gripped Matt’s hand as he guided her up the steps.
He grinned, wondering where she thought they were. He hoped he’d covered his tracks well, but it was tough to fool Sarah.
“Not yet, Mrs. Caldwell.” He tried to keep the excitement out of his voice and failed. “I have a surprise for you.”
“I think two weeks in Hawaii for our honeymoon was enough of a surprise.”
“Didn’t you enjoy it?” He pressed his cheek against hers.
“I loved it.” She reached up to caress the planes of his face, and he dropped a kiss on her fingertips. “But now I’m ready to be home.”
“Right.” They reached the porch, and he scooped Sarah off her feet and into his arms. “Your wish is granted.” He took several steps forward, across the threshold, and set her on her feet.
“Matt, what’s going on?”
He fumbled with the blindfold, and it fell away. “You’re home.”
Miz Becky, who’d been holding the children back, let them go, and they rushed, giggling, into her arms. She knelt, clutching them close. He suspected she didn’t see anything else.
“See, Mommy, see?” Andi broke free first, hopping on one foot and then the other. “See? It’s our new house. Isn’t it beautiful?” She darted to the tall Gullah woman who stood smiling near the doorway. “Miz Becky helped us fix it all up, and I have my own room with horses on the wallpaper.”
“Our house?”
Sarah turned slowly, and Matt realized he was holding his breath. He saw the moment she recognized where they were—in one of the new houses on the lane behind Twin Oaks. But it no longer stood empty. Sarah’s furniture, supplemented with pieces from the big house, filled the living room, and her pictures were on the walls.
She was quiet for so long that uncertainty assailed him.
“If you don’t like it—” he began.
“Like it?” she echoed. She looked at him, a smile trembling on her lips, tears filling her eyes, and he knew it was all right. “I don’t just like it. I love it.” Her arms went around his waist, and she leaned into him. “I love it,” she repeated softly. “I love you.”
Andi danced back to them. “The whole family helped, Mommy. All the aunts and uncles and cousins. And Gran. And Grandfather Jeff.” Andi proudly enumerated all the relatives she’d inherited on her mother’s marriage.
Their family. His family. He looked at his Sarah, surrounded by their children. “Are you sure you like it?”
“How could I not like it?” She leaned into his embrace. “It’s our home.”
“Home.” He repeated the word.
He’d come back to Caldwell Island hoping to regain his detachment, thinking that was what he wanted. But instead God had given him what he needed—love and a home.
…in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him… His heart overflowed with thanksgiving. Gran’s promise for him had finally come true.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-1977-3
HUNTER’S BRIDE AND A MOTHER’S WISH
HUNTER’S BRIDE
Copyright © 2002 by Martha Johnson
A MOTHER’S WISH
Copyright © 2002 by Martha Johnson
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Steeple Hill Books.
® and TM are trademarks of Steeple Hill Books, used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.SteepleHill.com
*Hometown Heroes
†The Flanagans
‡The Three Sisters Inn
‡The Three Sisters Inn
‡The Three Sisters Inn
*Hometown Heroes
*Hometown Heroes
†The Flanagans
†The Flanagans
†The Flanagans
†The Flanagans
†The Flanagans
†The Flanagans
