Harlequin Heartwarming June 2021 Box Set

by Patricia Johns

  The girls, still occupied with the goats, hadn’t noticed his approach. Rowan met him a few steps away so they could talk privately. “Looks like good news.”

  “Teagarden just got a call from Clarissa’s lawyer. They’re not going to fight the current will, and Clarissa is willing to give me full custody.”

  “That’s wonderful!” Rowan threw her arms around him.

  He hugged her back. “It is, isn’t it? They’re drawing up the custody papers now.”

  “So, Clarissa gave up, just like that?”

  “Not at first. When she saw the will, she stomped out of the meeting and I got the impression she was going to fight to her last breath. But her lawyer must have advised her differently, because thirty minutes later, we got the call.”

  “What changed her mind, do you think?”

  “Teagarden said something about a document saying we don’t intend to press charges against Clarissa.”

  “Charges for what?”

  “Fraud. It is a felony to destroy a will. The letter we found makes it clear the will and trust should have been in the safe. It would be hard to prove she destroyed it, but I guess she doesn’t want to take that chance.”

  “So, it’s all over?”

  “It’s over,” Zack agreed, but suddenly he didn’t look as happy. “We need to talk. Can you come over tonight after I put Becca to bed?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  * * *

  NATURALLY, BECCA WANTED an extra chapter that evening, but Zack eventually got her settled in. Fluff, curled up on her pillow, looked at Zack and winked, as though she knew all about his clandestine meeting with Rowan.

  Downstairs, he put a kettle on. He was putting tea bags in mugs when the back door opened. “Okay if I come in?” Rowan asked softly.

  “Hi. I was just making us some of that herbal tea you like.” He poured water over the tea bags and handed her a mug. “Let’s take this outside.”

  She smiled. “Let’s.”

  They sat together on the bench, as they had so many times before, but tonight Zack made sure there was a space between them, even though what he really wanted was to pull her close and never let her go. Rowan took a sip of tea and set her mug on the table. “So, you wanted to talk?”

  “Yes. My lawyer is drawing up custody papers. Once Clarissa has signed them, we’re done. I mean, we still have to file and finish the estate and all that, but the decision is final.” Zack set his tea down and turned the handle until it was parallel to hers while he gathered his courage. “I could ask him to draw up annulment papers, too.”

  A furrow formed between her eyebrows. “Is that what you want?”

  No! But... “I think it’s best. It leaves you free to get on with your life. I know we said a year, but I have custody, and you have this great opportunity.”

  Rowan fixed his eyes in a steady gaze. “What if I said I don’t want an annulment, now or ever? What if, instead, I’d like to make this a real marriage? What would you say?”

  He couldn’t let her throw away her opportunity. “I don’t—”

  “You said you love me.”

  “I do. That’s why I don’t want you to sacrifice your career for me. My mother—”

  She held up her hand. “Stop. I’m not your mother, and your logic is flawed. You can’t protect me from making a sacrifice. That’s how life works. You come to a Y in the road. If you go left, you sacrifice the right. Go right, you lose the left.”

  “But you can look down the road and try to decide which way leads to a better outcome. This is your opportunity—”

  “Exactly. My opportunity. My decision.” Her voice held conviction. “This last week while we’ve been apart, I’ve put in a lot of thought, I’ve done research, and I even called a special meeting of the Now and Forever Farms board.” She gave a wry smile. “Granted, the board consists of Lauren, Patrick, Gran and me, so that wasn’t hard to arrange. Anyway, I’ve come to that Y in the road, but instead of left or right, I believe I’ve figured out a way to make a new path. May I tell you my plan?”

  “Please do.”

  “The four-year program West Coast Culinary offers is to prepare students for a career as chefs or restaurant managers. Chef is a highly competitive occupation, and the hours are brutal. I don’t want that. But they also offer short courses, and there’s a four-week intensive class in October on mobile food businesses.”

  “Mobile?”

  “In Japan, they have yaki imo, like ice cream trucks, but they sell roasted sweet potatoes. Here, it’s food trucks.”

  “Food trucks,” Zack said thoughtfully.

  “They’re extremely popular right now, and the demand in Alaska far exceeds the supply. The board agrees with me that a Now and Forever Farms truck that specializes in cheese dishes could be great advertising for the farm’s products as well as a profitable business on its own. I plan to develop a menu targeting the lunchtime working crowd. On weekends, I could offer mobile catering for outdoor parties and events.”

  He found himself nodding along. Her excitement was contagious. He’d pictured her in an upscale restaurant, but she didn’t care about that. She just liked creating great food. “It sounds like an excellent plan.”

  “And the best part is it leaves late afternoon and evenings free to spend with my favorite people in the whole world.” She reached for his hand.

  “I sincerely hope you’re not talking about your grandmother and her friends.”

  She laughed. “They’re close seconds.” She touched the wedding band on his finger. “I love you. I love your sister. Our agreement was for a year, but I want more. What would you say to a fifty-year contract with a renewal clause?”

  He pretended to consider. “Nope, not good enough. I want the whole enchilada. Rowan, will you be my wife? For real? For a lifetime?”

  She pressed her hand to his cheek and gave him the smile he loved so much. “I will.”

  He pulled her into his arms and tasted that sweet, sweet mouth. All his doubts and fears floated away as she responded, holding nothing back. She was his, and he was hers, and life was good.

  The jingle of tags reminded him that he’d forgotten to lock the dog in the house again. But this time, Rowan was ready. She pulled a rawhide chew from her pocket and tossed it into the yard. Ripley dashed after it.

  “My wife is as smart as she is beautiful,” he whispered as he brushed a strand of silky hair back from her face.

  Rowan’s dimple flashed. “You’re lucky to have her.”

  He brushed his lips over that adorable dimple. “Luckiest man alive.”

  EPILOGUE

  ZACK HAD TO ADMIT, his mother-in-law threw a great party. Rowan had retained control of the menu, but she’d handed over all the other details of their six-month anniversary party-wedding reception into her mother’s capable hands. Vases of tulips and pussy willow branches dotted the tables in the hotel ballroom, a band tuned up near the dance floor, and all the people Rowan and Zack loved mingled and laughed. A waiter stopped to offer Zack something from a tray of appetizers.

  “Try the crab mac and cheese balls,” Zack’s mom advised, taking two from the tray and handing one over. “I can’t get over how delicious they are.”

  “King crab macaroni and cheese is one of the best sellers on Rowan’s food truck.”

  “I can see why.” Mom finished the bite and straightened Zack’s lapel. “It’s almost time for the feature dance with your bride. Are you ready?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be.” Zack wasn’t much of a dancer, but after some tutoring from his mom, he was feeling guardedly confident. Besides, he never turned down an opportunity to hold Rowan in his arms. But where was she? Rowan had wandered off a few minutes ago, mumbling something about seeing what her grandmother was up to.

  A sudden disturbance on the stage drew Zack’s attention. A cym
bal teetered and then fell over with a crash, as a familiar dachshund popped out from the middle of the band. Becca ran onto the stage and tried to grab him, but succeeded only in knocking over a microphone stand. The dog jumped from the stage and dashed across the dance floor with Becca and Charlotte in hot pursuit, shedding flowers from their hair as they ran.

  Zack moved into position to head him off, but before he got close Rowan stepped out onto the floor, scooped up the dog and turned to face her grandmother. “Yours, I believe?” She was trying to look stern, but the dimple in her cheek revealed her amusement.

  “I couldn’t leave Wilson home alone,” Bonnie protested, taking the dog. “He’s been a nervous wreck ever since the New Year’s fireworks. Zack, back me up on this.”

  The dog, wagging his tail at warp speed, looked more delighted than frightened, especially when Becca and Charlotte arrived to coo over him. The musicians, on the other hand, did look a little traumatized.

  “Girls, why don’t you go play with Wilson over there away from the band.” Zack pointed to the quietest corner of the room.

  “Wait.” Rowan’s mom, who had picked up the fallen flowers, tucked them back into the girls’ braids. The corners of her mouth tugged upward as she took the dog from Bonnie and passed him to Becca. “Thanks, girls. Zack, do you remember the order of the dances?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Renee had taken them through a rehearsal yesterday. Zack’s mom had confided, with admiration, that most of the shows she’d performed in were less well choreographed than this party.

  The band, once they’d righted their equipment, announced the first dance. “There’s your cue.” Renee gave Zack a nudge.

  He swallowed, but when Rowan turned to smile at him, his nerves vanished. He took her into his arms and, as the music began, swept her onto the dance floor. Everyone applauded as they waltzed around the room, the skirt of her long velvet dress flaring around her.

  “Thanks for being such a good sport about this whole ballroom dancing thing,” Rowan whispered as they made their third pass. “It was important to Mom.”

  “As long as I don’t have to make a speech, we’re good.”

  Rowan laughed as the song came to an end and the second one began. Rowan’s father stepped up for the next dance. “Ready, Rosebud?”

  “Ready, Dad.” They floated off, leaving Zack to claim his dance with his mother-in-law.

  “Rowan looks radiant,” Renee commented as she rested her hand on his shoulder and they took their first steps.

  “Yes.” Zack looked over to see Rowan’s face alight with laughter over something her father had said. “But then, she’s always smiling.”

  “That’s true now, but before...” She trailed off as they executed a planned spin move. “My plans for Rowan never involved her living permanently in a small Alaska town and selling food from a truck, but this life suits her.” He could see traces of Rowan’s smile in her mother’s. “You make my daughter happy, you and Becca, and even if I didn’t like you, I’d love you for that.”

  “Um, thanks?”

  Renee chuckled. “I said if. I do like you, Zack. Rowan chose well, better than I would have chosen for her. The way you look at her, it’s obvious you adore her.” As the music ended, she patted his cheek. “You’re a good husband, Zackery Vogel.”

  A good husband. He’d laughed when Jessie had said it last summer, but now he knew he would give his life to make Rowan happy, and she would do the same for him. Together, they could face anything life might throw at them. Marriage—to the right person—was awesome.

  Now that the feature dances were over, Zack was able to relax and enjoy the party. Maggie and her friend Tom twirled by. Zack’s mom had paired up with Gordon Malee, the wildlife photographer, and judging from their fancy moves, this wasn’t his first rodeo. Even the ladies from Bonnie’s yoga class were bopping around, taking turns dancing with the one surviving husband, and having a great time. Rowan laughed as her brother swung her around, the sound sweeter than any music, at least to Zack’s ears.

  Later in the evening, Zack spotted Daphne whispering to the bandleader. A moment later, the Chicken Dance began to play. Daphne pulled Becca, Charlotte and Tony onto the dance floor and went back for more recruits. Soon Rowan, her mother, Bonnie and a dozen others were flapping their wings to the music. When Zack laughed, Rowan dragged him in, too. “Come on, shake those tail feathers.”

  The Chicken Dance wasn’t one Zack’s mom had taught him, but he tried anyway, sending Becca into such a fit of giggles she could hardly stand up. When the song ended, the band segued into an old country waltz. Before Zack could claim Rowan for the dance, he spotted Wilson trying to climb up in a chair to reach a plate of appetizers someone had left on a table. Rowan stepped in to move the plate out of his reach.

  “I’ll take him,” Charlotte volunteered.

  “Thanks.” Rowan chuckled as Charlotte and Becca whisked the disappointed dog away. “You know Gran only brought him to irk my mom.”

  “If so, it doesn’t seem to be working.” Zack nodded toward Rowan’s parents, smiling into each other’s eyes as they waltzed together. “She’s been surprisingly mellow.”

  “I know,” Rowan agreed. “It’s like a miracle.”

  “Well, you are the miracle worker.” Zack gazed at his beautiful bride. “You took in an insecure little girl and an overwhelmed veterinarian, and turned us into a happy family. And you do it again every single day.” He slipped an arm around her waist. “I love you, Rowan.”

  That dimple appeared. “I love you, too.”

  Maggie and Tom stepped off the dance floor. “What a great party. You know, Zack,” Maggie said with a twinkle in her eye, “proposing to Rowan may just be the smartest thing you’ve ever done.”

  “Actually,” Rowan told her, “I proposed to him.”

  “Is that so?” Maggie smirked. “Maybe he’s not as smart as I thought.”

  Zack grinned. “Maybe not. But even I was smart enough to figure out that when the most incredible woman in the world offers to spend the rest of her life with you—” Zack pressed a kiss to Rowan’s temple “—the correct answer is ‘yes.’”

  * * * * *

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  ISBN-13: 9781488074592

  An Alaskan Homecoming

  Copyright © 2021 by Lisa Deckert

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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  “Just saying thank you for everything you’ve done didn’t seem quite enough.”

  Misty handed him a box of red velvet cupcakes. “These are just a token of my appreciation.”

  “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble, but thank you.” Leon was touched beyond words by her thoughtfulness. Misty wasn’t the first woman to bring him baked goods, but unlike some of the others, she didn’t have a hidden agenda.

  “I am forever grateful, Leon.”

  He took a bite, then another. “Aunt Eleanor’s right. You definitely know your way around a kitchen.”

  She laughed. “It’s just a cupcake.”

  The look Misty gave him was so galvanizing it sent a tremor through him. The pounding of his heart quieted only once she disappeared outside.

  Dear Reader,

  I’m so excited to introduce my new series set on the fictional island of Polk Island, South Carolina, a small coastal town founded by Polk Rothchild in 1870. The lush green foliage, sandy beaches and well-maintained homes attract tourists from all over the world.

  An unfortunate circumstance brings new resident Misty Brightwater into Leon Rothchild’s life unexpectedly. Their initial meeting is tense, but eventually Leon and Misty discover they are destined to be a part of one another’s lives.

  This is a story of a love that was always meant to be, of new beginnings and finding the courage to take a second chance in love despite past experiences. I hope you will enjoy Leon and Misty’s journey to their happily-ever-after. Thank you for your support, and I look forward to hearing from you.

  Best,

  Jacquelin Thomas

  Facebook: Facebook.com/JacquelinWrites

  Twitter: Twitter.com/JacquelinThomas