by Lois Richer
“Not a chance,” he promised.
“I always thought God didn’t want me to have a family, to belong anywhere. Now I realize He had you in mind all along. All He asked me to do was wait for Him to work things out so His will could be done.”
She touched his face, her fingers sensitized to every beloved dip and rise.
“You gave me a home and my family, Sam. You fill my days with joy. Nothing I ever found in any exotic place in this world can compare to the happiness I find with you on the Triple D. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Sam gave a whoop of joy that startled both Oscar and the baby. Then he swung Kelly in his arms until she was dizzy. But when he kissed her, well, then she was in full possession of all her faculties and she kissed him right back.
“God’s going to do something wonderful for us, Sam,” Kelly told him as they rode home hand in hand, Oscar leading the way, lame horse following. Jacob Samuel slept in front of Kelly.
“I just wish the twins—” Sam gulped and smiled at her. “No, I’m leaving them in God’s hands. He’s the only one qualified to parent them.”
Then they talked about a possible wedding date. Sam’s only stipulation was soon.
When they reached the ranch, Kelly asked, “Sam? What do you think about me becoming a partner with Sheena in the travel agency?”
“Do you think you have enough experience?” he asked, tongue in cheek. Kelly’s giggle echoed across the valley.
Sam stopped their horses then lifted her off hers and handed hovering Arabella the baby. Kelly would have followed her mom and Oscar, but Sam stopped her.
Kelly silently waited.
“I’m beginning to see,” Sam murmured as his arm slid around her waist and he turned her to watch the first thin rays of a new day.
“See what?” she asked, squinting to get a better look.
“How God works all things together. It’s perfect.” He leaned his head against hers and sighed.
“I agree.”
“When we get married, will you make me apple pie every day?”
“Sam!”
Chapter Fifteen
“I’m glad you didn’t wait,” Arabella said one week later. “You and Sam have been through so much. As long as you’re certain he’s the one God’s chosen for you, there’s no reason not to get married.”
“No one could be more certain than me.” They hugged, then Kelly turned to get another look at herself. “It’s a gorgeous outfit, Mom. I can’t believe you made this in one week. It’s exactly what I wanted for my wedding dress.”
Kelly gazed at the perfectly fitted jacket of white silk that hugged her figure to the waist and ended in a flared peplum. The long tulip skirt grazed the tops of her white satin pumps. Tiny embellishments of seed pearls dotted the outfit, matching the pearl-studded netting on the hat that covered her head and the veil cascading halfway down her back.
“I feel beautiful,” she whispered.
“You are beautiful, Kelly.” Her dad handed her the armful of red roses. “Sam sent these. He said red is your favorite color.”
“And you are my favorite dad.” She hugged him, checked her image once more then smiled at her mom. “I’m ready.”
“You’re only a few minutes late.” Arabella touched her cheek, soaking in the sight of her daughter as if she couldn’t get enough. “I love you, Kelly. I’m so glad you’re finally home.”
“Me, too.” She hugged her mom then urged her parents out of the dressing room. “Let’s get down that aisle before Sam changes his mind.”
“As if,” Sheena snorted as she led the way out of the dressing room to the aisle that led to Sam. She preened when Kelly complimented her on the autumn-toned maid of honor dress she’d chosen. “Jacob Samuel’s wearing a tux,” she whispered.
Kelly glanced up to see and got caught up in Sam’s loving gaze. Thank You, God.
After one glance at her face, Sheena straightened, prepared to start down the aisle. Kelly slid one hand through her father’s arm and the other in her mother’s then took one step forward. She faltered when the church door opened and a familiar voice yelled, “Wait, Auntie Kelly!”
Sadie and Emma raced up to her then froze. “Wow,” Sadie whispered. “You look like a princess.”
“A princess,” Emma whispered.
Kelly knelt and hugged them both, her heart overflowing with love.
“That’s the first time Emma’s spoken since you brought her to our house,” Eunice Edwards said tearfully. She turned to her husband. “I knew this was the right decision.”
“What decision?” The groom strode down the aisle. “What’s going on?” Sam grinned as the twins embraced his legs and then oohed over Jacob Samuel. He straightened when Pastor Don cleared his voice. “Sorry, Pastor, but we have to get this straightened out,” he apologized to the minister, who still waited at the front. “What decision?” he asked Eunice.
“We’re moving back,” Sadie crowed. Emma nodded and grinned.
“Tom and I are canceling our petition to adopt. We realize now that the twins belong with you, on the ranch. You and Kelly are their family. Not us.” Eunice gulped and started to move away.
“That’s not true.” Kelly was so proud as Sam moved forward to stop them. “You are family. You and Tom have done exactly what family does for each other. You put the twins’ needs ahead of your own wants.” He took Kelly’s hand in his and squeezed. “We can’t thank you enough for that.”
“We had to.” Tom smiled at the twins. “We can’t stand to see them so sad. We’ll get out of your way now.” He took his wife’s arm, but Kelly protested.
“You can’t go now,” she said. “Sam and I are getting married, and we want all our family present.”
“Please do join us,” Arabella added, her smile beaming.
The Edwardses finally agreed. As the usher guided them into the sanctuary, Eunice said, “You see, Tom, I was right. I knew those two were in love. It was just a matter of time.”
“Can we get married, too?” Sadie asked. “We’re fam’ly.”
“You certainly are.” Kelly beckoned to Sheena. “The girls will walk down the aisle first, then you, then me. Okay?”
“Absolutely perfect,” Sheena said.
It seemed everyone agreed. As soon as Sam took his place in front with the baby, the girls skipped down the aisle, beaming at everyone. Sheena went next.
Kelly lifted her head and met Sam’s gaze. She could feel the love emanating from him. With her parents by her side, she took her first step, her soul rejoicing as her mother recited in a clear firm voice,
“Now glory be to God Who by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of.”
Pastor Don led them in their vows, reminded the community of their duty to help the couple and finally told Sam he could kiss his bride. Kelly stared into her husband’s eyes, her heart brimming with joy. When he didn’t immediately kiss her, she frowned.
“Kel—” he squeezed her fingers, his voice low enough that only she could hear “—I’m sorry, but I think we’ll have to cancel our honeymoon trip to Banff.”
“Oh, no, Sam,” she said, grasping his lapels and pulling his head closer. “We’re not canceling, we’re postponing, until we can make it a family holiday.”
“You know I’ve kind of lost my yen for travel,” he said, smoothing his knuckles against her cheek. “God’s put all the world I need to see right here in this church.”
“Me, too.” She smiled, deliriously happy. “But I think our family should see at least some of their world. Don’t you?”
“Isn’t Uncle Sam gonna kiss her?” Emma demanded in the clearest, loudest voice Kelly had ever heard.
Kelly blinked away a tear of joy and smiled at Sam. “Yo
u heard the child.”
“Yes, ma’am. I surely did hear her. Clear as a bell.” He kissed Kelly in a promise meant to seal the rest of their future, the one God had worked out for them.
* * * * *
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THE RAIN SPARROW by
New York Times bestselling author Linda Goodnight.
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Dear Reader,
I’m so glad you came back to Buffalo Gap, where friends are always welcome and babies and quilting are the norm. I hope you enjoyed Kelly and Sam’s story. It’s sometimes hard to trust in God’s presence and His will. Kelly thought she’d never belong, and after trying to get her own way, found more than she ever imagined on the Triple D, including a reunion with the mother who ordered her not to come home.
Sam is one of those men who don’t stop giving; the Fixerator. But even he couldn’t fix it so that the twins he adored could stay on his ranch. Only when Sam stopped trying to run the world and handed it back to God did he get the solution he craved and the woman he loved. Love is an awesome power in the world. We need more of it.
I’d love to hear from you. Write to Box 639, Nipawin, SK, Canada, S0E 1E0; email [email protected] or visit my webpage at www.loisricher.com.
Till we meet again, I wish you the strength to welcome obstacles as opportunities, the courage to stand steady during uncertainty and most especially the security of God’s sustaining love through every trial and every joy.
Blessings,
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The Rain Sparrow
by Linda Goodnight
A mystery writer and a shy librarian find love on a dark, stormy night in Honey Ridge, Tennessee...
BARE FEET SOUNDLESS on the cool tile flooring, Carrie moved to a pantry and removed one of Julia’s sterling silver French press urns. “We’ll have to grind the beans. Julia’s a bit of a coffee snob.”
“Won’t the noise disturb the others?”
Thunder rattled the house. Carrie tilted her head toward the dark, rain-drenched window. “Will it matter?”
“Point taken. You’re a lifesaver. What’s your name?”
“Carrie Riley.” She kept her hands busy and her eyes on the work. The fact that she was ever-so-slightly aware of the stranger with the poet’s face in a womanly kind of way gave her a funny tingle. She seldom tingled, and she didn’t flirt. She was no good at that kind of thing. Just ask her sisters. “Yours?”
“Hayden Winters.”
“Nice to meet you, Hayden.” She held up a canister of coffee beans. “Bold?”
“I can be.”
She laughed, shocked to think this handsome man might actually be flirting a little. Even if she wasn’t. “Bold, it is.”
As she’d predicted, the storm noise covered the grinding sound and in fewer than ten minutes, the silver pot’s lever was pressed and the coffee was poured. The dark, bold aroma filled the kitchen, a pleasing warmth against the rain-induced chill.
Hayden Winters offered her the first cup, a courteous gesture that made her like him, and then sipped his. “You know your way around a bold roast.”
“Former Starbucks barista who loves coffee.”
“A kindred spirit. I live on the stuff, especially when I’m working, which I should be doing.”
She didn’t want him to leave. Not because he was hot—which he was—but because she didn’t want to be alone in the storm, and no one else was up. “You work at night?”
“Stormy nights are my favorite.”
Which, in her book, meant he was a little off-center. “What do you do?”
He studied her for a moment and, with his expression a peculiar mix of amusement and malevolence, said quietly, matter-of-factly, “I kill people.”
Copyright 2016 by Linda Goodnight
ISBN-13: 9781488007118
Accidental Dad
Copyright © 2016 by Lois M. Richer
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
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 Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
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