For Love Alone
Belle Calhoune
Secrets of Savannah: Six best friends who have known each other their entire lives. Once as thick as thieves, the friendships among the girls have been splintered by life events, secrets and deceptions. Now, brought together again by an inheritance of an historic Bed & Breakfast on Tybee Island, the women must set aside their differences in order to restore their beloved Savannah House. As each woman finds her special talent and develops it through the renovation of the inn, they also find romance—each of them with an unforgettable hero.
The Chef: Morgan Lucas grew up in Savannah, Georgia surrounded by the trappings of wealth and privilege. The product of an interracial marriage, Morgan was raised by her mother, Pearl Lucas, after the divorce of her parents. Morgan’s upbringing was loving yet very modest—worlds apart from her best friends. Ever since she was a small child, Morgan has found discovery and self-assurance in the kitchen. For as long as she can remember, Morgan yearned to be a world famous chef and baker. When she begins a secret relationship with Luke Duvall, the brother of one of her best friends, she finds herself falling in love with the sweet-natured businessman. After a confused Morgan decides to end things with Luke, she runs away to Paris to work as a chef. Now back in Savannah and claiming partial ownership of Savannah House, Morgan is determined to make spectacular meals at the resort and make a name for herself in Savannah. And when a chance to reunite with Luke presents itself, Morgan has to face her fears in order to claim her future.
The Renaissance Man: Luke Duvall grew up in a lavish estate in Savannah with his adopted sister, Callie, as the son of wealthy aristocrats, Lionel and Davinia Duvall. Luke’s life has been shaped by a tragic event—the drowning death of his younger sister Rachel while on vacation. A part of Luke has always blamed himself for her death. Now employed by the family business, Duvall Investments, Luke yearns to switch gears and pursue a singing career. But family obligations, and a desire to make his father proud, are standing in his way. Luke is at a crossroads. He’s still head-over-heels in love with Morgan Lucas, but a chasm still separates them. Determined to win the woman of his dreams, Luke sets out to prove to Morgan that they were meant to be.
About the Author:
Belle Calhoune is a bestselling author of Christian romance. She lives in Connecticut with her college sweetheart husband and two beautiful girls. A huge lover of dogs, Belle has two of her own—a toy poodle and a chocolate lab. One of the major perks of being a writer is the ability to work in her pajamas. When she’s not creating love stories, Belle loves to travel, spend time in Cape Cod, read and watch classic films.
SECRETS OF SAVANNAH SERIES
Book One: Till the End of Time
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017L5ZPCE
Book Two: A Moment in the Moonlight
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AARG24A
Book Three: The Last Kiss
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C1WIPAG
SEVEN BRIDES, SEVEN BROTHERS SERIES
BOOK ONE: THE WAY HOME
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KTCBXSC
BOOK TWO: STILL THE ONE
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M0EUU22
BOOK THREE: UNTIL YOU LOVED ME
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N15TPFC
BOOK FOUR: LOVE ME TENDER
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OFAVB1I
BOOK FIVE: IF ONLY IN MY DREAMS
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R6U2PZK
BOOK SIX: BABY IT’S YOU
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VZ3FCB8
BOOK SEVEN: WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011J6ZTE0
PREQUEL: WHEN YOU BELIEVE
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T52CK1G
Copyright 2016 by Belle Calhoune
All Rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher and author, except where permitted by law.
Cover art by Niina Cord
Dedication:
For my brother, David, who passed away of colon cancer while I was writing this book. If our love for you could have kept you in this world, you would still be here. You were loved immensely by all. I will never stop missing you. Your goodness, humor, love, light and decency have been imprinted on my heart for all time. Your support for my writing always humbled me. The likes of you will never pass this way again. Love you forever.
Acknowledgments:
For all of the readers who have been waiting patiently for this book: I have loved receiving all of your messages and emails. They lifted me up during a dark time. I am so blessed to have you guys in my corner. Please know that I don’t take it for granted. Not ever. Without you I wouldn’t have had the wherewithal to write this book during a time when my heart was a little bit broken. Your patience and kindness humbles me.
Dear Reader,
Welcome back to Savannah and the shores of Tybee Island. Savannah House is ready to open its doors to a sold out block of guests. Hurray! Miss Hattie Alexander would be so proud of her girls. They’ve done a fabulous job of restoring her beloved bed and breakfast. Their mentor is smiling down on them from heaven.
Morgan and Luke’s love story is near and dear to my heart. This is a couple who has to earn their happily ever after. Both characters are influenced by the past. Both struggle with family issues and feelings of pain and guilt. Together, they find that they are the best versions of themselves. But they have to fight past a few obstacles to walk off into the sunset with one another. They need courage and faith to reach out for the brass ring. They need to believe in the power of love.
As a child, Morgan faced bullying. This brought back to me a period of time when I myself was bullied in school due to the color of my skin. Those years were hard. Although the majority of students were kind and I always had a lot of friends and sleepovers and outings, having a few bad apples who targeted me was a horrible feeling. I can still remember how afraid I felt, how terribly vulnerable. It’s an unsettling feeling to know someone hated me for the way God created me. Bullying in any form is a terrible thing. It is something that leaves scars, no matter how strong or resilient you are. To this day, I remember the name and face of the boy who bullied me throughout elementary school. Sadly, it’s not something I’ll ever forget.
Part of Morgan’s journey is stepping up to face challenges head-on rather than hiding in the shadows. For Luke, he’s able to express his feelings to Morgan, but he has trouble being honest with his family. In order to truly move forward, both Luke and Morgan have to face up to the things that aren’t easy to deal with.
Thank you for joining me on this romantic ride as Morgan and Luke fight for their happy ending. Sometimes love takes courage.
Blessings,
Belle
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
Prologue:
Morgan Lucas sat in the kitchen of Savannah House, waiting patiently for her cupcakes to finish baking in Miss Hattie’s old-fashioned oven. Morgan loved using Miss Hattie’s kitchen. It was big and airy. The white walls, the butcher block island, the back door entrance and all the copper accessories drew her in like a moth to a flame. It had all the amenities that a chef needed to be cre
ative and cook to their heart’s delight. That’s the word Mama used to describe it. Amenities.
Mama was lucky too because she worked at Savannah House. As far as Morgan was concerned, it was the loveliest house in all of Georgia. And Tybee Island was special. It had sun and sea and sand. A special smell drifted on the breeze here.
The timer went off with a slight ding. Morgan put her oven mitts on and carefully opened the stove then took out her first batch of cupcakes. She placed them on the stove and began taking out the cupcakes one by one and placing them on the cooling rack. Morgan stood back and admired the cupcakes, inhaling deeply to smell their chocolaty goodness.
Morgan had decided that when she was a grownup she would have all the amenities that a chef needed to be extraordinary. Because that’s what she wanted to be more than anything else in this world. A chef. Maybe then daddy would come back to live with them and her parents wouldn’t be separated. Perhaps then he would be proud to be her daddy. Maybe then they would be a family again. Tears welled up in Morgan’s eyes as she thought about the last time she’d seen daddy. He had been loading up his car with suitcases, all while telling her how sorry he was that he couldn’t stay.
“But why?” she’d asked, tugging on his shirt sleeve to try and make him stick around.
“It’s not for little girls to try and understand the problems of grownups. Just know that I loved your mother from the moment I first saw her. You were born of that love, Morgan.”
“You can’t just stop loving someone!” she had cried out.
He had turned to her from the driver’s seat, his face seeming as if had aged ten years in a matter of hours. “Who says I don’t love her?” His voice sounded raspy and full of pain. “Someday you’ll understand that grownups can’t exist on love alone.” With tears in his eyes he had roared away in his car, not even bothering to give her a parting glance.
Her heart had shattered as she’d watched him drive away. That had been exactly seven months ago, and she hadn’t seen him since that awful day. For the first month she’d cried herself to sleep each and every night. But then one day she had snapped out of her funk. Morgan had decided that she would put one foot in front of the other and make something of herself. She would find her true calling in the world.
Ever since then she had poured her heart and soul into creating delicious things in the kitchen. Mama liked to say that it was food for Morgan’s soul. All she knew for certain was that she felt better when she was cooking and baking. It helped to fill up the hole inside her that had been there ever since daddy left them.
She liked making things in the kitchen. It made her feel special. And one day she was going to be a famous chef and cook fancy meals for all kinds of people. Presidents. Kings. The mayor of Savannah.
“What is that delectable smell?”
Morgan looked up to see Miss Hattie walking into the kitchen, a sweet smile gracing her lips. With her snow white hair and thin frame, Miss Hattie had an elegance that Morgan admired. The pearl choker at her neck made her look classy. She wondered if one day she also would inspire such admiration. She hoped so with all of her heart.
“I’m making chocolate cupcakes with mousse on the inside. I also made a raspberry buttercream frosting,” Morgan said proudly. “The first batch is cooling right now.”
Miss Hattie patted her on the shoulder. “That sounds sinful.” She let out a chuckle. “In the best way possible, of course. I have to admit, Morgan, that I have quite a sweet tooth.” She patted her non-existent hips. “Thank goodness for my fast metabolism.”
“You’ll get the first one as soon as they cool down,” Morgan promised. “Thank you for letting me use your kitchen.”
“Of course. The event being held here has been catered, so there was no need to use the stove. You might see some of your friends racing around the grounds. A few of the ladies brought their children.” Miss Hattie scrunched up her nose. “I hope the boys know how to behave themselves.”
Morgan giggled. Miss Hattie didn’t care too much for badly behaved children. “I don’t think my friends are here today. There’s an equestrian event they were going to attend today.” Morgan tried to stuff down the feelings of sadness she felt whenever the others did things she couldn’t afford to do. Like equestrian stuff. And even though her best friends had tried to include her she had turned down the invitation. Watching the equestrian event would have felt too much like pressing her nose up against a fancy shop window. She didn’t belong in that world and she knew it.
Morgan wasn’t like any of the other girls—her five best friends. She didn’t live in a big house. Her parents didn’t have servants or go on fancy vacations. Hope didn’t either, but she had a lot more money than her family did. Mama was raising her all alone. And Hope’s grandma had a horse that she let Hope use for lessons and events.
Mama worked for Miss Hattie at Savannah House. Even though some kids said she was a maid, it wasn’t true. Like Miss Hattie always said, Mama was her assistant. And daddy had come from a rich family, but she’d once overheard her mother say that they had cast him out of the family once he married her. She didn’t know if it was because they were different colors—her mother was brown like a walnut and her daddy’s skin was the color of a pistachio shell. Morgan had never met anyone from her father’s side of the family, so she imagined that they must not like the idea of her very much. Once she had heard her aunt whisper that it was because Mama was black and Daddy was white. Morgan didn’t see why that was a problem. It was all so confusing.
It was a strange thing to not know your grandparents. On the bright side, Miss Hattie had pulled her close one day and told her that she would be her honorary grandma. That had been one of the best days of Morgan’s life. She couldn’t imagine there being a better grandma than Miss Hattie.
“I better scoot to check on the ladies. Thank the Lord for your sweet Mama. I have no idea what I’d do without that blessed woman.” Miss Hattie gifted her with a beatific smile and strolled out of the kitchen.
Morgan set up another batch of cupcakes and placed them in the oven. She tested her first batch by placing her finger on the cupcake to see whether it had sufficiently cooled down. She reached for a knife and began to place the frosting on them since they had cooled down. Oooh, they looked so pretty. A feeling of pride soared in her chest. And she imagined they tasted wonderful.
She looked around the kitchen and decided to clean up as she went along. There was a bag of trash she needed to place outside by the bins since tomorrow was garbage collection day. She grabbed the bag of trash and opened the back door, then headed outside. Morgan tilted her face up to the sun and let the warming rays wash over her. She loved spring in Savannah!
All of a sudden she heard a rustling sound behind her. She turned around, her heart sinking as she spotted her least favorite person. Oh no! Preston Sykes. He was a bully and a loudmouth. She didn’t like him. Not one little bit.
“What are you doing here?” Preston jeered. “I know your Mama wasn’t invited to this shindig.” The rest of the boys standing behind him laughed. Morgan felt her cheeks getting heated. She held her chin up high. The best thing to do was to ignore Preston. She wasn’t going to sink down to his level.
Another boy with ginger hair and glasses stepped forward. His name was Stewart and he was in the grade above her. “Her Mama is Miss Hattie’s servant. She wears an apron and bows and curtseys.” Normally he was as timid as a mouse. Being in the presence of the other boys seemed to have given him courage. And cruelty.
“She’s her assistant, not a servant.” Morgan bristled with rage. Her voice sounded quivery. It wasn’t right that they were talking about her Mama.
“Leave her alone.” The voice came out sounding like a growl. Surprised, Morgan whirled around. Luke Duvall stood in the garden with his fists raised. With his dark blond hair and hazel eyes, he appeared out of nowhere like an avenging angel.
Although truthfully, he didn’t look very angelic at the moment. His eye
s were glistening with rage. She knew him well enough to know this could mean trouble for the other boys. He was the brother of one of her best friends in the world, Callie Duvall. Another of her closest friends, Charlotte Duvall, was his cousin.
Morgan shivered at the intensity of his expression. He seemed so filled with anger. And it was all directed at the group of boys.
“What are you going to do?” Tommy jeered. He took a step toward Luke. Morgan shivered, knowing Luke knew how to defend himself quite well.
“Why don’t you test me and find out?” Luke challenged, meeting him halfway so that they were mere inches apart from one another.
“Me too,” another voice chimed in. “If you’re going to fight Luke, you’re going to have to go through me too.” Case Duvall, Luke’s cousin, stood behind him, a grim expression etched on his face. With his similar features and dirty blond hair, Case looked a lot like Luke.
Morgan breathed a sigh of relief. Now at least Luke had back up. The thought of anyone hurting Luke caused a sad feeling to wash over her. He was the sweetest boy she had ever known. And although she knew he could defend himself, she didn’t like the thought of him being ganged up on.
Suddenly, the other boys looked nervous. Case had a reputation as a tough guy. It was clear that they didn’t want to take on the Duvall boys.
“Aww, it’s not worth it,” Preston said, waving his hand dismissively in the air. He shot her a nasty look full of venom. Morgan shivered. Why did he hate her so much? She hadn’t done a single thing to him.
Luke jutted his chin at Preston. “Leave Morgan alone, you hear?”
Preston looked as if he was going to argue the point with Luke. Case took two steps towards him with raised fists. Preston immediately began to retreat. All of the boys began running toward the beach. With a loud cackle of laughter, Case took off after them. Morgan didn’t think any of the boys wanted to see what happened if Case caught up with them.
For Love Alone (Secrets of Savannah Book 4) Page 1
