“No. I’ve been sure for a long time.”
She slipped her hand in his. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I always felt these nagging doubts in my other relationships. I thought there was something wrong with me. But now I realize on some level I knew they weren’t the right ones, because all that time I was waiting for you.”
“Uncle Reid!”
Lily raced across the yard, Buster on her heels. She propelled herself into his arms and he held her tight, his heart filled with more love than he’d thought possible.
“Are you home for always now? ’Cause we don’t like it when you’re gone.”
“Yes, I am. Forever this time.”
She squealed and clapped her hands, then wiggled to be set down. She grabbed Buster and hugged his neck. “Buster is happy, too.” She smiled up at him. “Want to see my new spinny dress?”
Reid looked at Tori. “Uh, sure.”
“Watch.” Lily spun around in a circle, causing the skirt on her purple dress to flare out in the air. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“It’s perfect.”
Tori slipped her arm around his waist as they started back toward the house, Lily and Buster playing happily on the lawn.
“I’m sorry you won’t open in time for Thanksgiving like you planned.”
“Me, too. But the Lady Banks Inn has graciously taken in my few guests at a reduced price. The house won’t be open until spring at the earliest, but until then it’ll simply be our home. We can use the time to enjoy being a family before we throw open the doors to others.”
“As co-owner, I approve your plan. I want nothing more than to have my girls all to myself for a while.”
“You never answered my question. Will you be a full partner in this business?”
“I accept your proposal.”
Tori snuggled close to his side. With Reid and Lily as her family, she’d finally found her true purpose in life.
Epilogue
Camellia Hall had never looked more perfect.
Tori Blackthorn stood at the head of the long dining room table, her heart overflowing with gratitude and thankfulness.
The Thanksgiving table was set with a vintage lace tablecloth, upon which rested the blue-and-white china she’d selected from the patterns that had come with the house. Etched stemware glistened in the sunlight. Antique silverware shone against the delicate settings. Tiny rainbows danced around the room, refractions from the French crystal chandelier overhead.
Her gaze drifted to the end of the room and to the parlor across the hall, where the three-tiered wedding cake was displayed along with colorfully wrapped gifts.
Today, Thanksgiving, would also be a day of celebration for her marriage to Reid three days ago. Her new husband stepped to her side, and she captured his gaze for a long moment before turning to face her family all seated at the long table. Lily stood on the dining chair, one arm holding on to her mother.
“Reid and I want to tell you how much it means to us to have you all here for our first Thanksgiving together in our home. I know this all happened suddenly, but I think we both knew from the beginning that we were meant to be together. It just took us a while to figure it out.”
“But when you did, pow.” Tori’s brother Linc made a rocket gesture with his hand. “You didn’t waste any time.”
Her brother Gil raised his hand. “I’m glad I didn’t have to wear another monkey suit.”
The women all expressed their disapproval. Tori’s sister, Bethany, sent a glare in the direction of her brothers. “Don’t listen to those clowns. I think your courtship is the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”
Seth leaned forward. “I think baby sister did okay. Reid, we’re glad you’re part of the family.”
“Uncle Reid is my new daddy,” Lily said. “Isn’t he beautiful?”
Laughter rippled around the room.
“There’s only one person missing. Dad. But I think he’d be happy to see how much our family has grown. I know he would love each and every one of our new family members. We have so much to be thankful for this year.”
Tori picked up her glass. “My life is so full of blessings, it would take me a lifetime to list them all.” She looked up at Reid, his eyes full of love, causing her pulse to jump. “Mostly, I’m thankful for this man, who has shown me I’m stronger than I thought, and that together we can accomplish anything we set out to do. I love you.”
Reid kissed her soundly and held her close to his side. Lily giggled. The family cheered.
Tori blinked away tears and looked at the full life in front of her, overcome with happiness.
“Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.”
* * * * *
If you loved this tale of sweet romance,
pick up these other stories
in the HOME TO DOVER series
from author Lorraine Beatty:
REKINDLED ROMANCE
RESTORING HIS HEART
PROTECTING THE WIDOW’S HEART
HIS SMALL-TOWN FAMILY
BACHELOR TO THE RESCUE
HER CHRISTMAS HERO
THE NANNY’S SECRET CHILD
A MOM FOR CHRISTMAS
THE LAWMAN’S SECRET SON
Keep reading for an excerpt from INSTANT FAMILY by Donna Gartshore.
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Dear Reader,
I hope you have enjoyed your ten-book journey to the small town of Dover, Mississippi. This is the last in that series and the final story for the five Montgomery siblings. Tori and Reid have both made promises they are determined to keep, and both have let their loved ones down in the past and are desperate to avoid repeating that mistake. Yet only one of them can keep their promise. Someone has to compromise.
We all make promises that we may not be able to keep. We all wish we could correct bad choices and ill-advised decisions. But we can’t always go back and fix mistakes or take a different path. The only way to let go of the guilt and regret is to place them in the Lord’s hands and move forward with love and trust. Reid and Tori learn that’s not an easy thing to do. When someone has hurt us, it’s hard to forgive and show compassion, but unless we do, unless we learn to compromise, the impasse will never be overcome.
I hope Reid and Tori’s journey will give you new insight and encouragement into trusting and forgiving. We all struggle with these things daily.
I love to hear from readers. You can reach me through my website, lorrainebeatty.com. From there you can access my Facebook page and other social media links. Or you write to Love Inspired, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
God bless,
Lorraine Beatty
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired story.
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Instant Family
by Donna Gartshore
Chapter One
“Is this the surprise you talked about, Mom?”
Somewhere in her mind, Frankie Munro registered her daughter’s tremulous question and felt Rae’s small, sweaty hand clutching her own. But she couldn’t find the words to answer her.
A surprise, indeed, but not a pleasant one and not at all the one she had been planning to share.
The cabin that she had booked for the summer was covered in violent-looking splashes of paint and offensive graffiti. In no way did it represent the rustic yet pristine atmosphere she had pored over in the brochures advertising Silver Lake Park in Saskatchewan, Canada. It had been a six-hour drive from their home in Regina, Saskatchewan, and they had passed the time talking of the possibility of bear sightings with a kind of gleeful fear, and speculating how cold the water would be.
Since Frankie’s husband walked out on them several months ago, she wanted to do something to return the light to Rae’s eyes. Rae was an intuitive ten-year-old with an advanced talent for art, but it had been months since Frankie had seen her enthusiastic about drawing or painting. She hoped that spending the summer together, away from their house and the memories it held, would help return a spark of artistic interest to Rae, and with that would come a return to the happy, inquisitive girl she had been.
She hoped the time away would help restore some of her own motivation, too. She’d had goals—she wanted to be a nurse—and although those goals had been put on the back burner due to her ex-husband’s demands, they still simmered within her. Frankie wanted to use the summer to rediscover the woman she had been before Trevor left: the woman who’d had goals...the woman who’d had faith.
Frankie worked as a nurse’s aide at a senior-care home in Regina. She usually liked her job very much and had a true affinity for the seniors she worked with. But in the months after her husband left, she’d been a mass of nerves, mistakes and indecisions, until the manager of the home had called her in and explained that she had to take some time off and find an effective way to deal with her obvious stress.
Thus, a paid leave of absence, combined with financial help from her parents, which Frankie had accepted only after they signed a note saying she would pay them back in full as soon as she could, cleared the pathway for her to plan this summer getaway with Rae.
Research and word of mouth had brought her to the conclusion that Silver Lake looked like a positive place with the right balance of nature and town activities. The beautifully scenic photographs of trees, flowers and local animals gave her hope that Rae would feel compelled to capture them on canvas. As the plans came together, her hope for a new start began to grow tentatively. She had not yet decided if that new start would include a church.
But now, as they looked at the vandalized cabin, Frankie prayed silently, an ache of regret in her throat. God, I wanted You to meet us here.
Suddenly, rapid footsteps came up behind them and Frankie spun quickly around. The man approaching them was very handsome. He was also very angry.
“What are you doing?” the stranger demanded. His dark blue eyes seemed to give off sparks of fury. “Why are you lurking around these cabins?”
Frankie attempted to give Rae a reassuring smile and stepped in front of her, adopting a defensive stance. Not that she thought she had any real hope of intimidating this stranger, since she stood at five foot four and he had to be at least six feet tall. Still, if he imagined he was going to threaten them or get anywhere near her daughter, she’d do whatever she could to prove him wrong.
“We’re not lurking,” Frankie told him, hoping that if she spoke loudly enough it would mask the way her voice was shaking. “I paid to rent this cabin and we get here and—this!” Her hand flipped toward the vandalized cabin with a gesture that managed to be both defiant and defeated.
The man studied them with a speculative look on his face, then relaxed his shoulders and stepped back.
* * *
Ben Cedar felt decidedly chagrined. He had thought the small, slight figure wearing cutoff shorts, a T-shirt and a baseball cap was a teenage boy, with his little sister, but he’d already launched into his tirade before he realized his mistake.
This woman, whoever she was, might be dressed in a boyish fashion, but up close she was unmistakably female. He didn’t think he’d ever seen skin quite as smooth and golden peachy or features so delicate. He could see the sheer resilience it took for her to keep her brown eyes locked to his. Behind her, the girl peeked out, her eyes wide and her hands over her mouth.
Ben felt even worse and tried to give the little girl a friendly smile, but she gave an audible gasp and retreated.
The woman looked like she would take great pleasure in maiming him or worse.
“I’m sorry,” he said, attempting to rectify the situation. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.” He tried to push out another smile, but the truth was that he didn’t need any more complications added to his summer—or to his life—and he just wanted the misunderstanding to go away as quickly as possible.
The woman didn’t answer, but her expression clearly said that he wasn’t convincing her.
“My name’s Ben Cedar,” he said, making another attempt. “My father and I are here for the summer. We’ve spent every summer here since I was a kid. My mom used to...” He stopped himself and said more briskly, “Well, anyway, yours isn’t the only cabin to be vandalized. It’s been happening all over the place and some of the town businesses have been hit, too. It’s really put a damper on people’s vacations.” Regret darkened his eyes. “It’s a real shame, too,” he said. “This has always been such a great place for families. I have a lot of happy memories here. I don’t know what’s gone wrong, though I have some suspicions.”
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, but my daughter and I don’t appreciate being accused,” the woman said. Despite the slight tremor in her voice, her stiff posture and rigid mouth told Ben that she wasn’t about to concede her ground easily.
Lord, please help me make this right.
“Hello, there!” said another voice.
Ben closed his eyes for a moment, feeling a pulse of anxiety. Now was definitely not the time for his father to make a scene. He silently reminded himself to be patient. His dad couldn’t help his behavior and, besides, having one last memorable summer with him was one of the main reasons that Ben was here.
Ben thought about what was facing him at summer’s end, and an acute ache pulsed behind his eyes. But he couldn’t dwell on that now. The time to move his father into full-time care loomed soon enough without him letting his worry about it devour the days they had here.
His father grinned and waved happily at the little girl, and Ben braced himself.
“Would you like to walk down to the beach with me and look for seashells?” he asked her, as if it were the most natural thing in the world for him to say to a little girl he had never met.
Ben saw the woman study his father for a moment, and then a glimmer of understanding crept into her eyes.
“Dad, we don’t know these people,” he said, willing a gentle voice, almost as if speaking to a child. “And you know what I’ve told you about talking to strangers.”
The man hung his head and shuffled his feet back and forth in the dirt on the road between the cabins. The action stirred up a small cloud of dust.
“Did you have your nap?” Ben asked.
His dad shrugged and his open face threatened to collapse into a scowl.
Ben pretended not to notice the change in his dad’s mood and pushed away the foreboding in his own gut. It was, he reminded himself, the least he could do to take care of his father. Especially since there were times that he hadn’t been there when
he should have been.
“You know I told you that if you had a nap and gave me some time to get some things done, I would take you for ice cream,” Ben said, pushing down the surge of guilt that threatened to rise up into his throat. The last thing he needed was to feel more guilt over this woman and girl he didn’t even know.
The man’s mouth made shapes without any words coming out and he kicked the dirt harder, in an expression of inarticulate frustration.
“Mom?” The girl tugged on her mother’s hand and whispered loudly, “What’s wrong with that man?”
“Rae...” the woman began to protest.
“It’s okay,” Ben said, directing his words to her. “My father has Alzheimer’s disease. I’m not sure how to explain that to your little girl.”
Her lovely brown eyes searched his face for a moment and then she gave a small nod. She glanced down at the girl.
“I’ll explain later, Rae.” She looked at Ben again. “Any ideas on what I can do about the cabin?”
“If you can wait until I get my dad settled again, I’ll take you down to the office and you can talk to the people who manage these cabins.”
“Will they be able to do anything about it? I think I should go talk to them right away.”
“They’ve been getting cleaning crews out. If you can hold off just a bit, it might help if I go with you. They’ve known Dad and me for a long time.”
Ben’s father started to wander off and Ben reached out and took his hand. They tussled briefly as the older man tried to get away, but eventually he calmed down and allowed his son to lead him back toward their cabin.
“There’s a good place for ice cream just at the end of the walk,” Ben said over his shoulder. “Turn right. It’s the place with all the big umbrellas.”
After a challenging ten minutes or so, Ben got his father settled back into their cabin and gave him a pile of hand towels to fold to keep him preoccupied. He found that repetitive activities calmed his father.
Ben eased himself out the cabin door, locking it behind him. He walked quickly, then broke into a jog, anxious to get to the Ice Cream Adventure as soon as possible. He had to admit that it wasn’t only because he was worried about what his Dad might do if he got bored of folding and realized that he had been left alone in the cabin. He told himself that he just wanted to get the situation rectified as quickly as possible. But something about the woman—her fragility, combined with her obvious determination to be strong—tugged at him.
Her Handyman Hero Page 18
