Coming Home: (Contemporary Christian Romance Boxed Set): Three Stories of Love, Faith, Struggle & Hope

by Debra Ullrick

  “Girl?” Mia asked when she made it all the way across the room, still in the trance his eyes had captured her in. “You all right?”

  “Wh…? Y-yeah.” With a wave of her hand, Liz finally managed to snap out of it. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Mia looked less than convinced. “Because you left the coffee pot on his table?”

  “I…” Liz looked down at her empty hands, and horror coursed through her. She slammed her eyes closed, mortified at her stupidity. When she opened them, Mia’s expression was somewhere between incredulous and about to burst out laughing. Liz scrunched her teeth together. “I have to go get it, don’t I?”

  “Uh, yeah. Kinda so.”

  “Great.” It took a hard sigh for her to gather her shredded dignity and turn back for his table, forcing nonchalance over everything else. Sure enough he was still looking at her, but this time the amusement in his eyes was much closer to the surface. A slow step at a time she made her way through the other tables back over to his.

  “Looks like you forgot something.”

  “Yeah.” She breathed the word. “Sorry about that.”

  “Not a problem.”

  Her hand slipped onto the small plastic handle. “Wouldn’t be much of a coffee shop without the coffee.”

  “No. Probably not.” He was about to laugh at her, she could tell.

  How could she have been so utterly stupid? She wanted to disappear into the floor.

  “You know, since you’re here and everything.” His fingers played with the cup and then turned it and pushed it over to her. “I guess I could use a little more.”

  “Really?” Relief poured through her. Somehow it felt like he was swinging in to rescue her, saving her from her own stupidity at the last possible second. Just why she couldn’t say because it really wasn’t so much to be excited about. He just wanted more coffee. “Okay.” She smiled at him in thanks for his chivalry as she poured. When the cup was full, she searched frantically for more words. “Are you sure you don’t want something to eat? I mean, you must be starving by now. Man can’t exist on coffee alone, you know.”

  The amused smile made it all the way from his eyes to his lips this time. They were nice lips, framed just so by a line of dark whiskers. “Hey, that’s a good line. Mind if I use that sometime?”

  Surprise overtook her, and she tilted her head. “No. Not at all. I’ll give you that one for free, but the next one you have to pay for.”

  “Free, huh?” He nodded as if considering the offer as he took a small sip of his refill. “Free is good.”

  Then she thought he might have gotten the wrong idea. “Um, but you still have to pay for the coffee.”

  His laugh caught her completely off-guard. “Rats. And here I was hoping you were giving that away for free too.”

  Unbelievably, she was starting to relax. “Nope, no such luck. I’d probably get fired if I did that.”

  “Well, we wouldn’t want that, would we?” He pulled his arm down and surveyed his watch. It was nothing special, heavy, black. Very manly, but not very stylish.

  She yanked her gaze from it when he looked back up at her.

  “I’d really better be getting.” He took one more long drink and stood from the little chair. “I’ve got a five o’clock appointment with life in the morning.” With a snap, he had his laptop up under his arm.

  Incredulousness hit her. “Five in the morning? And you’re drinking coffee at ten? What are you, a raccoon?”

  He tossed money onto the table. “It was worth it for the company.” The smile danced around the corners of his eyes. “Besides, I got a great line for free, remember?”

  “Oh, y-yeah.” Why did she suddenly feel like she was two? He seemed so together, so handsome standing there. She’d never really noticed that before. How could she have missed it? “Well, use it wisely.”

  One more smile that made her crazy all the way to her toes, and he nodded. “I’ll try. See ya down the road.”

  “Yeah.” She hardly got the word out, and then she was watching him walk out, waving only once to Mia as he went past the counter. In the next second he was gone, and Liz was left with only the memory.

  It took three more breaths to snap back to reality. Trying to act like it was no big deal that he had just shattered her belief that all guys were scum, she turned and gathered the money and his cup. She needed to get this table cleaned as more people were starting to come in. The late movie must be over.

  “Girl,” Mia said, dragging the single syllable out to six when Liz came back to the counter.

  “Don’t start.” Liz pointed a hard finger at her friend. “He’s not my type. He’s weird, and he sits in dark corners and tries to blend in with the shadows.”

  “My, my, if I didn’t know better, I would think the lady doth protesteth too much.”

  “Protesteth? Seriously?”

  “Hey, I’m not the Shakespeare queen. You are.” Mia leaned into her. “But I do know a fine specimen of man when I see one.”

  Liz grabbed up menus as a small group came in. She rolled her eyes at her friend. “Spare me the dramatics, okay? We’ve got coffee to serve.”

  Picking her hands up to indicate she wanted no fight, Mia backed down. That wasn’t like Mia, and Liz wondered about that. However, she had other more pressing matters like customers and homework and sleep that were much more important that fighting about some guy that was only a passing shadow and no more. It wasn’t even that hard to convince herself she had already forgotten all about him.

  ~**~

  All Jake wanted was a cup of coffee and a quiet place to write. What he found was her and far more than he ever imagined could be possible…

  Liz Savoy has no plans to date anyone — least of all the dark handsome mystery man who sometimes inhabits the corner table at the coffee shop where she’s working to get through school. But plans change, sometimes in ways no one expected.

  Jake McCoy is the next mega-millionaire author, or at least he would be if he could get the stories in his head down on the ether. With no good place to write, he resorts to dark corners in Wi-Fi hotspots, knowing no one in the world cares about him or his comings and goings one way or the other. However, there is one waitress at The Grind coffee shop with a cute smile and kind eyes who doesn’t seem to think he is as invisible as he likes to think he is. Can reality with her ever hope to match the fantasy world where his imagination has him living?

  Purchase MORE THAN THIS on Amazon

  Also Available from Staci Stallings

  Kindle and Audiobook Editions

  (click the links to read more about the books)

  The Courage Series

  To Protect & Serve {Kindle} {Audiobook} She’s a control freak. He’s a firefighter with a death wish. Watch the sparks fly when these two get together.

  White Knight {Kindle} {Audiobook} The one he couldn’t save was the love of her life. How can he ever make that terrible failure right again?

  For Real {Kindle} {Audiobook} She’s got issues. He’s got secrets. Can they ever learn to be “for real”?

  The Friendship Series

  Eternity Aaron never noticed Harmony until now. Now, it might be too late.

  The Easy Way Out Drew thought he knew what love was, maybe he was wrong.

  The Harmony Series

  Cowboy One night Ashton Raines walked away from everything.

  Lucky One man. One woman. One night that changes everything.

  The Faith Series

  A Work In Progress Rebecca hated “the beautiful people” until she fell for one. Now what?

  A Little Piece of Heaven Emily loves God. Jeremy doesn’t believe in Him. How will this ever work?

  A Light in the Darkness One night, he becomes her angel in the darkness.

  The Dreams Series

  Dreams by Starlight Sometimes where you are is not where you are meant to be.

  Reunion 10 years later. Everything has changed. Or has it?

  S
ingle Titles

  Deep in the Heart {Kindle} {Audiobook} He’s worth billions. She’s penniless. What do they have in common? Everything.

  More Than This He was only looking for a cup of coffee and a quiet place to write. She helped him find himself.

  Coming Undone {Kindle} {Audiobook} Ben was footloose and fancy-free until he got the call that changed his everything.

  The Long Way Home Jaxton is about to learn what is really important in life, and it’s not what he thought.

  If You Believed in Love He’s given up on love, but love won’t give up on him.

  The Price of Silence Who can you trust when the unseen eyes are watching your every move?

  Princess She hated basketball—and him. Could Heather have been wrong about everything?

  Whisper If You Have To She’s got secrets. So does he. Can they learn to be honest together?

  Living in the Light Bible Studies

  Theirs is the Kingdom Who is your Source? Why does it matter? Meditations on the first Beatitude.

  The Two Trees In the Garden of Eden there were two trees, and those trees still present a choice for us today.

  The Gifts of the Holy Spirit Seven gifts that can change your life.

  Non-fiction

  Something’s Not Right One family’s journey through dyslexia.

  Reflections on Life 52 real life stories about struggles and victories in this life.

  Reflections on Life II 83 new real life stories that challenge us all to reach for the life God truly wants for us.

  Reflections on Life III Trials and pain… through it all God is there. Real life stories from the “territory.”

  True Power & Real Peace How do you find True Power & Real Peace?

  Visit

  http://www.stacistallings.net

  for more about each available title

  About the Author

  A stay-at-home mom with a husband, three kids and a writing addiction on the side, Staci Stallings has numerous titles for readers to choose from. Not content to stay in one genre and write it to death, Staci’s stories run the gamut from young adult to adult, from motivational and inspirational to full-out Christian and back again. Every title is a new adventure! That’s what keeps Staci writing and you reading. Although she lives in Amarillo, Texas and her main career right now is her family, Staci touches the lives of people across the globe with her various Internet and writing endeavors.

  You can catch up or keep up with all of Staci’s work at:

  http://www.stacistallings.net

  For more information on

  Staci’s Romance Novels

  Free first chapters, excerpts, etc.

  http://ebookromancestories.com

  Come on over for a visit…

  You’ll feel better for the experience!

  We hope you enjoyed

  Deep in the Heart

  From

  ~*~*~

  COWGIRLS DON’T CRY

  Debra Lynn Collins

  Cowgirls Don’t Cry

  Copyright © 2014 Debra Lynn Collins

  All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne, Universal and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or by any other information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Published by: Magnolia Charm Publishing

  Cover by Lynnette Bonner

  Images ©BigStock 52567441, 15461429

  Printed in the United States of America

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  is available upon request.

  ISBN-13: 978-0692345771

  ISBN-10: 0692345779

  Bible Scripture taken from the King James Version®.

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

  Acknowledgements

  Special thanks to my author buddies and friends,

  Debra Ullrick and Staci Stallings.

  Both of you are two extraordinary women of God!

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my wonderful husband, Steve.

  My children, Tiffany, Coby, Andrew, and Kara.

  Last and certainly not least, my wonderful son-in-law, Chris.

  I love you, all!

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Epilogue

  Also Available from Debra Lynn Collins

  About the Author

  Cowgirls Don’t Cry

  He healeth the broken heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

  Psalm 147:3

  Chapter One

  As Sami Lawson grabbed a newspaper from the counter, a hearty laugh echoed from the back of the diner snagging her attention. She glanced up and caught a glimpse of a cowboy she didn’t recognize.

  Who was this cowboy? She knew about everyone in Homestead. Still eyeing him trying to figure out who he might be or at least be connected to, she made her way back toward her table in the crowded diner. Suddenly the toe of her boot caught the leg on one of the chairs in her path, causing her to stumble against it. She gave it a shove out of her path, and the chair scooted across the hardwood floor, making an awful sound that caused chills to race down Sami’s spine. In the next breath, silence filled the diner as everyone turned and looked at her.

  Oh great, drawing even more attention to myself, is just what I needed today.

  As she quickly glanced around the diner and spotted Ned Summers, the blood began to pound in her temples. He stretched back in his chair, tossed her a snarly grin, and shook his head in disdain.

  Of all the people to be in the diner today, why did it have to be him?

  Ever since the incident with Billy Salter the year before, Sami seemed to be the main topic with some of the men in town, and Ned often led the charge against her. The stares, the laughs, the shoulder bumps, and the pointing never seemed to cease whenever she was spotted in town, and today looked to be no different.

  Why couldn’t people just let this go? What happened to Billy had been an accident, plain and simple. Would life ever be normal again? From where she was standing, the answer to that depressing question was a definite, NO.

  Letting out an exhausted sigh, her annoyance increased when she found that her hands were shaking. Still, she managed to smile at the onlookers as she made her way back to her table.

  Shaking her head in irritation at her own clumsiness, she dropped down onto her own chair, jerked open the paper, and buried her warm face behind it. Maybe if she just disappeared, they would leave her alone.

  A few seconds later, Sami breathed a sigh of relief when the roar of voices, clinking glasses, and shuffling feet filled the diner once again. All she wanted to do was to finish her lunch as quickly as possible and get out of there.

  However, it didn’t take long before the cowboy’s laugh filled the diner again.

  Sami lowered the newspaper slightly and peeked over the top of it. In a small town like this, everyone knew everyone, and one thing she knew for sure, she hadn’t seen this particular cowboy before. She never gave any of the men in Homestead, Tennessee a first glance, much less a second one, but this man had snagged her interest and held it. His rugged good looks and easy manner felt li
ke a magnet for her attention even though she knew better than to let it affect her.

  The usual sounds of clanging dishes, orders being shouted out, and the sizzling burgers on the grill all seemed to fade away as she studied the stranger.

  He looked to be in his late twenties, broad shoulders, muscular build, and a five o’clock shadow that dusted his handsome face. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she watched him shake hands with a couple of the town’s old-timers. Good manners? That was refreshing.

  Still peering over her paper, she watched Robin, the waitress, sashay over to him, place her hand on his arm, lean in close, and whisper into his ear. Then to Sami’s surprise, they both turned and looked right in her direction.

  When his eyes made contact with hers, a smile stretched across his face, revealing pearly white teeth that seemed to shine against his dark tan. Quickly raising the paper, she wanted to give herself a swift kick for staring at this man and to make matters worse, being caught doing it.

  Biting down on her bottom lip, she grimaced behind the newsprint that she had completely lost interest in. “What’s the big deal? I’m sure he has women staring at him all the time. I’m probably just another face in the crowd.” She fought to focus on the article about a brush fire just north of the Rickshaw’s ranch.

  Hoping he had gone back to talking to the old men, she tipped the paper down and glanced over it again. Her heart suddenly did a two-step when she saw he wasn’t in the back of the diner any longer. Instead, his powerful, well-muscled body was moving with disarming ease and grace straight in her direction.