Autumn Dreams

by Gayle Roper

  PRAISE FOR GAYLE ROPER’S NOVELS

  Autumn Dreams

  “Autumn Dreams takes readers on a delightful off-season vacation to the Jersey shore of my childhood—complete with an ocean view and a delicious menu of characters. Cassandra and company face more than one stormy night before this romantic mystery concludes with a sunny splash. Enjoy the trip!”

  LIZ CURTIS HIGGS, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF BOOKENDS and BAD GIRLS OF THE BIBLE

  “When Gayle presses her peopled pen, a cast of heart-lively folks emerge. Colorfully arrayed in real-life pressures, you’ll recognize their struggles and feel their emotions. My greatest challenge was not to peek ahead, but I didn’t want to ‘awaken’ from this Autumn Dream.”

  PATSY CLAIRMONT, WOMEN OF FAITH SPEAKER AND AUTHOR OF STARDUST ON MY PILLOW

  “Gayle Roper has written another wonderfully entertaining book with characters that endeared themselves to me in the first few pages and a neatly woven theme that shows the wisdom of waiting on God’s perfect timing. Autumn Dreams was my third ‘season’ in Seaside and I can’t wait to return for the winter.”

  DEBORAH RANEY, RITA AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF AFTER THE RAINS AND A SCARLET CORD

  “Gayle Roper spins a memorable tale of romance and intrigue, embellished with a cast of heartwarming characters armed by faith and united by love against a threat to one of their own.”

  LINDA WINDSOR, AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF ALONG CAME JONES AND DEIRDRE

  “Master of romantic suspense Gayle Roper has delivered another winner in Autumn Dreams. Real characters with all their flaws and all their baggage fill the pages of this well-written book. Once you pick it up, you will not be able to put it down until you have come to the dramatic end!”

  LINDA HALL, AUTHOR OF STEAL AWAY, SADIE’S SONG, AND KATHERYN’S SECRET

  “I loved the first two books in Gayle Roper’s series. Now she’s done it again—wielding her powerful pen, creating captivating and compelling characters, a page-turning plot, and stirring action that inspires me to say, ‘More! More!’ I’m so glad this isn’t the end. Write number four quickly, Gayle!”

  KATHY COLLARD MILLER, SPEAKER AND AUTHOR OF PRINCESS TO PRINCESS

  Summer Shadows

  “Once again, Gayle Roper shows herself to be a master at creating compelling characters.”

  NANCY MOSER, AUTHOR OF THE SEAT BESIDE ME

  “Suspenseful drama, sweet romance, and breezy seaside setting … Gayle Roper’s Summer Shadows is ideal for summer reading.”

  DEANNA JULIE DODSON, AUTHOR OF IN HONOR BOUND AND TO GRACE SURRENDERED

  Spring Rain

  “Spring Rain is a heartwarming love story that doesn’t shy away from tackling tough subjects like homosexuality and promiscuity. Ms. Roper handles them with grace and compassion, never compromising the hope-filled truth of God’s Word while giving us a bang-up tale of romantic suspense!”

  LIZ CURTIS HIGGS, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF BOOKENDS AND BAD GIRLS OF THE BIBLE

  “Spring Rain contains all the mystery, suspense, and romance a reader could want. I also appreciated the story’s ‘something extra’: realism and candor. Thank you, Gayle, for speaking the truth in love!”

  ANGELA HUNT, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE PEARL

  “This is a realistically portrayed story of love and forgiveness, filled with emotion and grace … A compelling read.”

  ROMANTIC TIMES MAGAZINE

  “Spring Rain weaves powerful lessons on contemporary moral issues into a wonderful story—a very powerful combination!”

  BOB DAVIES, NORTH AMERICAN DIRECTOR, EXODUS INTERNATIONAL

  “Gayle Roper is in top form with Spring Rain. Her storytelling skills make this one a page-turning experience readers will love.”

  JAMES SCOTT BELL, AUTHOR OF DEADLOCK

  NOVELS BY GAYLE ROPER

  SEASIDE SEASONS:

  Spring Rain

  Summer

  Shadows

  Autumn Dreams

  Winter Winds

  THE AMHEARST MYSTERIES:

  Caught in the Middle

  Caught in the Act

  Caught in a Bind

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.

  Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  AUTUMN DREAMS

  published by Multnomah Publishers, Inc.

  © 2003 by Gayle G. Roper

  Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from:

  The Holy Bible, New International Version © 1973, 1984 by International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House

  Other Scripture quotations are from:

  Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT) © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

  All rights reserved.

  Multnomah is a trademark of Multnomah Publishers, Inc.,

  and is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

  The colophon is a trademark of Multnomah Publishers, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission.

  For information:

  MULTNOMAH PUBLISHERS, INC. • P.O. BOX 1720 • SISTERS, OR 97759

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Roper, Gayle G.

  Autumn dreams / by Gayle Roper.

  p. cm. — (Seaside seasons; bk. 3)

  eISBN: 978-0-307-78165-9

  1. Single people—Fiction. 2. Baby boom generation—Fiction. 3. Parent and adult child—Fiction. 4. Adult children of aging parents—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3568.O68A97 2003

  813′.54—dc21

  2003004145

  v3.1

  For Chuck,

  the best of the good guys,

  with love and respect.

  Special thanks to Bobb Biehl of the Masterplanning Group International (www.masterplanning.tv or www.masterplanninggroup.com) for his great tips on how Dan would approach business and management matters. Anyone who says, “At about five this morning, I thought of something Dan would do, but I didn’t call” is someone who understands that Dan and Cass are “real” and that I like to sleep. It’s a privilege to share Aylen Lake with you and Cheryl, to say nothing of dinner at Wilno Tavern or the Madawaska Valley Inn.

  Thanks to Peg Fulton of Parkside Bed & Breakfast, 501 5th Street, Ocean City, New Jersey, who shared not only her Bed & Breakfast with us, but also gave me invaluable information, insights, and stories about running a Bed & Breakfast at a shore resort. She also arranged for our tour of the New Brighton Inn Bed & Breakfast which became the prototype for SeaSong.

  And to Claire Gallagher, who was gracious enough to read Autumn Dreams in manuscript form and give me her opinion of Jenn and Jared. With no teens of my own anymore, Claire was a wonderful and much-needed help.

  Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches

  when the vision will be fulfilled.

  If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place.

  HABAKKUK 2:3, NLT

  Contents

  Cover

  Other Books by This Author

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Epigraph

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter N
ine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Epilogue

  Discussion Questions

  One

  AUNT CASSANDRA.”

  Two words. Four Syllables. Utter despair.

  Cass Merton looked at her sixteen-year-old niece, Jenn, the drama queen, seated across the breakfast table. She was regal, demanding, and very full of herself.

  Whatever possessed me to think I could do this? Cass wondered. What did she know about raising the beautiful Jenn and her hulking eighteen-year-old brother, Jared? After two months of in loco parentis, she was ready to ship them off to their mother and father in Saudi Arabia and fie on the dangers. Certainly the risk to Cass’s own sanity was more real than the uncertain threats of Islamic terrorists.

  Jenn’s face crumpled, and Cass braced for whatever was coming next.

  “Everybody’s going!” She was a study in distress. “It’s all they’ve talked about all week. Please, Aunt Cassandra, I can’t be left out.”

  “I’m not going,” Jared said around a spoonful of Cheerios.

  Jenn ignored him. She opened her eyes wide, going for the innocent look. “Don’t you trust me, Aunt Cassandra?”

  Cass was impressed in spite of herself. Jenn changed tactics like a chameleon changed colors, and each time she had the look down pat.

  “Trust is not the issue, Jenn.” Cass thought she sounded the epitome of reason as she petted Glossy Flossie, who lay half on the table, half on Cass’s place mat. The old black cat spent most of her time on the back of the sofa in the family sitting room, never going into the public rooms, but when Cass relaxed in the kitchen after breakfast, Flossie always joined her. The cat arched her neck for a better scratch under her ancient chin, her purr rumbling through the room. “Wisdom and obedience are my concerns.”

  “I knew it.” Jenn pouted. “You don’t trust me.”

  Cass watched her niece in fascination. How did the girl look so adorable with that lower lip stuck out beyond the tip of her nose? Whenever Cass pouted—which wasn’t often these days, since almost-forty-year-old women weren’t allowed to pout—all she ever looked was infantile.

  “You’re an idiot, Jenn.” Jared took his cereal bowl and juice glass to the sink. He rinsed them both and put them carefully in the dishwasher. He tossed the empty Cheerios box in the trash, the fourth he’d consumed this week. “Aunt Cassandra’s right about this one.”

  Jenn spun to her brother, pout forgotten. Now the delightful rosy color in her cheeks and the becoming sparkle in her Elizabeth Taylor eyes were caused by anger. “Butt out, Jared. If I wanted your opinion, I’d have asked for it.”

  “You never ask for it,” Jared said with a calm that irritated Jenn further. “And believe me, you need it.”

  “Like someone like you knows from popular!” Jenn’s voice dripped with scorn.

  “Jenn!” Cass was appalled.

  Jared just smiled sadly. “At least I’m smart enough to know a party the cops are going to bust before the night’s over.”

  Cass swallowed. She hadn’t thought about a raid. Certainly she’d been worried about underage drinking, the scourge of too many adolescent parties. And Derrick Smith, the party’s host, she didn’t trust an inch. She just hadn’t thought as far as the police. Cops at the door of her B&B, escorting a belligerent and/or weeping Jenn home in the middle of the night. Now there was something that would be great for business as well as create a marvelous memory for the girl. Or Jenn in a holding cell in the company of who knew what unsavory women, waiting to be bailed out. Cass shuddered.

  “Like Derrick’d let the party get out of control,” Jenn scoffed.

  Jared looked at her with a mix of pity and bewilderment. “Wise up, Jenn. Derrick will be the drunkest one there.”

  Jenn stared, flabbergasted. “He will not!”

  Jared shook his head. “For a smart girl, you can be awfully dumb.”

  “I am not!”

  “Yes, you are,” Jared said, placing his paw of a hand on her shoulder. He towered over her by ten inches. His eyes were full of sympathy.

  “Smart or dumb?” Cass wasn’t certain she was following the conversation. “Which?”

  “Both.” Jared slid his arms into his green letter jacket with the big gold S on the back. “Almost as smart as me—”

  Jenn blew a raspberry at him.

  “—and much, much dumber.” He opened the back door and walked through, automatically ducking. “Later, Aunt Cassandra.” He sketched a little wave.

  Jenn tossed her shining auburn hair over her shoulders with a loud snort of disbelief. Her perfectly polished green fingernail with little gold stars shining on the lacquered surface jabbed in the direction of her brother. “Are you going to let him talk to me like that?”

  How many thousands of dollars does a ticket for immediate travel to Saudi Arabia cost? I might be able to afford two if I cash in my IRAs, providing the penalty isn’t too steep.

  Jenn grabbed her purse and book bag and stalked toward the door. “I’m going to that party tonight!”

  Cass stepped in front of the girl. “You aren’t going tonight.”

  Jenn blinked up at her in surprise and took a step backward. Cass made herself as tall as she could, though she doubted size would intimidate Jenn, who was too used to her father and brother, to say nothing of her three uncles and grandfather, giants all.

  “You tell Derrick that he can come here if he’d like to,” Cass said, all reason and generosity, “but you are not going to his house.”

  The drama queen struck an appalled pose. “Don’t tell me you believe Jared?”

  “Only because I already checked things out for myself.”

  “What?” Horror and disbelief filled Jenn’s face. “You checked? How?”

  “Derrick’s parents will be away for the weekend. The party will have no adult supervision.” Cass watched the girl’s eyes narrow as she took in that piece of news. “Jenn, you are not going.”

  “Please, Aunt Cassandra. Please.”

  Cass expected Jenn to drop to her knees and grab the hems of her jeans any minute now. Instead she restrained herself and dropped a green-nailed hand onto Cass’s arm.

  “I mean, think about how special it is for a sophomore to be invited to a senior’s party as his date.”

  Like that bit of cajolery would sway a thinking adult. “No.”

  The anger returned. “What if I defy you?”

  It was Cass’s turn to blink. Didn’t the girl know you weren’t supposed to tell people ahead of time that you planned to defy them? Not that she herself had ever defied anyone, but she’d grown up with four older brothers who had had no trouble at all ignoring the rules if they felt the situation called for it. As the daughter of Cass’s third brother, Tommy, the king of defiers, Jenn came by her rebellious tendencies naturally.

  Cass stared Jenn in the eye. “If you flout me, I’ll come and get you.”

  “What?”

  “I’ll march into the house calling your name. I’ll tell everyone I’ve come for you because it’s past your curfew. I’ll call all the boys ‘handsome’ and the girls ‘honey.’ I’ll grab your hand and hold it while I drag you outsi
de.”

  Jenn blanched. “You wouldn’t.”

  “I would. And I’ll bring Uncle Hal and Uncle Will along for good measure. Maybe Aunt Ellie and Aunt Lucy too.”

  Jenn was obviously shaken at the thought of her two huge and very voluble uncles, their petite but extremely mouthy wives in tow, crashing Derrick’s party, though she struggled not to let her distress show. She sent Cass what was supposed to be a scathing look. “Why not fly in Uncle Bud and Aunt Jane too?”

  Cass nodded. “Not a bad idea. Colorado’s not that far from New Jersey. Maybe your mom and dad could even come home for the weekend. Then we could have a family reunion at Derrick’s.”

  With a snort Jenn stomped out the door and off to school, doubtless planning to make all her teachers pay for Cass’s uncooperative spirit.

  Cass sighed. Tommy was on a one-year business assignment in Saudi Arabia doing something he had never bothered to explain to Cass, whether because it was some sort of secret government mission or because he deemed her too dumb to understand, she wasn’t certain.

  He and Rhonda were due back in the States at the end of August. Cass glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall by the family phone. Friday, October 18 today’s date read. Cass sighed again. It was going to be a long year.

  She gathered up Jenn’s juice glass and small plate, brushing the toast crumbs off the table onto the floor. It needed to be swept anyway. She wiped off the tiny table stuffed in one corner of her cramped kitchen, taking care not to bother Glossy Flossie who still slept on the place mat. As she whipped the broom around the room, Cass reviewed the coming busy weekend, smiling with satisfaction that her bed and breakfast would be filled.

  Later today, nine guests were due at SeaSong, eight for the weekend and one for an indefinite stay. She didn’t have many guests who booked for an unspecified amount of time, and certainly she couldn’t accept someone like that in high season. But it was fall, and the later it got, the fewer reservations there were. This guest’s presence wouldn’t cost her income like it might in the summer if she had to turn away a definite future booking because he might still be here.

  He was to have the second-floor front left, the premier room with an actual view of a wedge of the ocean two blocks away. There was a small private balcony off the room where the guest could enjoy the brine-scented breeze that blew almost constantly from the water. If the current run of Indian summer days continued, he could sit outside and bask in the sun’s kiss for hours.