Love Conquers All

by Lorana Hoopes

  “I don’t understand then,” Lanie said, interrupting him. “If your mom got you to open up, why are you still so distant?”

  “I wasn’t finished,” Azarius said with a smile. “I didn’t have many close relationships, but it’s because I was looking for someone like my mother. When I met you, I thought I had finally found someone I could open up to. Before I could tell you though, you were engaged and then married, and my world was thrown upside down again.”

  “Azarius, I never knew,” Lanie interrupted. Would it have made a difference, she wondered?

  “I know you didn’t, and that was my fault. I should have told you in the beginning, but I was too scared to. Krista was the first person I opened up to, and you know what happened with her. Needless to say, my trust in people diminished about then. The only person I’ve told since is Greg, and that’s only because I met him right after Krista left me and he helped me through some hard times. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, but I need you to know that I love you and when you collapsed, I was reminded of my mother again. All I could think was that I needed you to be okay because I couldn’t… I can’t imagine my life without you.”

  Tears began to stream out of the corner of Lanie’s eyes.

  “Hey, hey, why are you crying? I thought me being open was what you wanted.”

  “It is,” she sniffled. “Now I can really see a future with you, but the baby…”

  He wiped a tear from her cheek. “I know. I’m sad about the baby too, but we have plenty of time to start a family. In fact, we have the rest of our lives to do that, if you’ll let me stick around.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. “I’m glad we got married when we did, but I always regretted not having a better ring for you.”

  Lanie gasped as he opened the lid. A beautiful sparkly diamond sat nestled in between intertwining rings of silver and gold. “Oh, Azarius," she said with a sigh. "It’s perfect. It means everything.”

  He smiled as he slipped her old band off and slid the new ring on her finger. “You mean everything.”

  With no words left to say, Lanie circled her arms around his neck and met his lips.

  Epilogue

  “Ugh, nothing fits,” Lanie said, throwing yet another skirt on the bed. Though barely out of her first trimester, her belly had ballooned in size the last week and none of her clothes fit.

  “Go naked then,” Azarius said, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling her neck.

  “I can’t do that,” she said, turning to kiss him. “Your mother will be there, remember?”

  “Oh, right. Well, then how about that maxi dress you wore a few weeks ago? It was stretchy, right? It’s supposed to warmer today, and we’ll be inside anyway.”

  “That is a great idea. I knew I married you for a reason.” She flashed him a smile and then bounced into the closet to grab the dress.

  “I thought it was my mysterious allure,” he called from behind her.

  Lanie popped her head out of the closet. “No, that I always hated, remember?”

  Azarius laughed. “My rugged good looks?”

  Lanie tugged the dress over her head. It sat a little off kilter with her baby bump, but it looked okay. “Yes, those I love,” she said walking back to him and tilting her face up to kiss him again. “Now, we better go or we’re going to be late.”

  The barn was already packed when they arrived. A huge banner that read “Congratulations Azarius and Lanie” hung across the front door. Layla had insisted on throwing them both a “belated wedding” party and a “congratulations on the new baby” party.” Lanie had convinced her to throw them both at the same time. Because Layla had asked, nearly the whole town had shown up.

  Of course, it probably helped that the town had officially adopted Lanie and Azarius into the fold. Even the few staunch grinches had changed their tune when Azarius began helping the local businesses with a marketing plan that had drawn more tourists this past summer than ever before.

  She and Azarius had even officially taken over Perkins from her father and increased revenue so much that they’d hired a few local teens to take the afternoon shift, leaving Lanie time to write and Azarius time to run the advertising.

  “Hey bro, long time no see,” Greg, no longer on crutches, but still limping slightly embraced Azarius as soon as they opened the door. With him was a stunning, petite woman with dark hair and the greenest eyes Lanie had ever seen.

  “Lanie, you look amazing,” Greg said, embracing her next. “I want you to meet Jada, and while I don’t want to steal your thunder, I did want to share we just got engaged last night.”

  “Oh that’s wonderful,” Lanie said as Azarius issued congratulations as well. Greg looked happier than she could remember seeing him, and as she shook Jada’s hand, she had a feeling their relationship would be a good one.

  Before they could take another step farther into the barn, a stout woman with long blond hair gathered Azarius into a hug. Mary, this had to be Mary. Though they’d spoken on the phone, Lanie had yet to meet her mother-in-law as Mary didn’t travel very often.

  “It’s good to see you too, Mother,” Azarius said. “I would like you to meet Lanie.”

  Mary turned warm brown eyes on her, and Lanie could see why Azarius confided in his mother. She had a presence like warm cookies on Christmas Day that just made you want to spill everything.

  “It’s so nice to meet you,” Lanie said, holding out her hand, but Mary pulled her in for a hug.

  “It’s nice to meet the woman who’s finally completed my son. I knew when he first talked about you that you were special, but seeing you - I can see that you two were made for each other.”

  Lanie smiled at Azarius and squeezed his hand.

  Her parents came next, and Lanie was surprised to see a smile on her father’s face as he approached.

  “I have to say I had my doubts, but you have proven to be a good man, Azarius,” her father said, shaking Azarius’s hand.

  “Thank you, sir. That means a lot coming from you.”

  “And we know it’s early,” her mother said, “but we brought you a baby gift to say congratulations. I know you don’t know the gender of the baby yet, but I know babies love loveys, so…” She pulled a bright yellow ducky out of the bag she was holding.

  “Oh, it looks just like my old lovey,” Lanie sighed. “Thank you, Mother.”

  “You are welcome, Dear. We’re so proud of you both.”

  Her parents moved along, and more guests approached to issue well wishes - Ned and Amelia (who were evidently back together after their break), Barnard, Paula, Presley and Brandon, and people whose names Lanie wasn’t even sure she knew. Layla and Max brought up the rear.

  “Thank you for this party, Layla,” Azarius said. “You went above and beyond.”

  “Well, I was happy to do it, though I’m not sure why we had to do it on this specific day.” Layla said pointedly at Lanie.

  Lanie smiled and shook her head. That was a secret only for her and Azarius.

  “Why did you pick my birthday for this party?” Azarius whispered when they were out of ear shot of everyone else.

  “I thought you needed a happy memory for once around it,” Lanie said. “I didn’t tell anyone else, so we don’t have to make a big deal about it.”

  Azarius pulled her in for an unexpected hug. “You are amazing, Lanie. Did you know that?”

  Lanie laughed as she squeezed him back. “Okay, I’m amazing. Can we go sit now? My feet are killing me?”

  “Almost,” he said.

  Music flooded the barn, and he led her to the center of the dance floor.

  “I thought you didn’t dance in public,” she said with a smile as she locked her arms around his neck.

  “There are a lot of things I do now that I didn’t do before,” he said, turning her in a slow circle. “Like sharing a house.”

  Lanie smiled. “Good thing you got over that one because it won’t be much longer before it’s even fu
ller. Oh, I finished the book by the way.”

  He tilted his head. “What book?”

  “Our story, silly. You told me the day we eloped that Lanie Jacobson sounded like a good author’s name, so I decided to try it out. I’ve been writing in the afternoons while you market, and I think I finally finished it.”

  “That’s amazing, Lanie. What’s it called?”

  “Love Conquers All,” she said.

  He nodded slowly. “Love Conquers All,” he said. “I like it. It’s a good title.”

  “No,” Lanie said with a shake of her head. “It’s a great title. It means everything.”

  Azarius smiled and pulled her closer. “It means everything.”

  The End!

  * * *

  If you liked this story, please leave a review at your retailer. Just a few words really helps.

  Author’s Note

  This book was a labor of love for me. I had a lot of readers tell me that Azarius kept too many secrets, that he was hard to get to know. I knew I should fix him, but Azarius is based on a friend of mine and he is secretive and hard to get to know, so I left him because I wanted to be true to character.

  I always put a little bit of myself in books and this one was Laney’s occupation. Before I met my husband, I was a radio DJ and thought I would probably do that forever. It was a job I loved, but when I moved from Texas to Washington state, there just weren’t many radio stations close by, so I changed careers. I guess I’m glad I did as it brought me to writing.

  So, even with its flaws, I hope you enjoyed this book. If you did, would you do me a favor? Please leave a review at your retailer.. It really helps. It doesn’t have to be long - just a few words to help other readers know what they’re getting.

  I’d love to hear from you, not only about this story, but about the characters or stories you’d like read in the future. I’m always looking for new ideas and if I use one of your characters or stories, I’ll send you a free ebook and paperback of the book with a special dedication. Write to me at loranahoopes@gmail.com. And if you’d like to see what’s coming next, be sure to stop by authorloranahoopes.com

  I also have a weekly newsletter that contains many wonderful things like pictures of my adorable children, chances to win awesome prizes, new releases and sales I might be holding, great books from other authors, and anything else that strikes my fancy and that I think you would enjoy. I’ll even send you the first chapter of my newest (maybe not even released yet) book if you’d like to sign up.

  Even better, I solemnly swear to only send out one newsletter a week (usually on Tuesday unless life gets in the way which with three kids it usually does). I will not spam you, sell your email address to solicitors or anyone else, or any of those other terrible things.

  This series will be continued, but for now, would you like to meet some characters for a new series.

  * * *

  Prayers and blessings,

  Lorana

  Not ready to say Goodbye yet?

  Love Conquers All is the last book in the Star Lake series so far, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to end. How would you like to check out another great series.

  The Lawkeeper series has five books. Three historical and two contemporary stories and all of them follow a lawman of some kind. So, put on your cowboy hats and badges and say hello to Jesse Jennings and Kate Whitby

  * * *

  Lawfully Matched

  He’s reeling from the death of his betrothed…

  Jesse Jennings wanted nothing to do with the law until a group of bandits killed his betrothed. Now, he’s out for vengeance, but Kate Whidby stands in his way.

  She thought she was marrying a rancher….

  Kate Whidby left Boston when her parents died in search of a life out west, but when the man she agreed to marry turns out to not be what he portrayed, she must find a way to escape.

  Timing changes everything….

  He’s without a wife. She’s without a home or money. Will they find love through this marriage of convenience?

  Read of for a sneak peek at Lawfully Matched….

  Sneak Peek at Lawfully Matched

  Boston, Massachusetts 1883

  Mary Katherine Whidby grabbed the local paper and strolled to a corner to read in private. While she hated to leave her beloved Boston, she was quickly approaching the spinster age, and all the surrounding men seemed intimidated by her brains or more likely her strong-willed spirit as her brother Robert liked to remind her.

  Mary Katherine, or Kate as her family called her, had always held a grand notion of love, so agreeing to marry a complete stranger caused distaste in her mouth every time she thought about it, but her options had run out when her parents died.

  She opened the paper and scanned the offerings:

  ‘Forty-year-old widowed rancher looking for wife who can be a mother to three kids.’

  Three kids? Kate shook her head and drew a line through that one. While she wanted kids one day, she did not feel confident stepping into the role immediately.

  ‘Fifty-year-old Pastor seeks wife for companionship and to lead women's socials at local church.’

  A pastor's wife wouldn't be too bad, but the age difference was more than Kate could stomach. After all, she was barely twenty-five, which would make this man twice her age, and wasn't the lifespan shorter in the west? Knowing her luck, he would die shortly after she arrived, and she’d be left all alone.

  ‘Thirty-year-old saloon owner seeks wife and possible waitress.’

  While this one was closer in age, Kate had no desire, or skills for that matter, to work in a saloon.

  The pickings were slim this month it seemed. Just one ad left.

  ‘Thirty-two-year-old farmer in search of brave woman to help on homestead.’

  Well, she didn't know much about farming, but no one would say Kate wasn't brave. She had even taken shooting lessons with her brother and father.

  Crossing her fingers this man would not be a con man or an abuser, she made her way to the counter.

  “Hello Miss Kate, what can I help you with today?” Mr. Gaines, the elderly owner of the newspaper asked. He wore a black vest over his shirt and a pair of old spectacles sat on the bridge of his nose.

  Kate cleared her throat, still embarrassed to be doing this. “I wanted to inquire how I might go about answering an ad.”

  “Hmm, let me see,” he said, pushing up his glasses as he read the ad. “Mail-order bride?” He looked up at Kate. “Does that mean we’re losing you?”

  A heated flush flared across Kate’s face. “Well, there isn't much left for me here with mother and father gone.”

  “Don't you still have a brother?” Mr. Gaines asked kindly.

  Kate nodded. “I do, but Robert just married, and he's trying to get his practice up and running. I would just be in the way.” She didn’t add the fact that his wife Abigail appeared to despise her, and the thought of staying in their house much longer held little appeal.

  “Well, if you're sure,” he said, though the tone of his voice told her he wasn't convinced. He reached below the cabinet and pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil. “Generally, you write the man back and see if it’s a good fit.”

  “Oh,” Kate stammered. She had not realized she would need to reply. “Thank you,” she said taking the paper and pencil. “I will return this shortly.”

  Kate headed back to the corner and sat down at the table, thinking for a moment. She placed the pencil on the paper and scribbled out:

  * * *

  Dear Mr. Easterly,

  My name is Kate Whidby. I am a brave twenty-five-year-old woman with dark hair and blue eyes. I am looking for love and adventure in a new area. I saw your ad in my paper, and although I do not know much about farming, I am a quick study and think I could be the woman you are looking for. Please advise if this is acceptable. I would like to travel as soon as possible.

  Kate Whidby

  * * *

  She folded th
e letter and returned to Mr. Gaines. “Do you have an envelope I could use to send this?”

  Mr. Gaines supplied one from under the counter and handed it to her. Kate quickly jotted her name and address down and sealed the envelope. She held it out to Mr. Gaines, but he shook his head.

  “Take it to the post office. They will send it out and your response will come back through them.”

  “How long do you think it will take to get a reply?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but my guess would be about two weeks.”

  Kate’s jaw dropped open. “Two weeks?”

  Mr. Gaines nodded and scratched the side of his bald head with the back of the pencil. “Yes ma’am, unless you’d like to telegraph it. That costs considerably more though.”

  Kate fingered the few coins she had managed to find in her parent’s bedroom as she was packing up the last items she’d been able to take. No, she had better be frugal and spend only a little.

  “No, two weeks is fine.” Perhaps, she could find a temporary job. It would be nice to have some money for the trip.

  Kate paid the small fee and left with the letter in hand. After a quick stop in the post office to drop it off, she continued on to the mercantile to pick up a few items.

  Once inside the store, she loaded the basket with the necessities—flour, sugar, teas—and then picked up a few pieces of penny candy. Kate felt guilty for imposing on Robert and Abigail by staying with them at their house, especially so early in their marriage, but her parents had rented their house. Kate took care for her parents but had no money to continue the payments after their death, and so she had been forced to give up her home.