by Lyn Cote
Cash spoke first, “Jane, I—”
“Cash,” Henry called. “Help me get this parking meter out of here. How did this thing get in here, anyway?”
Cash grimaced, but stepped back to let Jane pass in front of him.
She watched her uncle and Cash hefting the pole which had pierced the window. Tish helped direct the two men as they carried it out to the alley and laid it down.
“Sweetheart!” Jane’s mother called to her.
Jane looked up to see her mother hurrying in with Angie in her arms. Close behind her came Phil and Lucy.
Jane met them and scooped up the baby. “Angie, sweetheart.” She spun around hugging Angie while she crooned all her love to the plump little girl. Jane’s family surrounded her, capturing her in a group hug. Tish and Henry joined the cluster, and kisses began. There was a crescendo of half-asked questions, answers and endearments.
* * *
Cash watched and felt his throat tighten with emotion. Staring at the floor, he stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
Lucy looked up. “Cash!” She swooped to him, gathering him to her breast. The swarm of Everetts followed Lucy. Marge embraced Cash, and Phil thumped his back.
Cash grinned, slightly abashed.
Finally Lucy exclaimed, “Everything’s ruined, Jane! Your lovely shop!”
“Everything’s not ruined, but it is a mess,” Jane agreed. “But now that you’re all here and Aunt Estelle’s going to be all right...everything’s really okay.” Jane shrugged, then kissed Angie’s nose.
* * *
Cash approached Jane and put his arm around Angie, grazing Jane’s arm. She shivered at his touch. Being near him without giving in to the desire to throw her arms around him tortured her. She moved away from him.
Tish answered Angie’s greeting and as always gave the little girl an Eskimo kiss. Then Henry quietly brought everyone up-to-date on Estelle’s condition.
Marge nodded. “We’ll go to see her this afternoon. We wanted to help Jane get started here.”
Phil scanned the room. “Looks like we’ve got a lot of work.”
Lucy pantomimed looking into a crystal ball. In a mysterious voice she said, “I see a sale in Jane’s future. Jane’s Super-Dooper Wash and Wear Clearance Sale.” Everyone chuckled.
Suddenly feeling fatigued, Jane sat down on a nearby stool with Angie in her lap.
Henry spoke up, “Only a half mile from here one twister touched down along Highway 51 for about a mile, and a second one destroyed a swath along Bass Lake’s southern shore. We were so fortunate neither of the two touched down in a populated area.” A sober stillness settled over them.
“Thank you, Lord,” Lucy said softly.
* * *
Cash recalled yesterday’s stark terror when he thought he and Angie might have lost Jane forever. He’d bungled his first proposal to Jane and hadn’t done much better since. She deserved the best and he’d begin by giving her a proposal of marriage.
He stepped closer to her and, so he could see her eye to eye, knelt on one knee. “Jane?” he said, his voice sounding gruff to himself. “Will you marry me, Jane Everett? I love you. I can’t stand the thought of living without you. I’ve tried to think of ways to convince you—”
“Cash, dear boy, just kiss her,” Lucy said.
He looked into Jane’s eyes. “May I kiss you?”
* * *
Jane felt a thrill go through her. “Please.” Leaning forward, she let her lips meet his.
He pulled back an inch. “Will you marry me, Jane?”
She smiled almost shyly. “Yes.”
They kissed again. The Everetts all beamed at the couple. Pressed snugly between Cash and Jane, Angie clapped her hands and squealed with joy.
Epilogue
Late spring, nearly two years later
The blue Jeep drove up the final rise smoothly. Jane stepped out first and turned toward the back seat.
Cash waved her away and came over to her side. He reached back to the rear seat and undid the hooks of the two car seats. Angie scrambled out under her own steam, but Cash swung their year-old baby, Storme, up into his arms. Storme grinned around her pacifier at him.
Angie rushed toward the crest of the gentle rise, but Jane caught the little girl’s hand and slowed her to a walk. Angie and Jane mounted the slope while Cash and Storme brought up the rear. At the top they stopped to take in the view.
Held securely in her father’s arms, Storme spit out her pacifier and twisted, trying to look everywhere at once. Then she patted her daddy’s chin. He responded by rubbing his face in her belly. After giggling appreciatively over this, she found the pink ribbon that attached her pacifier to her powder blue blouse. With her tiny hand, she lifted the pacifier, sucked it into her mouth. Then she rested her head on her father’s shoulder.
Cash swept his free arm eastward. “This will be the view from your kitchen window—east to catch the morning sun.”
Jane studied the expanse of the pine and birch forest that she would look at every morning after their house was built.
Cash continued, “I’m putting the great room and screened-in porch on the lake side as we agreed—”
“Mama.” Angie stretched her arms up to Jane who lifted the three-year-old and held her close.
Cash put his free arm around his wife’s shoulders. They stood, side by side with their daughters facing Lake Elizabeth. Beneath them, on gentle rises up from the lake, other homes were in the process of being built.
“I can’t believe we’re ready to break ground,” Cash murmured.
Jane smiled at him. Then, still holding Angie, she turned toward him and rested her head on her husband’s chest, almost eye-to-eye with Storme. Cash and Jane continued standing silently, listening to Storme’s rhythmic sucking.
Angie squirmed restlessly, and Jane set the little girl down. Cash and Jane trailed Angie as she walked forward a few feet to a patch of wild daisies. Angie began picking the yellow-and-white tops off of each tall stem. Jane soaked in the sun’s warmth, the buzz of the boats on the water and the steady beat of nails being hammered into wood.
Smiling with satisfaction, Cash closed his eyes. Storme reached up and touched her father’s chin again. Without opening his eyes, he kissed the small, open palm. “We’re so blessed. God has been so good.” He sighed deeply and kissed the top of Jane’s head. “I love you.”
Jane nodded her head against him. “Love you, too,” she whispered.
“Love you, three,” he whispered in return.
* * *
Dear Reader,
This is the last book in my “Opposites Attract” series. When I finished the third book, my heroine Annie said—“What about my cousin Jane? Doesn’t she get a hero?” So I caved as Jane’s unique dress shop in a little tourist town in the northwoods appealed to me too.
Thanks for picking up my book! I believe being able to write fiction is a wonderful gift from God. And writing romance is a special treat for me. God so often uses our conflicts with others to change our hearts, especially as a man and woman work out their differences, marry and establish a new home. Cash didn’t know he was incomplete and lost. Jane thought her love for Cash was hopeless. But as it is written, “a little child shall lead them,” little Angie drew them together, and in the end a new family was born. Cash will never be alone again. His sister’s last wish for him was fulfilled.
This novel is close to my heart. Several years ago I lost one of my special friends, a former college roommate, to cancer. As I wrote about Jane’s grieving over Dena, I was able to work through my own deep sorrow and sense of loss. I named baby Angie after my friend. I know I will see my friend Angie again. But for now, this book is a tribute to her vivacious, loving spirit and a testament to God’s unfailing love in the most difficult of circumstances.
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I hope you've enjoyed Cash and Jane's story, a story of “Opposites Attract.” If you’ve enjoyed this story, please consider posti
ng a review online to help other readers decide whether they’d like to read it too.
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If you’d like to download my free contemporary short story collection, titled, “Two Seasons of Romance, click here, https://dl.bookfunnel.com/xt4jx5afi8 NOT FOR SALE ANYWHERE
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Finally if you haven’t downloaded it yet, my “Northern Intrigue” series begins with which is free. Here’s the link to learn more.
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author, Lyn Cote has written over 45 books. A Romance Writers of America RITA finalist and an American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award winner, Lyn writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense and historical novels. No matter which kind of story, her brand “Strong Women, Brave Stories” comes through. Her most recent achievement is being added to Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll for bestselling authors. Visit her website/blog at http://www.LynCote.com and find her on Facebook, GoodReads and Twitter.
Also by Lyn Cote
If you haven’t read all of them, these are the titles in the “Opposites Attract” series:
Only Your Heart, Book 1
The Heart Hopes, Book 2
Two Hearts Denied, Book 3
A Heart of Stone, Book 4
To purchase or learn more, click here.
