Carly glanced between the two old friends. “But how can you afford it? I know what the place is worth, and it’s more than the three of us put together could afford.”
Dwayne chuckled. “Well, I happened to own a piece of land up north near Tupelo and it keeps spitting out oil. Thelma and I don’t really have anything to spend it all on so we just let it accumulate in the bank. The lodge seemed like a good investment for our future.”
Her hopes began to soar even as she was afraid to believe what she was hearing.
Mack smiled. “What are your plans for the future? Do you need a good manager? Someone who knows the place inside and out?”
“Or maybe an office worker who’s familiar with the business?” Carly held her breath.
“Nope. Not going to need any help in that department, because I’m not keeping the place. I’m selling it.”
Carly’s hopes burst like a party balloon, leaving her confused and hopeless. “Selling it? Why? I mean, who are you going to sell it to?”
“You two.”
“What?”
Mack leaned forward. “Dwayne, you know neither of us has that kind of money.”
Dwayne grinned. “Sure you do. I’ve priced the place real reasonable. I even have the papers being drawn up. Provided you agree to the terms.”
Mack scratched his jaw. “What kind of terms?”
Thelma patted her husband’s shoulder. “Stop teasing.”
“If you’re agreeable, I’ll sell the lodge back to you both for a dollar apiece. My only conditions are that Thelma and I continue to live and work here. Nothing will change, but you both have to stay and run the place. I want my friend’s legacy to continue. Do you think you can do that?”
Carly reached over and took Mack’s hand. “Yes. We can. We both regret allowing the lodge to go to auction.”
“It means working together. Closely.” Dwayne looked at them with a strange expression.
“We know.”
“Your daddy loved you both. He knew what was happening between you, but he didn’t feel it was his place to say so. He figured you’d work it out in time. But then your mama left and, after that, things got complicated. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that Wade set his will up so you two would have to finally deal with all those unresolved issues. Have you?”
Carly exchanged smiles with Mack. “We have. It’s taken us a while, but we finally admitted that—”
“We love each other.”
“And what are you going to do about that?”
“We’re getting married.”
“About time. Well, you can work out the wedding plans later. We have a lot of repairs to make to get this place running again.” He stood and took hold of his wife’s hand. “I’ll let you know when the paperwork is ready.” He winked and closed the door behind him.
Carly shook her head. “I can’t believe this. I thought the lodge was lost forever and now...”
Mack stood and pulled her close. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. “It’s ours. We can stay here and raise the girls and make the lodge everything we dreamed it could be.”
He kissed her. “Our dreams are finally coming true.”
Epilogue
Three months later
Carly slipped out of the dining room of the lodge and moved to the railing on the deck, inhaling the sweet scent of pine made sweeter by knowing the campgrounds were in the family once again. Her heart overflowed with love and gratitude, and she offered up a thankful prayer to the Lord.
Today had been the wedding of her dreams. She and Mack had exchanged their vows in the outdoor worship center. The day had been everything she’d imagined. She’d walked down the aisle behind Ella and Lucy as her flower girls. They’d looked adorable in matching white dresses with light blue sashes and sprigs of flowers in their hair. Ashley had served as her maid of honor, and Dwayne had stood up for Mack.
Her mother and stepfather had attended. Things between her and her mother weren’t perfect, but they were making progress.
A wreath of white roses hung on the large wooden cross at the pulpit. Two white wheelbarrows filled with white flowers stood behind. Dozens of hanging baskets with white flowers hung from the trees. The guests had been seated on comfy white cushions.
The reception was held in the lodge dining room and Thelma had outdone herself with the decorations. Carly heard the lodge door open and smiled as she saw her new husband coming toward her. He looked impressive in his tux, even more so than his uniform. He stood behind her, slipping his arms around her waist. “Are you hiding out here or just enjoying the fresh air?”
“A little of both. I wanted to soak in the happiness. It’s almost more than I can bear.”
“I have to admit I want to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.” He kissed her temple. “Was the wedding everything you hoped? Even the wheelbarrows?”
She giggled and nudged him with her elbow. “Yes, even the wheelbarrows.”
“I have to admit, Mrs. Bridges, they looked better than I expected.”
Carly snuggled against him.
The door opened again, and Lucy and Ella hurried toward them, the two puppies, wearing fancy bows around their necks, trotting alongside.
“Daddy Mack, now that you’re married, does this mean Ella and I are sisters?”
Mack nodded. “I suppose it does. You’re sisters by love.”
The girls exchanged squeals and held hands.
Ella looked up at Mack. “Can I call you Daddy now?”
Mack hugged the girl to his side. “You can call me whatever you like because I love you both. And I love your mother. We’re going to be the best family ever.”
Lucy looked up at Carly. “Can I call you Mama?”
She exchanged a look with Mack. “Is that what you’d like to call me?”
She nodded. “I asked my mom and she said she didn’t mind ’cause it’s a blessing to have two mamas that love me.”
Carly hugged her close. “I’d be very happy for you to call me Mama.”
Ella turned to Lucy. “Maybe we can call Miss Thelma and Mr. Dwayne Grandma and Grandpa now. Let’s go ask.”
They darted off, the doggies scampering close behind.
Mack slipped his arm around Carly. “I think we have us a very unconventional family here, my love. A dad who is really an uncle, sisters who aren’t related, a stepmom who is more like a mom and two good friends who have been elevated to grandparents.”
Carly looked out at the lake she’d loved all her life. “I feel so blessed I think my heart will explode. I’m in awe of how the Lord worked this all out. I didn’t see any solution to the lodge or us, and now we’re looking at a bright new future.”
Mack kissed her temple. “Your dad used to tell me that no matter the size of the problem, love was always the answer.”
She smiled up at her husband. “I think my dad was a very wise man.”
* * *
If you loved this tale of sweet romance,
pick up the other books
in the Mississippi Hearts series
from author Lorraine Beatty.
Her Fresh Start Family
Their Family Legacy
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Keep reading for an excerpt from The Marriage Bargain by Stephanie Dees.
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Dear Reader,
Welcome back to Hastings, Mississippi, and the ladies of the widow’s walk group. I hope you’re enjoying reading about the widows learning to love again after loss. I have a lot of admiration for the wo
men who are courageous and carry on. Carly is one such woman. Life has given her many challenges and she’s strived to rise to the cause. But many of her issues are things she needs to confront.
The words of one of my favorite hymns kept repeating in my mind as I wrote this book. “Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
Have you ever taken something at face value because you didn’t want to know the truth? Had you sided with someone because you were loyal, never asking what actually happened or because you were unwilling to accept that the person you cared about would shift the facts?
Mack and Carly learned the hard way how much jumping to conclusions can distort a relationship far into the future.
Sometimes we have to stop and face the truth, ask the hard questions and stop accepting the standard explanation. It was only when Carly and Mack let go of the old notions and half-truths, and allowed the Lord to shine a light on the truth, that they were they able to put the past behind them and embrace the future they were supposed to have.
I hope you’ll enjoy their journey as they travel the winding road to their happily-ever-after.
I love to hear from my readers. Contact me on my website or through Love Inspired books or directly at [email protected].
Blessings,
Lorraine
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The Marriage Bargain
by Stephanie Dees
Chapter One
Cameron Quinn looked around the tiny town of Red Hill Springs. Big pots of pansies, twinkle lights in the trees lining the street... Apparently the basketball team at the local high school was doing well this year—the storefronts were full of team spirit. It had charm, he guessed, if you were a person who liked that down-home kind of stuff.
He wasn’t.
Cam shrugged into his sport coat, slid his sunglasses into the pocket and started across the street. If the Hilltop Café was still the center of gossip in this small town, he’d know soon enough where to find his mother. He nearly choked on the word. She’d lost the right to be called that a long time ago.
Bells jingled on the glass door as he pushed it open. Same brass bell, same clanking melody, the childhood memory surprising him with its intensity. Or maybe it was the aroma of fresh pancakes and coffee on the burner that had him instantly back in middle school, a broom in one hand, a doughnut clenched in the other.
He stepped up to the counter, nudged aside the drape of tinsel someone forgot to take down after Christmas and took a stool. In seconds a glass of water was sweating in front of him and Ms. Bertie was greeting him with a smile. “What can I get started for you, hon?”
She had to be a grandma by now, but she hadn’t changed a bit from the days he’d come in after school for a Coke before riding his bicycle home. On the best days, she’d asked him to sweep the sidewalk in front of the café and paid him in pastries. Her small kindness had meant something to a boy nobody wanted. He drew in a breath, the onslaught of memories harder than he’d expected.
“Just some information, if you have it. I’m looking for Vicky Porter. She lives here in town. Or at least she did.”
Bertie Sheehan slapped the order pad down and rounded the counter to drag him off his stool by the elbow. “Cameron Quinn? Is that you?” She wrapped him in a hug before pushing him back to study his face. “Oh, my goodness, it’s been so long. And it’s so good to see you.”
He grinned. “Thanks, Ms. Bertie. It’s good to see you, too. I wasn’t sure you’d remember me.”
“I never forget the good ones.” She nudged him gently back into place on the stool and climbed onto the one beside him. “Mickey, get me a burger and fries,” she called into the pass-through. “I did not expect you to come walking through my door today.”
“Me, neither, to be honest. But, Ms. Bertie, I’m really not hungry. I just need to find my... I need to find Vicky. It’s important. Do you know where she lives?”
Bertie nodded slowly. “She manages a trailer park about six miles out. Her place is the first one on the right as you go in. But, Cam—”
“Thanks, Ms. Bertie. I owe you one.” He slid a twenty onto the counter.
She gripped his wrist. “Cameron, listen to me. Your mom’s not doing so well since she broke up with Jerry. And your sister’s death... Well, it hit all of us hard.”
He didn’t want to hear about how bad things were for his mom. He wasn’t here for her. “I’m not— I don’t— Ms. Bertie, where are Glory’s girls?”
“Oh, so that’s what finally brought you home.” She rocked back on her stool with a knowing, somewhat relieved smile. “You don’t have to worry. They’re not with Vicky. They live with Jules.”
The blank look on his face must’ve given him away because she laughed and pointed to an old photo on the wall of herself with her kids. “Jules—Juliet—my youngest. She and Glory were inseparable from the moment they met in nursery school. Those two were more like sisters than friends.”
A vague memory surfaced of two little girls giggling in one of the back booths here at the Hilltop. “I need to see them.”
“Jules lives at the old Parker place now, just past the Springs church.”
“Thank you.” The knot that had been building in his chest since he first heard about the car accident that killed his sister and her husband eased, just a little, knowing the girls were safe. He leaned forward and kissed Bertie on the cheek. “I mean it—thank you.”
The cook came out of the kitchen door with a white container. “Figured you might need this to-go.”
“Take it, Cameron,” Bertie ordered, in her just-try-to-argue tone. “You look a little skinny.”
Cam took the box. For years, he’d imagined that there was no one in the world who cared whether he lived or died, but he was wrong. Here was one.
The curvy road out of town was familiar and it was pretty, with pine trees sending long shadows over the pavement and bright yellow wildflowers crowding the shoulders. He noted it, like he did everything, but he didn’t see it, not really.
Instead, he was in the front yard of the shabby little house where he and his baby sister, Glory, had lived with their mom and stepfather. She’d been six, a petite fireball of a kid missing her two front teeth.
That day, he’d tossed her into the air like he had since she was a toddler and she’d giggled before clinging to his neck. He still remembered how she smelled like cotton candy when she’d lisped into his ear, “Please don’t go, Cam.”
He was nine years older than Glory—the two of them had different fathers—and when their mother married again, he’d been fourteen. He’d stuck around for another year, until his new stepfather had kicked him out.
Glory at six years
old was the carbon copy of their mom. Cam was a tall, muscular teenager who, with the exception of his green eyes, looked like his dad, dark skin and all. And it was his skin color, Cam figured, that his stepfather couldn’t live with.
His mom had walked to the door with a defeated expression. He’d waited a horrible long minute—wanting her to stop him, waiting for her to say she didn’t want him to go—before he’d gently set Glory on her feet and walked away without looking back.
He’d returned only once, when Glory graduated high school, but his stepfather threatened to kill him if he ever came near them again. He never did, but that didn’t mean he forgot about his baby sister.
Now Glory was gone and Cam had done the one thing he’d sworn he’d never do—come back to the small town where he grew up. Because when Glory died, she’d left two little girls behind, and he was here for them. He might’ve been a powerless, penniless kid when he left Red Hill Springs, but he was far from that now.
He turned onto the dirt road that led to the Parker place. Cam wasn’t sure what he expected, but the house that he remembered as a sagging pit was the bright white centerpiece to a pristine yard with a black minivan parked in the driveway.
When he got out of the car, the sun had disappeared behind the trees and a chill bloomed in the air. Decades-old camellia bushes with candy-colored blossoms flanked the stairs. A light clicked on in the house. He’d come so far to see them and now nerves jittered in his stomach.
He cleared his throat and knocked.
He waited. And waited, shoving his hands in his pockets and turning to look back at the highway, until the door slowly opened to reveal a pint-size version of his sister, wearing a pink nightgown and sucking her thumb. He lost his breath.
Her big green eyes studied him. “I’m Eleanor.”
“Hi.” Cam smiled at his niece, but inside he was reeling.
“Eleanor Prentiss, what did I tell you about opening the door without a grown-up?”
Cam looked up as a woman walked into view. Her blond hair was piled into a loose knot on top of her head and she carried a baby wrapped in a towel. Brilliant blue eyes locked on his and her feet stuttered to a stop, along with his heart.
Their Family Blessing Page 18
