Saving Sarah

by Nan Reinhardt

  Emma tugged on her mother’s skirt. “Mommy, Miss Sarah and I ’cided I should call her Grammy Sarah, okay?”

  “If it’s okay with Miss Sarah, it’s fine with me.” Olivia ran her fingers through Emma’s dark hair and straightened her flower tiara.

  “I love it.” Sarah gave the pair an affectionate smile. “Thank you so much for welcoming me so warmly.”

  Olivia stepped forward and pulled Sarah into an embrace. “Thank you. I’ve never seen Dad so happy.”

  “He makes me pretty happy too.” Sarah returned the hug, fighting tears. “Don’t make me cry. I finally got my makeup perfect.”

  “Okay, no crying ’til later.” Olivia touched Sarah’s cheek, then leaned down to Emma. “Kidlet, it’s time to get you ready to walk down the aisle. Where’s your basket of flower petals?”

  “I put it on the chair in the back row so I wouldn’t lose it.” Emma marched to the door, letting in the murmur of voices of the people gathering for the ceremony—a crowd that included everyone from the village who could make it and even the three women who were currently residents of Macy’s Garden Gate. Perry’s booming guffaw and Bertie’s high-pitched answering giggle floated over the other voices, and Sarah couldn’t help smiling. This town had captured her heart. She was finally home.

  As Olivia and Emma left, Julie, Carrie, and Sophie spilled into the room, laughing and oohing and ahhing over Emma’s dark green velvet dress and flower headpiece. Her friends were all dressed alike in deep forest green street-length dresses that they’d fashioned after the velvet cocktail dress Rosemary Clooney had worn in White Christmas. Sarah had fallen in love with the idea, as that was one of her favorite holiday movies, and the gowns had turned out fabulous. “You guys look so amazing!”

  “So do the menfolk,” Carrie said. The guys had chosen black tuxes with dark green brocade vests and bow ties. Their boutonnieres were red roses with holly leaves, adding to the holiday theme of the wedding. “Everybody is Christmasy and gorgeous.”

  “I can’t believe Libby pulled this whole thing off in just two months.” When Sarah shook her head, another tendril of hair slipped from the elegant knot at the base of her neck. “Dammit, my hair keeps pulling out of the bun.”

  “It’s adorable; don’t touch it,” Julie commanded. “Libby says everything’s on target. You ready to do this thing?”

  “I am ready.” Sarah picked up her bouquet and turned to face her friends. She took a deep breath. “I know this is a moment when I should have something profound to say about dear friends and unwavering support and how much you all mean to me.” She blinked. “But you know me. If I start talking, I won’t shut up and I’ll blubber and so will you. We look perfect, so please consider it all said, okay? I love you guys so much. Thank you for…everything.”

  “We love you too, sweetie.” Carrie touched a tissue to the corner of her eye as Sophie sniffed audibly.

  Julie cleared her throat loudly. “For God’s sake, you saps, cut it out. Listen.” She shushed them with one finger to her lips. “Jack’s started playing.”

  Sure enough, when Sarah peeked out, Jack Reilly, Carrie and Liam’s son, who was a remarkable musician, was seated at the electric keyboard he’d set up near the fireplace. The strains of “Jésu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” soared into the open door of the little office. Second time through was the cue, so Carrie started out the door, followed by Sophie, and then Julie, who paused in the doorway to glance back at Sarah, give her a thumbs-up, and mouth the words I’m so proud of you.

  Sarah stepped to the end of the aisle between the rows of white folding chairs that Daniel and Libby had set up for guests. A long red runner extended from where she stood to the broad stone hearth where a fire crackled merrily and white lights twinkled on a huge Douglas fir. The air was redolent with pine, the wood of the fire, and the scent of the candles glowing around the room. The white flower petals that Emma had scattered looked like snow against the deep ruby fabric. Her heart ached a bit that Macy wasn’t part of the wedding party, but she was convinced her daughter’s spirit was present. She’d felt her near more frequently here in Willow Bay than she had in the eight years since her death. Macy would approve; Sarah didn’t have a single doubt.

  She stopped for the briefest of moments as Jack switched from Bach to the opening notes of the old Etta James song that she’d chosen to walk up the aisle to—“At Last.” It was a surprise for Tony, who she had discovered had a passion for old torch singers and music from the forties and fifties. His eyes widened when Skyler Hiatt, the singer whose CD he’d played for her the first night they’d made love, stepped from her seat near Jack’s piano and began to sing in her signature sultry voice. Sarah exchanged a quick smile and wink with Carrie, who’d used her influence with the singer to make her appearance possible.

  Sarah stood still for the first few bars of the old tune, but when Tony met her eyes, offered that inimitable dimpled grin, and crooked one finger, she stepped forward. His expression of sheer delight drew her to him like steel to a magnet as she walked up the aisle between the rows of guests who had all risen in her honor.

  Skyler held the last note as Tony extended one hand to Sarah, meeting her in front of the minister. Her heart pounded as she took his hand, laced her fingers with his, and gazed up at the man who was very nearly her husband. This was right. Anticipation, perfect peace, joy, and hunger for Tony filled her up as the minister began the old words, “Dearly beloved…”

  When he got to the part in the service where he asked, “Who gives this woman to be married to this man?” Sarah laughed out loud with pure pleasure. “I give myself,” she announced firmly.

  Tony didn’t hesitate a second. His “And I give myself,” brought a rumble of laughter from the guests and warmed Sarah right down to her satin pumps. Before she knew it, the minister was pronouncing them husband and wife together and inviting them to kiss to close the ceremony.

  Tony’s eyes shimmered with moisture when he gazed down into her face. “Hello, wife.” His voice was husky.

  Sarah blinked back her own tears and said in a soft voice filled with wonder, “We’re married, Deputy.”

  “You bet your sweet butt we’re married, Susannah Elizabeth Boatwright Sarah Everett Bennett Reynard.”

  And the laughter and applause from the villagers became background music as their lips met and clung.

  Once More From the Top

  What do you do when the one who got away…comes back?

  Carrie Halligan never regretted the choice she made sixteen years ago to raise her son Jack by herself in Willow Bay, Michigan. A successful photographer by day, at night Carrie satisfies her musical passions by playing piano at a hotel bar, maintaining a balance that works for her and Jack. Walking away from Maestro Liam Reilly without telling him she was pregnant with his child may have been the hardest thing she’d ever done, but it was definitely the right thing.

  When Liam shows up in town to perform a benefit concert with the local symphony, however, Carrie’s carefully crafted life spins out of control. After sending Jack to summer camp, she realizes she can’t keep Liam in the dark forever. Telling the truth to the man she once loved more than life itself isn’t near as hard as spending time in his presence and realizing that the years haven’t diminished his power over her heart. Will her lie be too much to get past, or will the spark of passion between them overcome everything?

  You can download Once More From the Top at fine ebook retailers everywhere.

  Sex and the Widow Miles

  His life ended. Hers didn’t.

  Spirited, beautiful, and aging gracefully, Julie Miles was looking forward to retirement with her husband, Dr. Charlie Miles, in their idyllic Willow Bay, Michigan home. But when Charlie dies of a heart attack, simply getting out of bed becomes a daily struggle. Desperate for a change of scene, she leaves her home to stay in her friend Carrie’s unoccupied Chicago apartment.

  Her handsome and young new neighbor, Will Brody, seems to enjoy his
assignment to keep an eye on her, and Jules can’t help but be flattered. She embraces life—and sex—again, until the discovery of a dark secret shatters her world once more. She knows her feelings for Will are more than casual, and he’s made it clear he wants her, but how can she ever trust a man again when her perfect life turned out to be a lie? Determined to get to the bottom of it all, Jules goes in search of the truth and discovers that there’s always a second chance to find real love.

  You can download Sex and the Widow Miles at fine ebook retailers everywhere.

  The Summer of Second Chances

  It’s never too late to start over…

  When Sophie Russo inherits two lakeside cottages in Willow Bay, Michigan, she thinks she can start over with a peaceful, quiet summer. Boy, is she wrong.

  First, there’s Henry Dugan, the nerdy genius behind the GeekSpeak publishing empire, who has rented Sophie’s second cottage so he can write his novel. The instant attraction catches them both off guard. He’s fresh off a brutal divorce, and Sophie’s still grieving her beloved Papa Leo, so this is no time to start a relationship, but a casual summer fling might be an option…

  Then Sophie’s long-lost mother barrels onto the scene and opens up a long-buried mystery involving Depression-era mobsters and a missing cache of gold coins worth millions that some present-day hoodlums would like to get their hands on.

  Suddenly, Sophie’s quiet summer becomes a dangerous dance with her grandfather’s dark past. With Henry at her side–and in her bed–Sophie needs to find a way to make peace with the past and look toward the future… assuming she lives that long.

  You can download The Summer of Second Chances at fine ebook retailers everywhere.

  Nan Reinhardt is a writer of romantic fiction for women in their prime. Yeah, women still fall in love and have sex, even after 45! Imagine! She is also a wife, a mom, a mother-in-law, and a grandmother. She’s been an antiques dealer, a bank teller, a stay-at-home mom, a secretary, and for the last 21 years, she’s earned her living as a freelance copy editor and proofreader.

  But writing is Nan’s first and most enduring passion. She can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t writing—she wrote her first romance novel at the age of ten, a love story between the most sophisticated person she knew at the time, her older sister (who was in high school and had a driver’s license!) and a member of Herman’s Hermits. If you remember who they are, you are Nan’s audience! She’s still writing romance, but now from the viewpoint of a wiser, slightly rumpled, menopausal woman who believes that love never ages, women only grow more interesting, and everybody needs a little sexy romance.

  Visit Nan’s website at www.nanreinhardt.com, where you’ll find links to all her books as well as blogs about writing, being a Baby Boomer, and aging gracefully… mostly. Nan also blogs every Tuesday at Word Wranglers, sharing the spotlight with four other romance authors; she is regular contributor to the RWA Contemporary Romance blog, and is also a regular contributor at the Romance University website, where she blogs as Nan Reinhardt, Copy Editor.