“How did you know about the garage? The stuff we found in there is what creates lifelong nightmares,” Virgil mumbled.
“Yeah, Rick’s dad used it. I knew that’s where the truck used to be kept. I don’t know anything else,” Evan told him, looking down to tend the fire on the grill.
Evan was done with the conversation, and Virgil had no more to say about it either. It worked better that way for them both, and music began to play in the background. Leta wasn’t a rock and roll fan but the music her husband enjoyed was more pop-rock and leaned more towards the 80s hair bands versus the hard rock stuff, which didn’t totally make her want to gouge her eyes out with a sharp pencil.
At sixty-thirty on the dot, Rufus Nickerson arrived with his wife Mai Ahn, a Korean woman, short in stature but big on personality. Rufus brought up the subject of working together on a few cases he had which needed to be settled. Leta in turn began to talk to Mai Ahn about her puzzle business idea.
“Leta, you’re not planning to help us with the insurance claims that have to be settled?” Rufus asked, concerned that a good thing was getting away.
“Probably not. Too early to tell. I have several ideas in my head, but right now, I have to get the food out so people can eat. We’ll talk about it on another day,” she told him looking at his wife. Leta asked Mai to come inside and lend a hand. Mai entered the kitchen asking what she could do, and Leta put her to work. Five minutes later, Leta heard sniffling.
“Mai is everything okay?” Leta asked.
“We have lived here for two years and have never been invited anywhere. You welcomed me and put me to work, just like my family,” Mai said. “I am very happy.”
“Don’t get too happy because I need some sweet tea and a green salad made. Can you help with that?” Leta inquired.
“Yes, very happy to lend a hand,” Mai Ahn said, grabbing vegetables from the fridge and setting to work. “I’m interested to hear about your business idea as well. If you need a partner, I’m willing to invest.”
The woman was crying again when Leta told her she didn’t need the money for investment but welcomed instead her friendship.
It didn’t seem like much to Leta, but to Mai, it was the welcome feeling of belonging to a group finally which made her heart sing. The winters were long in New Hampshire and for two seasons Mai had struggled with depression from the lack of friends. Maybe with Leta, she could have gal pals and a social life instead of being locked home alone. Her smile continued as more people arrived and Leta introduced Mai to the newcomers as if they had known each other a lifetime.
Donnie and Marisa arrived next, followed by Anderson and Lilith Eaton, who were both shocked and surprised by both the number of people present and the house. Evan barely had time to ask Leta to come out to greet his parents when another vehicle arrived, this time with an African American couple. His in-laws had made it in.
The rock and roll music which blared in the background was a shocker for Rashell Feldman, and she slowly opened the car door to look around the yard and the mismatched house of old and new slapped together. A large white male, working the grill waved at her in a motion to come on over.
“Larone, are we at the right address?” Rashell asked.
“Looks like it, or a man who looks just like our son just came out the front door,” Larone said, cutting the engine and opening his own door. He took his wife’s hand and walked over to Evan. “Good evening.”
“Welcome, Mr. & Mrs. Feldman. I’m Evan,” he said, “and these are my parents, Anderson and Lilith Eaton. How do you like your steak?”
“Medium for me,” Larone said, not sure what to make of the casualness of the man he would call son-in-law.
“Medium well for me, please,” Rashell added, staring at the large white man.
“Coming right up,” Evan said, looking over his shoulder, “Trevor! Trevor! Hey, can you come to get the parents settled in their rooms?”
Lilith’s eyes grew wide as did Rashell’s, and they both said at the same time, “We can get a hotel room.”
“Nonsense. My wife had me buy a half of a house to make sure anytime you guys wanted to come to visit, you had a place to sleep. Those guys who married up the houses worked hard all week to connect two different styles and we’re working on it still, but there are now three bathrooms in that house,” Evan said with pride, flipping meat and yelling again. “Leta! Leta! The parents are here.”
Leta came out the door carrying a bowl of salad, not looking down to where her husband stood. He’d been in the cognac with Trevor and she would be lucky if any of those steaks turned out right. Her feet were bare, the tee-shirt covered in bar-b-que sauce hung off one shoulder, and the jeans bagged a bit in the seat. She looked up to see his parents, then spotted her own. Not thinking about her shoeless state, she bounded down the stairs to greet both sets.
“Daddy! Mom,” she said, hugging each and then turned to Evan’s parents. “Daddy! Mom!”
Lilith met her with a warm smile, accepting the cordial embrace. Leta was in production mode, and the stage was set, the actors had all arrived, and as far as she was concerned it was showtime. She put on her best smile, opened the curtains, and brought up the house lights.
“Soon as those steaks are done, you can eat. If you want a name tag, there are some over there,” she said, calling for Sandra, who popped up at her side.
“Hi, I’m Sandra. I’m Leta’s BFF,” she said. “The name tags are optional, but the liquor is flowing so by nine, I may not know my own name, so here we go. Can you spell that first name for me please?”
“Rashell, R.A.S.H.E.L.L.,” Leta’s mother told the wide-hipped lady. Before she had time to open her mouth to make a comment, Larone’s eyes went to the lake.
“Well bless my soul, look at that,” he said, placing his hands on his hips.
“Daddy, we can go fishing in the morning if you want to,” Trevor said giving his father the nod that he’d spoken with Leta’s new man. Larone nodded back understanding that he didn't need to punch the new husband in the throat. Trevor continued speaking to his father, “There is lake trout, yellow perch, rainbow trout, and largemouth bass.”
“Really? Evan, is that possible?” Larone asked.
“Sure is...Sir. I’m not sure what to call you, but maybe Dad at this early point feels off, plus I don’t know how you feel about that title coming from a man you didn’t know existed until a few days ago. I love her. I’m going to do right by her and our children will grow up here, so for right now I’m going to go with Sir,” Evan said smiling at him sheepishly. “I also have canoes, a small motorboat, a skiff, and water skis and jet skis if you’re interested. However, if you’re drinking, you can’t get on the lake.”
The conversation continued between the two men as Rashell leaned over to whisper in her daughter’s ear. “Why are you out here barefoot? Where are your shoes?”
Leta was past the prim and properness of her mother’s watchful care. She was having a new start to her life and her mother was not about to rain on her parade. Those days were over. She planned to be happy and live life on her terms and by the rules she and Evan set for themselves, no one else. Leta opened her mouth and spoke the words into existence.
“Mom, I’m barefoot and more than likely pregnant. It’s been a helluva week, ain’t that right Evan...up high!” she said raising her hand for a high five which he returned. “I have no idea how any of this is going to turn out, but Evan and I are invested in a future together. These are our friends, and my life is here. Virgil, can you bring my Dad a cold beer?”
“On it doggone it!” Virgil called back bringing one for both parental figures. He brought cans of lemonade for the mothers.
Larone wiped a tear away from his eye, looking at the daughter who was always sure before she stepped a foot onto any turf, and today she stood barefoot, hands on her hips, and her hair askew, and she glowed. His daughter was happy and that was enough for him. He watched her closely, not knowing what to say and
she answered for him.
“I know this may sound cliché, but Daddy I love him and plan to fill that house with children,” she said, leaning into her father. “No, I didn’t do any of this the right way, but I did it in a way that felt right to me. It feels right to Evan and we’re happy.”
Larone and Anderson looked at Evan, who flipped the steaks and looked up. He offered a sheepish smile and the glassiness in his eyes indicated he’d potentially had too much to drink. His father seemed to have a question on his face, which Evan answered simply.
“I’m good. I also got a big daddy chair and a special table to hold my beer,” Evan said. “Our babies are going to be smart like their Mama and handy like their Daddy. I’ve been laughing and smiling all week. We have friends over and I’m grilling meat and fish. I’m good.”
He smiled, a smile so wide, so brilliant, and so dazzling that Lilith Eaton began to cry. She sobbed loudly at the joy on her son’s face. The house was brightly lit and friends were about. Her body wracked with heavy tears, and Evan didn’t move. Because he didn’t move, neither did Anderson, but it was Leta who took the lead.
“Lilith, Mom, come inside, let me show you where we will raise your grandchildren,” Leta said, placing her hand in each woman’s. “I have some other ideas for the house and the nursery, which I hope you both will help with, along with Sandra and Mai. That’s Mai. Say hey, Mai.”
“Hey, Mai!” she called back, opening the door as the women walked inside. “Sweet tea is done. What’s next?”
“Pretty soon we are going to eat, and after that, all the women are going to walk down to the dock with me and hang our feet in the water and be thankful for the day,” Leta said. “I made some fresh cider donuts and we’re going to make maple sundaes and cider donuts for desserts. You are going to love the recipe. I think I’ve perfected it.”
“Stop! Just stop it right now,” Rashell demanded. “How in the hell did you end up in New Hampshire married to a white man, and where did you find a half of a house? Also, I heard the police officer mention you were in a car accident yesterday. Plus you got married without me helping to plan the wedding or your father to walk you down the aisle, the members of the Cotillion, the Georgia Bar Association and your brother as your husband’s best man. I feel so robbed. How could you do this to me? You have some explaining to do, young lady.”
It was the same dance she’d done with her mother for the majority of her life. Living in New Hampshire was a blessing, in more ways than one. Rashell Feldman loved being the toast of the town but Leta, preferred to leave town and simply eat the toast with a cup of tea. She was fine where she stood. She was stronger for where she landed. Finally, free of Claudia and the control of her mother, she exhaled a breath of relief.
“Mom, I was going to wait until after dinner and tell everybody at the same time about this past week, but if you insist and knowing right now, then fine,” Leta said, exhaling loudly. “About a year ago, Evan started writing my former gal pal Claudia who signed up to be a mail-order bride....”
-The End-
Meet Olivia Gaines
OLIVIA IS A USA TODAY Best Selling and multiple award-winning author who loves a good laugh coupled with some steam, mixed in with a man and woman finding their way past the words of “I love you.” An author of contemporary romances, she writes heartwarming stories of blossoming relationships about couples not only falling in love but building a life after the sensual love scene.
When Olivia is not writing, she enjoys quilting, playing Scrabble online against other word lovers and spending time with her family. She is an avid world traveler who writes many of the locations into her stories. Most of the time she can be found sitting quietly with pen and paper plotting more adventures in love.
Olivia lives in Hephzibah, Georgia with her husband, son, grandson and snotty evil cat, Katness Evermean.
Learn more about her books, upcoming releases and join her bibliophile nation at www.ogaines.com
Subscribe to her email list at http://eepurl.com/OulYf
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/olivia.gaines.31
Twitter: https://twitter.com/oliviagaines
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A Note on the Modern Mail Order Brides ™
The Modern Mail Order Bride Series ™ is a fun series about sophisticated city women, tiring the rigamarole of a fast life, opting to slow it down and get back to nature. Most of the time, it is with hilarious results.
The men are doers, handy with their hands. They life off the land and most times off the grid, but they can bring home dinner even if they have to catch it themselves.
One thing I love most about the series is naming each book.
Initially when I started out, I played around with a few things like North to Alaska, Wyoming Nights, Oregon Trails, using the play on words with historical references or local colloquialisms. As I get further into the series, I’m visiting more states or in some cases, revisiting a state to find the bread and butter of what goes on the dinner table. In this case, cider donuts and maple sundaes are the go-to dessert choice for New Englander’s during apple harvest and cider making season.
I’m truly looking forward to our next journeys as we stay in the New England area before heading back west.
Stay tuned for more fun. No set release dates as of yet.
Book Club Questions:
1. Did you see a transformation in Evan as the story developed?
2. Why do you think Leta was hesitant to tell Claudia the truth?
3. You could almost feel Trevor liking Evan, but did you understand why?
4. Evan loved the lake. What did the lake represent to Evan in this story?
5. There was a small change in Leta as the story progressed as well. Did you notice? If so, what did you think brought about the change?
Watch the book trailer here.
Download the song Loving You by Eleventhe Hour here.
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Did you love Maple Sundaes & CIder Donuts? Then you should read Bleu, Grass, Bourbon by Olivia Gaines!
The matchmaking, mail order bride lady set them up on a date with free tickets to a Vegas show. A reckless passionate night, a few sleepovers and fast forward three months later, Isiah Neary wasn't surprised by the phone call from DeShondra Leman.He knew it was coming.He expected it.Isiah just didn't expect it to be so much damned fun.
Fall in love with DeShondra and Isiah, a man known as Bleu, with a fixation on perfect grass and a great glass of Bourbon as we close out the Neary Saga. Bleu, grass, bourbon, but there is so much more to this man as DeShondra finds out.
Read more at Olivia Gaines’s site.
Maple Sundaes & CIder Donuts Page 20