Safe in His Arms
Page 7
Laughing, she made her way to the front of the group. “Well, I guess I’ll go with the crowd favorite and call this week’s winner the Penguin!”
The crowd cheered and the penguin waddled up to the microphone. She laughed at the antics as he waddled in circles around her. Whoever was in the costume was clearly enjoying themselves. The full-bodied costume hid the person inside completely, so it could have been any one, but there was only one person she truly wished to see.
The penguin waddled over to her and stopping in front of her, raised his flippers and tilted the head of the costume back. There, in front of the entire town, stood the only man she’d ever loved.
***
“Mike,” she whispered. The crowed cheers became even louder and a few people started yelling for him to kiss her. Mike looked at the crowd and winked.
He gave her a few moments to take it all in, then he flapped his flippers to quiet the crowd.
“Jenna, according to Alice’s letter, there are some male penguins that, when they fall in love with a female penguin, will scour the beach, searching for the perfect pebble to present to her as a token of his true love. If the female penguin accepts the pebble, she takes the pebble and the male penguin back to her nest, where they live happily ever after.”
A chorus of “oh, that’s so sweet” broke out from several women in the crowd.
“I’ve spent years searching for the right nest instead of the perfect pebble to offer you. What I didn’t realize is that you already have the right nest,” he paused and looked around the citizens of St. Helena, and taking a deep breath, plunged on. “So, I’m just a guy, in a six-foot penguin outfit, standing in front of the woman he loves, asking her if she will accept this pebble.” Mike pulled a baby blue box out of his flipper and dropped to his knees in front of her.
Jenna’s eyes shone with love and tears, but she didn’t reach for the box. His heart sank like a stone in the ocean. “You don’t like living in small towns. And, you just got a promotion and new job in Washington, DC.”
And just like that, his heart grew wings and flew. She hadn’t said she didn’t love him and she hadn’t said no. Once again he looked around to all the people who had supported her for so long. This time when he spoke, his words were as much for them as they were for her.
“I love that everyone in this town came together to help you when you needed it. This town is the reason you didn’t lose yourself in the anger. You always have their support and love. I’ve never found that in any place I’ve lived. Not Los Angeles, Washington, DC, or anywhere else. Just here. And, I love this town because it’s where you are.”
This time she did reach out, but not for the ring. She reached out for him and found herself safe in his arms.
The End
Acknowledgements
Thank you, Marina Adair, for your friendship, love, and support. Your kindness and generosity are an inspiration to us all. I’m honored to be a part of the St. Helena world you have created. Thanks for taking a chance on a new author.
A huge bouquet of gratitude to the amazing and supportive St. Helena Vineyard Kindle World authors: Donna Alward, Kate Allure, Grace Conley, Kelsey Browning, Mollie Cox Bryan, TM Cromer, Jen Doyle, Pamela Gibson, Sharon Hamilton, Cary Hart, Deb McNaught, MK Meredith, Kelly Moran, KT Roberts, Jill Sanders, Stephanie St. Klaire, and Reina Torres!
A special thanks to the talented Reina Torres for the beautiful cover. Thanks for turning my ideas into reality!
Thank you to my fellow Silicon Valley RWA sisters and brothers. What a wonderful, crazy bunch of writers you are. I’ve learned so much from all of you. I look forward to many more meetings in libraries, coffee shops, and around the fire pits.
To my sister-in-law, Lori, thanks for the late night phone calls. Your support and encouragement kept me going. Yes, I finally finished it – let’s go celebrate!
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Acknowledgements