“Yes, there is.”
“What?”
“You. I love you.”
“But—”
He cupped his hand behind her neck and tugged her toward him. He settled his mouth on hers while wrapping his arms around her and pressing her against him. She wanted to resist but couldn’t. She embraced him and thought for a few seconds she would relish his lips on hers, then she would end it. Go on with her life.
But seconds evolved into a minute, and the kiss deepened, pulling to the surface all the needs she had suppressed since Robbie had left her. Her emotions poured into her response to him. She couldn’t hide her feelings for him any longer.
“I love you, Cody, but I want you to be happy doing what you need to do.”
He leaned back, framing her face. A blue fire smoldered in his eyes. “I am. All I wanted to do was help others, but I got locked into the same pattern I had been doing my whole life. I thought God wanted me to travel from disaster to disaster doing what I could, but that was my guilt speaking. I thought if I did, it would make up for my mother dying in the tornado because of me. Until lately, I haven’t been able to forgive myself for doing something childish when I was a child. Now I realize we can’t control certain circumstances. When things happen beyond our control, we need to acknowledge that, not dump guilt on ourselves.”
She clasped his hands, the warmth of his palms searing his mark on her. Forever.
“I won’t abandon you, Maggie. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have a family. I want to enjoy being with my nephews and sister. And if I can help people in this area along the way, then I’ll be blessed.”
Her love swelled into her throat, tearing her eyes. She swallowed several times before she managed to say, “That is the most beautiful thing a person has said to me.”
His mouth stretched into a smile. “Good. Because you’ll hear it a lot. I’ve held back my emotions for so long. Now all I want to do is pour them out.”
She traced his lips. “I’m thinking it might take you a while to get use to expressing your feelings, but I’m patient.”
The dim light of dusk blanketed the beach. Cody slung his arm around her and plastered her against his side. “This is one of the things I enjoy about Hope. The beach at sunrise and sunset.”
She cushioned her head on his shoulder. “I know Brady will be happy you’re staying. Ruth and Uncle Keith, too.”
“Speaking of Keith, what are you going to do about your father? Keith has a point. You have to deal with him and the situation. As I said, avoiding it won’t work in the end.”
“I know what I have to do.”
“Forgive him?”
“Yes. If I want to be free, I have to. Carrying this anger around inside me is only harming me in the long run. I’m not going to keep doing it.”
“What if he moves back here? Wants to be a part of your life? Brady’s?”
“I’ll deal with that when it happens. Mom wasn’t an easy person to live with. But he loved her.”
“He’s been by himself for a while now. Maybe he’s come to realize loving someone isn’t always about agreeing with them one hundred percent.”
Maggie chuckled. “I guess I can count on you to tell me if I’m doing something wrong.”
“That goes two ways. It was you who demanded I feel, let people in. I had to be taught to participate in life again.” He lifted her chin so she could look at him. “And you were an excellent teacher.”
She reached up and dragged his mouth to hers, then proceeded to show him how much she loved him.
Epilogue
“Grandpa is here,” Brady yelled from the foyer of Bienville.
In the kitchen, Maggie tensed. Her heartbeat hammered against her rib cage. Standing at the sink, she closed her eyes and inhaled a soothing breath.
Large hands clasped her shoulders and kneaded them. “You will be all right. With our wedding in a week, we’re starting a new life.” Cody kissed the side of her neck. “What a nice way to start a new relationship with your dad.”
“I know and I have forgiven him.” She turned around to face her fiancé. Cradling her hand along his jaw, she peered into his eyes so full of love. “I’m putting my past behind me.”
“We are putting our past behind us.” His lips whispered across hers. “Let’s go greet your dad.”
Taking his hand in hers, Maggie strode toward the foyer. Brady was staying only for a few minutes before he went to football practice at the school.
Her dad’s gaze latched on to hers and a smile crinkled the corners of his eyes. But he remained where he was, a few feet inside the entrance. “Maggie, you’re looking good.” He flicked his attention to Brady. “And your son is all grown up. The last time I saw him he was just a toddler.”
“Grandpa, I’ve got to go, but I’ll be back for dinner. Football practice will be starting soon. I’m a receiver.”
“Can’t wait to see you play.” Her dad slapped her son on the back, then gave him a hug. “I’ll see you later. I’ll be here.”
As Brady left, Cody moved forward and held out his hand to shake her dad’s. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”
Her father looked Cody up and down. “I’ve heard good things about you from my brother.”
Maggie stared at her father, unsure what to do or say after all this time, even though they had talked on the phone at least once a week since that first call in August. Tears shone in her dad’s eyes, matching the ones glistening in hers. “Dad, I’m glad you’re in Hope.”
“I didn’t want to miss your wedding.”
With Cody by her side, his arm around her shoulders, she thought of the fresh start she had with Cody and now with her dad. No more feelings of abandonment. No more fear of showing another person what she felt. No more anger over the past.
Her dad shifted from one foot to the other. “I wish I’d never left, but I loved your mother and she wanted to go back home to Arizona to be near her family. It’s taken me almost two years since her death to pull my life together, to figure out what I wanted.”
“What do you want?”
“My family—you and Brady.”
Her heart expanded with his words. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “C’mon into the kitchen. Cody is helping me make a German chocolate cake, his favorite.”
Her dad looked at Cody. “I think we’re gonna get along just fine. That’s my favorite, too.”
Cody pressed Maggie to his side. “I didn’t have any worries about us not getting along. After all, we both love Maggie.”
“That we do, son.”
She laughed. “Y’all gonna make me blush.”
Cody brushed his fingertip across her cheek, then gave her a brief kiss. “Honey, there’s no make about it. You are blushing.”
* * * * *
Dear Reader,
In A Mom’s New Start I explore the dynamics of different families. Maggie is a single mother (never married). Cody became a “parent” to his little sister when his parents died. Kim and Zane are married, and Zane is a stepfather to Anna, Kim’s daughter. Maggie (with her son, Brady) is part of an extended family, living with her uncle and his wife. There are so many different types of family nowadays. What the average family looks like is changing. Often members of a family live hundreds of miles from others in their family. There aren’t as many families where three or four generations live in the same household, or close to each other. Staying close to our loved ones who live states away can be a challenge, but keeping in touch with family is important.
Best wishes,
Margaret Daley
Questions for Discussion
Cody helped others get through their problems, but he had shut himself off from others as his way of coping. He moved from place to place, never staying long to form friendships. Even if you move a lot because of your circumstances, how can you make friends and connect with others? Is it important to have someone you can talk to about your probl
ems? Why or why not?
Who is your favorite character? Why?
In this story, the importance of forgiving is explored. Why is it important to forgive others and ourselves? What happens when we live in the past rather than looking forward to the future? Which do you focus on—past, present or future? Why?
Cody tried to have a long-distance relationship with a woman he was in love with. Can that kind of relationship work out? If so, how? If not, why doesn’t it? What are things a couple can do if they find themselves separated by distance for a time? How do they stay close?
What is your favorite scene? Why?
Maggie had her son out of wedlock. Her choice led to repercussions that hurt her and her family. Have you ever made the kind of decision that you felt you paid for more than most? How did you deal with it?
Brady felt he had no control in his life. He suffered from depression. He didn’t realize there are a lot of things we can’t control, but that we can control our reactions to them. What are some things that have happened to you lately that have been out of your control? How did you react to them?
Maggie loved to knit and participated in the Shawl Ministry. Her shawls went to people who needed to be comforted as they went through a difficult illness or event in their life. What are some hobbies you do? How are they important to you?
Maggie was trying to rebuild her life as well as her extended family’s after the hurricane. She thought she had dealt with the disaster and its aftermath until another hurricane threatened to hit Hope. It was the final straw. She fell apart. Have you ever had continual setbacks like that? If so, how did you deal with them? What got you through it?
Maggie didn’t realize she’d held some resentment toward her fiancé for re-upping in the service against her wishes, leading to his death. She knew God wanted her to forgive and move on, but she had a hard time doing that. Have you ever done something you know you shouldn’t? How did the situation turn out?
This is a series about hope in a time of tragedy. What are ways you can give hope to another in his time of need?
Depression can be serious. A lot of teens suffer from it as Brady did. Do you know a loved one who has suffered from depression? How do you help them cope with it? What were some suggestions you gave them about coping with depression?
Cody felt responsible for his mother’s death in a tornado. She was killed when she was coming to pick him up. If she hadn’t been in the wrong place at the wrong time, she would be alive. He promised God he would help others through a crisis if He would take his pain away. Have you ever promised God to do something if He did something in return? How did it work out for you?
Maggie didn’t want to leave her hometown. It was her haven. Cody didn’t understand that, since he’d never experienced it. Maggie felt a home was a physical place, whereas Cody felt it was in a person’s mind (a mental place). Which do you think it is? Why do you think that?
When her fiancé died and her parents disowned her, Maggie was scared to trust in a relationship after being hurt twice. She felt abandoned. Her past ruled her life. Do you have something in your past that has done that to you? How can you get past it?
Shattered Trust
Margaret Daley
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Excerpt
Chapter One
Detective Sean O’Neal crossed the foyer of the McKinney Women’s Shelter, intent on only one thing: interviewing the victim of an assault.
“What is your business here?” A lady no more than five feet three inches tall moved to block his path.
The blonde tried to interject toughness into her words, but Sean pressed his lips together to keep his chuckle to himself. A regular pit bull with a lilting voice. He delved into his inside coat pocket and withdrew his Cimarron City police badge, flipping it opened then closed. “I’m here to see Penny Nelson.”
He started to stick his shield back in his pocket and skirt around her when she said, “Not so fast. I’d like to check it out.” Her mouth puckered into a frown.
He presented his badge again. Concentration creased her forehead while she took his police identification and studied it. “Do I pass?”
“It looks real.”
“That’s because it is. If you have any doubt, get Kelli McKinney and she’ll vouch for me. I’m her brother’s partner.”
“Kelli isn’t here.” She remained in front of the doorway.
“Then call the station and check with them.” Sean glanced at his watch. “I’m on duty and don’t have a lot of time for chitchat.”
She checked the badge and ID once more. “You’ll have to sign in before I’ll buzz you inside.” After gesturing toward a clipboard on a nearby desk, she thrust his shield toward him. “I can’t be too careful. One of the other volunteers told me about a woman’s abusive boyfriend impersonating a cop.”
Sean stepped to the desk and signed his name on the sheet of paper. “Are you new here, Miss...?”
“Maddy Greene, and yes, this is my first week volunteering.” She pushed a button on the side of the desk, and a clicking sound echoed through the foyer.
“Well, you’re doing a good job guarding the door.” He started to go around her, intent on seeing Penny to get her statement then meet his partner, David Russell, at the crime scene of another case.
“Don’t patronize me.” She straightened her small frame and locked gazes with him.
He paused, taking in her short haircut that feathered her oval face and highlighted her sky-blue eyes. Eyes at the moment dark with a mounting anger. “I’m sorry. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
As he passed her in the entrance, a whiff of her scent—like an apple pie his grandmother used to bake—caught his attention and for a few seconds he was pulled back to his childhood. When the world was simpler.
As he strode into the large recreational room where several women sat, he suddenly realized he didn’t know where Penny Nelson was. He’d only been here one other time, when he and David had brought Penny to the place and David had introduced him to his sister, Kelli, who ran the shelter. At that time Penny had refused to press charges against her husband. Now she was considering it, and he’d offered to come talk to her. He’d also hoped to get Penny to flip on her husband and his side business of stealing cars.
When he didn’t see Penny, he turned back to the little pit bull standing in the entrance to the rec hall, watching his every move. Anger still lit those blue eyes.
He covered the few feet separating them. “I don’t see her down here.”
“Did she know you were coming?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll call her room and let her know you’re here. Men aren’t allowed past the rec hall.”
What would she have done if Penny hadn’t known he was coming? Drag him back into the foyer? “I’d appreciate it. I’m Detective Sean O’Neal.” He stuck out his hand for her to shake.
For a few seconds she stared at it before she fit hers within his and shook it. “I know who you are. Remember I’m the one who does a good job guarding the door. I read it on your police ID card.”
“I shouldn’t have said that.”
She pivoted and strode toward the desk. “I’d rather be known for that than the opposite.” After punching in three numbers, she rotated away from him and spoke low into the phone.
Too low for him to hear. Which irritated him. She doubted him even now? Being one who had trust issues, he could identify with Maddy Greene. And yet, being treated with mistrust needled him.
You can’t have it both ways, O’Neal.
“She’s coming. Her son just went down for his nap.”
“Thanks.” He headed back into the main room, glancing over his shoulder to see if Maddy had regained her post in the door
way. Yep, she was there, tracking his moves.
He grinned, gave her a salute and winked. A flush stained her cheeks, and she turned away. He chuckled and swung around to find Penny coming into the rec hall. A black eye and her arm in a sling attested to the kind of husband she’d married. He hoped he could convince her to testify against the man.
* * *
Heat still scored her face as Maddy thought about Detective Sean O’Neal and his cocky attitude. Someone had to protect these abused women. Her eyes had been opened when a friend from church had been put in the hospital because her boyfriend hadn’t liked an answer to a question. That was when she’d decided to do something to help. This place offered her the perfect chance to do that. So three mornings a week, she manned the reception desk—the gatekeeper to the shelter.
Maddy checked her watch. He’d been in the rec hall for half an hour. All she knew about Penny Nelson was that she’d been here for almost a week and kept to herself. She had a little boy who was three, but she didn’t gather much in the common areas with the other women.
The door to the inner part of the shelter opened. Exiting, the detective closed it behind him, his face set in a serious expression that made Maddy wonder if his conversation with Penny had gone well.
“Did you get what you needed?” she asked and wanted to snatch the words back the second she said them. His serious expression evolved into a frown. It wasn’t her business, although she would make a point to befriend Penny if possible when she was relieved from the reception desk later.
He crossed to the desk and slid a card and a photo toward her. “If this man shows up, don’t let him in and call me immediately. I put my home number on there, too.”
A Mom's New Start (Love Inspired) Page 18