Contents
Title Page
Spring's Blessing by Mary Jane Hathaway
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Dear Reader
About Mary Jane Hathaway
Loaves & Wishes by Elizabeth Maddrey
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Dear Reader
About Elizabeth Maddrey
Sheltered Hearts by Lee Tobin McClain
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Dear Reader
About Lee Tobin McClain
Sow in Love by Valerie Comer
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Dear Reader
About Valerie Comer
The Scent of Romance by Danica Favorite
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Epilogue
Dear Reader
About Danica Favorite
A Romance Rekindled by Annalisa Daughety
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Dear Reader
About Annalisa Daughety
Thank You!
ROMANCE GROWS
in
ARCADIA VALLEY
Copyright Notice
Spring’s Blessing © 2017 by Mary Jane Hathaway
Loaves and Wishes © 2017 by Elizabeth Maddrey
Sheltered Hearts © 2017 by Lee Tobin McClain
Sow in Love © 2017 by Valerie Comer
The Scent of Romance © 2017 by Danica Favorite
A Romance Rekindled © 2017 by Annalisa Daughety
Cover Photo © kurapakta | Deposit Photos
Cover Design © Book Cover Bakery
Each book in this collection, Romance Grows in Arcadia Valley, is the intellectual property and the copyrighted material of its respective author. All six novellas are printed as parts of this digital collection for a limited time with the express permission of each author. Arcadia Valley Romance makes no additional claim to the material contained herein.
What makes Romance Grows in Arcadia Valley different from other multi-author box sets you may have read? Two things. One, every novella is set in the fictional town of Arcadia Valley, Idaho. Two, every novella kicks off a three-book series set in Arcadia Valley. One novel will release each month for eighteen months. We hope you’ll enjoy the recurring characters in this innovative contemporary romance series with a Christian worldview.
Visit us at Arcadia Valley Romance for more information.
Spring’s Blessing
A Seasons of Faith novella by Mary Jane Hathaway
Nico Delis has done just fine as a single father to his young daughter and will challenge anyone who says otherwise. He’s perfectly content running his artisan butcher shop and raising little Elena by himself, even though his large Greek family assures him another wife is just what he needs. When the pretty librarian moves into the farmhouse next door, Nico does his best to avoid her. Unfortunately, his daughter’s pet rabbit has other ideas, and before he knows it, Nico is falling hard for a woman who might not even stay in Arcadia Valley. Can he trust that God’s plan for his life doesn’t include a second round of heart ache?
Loaves & Wishes
A Baxter Family Bakery novella by Elizabeth Maddrey
Content to farm the family land, Corban DeWitt only needs a wife to make his life complete. When he returns to Arcadia Valley, Idaho, from settling his parent’s estate in Florida, he finds Ruth Baxter has taken over the Bed and Breakfast next door. Despite getting off to a rocky start, something in his new neighbor piques his interest.
After a failed endeavor to run a hotel in Washington, D.C., Ruth is determined to make a success of the B&B she inherited from her best friend, even if it means moving to the middle of nowhere to do it. When a disgruntled would-be beneficiary starts to make trouble, Ruth must decide if she can trust her neighbor — and the feelings she’s developing for him.
Sheltered Hearts
A Romance from the Heart novella by Lee Tobin McClain
Alex Quintana doesn’t want to be a small-town celebrity, but his rapid rise and fall as a major league baseball player have made him a legend in his hometown of Arcadia Valley. When a woman pounds on the door of El Corazon Restaurant and Market during a surprise snowstorm, he figures she’s another groupie out for his money and fame. But, on the run from the wealthy, prominent fiancé who jilted her, Patricia Aiken wants nothing of the kind. As they help her injured dog and other stranded motorists, Alex and Patricia are drawn to each other... but each of them is harboring a secret. When the sun breaks through, can their newfound feelings survive the light of day?
Sow in Love
A Garden Grown Romance novella by Valerie Comer
Real estate consultant Joanna Kraus’s ideas for fulfilling a living trust are shot down by the elderly man’s grandson. In fact, it seems like sending her back to the drawing board is his primary joy. How can a vintage 1960s house and two greenhouses generate income for the church in receipt of the trust?
The more Grady Akers gets to know Joanna, the more he finds himself hoping it takes a long time to find a solution, but his charm may be no match for the armor wrapped around Joanna’s heart. Will the perfect solution for the property also be perfect to grow a love that’s just been sown?
The Scent of Romance
A Legacy of the Heart novella by Danica Favorite
When Caroline Hearst’s grandmother is injured in a riding accident, her extended family uses it as an excuse to try to force the elderly woman into selling the family farm. Though her family thinks it’s crazy to carry on the family farm’s legacy when a sale could make them all rich, Caroline is determined to see it through.
High-powered lawyer Hayden Donnelly just wants to get the old lady to sign on the dotted line. Not
because he thinks making her sell the farm is the right thing to do, but because it’s the only way to earn his disapproving father’s respect — and hopefully, love. Can time in the lavender-scented fields bring a solution neither Caroline nor Hayden expected?
A Romance Rekindled
A Homegrown Love Story novella by Annalisa Daughety
Kate Groves finds herself back in Arcadia Valley at the request of her dying father. Not only does he want her to remain in her hometown to oversee the renovation of her childhood home but take over as manager of the Arcadia Valley Farmers Market. Kate has no desire to stay in a town filled with ghosts of mistakes past. And when she learns that part of her dad’s plan is for her to work side-by-side with her ex-fiancé, she’s less than thrilled. No matter how charming or handsome Drew is, Kate continually reminds herself that he broke her heart — and she doesn’t intend to allow that to happen again.
Drew Harrison has spent the past eleven years trying to move on from Kate. He first fell in love with her in the sixth grade and losing her was the most difficult thing he’s ever been through. After having no contact for more than a decade, Drew can’t help but feel drawn to her again — even though it’s obvious Kate still doesn’t trust him.
When secrets from the past come creeping into the present, can Kate and Drew find a way to let go of old wounds and consider a future together? Or are some wounds too deep to be healed?
Spring’s
Blessing
A Seasons of Faith Romance
by Mary Jane Hathaway
© 2017 by Gumbo Books and Mary Jane Hathaway
All rights reserved.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.
Turns Again Home by Alfred Lord Tennyson is found in the public domain.
Find me on Facebook at Mary Jane Hathaway and on my blog at The Things That Last www.virginiacarmichael.blogspot.com
Spring’s Blessings introduces the Seasons of Faith series in Arcadia Valley Romance:
http://arcadiavalleyromance.com/posts/series/seasons-of-faith/
Dedication
This book is dedicated to anyone who has ever felt like they are not enough.
Many thanks to Lisa R. for sharing her experiences of being a child of a single mother and the pressure she felt to find a father so that she could be “a real girl”.
Also, for Lois Duncan. Thank you for your kindness and your support. You are greatly missed.
“And in Him you have been made complete…” Colossians 2:10
Chapter 1
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”
― Margaret Atwood
Charlotte McGregor pressed the last tomato seedling into the dark earth and knew with a soul-deep conviction that this garden was going to prove, once and for all, that she knew exactly what she was doing with her life.
She sprinkled a little water around the base of the tiny plant and sat back on her heels, letting out a sigh of pure happiness. The late morning sun was strong for May, but not as strong as it usually was in Fresno. As much as she missed her church family and her best friend, getting out of that concrete jungle was one of the best decisions she’d ever made. Five years of commuting on an eight lane highway was more than enough for one lifetime. She decided it would be easier to peel off her own shadow than keep denying that she was born to live in the country. Now she was here, in her little garden, the smell of good dirt on her hands and the warmth of the sun on her face. Life couldn’t be better.
Except for that one small, irritating problem of her garden being nibbled to pieces by some wild animal.
Dusting off her knees and picking up the watering can, Charlotte headed back to the porch. Her vegetables had suffered almost daily attacks in the three weeks since she’d arrived. She’d lovingly seeded them in little pots lined up in her kitchen window, then just as lovingly planted them into the soft, rich soil but so far, she’d lost more than she’d ever grown.
Charlotte wasn’t the type of girl to give up her dreams without a fight. As much as she loved the nearness of the Idaho wildlife, she was going to protect her crops. She’d prayed, put up a scarecrow, and even tried a couple of late night stake outs. No luck in catching the culprit. This creature had some varsity-level, world-class nibbling skills.
Settling into a deck chair, Charlotte poured herself a glass of ice water from the pitcher. When she’d rented the little yellow farmhouse on Donovan Road, she’d been thrilled with the idea of having her own garden and a flock of Ameraucana hens. Now that she’d settled in, she’d decided the best part of her new home was the incredible view. The Snake River Canyon stretched out beyond the edges of the property, framed by cottonwood and Russian olive trees. The rock walls of the canyon rose far above the dark green ribbon of water as it flowed westward toward the Columbia, then onward to the Pacific Ocean. Charlotte felt a deep sense of peace as she watched the sun shimmer off the water far below.
Or she did until her gaze settled on her garden.
Other people might not take a few rows of missing plants so personally, but she’d been dreaming of this garden for years. Her last boyfriend had never passed up a chance to mock her idealized future. Of course, Jarrod liked to mock a lot of things she thought were important and she’d been glad to break things off.
Her cell phone rang and Charlotte smiled to see Sahil Neerav’s number on the display. Her best friend had been calling for daily updates, certain that Charlotte was going to be eaten by wild animals before the month was out.
“Still alive,” Charlotte said as a greeting.
There was the sound of rushing air. “Big relief. You’ve survived another day. How’s the garden?” Her lilting accent was layered with her trademark dry humor.
“Still being ravaged by some vicious creature, but I will prevail.” Charlotte could almost see how it would be in a few months, full of tangled tomato vines, swaths of squash plants, eager sunflowers stretching toward the sky. “I’ll never give up. Like Rocky. But without hitting anybody.”
“How about the mysterious neighbor?”
“Still a mystery. And that’s okay. Maybe they just like their privacy. Sometimes I can hear a little kid playing nearby but the bushes are too thick to see through.”
There was only one house on the long dirt road besides the one owned by Marjorie Martin, her landlady. The first week she’d arrived, Charlotte had made cookies and walked down the long driveway to the white farmhouse. The shrubs were trimmed neatly, white picket fence freshly painted, and the front porch had several pots of flowers. She’d smiled at the plaque hung beside the door that read As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. She had the same little sign hanging in her kitchen.
“Have I told you lately how much I admire you?”
“Because I tried to bring my neighbor some cookies?”
“No, because you’re a kind person. Genuine. Real. I want to be more like you.”
Charlotte was touched by Sahil’s words but felt her description was a little too rosy. “Well, don’t try too hard. Remember I almost broke my mother’s heart.”
Her mother had bragged about Charlotte’s position at the Henry Madden Library. The big office with the even bigger glass windows that looked out over the CSU campus seemed to prove that a single mother could still produce a successful child.
When Charlotte said she was leaving to be a children’s librarian in an old Carnegie library, her mother’s grief had gone through several of the classic stages, including denial and anger. She’d recently moved on to bargaining, calling Charlotte every few days to offer anything she could think would reverse her decision.
When her mother came to visit in a few months, Charlotte would show her how she’d made the right choice. She’d prove that she hadn’t been running away, but was ch
oosing a fuller, richer life. I came so that you might have life, and to have it more abundantly.
“I admire that, too. Not the heart-breaking part but I’m serious about the rest. You decided you didn’t need the title or a big office or the fancy loft apartment―”
“I never wanted that apartment,” Charlotte reminded her. “Jarrod thought I should get it. Not that I can blame him for my signing a lease. That was my mistake.”
“See? That’s what I mean.” There was another long sigh. Charlotte knew that sound. Sahil struggled to fit in with the ambitious city crowd as much as Charlotte had. There was a reason they’d become friends, despite being from opposite ends of the country and working in different areas of academia.
“How’s the ivory tower? Anyone steal your work today?”
“No, but not for lack of trying. Some days I just want to pack up and…”
“Move to Idaho? Come on over. There’s plenty of room.”
“I think my parents would have more of a problem than your mom did,” Sahil said, and all the laughter was gone from her voice.
“I think you’re right,” Charlotte agreed. The Neeravs were both professors at Cornell and their vision for their daughter’s future included tenure at an Ivy League university, not tending a little spot of green under the wide open sky. “But then again, I think they handled your announcement about picking your own husband pretty well.”
Romance Grows in Arcadia Valley (Arcadia Valley Romance Book 0) Page 1