High-Stakes Inheritance
Page 20
His tender gaze fixed on her face and sent warmth radiating to her very soul. She should be able to say the three little words, but when she opened her mouth to speak, she froze.
“You look terrified of something,” Ryan said.
“I am.”
His eyebrows drew together, and he leaned back. “Is it about your father?”
She shook her head.
His compelling blue eyes turned questioning as he loosened his hold on her. “About us? Together, like this?”
“Yes,” she whispered and waited for him to acknowledge his mistake in admitting he cared for her.
“This isn’t something to be afraid of. It’s something to celebrate.” He caressed her cheek with a calloused hand. “After I sent you away, I didn’t think I’d find you again. Ten years since we saw each other and it feels like we’ve never been apart.”
Ten years. Such a long time to spend searching for what she’d already had.
“We wasted so much time,” she said.
“Don’t think that way. God used that time to mold us into the people we are today. We both needed to grow up to recognize what we have together is special.” He cupped her face and held her in a mesmerizing trance. “I love you, Mia. More than I can say.”
She felt tears form, and her heart explode with joy, but before she could respond, he withdrew his hands and crossed the room.
What?
He lifted his jacket from the back of a chair.
“Wait!” She jumped to her feet and raced toward him. “Don’t go, Ryan. I love you, too. Please don’t leave.”
“I’m not leaving.” He dug into the pocket of his jacket. “I’ve been trying to be patient for the past few days and not scare you off, but I can’t wait any longer.” From his pocket, he pulled out a blue velvet box and knelt in front of her. “I love you Mia, and I don’t want you to leave Logan Lake again. Will you stay and be my wife?”
“Is this for real?” Her face burned with excitement, and she waved her hand to cool her skin.
Searching her eyes, he opened the box and held it out. “You didn’t answer.”
Overwhelming emotions wouldn’t allow her to speak so she dropped to the floor next to him and drew his head close, letting her kiss answer his question. His lips lingered and the kiss nearly stopped her heart but she’d never felt more alive.
He pulled back and held out the ring. “That felt like yes, but I need to hear the word.”
“Yes. Yes. Yes.” She stopped at three, but the way his eyes met hers in a loving caress, she wanted to shout yes a thousand times.
As he slid the ring on her finger, the past ten years of heartache slipped from her mind. Never had she felt more at home, more at peace. She’d risked everything in coming back to Pinetree to inherit the place. But instead of a place, she’d inherited a family who would see her through good times and bad. Ryan had proven he’d always be there for her, and no matter what the future brought they would face it together.
Dear Reader,
Trusting in God. Wow, that’s so easy to say, yet so hard to do when faced with life-altering challenges like Mia and Ryan experienced. I’ve been there more times than I care to count. When worry and the urge to take control overpower my trust in God.
And that’s why I chose to write this book. To share through Mia and Ryan that no matter the problem, when we trust in the Lord and don’t try to take things into our own hands, He has a far richer and more rewarding life planned for us than we could ever dream on our own.
I pray that the book has encouraged you to trust in the Lord no matter the difficulty you face. I love to hear from readers and you can reach me through my Web site, www.susansleeman.com, or in care of Steeple Hill Books at 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279.
Susan Sleeman
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Mia didn’t want to return to Logan Lake and face people who had hurt her. Do you have people in your past that you don’t want to see? Should you and how can you overcome this fear?
Mia, Ryan and Mia’s father take years to recover from the loss of a loved one. Not all loss is this profound, but we experience losses every day. Have you ever experienced such a terrible loss and how did you cope with it?
Mia’s rejection by her father caused her to struggle with trust. This happened at a vulnerable age when she was forming many of her coping skills in life. She transferred the feeling of betrayal from her father to God and was unable to trust Him. How has your relationship with your father impacted how you see your heavenly Father?
Each time Mia sees her father she is tempted to run away and hide from the pain. Have you ever been tempted to run from a painful issue? How have you overcome the temptation to flee? How did you learn to stand firm and face your issue?
Ryan lost the woman he was to marry, leaving him fearful. Have you ever had something terrible happen that left you fearful that it would happen again? If so, how did you handle it? Were you proud of the way you handled it? If not, how would God want you to handle it?
Ryan let Mia go in high school because he loved her. Have you ever had to make a decision that hurt someone you loved, but it was in their best interest? How did this make you feel? Did you ever get the chance to let the person know why you did it?
Ryan and Mia both tried to prevent bad things from happening by taking control of their lives. Have you ever taken control of your life? Is this what God wants you to do?
Trust, once broken, is so hard to reclaim. Have you ever been in a relationship where someone has done something to lose your trust? Did they ever regain it and if so, how? If you are experiencing this problem right now, how can your faith help you through it?
When Mia sees Ryan for the first time, every thought about what she was going to say to him and how she would behave around him fled from her mind. Have you ever pictured how an interaction with someone will go and then find it to play out differently than you pictured? How did you handle the situation?
Mia and Ryan both sought counseling careers where they could help people. Why do you think both of them became counselors when they had so many unresolved issues to deal with in their own lives? Though you may not be a counselor, can you use situations you’ve worked through in your life to help others?
In the time that Mia and Ryan were apart, Ryan developed his relationship with God when Mia walked away. If Mia hadn’t learned to trust God again, do you think the two of them could have gotten back together? Have you ever had a time in your life where your faith has grown beyond those around you? Was this difficult and how did you handle it?
High-Stakes Inheritance is based on Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. If Mia and Ryan had employed this verse earlier in their lives, how would their lives have been different? Do you struggle with trusting God like this? What steps can you take to trust Him more?
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6653-1
HIGH-STAKES INHERITANCE
Copyright © 2010 by Susan Sleeman
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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