A Gift of Love (New Beginnings Book 5)
Page 19
“Is Jana there?” he asked in a breathless voice before Alexa could say anything.
“Yeah.”
“I’m a few minutes away from your place.”
The thought of him coming to her house sent her heartbeat galloping. When she’d talked with her mother, she’d realized she needed to tell Ian point-blank how she felt about him. Then if he still wanted her to take the scholarship and leave, she would. But she had to risk it and let him know how important he was to her.
After returning her cell phone to her pocket, she swung around to face Jana. “Why did you come over to see me?”
“I wanted you to know that Dad loves you. You two belong together.”
Dad loves you. Those words resonated through Alexa’s mind. “Your father and I are friends, Jana. You shouldn’t read anything else into it.”
“It’s more than that. He told me tonight.”
“He did?” Alexa clasped her hands behind her back to keep the young girl from seeing how much they trembled. He loved her. Was it Jana’s wish or really true?
“Yes, I’m not lying to you. He wants you to stay but won’t tell you because he thinks you want to go. I came over to tell you. You two are making a big mistake.”
“We are?” She couldn’t think of anything else to say because out her front picture window she saw Ian jogging up the sidewalk. The sight of him doubled her pounding heartbeat.
Jana turned to see what Alexa was staring at. “Ask him.” She gestured toward her dad coming to a stop on her porch. “Is Charlie out back?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to see him. Talk to Dad. Don’t make the biggest mistake of your life.” The young girl hurried toward the kitchen.
When Alexa opened the front door, Ian’s gaze captured hers and held her for a long moment. All words fled her mind.
“I don’t know what got into Jana’s head. Leaving like that.” Ian approached her, only a few inches separating them.
“She was upset about me going away.” Tell him how you feel. What do you have to lose now? Monday, she hadn’t been as straightforward as she should have been. “She thinks we should be together, that you love me.” When his eyes widened, she continued, “I love you, Ian, and whether I go or not, that won’t change.” There. She’d told him. If Jana was wrong, at least she’d done what she needed to do.
“You love me?”
“Yes. For the longest time I was sure you were still in love with your ex-wife, so I fought these feelings, but I can’t any longer. Is Jana right? Do we have a chance?”
He started to reach for her then suddenly dropped his arms back to his sides. “You need to fulfill your dream. What if you stay and then down the line you regret never going? I couldn’t live with that.”
“Why can’t we do it together? What’s keeping you here? Jana could learn so much seeing firsthand places she’s read about.”
“The world as her classroom?”
“Well, at least for a few years. After that, who knows?”
He raked his hands through his hair, averting his gaze. “That’s a big step. That’s a—”
“A big change.” Alexa moved even closer to him. “Yes, it is. I’d stay if it meant we had a chance. You mean too much to me.”
He sucked in a breath. “I could never ask you to do that.”
“You’re not. Do we have a chance?”
His gaze locked with hers, a softening in his blue eyes that rocked her clear to her toes. “I love you, Alexa, but this isn’t about that.”
“Yes, it is. I’m not taking the scholarship if that means I lose you. End of story. Dreams can be changed. I can help people here.”
He shook his head and stepped away. “I can’t let you give up on a dream like that.”
“What’s your dream?”
He moistened his lips. “To have a family—a wife I love, children. That’s all I ever really wanted.”
“Then let me give that to you.”
“Not fair to you.”
“Not having you in my life isn’t fair to me. A place won’t make me happy. But you can.”
“I hate to fly.”
Hope blossomed in her. “I can help you overcome your fear.”
“It’s a control thing.”
“Will you give control to God?”
“Is that a trick question?”
“No.”
His forehead crunched. “I know what you’re doing. I know I don’t really control my life like I used to think I do.”
“Then we can work through that fear. If the Lord is with you, anything is possible—even flying.”
He stared at her for a long moment, then suddenly dragged her against him, winding his arms around her. She cuddled into his embrace, relishing his warmth, his scent, his smile.
“The only way I see it working is if you take the scholarship and when you leave to fulfill your obligation, Jana and I go with you.”
“Go with me? What are you saying?”
“I want us to be that family I’ve dreamed of.” One corner of his mouth lifted. “I help you with your dream. You help me with mine. A deal?”
“Marry you?” She looked up into his adoring gaze and never wanted to leave the shelter of his arms.
“Yes. You taught me to love again, to put my past behind me, but I’m thinking I’ll need a lot of lessons to get it perfect. Do you think you could tutor me?”
She laughed and planted a kiss on his mouth. “You’ve got yourself a teacher—for life.”
Epilogue
“Are you ready, Alexa?”
She took her father’s arm. “Is this really happening?”
“Yes, in the next half an hour you’ll become Mrs. Ian Ferguson. In case I haven’t told you lately, I love you. You’re going to make a wonderful wife for Ian.”
“Let’s do this.” She grinned at her dad and moved toward the foyer of the church, wearing her mother’s wedding dress.
There by the double doors into the sanctuary stood Jana waiting for her. As her maid of honor, she wore a pale-yellow dress of chiffon with tiny yellow roses woven throughout her hair. A beam lit the child’s eyes, and she turned to enter as the music began.
Alexa took a deep breath and followed, feeling as though she glided toward her destiny. Ian watched her walk toward him, the sparkle in his blue eyes melting any doubts she might have had. She loved him with all her heart. Jana, too. She was finally going to have the family she always wanted.
When she stopped beside him, he moved close and leaned in to whisper, “I love you. There can’t be a happier man alive today.”
More Books in the NEW BEGINNINGS Series
LOVES HEALING POWER
Book One
Tess Morgan loves being a pediatric nurse and helping the children under her care. She’d always wanted a large family, but that dream was shattered when her fiancé was murdered while volunteering in South America.
Peter “Mac” MacPherson, a former football superstar, had dealt with his own tragedies—the deaths of his father followed by his wife while she was giving birth to their daughter. His faith sustained him through his grief, but can he help Tess believe again in God and finally find a family—with him?
UNEXPECTED LOVE
Book Two
Dedicated to her high schoolers with special needs, Sadie Spencer was determined to get help for her work program even if it meant she had to be creative to find a way to talk to Andrew Knight who owned a large company that would be a perfect place for her students. She bid on him in a bachelor auction and won a date with him. She was excited she would have a chance to convince him to hire one of her students. But she soon realized that God had His reasons for bringing them together.
Experience had taught Andrew that he didn't need anyone in his life, including God. Until Sadie began to show the successful businessman how much he had to offer her students. But though the walls he'd built around his heart were slowly crumbling, would he ever find the courage to make peace with
God so that he could be not only Sadie's hero . . . but her husband?
FINDING LOVE AGAIN
Book Three
Two wounded people, too afraid to trust...
Laura Williams first encounters high school principal, Peter Stone, when he suspends her son for fighting. New to town, this widow and mother of four struggles to hold her family together.
Peter is drawn to Laura and wants to help her and her son, who are hurting, but he's no stranger to pain. It's a daily struggle to overcome his own past. Will these wounded souls find love again, or will rocky pasts destroy all hope for a happy future?
HEART OF A HERO
Book Four
Single mom, Lisa Morgan, struggles to raise her emotionally troubled twelve-year-old son, Andy. Police officer, David Russell, volunteers as the coach for Andy's basketball team. While helping the boy with his anger and hurt, Lisa and David each wrestle their own emotional issues. Their broken pasts keep them apart, but during the holiday season, they learn the true meaning of Christmas. Can Lisa and David forgive and forget yesterday's pain in order to share a future as the family they've both always wanted?
More Books by Margaret Daley
NEW BEGINNINGS Series
Love’s Healing Power
Unexpected Love
Finding Love Again
Heart of a Hero
A Gift of Love
DARING ESCAPES Series
Into the Darkness
Into the Fire
EVERYDAY HEROES Series
Hunted
Obsessed
Trapped
Kidnapped
STRONG WOMEN, EXTRAORDINARY SITUATIONS Series
Deadly Hunt
Deadly Intent
Deadly Holiday
Deadly Countdown
Deadly Noel
Deadly Dose
Deadly Legacy
Deadly Night, Silent Night
Deadly Fires
Deadly Secrets
About the Author
Margaret Daley
Margaret Daley, a USA Today’s Bestselling author of over 105 books (five million plus sold worldwide), has been married for over forty-seven years and is a firm believer in romance and love. When she isn’t traveling or being with her two granddaughters, she’s writing love stories, often with a suspense/mystery thread and corralling her cats that think they rule her household. To find out more about Margaret visit her website at www.margaretdaley.com.
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