“I’m sorry you couldn’t have been here with us,” Delia announced loudly, “but you’ve seen everything and I promise we’ll do this again later, just for you.” She blew them a kiss. “Bye now. Aloha!”
She gazed up at her new husband through a mist of pure joy as their guests ended the telephone transmissions.
“You don’t fool me,” Shaun said quietly aside.
Delia gave him a mock scowl. “About what?”
“Your lame excuses for wanting to get married so far from Stoneley. I know exactly what you’re doing.”
“You do?”
“Uh-huh. There’s cake involved in this wedding and you want it all for yourself.”
Delia hugged him as she laughed. “You think you know me so well, don’t you? Well, believe me, husband, that isn’t all I want for myself.”
His eyebrow arched. “Oh? Would you care to explain?”
“Later,” she said, still giggling. “First, we need to go cut that cake you mentioned. I’m suddenly famished.”
“Are you changing the subject, Dee?”
“Yes!” Cheeks flaming, she ducked her head, took his hand and tugged him toward the picnic table where their guests—and the first minutes of their future as a married couple—awaited them.
Dear Reader,
Once again I have been asked to collaborate with five other authors to create my part of an ongoing saga, which, in this case, is book five in the suspenseful SECRETS OF STONELEY miniseries.
Many thanks to my fellow authors, Lenora Worth, Shirlee McCoy, Terri Reed, Irene Brand and Lynn Bulock, and to our editor, Diane Dietz. We worked hard to make our series books fit together, as well as be stand-alone tales of love and faith overcoming mystery and danger. Thanks also to Jeannie O., who helped me get to know Hawaii.
In Deadly Payoff, Delia and Shaun get a second chance. I think it’s important to remember that we are seldom given that precise a choice. Life isn’t static and predictable like the chapters in a novel. We can’t go back to the beginning or thumb through the pages until we get to a part we like and then relive it until we get it right. When we make mistakes we have to deal with the consequences and go on. Doing that successfully, under our own power, is next to impossible. Starting over with God’s guidance is another story. No problem is so big, no mistake so bad that God can’t help us. The key is not within ourselves, it’s in our willingness to look to Him, to ask His forgiveness and to trust Him to bring us through, one step at a time.
I love to hear from readers. The quickest replies are by e-mail: [email protected]. Or you can write to me at P.O. Box 13, Glencoe, AR, 72539 and I’ll do my best to answer as soon as I can. Or go to www.ValerieHansen.com
Blessings,
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
This series deals with a big family. Do you come from such a family? If not, do you ever think you might like more siblings?
The Blanchard sisters each cope with past trauma in different ways. Does Delia’s escape to Hawaii seem like a good solution? Why or why not?
Delia and Shaun are given what looks to us like a second chance, yet they’re both hesitant to accept it. Have you ever been in a similar situation and let a chance for reconciliation slip away?
The Blanchards have a lot of money. Do you think they would be happier if their hearts were focused on giving, rather than on hoarding? Is money the problem at all?
Unseen forces seem to be working against the Blanchard family. Do you think the sins of the previous generation are responsible? Is there any escape for them?
Mental illness plays a big part in this series. Is this illness any different from other chronic illnesses? Should people be ostracized just because they’re sick?
Delia realizes, belatedly, that her prayers for her mother have finally been answered. Have you ever thought back to your prayers of long ago and seen answers that you had previously overlooked?
Shaun turns away from God when he doesn’t get the answers to his prayers that he expects. Why does it seem to be so hard for us to accept that God’s wisdom is greater than our own? Do you often argue with Him?
Hebrews 11:1 says that “Faith is the substance [assurance] of things hoped for, the evidence [a conviction] of things not seen.” How does remembering God’s previous blessings help strengthen our daily faith?
If you could mete out divine justice for the characters in this series right now, what would you do? Who would you blame? Now that you’ve thought about that, aren’t you glad our Heavenly Father forgives us much more readily than we are able to forgive each other?
ISBN: 978-1-4268-4562-8
DEADLY PAYOFF
Copyright © 2007 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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