Diamond Lake Series: Complete Series (Bks 1-7) Boxset

by T. K. Chapin

  Seeing Serenah and Charlie we stopped to say hello.

  “Could I talk to you?” Serenah asked, tilting her head to the side.

  “Sure,” I replied. We walked a few steps away to the side of the building.

  “Would you be in my wedding? As a bridesmaid?” she asked, her eyebrows raised and a smile I couldn’t resist.

  “I’d love to do that for you.”

  Serenah let out a relieving sigh and touched my arm. “Thank goodness. I was worried you might not agree to on such short notice. I just don’t . . . have a lot of people in town.”

  I smiled. “I’m happy to be there for you. Thank you.”

  Charlie took Serenah by the hand and they vanished into the crowd while I returned to pursue Dylan. A few people shifted their steps out of the way and suddenly Dylan came into view. He looked absolutely breathtaking in his tuxedo. I could have sworn that man grew more handsome every time I saw him. He turned his head and our eyes met. I hurried my steps the rest of the way to meet him.

  “Charlotte,” Dylan said from across the rope that separated the carpet from the sidewalk.

  “I know we’re a little late, but we did have to walk a bit. I tried my best to get here on time.”

  He nodded but didn’t seem to care about the lateness. He scanned all of us and a grin came across his face. “You all look like a bunch of beautiful princesses.” He connected with my eyes again. “And of course, the gorgeous queen.” Leaning in across the rope, he raised my chin up with his finger and kissed me on the lips in front of everybody. Flashes from the photographers were blinding.

  “Dylan!” a man said from behind him as we pulled away from the kiss.

  Turning around, Dylan started talking with the man. He stopped, though, and leaned back to me, gently kissing me on my lips. “I’ll see you inside.” He turned and went with the man, talking to him as he vanished beyond my sight. My phone rang—it was Edith.

  “Hello?” I answered, stepping away from the girls and the crowd further down the sidewalk.

  “Just wanted to let you know you have a couple of Atkin brothers on a boat out in the water near your house.”

  My world began to crumble around me. “Um.”

  “Um?” Edith replied hotly. “What’s going on? What aren’t you telling me? You know something I don’t.”

  “Um . . .” My mind was racing as my heart felt like it was being stabbed repeatedly, and ‘um’ was all I could come up with in the moment. He’s a good guy. Dylan wouldn’t betray me. Almost able to grab onto hope, I was shot down by another thought. You thought Bradley was a good guy too.

  “Quit saying ‘um’ and speak, woman!” Edith fired back.

  “He wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. Dylan said he didn’t care about any of this.”

  “Tell anyone what?”

  “We found a piece of the raft’s paddle on the shore that had the town crest on it.”

  Edith shouted, “You trusted an Atkin boy! I warned you, Charlotte! I warned you!”

  Click.

  She hung up.

  Hurrying back over to the crowd, I pushed past people in search of Dylan. Then I saw him lean in and shake the hand of Cody and pat him on the shoulder. With tear-filled eyes, I shook my head. He looked over at me, startled. It’s true. Turning, I headed back out of the crowd. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I maintained. Stopping at my girls, I said, “Something came up. I’ll be back to pick you up. I love you.” Kissing their heads, I stopped at Emily. “Keep an eye on your sisters.”

  She nodded. “What’s wrong, Mom?”

  Shaking my head as my heart pounded and my throat felt like it was tightening, I replied, “I’m fine.” Continuing onward to my car, I let my emotions of betrayal, loss, and sadness fuel my heels as they clanked against the sidewalk and tears fell from my eyes.

  Chapter 15

  Back at my house, I found that what Edith said was true. The Atkin brothers’ boat I had seen in Dylan’s driveway the other day was now out on the lake. The shred of hope I managed to cling to on my way home evaporated in an instance. Everything I felt for Dylan was built on trust and honesty, which was now eroding away.

  Hurrying across my property and down to Dylan’s dock, I made my way to his boat. Climbing in, I turned the key and fired it up. There was a break in the clouds above, and the moonlight shone down across the lake. Under different circumstances, I would have found it beautiful, but right now, I found it meaningless.

  As I pulled away from the dock, I heard a car pull up. Glancing back, I saw Dylan running down the driveway to the dock. “Charlotte!” he shouted as I headed further out. I glanced over my shoulder at him again but ignored his plea.

  Arriving at the Atkins’ boat, I shouted over the edge as I turned off my motor. “Show yourself! I know you’re in that boat, Frank!”

  Silence returned.

  Getting comfortable in my seat, I waited for Frank to surface as I suspected he must have gone diving. I ignored the faint sounds from the shoreline where Dylan stood in his tuxedo, yelling. I laughed as I felt raindrops begin to fall. Peering back across the lake, I saw Dylan continue to stand there in his three-hundred-dollar tuxedo and ruin it in the rain. Idiot. Turning my eyes to heaven as it began raining, I cried out to the Lord. “Why must I pick such horrible men? Please help me to just be in love with You for the rest of my life. I’m weary of these games of the heart.” I began crying. “Help me be strong for my girls! I can’t do it without You, God!”

  Suddenly, a splash came from between my boat and the other boat. Jumping up, I saw Frank emerge. A look of fear as he laid eyes on me came across his face. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “What are you doing here? This is private property, and you know by law you’re not permitted to be here.”

  “Thought you’d be at The Newport Theater tonight.”

  I furrowed my eyebrows as he pulled off his goggles. “Get in your boat and get out of here.”

  “Nothing down there anyway,” Frank replied, climbing up the back of his boat.

  “Cool! I don’t care!”

  He took off back to shore and loaded his boat, but I noticed Dylan didn’t help him. As I drove back to the shoreline after watching him leave, I shook my head as I saw Dylan still standing in the rain in his tuxedo. I arrived back at the dock, and Dylan came down and helped tie it up. Climbing out of the boat and standing up on the dock, I faced him.

  He grabbed my hand but I pulled away. “Charlotte, you have to hear me out.” He followed me as I walked away down the dock. Stopping, I turned to him.

  “You told them, Dylan!” I held out my hand toward the lake. My eyes watered and my lip trembled. “You told them about the paddle.” Shaking my head, I continued. “After all that talk about how earthly treasure doesn’t matter to you.” I turned and began down the dock again, but he grabbed my arm. He pulled me back and looked me in the eyes as the rain became a downpour.

  “They found the piece of paddle you gave me and pressed for the information!”

  I shook my head. “You should have kept your mouth shut!”

  Shaking his head, he replied, “They helped me get a new start. They bought The Newport Theater for me.”

  “So what? You told them to go dive in the lake tonight when you had me off at The Newport Theater? That’s messed up! You went behind my back, Dylan!” I smacked him in the chest. “I trusted you!”

  Water poured down his face as the rain continued. He shook his head. “I told them never to set foot in this lake! I protected you and the Townsons the best I could!”

  “You never cared about the Townsons, Dylan—admit it.” I turned to leave again, and he grabbed my arm. He pulled me into his arms and grabbed my face, kissing me passionately. Startled, I pushed him back off me and slapped him. This time, when I turned to leave, he didn’t stop me.

  I drove to The Newport Theater and called my mother to explain what had happened while I waited for the movie to end. She went on and on about how
no one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes, no matter what family they’re associated with, and then she said something that struck me deeply.

  “What would Jesus want you to do in regards to Dylan?”

  Anger boiled inside me. “Mom! He never told me that they knew!”

  “So?” A long, drawn sigh came from my mother’s lips on the other end of the phone. “It doesn’t matter. Dylan’s flawed.”

  “Well . . . I thought he was perfect.”

  “A perfect man or person doesn’t exist unless you read books like I do. You have to find someone you can love and make it work with them!”

  Looking up, I saw Dylan walking into The Newport Theater with his drenched tuxedo, slouching his shoulders and hanging his head. He might have not been perfect, but he was perfect for me. I still believed it. I was just mad. I knew I had to get over this and realize he did everything he could in the situation he was put in. “I’m going to try and make it right, Mom.”

  Getting off the phone, I tossed it onto the seat beside me and got out. Hurrying through the pouring rain down the sidewalk and into the theater, I got inside and past the ticket takers.

  Walking into the lobby area, I was overwhelmed with surprise—not by Dylan, but by the work he had done on The Newport Theater. The inside that he had redone paid tribute to the town of Newport more than I could have ever dreamed. Included was a family mural of the Townsons and the Atkins. As I looked beyond the family murals and to the other walls, my smile grew as I saw a giant blue jay and the view from my patio with the fireplace—even the stars and the moonlit lake view were all painted on one of the walls. My eyes began to well with tears, and then a hand touched my shoulder.

  Turning around, Dylan was standing there, still in his drenched tuxedo and water dripping from the tips of his hair. “I’m so sorry, Charlotte—”

  Interrupting him, I stepped closer and grabbed his face, pulling him into me and planting my lips on his. He grinned and brought his palm up, cupping my cheek in his hand, deepening the kiss as the warmth of love coursed through me. Though the theater let out a moment later, we continued to kiss as if we were stuck in that moment forever. Placing a hand on my back, he brought me to his chest.

  From that night on, I let go of every petty thing and let God be God in my life. Disregarding my fears and insecurities, I was able to truly love and be loved. That night, I didn’t say ‘I do’ at an altar like I did years ago with Bradley, but instead, I made the choice to say ‘I will.’ I will to life, I will to the ups and downs, and I will to the life God had given to me. God had remade me and given me a new beginning one Saturday evening.

  The End.

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  One Sunday Drive

  Diamond Lake Series: Book 4

  By:

  T.K. Chapin

  www.tkchapin.com

  Author’s Note

  Thank you for choosing to read One Sunday Drive. I wrote this book to help people that are going through difficulties in their life. Oftentimes it’s not until we stop trying that God can truly begin to work in our lives. The story centers on a woman who returns to her home town and runs into a part of her past that she wanted to forget. There’s a place for forgiveness and second chances in our lives and this story highlights that reality. My hope for this story is that it blesses you as much as it did me writing it.

  21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

  22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

  Matthew 18:21-22

  When we use the Scriptures as a blueprint for our life, blessings follow. God doesn’t promise everything will be perfect, but He does promise to lift us up when we fall. If you need help aligning your life with the Bible, I recommend picking up a free thirty-day devotional that will be delivered to your inbox to get you jump-started. To claim, visit tkchapin.com/devotional

  Chapter 1

  Whispering a prayer to myself, I gathered up my camera equipment and headed out the door. Leaving behind the comforts of my flat in Spokane, I left for the open highway toward the Inn at the Lake out at Diamond Lake. The inn happens to be only a few minutes from the town of Newport, the town I grew up in. Shooting weddings was one of my favorite types of photography work, second only to capturing the beauty of nature. There was something magical about two hearts in love coming together to make a lifetime commitment. Though I loved weddings, this potential wedding made me a little nervous. It was someone I knew—Charlie Dillard. He was not only the prom king, but the high school all-star quarterback. We didn’t know each other well back in school, so I was surprised to hear he’d requested me for his wedding.

  The pine trees that lined the paved driveway to the inn climbed into the sky like towers of a city. The majestic creations reminded me of my trip to Dallas last spring when I shot the McCurry wedding at the Edison. The tree tops accented the cloudless sky that day in a way that was unforgettable. Parking with a burst of energy, I took my camera from the passenger seat of my car and got out. Pointing the camera up as I leaned back, I snapped a few shots. Creatures stirred nearby, causing me to look around. Seeing a squirrel pass across the yard, I decided to follow. Carefully, I made sure not to make a sound as I didn’t wish to startle it. He paused near a bush and I dropped to one knee. Bringing my camera up to my face slowly, I peered through the view finder. There. Click. My camera’s sound wasn’t muted, so the squirrel fled into the bush in a quick dash. Seeing his cute face on the LCD screen on my camera caused me to break into a grin. I loved capturing nature above all else, for it was through nature that I could sense a closer presence of God.

  “You must be Katie,” a woman’s voice said from not far behind me.

  Turning around as I stood up, I laid eyes on the presumed bride to be. “Serenah?” Returning the smile to match hers, we met in the grass. I extended a hand to shake hers. She had one of those smiles on her face like all the brides I met—genuine excitement. The stress involved with planning a wedding for a bride was astronomical, from what I heard, so I always found it beautiful how happy they came across when I met them.

  “Yes. That’s me!” Her voice rang. “I’ll show you around.” A hurried nod accompanied her jerking head gesture toward the front door of the inn.

  “Wait,” I replied. “Let’s see if you like my style. I have some samples in my car.” I veered my steps toward the car, and she hurried to my side.

  “I saw your website. It’s fine. Let’s go.” She gently guided my elbow, but I pulled away. Stopping, I looked at her. Her displeasure was easy to pick up on, and I needed to lay on the softer side if I expected to land her as a client. Part of me wanted to sabotage the whole thing to avoid awkward conversations with old classmates that never made it out of the little ol’ town of Newport. The other part of me, the more mature part, knew I needed her as a client if I wanted that record breaking month I was expecting for August. “Please,” I insisted. Raising a brow, I continued with a gentler tone. “This day is the most important day of your life, right, Serenah?”

  Annoyance softened in her expression and that smile returned. Nodding, she replied, “Yeah. It really is special.”

  “Then let me show you some photos from my wedding portfolio. There are only a few on my website, and I don’t feel they really give you a good enough feel for the style I can offer you. Let’s make sure this wedding is perfect. I’ll grab my portfolio.” Seeing that she still wasn’t entirely satisfied, I added, “Then you can show me around and we can talk about what kind of pictures you would like taken.”

  Serenah smiled fully. “Okay. I’d like that.”

  Walking over to my car with the bride trailing close behind, I rolled my eyes with a smirk on my face. Brides were always anxious and always desiring a hurried pace. I understood though. They just wanted to make sure their day goes perfectly and had a mile-long list
to accomplish. I’d be the same way, I suspected. Getting into the back seat of my car, I popped open the tote that held my entire life. Every contract, every sample and every transaction on paper existed in the plastic cube. Thumbing through, I found the wedding portfolio. Opening it to make sure it was packed with great pictures, I saw a few photos from the McCurry wedding I did in Dallas—I cringed a little inside. It was a good wedding in terms of pay, but it wasn’t more than six months and the couple divorced. Luckily, I got my final payment before the marriage crumbled. Those marriages that failed within the first year left me with a sad feeling. My hope was if I ever did get married, divorce would never happen.

  Getting out of the car, I handed Serenah the folder and shut the door. We walked down the driveway toward the inn as she browsed through the photographs. Watching her eyebrows, I looked for signs of how she was receiving the samples. Often, I found people were dishonest and would automatically ‘love’ whatever I showed them. While this made for a less awkward moment, it did little in the long run. Luckily, over the five years of being in this industry, I’ve learned to study people’s faces—and most importantly, their eyes. Eyes will tell the story that the lips do not. Seeing her eyebrows shoot up and a smile curl from the side of her lips, I knew the deal was sealed. Leaning over the side of the folder to see which shot captivated her, I saw it was the McCormick wedding. She looked over at me. With almost tears in her eyes, she said, “They look so happy.”

  “They’re one of the ones who made it,” I replied as I thought about the Christmas card that Kane and his wife had sent me for the third year in a row last December. They had just had a baby boy a few months prior to the picture, and the infant had the cutest cry face I had ever seen.