House on the Forgotten Coast
Page 23
WHEN THEY RETURNED FROM THEIR honeymoon, they decided to let Rusty stay awhile longer with Payton and Dallas until they were settled. The restored house was to be a surprise for Elise. There was a picket fence in front now, and the house had been painted a pale cream color with cobalt blue shutters. It didn’t look like a black and white painting any more.
Elise gasped with delight, and Ty didn’t ask permission to carry her over the threshold. He held her close and she buried her face against his neck as he pushed the door open with his foot. “You’re my warm blanket against a cold day,” she murmured and felt safe, happy, loved. Dreamily she imagined that his arms were a double helix, the entwined DNA of Lawrence and Ty, separate but never separated, so that she could love unconditionally. She snuggled closer, inhaled deeply, and touched her tongue to Ty’s neck.
“Oh, your pheromones,” she murmured.
“My what?”
“Never mind. It’s a compliment.”
When he put her down, she turned round and round, looking at everything. “I simply can’t believe what you’ve done here. It couldn’t be more perfect. You couldn’t be more perfect.” She put her arms around his neck. “Oh, Ty, I do love you so.”
Ty flashed his most charming smile. “And I love you, Mrs. Roberts, but it still seems like a miracle to me. The two of us together, here together. For a long time it seemed so impossible. It has to be a miracle.”
“But don’t you think that in a way love is always a miracle? I mean, it’s such an incredible thing that two people can feel the same way about each other.”
“That’s exactly what I mean. Don’t forget, though, I loved you first.”
“I’ll never forget that, Ty. Never. And I love you all the more for it.” She tilted her head to the side and looked up at him. “I do believe I’ve embarrassed you. You’re blushing.”
“No, just glowing with happiness.” He lowered his head and looked at the floor. “Well, what’d ya know! Our first visitor.”
Elise looked down, a memory beating in her heart as she knelt to pet the orange tabby cat with a star on its forehead. Ty dropped to his knees beside her and began massaging the cat’s neck. He looked thoughtful as his fingers explored beneath the thick fur.
“What?” Elise asked. “Is something wrong?”
“Here, check this out. There’s a small chain around his neck. It’s dirty, but I’d swear it’s gold.”
“It probably is, Ty. He’s an old cat for sure. Nothing but gold would be good enough.” Elise smiled and kissed the star on Flynnie’s forehead.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
photo credit: Deanne Dunlop
RUTH COE CHAMBERS takes pride in her Florida panhandle roots, and her hometown of Port St. Joe has inspired much of her writing. She attended Florida State University, the University of South Florida and graduated Summa Cum Laude from California State University, Fresno. It was through creative writing classes at the University of South Florida that she found her “voice” and began writing literary fiction. Listed in Who’s Who of American Women, she does freelance writing, has recently republished one novel, has self-published its sequel, and has written two award-winning plays. She is currently working on the third novel in her Bay Harbor Trilogy. She has two daughters and lives with her husband and one very spoiled Cairn terrier in Neptune Beach, Florida.
SELECTED TITLES FROM SHE WRITES PRESS
She Writes Press is an independent publishing company founded to serve women writers everywhere. Visit us at www.shewritespress.com.
The Lucidity Project by Abbey Campbell Cook. $16.95, 978-1-63152-032-7. After suffering from depression all her life, twenty-five-year-old Max Dorigan joins a mysterious research project on a Caribbean island, where she’s introduced to the magical and healing world of lucid dreaming.
The Wiregrass by Pam Webber. $16.95, 978-1-63152-943-6. A story about a summer of discontent, change, and dangerous mysteries in a small Southern Wiregrass town.
After Midnight by Diane Shute-Sepahpour. $16.95, 978-1-63152-913-9. When horse breeder Alix is forced to temporarily swap places with her estranged twin sister—the wife of an English lord—her forgotten past begins to resurface.
Water on the Moon by Jean P. Moore. $16.95, 978-1-938314-61-2. When her home is destroyed in a freak accident, Lidia Raven, a divorced mother of two, is plunged into a mystery that involves her entire family.
Glass Shatters by Michelle Meyers. $16.95, 978-1-63152-018-1. Following the mysterious disappearance of his wife and daughter, scientist Charles Lang goes to desperate lengths to escape his past and reinvent himself.
Conjuring Casanova by Melissa Rea. $16.95, 978-1-63152-056-3. Headstrong ER physician Elizabeth Hillman is a career woman who has sworn off men and believes the idea of love in the twenty-first century is a fairy-tale—but when Giacomo Casanova steps into her life on a rooftop in Italy, her reality and concept of love are forever changed.