“That’s so kind of you to say, Anna. We’re proud to call your boys sons, as well,” Carol’s mom said.
“So y’all have already met?” Carol had wondered when she’d noticed the senior Jessops right at the same time she’d noticed her parents.
“We have indeed.” Anna Jessop beamed a wide smile. “In fact, Arthur, Doris and Jane are spending the night at the Parkview Inn. We’ve already had a nice dinner together.”
“We knew you wanted us here,” Carol’s father said. “And we were pleased that you did. Jane offered to come too, and drive us. But then Mrs. Benedict—I mean, Kate—sent a car to bring us down.”
Kate waved her hand, clearly uncomfortable with praise. “Henry had been telling me that my Caddy needed a nice long drive. So I thought what a good way to solve two problems at once.”
“Well, we certainly appreciate your kindness.”
Anna put her arm around Carol’s mother’s. “Let’s get us a table and some of those wonderful pastries my niece Tracy makes. Then we can talk wedding plans.”
Doris smiled. “Carol told me y’all have something special you do here called a Commitment Ceremony, and that’s what she wants.”
“We do, indeed. But there is plenty of room for personal style. Let’s put our heads together and see if we can give our daughter a real special day.”
Carol felt her heart overflow when her mother’s smile beamed out, full and bright. “I’d like that. Jane?”
“I don’t mind discussing wedding plans,” Carol’s sister said, “as long as they aren’t mine.”
Carol chuckled and watched as her parents and sister were enfolded into the care of her future mother-in-law. She had no doubt that Anna Jessop would see to it that both women felt as if their contribution to the proceedings was important.
The door opened, and Mel and Connor came in, in the company of a woman that Carol had never seen before.
Emily Anne, along with Tracy and Carrie were already here, working to make sure there was plenty of food to go around for this party.
Carol turned to the two private investigators. She had a very soft spot in her heart for them after she’d been told how they’d helped to warn Warren about the poor man who’d stalked Edward.
The entire situation had been beyond tragic, as far as she was concerned.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” She thought that perhaps the woman with them—a pretty middle-aged blonde woman—was a relative of one of the men.
She looked a bit shy even as her eyes tried to drink in everything. Then she turned and looked at Edward, and her gaze softened.
“We’re glad to be here,” Mel said. “And we brought someone who very much wanted to meet you. This is Elizabeth Davies. Elizabeth, meet Warren Jessop, Carol Ashwood, and Edward Jessop, I believe, you met once before.”
The name was familiar to Carol, of course.
“Mrs. Davies, welcome,” Edward said. He didn’t hug the woman, as he normally would do to greet a female he knew well. He shook her hand, and then placed his left hand on top of hers.
“I’m sorry to intrude on such a private time, but I just needed to come. I needed to thank you, myself, in person.”
“You’re welcome here, of course,” Edward said. He looked at Carol, and she understood that this must be one of those times the cousins had teased him about. He did look a little lost for words, though she was pretty certain she knew him well enough to step in.
“How is your husband doing, ma’am?” Carol took two steps so that she was close to Edward. He slipped his arm around her. His sigh of relief may have been inaudible to everyone else, but she heard it.
“He’s doing all right. He’s seeing a psychiatrist, and I really think that he’s going to heal.” She blinked back tears. “Your putting in a good word for him the way you did, Mr. Jessop, that made all the difference. The plea deal that his lawyer and the district attorney worked out—it’s going to be his salvation. He needs to pay for what he tried to do, I know that. And I know that the sentence he received was very light, all things considered. I know y’all could have asked for more—and likely the courts would have listened.”
Carol knew the man had received a five-year sentence for his crimes. She also knew that the families were working to have that reduced, based on Mr. Davies’s rehabilitation.
“Your husband has paid too high a price already, I think,” Edward said, “for the tragedy that visited your family.”
Warren came up to stand with them. “None of us has ever lost a child,” Warren said. “I can’t imagine a worse thing to have to endure. The important thing now is that your husband heals the damage to his heart and his soul. And maybe, that you two can heal the rift between you.”
“For the first time since our Joey died, I have hope of that. So thank you. I’m not sure I understand this celebration.” She shrugged, and when she smiled, Carol could see that she’d been a beautiful woman before loss and heartache had aged her. “But love is one of the most precious gifts we ever receive. Be it in the form of a spouse—or a child—it is a gift to be cherished. And celebrated.”
Connor and Mel escorted the woman to a table. As she watched, Kate Benedict and Samantha Kendall both got up from their families and went over to welcome the woman to Lusty.
“That’s it, right there.”
“What is, sweetheart?” Warren kissed her forehead and looked to see what had captured her attention. Edward, of course, hadn’t taken his eyes off Mrs. Davies.
Carol put her arms around the waists of her men. “That. Love, acceptance, forgiveness. Connections, and heart, and even second chances.” Her vision blurred a little and she didn’t care. When she looked at the tableau playing out before her—the people of Lusty, her own family, local neighbors, and even strangers, her spirit soared with the beauty, the complexity, and the simplicity of all that was here.
“Lusty is all of those things. I am so, so grateful that you found me, and love me, and made me a part of this. This is the stuff of which dreams, and happy endings are made.”
Each of her men kissed her in turn, and she rested her head on Warren’s shoulder as Edward took her hand and brought it to her lips.
Lusty. It was, she thought, not so much a place, as it was, perhaps, a state of being. Carol was more than ready to begin living her happy-ever-after.
THE END
WWW.MORGANASHBURY.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Morgan Ashbury, also writing as Cara Covington, has been a writer since she was first able to pick up a pen. In the beginning it was a hobby, a way to create a world of her own, and who could resist the allure of that? Then as she grew and matured, life got in the way, as life often does. She got married and had three children, and worked in the field of accounting, for that was the practical thing to do and the children did need to be fed. And all the time she was being practical, she would squirrel herself away on quiet Sunday afternoons, and write.
Most children are raised knowing the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule. Morgan’s children also learned the Paper Rule: thou shalt not throw out any paper that has thy mother’s words upon it. Believing in tradition, Morgan ensured that her children’s children learned this rule, too. Life threw Morgan a curve when, in 2002, she underwent emergency triple bypass surgery. Second chances are to be cherished, and with the encouragement and support of her husband, Morgan decided to use hers to do what she’d always dreamed of doing—writing full-time.
Morgan has always loved writing romance. It is the one genre that can incorporate every other genre within its pulsating heart. Romance showcases all that humankind can aspire to be. And, she admits, she’s a sucker for a happy ending. Morgan’s favorite hobbies are reading, cooking, and traveling—though she would rather you didn’t mention that last one to her husband. She has too much fun teasing him about having become a “Traveling Fool” of late.
Morgan lives in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, with a mysterious cat, a new Morkie puppy who thinks he
’s a German shepherd, and her husband of forty-one years, David.
For all titles by Cara Covington, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/cara-covington
For titles by Cara Covington writing as
Morgan Ashbury, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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Love Under Two Responders [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 28