A Wandering
Heart
The Angel Island Titles
THE INN AT ANGEL ISLAND
THE WEDDING PROMISE
A WANDERING HEART
The Cape Light Titles
CAPE LIGHT
HOME SONG
A GATHERING PLACE
A NEW LEAF
A CHRISTMAS PROMISE
THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL
A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER
A CHRISTMAS VISITOR
A CHRISTMAS STAR
A WISH FOR CHRISTMAS
ON CHRISTMAS EVE
CHRISTMAS TREASURES
A Wandering
Heart
An Angel Island Novel
THOMAS KINKADE
& Katherine Spencer
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Copyright © 2012 by The Thomas Kinkade Company and Parachute Publishing, LLC.
Jacket design by Lesley Worrell.
Jacket image: Serenity Cove by Thomas Kinkade, copyright © 2006 Thomas Kinkade.
Text design by Tiffany Estreicher.
All rights reserved.
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FIRST EDITION: April 2012
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kinkade, Thomas, (date)–
A wandering heart / Thomas Kinkade and Katherine Spencer.
p. cm.
ISBN: 978-1-101-56136-2
1. Cape Light (Imaginary place)—Fiction. 2. New England—Fiction.
I. Spencer, Katherine, (date–) II. Title.
PS3561.I534W36 2012
813′.54—dc23
2011047722
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ALWAYS LEARNING
PEARSON
Dear Friends,
Once again it is my pleasure to welcome you to the Inn at Angel Island. I am happy to hear from so many of you that you have enjoyed your previous visits to the homey inn on quiet and peaceful Angel Island. You may find the place a little changed this time.
Liza Martin, the innkeeper, is still here managing the lovely inn where she spent so many happy summers as a child. And of course Claire North is there, as always, serving up her nourishing cooking along with her nourishing wisdom. But yet the inn is different this time. The fact is … it has been hit by a force more powerful than a hurricane. No, I don’t mean the invasion of the inn by a film crew and its glamorous stars … although that has certainly caused some excitement. But the force I am talking about is much stronger. That force is love.
A Wandering Heart shows us many kinds of love. Love for our wives and husbands, for our friends, our families, our pets, our homes, and of course, our love for God. Surely love is a blessing. Not only does love bring us happiness, but it also shines a light on our lives, reminding us that whether you are a famous movie star like Charlotte Miller, who is staying at the inn, or a self-sufficient fisherman like Colin Doyle … love will show you what is really important and meaningful in life.
A star like Charlotte Miller certainly has a life that many people envy, but she is carrying a secret that tears a hole in her heart. Audrey Gilroy, who, with her husband, runs the island’s goat farm, has little in common with Charlotte’s high-pressure lifestyle, but she, too, feels an emptiness that holds her back from truly appreciating the many blessings of her life. But here on Angel Island, where a glimpse of the cliffs that are shaped like angel wings can be as inspiring as the nave of the grandest cathedral, miracles are known to happen. On this island where help and hope are never farther than a few doors away, it is always possible to be in touch with our faith and the most important love of all—God’s love for us, His children.
I hope you enjoy your stay at the Inn at Angel Island. We are always glad to have you back.
Share the Light,
Thomas Kinkade and Katherine Spencer
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter One
“THERE’S a space, Liza. Look, that blue car is about to pull out.” Claire North pointed to a dark blue compact parked in front of the Cape Light post office.
Liza Martin had noticed it, too. She hit the brakes and flipped on the turn signal, then waited to pull in.
“Finally,” she said. “I thought we were going to have to turn around and go back to Angel Island. What in the world is going on around here?”
“Main Street does seem crowded for a Monday,” Claire observed. “Maybe it’s just summer people.”
“I guess,” Liza answered as she steered her SUV into the parking space.
The town of Cape Light and nearby Angel Island, where Liza ran an inn—with Claire’s indispensable assistance—entertained their fair share of tourists. But this amount of traffic and lack of parking spaces seemed unusual, even for August. Though Liza and Claire usually came into Cape Light once a week to shop and pick up supplies for the inn, Liza had never seen the town so crowded.
Maybe the quiet, off-the-beaten-track town had been included on some New England bus tour route? Liza thought she wouldn’t mind a few buses driving over the bridge and steering in her direction. Rainy weeks in July had washed away most of the
inn’s advance reservations.
“I wish a few summer people would drive out to the island and fill our driveway with cars. Plenty of parking spaces there. Maybe I should leave some brochures around.”
“Couldn’t hurt,” Claire agreed. She picked up her shopping bags from the backseat and Liza put a few coins in the meter.
Claire was wearing one of her typical summer outfits—a sleeveless cotton blouse, very neatly ironed, and a long cotton skirt with a pattern of small flowers, loose fitting and falling below her knees. Her sandals, with thick rubber soles and crisscross straps around her feet, were neat and practical. The same went for her hair, which was pinned up in its usual style, parted in the middle and coiled in a bun at her nape, emphasizing her round face and pale blue eyes. Her long hair had once been blond but was now a shade of golden gray.
Claire had very smooth skin, almost wrinkle free, and Liza thought Claire was a pretty woman for her age, which she guessed to be in her late fifties or early sixties. She would never say. It was one of the many mysteries about Claire North. As honest and plain-spoken as Claire was, she could also be quite elusive.
The two women headed down the street toward the harbor. The sky was low and hazy, the heavy air hinting at more rain in the forecast. Liza’s cotton sundress stuck to her skin in an instant.
“First stop, hardware store?” Claire asked.
“I think so. Let’s see … we need a doorknob for the upstairs bathroom, and I have to pick up the new window shutters.”
Liza walked along, staring down at her list, and suddenly heard quick footsteps behind her. A distinct bump nearly knocked her off her feet but luckily Claire grabbed her arm before she lost her balance completely.
“Whoops, sorry, ladies. Didn’t even see you there.”
Before Liza could respond, the culprit sprinted by. But she easily recognized him. Charlie Bates, owner of the Clam Box Diner, still wearing his apron and a Red Sox baseball cap.
Liza and Claire stood side by side and watched him jog down the street. “What in the world has gotten into him?” Claire murmured.
“Maybe there’s a big sale on clams going on at the dock,” Liza joked. “Charlie must go through bushels every week.”
Before Claire could answer, more people rushed out of the Clam Box. Liza recognized one of them as Sophie Potter, the woman who owned the orchard outside of town. She didn’t recognize Sophie’s companion, also a senior, her arm looped in Sophie’s as they walked along rather briskly for their age. They were headed for the harbor and chatting excitedly every step of the way.
Liza and Claire stepped back to keep from being mowed down again.
“Kitchen fire?” Claire asked.
“No chance. Charlie would be in there, beating down the flames with his own apron. I don’t think they’re running from something in the diner,” Liza speculated. “I think they’re running toward something at the harbor.”
“Yes, of course. That makes sense,” Claire agreed.
Liza glanced across the street and noticed more people hurriedly leaving shops and offices, heading toward the harbor and village green.
They had walked down another block and stood in front of Harbor Hardware. Claire tried the door but it was locked. They both saw the note taped to the glass at the same time. Claire read it aloud, “‘Be back in fifteen. Frank.’”
Claire looked up at Liza. “I guess Frank is jogging down to the harbor, too.”
Liza knew she was talking about the shop owner, Frank Krueger. In a small town like Cape Light, you knew everyone. Of course, he might be out buying coffee or doing an errand. He wasn’t necessarily chasing Charlie Bates down the street to see what was going on in the park. But for some reason, Liza felt he must be.
“Now I’m curious. Let’s find out what’s going on down there.”
“I’m curious, too,” Claire admitted. “I recall a morning like this years ago, when everyone in town was racing down to the dock. Turned out an amateur fisherman had reeled in a huge shark. It must have been twenty feet long and weighed five-hundred pounds. Its teeth as big as … as lemons. It was quite a sight.” Claire nodded as they picked up speed.
Liza glanced at her friend but didn’t answer. She guessed the shark had stretched a bit over the years, starting out as ten or even fifteen feet long. Though Claire rarely exaggerated, she had to be given some leeway for a bona fide shark story.
The women soon reached the green and could see the dock and harbor. An elated fisherman with a prize catch were nowhere in sight. But there was definitely something unusual happening. A large crowd had gathered and stood milling about around the harbor.
The parking lot on the harbor side was filled with several long white trailers and a few big-box trucks and vans. A good portion of the village green and dock were blocked by wooden barriers and yellow tape. Even the local police force had been dispatched to keep order in the crowd. Liza noticed Office Tucker Tulley strolling around, making sure that no one crossed the barrier. She also noticed a reporter from the Cape Light Messenger wandering through the crowd with her camera, interviewing the locals and jotting down replies on her notepad.
Whatever was going on was definitely newsworthy.
It was a movie set, Liza realized, with a large crew, big lights on metal tripods, miles of long black cables, and camera equipment on rolling machinery. People wearing headsets scurried in all directions. They looked stressed and distracted, Liza thought, as if the work they were doing was extremely important.
Claire stopped in her tracks as they stood across from the green. “For goodness’ sake, it’s a movie. I read about this in the newspaper a few weeks ago. But I didn’t pay much attention to the details.”
Liza was not surprised. Claire was not the kind of person to be awed by that sort of news. She was more likely to just turn the page and look for the gardening column.
“I read about it, too,” Liza realized. “I think it’s some sort of romance movie. Charlotte Miller is in it. And Nick Dempsey.” She glanced around at the crowd again. “I get it now. I’d knock a few people over to get a good look at him.”
“He is a good actor,” Claire agreed. “And Charlotte Miller is very charming. I always enjoy her films. I wonder what she’s like in person. She seems so sweet and down to earth in the roles she plays.”
“Movie stars are probably very different in real life, don’t you think?” Liza mused. “They have so many people rushing around to do their bidding. It would spoil anyone.”
“I think it must be difficult to be famous. So much pressure and attention. I wouldn’t like it at all.”
“I’d try it for a few weeks, see how it goes. There must be a few perks,” Liza said with a laugh. “The shopping sprees might be fun. And the travel. And the designer gowns.”
But none of that was to Claire’s taste, she knew. Liza often wondered if Claire had ever gone much farther ashore than Cape Light. She seemed so rooted to the area, as if she were as much a part of Angel Island as the windblown oaks beside the inn.
They stood at the back of the crowd, trying to see what was going on. Or spot a movie star. But the area set off for filming seemed empty and inactive, and there were no famous faces in sight. Liza did recognize Lucy Bates, Charlie’s wife, standing nearby and tapped her shoulder.
“Hey, Liza, Claire.” Lucy smiled at them then shook her head at all the activity. “A real Hollywood film crew, right here in Cape Light. Can you believe it?” Before Liza could answer, Lucy said, “I saw Charlotte Miller, just for a few seconds. She is so pretty. She came out of a limo and scurried right into her trailer. She had on big sunglasses and a baseball hat. But I knew it was her.” Lucy sounded triumphant. “Charlie’s over there. He’s looking for the producer. He’s going to try to persuade them to film a scene in the diner. Wouldn’t that be something?”
“It would be,” Claire agreed dryly.
Liza knew that Claire did not think much of the Clam Box, especially the cuisine served there, whic
h was cooked by Charlie. Claire was an outstanding cook and baker. She was very modest about her talents but did have high standards.
“So all of these people are just standing around, waiting for something to happen?” Claire asked in her direct way.
Lucy nodded happily. “Isn’t it exciting?”
Liza glanced at Claire. She could tell Claire’s feelings were similar to her own. It was fun to have a movie crew in town, but they had a lot to do today. They couldn’t wait around for celebrities to pop out of their hiding places for a moment or two, like very glamorous whack-a-moles.
Claire glanced at her watch. “Liza, I think we’d better get moving. We have a few stops to make.”
“Yes, we do. You have fun, Lucy. I hope you get to see the movie stars.”
“I’ll let you know,” Lucy promised. She waved as Liza and Claire walked away, heading back to the shops on Main Street.
They were walking against the tide now. The word had spread, and a parade of people were marching down to the park to watch the film crew, leaving stores and offices empty all over town. Liza even spotted the town’s mayor, Emily Warwick, and Reverend Ben Lewis, the minister of the old stone church that stood on the other side of the green. Everyone in town was starstruck. Liza and Claire had to shoulder their way out of the crowd.
When they finally stood across the street, clear of the gathering, Claire seemed a little breathless. She pushed a few stray strands of hair back into her bun. “Well, that was an experience. If I’d known this was going on today, I would have postponed our shopping.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I think it’s fun to be part of the excitement. Even for a few minutes. Even if we didn’t get to see Nick Dempsey.”
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