“Are you okay?” Jay pulled Kate to him and then reached a hand toward Lorena too. “We were ready to call out the search party.”
“No need. We were with Fern. She never gets lost in the woods.” Kate told Jay, then smiled over at Tori. “I think that man is waiting for you.”
Tori felt suddenly shy as she looked at Clay. “Hello, Clay. I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you got here. That wasn’t very polite of me. To tell you to come over and not be here.” She sounded like a nervous teenager.
“You’re here now.” He stepped closer to her.
He didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands, so she reached out and took them both in hers. Such strong hands. She stared straight into his surprised eyes and smiled without a bit of guilt rising inside her. Sammy wanted her to be happy.
“He’s not worried about polite.” Lorena giggled. “He wants to propose.”
Clay’s face flashed red.
“Birdie, you’re embarrassing the man.” Jay laughed.
“Well, he does, Tanner.”
“Lorena!” Kate called her down, but she was smiling. “Maybe you’d better let him decide what he wants to do.”
Jay put one arm around Kate and the other around Lorena to turn them toward the fence. “I think five’s a crowd. We’ll just stroll on ahead of you two.” He looked back over his shoulder at them. “Take your time. We’ll leave the swing open for you on the porch. Great place for proposals, I’m told. Not where Kate proposed to me, but . . .”
Tori looked down at her feet, a blush rising in her cheeks to match Clay’s. “I’m sorry, Clay. Pay no attention to them.”
“They’re right, you know.” Clay pulled her hand up to kiss her knuckles. “I’d go down on one knee right here and now if I thought you wouldn’t tell me to get lost.”
“I won’t tell you that ever again.” She raised her eyes to his. Nice eyes. Eyes that had been begging her to notice him for months.
A smile flooded his face. “So should I propose now or wait until we’re on the swing?”
“You can’t propose to a woman you haven’t kissed.” Her cheeks burned redder. She let go of his hands and covered her face. “I can’t believe I said that.” How could she be so forward?
Clay gently pulled her hands away from her face. “I want to kiss you, Victoria. I want to marry you and love you forever. If you want me to.”
“Maybe we should start with the kiss,” she whispered.
He put his hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes. “You are the most beautiful girl in the world, and I do love you, Victoria.” He bent down to cover her lips with his.
She stepped into his embrace then, and knew at once she was home. Your heart can hold many loves. She didn’t know where the words came from that whispered through her mind, but she did know she was finally ready to believe they were true.
It was so good to come home to love.
A Parting Note from Ann
Thank you so much for visiting Rosey Corner with me once again. The Merritt family came to life for me in my book Angel Sister. They lived on in my imagination after that story ended and kept prodding me to tell more of their stories. Love came to call on the Merritt sisters in Small Town Girl, and now love has come home in this story. I owe a debt of gratitude to my mother and her sisters for their wonderful stories about growing up in the small community of Alton, Kentucky. Those stories were the inspiration for my Rosey Corner books.
Once a story is written, many other people help it along its path to a book that you, the reader, can hold in your hands. So I thank all the wonderful people at Revell Books who make that happen. My editor, Lonnie Hull DuPont, is always ready with encouragement and advice on how to make my story better. Barb Barnes and the other copyeditors go over every line to make the reading easy. Cheryl Van Andel and her team design covers to fit my story and grab a reader’s eye. It’s been great to work with Lindsay Davis on so many details of my books. I can always count on her to be helpful and available. Many other people have a hand in getting an author’s book out to readers. I don’t know all their names, but I see and appreciate the result of their work.
I would be remiss not to thank my wonderful agent, Wendy Lawton, who is generous with her help and prayers. Wendy has often mentioned how she lifts me up in prayer as I help care for my mother, who has dementia. Writing this book was a struggle with the hours I’ve needed to spend with my mother. Wendy’s prayers, the prayers of the people at Revell Books, and the prayers of my readers and friends have made such a difference in my life and often meant a more peaceful day for my mother. There’s no way I can thank you all enough.
Nor can I thank the one who answers those prayers enough. Long ago the Lord heard a little girl’s desire to be a writer, and he smiled down on that little girl. Over the years, he has given me words and let me share stories with you.
Last of all, I thank my husband, Darrell, and the rest of my family for their understanding and unfailing support.
I am blessed.
As an extra bonus here’s a recipe for that brown sugar pie Jay loved so much:
Brown Sugar Pie
6 tablespoons butter
6 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1½ cups brown sugar, packed
2 cups milk
¼ teaspoon salt
3 large egg yolks, beaten (save whites for meringue)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 9″ pastry shell, baked
In a saucepan, melt the butter. Remove from heat; add flour and stir until smooth. Stir in brown sugar. Return to heat; stir in milk and salt until blended. Cook and stir over medium-high heat in a heavy pan or skillet until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir about 2 tablespoons of the hot pie filling into the egg yolks and add mixture to the pie filling in the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in vanilla. Pour into pastry shell. Cover with meringue and bake (recipe below).
Meringue:
3 egg whites, room temperature
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
6 tablespoons sugar
Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until stiff and glossy. Spread evenly over pie filling, sealing meringue to pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 10–12 minutes or until golden brown.
Ann H. Gabhart is the bestselling author of more than twenty novels for adults and young adults. Angel Sister, Ann’s first Rosey Corner book, was a nominee for inspirational novel of 2011 by RT Book Reviews magazine. Her Shaker novel, The Outsider, was a Christian Book Awards finalist in the fiction category. She lives on a farm not far from where she was born in rural Kentucky. She and her husband are blessed with three children, three in-law children, and nine grandchildren. Ann loves reading books, watching her grandkids grow up, and walking with her dog, Oscar.
Ann enjoys connecting with readers on her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/anngabhart, where you can peek over her shoulder for her “Sunday mornings coming down” or walk along to see what she might spot on her walks or laugh with her on Friday smiles day. Then, come visit Ann at One Writer’s Journal, www.annhgabhart.blogspot.com. You never know what might show up there. Find out more at www.annhgabhart.com.
Books by Ann Gabhart
* * *
The Outsider
The Believer
The Seeker
The Blessed
The Gifted
———
Words Spoken True
———
Angel Sister
Small Town Girl
Love Comes Home
———
Christmas at Harmony Hill
THE HEART OF HOLLYHILL
Scent of Lilacs
Orchard of Hope
Summer of Joy
Website: www.bakerpublishinggroup.com/revell/newsletters-signup
Twitter
: RevellBooks
Facebook: Revell
Love Comes Home Page 31