by Edie Ramer
“It will come to you. We have miracles happen in our village.”
“Twenty-three years ago, my doctors said I was a miracle because I was alive. I have the impression that Yahweh isn’t going to fix me again. This time I need to fix myself, and I don’t know how to do it.”
“There’s no middle road?”
“I thought we were talking about puzzles, not maps.” He shook his head before she could reply. “Never mind. Neither way works.”
“You’re sure?”
He looked her straight in the eyes and quietly said, “My heart is bleeding.”
As he said that, something happened. It felt as if the room shifted. He didn’t hear silverware knocking together or glasses falling and breaking, but something made him look up at the door opening for another diner.
At first he didn’t see anyone, just the open door. A movement sent his gaze downward to a child entering the diner. Nothing exceptional about that, but this child wore a cap and was bald.
His first thought was Not again. Not now.
And then came the second thought. That either through Yahweh or fate or just by dumb luck, he’d found another piece of the puzzle.
Chapter Fifty
He was here.
Katie watched Gabe stroll into the waiting room with Gunner, and it felt to her as if the room brightened. Her heart knocked against her chest wall. She stood slowly while the other twenty or so friends, neighbors and gossips remained sitting.
“Hey, everyone,” Gunner called. “The doc’s happy with the babies’ progress. He thinks they’ll be in the NICU for at least a few weeks, but he says they’re fighters. Not sure how we’ll feel about that when they’re older, all fighting for the same toy, but now it’s a good thing.”
Everyone spoke at once, assuring Gunner that it was a good thing. Gunner held up his hand until the voices died down.
“Another good thing is that we’re starting to build the new home while they’re safe in their incubators.” He gestured to Gabe. “And here’s the guy who’s making our new home happen.”
Another wall of voices rose. Katie thought she was the only one not talking. She couldn’t talk, her voice stuck in her throat as she stared at Gabe. In his charcoal turtleneck and black jeans, Gabe looked yummier to her than any pie she’d made. She wanted to taste him, taking little bites that didn’t hurt up and down his body.
It wasn’t right for him to follow her to Wisconsin.
It wasn’t right for him to look so delicious.
Putting his hands up, warding off the praise, Gabe laughed. “It’s not me. It’s thanks to everyone involved. And it’s thanks to everyone who sent a contribution whether they live in India or Indiana.”
Everyone got to their feet, clamoring to talk to him. Everyone except Katie. She sank back into her chair, her knees feeling like the bendy part of straws. Gabe went around the room, starting with the person furthest from Katie. He treated every person as if they mattered. As if they were important. He noticed things about people. He seemed to care.
No wonder they treated him like he was royalty, saying a few words to him, then sitting down with a silly smile while he moved on to the next person.
Ridiculous, she thought. But the nearer he came to her, the shorter her breaths grew.
He finally reached the person next to her, Becky, who’d been telling Katie about her wedding plans. She kept touching her belly as if to make sure the baby was all right.
“May I?” Gabe glanced at Becky’s belly.
She laughed. “Why not? Everyone else does.”
Instead of just touching her stomach, he bent so that his mouth was an inch from her belly. He whispered, “Grow strong, grow tall, grow wise.”
“That’s so beautiful,” Becky said as he straightened. She stood and hugged him. “Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure.” He smiled at her and then stepped in front of Katie.
She could barely breathe. Gabe didn’t say anything at first. Just took her hands and tugged. Slowly she stood. “I have to go now,” he said.
“Of course.” The words dragged out of her even as she silently cursed him for coming. Cursed him for charming the whole room. Cursed him for making her love him even more.
He dropped her hands then turned and walked out of the room, taking with him the tiny bit of hope that maybe he’d come for her. That maybe he’d found a way to make it happen.
But it was never going to happen. Ever.
***
Katie’s pie magic wasn’t letting her brood. She was making this pie in a frenzy, knowing she needed to make her Everything Will be All Right pie. The emotion possessed her, as strong as if someone were holding a gun to her head. Stronger, because it came from her soul. As if pies came from the soul. The two crusts, life and death. The filling. Everything in between. The sugar and the spices. And in this case, bourbon and walnut.
Finally it was in the oven and she collapsed on the sofa and started to drift off. Trusting that the oven alarm would wake her, she let the sadness sneak back in, let it drain her energy. The sadness wasn’t part of her pies. Sad and pies didn’t go together. But that was what she felt now.
Love sucked. Before this whirlwind of emotions smashed into her, she was content with life. From now on, she would feel as if she were missing a part of her soul. Like pumpkin pie without the cinnamon and ginger.
She’d been up since 4:00 AM baking her pies, then she’d chased to Tomahawk to replenish her supplies, and after that she’d gone to the hospital to see Trish and Gunner and the babies and their many visitors. Alone in her house now, she thought that Trish’s life was overflowing with babies, and hers felt empty. She didn’t even have a dog anymore.
She drifted off to sleep as she admitted to herself that she was still grieving for Happy. Though Gabe was alive, nothing had changed and she grieved for him, too.
***
The oven alarm woke Katie. She was in the kitchen before it rang again, her mind still fuzzy with sleep. She took out her perfect pie, put it on the counter to cool, then stumbled back to the sofa.
The second time she was awakened, it was by a kiss. She jerked upright, her forehead hitting Gabe’s.
“Ow,” they said at the same time, pressing their hands against their foreheads.
“You’re not Sleeping Beauty,” he said.
“Not unless she has flour beneath her fingernails.” She twisted so she was sitting, sliding her legs over the side of the sofa.
“Your face, too.” He rubbed his index finger against her cheek.
“What are you doing here? I told you not to come after me.”
“I read the letter, but you didn’t say the one thing that would keep me away.” His smile held sadness. “That you don’t love me.”
She opened her mouth and tried to say it...but the words wouldn’t come out, her vocal chords frozen, her mouth refusing to open.
“It won’t work,” she finally said, her vocal chords unfreezing, though the coldness remained in her chest and her heart. “We’ll be miserable.”
“We can make it work. I have plans. I already set up my own channel. My videos are still on YouTube, but viewers can go direct to my channel, too. I want to give away a portion of the proceeds from the kids’ videos to the cancer research foundation. I want to grow as a brand, and I believe I can do it. No one else is doing what I do.”
“I believe you’ll be a success, but that doesn’t change anything for us. I liked Chicago, but I can’t live there.”
He sat on the sofa next to her. “Chicago isn’t the only place where kids have cancer. Unfortunately it’s all over.”
“But your contacts are in Chicago. Your—”
His hand on her thigh stopped her words and her breath. The laughter in his eyes started her breathing again. “There’s a children’s hospital with pediatric cancer care about an hour and twenty minutes from Miracle.”
“That’s a long drive.”
“I just came from there, and comp
ared to what these kids are going through, I don’t mind a drive. And look what I get to come home to. I’ll smile all the way there and all the way home. I’ll be living my dream, and I’m a damn lucky guy.”
Hope grew in her. Hope and fear, because she wanted it so badly. Wanting something so big and so wonderful had risks. Risks that her heart would break again.
“What if your dream changes?”
“My dreams may change. My love for you...that’s just going to grow.” He leaned closer to her, his voice low and intense. “For years I’ve said my other passions—or lack of them—kept me from a serious relationship, but now I think all along I was waiting for you. You’re my miracle. Will you marry me?”
“Marry?” She stared at him. She’d expected him to ask her to live with him. And despite her fears, she’d say yes... But marry? “It’s so soon.”
“Not soon at all.” He smiled slowly, dimples indenting, eyes shining in the way that made her spirits lift, as if all was right with the world. “We’ve known each other for twenty-three years. That’s a long time to wait to get married.”
She laughed, her breath hitching, filled with so much joy she could feel it flying out of her, into the world, the air, sparks of happiness. “Yes. You’re my angel.” She put her hand on the side of his face. “And sometimes you’re my devil. I love you.”
He reached for her, and this kiss was different from any other. Tenderness mixed with passion and hope and love.
“I suppose you’re going to make a pie about this,” he said, his voice husky.
“I already did.” She was smiling so widely her face hurt. “We can have a piece after we make love.”
“First I have something for you. An engagement present.” He pulled away from her and stood. “It’s at your dad’s.”
“I’d rather have you than a present,” she said, but stood and followed him to the back door. Curious and a little uncertain. A new mixer maybe? The one she had was about twelve years old. It was about time—
He opened the back door, and a yip stopped her thoughts. A puppy’s version of a bark.
“You didn’t,” she said, but he was stepping outside. “It’s too soon. It’s—”
The yip turned into a howl. Not a full adult Beagle howl, but a baby Beagle howl.
Her breath caught, and she stepped out. It was too soon. Way too soon. But the small, thin, short-legged, floppy-eared puppy scampered toward them, falling twice along the way. Tripping over its puppy legs. And each time getting up again.
“Oh,” she said. “Oh.” As if the puppy knew she was talking to it, it ran toward her, its ears flapping, eyes bright brown and healthy.
“You’re crazy.” She kissed Gabe, fast and hard. “A crazy man.”
“Crazy in love with you.”
Laughing, she stooped down and held out her arms to catch the puppy and let it lick her face, feeling an instant bond.
She didn’t know the puppy’s sex but knew what she was going to name it.
Miracle.
-The End-
Dear Reader,
I’m delighted that you’ve read MIRACLE PIE, the fourth Miracle Interrupted story. I’ve reached my heart place with this series, and plan on writing these stories for a long time. If you enjoyed it, I would appreciate it if you would help others enjoy it by posting a review at your favorite places.
Read on for excerpts from STARDUST MIRACLE and MIRACLE LANE.
I love hearing from readers. You can reach me at [email protected].
You can see a list of my books on the next page. Updates can be found at http://edieramer.com. You can also sign up for my newsletter and find samples of my other novels.
Happy Reading!
Edie Ramer
Stardust Miracle
a Miracle Interrupted novel, book 2
Edie Ramer
A miracle is going to happen...
Becky Diedrich is the cheesemaker’s daughter.
The minister’s wife.
The good sister.
What she’s not is her own woman.
What she can’t be is a mother.
And then she catches her husband with another woman.
And she moves in with her sister.
And she starts to see sparkles.
And this is just the beginning…
Excerpt:
Becky ran across the grass and laughed at her brashness. She wore her tan trench coat — her church coat — over her red negligee. Tonight she felt free. With a sexual appetite and playfulness she hadn’t felt for a long time.
She couldn’t swear that what she planned had never happened in the church, people being what they were. But it had never happened in the church before with her and Jim.
Laughter spilled out of her mouth, and she only stopped because she was breathless from an overload of excitement. The need to experience something more with her husband had been building inside her for a long time. Now it was finally boiling over — leaving her lightheaded and unlike her usual self.
She liked these feelings. Liked this side of her a lot.
When she’d stepped out of the car tonight and looked up at the stars, something happened. Something changed. For so long, she’d been carrying a dark weight around with her. Going through the days and nights trying to say and do all the right things, when inside something had felt all wrong.
She’d lost the joy of life. Not fully living...just going through the motions. At only thirty-six, she’d felt old and dried up.
Now she felt young again. Free.
Jim wouldn’t know what happened to his proper wife.
She reached the church’s back door, using it instead of the front entrance because she didn’t want anyone passing by to see her. Not that there was anything wrong with going to see her husband. But if anyone mentioned her late night visit, her face would probably turn the color of a ripe tomato and give away what they’d done.
She slipped the key into the lock but it turned easily. She stepped inside. Jim must’ve come in this way and forgotten to lock the door behind him. He was always preoccupied with his work and his parishioners.
She admired that. She did. But once in a while, she wanted his mind, plus a few body parts, to be on her.
And not just when her body temperature was right for conception.
She started toward Jim’s office, and her heels clicked on the linoleum floor. Laughing under her breath, she stopped and took them off. She wanted to surprise Jim with a good surprise. No. A wonderful surprise.
His door was closed. Habit, she supposed, since no one was here except him. She heard him speaking. Couldn’t make out the words. Just his voice. Probably saying lines from the sermon he was preparing. Then his voice stopped, and she imagined him frowning at his computer screen while he wrote the next line.
She started to undo the buttons of her coat, then decided it would be sexier to do it inside with him watching. Kind of like a stripper.
Stifling a giggle, she turned the handle and flung open the door.
“Surprise!”
Miracle Lane
A Miracle Interrupted novel, book 4
Edie Ramer
Miracle Lane
A Miracle Interrupted novel, book 3
Edie Ramer
She forgot how to hate, and now she’s learning how to love...
Brain-damaged Nia Beaudine can’t remember her life before The Accident. Someone intentionally ran over her and left her for dead. Now she’s living in the ‘witch’s house’ she inherited in the village of Miracle, relearning how to live on her own. Well, almost on her own – the talking cat helping her cope is a bonus. But when a hate-filled family member shows up with a gun, Nia knows she needs real help.
Former army sergeant and PTSD sufferer Rob Ackerman regularly covers for his identical twin, the village constable, and answers Nia’s emergency call. This strange young woman immediately sees he’s not his brother. In return, he sees that the only way she can fully live in her new lif
e is to find out why someone in her old life tried to kill her...and might try again.
As they dig up Nia’s past, the attraction between them grows. Their brains may be damaged, but their bodies and hearts are working just fine.
Excerpt:
Chapter One
The thin man wearing the tan constable uniform at Nia Beaudine’s front door was a liar.
People told Nia she’d been a liar in her old life. Those memories had been lost along with pieces of her skull and brain matter. Her new self couldn’t understand why people lied. Truths were hard enough to remember.
Why would this man – any man – want to pretend he was a constable in this village of only 629? Most of them odd. A place she should fit right in.
This man...he didn’t look odd, but she knew he must be very odd. Not dangerous, though. For one second she considered closing the door on him, but every instinct told her she could trust this man.
Instead, she said, “I think my cat is trying to talk to me.”
Her words seemed to hang in the air like bubbles. She studied his face, waiting for his reaction. Ready for anything.
He studied her back. Just watching.
Yesterday Nia had learned the word cryptic while doing a crossword puzzle in an exercise to expand her word skills.
Her cat was cryptic. A cryptic, talking cat.
The man blinked. Not talkative like her cat. Perhaps even more cryptic. The silence stretched out between them. Nina heard the birds chatter and small rustles of leaves. Probably a squirrel or animal running across the wooded lawn of the house her mother’s aunt had bequeathed to her.