Sanctuary (Murrells Inlet Miracles Book 1)

by Larsen, Laurie

  “Yes, it sure is. Reminds me of my childhood. Of my Aunt Edie. Of summers and fun.”

  They continued to walk and the sun started to make its descent over the ocean. The colors of sunset began to paint the skyline.

  “Nora, I wanted to bring you out here to apologize. I treated you badly and I never meant for it to turn out like this.”

  “You didn’t treat me badly, Shaw. You treated me wonderfully. Except for one thing. You weren’t honest with me.”

  He shook his head, looking at his feet as they walked. “An apology isn’t enough to cover my mistake, but I’ll start there. I’m sorry, Nora.” He lifted his gaze and made eye contact with her. Then he dropped his head again. “When I met you, I had been married over twenty years, and I would say for at least eighteen of those years, it wasn’t a loving, committed relationship. Especially after Melanie got ill, and we all realized that it was never going to get better, but only worse and worse and worse.”

  They continued to walk and Nora focused on the sand on her feet, the salty smell in her nose, the beautiful colors ahead of her in the sky, and the sight and sound of this man she’d loved, spilling his heart out to her.

  “I had never, not once, been with another woman after I married Melanie. I mean, sure, I was occasionally attracted to certain women, but I never acted on any of those feelings because I knew my place. I was providing for Melanie and her needs, and I was devoted to Sadie. I wanted to demonstrate to Sadie how a man should treat his wife.

  “But then Melanie was confined and she really wasn’t even communicating with me. I felt empty and lonely. I had Sadie and I had my work, and as much as I told myself that would be enough, I felt a gap in my life. Still, years went by and I tried to be happy on my own. Then I met you.”

  Nora took his hand and pulled him to a stop. She was tiring of walking, and she wanted to make sure she heard this part without straining. She gestured to the sand, and she sat. He joined her.

  He looked out at the waves, and she looked at him. Being with him, seeing him, having him close enough to touch, was having an impact on her that she didn’t anticipate. She had been hurt by his betrayal, and it was tough to deal with. But she had picked herself up, brushed herself off and moved on with her life. She was running a successful not-for-profit that was all her idea, all her work and all her skills. She didn’t need Shaw to live a full, satisfying life.

  But she wanted him.

  The realization hit her like a bomb dropped from a fighter jet. She could live without him in her life, but despite everything they’d been through, she still wanted him. She wanted to pick up where they’d left off, and spend more time with him, and see if their love could grow to something permanent.

  She’d listen to his confession, his baring of his soul, and keep an open mind.

  “When I met you, Nora, I experienced something I never had before. It’s possible that I fell in love with you the first moment I met you, but hey, what do I know about love? I just know that I felt a draw, a pull, a magnetic force that made me want to be with you. To talk to you, to look at you, and of course, to kiss you. Before I even knew what was going on, I was in deep. And then I stepped back and realized I had a problem.

  “I, selfishly, was focused on how my dishonesty impacted me. Sadie. My marriage. Obviously, married men aren’t supposed to kiss other women. But it also impacted you, Nora. And that’s what I want to tell you today. I’m sorry for not telling you about Melanie. For hurting you, and for causing you to doubt my integrity.

  “I made a mistake, yes. I have prayed for forgiveness from God. But I need to ask for forgiveness from you, too.”

  He looked tortured, earnest. She couldn’t leave her thoughts to herself any longer. “I forgive you.”

  He turned his head in her direction, eyes still fixed on the sand. “What did you …?”

  “I forgive you, Shaw.”

  Now, he whipped his head to look at her, to grab her hands and pull her closer to him. Lips inches apart he breathed, “Are you sure?”

  She nodded. “You’re a good man. A man of God, a man of faith. I trust you and I forgive you for lying to me.”

  A smile spread across his face and his eyes danced with happiness.

  “We all make mistakes. I sure do. You did. But it’s behind us now.”

  “Us,” he whispered beneath his breath, as if he was validating that there was an ‘us’ after all that had happened. He leaned close and placed his lips on hers. His hands came to her shoulders and ran them up and down her arms, causing her skin to goose pimple. He pulled her body against his and they kissed. Warmth spread through her, originating with his lips, and cascading through her entire body and soul.

  He pulled back, and still holding her, said, “I want to do this right. I don’t want to make any more mistakes. Will you do this with me?”

  Nora couldn’t help giggling like a teenager. “What do you mean?”

  He huffed out a breath. “I want to start all over. I want to build on what we had before, but I want to throw out all the bad. I want to take my second chance.”

  She nodded and ran her fingers over his jawline. So strong, so handsome, so in love with her.

  And she was in love with him. Her heart was big enough to love him, to be broken by him, and to forgive him. And start again.

  “Nora, would you like to go out with me? A fine evening of dinner, maybe a show, talking for hours, getting to know each other better?”

  She grinned. “Sounds like a fine first date.”

  He got to his feet, pulled her up to hers and arms around each other, they walked back toward the truck while the sunset released a gorgeous palette of colors around them.

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  CHRISTIAN FICTION NOVELS

  by Laurie Larsen

  The Pawleys Island Paradise series:

  Book 1: Roadtrip to Redemption. It started as a trip to lose old memories. It became a journey to find her heart. A woman facing the most desolate summer of her life, follows God’s direction and instead has the most rewarding and life-changing summer of all.

  Book 2: Tide to Atonement. Life knocked him down. Faith raised him up. A man has paid his debt to society and is released from prison. Determined to create a life to be proud of, he realizes his past isn’t quite as willing to be done as he wants it to be.

  Book 3: Journey to Fulfillment. A traumatic family event. Distinctly opposite ways of dealing with it between husband and wife. Let no man put asunder. A married couple deals with a family tragedy in different ways and works through the resulting collapse of their marriage to reconcile their love for each other.

  Book 4: Bridge to Fruition. The old is gone. The new is come. A young woman from an affluent family finds love with a man who grew up in the foster system. Can they let go of the trappings of their past and find love together in their present?

  Book 5: Path to Discovery. A brokenhearted New York actress welcomes the escape from the hustle and bustle of the big city to take the lead in a beach-town dinner theater show. It’s the solace and sanctuary that she’s needed ever since her world came crumbling down. But then he walks in... back into her life and her memories of her worst nightmare.

  Book 6: Return to Devotion. Can men and women be “just friends?” A military wife deals with unbearable loneliness on her husband’s third overseas deployment, leading to an indiscretion with her new male friend. Will the truth destroy ev
erything she and her husband have built as man and wife?

  Book 7: Pawleys Island Paradise: A Companion. Discover the stories and inspiration that led to the Pawleys Island Paradise series! A short, fully-illustrated non-fiction companion to the beloved Pawleys Island Paradise series of inspirational romance by award-winning author Laurie Larsen.

  Pawleys Island Paradise boxset: First three books in one easy download!

  Preacher Man. Laurie’s 2010 EPIC Award winner for Best Spiritual Romance of 2010: A beautiful, heartwarming Christian love story that will leave you feeling good.

  WONDERING WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IN MURRELLS INLET MIRACLES?

  Here's a quick peek:

  Carly Milner steered her tired old Honda Civic into the staff parking lot of Ocean View Community College. She pushed it into Park and gave the accelerator a few "vroom-vrooms" with her foot. The engine roared to life … for a few seconds. Then, it conked out.

  Carly sighed. She looked around to see if any of her new co-workers were watching. Then she remembered, of course, that it was her first day, and she had no idea who her co-workers were. A young man in a shirt and tie peered into her window from about ten feet away, and she waved, gave him a friendly grin. She murmured to the Civic, "Thank you for getting me here. Now, get a rest, and make sure you get me back home, too, you hear?"

  She opened the door and stepped out of the car, giving the blue exterior a little pat. She and the vehicle had an understanding: it would continue to deliver her safely to where she and Grace needed to go, and when she finally had a little money socked away, she'd dole some out for engine repairs. Now that she had a decent job, maybe that would be sooner rather than later.

  But first things first. She followed a small line of people into the side door of the college, found the Admissions Department easily, and walked in the front door. She swiveled her head, looking for someone, anyone who looked familiar, to welcome her. Seeing none, she stepped to a waist-high counter and the young woman standing behind it, tapping away at a keyboard.

  "Good morning. I'm Carly Milner. Today's my first day of work."

  The young woman looked up. "Oh yes! Dave told us to expect you. He's in a meeting till nine, but I'm supposed to show you to your desk, get you logged into your email, and then you can go see him in his office when he's free."

  A rush of pure adrenaline circulated through Carly's upper body. A real office job. A desk. A computer! Gone were the days of working at a restaurant, wearing a polyester uniform, apron and orthopedic shoes. There wasn't a hairnet in sight! And here she was.

  She smiled at her co-worker and held her hand out. "Well, I'm thrilled to be here, and thrilled to meet you … um?"

  "Haley! Sorry."

  "No problem, Haley. You show me what to do and where to go and I'll get out of your hair."

  Haley led her into the depths of the big room, past several rows of desks until she found Carly's own. Carly sat in the desk chair and twirled it excitedly, stopping abruptly when she noticed Haley's amused expression. "First job?" she asked.

  Carly considered. "You could say that, I guess. Not first job ever, but certainly my most professional job, the one that's going to lead me to a bright and successful future."

  Haley nodded, an impressed look on her face. The two girls got to work.

  Fifteen minutes later, Carly was reading email and exploring the Admissions guidelines manual on the college's intranet. She was so absorbed that she didn't notice Haley standing in front of her desk until she said, "Earth to Carly."

  Carly looked up, eyes wide, and chuckled. "Sorry. Were you speaking to me?"

  "Yes I was. Only to tell you that a super cute hunk is here asking for you."

  "For me? You must be mistaken," Carly said, eyebrows crunched in confusion.

  "You're the only Carly Milner who works here." Haley subtly gestured with her index finger across the room in the direction of the Admissions Office door. Carly let her gaze follow.

  She gasped.

  "Do you know him?"

  Did she know him! Did she ever. Although what on earth he was doing here, she had no idea.

  He happened to glance in their direction and he raised a hand, a gorgeous smile suddenly covering his face. "Oh hey, Carly!"

  Carly groaned discernibly. Those longish chestnut locks, cocoa-brown eyes and white smile. That voice, with the cute accent. It was why she'd fallen for him so deeply when she was sixteen.

  And as much as she didn't want to admit it, it was why they now shared a two-year-old daughter.

  "You can bring him to your desk if he wants to talk about taking classes."

  "Oh, no, that's all right. Can I take a quick five minute break to go talk to him?"

  "Fine with me. Dave isn't ready for you yet anyway."

  Carly tucked her chin into her chest and marched to the front of the room. When she reached Ryan, and he looked like he was about to give her a loud greeting, she grabbed his arm and dragged him to the front door, opened it and manhandled him through. On the other side of the closed door, she hissed, "What are you doing here?"

  "Came to see ya!"

  She sputtered, not even sure where to start with that one. How about the most obvious question? "How did you know I was here?"

  He had the decency to blush, which always meant that he'd done something sneaky and was embarrassed by it. "Ahh well, I followed you."

  "You did what?"

  "I mean … I was coming to your apartment to visit you and Grace, and you were just pulling out. I decided to see where you were going and you ended up here."

  She huffed out a frustrated breath.

  "You're working here now?"

  "Ryan, I'm giving you two minutes to tell me what it is you're here for and then get out. Yes, I'm working here now. It's my first day and I need to make a good first impression. I don't need you to get me in trouble, you hear?"

  "Oh. In that case, I guess I need to hurry up and tell you what I came here to say." He cleared his throat, looked closely in her eyes and lowered his voice to a murmur. "I miss you, Carly. I miss what we could've had all along. But I'm ready for it now. I'm ready to be a family with you and Grace."

  Her eyes popped open wide, and then the rushed morning, and the skipped breakfast, and the super-caffeinated coffee and Ryan's surprise confession all rushed to her head simultaneously. Bees buzzed in her ears, dark swirls hit her eyes, and she fell … right into his arms.

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  MEET LAURIE LARSEN

  Award-winning author Laurie Larsen leads a double life. During the day she's a respected Project Manager in the fast-paced world of Information Technology. After dinner and a glass of wine, she becomes a multi-published author of Christian fiction grounded in today's modern world.

  Laurie's been published for 17 years, but feels she finally found her writing "niche" in 2009 when her first inspirational romance, Preacher Man was published. It won fans, accolades, and the prestigious EPIC Award for the Best Spiritual Romance of 2010. From then on, her path was clear. She was put on this earth (in part) to tell love stories combined with a strong message of faith. Her Pawleys Island Paradise series is a much beloved, at times best-selling series of six books following Leslie and Hank, and the Harrison clan, as they face the daily challenges of life while trying to include prayer and praise. Reviewers say the books are heartwarming, life-changing and an example to follow for including God in your life.

  Laurie loves the beach (obvious to anyone who's read the Pawleys Island Paradise series) and she's fondly looking forward to a day (not too far away) where she can retire from the demanding day job, and spend her days living at the beach and writing novels. Until then, she travels back
and forth between Illinois and South Carolina just as often as possible.

  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 Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  Chapter Thirty

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  Excerpt to Murrells Inlet Miracles, Book 2!