Springtime at Hope Cottage

by Annie Rains

  “But she doesn’t care about some job. She loves you. She wants you,” Maddie protested.

  Tuck shook his head. “It’s not that simple when you’re an adult. People have priorities and responsibilities. My priority is you, and Josie’s is her career.”

  Maddie turned to look out her window for a long moment that made him wonder what was going on in her head. “This is my fault,” she finally said.

  “No it’s not.”

  “Yes it is.” She turned back to look at him. “In the barn when I ran away, I told Josie that I felt invisible when she was around.”

  “What?” Tuck’s jaw dropped open. Why hadn’t Josie told him this?

  “And now she’s gone. I didn’t mean to make her go.” Maddie’s eyes went from dry to welling with thick tears in a quick second. He’d come to realize that wasn’t so unusual for an eleven-year-old girl. “I was upset, and I was afraid that you wouldn’t want me if she stayed…because you love her more than me.”

  Tuck reached out and took her hand. “You don’t really believe that I would love you less if she was around, do you? Because I could never love you less. I love you more every day, Maddie. More than I even knew was possible. You’re my daughter, and I’m so glad to have you in my life.”

  Maddie wiped at her eyes. “I know that now. I’m sorry. Can you find her? Can you get her to come back?”

  Tuck massaged his forehead. “I’m not sure. I don’t know.” His thoughts swirled around, trying to make sense of everything. He’d had no reason to question Josie’s decision to leave. It was always her plan to go. But she’d fallen in love with him. She didn’t need to say it for him to know. Her actions spoke louder than any words. She was happy here at Hope Cottage. With him.

  “Dad?” Maddie said.

  He blinked her into focus. “Yeah?”

  “Don’t you think we’ve lost enough?”

  He nodded slowly, heart suddenly racing. “Yeah, I do.”

  “Me too. So go find her.” Maddie pushed the Jeep door open and stepped out. Before closing the door, she dipped inside to look at him. “My mom used to tell me that there was no limit to how much a heart can love. I must have forgotten that but I won’t forget again, okay?”

  He nodded and then watched her walk toward Beverly’s house, slow and steady. Pride rose inside him. She was so grown, so smart…and so right. He needed to find Josie and bring her home.

  * * *

  Josie had arrived early at the airport so she’d sat outside in the sunshine, hoping it would lift her mood. She pulled her laptop out of its bag and opened it to an email waiting for her from Heartfelt Media confirming their interview tomorrow.

  She pressed Reply and started typing.

  Hello, Ms. Diaz,

  I’m confirming tomorrow’s interview. I look forward to meeting you and discussing employment.

  Thank you,

  Josie Kellum

  Her index finger hovered over the send button. It was a lie. She wasn’t looking forward to the interview. It was the dream job she would’ve loved to have only a month ago. But that was before she’d come to Sweetwater Springs. Before she’d gone to Hope Cottage and fallen so completely in love with a man she could never have as her own.

  Her eyes burned as she stared at the screen in front of her. Leaving was the right thing to do, she told herself for the millionth time. Maybe once she got back to New York, she’d finally get that cat she’d always wanted. Her landlady liked her; she might allow it.

  An alarm that she’d set on her phone started beeping. It was time to check her bag and go through security. She hit the snooze button. Then she closed her laptop without sending the email just yet—she could work on it on the plane—and pulled her messenger bag onto her shoulder. As she headed toward the front entrance, she heard a familiar voice call her from behind.

  “Josie?”

  She stopped walking but didn’t turn. It was possible she was imagining his voice. She and Kaitlyn had watched so many romantic movies over the course of their friendship, and this would be the place where two lovers reunited. Where all was lost and then found. But that wasn’t happening today. She took another step forward and froze when she heard him call her again.

  “Josie?”

  She turned to face Tuck. He was real and standing only a few feet away. “What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same question,” he said with a small smile.

  Her foolish heart kicked at the sight. “I’m going back to New York and taking the job just like I wanted, remember?”

  “That’s not what you want.” He stepped closer to her.

  She swallowed thickly. “It isn’t?”

  “Not even close.” He took another step, keeping his eyes pinned to hers.

  She could lose herself in those dark eyes. In fact, she already had. “Okay, then, tell me what I want.”

  “You want a man who will carry you when you fall down while chasing after some crazy bird.”

  She giggled unexpectedly.

  “Someone who will pull you off life’s treadmill and show you the beauty of this world and make you see the beauty in yourself, inside and out. Someone who thinks you’re funny, smart, and the most loving, giving person he’s ever met.”

  “Tuck, I’m not sure I can be the woman you think I am. The one you need me to be. You’re a father now. You have Maddie, and I don’t know anything about raising a child. I know how to cook her breakfast and take her shopping but I’m not sure that’s enough.”

  Josie wasn’t sure she was enough.

  She’d spent her lifetime striving for more, and yet sometimes she still came up short. She wasn’t perfect.

  “You’re right. Breakfasts and shopping trips aren’t what Maddie needs…She just needs you. I need you too,” he said, cupping her face with his hands and holding her gaze. “Josie, if you get on that plane, I’ll be losing my second chance at love, something I never thought I’d get.”

  “Love?”

  “Definitely love. I love you, Josie. So much.”

  A warm, gooey goodness spread from her toes to her heart. She was a lover of words, and those were the best three in the English language. “I love you too…But Maddie—”

  “—has realized that my love for someone else doesn’t take away from my love for her. A heart has no limit. And Maddie doesn’t need you to be her mom. She just needs you to be her…Josie.”

  Josie laughed as tears streamed down her cheeks. “I can do that.”

  Tuck smiled. “I can’t offer you some big, shiny office with a view of the city. Or a fancy promotion or a prestigious award. All I can offer you is my heart.”

  Was this really her life? It could be if she wanted it to.

  “That’s not enough for me, Tuck,” she said, sucking in a shaky breath. Then she stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body to his. “It’s so much more.”

  Her phone alarm went off again. She should head inside. At least if she didn’t want to miss her flight.

  Tuck’s gaze locked on hers. “Do you have someplace to be?”

  “There’s nowhere I’d rather be than with you at Hope Cottage.”

  “So you’ll stay with me a little longer?” he asked, a big smile enveloping his face.

  “As long as you want me.”

  He brushed his lips to hers and kissed her, long and deep. “How about forever?” he asked when he finally pulled away.

  She met his eyes, seeing a lifetime of love and happiness promised there. “Forever sounds perfect.”

  EPILOGUE

  I’m leaving early today,” Josie told Michelle, who was less of a boss at Carolina Home and more of a friend. Not her only friend in town either. Josie had joined the group of women who regularly got together for Ladies’ Day Out. Last week, they’d all met again at the Sweetwater Bed and Breakfast for movie night. As always, Kaitlyn and Gina had been the perfect hostesses and had served up a variety of finger foods that had tasted
like heaven in her mouth.

  A few weeks before that, the ladies had met at Perfectly Pampered salon and had gotten mani-pedis. Josie had gotten hearts on the tip of each nail and a few of the older women had been beside themselves over the fact that they could get polka dots and zigzags.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Michelle said. “Do you have something fun planned for this afternoon?”

  “Tuck asked if I could spend the afternoon with him. It’s such a beautiful day and we’re taking the horses out for a ride.” And these days Josie chose people over work. She chose herself over a job.

  “Sounds wonderful! Have a great time,” Michelle said.

  “Thanks. See you tomorrow.” Walking out of the building, Josie stood for a moment and let the sun beat against her cheeks. Summer in Sweetwater Springs had turned out to be every bit as magical as spring had been. She couldn’t wait to experience the town in the fall and winter months too. She wanted to experience all the seasons with Tuck and Maddie—her family.

  She climbed into her car, which was a new purchase. Kaitlyn’s bike was nice, but on the days that Josie had errands to run or when the weather was less than ideal, it was convenient to have an alternate form of transportation.

  A short drive later, she pulled into the driveway of Hope Cottage and parked beside Tuck’s Jeep. She spotted him standing down by the stables and headed in that direction. She still couldn’t believe this was her life. She’d traded in her high heels for ballerina flats some days and sneakers the rest. Although some nights she dragged Tuck out on the town, which demanded her fancy red-soled heels.

  “Ready for a ride?” Tuck asked when she was only a few feet away.

  “I’ve been looking forward to it all day,” she said.

  A few minutes later, he helped her mount Sugar’s back and then he climbed on behind her, wrapping his arms around her and holding the reins. Riding separately was fun but snuggled into the arms of the man she loved was preferable.

  “Did Maddie get off to school okay?” she asked as they rode down the path that entered the woods. Josie had left home early this morning before Maddie’s bus had arrived.

  “Oh yeah. She was practically running,” he said.

  Maddie didn’t need a cane these days. Half the time it was all they could do to keep up with her and her busy social life. It was a new school year and a new beginning for them all.

  “She couldn’t wait to get to class. Today was her big presentation,” Tuck continued. “She doesn’t get that excitement from me. I used to hate speaking in front of the class. I told her she must have gotten it from her mom.”

  Josie laughed. She respected the fact that Tuck only had nice words to say about Crystal Sanders. Maddie’s birth mom had robbed him of eleven precious years with his daughter and yet he wasn’t bitter. It just went to prove that he was a good and honorable man. Her man.

  His arms wrapped more tightly around her waist and she couldn’t remember another time when she’d felt so completely happy.

  “How was work today?” he asked.

  “Nuh-uh. No discussion about work. My new favorite topic is us. What do you want to do tonight?”

  “Loaded question,” he said, tilting his mouth to her ear and arousing all her senses. “I was kind of thinking we could celebrate though.”

  “Hmm. Last time we had a celebration it was because I’d just quit my job at The Vibe. What is it we’re celebrating this time?”

  Tuck pulled one arm away and shifted behind her. Then she blinked and he was holding a wood-carved box in front of her.

  “What’s that?” she asked, even though she had a pretty good idea. She was also guessing he’d made the box himself. It was the same wood he’d used to carve Renee’s cane. Cedar.

  He flipped the lid, and Josie’s hands flew to her mouth. “I want to spend every day just like this,” he whispered, “with you in my arms. Except I want it to be as my wife.”

  Josie angled herself on the horse’s back so she could face him. She needed to make sure this wasn’t a dream. That Tuck was really proposing to her.

  “Marry me, Josie. I’m already planning to love you for the rest of my life anyway.”

  She laughed out loud. “Me too.” She couldn’t stop even if she tried. Nor would she want to. She wiped at a happy tear that slid off her cheek and then held out her left hand.

  Without another word, Tuck retrieved the diamond ring accented with opals on the sides and slid it down the length of her ring finger. Then he kissed her.

  “I’m hoping that was a yes,” he said once he pulled away.

  She grinned as she nodded. “Yes.” As she faced forward, her breath hitched along with her heart. “Do you see it?”

  From her peripheral, she saw his head turn slightly until he was looking in the direction of her gaze. “A purple finch.”

  The little sprite of a bird rested on the limb of a pine tree, seeming to watch them. She’d seen it twice behind the B&B, again in a dream, and now here. “This makes four times. I think you’re right. I’m connected to that bird somehow.” She glanced over her shoulder at him.

  “Have you figured out what it’s trying to tell you yet?” he asked.

  She returned her attention to the finch. It had shown up on her second day in Sweetwater Springs. Now here it was, born to fly but resting as it stared at them. Maybe she was imagining it but the little bird seemed to be smiling at them.

  “Actually, yes. I think it’s trying to tell me that I’ve finally found what I never knew I was looking for,” she said.

  Tuck angled his mouth to her ear and whispered again. “And what’s that?”

  Tuck, Maddie, Kaitlyn and Mitch, Michelle and the magazine, Hope Cottage. They all encapsulated one word for her.

  She turned to kiss his mouth softly and then pulled back to meet his gaze. “Home. I’ve found home.”

  Lula’s Three Sisters Stew

  When you don’t have a loved one to warm you up, my Three Sisters Stew will always do the trick. It doesn’t matter if it’s spring, summer, fall, or winter, the three sisters—corn, squash, and beans—are always in supply. Never an empty bowl or an empty heart!

  Ingredients:

  3 cups apple cider

  2 cups chicken stock

  ½ cup white beans

  ½ cup lima beans

  ½ cup black beans

  2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash

  1½ cups peeled, diced potatoes

  2 cups frozen corn kernels (no need to thaw)

  1½ cups finely chopped yellow onion

  2 tablespoons melted butter

  2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  ¼ teaspoon pepper

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  1 teaspoon curry powder

  1 teaspoon ground cumin

  Directions:

  1. Place the beans and potatoes into a large pot. Pour in apple cider and chicken stock.

  2. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.

  3. Sauté onions in a separate saucepan until lightly browned and then add to pot of beans.

  4. Add frozen corn and cook for an additional 15–20 minutes.

  5. Stir in curry powder and ground cumin.

  6. Let simmer until the vegetables are soft (approximately 10 minutes).

  7. Blend flour into the butter and then stir into the soup to thicken.

  8. Increase heat to medium for 5 minutes or until you achieve your desired consistency.

  9. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and lots of love.

  P.S. Yes, this is easy but it tastes so delicious that no one will ever know!

  Police Chief Alex Baker has always known that his best friend’s little sister is off-limits. Except Halona Locklear is all grown up now and more irresistible than ever.

  Please turn the page for a preview of Snowfall on Cedar Trail.

  Available Fall 2019

  CHAPTER ONE

  Something crashed in the kitchen.


  Halona Locklear cracked an eye as she listened and debated whether or not the sound warranted getting out of bed. Before she could decide, her alarm started to shriek from across the room. She’d put it there so that she couldn’t press Snooze and make herself late for the morning school drop-off.

  “Do I have to?” she groaned. Even though she already knew the answer. Yes. Even though she’d gotten up with Theo and his nightmares four times in the night, she still had to.

  Another crash in the kitchen got her out of bed faster. She turned off her alarm, slid her feet into a pair of slippers, and scooted down the hall.

  “Theo?” she called. “What are you doing?”

  She blinked in the harsh kitchen light, seeing her son sitting on the kitchen counter. There was a carton of milk at his side and a box of Cheerios. Without a word, he grabbed a bowl and hopped down. There was another bowl on the floor, thankfully plastic.

  “To the table,” she ordered, grabbing the milk and cereal and following him. After setting him up, she got her coffee started. Then she sat down alongside her son and drank, savoring every drop of caffeinated goodness. Theo’s dark eyes were underscored with blue from a fitful night’s sleep.

  “Hurry up,” she prodded. “I’ve got to get you to school.”

  Theo lifted his gaze and started shoveling the cereal into his mouth faster than he could chew and swallow. Milk dribbled down his chin, which he quickly wiped away with the sleeve of his T-shirt.

  Halona laughed despite her bone-deep fatigue. Then she retreated to her room and dressed herself before helping Theo pick out something to wear. She grabbed the lunch she’d packed for him last night, his backpack, and her own purse, and they hurried out the front door to her navy blue SUV and drove to Theo’s school.

  “Have a good day,” she said cheerfully, hoping her son would catch her enthusiasm.