Eden laughed and went back to the living room. She didn’t know when a birthday of hers had elicited such excitement. Usually there was no celebration other than a cake she baked for herself and the balloons she bought the kids. Now all these balloons were for her. The living room was full of them, bobbing from the ceiling, clustering around the Christmas tree, their ribbons hanging down like confetti.
She didn’t have long to wonder. Josh came through the kitchen door carrying the cake. It canted to the left and drooped with runny icing. The candles flickered and sputtered wax over the top and left drips like wax petals. Eden bit her lip to keep from laughing.
Samantha and Amelia carried packages wrapped with more tape than paper. Katie’s gift was clutched in her chubby hands, and the bow was now in her hair. The children placed them on the coffee table with a flourish.
“Sit down, Eden.” Amelia clapped her hands in excitement.
Eden obeyed and sank onto the sofa.
“Mama,” Katie said. Her dimples flashing, she offered her tattered package.
Eden took it. “Thank you, baby girl.” Katie tried to help her open it, and Eden let her rip the wrapping paper. Inside was a candle. Katie sniffed. “It smells good, doesn’t it?”
Katie nodded, then Cory sidled up to Eden and held out his package. “Uncle Josh helped me find it,” he said.
Uncle Josh? Eden glanced at Josh and saw a smile of pleasure curve his lips. He’d worked so hard to get close to Cory. That was one of the reasons she loved him; he cared so much for others. His big heart had taken in all the children.
One by one she opened the packages from the children. There were bath salts, stationery, a lace throw for the piano, and a box of chocolates. Josh had gone to a lot of work with the children.
She sat back against the sofa and sighed with pleasure. It was the nicest birthday she could remember. Josh smiled and pulled the ribbon on a balloon in the corner of the room. He came toward her with a grin, but fear seemed to lurk behind his eyes.
He held out the balloon ribbon. “You’ll have to break the balloon to get your gift from me.”
“You didn’t need to get me anything. You’ve already spent way too much money. We all know where the money came from for the gifts from the children.”
“This is something special.” He handed her a pin. “Give it a stab.”
She laughed and took the pin. Poised over the balloon, she could see a stuffed bear inside. She held her breath and pricked the balloon with the pin. There was a loud pop then the bear dropped into her lap. Eden picked it up and hugged it.
“Mine!” Katie said. She tried to grab it, but Eden held it away from her.
“No, Sweetie, it’s Mommy’s.”
Josh was looking more uncertain. “What’s wrong?” she asked him.
“Um, nothing’s wrong. Did you see what the bear was holding?”
Eden glanced down at the bear in her hands. A small, velvet jewelry box was in the bear’s hands. Her heart began to pound against her ribs, and she couldn’t think.
Josh slid to his knees and took the box from the bear. Opening it, he held up a lovely marquis diamond ring.
Eden gasped, and tears filled her eyes. Her gaze sought Josh’s, and the love she saw reflected on his face made it hard to catch her breath.
“I love you, Eden Walters, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me? Before you answer, I want you to know I got a job here in Wabash so we won’t be leaving our kids. I’m going to be working at Ford Meter Box in their export department. And I’m handy with a hammer. I can fix this old house up and make it a traffic stopper.” He paused to catch a breath, and Eden laughed.
“All those things don’t matter,” Eden said softly. She cupped Josh’s face in her hands. “I love you, Josh. And Katie loves you. The thought of your leaving has kept me awake nights. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
“Yippee!” Cory began to dance around the middle of the room, and Samantha and Amelia joined him. Katie tried to dance, too, but was only able to run to keep up with the older kids.
Josh leaned forward and kissed her. The love in his kiss brought tears flooding to her eyes.
Josh pulled away and dug in his pocket. “There’s one more thing,” he said, pulling out a piece of paper. “I’ve got a lead on Crista. It looks like she might be in Arizona. How does Phoenix sound for a honeymoon? Warm sunshine, blue skies.”
“You make the sun shine for me,” she said, leaning forward to kiss him again. As he took her in his arms, she knew her haven in his arms was the home she’d longed for all her life. Wherever Josh and Katie were would be home.
If you love romance with adventure and mystery, the Lonestar Series by Colleen Coble is one you won’t want to miss!
Lonestar Sanctuary
Lonestar Secrets
Lonestar Homecoming
Lonestar Angel
Lonestar Secrets is a reader favorite!
Can a secret be kept forever?
Five years ago, Shannon Astor left the beautiful high-mountain country of West Texas as a single mother. She was desperate for a fresh start...and a way to keep the secrets of her past buried. It almost worked.Until a chance to make a better life for her daughter leads her right back home. To the very place of the past betrayals. But it also leads Shannon to horse-trainer Jack MacGowan—her handsome high-school nemesis, now a widowed father. His daughter looks so startlingly like her own that Shannon can’t help but question the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s birth. Wary of each other’s intentions, Shannon and Jack reluctantly join forces to untangle a deep mystery that swirls around Shannon’s parents, a lost Spanish treasure, and a legendary black stallion.If Shannon can learn to entrust her secrets to the man falling in love with her, the truth just might set her free.
“Colleen weaves intrigue and God’s love into a story full of carefully crafted characters. If you’re looking for an awesome writer, I highly recommend her!”—Tracie Peterson, best-selling author of Dawn’s Prelude, Song of Alaska Series
Watch for Tidewater Inn—coming in July 2012!
Welcome to Hope Beach
Where the sea breeze is fresh, sun sparkles on sand . . . and trouble appears with the force of a hurricane.
I love to hear from my readers! Drop me an email at
[email protected] and visit my website at www.colleencoble.com for more information about my many novels.
Best-selling author Colleen Coble’s novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, the ACFW Carol Award, the Romance Writers of America RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has nearly 2 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana. Visit her website at www.colleencoble.com.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Colleen Coble, Heart Full of Love
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