“Marry me,” he said simply.
She didn’t say anything for a moment. “Marry you?” she echoed at last.
“I love you.” He wouldn’t add any embellishments, nor would he offer her unnecessary compliments. If she couldn’t already see that he was speaking from his heart, then anything else he had to say wouldn’t help his cause.
“Scott...like you said, we need to sleep on it. We’re both tired. It was an exhausting night—”
“I don’t need to sleep on it. I love you, Chrissie. I want to make you my wife. I want us both to live here in Hard Luck, to raise our children here, to grow old here. Together.”
She swallowed hard.
“There’s no one else waiting in the wings, either. Only you.”
As though she didn’t trust her voice, she shook her head again and slipped out of the booth. Without a word, she started to walk away.
So that was his answer. The burden of his disappointment seemed too much to bear. He propped his elbows on the table and covered his face with his hands.
“I’ll pack up my things and be gone by morning,” he told her, his voice raw.
She stood with her back to him, but at his words, she whirled around. “I told you I’ll move.”
“No, I said I’d go.” He took his first and last sip of coffee, left the mug on the table and got out of the booth. He hadn’t gone more than a few feet when Chrissie stopped him.
“All right!” she shouted. “All right.”
Frowning, he faced her. “I’ll be out of Hard Luck by morning.”
“I... I wasn’t agreeing to that. I meant, I’ll marry you.”
Mary stood in the background, both hands over her mouth as though to keep from shouting with glee. Scott cast her a warning glance, and her eyes twinkled with sheer delight.
“Why would you marry me?” he demanded. “Other than the fact that I asked you to.”
“First...” She lowered her gaze to the floor. “I...love you. I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember.”
“I want a woman’s love, not a schoolgirl crush.”
“Give me a chance, and you’ll see how much of woman I am.”
He grinned. “Any other reason?”
She nodded. “I couldn’t let you walk away from me again. It nearly killed me the first two times.”
“It’s not going to happen, sweetheart.” He held open his arms, and she flew into his embrace. His hold was so strong he practically lifted her from the floor, then her lips were on his. She kissed him in a way that left him in no doubt of her feelings. And in no doubt that she was every inch the woman she’d claimed.
“This is wonderful news!” Mary cried from behind them.
Scott heard the honking sound of Ben blowing his nose and recognized that his friend was shedding a tear of shared happiness.
Scott broke off the kiss, afraid to believe Chrissie was actually in his arms. “You aren’t going to wake up tomorrow morning and change your mind, are you?”
Her smile told him there was no chance of that. Her expression sobered and she sighed. “I promised myself I wouldn’t let this happen, but, Scott, oh, Scott, I’m so happy it did. I’ve always loved you.”
He continued to hold her. “Don’t make any more promises to yourself, okay?”
“I won’t,” she whispered with a laugh.
And then she kissed him again.
From the Hard Luck Gazette
By Lanni O’Halloran, Editor
It’s official! I don’t suppose I’m the only one who’s noticed that Chrissie Harris is sporting an engagement ring. I spoke with the soon-to-be mother-of-the-bride, Bethany Harris, early this afternoon and Bethany confirmed that Scott O’Halloran and Chrissie have set their wedding date for New Year’s Eve.
Bethany and Mitch proudly claim credit for having brought this couple together as a result of some timely advice to the bride. However, this conflicts with what Matt and Karen Caldwell recently told me, which suggests that they were the ones who’d played a major role in the wedding plans—although when pressed Matt insisted their part in furthering the romance would remain his and Karen’s secret.
The new Mrs. O’Halloran will continue practicing law with Tracy Porter, while Scott’s duties with Midnight Sons will expand, particularly since his father, Sawyer O’Halloran, intends to retire. Sawyer and Abbey have already booked a trip to New York and are looking forward to a second honeymoon.
As a “Welcome Back to Hard Luck” gift, Sawyer has given his son a purebred Alaskan husky, related to Scott’s beloved Eagle Catcher, whom many of our readers will remember. Scott and Chrissie have both expressed their delight.
A bridal shower will be hosted by Scott’s sister, Susan Gold, and will be held at the Hard Luck Community Center the sixth of November. On the same night, Ben Hamilton will host a bachelor party at the Hard Luck Café.
As a wedding gift, my husband, Charles O’Halloran, and I, together with Mariah and Christian O’Halloran, as well as Scott’s parents, have presented the engaged couple with twenty acres of land—and a cabin. Kind of goes full circle, doesn’t it?
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from STARTING OVER ON BLACKBERRY LANE by Sheila Roberts.
“Prolific Macomber is known for her portrayals of ordinary women in small-town America. [She is] an icon of the genre.”
—Publishers Weekly
If you loved Alaska Home, be sure to read every story in the Midnight Sons series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber:
Alaska Skies
Alaska Nights
Looking for more warm and welcoming romance from Debbie Macomber? Don’t miss a single heartfelt moment in her beloved Blossom Street series:
The Shop on Blossom Street
A Good Yarn
Susannah’s Garden
Back on Blossom Street
Twenty Wishes
Summer on Blossom Street
Hannah’s List
A Turn in the Road
“These involving stories, along with Macomber’s familiar characters, continue the Blossom Street themes...that readers find so moving.”
—Booklist
Or visit the delightful town of Cedar Cove, where good friends, family and a little bit of romance are always waiting just around the corner.
16 Lighthouse Road
204 Rosewood Lane
311 Pelican Court
44 Cranberry Point
50 Harbor Street
6 Rainier Drive
74 Seaside Avenue
8 Sandpiper Way
92 Pacific Boulevard
1022 Evergreen Place
Christmas in Cedar Cove
1105 Yakima Street
1225 Christmas Tree Lane
“Debbie Macomber writes characters who are as warm and funny as your best friends.”
—New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs
Join the Bloomfield sisters as they return home to Orchard Valley, Oregon, and find love when they least expect it!
Orchard Valley Grooms
Orchard Valley Brides
Complete your collection!
* * *
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“Sheila Roberts makes me laugh. I read her books
and come away inspired, hopeful and happy.”
—Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Catch up on the complete Life in Icicle Falls series for more charming tales of small-town romance from National bestselling author Sheila Roberts:
Welcome to Icicle Falls (novella)
Sweet Dreams on Center Street
Merry Ex-Mas
Romance on Mountain View Road
The Cottage on Juniper Ridge
The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane
The Lodge on Holly Road
A Wedding on Primrose Street
Christmas on Candy Cane Lane
Home on Apple Blossom Road
And don’t miss the next installment in this beloved series:
Starting Over on Blackberry Lane
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Starting Over on Blackberry Lane
by Sheila Roberts
Chapter One
Cass Wilkes had wanted to liven up her empty-nest existence, but having her dining room ceiling fall in was not on her list of ways to do it. She’d just come home at three in the afternoon from the usual Saturday swamping of customers at her bakery, Gingerbread Haus, with sore feet and a desire for a bubble bath and a cup of chocolate-mint tea. Looking at the water and the soppy chunks of Sheetrock on her dining table and floor, and the white glop everywhere, she now had a desire for something with more of a kick.
Currently there wasn’t anything stronger than cooking sherry in the house. That meant there was only one way to deal with this situation. She walked right back out the door and to her car. Destination: Zelda’s, one of Icicle Falls’ favorite gathering spots, owned by her friend Charley Masters. Charley would give her a Chocolate Kiss, a boozy chocolate number that was one of the restaurant’s specialties, and hopefully she’d also dispatch her husband, Dan, owner of Masters Construction, to deal with the ceiling problem.
Back in her car Cass texted her friend. Emergency. Have Chocolate Kiss ready.
You okay? came the concerned reply.
Yeah, but my house isn’t.
Uh-oh, Charley texted back. Will have drink ready.
On my way.
The restaurant was empty, set up for the evening rush, which would start around five with the sundowner crowd, seniors taking advantage of the early dinner bargains. By six thirty there wouldn’t be an empty seat anywhere, and people would be crowding in, waiting for a table. She was glad it was quiet now. If she had a complete nervous breakdown the only witnesses would be Charley and the staff.
True to her word, Charley was at a booth in the back of the restaurant with a Chocolate Kiss martini set at Cass’s place, along with a plate of nachos. “The crisis kit,” she said, stealing a cheese-drenched chip. “Chocolate, booze and carbs.”
Cass slid into the banquette. “Bless you.” She took a sip of her drink and then dived into the nachos. “I so needed this. Well, not my butt.” That seemed to be ever expanding. “My soul, for sure.”
“What’s wrong at your house? Did your rotting deck finally fall in?”
“Worse than that. Half my dining room ceiling is now sitting on the table.” Grandma’s dining table. Her grandmother had given her that when she first bought her house in Icicle Falls. She only used it on holidays but it had huge sentimental value. If not for the protective pad and a tablecloth it would have been completely ruined.
Good friend that she was, Charley looked properly horrified. “Oh, no.”
“Oh, yes,” Cass said miserably. “I knew I was going to need a new roof soon, but I didn’t think it was this bad. I didn’t go up to the attic to see what that’s like. It must be grim, since my dining room is now a war zone. Please tell me Dan can fix this so I don’t have to pull out my hair.”
“Dan can fix it,” Charley assured her. “But count on him telling you that you need a new roof.”
Cass glanced out the restaurant window at the rain dumping on the window boxes of the various shops and buildings, bouncing off car roofs and slithering along the street in streams. April showers bring May flowers, her mom liked to say. They also brought roof leaks and wrecked mahogany dining room tables. Ugh. How long had that water been collecting in her attic before it crashed through the ceiling? And shouldn’t it have given her a warning by dripping a little?
Except when was the last time she’d been in her dining room to notice any drips? Other than hanging out with her pals for their chick-flick nights, she hadn’t had much of a social life. Her daily schedule consisted mainly of work, eating takeout from Zelda’s or the Safeway deli while watching TV, and sleeping. Repeat. This was alleviated by occasional visits home by the kids, but those visits weren’t nearly frequent enough, and mother-child text sessions never lasted long. Afterward it was just her, rattling around in a house that was as much in need of fixing up as she was. This was her life now that the last little chick had left the nest.
She missed those chicks. Sometimes Cass could hardly believe they were grown. The slide into this new phase had felt both gradual and sudden. When her three kids were small the chaos of life as a single parent had seemed never-ending. But now, suddenly, here they were, launched and mostly out of the house. Dani was happily married and a mom herself, and her bakery in Spokane was doing well. Willie was graduating from college with a degree in environmental science and resource management in June and this would be his last summer home, although she knew she wouldn’t see much of him. Amber, the baby, was a freshman at Western and was only home during the summer. Between working and hanging out with her friends, she was gone more than she was around.
Even Tiny, the family Saint Bernard, was no longer there to fill the empty spaces. Tiny had gone to doggy heaven a year ago and Cass hadn’t been able to bring herself to replace him.
She took a guzzle of her Chocolate Kiss. “My life is driving me to drink.”
“Don’t worry,” Charley said, picking up her cell phone. “Dan will make everything better.”
Cass thought of her current existence and muttered, “He won’t be able to make everything better.”
Charley frowned in concern, but before she could comment, her husband had answered and she was busy dealing with Cass’s crisis. “Thanks, babe,” she said after explaining the problem. “He’s just finishing up the new place on Cedar,” she told Cass after she’d ended the call. “He’ll be right over.”
“Poor guy, having to work on a Saturday.”
Charley showed no sympathy. “It’s good for him. Keeps him out of trouble. Anyway, it’s nice that things are booming here in town. Job security.”
“I hate to bug him when he’s working so hard,” Cass said. “But he was the first one I thought of.”
“That’s how it should be with friends,” Charley said. “Anyway, he doesn’t mind.” She studied Cass. “So, what else is bothering you? I get the impression the ceiling is just the final straw.”
“I don’t know,” Cass said with a shrug. “I guess I’ve got a case of empty-nest syndrome. Coupled with getting-olditis,” she added. “I’m going to be flippin’ forty-six next month.” Eew. She consoled herself with more of her Chocolate Kiss. “And you know what comes after that?”
“Forty-seven.”
“And then fifty
-seven and then...” She finished off her drink. “My life is evaporating before my very eyes.”
“You’re not that old,” Charley protested.
“I’m not that young, either. Where am I going? What am I doing with my life?”
“You’re kidding, right?”
Cass scowled at her empty glass.
“You’ve raised three great kids single-handed. You’ve got a thriving business. Everyone loves you.”
But no one in particular loved her. Other than her kids, of course, and they had to. It came with the territory.
Oh, well. You couldn’t have everything. “I don’t know what my problem is.”
“I do,” Charley said with an emphatic nod. “You need a man.”
“Been there, done that. Maybe I’ll get a puppy and call it good.” One divorce had been enough. Marriage was risky business.
“Puppies are great,” Charley agreed. “Men are even better. Why don’t you splurge and get both?”
“Oh, sure.”
“Online dating, baby.”
Cass shuddered. “You’ve decided me. I’ll get a dog.”
They’d just finished the nachos when Dan Masters joined them. At six foot two and with shoulders like a bull, he was a commanding presence, the kind of man you knew could handle any crisis. Wouldn’t it be nice to have something like that of her very own?
Yeah, but not likely. The population of Icicle Falls wasn’t exactly brimming with men her age. The closest was Dylan Wright, who’d been single for years. Somebody would come along and whip him into shape someday, but considering the lack of chemistry between them whenever he came into the bakery, it wouldn’t be her.
“So your roof’s leaking, huh?” Dan said, seating himself next to his wife.
He kissed Charley, and Cass felt a tiny stab of envy. She looked wistfully at her empty glass. “It’s gone from leak to ‘get the ark.’ I have a major flood happening at my place.”
Dan shook his head. “I warned you that roof was starting to look grim. Up here in the mountains you really need a metal roof.”
“I think my place was built before there was such a thing,” she said. “Anyway, I’d have to sell a kid to be able to afford a metal roof.” Even with Mason pitching in his share for the kids’ college, she still had a lot of money going out.