Beauty from Ashes: A Christian Romance (BlackThorpe Security Book 5) Read online

  Beauty from Ashes

  By

  Kimberly Rae Jordan

  Copyright ©2016

  Kimberly Rae Jordan

  ISBN-13: 978-1-988409-05-4

  A man, a woman & their God.

  Three Strand Press publishes Christian Romance stories

  that intertwine love, faith and family.

  Always clean. Always heartwarming. Always uplifting.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations being used in reviews or articles about the book.

  This is a work of fiction. The situations, characters, names and places are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to locales, events, actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment and may not be re-sold or transferred via any method to any other individual. If you are reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please respect the hard work of the author who has spent many hours creating this story for your enjoyment and purchase your own copy of this eBook. Please do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials by illegally downloading or sharing this eBook. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

  Other Christian Romances Novels

  by

  Kimberly Rae Jordan

  BlackThorpe Security

  Guarding Her Heart

  Signs of Love

  A Matter of Trust

  Proof of Life

  Beauty from Ashes

  The Callaghans & McFaddens

  A Handful of Flowers

  A Change of Heart

  The McKinleys

  This Time with Love

  Forever My Love

  When There is Love

  Home to Collingsworth

  Home Is Where the Heart Is

  Home Away from Home

  Love Makes a House a Home

  The Long Road Home

  Her Heart, His Home

  Coming Home

  Home for Christmas

  Those Karlsson Boys

  Waiting for Rachel

  Worth the Wait

  The Waiting Heart

  Single Titles

  Faith, Hope & Love

  Marrying Kate

  Click here to view purchasing options for these titles.

  For the latest news on releases and sales for Kimberly Rae Jordan’s books,

  please sign up for her newsletter.

  http://eepurl.com/WFhYr

  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

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader ~ Thank you so much for buying BEAUTY FROM ASHES! This is book 5 of the BlackThorpe Security series. If you haven’t read book 1 (GUARDING HER HEART) yet, click here to get it for just $.99. While BEAUTY FROM ASHES is a standalone book in terms of Adrianne and Connor’s story, some storylines have carried over from book to book and your reading experience may be enhanced by reading the first four books in the series.

  Thank you once again for your continued support of my books and happy reading!

  –Kimberly Rae

  1

  Adrianne Thorpe wandered over to the bay window that looked out over the forest of trees surrounding the mansion. She sank down on the cushioned window seat, wrapping the edges of her sweater more snugly around herself. The sun that hadn’t been visible at all that day began to set, dragging the gloomy day into twilight.

  The bare branches of the trees stretched up to the gray clouds hanging heavy in the sky. Winter seemed to be trying to make up for lost time. Every day of the past week had brought snowfalls of varying amounts. With Christmas looming just around the corner, they were definitely going to have a white one.

  Normally, Adrianne would be thrilled. She loved winter, snow, and all things Christmas. It meant she could wear warm sweaters and thick socks, and it took a sincere effort to work up a sweat. Yes, it was definitely her favorite season, with fall not far behind.

  But this year…yeah, this year, not so much.

  Adrianne pressed her sweater-covered fist the window, wondering how much longer this beautiful view would be hers. Not even two months ago she’d been thinking that it was only a matter of time before her younger sister, Melanie, would be tying the knot with her boyfriend, Tyler, and moving out of the house they shared together with their brother, Alex.

  Except Alex’s previously unknown son had shown up—with his mother not far behind. It had been kind of weird to become an instant aunt to a fifteen-year-old boy, but Jordan was a cool kid. She also didn’t have any issues with Rebecca, his mother, particularly since Rebecca and Alex seemed to be mending fences and putting their small family back together. Adrianne was happy for the three of them, but especially Alex since this seemed to be what he really wanted.

  Even if that did leave her as the lone Thorpe without a love interest.

  Adrianne sighed and leaned her head against the glass. And now she’d be the lone Thorpe looking for a new place to live. To anyone who asked, she’d be telling them it was because Alex, Rebecca, and Jordan needed more space. After all, there were only three suites of rooms in the large mansion.

  She, Alex and Melanie had each had a suite and then shared a common living area for the last few years. They’d all known it wouldn’t last forever. Alex had had a plan for the building when they’d outgrown their need for it, but Adrianne hadn’t figured it would happen this soon. Besides, she wasn’t really planning her exit from the building because they needed her space—even though that was a plausible enough explanation.

  No, her departure had everything to do with the person who would be re-entering her life, courtesy of Rebecca and Jordan. Connor Mackenzie was due to arrive any day now, coming to spend Christmas with his sister and his nephew. From what she’d heard, he’d be staying in the guest room in the basement of the house and then possibly moving into the apartment over the garage where Rebecca and Jordan were currently living until they moved into the main house.

  However, it really didn’t matter where he ended up staying, just being in the same city as Connor was too close. But how could she protest his presence at the house without revealing her reasons for never wanting to see him again? Regardless of how she felt, Connor was set to step back into her life, and Adrianne had been stressing about it ever since she’d heard the news.

  Was this really necessary, God? Couldn’t Rebecca’s brother have been someone I’d never met before?

  Adrianne blew against the cold glass, fogging it up then poked a finger out the end of her sleeve of the sweater and drew a frowny face. Having Connor there for Christmas was not how she’d planned to spend the holiday season. Or really, the rest of her life. As l
ong as Rebecca and Jordan were part of Alex’s life, Connor was going to be part of hers.

  A knock on the door drew her attention from her thoughts. Thankful that she’d locked the door earlier, Adrianne turned and slid her legs off the seat. She pushed to her feet and headed for the door.

  The knob rattled. “Adrianne?”

  Sighing, she opened the door to see Melanie standing on the other side. “What’s up?”

  “Connor arrived a bit ago, so we’re heading out for supper.” She gestured over her shoulder. “You want to come along?”

  Not a chance.

  “I think I’ll pass.” Adrianne crossed her arms, curling her hands against her sides.

  Melanie arched a brow. “You didn’t even ask where we’re going.”

  “I don’t feel much like going out tonight.” Adrianne shrugged. “Plus, I already took my makeup off. It’s been a long week.”

  “Are you sure?” Her younger sister stared at her for a moment as if trying to decipher a meaning beyond her words. That was the joy of having a psychologist for a sister. “Can I bring you something?”

  “Pretty sure there’s plenty of food in the kitchen.” Since Rebecca and Jordan had shown up, the kitchen had been fairly well stocked. If nothing else, there were probably leftovers she could eat. “I’ll be fine.”

  Adrianne was determined to put off the inevitable for as long as possible, although she realized that, at most, she had bought herself one more night. Given it was the weekend, she had little chance of avoiding a meeting the next day.

  “Okay. See you later.” Melanie gave her one last searching look before leaving.

  Adrianne closed her door and, after a pause, locked it again. It wasn’t as if Connor would come bursting through her door uninvited, but it made her feel more secure to have a lock between her and the rest of the house which had once been her sanctuary but now had suddenly become a hostile place.

  Glancing over at the window seat, Adrianne contemplated returning to her favorite spot but knew she needed to be productive. So instead, she went to her desk and started up the browser on her laptop. Time to find someplace else to call home.

  Some might think she was overreacting to something that had happened so long ago, but she didn’t care. This was her life, and she deserved the right to live someplace where she felt comfortable and at ease.

  And that would never include anywhere that Connor Mackenzie was.

  ~*~

  Connor Mackenzie smiled as he sat in the living room, listening to Jordan tell him about everything he’d done since arriving in Minneapolis. While he understood his nephew’s excitement about going to the Timberwolves basketball games, he was actually surprised that Rebecca had let her son shoot a gun. He’d never been able to get her to let him take Jordan to a gun range, but it sounded like Alex had somehow managed to put together a more convincing argument for Jordan to learn about guns in a safe environment.

  “Maybe you could come to the range with me one time. I think Alex…uh…Dad would let you shoot as well.”

  “We’ll see,” Connor said, not really feeling the need to shoot now that he wasn’t preparing to go on a mission. Shooting practice was the last thing he wanted or needed right then.

  All he wanted was to just relax and enjoy his first Christmas that didn’t have a pending job on the other side of it. He hadn’t been one hundred percent sold on the idea of retiring at first—even though he’d known it was time. But now that all was said and done, he was glad it was over.

  “Are you gonna move here too?” Jordan asked as they waited for Rebecca and Alex.

  They were supposed to be going out to dinner, and Connor was looking forward to it. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d shared a meal with his family. And tonight it would be with his extended family—one he hadn’t even known he had.

  “That’s definitely a possibility at this point.” Connor hesitated to lock himself into anything until he knew a little bit more about the type of reception he’d receive from the rest of Alex’s family.

  “Ready to go, guys?” Rebecca asked before he could say anything more, and he looked over to see her and Alex standing hand in hand at the entrance to the living room where he and Jordan sat.

  “We’re just waiting on Melanie and Adrianne,” Alex said. “I think Tyler, and maybe Ryan, might be joining us there.”

  “Tyler and Ryan?” Connor asked as he got to his feet.

  “Tyler is Melanie’s boyfriend, and Ryan is his best friend,” Alex explained. “They both work for BlackThorpe.”

  Connor was curious about the company his old friend had started. After Rebecca had mentioned BlackThorpe Security during the conversation when she’d told him about Alex, Connor had done a little investigating. What he’d found was intriguing, and he hoped he would have the chance to talk to Alex about it while he was there.

  “Adrianne’s going to pass on dinner,” Melanie said as she joined them, a frown on her face.

  Connor wished he could say he was surprised, but he wasn’t. His past with Adrianne had been the one thing that had given him pause when Rebecca had revealed that Alex was Jordan’s father and that they might be moving to the Twin Cities. The fact that Adrianne declined to join them for supper made him think that she wasn’t happy to have him back in her life. Not that he would blame her for feeling that way at all.

  But maybe he was reading too much into things.

  “Why?” Alex asked with a frown that matched his sister’s.

  Melanie shrugged as she pulled on her jacket. “No idea. She just said it had been a long week, and she didn’t want to go out.”

  “Okay. Guess it’s her loss if she doesn’t want to come along.” Alex helped Rebecca with her jacket then opened the front door. “Let’s head out.”

  Before following them out the door, Connor glanced back at the stairs that led to the second floor. There was a difficult conversation ahead, and he wasn’t looking forward to it at all.

  As he left the house, Connor zipped up his jacket against the cold. The frigid climate of Minnesota was definitely not something he’d missed over the years, and yet he was going to be moving back. As the cold burned his skin, he seriously questioned his sanity. But this was where his family was, and now that he no longer had a job, there was nothing keeping him away from them. He had to be where they were…even if it might be awkward at times.

  He climbed into the back seat of Alex’s truck with Jordan and Melanie. His nephew sat between them, and he and Melanie were joking back and forth. Connor found it interesting that Jordan already had such a close relationship with his aunt. For so long it had been just him, Rebecca and Jordan. Yeah, they had parents and another sister, but they may as well not have had other family. It had been a long time since they’d all been together, and it didn’t seem like that would be changing anytime soon.

  Once they got to the restaurant, two other men were waiting for them.

  “Hey, babe,” a tall man with curly hair said as he slid an arm around Melanie’s shoulders and leaned down to kiss her. “Long time no see.”

  Melanie rested a hand on his stomach and smiled up at him. “Yeah. At least a couple of hours.”

  “Connor, this is Tyler Harris and Ryan McFadden.” Alex gestured to the two men then said, “Connor is Rebecca’s brother.”

  As Connor shook hands with the men, he took stock of each of them. Tyler had an easy smile and a friendly gaze while the dark haired man regarded Connor more seriously. He had an assessing gaze which he probably recognized as he looked at Connor. It wasn’t the only thing Connor appeared to have in common with the younger man. While conversation flowed among the others at the table, Ryan seemed more interested in listening than participating.

  Connor’s job over the years had taught him to be alert and aware of his surroundings, never drawing unwanted attention to himself. That meant that even now, in a safe environment, he was more apt to sit back, listen and observe than he was to initiate conversation. He wonder
ed what it was that had made Ryan the same way.

  Connor spent most of the dinner time observing the dynamics of the people around him. These were the people he would be interacting with now that he was moving back to the Twin Cities. They were a part of his sister’s life so they would be a part of his. He’d left friends behind when he’d made the decision to retire, and even though he’d keep in contact with them, they weren’t going to be part of his life like they once had been.

  “Are you planning to hang around the Twin Cities?” Ryan asked, obviously deciding to wade into the conversation.

  Connor tore a chunk off a breadstick. “Yeah. It seems to be where my life is leading me at the moment.” He paused, then tossed out a question of his own. “Have you worked at BlackThorpe long?”

  “About a year or so. I’m actually from Winnipeg.”

  “You’re Canadian?”

  “Basically, although my dad was American. I was in the US military before ending up at BlackThorpe.”

  They talked a bit about deployments and experiences they’d had overseas before Ryan was drawn into a discussion about his brother’s career with the NHL. As the conversation continued around the table, Connor found himself unable to keep his thoughts from the one person who wasn’t present.

  Would she give him the opportunity to talk to her? Or would she continue to avoid him? It was apparent that she’d never shared with Alex what had happened between them in high school. He was pretty sure that if Adrianne’s twin brother knew, he’d have had a pretty harsh conversation with Connor already.

  And Connor knew he’d deserve it.

  Once the meal was over, they headed back to the house. Melanie ended up going with Tyler and Ryan, so it was just him and Jordan with Alex and Rebecca. He thought Adrianne might be around when they got back, but there was no sign of her.

  Since the evening was still young, Jordan talked Connor into going for a swim in the large indoor pool. Though he tried to keep focused on what his nephew was saying, Connor kept watching the entrance to the pool area in case Adrianne appeared.