Love Blossoms: 7 Spring-Fresh Christian Romances Read online

  Love Blossoms

  Kimberly Rae Jordan

  Narelle Atkins

  Autumn Macarthur

  Lynette Sowell

  Jan Thompson

  Marion Ueckermann

  Susette Williams

  Contents

  Copyright

  Introduction

  LOVE BLOSSOMS

  Kimberly Rae Jordan

  A HANDFUL OF FLOWERS

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Note to the Reader

  About Kimberly Rae Jordan

  Books by Kimberly Rae Jordan

  Narelle Atkins

  THE BRIDESMAID’S HERO

  Copyright

  Epigraph

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  About Narelle Atkins

  Books by Narelle Atkins

  Autumn Macarthur

  A LESSON IN LOVE

  Copyright

  Epigraph

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Thank You for Reading

  British English & Scottish Glossary

  Bible Verses

  Acknowledgments

  About Autumn Macarthur

  Books by Autumn Macarthur

  Lynette Sowell

  SPRING AT THE BARNCASTLE

  Copyright

  Epigraph

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  About Lynette Sowell

  Books by Lynette Sowell

  Jan Thompson

  WALK YOU THERE

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Farewell from Ryan and Tamsyn

  Thank You

  About Savannah Sweethearts

  About Jan Thompson

  Books by Jan Thompson

  Marion Ueckermann

  A MATCH FOR MAGNOLIA

  Dear Reader

  Praise for A Match for Magnolia

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  About Author Marion Ueckermann

  Books by Marion Ueckermann

  Susette Williams

  SPRING BREAK

  Copyright

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Dear Reader

  About Author Susette Williams

  Books by Susette Williams

  Thank You for Reading LOVE BLOSSOMS

  Love Blossoms: 7 Spring-Fresh Christian Romances

  A Handful of Flowers Copyright © 2016 by Kimberly Rae Jordan

  The Bridesmaid’s Hero Copyright © 2016 by Narelle Atkins

  A Lesson in Love Copyright © 2016 by Autumn Macarthur

  Spring at the Barncastle Copyright © 2015 by Lynette Sowell

  Walk You There Copyright © 2016 by Jan Edttii Lim Thompson

  A Match for Magnolia Copyright © 2016 by Marion Clair Ueckermann

  Spring Break Copyright © 2016 by Susette Williams

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the authors.

  This limited edition LOVE BLOSSOMS anthology is published with permission from the respective authors.

  eBook Edition: January 2016

  LOVE BLOSSOMS

  7 Spring-Fresh Christian Romances

  Introduction

  This is an anthology of seven contemporary Christian romances from your favorite authors:

  Kimberly Rae Jordan

  Narelle Atkins

  Autumn Macarthur

  Lynette Sowell

  Jan Thompson

  Marion Ueckermann

  Susette Williams

  A Handful of Flowers by Kimberly Rae Jordan

  They had a deal. She’d watch his kids, and he’d do the repairs on her aging home. Neither wanted anything more, but sometimes God has a different plan.

  The Bridesmaid’s Hero by Narelle Atkins

  Serena Blaxland’s job at her parents’ B&B in Snowgum Creek, Australia, is only temporary. Sparks fly when hire car driver Harry Westmore saves the beautiful pastry chef from disrupting her sister’s wedding day, but the opportunity of a lifetime threatens to push them apart. Can Harry and Serena’s love and faith overcome the obstacles in their path?

  A Lesson in Love by Autumn MacArthur

  Love can make life complicated! Sports teachers Fraser Maclean and Sarah Browne have worked together all year, but when a garden project for their church brings them together outside of school, everything changes. Can they learn God’s lessons in love, or will secrets and fear keep them apart?

  Spring at the Barncastle by Lynette Sowell

  After a career disaster, Sadie Barncastle finds herself in rural Vermont, starting over and opening up a shop at the family inn. She meets up with an old friend from childhood, Peter Appleman, a widower next door with a precocious daughter. But Sadie’s not sure if life in the Green Mountains is for her and feels the call of Boston drawing her. Peter, however, is drawn to Sadie but isn’t quite sure if he’s ready to move on yet. As Easter approaches, a time of forgiveness, restoration, and joy, the two realize that it’s also a time for new beginnings, but does that include with each other?

  Walk You There by Jan Thompson<
br />
  A local tour guide who makes a living off Savannah history goes to battle against an award-winning developer who wants to demolish the old city block she lives in.

  A Match for Magnolia by Marion Ueckermann

  Magnolia Blume’s life is perfect, except for one thing—Davis Rathbone is everything she’s not looking for in a man.

  Spring Break by Susette Williams

  Kelly Sanders volunteers at an orphanage and loves working with children—even if they can be a bit mischievous at times. Marc Stevenson is used to fighting fires, not rescuing damsels in distress out of trees. He thinks Kelly would be perfect for him, except for that one flaw. How does a man, with visions of children, fill a nest that’s sure to be empty if he spends it with the woman he loves? Will some munchkins playing matchmaker be able to bring Kelly and Marc together? Or will love’s ember never have the chance to be ignited?

  A HANDFUL OF FLOWERS

  The Callaghans & McFaddens Book 1

  Kimberly Rae Jordan

  When Emily McFadden first met Steve Callaghan, her only goal had been to gain his permission for his son to come over to play with her hers. When she realizes that he is in need of help caring for his four sons, she decides to see if he’d be interested in making a deal. She’d help him with his boys, and he’d help her with the repairs to her aging house. Steve makes it clear he’s not in the market for a wife which is just fine with her. She has her own reasons for not wanting to get involved romantically.

  Steve had no interest in a relationship after having dealt with his ex-wife and her rejection of their children. However, he finds himself drawn to Emily as she showers his boys with love in the same way she does with her own four children. But is it just gratitude or something more? Is it possible that God has a different plan for their families than what they’d thought they wanted?

  A Handful of Flowers

  The Callaghans & McFaddens

  Book 1

  by

  Kimberly Rae Jordan

  Copyright ©2016

  By Kimberly Rae Jordan

  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.

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

  Chapter One

  “He can’t come over, Mommy.”

  Emily McFadden looked down at her son as she finished washing her hands in the sink. Ryan gripped the edge of the counter with both of his small hands and propped his chin on his fingers. His bright blue eyes held concern as he stared up at her. With his dark hair, he may have been the spitting image of his father, but his personality was all her.

  “Did he say why?” Emily dried her hands then slid the pan filled with chicken legs into the oven.

  When she turned around, Ryan stood leaning his shoulder against the cupboard, watching her. For a six-year-old, the little guy tended to carry the weight of the world on his narrow shoulders. His desire to have a lonely new student from school come play with him was just one more manifestation of his loving, caring heart.

  “He said he can’t come because they have to go home and stay there until his dad comes home from work.”

  “So they have a babysitter?” Emily took Ryan’s hand and led him to the table in the corner of the eat-in kitchen. She sat down and lifted him onto her lap. Out of all her children, he was the only one who had an overwhelming need to care for others which often required her help for him to carry it out.

  Ryan shook his head, his shiny dark brown hair sliding back and forth as he did. “Mitchell said their older brother watches them. He’s ten.”

  Emily frowned. She was pretty sure that children under the age of twelve weren’t supposed to be left without supervision. Maybe Ryan’s concern had merit.

  “And there’s no one else to watch them?”

  Ryan just shrugged as he leaned against her shoulder.

  “How about their mom?”

  “She’s not with them. Mitchell said she left.”

  Emily felt a pang in her heart for both the dad and the kids. “Where do they live, sweetie? Do you know?”

  The question had Ryan straightening. “Yes. They live down the street. They just moved in.”

  Emily recalled seeing a moving van parked about halfway down the next block a couple of weeks earlier. She felt bad for the kids having to adjust to a new school this late into the school year. With school out the end of June, they had just over two months left. Since something similar had happened with her kids, she could sympathize with them. Their abrupt departure from the Texas military base where they’d been staying while James had been on tour had been confusing to say the least. And not just for the kids but her as well.

  She’d never found out the exact details of what had happened to James, but whatever it was, it meant she hadn’t had an extended period of time to get out of military housing. In the end, it had been easier to just leave since, no matter when they went, the kids would be leaving during the school year and it would have meant two moves instead of one. So she understood all about having to help children make adjustments like Ryan’s friend was having to make now along with his siblings.

  Maybe it was time for her to pay a “welcome to the neighborhood” visit to the new family on the block.

  “Mooooom!” Eight-going-on-eighteen-year-old Makayla’s wail floated through the whole house.

  Emily closed her eyes and counted to ten. She wondered if the word would sound less annoying if the kids used the Canadian pronunciation of the word instead of the American one. As the shriek came again, she decided it was unlikely. Mom or mum…either way—screamed at that pitch and drawn out—would still be annoying.

  She checked her hair one last time then grabbed her Bible and purse before leaving her room in search of the shrieker.

  “What is it, Makayla?” Emily asked when she found her daughter sitting at the top of the staircase, a dark thundercloud hovering over her.

  “That nail ripped my stockings.” The little girl pointed at the offending item. “Again! I thought you said it was fixed.”

  Emily looked at the nail that had once again worked its way up from the floorboard at the top step. She had fixed it, but like with everything else in this house, nothing ever seemed to stay that way. It was like the house knew how much she hated trying to do the home repairs and had it in for her.

  “I’m sorry, Kayla. I’ll try and fix it again.” She motioned for the little girl to get up. “Is the hole on the bottom of your foot?”

  With dark brows drawn together over flashing blue eyes, Makayla stood up and began to stomp down the stairs. Obviously, she knew what her mother was going to suggest and didn’t want to hear it.

  Sighing, Emily followed her downstairs where the other three kids were waiting. She did a quick clothing check and then had them all put on light jackets. The calendar might say it was spring, but this far north the days still held a touch of cold.

  “Where’s your Bible, Ben?” Emily asked her oldest son.

  Once she was sure that each of the kids had their Sunday school lessons, Bibles, and offerings, they left the house. They quickly fell into step ahead of her, well-rehearsed in the routine of their walk to the nearby church. Bennett and Ryan walked side by side while Makayla followed, holding her five-year-old sister Samantha’s hand. Emily brought up the rear, keeping an eye on them as they crossed the three streets that stood between their house and the church.

  Large patches of snow still lay on the south side of the street, particularly underneath the trees and bushes. Spring in centr
al Canada really wasn’t the prettiest season. As the snow melted, it inevitably left behind dirt and flattened grass, and most flowers didn’t put in an appearance until at least May unless temperatures were unseasonably warm. The only reason it was her favorite season was because it signaled the end of winter.

  They’d definitely gotten spoiled living in warmer climates for so many years, although the kids didn’t seem to mind the cold the way she did. It just made things so much more complicated as a single mom. There were days when they couldn’t walk to school because it was just too cold, so then she had to clean off the car and warm it up in order to drive them. And then there was the shoveling…probably her least favorite winter chore of all.