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Their Family Blessing
Lorraine Beatty
She owns the lodge, but he owns the land…Mississippi Hearts seek happy endingsWhen single mom Carly Hughes inherits the Longleaf Lodge, she gains a heap of trouble—her teenage crush, Deputy Mackenzie Bridge. Her father left Mack the land around the lodge. While Carly wants to sell for her daughter’s sake, Mack wants to stay for his niece’s. And if they can’t work together, they’ll both lose everything…including the renewed spark between them.
She owns the lodge, but he owns the land...
Mississippi Hearts seek happy endings
When single mom Carly Hughes inherits the Longleaf Lodge, she gains a heap of trouble—her teenage crush, Deputy Mackenzie Bridges. Her father left Mack the land around the lodge. While Carly wants to sell for her daughter’s sake, Mack wants to stay for his niece’s. And if they can’t work together, they’ll both lose everything...including the renewed spark between them.
LORRAINE BEATTY was raised in Columbus, Ohio, but now calls Mississippi home. She and her husband, Joe, have two sons and five grandchildren. Lorraine started writing in junior high and is a member of RWA and ACFW, and a charter member and past president of Magnolia State Romance Writers. In her spare time she likes to work in her garden, travel and spend time with her family.
Also By Lorraine Beatty (#u8545ce27-e31d-5bee-aced-6178fe180783)
Mississippi Hearts
Her Fresh Start Family
Their Family Legacy
Their Family Blessing
Home to Dover
Protecting the Widow’s Heart
His Small-Town Family
Bachelor to the Rescue
Her Christmas Hero
The Nanny’s Secret Child
A Mom for Christmas
The Lawman’s Secret Son
Her Handyman Hero
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
Their Family Blessing
Lorraine Beatty
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-09479-5
THEIR FAMILY BLESSING
© 2019 Lorraine Beatty
Published in Great Britain 2019
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
“I’m glad you’re back.”
Carly’s admission left Mack off balance. He wanted to believe the sincerity and affection he saw in her eyes, but he didn’t want to read too much into it, either. “You’re just glad I’m here to help finish the repairs.” He’d meant it as a jest but Carly paled and stepped back.
“You’re right. That’s all that matters.”
She held his gaze a long moment, and he realized he’d hurt her feelings. But he was afraid to believe that her words were more than normal concern for a friend. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have been flippant. I’m tired. Thank you for caring. I mean it.”
She nodded but didn’t move. He sensed she wanted to say more, but Lucy came up and took his hand. “Will you come play with me?”
How could he refuse such a request? He smiled at Carly. “I’ve been summoned.” He walked off, but he could feel Carly’s gaze on his back. What did she want to say to him?
Dear Reader (#u8545ce27-e31d-5bee-aced-6178fe180783),
Welcome back to Hastings, Mississippi, and the ladies of the widow’s walk group. I hope you’re enjoying reading about the widows learning to love again after loss. I have a lot of admiration for the women who are courageous and carry on. Carly is one such woman. Life has given her many challenges and she’s strived to rise to the cause. But many of her issues are things she needs to confront.
The words of one of my favorite hymns kept repeating in my mind as I wrote this book. “Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
Have you ever taken something at face value because you didn’t want to know the truth? Had you sided with someone because you were loyal, never asking what actually happened or because you were unwilling to accept that the person you cared about would shift the facts?
Mack and Carly learned the hard way how much jumping to conclusions can distort a relationship far into the future.
Sometimes we have to stop and face the truth, ask the hard questions and stop accepting the standard explanation. It was only when Carly and Mack let go of the old notions and half-truths, and allowed the Lord to shine a light on the truth, that they were they able to put the past behind them and embrace the future they were supposed to have.
I hope you’ll enjoy their journey as they travel the winding road to their happily-ever-after.
I love to hear from my readers. Contact me on my website or through Love Inspired books or directly at Lorrainebeatty@comcast.net.
Blessings,
Lorraine
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.
—Luke 6:37
To my precious daughters-in-law, Robin and Cindy, who have made my sons happy all these years. You are a blessing to all of us.
Contents
Cover (#u11a2e9a7-6b5d-5a3c-b613-f6c7358b38f1)
Back Cover Text (#uda4176bf-f0ce-5391-9cb4-ee4a3b07efc4)
About the Author (#u6274b6c8-3872-55f5-8699-801b38ab429b)
Booklist (#ub5e60b24-c250-5472-be08-f16bba1f8ad3)
Title Page (#u0ecbdd65-9e7d-5a71-9dc6-d62f3cb38531)
Copyright (#u1af12dc3-42d8-5487-b035-7b110772f6ae)
Introduction (#u33e40b78-9656-5c74-be1a-438793237aa1)
Dear Reader (#u89a71087-7912-5d82-bc7d-9527d54a0e47)
Bible Verse (#ud4c17eb4-ffea-5d9f-968d-d0f629279e8f)
Dedication (#ua6802870-a328-5454-ad72-b478f107173f)
Chapter One (#uc1f3b090-3426-551a-ab2f-f6294fa2f645)
Chapter Two (#u208d75bf-4da8-505b-8b19-4f9658f08635)
Chapter Three (#uf0090b9e-86b5-529b-8371-83fb224ef253)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#u8545ce27-e31d-5bee-aced-6178fe180783)
The office was exactly what widow Carly Porter Hughes had expected from a small-town attorney. Wood paneling, thick carpets, massive desk and walls lined with legal books. It had been designed to instill trust and confidence in those who entered, none of which she was feeling at the moment. Nathan Holt came around his desk, greeting her with a smile and a firm handshake before smiling down at her six-year-old daughter, Ella.
Carly hugged Ella close to her side. “I hope you don’t mind me bringing her along. I had no one to leave her with.”
“Certainly not. In fact, I have some books over here she can look at while we talk business.”
With Ella settled in, Carly took a seat in front of the desk, smoothed the front of her gray skirt, then clasped her hands tightly in her lap. The reading of the will. The whole situation seemed surreal. She never expected to be back in Hastings, Mississippi, and she certainly hadn’t expected to inherit anything from her father. They hadn’t spoken in years. Mostly she resented the demand for her presence at the reading.
Carly swallowed past the tightness in her throat. All she wanted to do was get through this ordeal and head back to Atlanta, where she belonged. “Can we get started, Mr. Holt? I’m anxious to get back home.”
Holt nodded slowly. “I understand, but we’re waiting for the other beneficiary to arrive. He should be here any moment.”
“Other beneficiary?” Who in the world could he be talking about? She had no siblings, and only a very distant cousin she’d never even met. She started to ask who it was when the door opened behind her and Holt stood, a welcoming smile on his round face.
“Ah, there you are. Have a seat, Mr. Bridges, and we’ll get started.”
Carly’s heart skipped a beat. No. It couldn’t be. She turned her head to the side and her gaze traveled up the long length of the man who had entered. Her gaze collided with his and her mind hiccupped. Mackenzie Bridges. The last person on earth she wanted to see.
He held her gaze, a hint of amusement lifting one side of his mouth. “Hello, Carly.” He took the seat beside her and crossed his long legs.
It took her longer than it should have to find her voice. Mack had changed. He’d be thirty-four now, two years older than her, and the years had been very kind to him. The tall slender boy she remembered had grown into a very handsome man. His six-foot frame had developed a pair of broad shoulders that spoke of his strength. His dark brown hair, once so long and careless, was now trimmed neatly, wavy enough so it invited a woman to run her fingers through it. His sky blue eyes still held a perpetual sparkle, and his crooked smile was still very much in evidence and hadn’t lost any of its charm. “You’re the other beneficiary?”
“It appears so.”
She should have known. Her father had always loved Mack, his surrogate son, more than her.
Holt opened the file and Mack leaned forward, looking over at Ella. “Yours?”
“Yes.” Carly tried to not look at him, but he was still very hard to ignore. Dressed in dark slacks and a pale blue shirt, he looked professional. Not like the jeans-and-T-shirt-wearing boy she remembered. Pushing her hair behind her ear, she refocused. She wanted to get through the reading and go home. Holt began explaining about the unusual nature of the will, which sent a small frisson of concern along her nerves.
“To my daughter, Carly Porter Hughes, I leave the Longleaf Lodge and all its contents.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. This was the first light at the end of the dark financial tunnel she’d been in for the last few years. Things had been hard enough after her husband had died, but the addition of Ella’s surgery had only made things worse.
“To my dear friend, Mackenzie Scott Bridges, I leave all the land on which Longleaf Lodge sits, including the cabins, canoe livery, pool and campgrounds.”
Mack rubbed his forehead. “This doesn’t make any sense. Why not divide it up equally between us?”
Holt peered over his glasses. “There’s more.”
