Abiding Love Read Free

long.
    “It’s Ad—” he began, but she blinked and an uncertain smile tipped her lips upward.
    “Adam? Adam!” And then she nearly knocked him flat when she launched herself and twenty pounds of silk and pearls into his arms. “You’re here! It’s really you!” She stepped back and blinked. “Wait. How did you—?”
    “Jack got in touch with me. He says to say, ‘Surprise!’ I’m here to give my little sister away to one very lucky man. As long as you don’t think a Navy dress uniform would wreck your wedding pictures.”
    Blinking back tears, she shook her head. “This is… Oh, thank you so much for coming. You’ll never know how much this means to me.”
    Adam hugged her. “No, Beth. You’ll never know what an honor it is to be here for you. I’ve missed you. So much.”
    “Oh, Adam, I’ve missed you, too. You’re the only family I have left.”
    “Then it’s their loss. And I’m not the only onehere. I have Mark with me. What do you say we get inside, get you hitched, and then you can meet him?”
    “I’d say you still come up with the best plans!”
    Adam took her arm and hid a grimace. He hoped this plan for a fresh start for him and Mark was a good one, because his son was furious that the move had yanked him away from his mother’s family. So far Adam was the only one who saw its merits. His in-laws were upset that Mark would be so far away and Mark’s aunt Sky was hurt and disappointed that he hadn’t signed guardianship over to her. Everyone acted as if he’d never wanted to be a father and thought he should have stayed in the Navy. It had been a temptation. The SEALs had been his life, his family for years, but not by choice, and it was time for a change.
    For all of them.

Chapter Two
    A lexandra slung her coat over her shoulders, hurrying to her car across Indian Creek High School’s parking lot. Though she was one of the high school guidance counselors, with Elizabeth away on her honeymoon, Xandra was the contact for New Life Inn. She was on her way to the hospital emergency room to offer shelter and solace to a fearful, hurting woman. She’d gotten the call less than five minutes ago, and luckily she had no meetings scheduled for the rest of the afternoon, so she was free to leave the school.
    It hit her then, as she tucked her hair under her hat, how far she’d come from the woman she’d been on that first day of November over a year ago when Elizabeth welcomed her to New Life.
    With just a little spring in her step, she continued to her car. Xandra was almost at the edge of the campus where she’d parked when she noticed a puff of smoke drift upward from under the bleachers. Shecould smell the tobacco from where she stood. Casting a quick look at her watch, she weighed her options. Should she take the time to try putting some class-cutting smoker of an adolescent back on track? Or should she put an adult back on track by rushing off to the hospital emergency room?
    Xandra sighed, knowing she couldn’t ignore either plea, no matter how unconsciously this immediate one had been made. With a quick prayer for wisdom winging its way to her Lord and Savior, she changed direction and was soon ducking under the bleachers. It wasn’t long before she saw him in the shadows—a tall boy leaning nonchalantly against a support pole.
    Apprehension speared her. She should have gone to get another teacher. He was so tall. But he’s still a child, she told herself sternly and spoke with as much calm as she could muster.
    “I’m asking myself why someone would stand in the freezing cold rather than stay in a nice cozy classroom where he just might improve his mind.”
    “And here I thought I’d avoided this lecture by skippin’ health class,” the youth grumbled. “Looks like I wasted my time.” He crushed the butt under his foot, coughed, then turned to face her.
    It was Mark Boyer. He was the nephew Elizabeth had called her about before she left for her honeymoon in Ireland.