Love Inspired November 2014 #2 Read Free Page A

you already knew that.”
    Melba gently poked the baby Maria’s sweet button nose and cooed, “Aunt Charlotte always did know exactly what she wanted, Maria. Now you’ll get to see her much more often.”
    Charlotte couldn’t really fault Melba’s singsong, oh-so-sweet voice; new moms were supposed to adore their babies like that. It was charming. She’d probably be even more sugary when her time as a new mom came—if it ever came—and Maria was adorable. She’d been baby-perfect, happy and quiet for the entire long real estate transaction, and Charlotte had been grateful for the company at such an important event, even if it did take over an hour. Charlotte herself felt as if her hand would never uncramp from signing her name so many times.
    Funny how even happy milestones could be so exhausting. Squeezing the new keys tight—well, new to her at least, for they looked giant and cumbersome next to her slick apartment and car keys—she exhaled. This wasn’t an indulgence; this was a lifeline. Just for fun, Charlotte rattled the keys playfully over the baby’s head. Maria’s little gray eyes lit up at the tinkling sound, her chubby hands reaching up in a way that had all three women saying “Aww.”
    Awe, actually. She’d done it. The keys she held belonged to a cottage Charlotte now owned. It was an exhilarating, thrilling kind of fear, this huge leap. The cottage had become a tangible promise to herself, a symbol that future success was still ahead of her and she could still be in command of the blessings God had given her. No matter what her new job would be, no matter where her rented city apartment might shift, this cottage would be the fixed point, the home ready to welcome her on weekends and vacations. She’d boasted of feeling established in her job at Monarch, but the truth was today was what really made her feel like an adult. She’d never owned anything more permanent than a car before this. Her chest pinched in a happy, frantic kind of excitement.
    â€œThanks, Mima.” She liked to think Mima was as pleased as she was, sending down her blessing from heaven as surely as if a rainbow appeared in the bank conference room. Once she’d prayed and made the decision, it felt as if Mima had orchestrated the whole thing—in cahoots with God to line the details up so perfectly that the purchase had been swift and nearly effortless. Yes, she was in command of the blessings God had given her—and that was what she’d sought: a firm defense against the uncertainties of a woman “between jobs.”
    Sure, Melba had made the same noise about practicality that Mom had made. Charlotte knew it might have been more sensible to buy a Chicago apartment and stay in the area to job-hunt, but Mima hadn’t left her the money to be sensible. Mima was all about leaps of the heart, and right now Charlotte didn’t know where her next job would take her, but she knew her heart kept pulling her toward Gordon Falls as her spot to get away. She’d spent so many weekends here, the guest bed at Melba’s house had a Charlotte-shaped dent in it. The hustle and sparkle of Chicago would always be wonderful, but Mima’s bequest meant she could own this cottage and rent a nice place in Chicago near her next job for the weekdays. That felt like a smart plan, and everyone knew smart wasn’t always practical. Who knew? The way telecommuting was taking off these days, she might work full-time out of Gordon Falls someday in the future.
    â€œCongratulations,” Melba said, trying again to be supportive.
    Poor Melba. She’d always be too cautious to ever launch an adventure like this. Melba had too many people needing her—a husband, until recently her late father, and now Maria—to ever throw caution to the wind. Charlotte would have to show her how exhilarating it could be. “I own a cottage. I’m landed