Moving On: Volume 3 (Blithe Settlement) - Softcover

Dill, Deborah Pierson Pierson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1611160766 ISBN 13: 9781611160765

Publisher: Pelican Book Group, 2011

Synopsis

Meagan Layne longs for a traditional life as a wife and mother. Love, marriage to an honorable man, a stable home life for her son, more children; it shouldn't be too much to ask. So how did she end up divorced from a man who left her in debt, with a small son to support on a budget that barely meets at the ends? Bobby Kerr despises his past and wants to build on the new start he made when he left his small hometown for Lubbock. He's a new man in Christ, but he can't forget the violent man he was. He won't subject another woman to the perils of life with him. But Meagan stirs Bobby's heart in a dangerous way, making him hope that love could be possible for him after all. If she's willing to risk it.

About this title

About the Author

I am a writer, among other things. When I'm writing, I write contemporary inspirational romance. Check out my Blithe Settlement series as well as my Ransom Oaks Ranch series. Both are published by Pelican Book Group. When I'm not writing I can be found at my day job as an administrative assistant, or ministering along side my pastor husband at the First Baptist Church of Bangs, Texas. I might be found helping kids with homework, or feeding chickens. Sometimes I do a little dusting, vacuuming and laundry. But I almost never cook dinner.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Moving On

By Deborah Pierson Dill

Pelican Ventures, LLC

Copyright © 2011 Deborah Pierson Dill
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-61116-076-5

CHAPTER 1

Lubbock, Texas

21 years later

"Boy, it's really comin' down out there." Fully under the safety of Mrs. McDaniel's covered front porch, Meagan Layne set her toddler down and collapsed her umbrella.

Mrs. McDaniel pushed the storm door open and stepped aside. "Well, y'all come on in."

"I'm sorry we're late." Meagan urged her son across the threshold, maneuvering him gently past his sudden fascination with a small hole in one of the planks beneath his feet. "The phone rings, and I just can't not answer it."

Had she known the caller would be Michael somebody-or-other from blah-blah collection agency wanting to work out a payment schedule for the credit cards her ex-husband ran up and then filed for bankruptcy on, she would have had no problem letting it ring. A defeated sigh slipped out before she could stop it. She should have let it ring. No one but debt collectors called her before eight a.m. anyway. But that information wouldn't interest Mrs. McDaniel.

"Oh, it's all right, hon."

Meagan went down on one knee and unbuttoned Jay's little yellow rain slicker. He grinned sweetly as he let the jacket slide down his arms and onto the floor, then he broke out into song.

"A, B, C, D, E, F, G, ... R, F, Q, T, T, G, G, ... A, C, G, ... X, Y, Z."

"Yea! Good singing!" Meagan smiled and broke into applause when he finished.

Thankfully, Mrs. McDaniel followed suit. It was getting harder and harder to work up any enthusiasm for the alphabet song, especially since she'd caught herself humming it in the shower first thing this morning.

"Hon, would you like a hot cup of coffee before you have to go out again?"

Meagan stood, crossing to hang Jay's jacket on the coat rack by the door. She glanced at her watch and shook her head. "Thank you, but I can't. If I leave right this minute I'll get to the salon just in the nick of time for my eight-thirty appointment. I really should get going."

"Meagan ..."

Her heart sank at the wary tone of Mrs. McDaniel's voice. If there was one thing life had taught her to do well these last few years it was detect bad news before it surfaced. Not that right now was a great example of keen intuition. Between the strain in Mrs. McDaniel's voice and the look of distress on her face ... well, it didn't take any amount of extra sensory perception to know that whatever she was about to say wouldn't be good news.

"Hon, you know how much I love you and little Jay."

Jay wandered over to a large toy box on the other side of the room and removed its contents piece by piece, tossing them out as if looking for something in particular. Her shoulders sagged and a lump rose to her throat. But she tried to smile when she turned back to Mrs. McDaniel.

"Ray and I ... we've decided to move back to east Texas."

Meagan almost gasped. "What?" OK, maybe her powers of deduction weren't so great after all. This news was way worse than she'd expected.

"Well, you know, that's where we grew up, and both our mothers still live out there, and neither one is in very good health these days. It'll be closer to all the kids and grandkids. Now that we're both retired, it just doesn't make any sense for us to go on living way out here when our whole family lives in east Texas."

Meagan closed her eyes and nodded, though the feeling of being punched right in the gut lingered. "Of course. Yes, of course. It'll be much better for you to live closer to all your folks."

"I'm just so sorry to be leaving you and Jay in a bind. I know things have be

Edition details

• Publisher: Pelican Book Group
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1611160766
• ISBN 13: 9781611160765
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240