Abiding Love (19 page)
Authors: Kate Welsh
“I love you,” he said, confident she’d like that gift better. “Driving here I suddenly saw that. I also got the salvation message all of you have been trying to show me. I can’t describe how it felt to realize every decision didn’t have to be mine alone. That He was in control so I didn’t have to worry about making the right decisions if I let Him guide me.”
She looped her arms around his neck. “I’m so happy for you. I know what that feeling is like and I’m sorry your moment was in the middle of a crisis.”
“Don’t be, honey. I never needed God more than I did on that drive over here.”
“So, are going to hold me to everything I said in front of my parents?”
He kissed her, unable to wipe the smile off his face to get up even a decent pucker. “Absolutely. And I’ll
even cut you a break on the
all
part of the kids. We’ll leave the number open to negotiation.”
“Where have you two been?” Mark shouted as he marched up the drive. “Do you know how worried I’ve been?”
“We,” Sully added. “How worried
we’ve
been. And do you know how hard it is to find houses around here? How many Ithan Creek roads does one community need? Upper Ithan Creek—”
“Lower Ithan Creek. South Ithan Creek,” Mark added.
“And don’t forget plain old vanilla Ithan Creek that doglegs all over creation,” Sully groused. “And another thing—”
“Hey, you two,” Adam interrupted, now that they were nearing the steps. Clearly the only way to shut the two of them up was to stun them. Xandra might make him pay for the rest of their lives, but it’d be worth it.
“Guess what? Xandra just proposed.”
Mark grinned and looped his arm around Sully’s shoulders. “A take-charge woman. Exactly what this family needed.”
ISBN: 978-1-4592-0720-2
ABIDING LOVE
Copyright © 2004 by Kate Welsh
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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Steeple Hill Books.
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Laurel Glen