Out of the Shadows (Tangled Ivy #3) (25 page)

W
arm enough, darling?”

I glanced up to see Devon hovering, yet another blanket in his hands.

“You’ve already put two blankets on me,” I said with a smile. “I’m fine.”

“It’s quite chilly out here,” he said. “I don’t want you to catch cold.”

Out here
was outside our home off Lake Tahoe. We’d moved here nearly two years ago, falling in love immediately with the two-story log “cabin” (I’d told Devon it was way too big of a home for the word
cabin
, but he still called it that) right off the lake. I loved sitting near the water’s edge, the huge pine trees watching over me as I gazed at the deep blue water. But it was cold today so I’d bundled up.

“I’m not going to catch cold,” I said. “Now stop hovering and sit with me.”

He sat in the twin Adirondack chair next to me. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” I said with a patient smile. “And yes, the baby’s fine, too.”

I was six months pregnant, a circumstance that both Devon and I were thrilled about, but that also managed to send him into paroxysms of worry. Like now.

“Have you thought about the name I suggested?” I asked, wanting to get his mind off worrying about me and onto something more pleasant.

“I’m not sure about it,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to be a girl.”

We’d elected to not find out the gender, which was a little frustrating, but also fun to speculate.

“Have you gotten someone to take over for you at the home for a few months?” he asked.

Shortly after we’d moved to Lake Tahoe, I’d opened up a charity home for abused women and children. Devon had helped and it had been cathartic to be able to help those in need. We provided a safe place to stay as well as life necessities until those women were able to put their lives back together. But with the baby on the way, I couldn’t be there for the day-to-day operations. I had volunteers, but Devon and I had decided to hire a full-time person as well.

“I have two interviews scheduled for tomorrow,” I said. “What about you? Are you still going to DC this week?”

Devon had taken up consulting for private and government security agencies. Sometimes it required that he travel, but with technology being what it was, he could do a lot from our home.

“They ended up moving the meeting,” he said. “Rescheduling it for another couple of weeks.”

I nodded, taking a sip of the coffee in my travel mug. It kept it warmer a lot longer than in just a ceramic cup.

“Logan called earlier,” I said. “He and Marcia are planning to come visit at the end of June. The baby should be here by then.”

Marcia and Logan had begun dating shortly after I’d left my job at the bank. Though they’d casually known each other for a while with me as the common friend, they’d never dated. When they finally did, they’d hit it off and had recently gotten engaged. I was happy for Logan, and glad that we’d been able to maintain our friendship despite the rough patch we’d gone through.

“Good. You should be glad of that.”

I smiled at Devon’s careful nonchalance. He and Logan were never going to be best friends, but they’d reached a truce, and that was good enough for me.

We sat together, watching the water. Devon reached for my hand. I smiled at him. Sometimes I thought both of us were overwhelmed at how things had turned out. Life had been so dark for so long, for both of us. At last, I had a life I’d only fantasized about—married to an amazing, fascinating man who loved me; living in a beautiful, peaceful place; doing something near and dear to my heart; and now bringing our child into the world.

It just goes to show you
, I thought. Sometimes when life seems not worth living—when darkness is all around and it’s hard to face another day, you have to hang on. Because sunshine does break through the clouds, and better days do come, and dreams really can come true.

THE END

Acknowledgments

I
owe a huge thank-you to my amazing editor, Maria Gomez, for holding my hand not only during the writing of this book, but this entire series. I can’t thank you enough for your patience and encouragement when I was sure everything I wrote was a huge pile of excrement.

Thank you to Melody Guy for her incredible work on pointing out my many plot failings. I love your attention to detail and you made the series a thousand times better than it would’ve been without you.

I couldn’t have written this book or this series without the wonderful support of my family. Thank you all for loving encouragement and patience as mommy orders take-out pizza for dinner . . . again.

Thank you to my agent, Kevan Lyon, for keeping me going when it was hard for me to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you to Montlake Romance and the incredible team of people there. I’m blessed to be with Montlake and to get to work with the very best in the business.

Lastly, thank you to Maj. M.G. “Mac” McLellan of the British Army for fact-checking (and correcting) my Briticisms and attending to numerous other details. Your time was greatly appreciated.

About the Author

Photo © 2014 Karen Lynn

Tiffany Snow has been reading romance novels since she was too young to read romance novels. After a career in the Information Technology field, Tiffany now has her dream job of writing full time.

Tiffany makes her home in the Midwest with her husband and two daughters. She can be reached at
[email protected]
. Visit her website,
www.Tiffany-Snow.com
, to keep up with her latest projects.