Spring Flowers, Summer Love. Lois Richer

      

      “You’re going to bawl me out, aren’t you?”

      “Yes, I am,” she assured him.

      “Don’t bother. I shouldn’t have questioned your authority. I won’t do it again.”

      “Until tomorrow, anyway. I’m not kidding, Connor. These men work for me. If I went to your staff without talking to you, you wouldn’t like it.”

      “No, I wouldn’t. I’ve already apologized, Rowena.”

      “Yes, you have.”

      “You want me to repeat it?”

      She almost smiled at the thought of Connor Wingate apologizing twice for the same misstep. “No… What is it about me that’s so hard for you to trust? Do I look like a crook or something?”

      “Hardly. You look like a beautiful woman.”

      Beautiful? With mud and dirt oozing from every pore? “Now you’re just being mean.”

      “Mean?” Confusion darkened his eyes.

      She so was not going to argue about her un-beautiful self.

      LOIS RICHER

      Sneaking a flashlight under the blankets, hiding in a thicket of Caragana bushes where no one could see, pushing books into socks to take to camp—those are just some of the things Lois Richer freely admits to in her pursuit of the written word. “I’m a book-a-holic. I can’t do without stories,” she confesses. “It’s always been that way.” Her love of language evolved into writing her own stories. Today her passion is to create tales of personal struggle that lead to triumph over life’s rocky road. For Lois, a happy ending is essential. “In my stories, as in my own life, God has a way of making all things beautiful. Writing a love story is my way of reinforcing my faith in His ultimate goodness toward us—His precious children.”

      Spring Flowers, Summer Love

      Lois Richer

      MILLS & BOON

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      So humble yourselves under the mighty power of

       God, and in his good time he will honor you.

       Give all your worries and cares to God,

       for he cares about what happens to you.

      —1 Peter 5:6-7

      For Josh. With love.

      Contents

      Prologue

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Epilogue

      Letter to Reader

      QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

      Prologue

      “A toast, girls.”

      Piper Franklin lifted her iced tea high in the air.

      “To what?” Rowena Davis frowned, certain neither of her best friends knew her secret yet.

      “To the Bayside Trio, of course.” Piper giggled. “It seems like only yesterday that we left Serenity Bay. Here’s to coming home.”

      “Hear, hear.” Ashley Masters clinked her glass against Piper’s.

      Rowena took a sip, and grimaced. Tea of any sort didn’t appeal to her. But this place did. Serenity Bay. Home. Piper had been back for two years, Ash for one. Finally she was back, too.

      Rowena took in the view of the shimmering blue water and the surrounding hills decked out in autumn’s blazing hues. She had done the right thing, hadn’t she?

      “I wish we could think of a way to get Row to move back, Pip. Then the Bayside Trio would be back on the Bay, together again.” Ashley sighed. “That’s my dream.”

      Rowena allowed her smile to creep out. “Then your dream just might be coming true, Ash.”

      “What?” Piper jerked upright, stuck out her pink-tinted toenail and jabbed Ashley’s foot. “Did she say what I think she said?”

      “I’m not sure I heard right.” Ashley cleared her throat. “Does that mean you’re thinking about moving back here, Row?”

      “Come January, if things work together as I plan.”

      “Yes!” The other two enveloped her in the group hug ritual they’d perfected through six years of boarding school. Once her two best friends were again seated, Rowena noticed their exchange of funny looks.

      “What?”

      “Oh, nothing.” Ashley’s gray eyes opened wide innocently.

      Rowena wasn’t buying it. “Tell the truth.”

      Ash held out her left hand and let the sun light up the diamond facets on her rings. “I was just thinking that Pip and I both found our Prince Charming here. Maybe the same will be true for you.”

      “The Wingate brothers are sixty-five if they’re a day. I don’t think they qualify, Ash.”

      “At least they have a kingdom.” Piper smirked.

      “I don’t want someone else’s kingdom. I’m going to get my own back. You two already know that.” Rowena leaned back, closed her eyes and wondered if she’d finally bit off more than she could chew.

      “Maybe you’d better explain what coming back to the Bay has to do with Wingate Manor.”

      “The Wingate brothers hired me to redo the Manor’s landscape.” She leaned forward, a picture forming in her mind. “You know how they’re always trying to expand their reputation, be more than a fine place to dine or host wedding receptions and anniversary parties?”

      “Of course.” Piper frowned. “Henry’s held garden tours for the last two years. And now Wingate hosts summer stock performances for a couple of months. They have a great space for private birthday parties, too.”

      “Last year they started patio barbecues,” Ashley added.

      “They’re going to expand even more.” Excitement skittered up and down Rowena’s spine. “They intend to reorganize the patio spaces for more private functions, make a tearoom to generate afternoon traffic from the garden tours—lots of new things.”

      “Wow.