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Chapter 22
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The Misfit Inn Chapter 23
Denver opted to do the final assembly of the arbor on-site at the barn of the inn. That way, he could do everything himself and not have to actually talk to anyone. Talking was the last thing he felt like doing. After six years in this town, keeping his head down and out of the local gossip, he'd managed to put himself right, square in the middle. He'd resorted to glaring his employees into silence and otherwise avoided everyone else by sticking to his tiny office in the back, catching up on the books. He thanked God for the fact that he owned a tavern, otherwise he'd have been forced to actually go to the local market and face the masses or starve. In his current mood, starving was the more appealing option.He backed his truck up to the barn doors and quietly dropped the tailgate. There were multiple cars in the gravel lot, among them Kennedy's. But he knew her sisters had made it into town, so he was hoping she stayed tied up with them long enough for him to get in and out. His pla
The Misfit Inn Chapter 24
"I, Kennedy, take thee, Alexander, to be my husband - "From several rows back, Denver bounced his leg. He was a man on a mission, and he just needed this ceremony over so he could get to it. He didn't know a lot about weddings, but he'd been sure that the florist's job was done once the flowers were dropped off. Apparently not. Despite the fact that he'd arrived early - with several gallons of his spiked lemonade for the reception - he hadn't managed five minutes to talk to Misty. He hadn't even managed to get close enough for five words. When he'd left her at Moonbeams and Sweet Dreams the other night, he'd felt better having made his apologies. In telling her the truth, he'd finally been able to set aside the noxious emotional brew that had been eating at him for a week. But as he'd come home to Oscar, who'd stopped wagging almost as soon as he realized Moxie and Misty hadn't been with him, a whole different level of shitty had rolled in to fill that void. He missed Misty. He mis
The Misfit Inn Chapter 25
As Denver leaned into the turn, Misty pressed close, her arms tightening around his waist. He loved feeling her snugged up against his back when they took Roxanne out for a ride. She'd taken to the motorcycle like a duck to water. He'd offered to teach her to ride on her own, but she preferred riding with him, and who was he to complain about any up-close-and-personal time of any kind with his girl? And on a day like today, when the sky stretched out in a ribbon of endless blue and the temperatures held the first hint of autumn, it was perfect. Almost. It would be up to her whether they made it all the way.Denver found himself unaccountably nervous. Under the guise of reassuring her, he reached back to stroke a hand along the outside of her thigh. She squeezed him back. Releasing a breath, he forced himself to relax.Things were great between them - had been great for four months - and he wanted to lock things in. He wanted this woman in his life for the everyday and always, and
The Misfit Inn Chapter 26
VOLUME THREE: THOSE SWEET WORDS"THERE IS NO WAY I'm moving into your newlywed love shack."Pru Reynolds froze, holding in a wince as the object of the current discussion made herself known. Of course Ari had been skulking outside the kitchen. How many times had Pru herself done the same as a child? There never seemed to be another option when the grown-ups were deciding your fate without consulting you. She'd hated it. Hated being at the mercy of a bunch of relative strangers - even well-intentioned ones. But that's what it was to be part of the foster system. That was the fate that Pru and her sister, Kennedy, were trying to save Ari from.Pru turned to face the girl, taking in the dark, stormy eyes and the mulish set to her mouth. "Nothing's been decided, sugar. We aren't going to make that decision for you." It was important to get that out there. To make Ari understand that she had a choice here. Foster kids had so few actual choices, and fighting that sense of powerlessness wa
The Misfit Inn Chapter 27
AFTER DINNER, ATHENA DECLARED dishes as someone else's responsibility and disappeared for a poker game with a couple of their foster siblings, who'd come to town for the wedding. Ari had gone up to watch, and Maggie holed up to do a little telecommuting for her firm in L.A. Wanting some quiet and a chance to find a little balance again, Pru shooed Kennedy and Flynn off to the family room for a visit. It seemed she hadn't been able to quite catch her breath since she fell off the ladder and into his arms. What was it about accents that were so damned sexy?She could hear Flynn's clearly from the family room as she washed and stacked. "Tell me true, deifiúr beag, how are you?" There was a wealth of affection in the term, and Pru wondered what it meant."I'm home," Kennedy said simply.Flynn made a noise of disbelief. "You're as much a gypsy as me. You expect me to believe you're really okay with putting down roots again?""I enjoyed my travels, but you had me pegged that last night
The Misfit Inn Chapter 28
PRU CRIED AT THE wedding. At least she was wearing waterproof mascara tonight. In her defense, she always cried at weddings, but this time she simply couldn't contain her joy that Kennedy and Xander had finally made it to where they were meant to be years ago. It gave her hope that the forever kind of love did exist. As she watched them exchange rings beneath a gorgeous, hand-carved arbor, twined in flowers, envy lanced through her for the briefest of moments. She wanted that for herself, wanted a man to look at her with those star-struck eyes and promises on his lips. That probably wasn't in the cards for her. Her life was taking a different track because of Ari, and she was okay with that. But Pru couldn't shake the sense of a door closing on this chapter of her life. The child had to come first. Ari needed to know she was the priority after years of uncertainty from her family of origin. Pru didn't balk at that. She understood that need from deep, personal experience. But thinking
The Misfit Inn Chapter 29
"DO YOU HAVE ALL your stuff?" Maggie asked Athena."I'm the one who's been standing down here with a fully-packed suitcase for half an hour." Athena eyed the stack of Maggie's luggage. "You never could travel light.""Some of us had non-wedding related work to do while we were here."And some of us have work to do after you go. But Pru didn't share that particular thought. The house couldn't empty fast enough.After she'd cooked what felt like the world's largest breakfast - enough pancakes and sausage to feed the literal army under her roof - the first wave of her former foster siblings headed out. Right on their heels, Kacy and her parents had picked Ari up. Those who remained had helped with clean-up in the barn. The tables and chairs were folded and stacked, waiting for pick up by the rental company on Monday, and the other detritus from the reception had been swept up or cleared away. Mostly. The lights would take longer to pull down, but later. It could all wait for later.
The Misfit Inn Chapter 30
"I KNEW I'D END up with a few clients from people I know, but word has spread like wildfire. Thanks." Abbey accepted the glass of wine Pru offered. "I've got more people wanting to book sessions than I can manage in the temp space we have set up right now. People here are really into the idea of a spa."Balancing her own wine, Pru settled into one of the deck chairs opposite her friend. "I thought they might be." The news both pleased and worried her. She'd invited Abbey to ply her trade on a whim, a means of testing the waters. But she hadn't expected the idea to take off quite this fast."That's your thinking face. What's cooking in that brain of yours?" Abbey asked."I've been noodling over the idea of a day spa for a while. But I wanted time to gather some data on interest before I broached the subject with my sisters. A spa would necessitate renovations - an expansion or addition somehow. There's - " The back door opened, pulling Pru's attention to the other end of the porch.
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