Page 74 of Lakehouse Promises

“Amen.” Everyone said in unison.

There was a knock at the door and Carolina went to answer it, surprised to see her new friend on the other side.

“Rebecca. What are you doing here?”

She shrugged. “My aunt and mom got into an argument over whose green bean casserole was better. It got ugly so I escaped and decided to come over here.” Rebecca smirked. “And mom is kind of mad you didn’t show up.” She cut her eyes at Bernice, who shrugged like she didn’t have a care in the world.

“Come on in. Glad to have you.”

Everyone greeted her as she walked into the room. She stopped and turned to Carolina. “I also have a surprise for you.”

“You do?”

“Yes. I received a package at the bank. It was from your ex-mother-in-law.”

Everyone grew quiet.

“Really?” Carolina frowned.

“Yes. She sent a check for the amount that she took plus an additional amount. She said to deposit it into your account. And for you to use it to buy whatever you need for your house.”

“What?” Carolina’s mouth dropped. “Why would she do that?”

“Maybe it’s her way of saying sorry for how she treated you all those years.” Hannah shrugged. She had grown closer to Hannah over the weeks and they met regularly for coffee.

“You said there was a package?”

“Yeah.” She held out a large gift bag.

Carolina took it and pulled out the tissue paper. She gasped. “It can’t be.”

“Oh it is.” Rebecca smiled. “Janice said she found the quilt in a second-hand store in Charlotte. She recognized it and asked the owner of the shop where he got it from. He said some fool threw it in the garbage. He fished it out.”

“It’s my mother’s quilt.” Tears spilled out over her cheeks.

“God has a way of taking care of us in big and small ways.” Rebecca smiled.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Then don’t say anything and come over here and eat.” Thomas patted the chair beside him.

She sat down and looked around the table full of friends and realized just how blessed she truly was.

Chapter 47

Carolina pulled into her driveway after a long but satisfying day at work. Thomas’s truck was parked in the front and Phoenix was nowhere to be seen.

She walked around to the backyard and spotted Thomas and the dog sitting on the porch.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” She smiled and stepped onto the deck.

“It seems weird not to come over here every day.” He shrugged.

“Oh yeah. Did you miss me or was it Phoenix you couldn’t wait to see?” She laughed.

“Both.”

The smile nipped at the corners of her mouth and she ducked her head. She wasn’t sure but she thought Thomas was flirting with her.