Page 83 of Perfectly Matched: Harbor Falls Romance Collection

Lucki not seen Sam for nearly a week. Deliberately. Not since the slap, which was probably the fatal blow to their relationship. She’d never slapped anyone in her life, and figured it was quite possibly the ultimate humiliation.

But, she was angry.

And hurt.

And it seemed like someone else was possessing her body at that moment. And she’d just hauled off and slapped the living hell out of him. Surely, he would never forgive her that.

How embarrassing!

But, how embarrassing to find her love life being discussed amongst the women of her church! And the fact that Sam had told Kathleen that there were no wedding plans—that they were just intimate friends, well, it was just more than she could take.

She was trying very, very hard not to be miserable.

Pinky was doing her darnedest to keep her spirits up.

Rick was even staying off her case lately, sensing, she guessed, that she needed space.

And Matt, well, Matt was being just as sweet as Pinky. They even took her to dinner one evening when she was procrastinating about going home. She was dreading pulling into her driveway, anticipating that Sam might be there waiting on her. She didn’t want to talk to him.

Ever.

Maybe once her parents got back home, she’d think about moving out. Find herself an apartment downtown, maybe. Something closer to work. She’d talked about it for years, but just hadn’t done it. Maybe now was the time.

Luckily, she’d had excuse after excuse to work late this week. She hadn’t met Sam coming or going morning or night. Things had been quiet at his house with J.J. off to camp with Spud. And what with the council meeting coming up on Thursday, and all the work associated with that, she hadn’t had much time to devote to thinking about Sam, anyway.

And, she’d even skipped church last Sunday. First time in years.

Funny, though. He’d not called.

So, she’d had virtually no contact with Sam.

Or anyone in Harbor Falls, for that matter.

It was a little unnerving. She’d been prepared for the onslaught.

Sam had been so damned persistent for so long. And now. Nothing.

So finally, she’d just decided that Sam had called it quits. It was just like before, when he’d slipped that alternate prom date in on her, and then he’d turned tail and run back to school. Now, he was just flat out avoiding her.

Oh, well, all the better.

Now, she could just get back to her humiliating little life and suffer the collective pooh-poohs from the whole of Harbor Falls.

Thank goodness, she thought as she stared out the door of her cubicle, that the council meeting was tonight, and that that, at least, would be behind her. At least then she’d have one less worry on her mind. If she was granted funding tonight from the city council, the county would surely follow suit next week.

At least she still had her kids. Right now, they were what kept her going.

****

On Saturday, Lucki decided she should probably venture out for some groceries. There was practically nothing to eat in the house. She was feeling a mite better. They council had approved her funding request Thursday evening, Rick was elated, and she was sure things would go well for them the next Tuesday at the county meeting.

That, had made her week.

She had to concentrate on the good things.

She was thinking about that when she entered the automatic doors of Ralph’s Grocery that Saturday morning. Maybe that’s why she had a smile on her face, she wasn’t sure. She’d been thinking about her kids. She was so proud of them that night at the meeting; they had handled themselves so well.

Perhaps that was why she was taken aback when Eloise Hunter approached her in the produce aisle.

“Sam back from Memphis, Lucki? I see a smile on that face.”

She stopped for a second to assess Eloise’s words. Sam in Memphis? Suddenly, Eloise clamped her mouth tightly shut, as if she’d said something she shouldn’t have.

“Excuse me, Eloise?”

Eloise shook her head.

“Oh, nothing, Lucki. Just thinking out loud. It was nothing.”

But Lucki knew it was something.

“Sam is in Memphis? I didn’t know.”

“Oh, I’m sure you didn’t, honey.”

Eloise was ready to burst. She looked like the cat that had swallowed the canary.

“Spill it, Eloise. I know you want to say something.”

Eloise shook her head violently and tightly clamped her lips. Then she took off for the bread aisle. Lucki watched her skirts swish from behind as she vamoosed.

“That’s odd,”

she mused. Sam is in Memphis?

She picked out a few fruits and vegetables then followed Eloise’s path at a more leisurely pace. She stopped to peruse the array of donuts. She needed some for her truck.

Her standard breakfast.

Gee, if she only had someone to fix her waffles every morning....

“So, shopping for one or two?”

Lucki jerked her head up and looked sharply to her right. Lamar Thompson stood staring at the Hostess Twinkies.

“What did you say, Lamar?”

He slowly turned his head toward her. Lamar never got in a hurry.

“Oh, nothing, Lucki. Nothing.”

Frustrated, Lucki stared at the man who was now turning over in his hands the box of Twinkies.

“No, you said something about shopping for one or two, didn’t you, Lamar?”

He took his good time answering.

“No, I said I wondered if I should buy one or two. Of the Twinkies, you know. My grandchildren are coming to visit on Monday.”

Perplexed, Lucki mentally took a step back.

“Oh. That’s nice. Have a great time with them, Lamar.”

He nodded and casually sauntered off.

Strange. Lucki shook her head and started toward the frozen foods.

She was trying to decide whether to buy pepperoni or supreme pizza when a shadow cast over her shoulder on the pizza boxes.

“I’d buy the supreme, if I were you, Lucki. You know men always like lots of meat on their pizza.”

She whirled.

“What in the world are you talking about, Missy?”

Had all of Harbor Falls gone insane?

“Better get the large, too. But I don’t think I’d rely on frozen food much longer. You know you’re going to be cooking for more than one from now on. Actually three. Men always like home cooking better. Might want to take that into consideration.”

Lucki screwed up her face in disbelief.

“What in the hell are you talking about?”

“Just a thought, Lucki.”

Then like a flash, she was gone.

Lucki wanted to scream right there in the middle of Ralph’s.

She managed to make it through the meat counter, the cereal aisle, and then through the canned goods, but when she got to the dairy case, she rounded the corner to find Kathleen perusing the assorted cheeses.

“Lucki! My goodness. I haven’t seen you all week! Are you doing okay?”

A bit cautious, Lucki gauged the conversation carefully.

“Yes, Kathleen. I’m fine.”

“Well, you’ve holed yourself up like a little chipmunk all week. No one has seen hide nor hair of you, girl!”

Lucki relaxed a bit. Maybe this was going to be a normal conversation after all.

“I’ve been extremely busy, Kathleen. Lots of work to do at the Parks department. You see, I’m working on this thing for the kids, a skateboard park—”

Kathleen patted her hand.

“Well, that’s nice dear. Just don’t wear yourself out, you know. You have a busy week in front of you. By the way, do you have all your shots?”

Busy week?

“Shots?”

“Your immunizations. You never know when you may need them.”

Kathleen was obviously hallucinating.

“Kathleen, I’m sure my immunizations are up to date.”

“Well, you never know, in those foreign countries you can catch all kinds of—”

She clamped a hand over her mouth.

“Anyway, you’ve got a busy week. Rest up, dear.”

“Well, yes, I’ve got the county council meeting on Tuesday, but after that—”

Kathleen giggled and patted her hand again.

“Oh, honey, you are so downright charming sometimes. You just get your rest, you hear me? You’re going to need it. Oh, and by the way, do you still have that pretty pale green silk dress you wore to Mary Beauchamp’s wedding last spring?”

Lucki’s brain was spinning.

“Green silk dress?”

Where was this leading?

“Yes, Kathleen, I do. Do you want to borrow it?”

She couldn’t think of any other reason Kathleen would ask; however, it was most likely the dress was three sizes too small for her.

Kathleen cackled.

“Heaven’s no, child! Why don’t you wear it to church in the morning? That is such a pretty dress. And you looked so nice in it. Such a good color for you. Think about it, okay?”

Kathleen clucked to herself and waddled toward the snack aisle.

Lucki wondered if she’d somehow fallen into the Twilight Zone. These people were nuts!

She had to get out of here. And fast.

She threw several more items into her cart on the way to the checkout counter, carefully scanned each aisle on her way, cautiously turned every corner—she didn’t want any more surprises. Something was going on in Harbor Falls and it was driving everyone crazy.

Herself included.

Just as she tried to cruise by the bakery, she heard a loud scream. She nearly topped the cupcake display.

“There she is! Get her out of here!”

Just as Lucki saw Hannah Harper and Louise Palmer attempt a little dance behind the bakery counter, Reverend Peters appeared out of nowhere and seemed to guide her most reverently toward the front of the store. As well as one could glide while being on crutches.

“Lucinda! My, it’s been ages. Why weren’t you in church last week, my dear?”

Lucki attempted a glance over her shoulder. Hannah and Louise were waving their arms and shielding her view from what looked like a very large cake.

She turned to the good Reverend. Surely he would tell her.

“Reverend Peters, what in the world is wrong with these people? I mean, everyone is saying the strangest things and doing little dances and trying to herd me in the opposite direction—like you are doing right now.”

Reverend Peters feigned surprise.

“Lucinda, whatever are you talking about? I was just accompanying you on your way to the checkout. Now, about in the morning. I’m trying to decide which songs we should sing. Do you prefer “Oh Promise Me”

or would you like something a little more contemporary?”

“I think something more contemporary—”

Lucki stopped dead cold in the aisle.

Oh Promise Me?

She stared at Reverend Peters.

“You’re just like them. You’re going crazy, too. Am I the only one here who is sane?”

The Reverend chuckled.

“No, my dear. On the contrary. Now, let’s get you checked out and don’t forget, I expect to see you bright and early in the morning.”

He started unloading her items onto the counter.

“You missed last week altogether, and you were late the week before that. Tsk. Let’s be on time tomorrow, all right Lucinda?”

Lucki just nodded. She didn’t know what else to do.

****

She overslept.

And it felt good.

But two weeks in a row? Could she miss church two weeks in a row? Reverend Peters’ little speech kept bouncing around in her head.

So, she got up.

Took a quick shower.

Made an attempt at some semblance of refined hair.

Then she perused her closet for something to wear. The green silk seemed to pop out at her like a sore thumb. What the hell. She put it on.

She ate two powdered donuts on the way to church. She really didn’t care that a sprinkling of sugar fell across her chest. But she brushed at it anyway.

There seemed to be a bit more of a crowd as usual, but she managed to find a parking place a block away.

As she exited her truck, she thought she heard music.

Someone was singing. A bit off key, but singing, no less. It sounded like Eloise. It sounded like Oh Promise Me.

She shook her head. Impossible.

She let herself in the back door, made her way up the stairway, and stopped just outside the choir loft. Quickly, she donned her choir robe, firmly clasped a hymnal in her hand, and waited for the music to stop. She hoped she could slip in undetected while the congregation stood for a prayer.

She waited.

The music never stopped.

She waited some more.

Eloise was going on and on and on.

She decided to peek through the door.

She cracked it just a bit. All she could see were people. And more people. And more people. Reverend Peters sure had packed them in lately.

“Lucki! Where in the world have you been?”

Lucki jumped and the door opened more fully. She turned as Kathleen approached her from behind.

“Just waiting for Eloise to stop singing that song so I can slip into the choir loft. What are you doing back here, Kathleen? You don’t sing in the choir.”

“No, but I’ve been put in charge of finding you. I’ve looked everywhere. Finally saw your truck down the street. Don’t you realize everyone is waiting for you?”

Lucki put up her hand.

“This is ridiculous. This has to stop. Everyone has been talking in circles for days. What, is going on?”

Kathleen stepped forward and jerked down the zipper on the choir robe.

“Just get that thing off and come with me. You’ll find out soon enough.”

For some reason, Lucki stepped out of the robe. She took Kathleen’s hand and let her lead her through the door to the choir loft and out around the altar to the front of the church. Then Kathleen slowly slipped away.

There she stood. Center of attention. All eyes on her. What, in the world, was happening here?

Everything around her was a blur. People were everywhere. And they started whispering. And was that her parents over there in their regular spot? And Reverend Peters, why was he strategically placed in the center of the altar area? In a much more formal robe than usual? And was that Pinky all decked out there, too? Just a few feet away? Smiling like a Cheshire cat? My what a pretty dress. But she’d never gone to church here before.

And J.J.? Was that a suit and tie on the kid?

What the heck was going—

On.

Lucki’s brain slammed still. She took another moment or two. She glanced around. Lamar Thompson was in better-than-his-Sunday-best, right smack dab in the center of the front pew, as always. Eloise was perched at the piano, a feathered hat upon her head and a broad smile widening across her face. Kathleen had taken a seat two rows back. Hannah and Louise were standing near the rear of the church. Missy even smiled at her from a third of the way back. Even Matt and Rick were here.

Everyone was here. Except for Sam.

A door creaked open then from the opposite side of the church. All eyes turned that way. And Lucki watched as the most handsome man in the world, all decked out in a nice black tux, stepped toward her.

Her man.

Sam.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

Suddenly, she knew exactly what was going on.

Sam stepped closer.

He took both of her hands in his. He cleared his throat. The entire congregation of the United Methodist Church of Harbor Falls, North Carolina took in a collective breath. And held it.

Before he spoke, he reached up and swiped a finger across the corner of her mouth, then lifted it to his own and licked off a bit of sugar.

“Powdered donuts?”

He grinned and Lucki couldn’t help but relax.

Then his face grew serious again.

He got down on one knee.

Popped open a ring box, showing her the prettiest diamond engagement ring she’d ever seen. Tears stung her eyes.

“Lucinda Stevenson,”

he whispered.

“I love you. I think I always have. Will you marry me?”

His voice echoed throughout the sanctuary.

Lucki looked deep into Sam’s eyes. She wanted to say yes, right then and there, but could she? Surely, he was stating his intentions right here, in front of the entire town. He had to be serious, right?

“Sam…”

she whispered.

He stood up and faced her eye-to-eye.

“I would love to marry you today,”

he said.

“But I know that maybe that is too much to expect. I know women like to plan these things and make everything a big hoopla with parties and all that. So, I understand if you don’t want to get married today, Lucki, but if you could just say yes, that you’ll marry me someday, I’ll be the happiest man in the world.”

She glanced around again. Every person in the church sat in anticipation to her response. Waiting for her answer. The church swelled with an expectant pause. Then she looked back into Sam’s face. Perspiration ran down his temple.

Oh goodness, the poor man is so nervous.

“Sam, I…”

The only thing she could do was look deep into her heart. And when she did, she realized what she’d known all along. She closed her eyes.

“I love you, Lucki.”

He grasped her hand.

“I have always loved you,”

he whispered.

“I can’t imagine my life without you, and I don’t even want to think about what that would be like. Marry me?”

Her eyes fluttered open and she looked again to Sam and exhaled. “Yes,”

she whispered on that breath.

“Yes, Sam, I’ll marry you.”

The broadest grin she had ever seen spread across Sam’s face. Then his expression grew serious again.

“Today, or…?”

Lucki stepped closer to him and leaned in, her lips brushing his cheek.

“Yes, Sam. I’ll marry you today.”

In one fell swoop, he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet.

“You have no idea how happy you’ve made me,”

he whispered. He sat her down then and looked longingly into her eyes.

“God I love you, Lucki. Only you.”

“I love you, too, Sam.”

“Do I need to explain what happened the other day?”

Lucki glanced around her. Everyone was waiting. Her mother was dabbing at her eyes. She looked back at Sam.

“No, sweetheart. You don’t have to explain now. Later will be fine.”

“Good. Because we have a wedding to go to, and we don’t want to be late.”

“No. That, we surely don’t want to do,”

she whispered back.

Sam fiddled with the box in his hand and Lucki’s gaze followed. With nervous fingers, Sam removed the engagement ring and placed it on the third finger of her left hand, then lifted her chin with his forefinger to kiss her sweetly and gently.

Taking her hand in his then, he smiled and led her toward Reverend Peters, who performed the ceremony with lightning speed. He knew the rules. The time was approaching noon. The congregation cheered at the sultry kiss that sealed the deal, and Lucki and Sam embraced each other like there was no tomorrow.

But they now had a forever full of tomorrows and Lucki had never felt happier in her life.

“I love you, Mrs. Kirk,”

Sam said softly.

“And I love you back, Dr. Kirk.”

She pulled back far enough to look into his eyes.

“By the way, may I ask where you’ve been all week?”

“Memphis,”

he replied.

“I hired another physician for the office. Now I have more time for you and J.J. And besides, we’re going on a honeymoon for the next two weeks and I’ll need someone here.”

“Honeymoon?”

“Jamaica.”

“Really?”

“Umhmm...”

He nuzzled her closer and kissed her lips again.

“Hey you too.”

J.J. pulled on Sam’s coat.

“We better get moving.”

Lucki looked at Sam, questioning. What other surprises were in store for her today? “Moving?”

Sam glanced at his watch.

“You know, he’s right. We’ve gotta get going.”

“To Jamaica?”

Sam smiled.

“No, silly. To the reception. It’s at Buddy’s. If we want to beat the Baptists, then we better get moving....

Lucki took Sam’s hand and grinned. Finally, everything in Harbor Falls was back to normal.

Star Crossed

When Jasmine Walker returns to Harbor Falls after a fifteen-year absence—she expects to tie up some legalities of a will and head back to her home in Atlanta that same day. What she doesn’t expect is for her troubled teenage past to collide with her well-planned, professional future.

****

When Ms. Leinie Harbor Crockett dies and leaves something for Jasmine Walker in her will, Jasmine returns to Harbor Falls to meet with the attorney of the estate and learns she has inherited the contents of a safety deposit box. A letter explains Ms. Leinie’s wishes and the stipulations around Jasmine’s inheritance—stipulations and requests that Jasmine may not be able to fulfill. Ms. Leinie’s wishes do not align with Jasmine’s busy life in Atlanta, nor does running into her old high school boyfriend, Jack Ackerman.

The last person Jack expects to see at the bank that day is Jasmine Walker—but once he does, he knows he is not going to let her leave without a conversation. Fifteen years fell away in a heartbeat, and he needs to understand why she left Harbor Falls in the first place. Jasmine’s confessions leave him confused and angry, but he refuses to believe she no longer has feelings for him. When Jack learns his inheritance is intertwined with Jasmine’s, things suddenly become clearer.

With her passing, is Ms. Leinie orchestrating a star-crossed reunion from the grave, bringing two young lovers back together after fifteen lonely years of hurt, secrets, and misunderstandings?