April's Promise (Forever Love Series) (18 page)

April
was openly crying now.  She just couldn't help it.  But they were joyful tears
and she was sure Gabe knew that.  They sealed their vows by giving each other
rings, bands of gold that would encircle them for a lifetime.

At the
end of the ceremony, the minister blessed them and announced clearly, "I
present to you April and Gabe Chronister, husband and wife."

"You
can kiss her now," he said to Gabe.

Gabe
did to a breakout of applause from all the guests in the pews.

As he
lifted his head, he whispered to April, "Winnifred's taking Stephie to her
place to wrap presents all day tomorrow, so we'll have a whole day for a
honeymoon."

"And
the rest of our lives," April returned easily.

Gabe
took her in his arms and kissed her again.

****

A Note
From The Author

Some
stories sit in my heart until I feel the time is right to bring them into the
light.  APRIL'S PROMISE is one of those books.  It stretches the bounds of
category romance.  But at its heart, it's a reunion romance.  My romances spin
around the integrity of my hero and heroine.  An honorable man, Gabe never
imagined his wife, April's sister, wouldn't be honorable.  An honorable woman,
April made a promise to her sister when she was dying because it was the right
thing to do.  In the end, only true honesty can be the foundation for a lasting
commitment.

After
writing and seeing published over eighty novels, I don't think I'll ever tire
of weaving romances and giving my characters happily-ever-afters.  APRIL'S
PROMISE is the first book in my FOREVER LOVE series.  I look forward to writing
many more.

When
I'm not writing romances, I'm writing mysteries, or blogging, or Skyping with
another writer.  To take a break from that side of my life, I enjoy digging
into my mother's and grandmother's recipe boxes to create food to enjoy with
family and friends.  I also garden, and watching plants grow is a similar
process to watching a plot develop!

I often
post about my latest projects on social media.  My website
www.karenrosesmith.com is your portal to my media feeds as well as the latest
info about my books.  Readers can also e-mail me from there.  I welcome meeting
my readers on social networks and chatting.

****

KAREN
ROSE SMITH BOOKS AVAILABLE IN E-BOOK FORMAT

FOREVER
LOVE
Series

April's
Promise

FINDING
MR. RIGHT
Series

Kit and
Kisses, Book 1

Forever
After, Book 2

When
Mom Meets Dad, Book 3 *

Falling
For Her Boss, Book 4 *

Toys
and Baby Wishes, Book 5 *

Love in
Bloom, Book 6

Ribbons
and Rainbows, Book 7 *

Wish on
the Moon, Book 8 *

A Man
Worth Loving, Book 9 *

SEARCH
FOR LOVE
Series

Nathan's
Vow, Book 1 *

Jake's
Bride, Book 2 *

Always
Devoted, Book 3 *

Always
Her Cowboy, Book 4 *

Heartfire,
Book 5

Cassidy's
Cowboy, Book 6 *

Her
Sister, Book 7 *

EVERYDAY
LOVE
Short Story Series

Everyday
Cinderellas, Vol. 1

Everyday
Prince Charming, Vol. 2

Everyday
Romance, Vol.3

Garden
of Fantasy

Abigail
and Mistletoe

Writing
is a Business

SCIENCE
FICTION SHORT STORY COLLECTION

Journey
Into Chaos

BOXED
SETS

Finding
Mr. Right Box Set One

Finding
Mr. Right Boxed Set Two

Search
For Love Boxed Set One

Search
For Love Boxed Set Two

Everyday
Love Boxed Set

* Also
available in audio book format

****

Excerpt from
HER SISTER

Search For Love
series, Book 7

Prologue

Where
is Lynnie?  Where did she go?

In her
mind, five-year-old Clare Thaddeus called to her little sister—
Come back,
Lynnie.  Please come back.

The
huge policeman crouched down in front of Clare's mother at the sofa and said in
a deep, slow voice, "Mrs. Thaddeus, I know you're terribly upset.  But I
need details.  We've got an hour before daylight.  If your daughter wandered
outside—"

Clare's
father, who'd been talking to another man in blue, glanced at her, and Clare
huddled down deeper into the big green armchair.  Her dad didn't come to her
but rather went to her mom, sank down beside her and wrapped his arm around
her.  Then he spoke to the officer.  "Our daughter, Lynnie, is three.  She
would never go outside into the dark on her own."

"Tell
us again where you were last night," the policeman demanded in a
not-so-nice voice.

"I
worked late, preparing a brief."

"Until
five a.m.?"

"Yes,
until five a.m.  As I told you, I always check the girls' rooms before turning
in.  Lynnie wasn't in her bed.  I woke my wife.  We looked through the whole
house and then we called you."

Clare
had been sleeping in her brand new room.  They'd moved in here—she studied her
hand and counted her fingers—five days ago.  Boxes were still stacked down here
and upstairs.  The house was okay.  There were more rooms for her and Lynnie to
play hide and seek.  But she didn't like being alone in her own room at night. 
She'd liked it better when she and Lynnie had slept in the same room.

Earlier
she'd thought she'd heard Lynnie's door open...thought her sister was going to
the bathroom and might come in and crawl into bed with her.  But she'd been
so
sleepy.  She and Lynnie had been running through the hose sprayer all afternoon
in the backyard while Mommy unpacked.  She was supposed to watch her sister. 
She was always supposed to look out for Lynnie.  That's what big sisters did.

Where
had Lynnie gone?

Then
Clare remembered the blue car that had driven down the alley in back of the
yard lots of times.  The man had stopped once and watched them.  But she'd
thought he might be one of their new neighbors who just wanted to say hi.

Should
she tell the policeman?

He was
so big, and he looked mad.  Her dad looked mad, too, as he asked, "Why do
you want to question me and my wife separately?"

"That's
just the way we do it, Mr. Thaddeus."

Although
she was scared of the two big men in blue uniforms, she knew her mommy and
daddy wouldn't let them hurt her.  Policemen helped, didn't they?  They were
going to help find Lynnie.

She
slipped off of the chair, went over to the sofa and tugged on her mother's
arm.  "Mommy, when I was playing—"

The
doorbell rang.

"Are
you expecting someone?" the policeman asked, his brows arched.

Not
sounding at all like herself, her mother answered, "I called a friend."

"Before
or after you called us?"

Her
mother's face turned red.  "
After
, of course."

"Mommy." 
She tugged on her mother's arm again while one of the policemen went to the
door.

Her
mother took Clare's hand.  "Not now, honey.  Natalie's going to take care
of you for a little while so we can talk to the officers."

"But,
Mommy—"

Her
mom's best friend, Natalie Barlow, rushed into the living room looking as upset
as her mom and dad.  "What can I do?"

Her
father answered quickly.  "Can you take Clare upstairs?  And can you call
our old neighbors?  Maybe they'll help search.  I've got to get out there
looking, but I have to finish answering questions first."

Natalie
gave Clare a weak smile and took her hand.  "Come on, honey.  Let's go
upstairs for a while."

Her mom
kissed her.

Her dad
gave her a nod.

She
tried again.  "When I was playing with Lynnie—"

Tears
fell down her mom's cheeks.  Her dad said, "Not now.  Go upstairs with
Natalie."

What
she had to say wasn't important.  The man in the blue car didn't matter.  Only
Lynnie mattered.

As
Clare followed Natalie upstairs, she got very afraid.  What if the policemen
couldn't find Lynnie?  Is that why her mommy was crying?  Because she didn't
think they could?  Was that why her dad was mad?

Natalie
bent down to her.  "I don't want you to worry.  Everything's going to be
all right."

But
Clare knew better.  If Lynnie didn't come home, nothing would ever be right
again.

****

Chapter
One

"I'm
not taking it back.  I bought it with my own money."  Shara Thaddeus stared
at her mother defiantly, standing her ground.  At sixteen, she was Clare's
payback for the trouble Clare had given her parents when
she
was
sixteen, though certainly not for the same reason.

At
thirty-two and a single parent, Clare didn't know what to do with Shara any
more than her parents had known what to do with her.  She'd rebelled because
she'd wanted their attention. 
Any
of their attention.  All of their
attention.  When Lynnie had been around, Clare had loved her and protected her
and been her big sister.  But after she'd disappeared, it was as if Clare
hadn't existed.  Everything was always about Lynnie.  And Clare had just wanted
her parents to realize that although her sister was gone,
she
was still
there.

Shara,
on the other hand, had always had all of Clare's attention.  What she didn't
have was a father.  She'd been a precocious child, constantly testing her
boundaries.  Sometimes Clare just got weary of being a watchdog.  But yet
wasn't that what parents were supposed to do?

After
taking a deep breath for patience then putting her chin-length brown hair
behind her ears, she reached out and took the blouse from Shara's hands.  It
really wasn't a blouse, just a stretch lace concoction that
her
daughter
wasn't going to be caught dead in.  "If you wear this out on the street,
you'll get arrested.  What did you buy to go with it?"  She meant to keep
her tone curious but it sounded judgmental anyway.

Shara
produced a pair of black leather shorts that Clare suspected would fit too
snugly.

"The
outfit goes back.  It's not appropriate for school.  It's not appropriate to
wear to the mall.  It's not appropriate to be caught dusting the house in. 
What were you thinking?"

"I'm
thinking there are a few boys who would think I'm hot."

Counting
to ten had never been a strategy that worked well for Clare, especially when
her daughter was deliberately trying to push her buttons.  But she tried it
again, nonetheless, not meeting with any more success than she'd achieved the
last time.  She prayed for patience, or wisdom or anything that would help deal
with her daughter.

Finally,
in a friendly tone she asked, "Care to give me their names?  Maybe I can
do background checks."

Shara
studied her mother, trying to decide if she was joking or serious.  "Brad
said he likes me in black."

"Brad
doesn't need to like you in anything.  He's a senior.  You're a sophomore. 
We've talked about this, Shara.  He has a reputation and I don't want him
giving
you
a reputation."

"You
are wound
so
tight," Shara mumbled.

Before
Clare could deal with
that
assessment, the telephone rang.  She glanced
at it, thought about letting it ring, letting the answering machine take over. 
But maybe both she and her daughter needed a few minutes to cool down.  She saw
from the Caller ID that it was her mom's home number.  This would probably be a
short conversation.  They never had much to say to each other.

Clare
watched Shara take the new outfit and her other bags to her room.  "They
go back," Clare called after her.

Her
daughter didn't bother to reply.

Clare
greeted her mom with a chipper "hello," wondering what she was going
to put together for supper.  As an X-ray technician at the hospital, she
usually arrived home after Shara.  Today, however, Shara had asked her if she
could stop at the mall for an hour or so after school and Clare had agreed.  It
looked as if they'd both be taking a trip after supper to return Shara's
purchases.  Maybe they should just leave now and grab pizza there.  The mall on
an October Friday night would be busy.