Route 66 Reunions
Authors: Mildred Colvin
© 2010
Facing Tessa’s Past
by Mildred Colvin
© 2011
Redeeming Sarah’s Present
by Mildred Colvin
© 2011
Building Amanda’s Future
by Mildred Colvin
Print ISBN 978-1-62416-732-4
eBook Editions:
Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1-62836-283-1
Kindle and MobiPocket Edition (.prc) 978-1-62836-284-8
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without written permission of the publisher.
Scripture taken from the H
OLY
B
IBLE,
N
EW
I
NTERNATIONAL
V
ERSION
®
.
NIV
®
. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.
Cover image: Andy Caulfield/Photographer’s Choice/Getty Images
Published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683,
www.barbourbooks.com
Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses
.
Printed in the United States of America.
Dear Readers,
I invite you to travel with me along the romantic and historic Route 66, which sets the background for this series of three contemporary novels. I’ve lived near this well-known road all my life and remember the television series by that name. Although the Mother Road is now hidden by busy interstates and four-lane highways, many people still have fond memories of a simpler life from the past along this two lane byway that stretches from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California. Many attractions, restaurants, and museums still exist today along the road just as they once stood and are worth revisiting.
Taking a second chance is the theme throughout this series as each hero and heroine revisit their past relationships and discover a new and wonderful love they’d almost forgotten. As they set aside old hurts and even false accusations, they learn to trust each other, but more importantly they trust God to bring His love into their life and give them the desires of their hearts.
I hope you enjoy this look into the past and present as you travel Route 66 with these characters who rediscover a way of life they almost missed. I look forward to hearing from you.
May God abundantly bless you as you find the road God has given you to travel.
Mildred Colvin
www.infinitecharacters.com
ACING
T
ESSA’S
P
AST
Dedication
Thank you, Becka, Eileen, Jonathan, and Jim. This book would not exist without your input. I cannot tell you how much your time and corrections mean to me. For every page that bled, the story became that much better. God bless you, everyone. And a special thanks to my agent Janet Benrey. This is our first sale together. May there be many more.
T
essa Stevens burst from the house with her cell phone pressed to her ear and let the storm door close behind her. She ran down the steps and across the yard to her car parked in the driveway.
“Kasi, hi. It’s me.” She stopped beside the car when her best friend answered. “I’m doing it, Kasi. I’m finally really and truly doing it.”
“I’m so happy for you, Tessa.” Kasi’s voice came over the phone with a lilt. “I don’t know anyone who is more deserving.”
“I don’t know about that.” Tessa winced. “God has already given me much more than I deserve. But I’m so excited. I’ve got the car packed, and the boys are eating breakfast. This will be our first-ever vacation. We never made it to Disneyland, but we are going a thousand miles to Chicago. We never go anywhere other than church, school, and work. None of us have been more than a hundred miles from Amarillo since we moved here.”
“And now you’ll be on the road for two weeks. Are you sure you can handle this trip alone?” Uncertainty crept into Kasi’s voice.
Taking a deep breath of warm, early June air, Tessa looked around her Texas home. After twelve years, she had gotten used to the differences here from her childhood in Illinois. The only thing she occasionally missed was the lay of the land and the abundance of trees she had taken for granted in the forests back home. Maybe she’d take the boys to a forest somewhere. No, they would think she was crazy.
She opened the car door, keeping her phone pinned between her shoulder and jaw. “Kasi, you are worse than my mother. Where is your faith? We will be fine. Absolutely nothing will happen, except we’ll have a fantastic time and I’ll come home broke.”
She leaned in to place her travel bag between the two front seats of her car. The bag, made of Route 66 upholstery material, came from a gift shop several miles west of Amarillo. She figured it made the perfect carry-on bag for their journey along the Mother Road. She unzipped it enough to slide her Bible inside. The bag held a comb and brush, her checkbook, her clutch purse, and, among other things, a best seller she hadn’t found time to read yet. But that would change now. For the next two weeks her time was her own. Hers and her boys’.
“Or maybe you’ll come home with a romance story to tell me.” Kasi laughed.
Tessa backed out of the car too quickly and smacked her head. “Ow!”
Kasi snickered. “Oh, come on, Tessa, romance isn’t a dirty word, and it doesn’t hurt. At least not true love.”
“I don’t know about that.” She rubbed her head. “But then, maybe I’ve never been in love. Which doesn’t really matter, because I have no intention of ever falling in love. Trust me, Kasi, with three boys chaperoning me 24/7 for the next two weeks, there will be no chance of any romantic encounters, even if I wanted one, which I don’t.”
“Famous last words. Hey, I’ll be praying for you guys. Not just for romance”—Kasi giggled—“but for God’s protection. I want you all back here safe and sound.”
“Now
that
I appreciate. I mean your prayers for our protection.”
Tessa closed her car door and walked back to the house while she and Kasi finished their call. She shoved her cell phone back into her pants pocket and went into the kitchen. Gathered around the table were the three loves of her life—her three sons. Robbie, at almost fifteen, continually tried to push the limits as he stretched into manhood. Seth was the quiet one. At barely twelve, he would as soon devour a book as play ball. All her boys did well in school, but Seth especially excelled in every area of academics. Derek, her baby, had just turned ten years old in April.
She ruffled Derek’s dark hair as his oldest brother grabbed the cereal box out from under his hand and laughed. “Got it.”
“Hey Mom, he only took the cereal because he saw me reach for it.” Derek’s indignant declaration brought a smirk from Robbie.
“So? You have to be fast around here, isn’t that right, Seth?” He filled his bowl and set the box out of Derek’s reach.
Seth simply shrugged and continued eating.
Tessa handed the box of cereal to Derek before circling the table. “What you have to do, Robbie, is share. I hope you realize we’ll be living in pretty close quarters the next two weeks. Let’s make an effort to get along with each other.”
“Sure, Mom.” Robbie flashed dimples at her then scooped a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.
Tessa pulled out a chair and sat down. She took the cereal when Derek finished and fixed her own breakfast. Going on vacation with three active boys would be an adventure, she felt sure, but one she eagerly anticipated. Five years ago a trip out for pizza once a month was an event the boys looked forward to the way other kids thought of going to Disneyland.
She looked around the table at her boys, their energy directed toward breakfast for the moment. The scripture in the seventh chapter of Luke spoke to her heart, as she felt kinship with the woman who had anointed Jesus’ feet with oil even when His disciples didn’t approve. Jesus told them, “ ‘Her many sins, have been forgiven—as her great love has shown.’ ” How thankful she was Jesus had also forgiven her many sins. And how much she loved Him.
“Are we going to celebrate our birthdays while we’re gone?” Robbie asked.
She smiled at the son she jokingly called her birthday gift. Robbie would turn fifteen on June twelfth, while she would reach the ripe old age of thirty. “Of course. I have something special in mind for that day. Or I should say Sarah does. We should be at her place on the twelfth. How’s that sound?”
