Under the Midnight Stars (34 page)

Brielle hurried downstairs and into the dining room with a bundle in her arms. “Look who decided to finally wake up and join us for Thanksgiving dinner.” She smiled and kissed the plump rosy cheek of her seven-month-old daughter. “You want turkey too, don’t you, Annie?”

Wearing a short-sleeved lavender dress, Annie Katherine Tayler yawned and smiled a one-toothed smile. Then she held her hands out to her daddy once she set eyes on him.

“Come here, sweetheart.” Colt grinned proudly at his daughter as he took her into his arms. He chuckled at how cute she looked with her huge green eyes still puffy from her afternoon nap. He hugged her tightly and kissed her head of soft, light brown curls. “Daddy has a special seat for you right here next to me.” Carefully, he placed her in her purple-and-white gingham high chair and fastened her securely in the safety belt.

Brielle smiled at CJ. “Did you remember to wash your hands?”

“Yep.” He held them up for her to see.

Annie clapped her hands together and smiled when she saw the turkey. “Mum, mum.”

“That’s right, baby Annie, mum mum!” CJ agreed hungrily.

“That’s right, it’s about time to eat.” Brielle took the seat next to her daughter.

Just then Richard, Amy, and little Maggie arrived.

Jack let out a sigh of relief. “It’s about time y’all showed up. I thought I was gonna have to sit here and watch the turkey grow cold.”

With her daughter in her arms, Amy took the seat next to Brielle. “Well, it’s not as easy as you think getting a baby up from her nap.” The tiny spitting image of her was donned in a short-sleeved pink dress.

“You’ve got that right,” Brielle agreed.

“Howdy, Rich.” Colt nodded. “You need a hand carrying anything else in?”

“Nope, we can get it later. That turkey looks too delicious to make it sit there any longer,” Richard said. He placed the pink-and-white gingham highchair between Amy’s and his seat at the other end of the table. “Come to Grandpa, pumpkin.” He took Maggie from the young woman he now treated as his own daughter, and buckled her in.

Jack placed a hand over his shirt pocket.

Colt noticed Jack’s movement and smiled slightly, wondering if that was the pocket he held the engagement ring in.

Jack took Lanie’s hand into his and kissed the back of it.

She giggled softly. “You’re so sweet, Jack.”

He grinned his charming smug grin. “Honey, you have no idea.”

She smiled bashfully and averted her eyes.

Brielle placed her hand over Colt’s and smiled lovingly at him. “This all feels so perfect.”

“Yes it does,” Colt replied wholeheartedly. He looked around the table as his loved ones surrounded him. He could hardly believe that after eleven long years of his life in the big city, he’d finally accomplished what he had set out to do: to return home and rebuild the country-simple life that had been taken from him long ago.

He looked at his son, a spitting image of him, with his mother’s kind heart, and winked reassuringly. Then he turned to his daughter with a funny grin to make her giggle. And finally, he rested his eyes on the woman he loved more than anything. She was glowing angelically, with her green eyes lighting up his heart. Grinning proudly at his new life, he knew that nothing else in the world could make him happier.

Whether it was with your words of encouragement, reading and giving feedback, creating a beautiful website, or your awesome editing skills and advice, I’d like to thank everyone who helped me to accomplish my dream.

And I’d especially like to thank my husband, Bobby, and kids, Matthew, Alex, and Kayla, for being more than patient, understanding, and supportive while I spent countless hours achieving that dream.

Shawna Gautier lives in Northern California, where winters are mild, and summers are hot. Married for over two decades now, she and her husband have one daughter and two sons. She’s fascinated by anything to do with the great outdoors, especially camping, dirt-bike riding, and going to the beach.

At a young age she started reading novels, which sent her imagination soaring and made her determined to create stories of her own. And, between raising her children and attending college, she finally accomplished her goal. Besides from her first book,
Under the Midnight Stars,
she has also written Moonlit Shadows, a series of four paranormal romance novels. The first book of this series,
Moonlit Shadows … Taken,
will be available later this summer.

Visit Shawna’s website to sign up for her newsletter and learn about new releases:
www.shawnagautier.com