

Violet

Miracle

A Little Bit of

Coffee,

Flowers,

and

Romance

Christina Li

Copyright © 2012 Christina Li All rights reserved.

DEDICATION

A BIG thanks goes to Sonya Noble, fellow author in the trenches, for her amazing editing help.  
To Anna Christo. Your encouragement and kind words mean the world to me! To my kids. You guys are amazing!  
And to Charles. I love you.

A Little Bit of Coffee, Flowers, and Romance

"There is no fear in love; but perfect loves casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love," I John 4:18

Chapter 1

Roses. Twelve, perfect, red roses.

They sat on the large counter of the diner waiting for someone. Of course, the card didn't read 'Violet Carsten,' but she leaned in for a moment and breathed in their sweet scent anyway. She suspected they were for her co-worker, Ginger. Checking the tag, she confirmed her theory. As she pulled on an apron, she gave them one last longing gaze, fearing their fate.

Amidst the sounds of clinking dishes Violet expertly performed her morning duties giving the floor a quick vacuum and wrapping cutlery in napkins. This didn't require much thought, so she often let her mind wander. This particular morning, Violet, against her better sense, compared herself to the other girl. Ginger, with her tall, svelte physique, cornsilk hair, and arctic blue eyes, turned heads everywhere. Violet contrasted her in almost every way. Her height barely reached five-foot-two, her hair, brown and eyes brown too. They differed in personality as well. Whereas Ginger tended to be loud and extroverted, Violet inclined more towards introverted. Ginger sometimes irritated customers whereas Violet enjoyed helping people and made an effort to get each of their customers to smile.

A few minutes later, Ginger, herself, glided through the entrance. When she saw the roses, she charged straight for them not even bothering to look at the card. Of course, they were for her. Carefully, she took them out of the vase and set them on the ground. Then, she jumped up and down on them several times before grinding them into the floor with her heel.

Violet stood at a table she had been wiping and gawked. She was glad the diner hadn't opened yet. This reaction was a bit extreme, even for Ginger.

When Ginger finished, she calmly turned and walked into the kitchen, returning only moments later with a broom and dustpan. She cleaned up the roses and put the whole thing, including the vase, into the trash can. Then, turning to Violet, she burst into tears.

Wordlessly, Violet walked over and put her arms around the girl.

"This is crazy, even for me, but we had another fight last night. Jimmy loves me, but I don't want 'apology flowers.' I don't want to spend another four years as his girlfriend. I want an engagement ring! I want a wedding!"

Violet got a tissue and handed it to Ginger. "What is holding him back?"

"I don't know," she replied dabbing at her eyes. "He keeps saying he wants a better job so he can 'provide' for me." She put up her hands indicating quotation marks around the word 'provide.' "I don't care about that. I want to be his wife."

Privately, Violet thought that statement didn't quite ring true. Ginger liked stuff. She preferred bling. Jimmy had to get her a large diamond or he'd hear about it. It amazed her their relationship lasted as long as it had. "I'm sure Jimmy wants what's best for you. You're worth it to him."

"Well, I'm tired of waiting. Reggie has been after me to go out with him and I might. That would teach Jimmy."

"Ginger, that's a really good way to lose Jimmy forever. You shouldn't play with men like that."

"Oh, now you're judging me? I thought you were my friend!"

Violet winced at the venom she saw in Ginger's eyes. Nothing she said at this point would either appease or convince the other girl. The safest thing to do was keep silence.

"You have nothing to say? Well, neither do I." At that, Ginger turned and stalked away.

Violet shook her head and got back to work wiping tables and getting ready for the lunch crowd.

There were days she really didn't like her life. Compared to Ginger, Violet's existence was really boring. All she ever did was work at the diner and go to church. That was the extent of it. The town of Butterfield, Illinois was a small farm town with very little else going on. St. Louis, the nearest large city, was more than two hours away, so any excitement had to be created.

However, Violet liked the quiet, but she also had another life, one that was completely different from her every day, ordinary life. This was a life of adventure, murder, mystery, and mayhem. Of course, this life existed only in her mind and on her computer, but it belonged solely to her. Violet wrote mystery/adventure stories and published them on-line as ebooks. Her Colonel Brighton books were doing quite well on Amazon's kindle, making her about $1000 a month. Unfortunately, she still wasn't quite at the point of quitting her waitressing job, but she was close. If she wrote and published a few more books, she knew it was possible to finally make it as an author.

When Violet researched and wrote her books she set herself loose. She freed her zany, adventurous, and even somewhat mysterious side completely. She was confident, fun, interesting and driven. Her research was always intensely interesting and most of the towns' people were happy to assist. One time she had even gotten to explore the basement of the library because she wanted a murder committed down there. Another time, she had gotten to ride around with a mail carrier for the day in order to research and create a scene in which a rural mail carrier found a murder victim while on their route. Violet loved writing, but it didn't quite pay the bills. So, she still had to deal with reality.

At the diner, the day crawled by. Finally, around dinner time, Violet was able to take a short break and get a bite to eat with her best friend, Sue, who was visiting for the weekend.

"Vi, what you need is an adventure, a real one of your own," said Sue, tucking a bit of her waist length dark hair behind her ear. "Why don't you get out of this town and come live in St. Louis? What if George and I put you up for a while until you found your feet?"

Shaking her head, Violet laughed. "There is no way I want to live with a couple of newlyweds. I value your friendship too much."

"George loves you," said Sue, unwilling to give up.

"He's a dear, but it wouldn't be right. Besides, Aunt Mabel needs me and I worry about her."

"Your Aunt Mabel is a lot tougher than you give her credit for."

Violet sighed and smiled. "You're probably right about that. The truth is I really like living here. I like a small town. It's beautiful in the fall and there's no traffic to fight. There's plenty of scope for the imagination. All I really need is my laptop, and the world is at my fingertips."

"Wouldn't you like to have your own adventure, though? You know I'm one of your biggest Colonel Brighton fans, but I would love to see you get out and have an adventure. I would love to see you fall in love. I would love to see you just get some respect for all you do!"

Violet's face reflected all sorts of emotions over those statements. Mostly, the idea of falling in love embarrassed her. Because of the fall of the economy, all the young people in their church had left Butterfield. There simply wasn't enough work to keep them, and their parents' farms couldn't support more than one generation.

"Susan, I'm sure it would be fun to have an adventure all my own, but I'm content here. I have all the adventure I need creating my stories. I don't need to get married and who really cares about respect? I don't expect it here at the diner and I'm slowly growing a fan base for my books. Soon, I'll be able to go full time writing and a good paycheck is all the respect I need!"

Her friend laughed at that. "I guess I've been so happy with George I want you to have the same."

"That's really sweet, Sue, but I'm not looking to get into a relationship right now. I'm happy with my life just the way it is."

Sue looked skeptical. "Really? You like working for peanuts? You like working for a boss who treats you like a slave? You like the drama with Ginger, a girl who thinks the world should bow to her every whim? Violet, you've got such talent as a writer. You could be a journalist for a large city newspaper! You're also an amazing editor. You could work in a major publishing house! There's so much more that you could do."

Violet looked a little guilty. She leaned in closer. "The truth Sue, the real truth, is I'm scared to death to leave Butterfield. I even did college on-line. This little town is, for better or not, my comfort zone. These people, though some of them are tough to deal with, I understand them. My parents lived and died here. My aunt lives here, and she's all the family I have left." Violet paused. "Besides, I wouldn't know what to do in a big city. I'd probably get lost the first day and never find my way home ever again. I'd be forever wandering around on some highway until I ran out of gas in some terrible neighborhood and ended up getting killed because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Sue rolled her eyes. "You do have a very good imagination," she said dryly.

Violet smiled. "Don't worry about me. I will simply stay here in Butterfield, write mystery/adventure stories, and eventually be able to quit my job and be completely free to be bored. I will grow old and send lots of presents to your fifteen children!"

"Ahhhh! We're thinking three or four, tops." Then, Sue narrowed her eyes at her. "Will you at least promise to come and visit?"

Violet hesitated. The idea of driving to a large city still terrified her, but at least it would only be for a visit. That wasn't too bad, was it? "I love you, Sue. For you, I'll drive to that horrible city of yours and visit."

Sue grinned gleefully. "I'll fly you down. That way, I can come and pick you up from the airport and you won't have to worry about a thing."

Violet shook her head. Sometimes, her best friend could be just a little 'flighty.' "That's incredibly sweet of you, but, do you realize that the nearest airport is in St. Louis?"

Sue looked deflated for a moment. Then, she brightened up. "I'll just get George to buy me a plane and I'll come get you myself!"

Violet was horrified. She had never flown in a plane before and she certainly didn't want her first experience to be with her sometimes ditzy friend. "I think I'll drive," she murmured. "Thanks anyway."

Sue laughed. She suspected what Violet was thinking. In fact, she figured driving would be less frightening to Violet than flying, especially the idea of her flying. At least she got her friend to promise to come. At least this was a start. Sue had made it her mission in life to try to get Violet out of her shell. So far, her efforts had been thwarted, but she didn't give up easily.

Just then, Violet's boss, Mr. James, called her into his office.

"Sorry," she said. "Duty calls."

Sue got up and gave her a hug. "I'll call you later, okay?" "Okay."  
Violet couldn't help the nerves she felt. Although she had never been called into the principal's office back in school, she had heard plenty of stories from the other kids. She imagined this must be how they felt.
Chapter 2

"Sit down, Violet," said Mr. James as he ushered her into his office. He shut the door before he returned to his own desk. As he sat his considerable bulk down, he straightened a few pencils in front of him and smoothed what hair remained before looking at her.

"Violet, I'm afraid I've got some bad news."

She didn't say a word. Instead, she braced for the worst.

He sighed. "This economy has hit Butterfield hard. I'm sorry, I can't afford to keep you any longer. I have to let you go."

Violet sat stunned. She'd worked at the diner for over seven years. She endured customer complaints and cranky co-workers, all without so much as a groan.

Mr. James sat there, waiting for her to say something.

Finally, she got up and whispered, "I'm sorry too." With chin held high and grace worthy of royalty, she glided out.

As Violet left the diner for the last time, she wondered how much longer Ginger would last. A quick glance back inside revealed the woman flirting with one of the customers. Her job would be safe for many years to come.

As she walked home that night, Violet felt a strange sense of relief. Finally, after over seven years, she stood free. Now, she must write and publish more. No other alternative remained. The timing made her nervous, though. Her bank account didn't read zero, but would it last long enough for her to make it until the income from her ebook sales picked up?

She hated to burden her Aunt Mabel with this latest setback, but she didn't have any choice. Almost without meaning to her steps slowed. She paused and looked up. The night sky glittered and sparkled. Almost automatically, she tried to identify some of the constellations. Then, when she located the archer, she breathed out a soft lament for her lost yesterdays.

After the car accident, she spent many nights out on her aunt's front porch, staring up at the stars, wishing her parents back again. Of course the stars were silent, but over time, she learned to allow the Comforter to reach into her frozen heart and begin a healing. There were many times she fought the Lord's comfort. The pain gripped so intense she closed off sections of her heart. It took a long time to open up again. Even her friendship with Sue took a long time to build.

Violet simply didn't open her heart easily. She didn't want to risk losing someone and hurting like that again. Yet, people like her Aunt Mabel and Sue and even her pastor were able to crack open Violet's heart a little.

The car accident scarred Violet in ways she still didn't remember, didn't want to remember. She walked away from it, her parents didn't. How does a fourteen year old kid deal with that? She never slept well after that, only when exhaustion took her, and then she'd wake from horrible nightmares. For the first month following, she refused to go to school because she feared riding the bus. She burst into tears at the idea of even getting into a car. She barely let her aunt out of her sight worried she'd lose her too. Her aunt didn't know what to do with her. She had to work. She needed the income to support the both of them now. When she left for work each morning, she came home at night to find Violet cowering in a corner. Finally, Aunt Mabel sought professional advice. Violet needed help in order to mature and function like a normal person. Their pastor recommended a friend who'd recently moved into town. He'd been a retired psychiatrist/Christian counselor and wanted to get away from city living.

Slowly, gently, he compelled Violet to face her fears. At first, he asked her to touch a car. Then, she sat inside for a little while. Finally, she rode around in one.

Gradually, as she conquered one fear, she found the courage to face others. Unfortunately it seemed the more she conquered, the more rose to the surface. Her first day back at school she realized she had an intense fear of crowds. When she saw all of those teenagers running around the halls, she hyperventilated and nearly passed out. The school nurse happened to be standing nearby and quickly took her into her office.

That first day back ended sooner than it should have. The next day, she managed to make it for a while, but had to go home at lunch time. Finally, on the third day, she made it the whole day, but completely exhausted herself by the time she got home. Her grades suffered, but at least she soldiered on. At least there were only two months left before summer break.

Because her grades were so poor and she had missed so much school, Violet's Aunt Mabel had to enroll her in a summer program. After doing a bit of research, she found a new government online program that provided a free laptop computer. Fortunately, it worked out great and by the end of the summer, Violet not only caught up in her work, she advanced several months ahead. Through the work on the computer, Violet focused and excelled. She forgot her pain for a little while and worked. In fact, she impressed her online teachers with her writing, and they encouraged her to pursue it further.

After graduating from another online program at the college level, Violet decided to pursue her goal of becoming a writer full time. Through the rise of ebooks, e-readers, and the opening up of publishing options to independent writers, she self-published her work and enjoyed some real success online.

As she walked home that night, she wished she made a little more every month. Her small ebook income combined with her aunt's wages didn't quite cover all their expenses. She let out another sigh. Maybe she could find some more work online. Or she could check around town and see if any openings presented themselves. She coasted through her front door praying. Right now, she and her aunt needed a miracle.
Chapter 3

Inside, Violet let out a breath of relief. The front room stood empty, her aunt retired for the night. Often, her aunt waited for her, forgetting the time and sitting next to the fire reading a good book. For now at least, a night and a full day stretched before breaking the bad news.

The next morning, a few moments passed before Violet remembered not to rush, no job at the diner awaited. How weird to suddenly not do something she did for so many years, a strange freedom. Violet intended to use her time wisely, however.

After prayer and Bible reading, she checked her e-mail and Facebook author page. She wrote some quick replies to friends online and then went on to her blog. There she tapped out a character interview and posted it. Her readers really seemed to like those. Her fictional characters often took on a life of their own and their answers surprised even her sometimes.

After that, she decided to sit down and read a good book by one of her favorite authors. She did this for inspiration. One of her teachers back in college had said that great writers were great readers.

Violet loved the mysteries of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and the adventures of Tom Swift. However, her favorite fictional characters included Baroness Orczy's Scarlet Pimpernel. These books were more adventure than mystery, but she loved the clever way the hero managed to rescue the innocent and save the day and keep his identity a secret from all the rich, aristocratic gossips in 17th century society.

Currently, she neared the middle of a lesser-known book by the baroness called 'The Heart of a Woman.' Through this one she found a new favorite, a mystery story in which the heroine must prove her love innocent of a hideous murder. So far, the hero neared despair, but his heroine refused to give up.

It relieved her the baroness hadn't given too many details about the dead body. Though the murder appeared fairly clean, a skewer through the neck, it still came across as gruesome. These writers allowed the imagination to fill in the details. They appreciated the fact that sometimes leaving out details proved more effective than using them.

Finally, after lunch, she spent the rest of the afternoon working on her latest Colonel Brighton adventure story. She seriously considered having this be her last. As much as she loved writing period books, she really wanted to try to write a modern mystery/adventure story. She had an idea buzzing around in her head that refused to let go.

Quickly, she opened another window on her computer and tapped out her thoughts. So far, she had only a few vague ideas, but they were very compelling. What if a female author of detective stories found a dead body in a dumpster behind a restaurant? This idea intrigued her the most. She knew all about working in a diner. She wouldn't need to research that. The actual murder (poison or weapon?) and ways today's police detectives solved crimes she did need to research. The murderer mustn't be obvious and she had to create several red herrings (clues that misled) and some good plausible suspects in order for her story to work.

As she leaned back and stretched, Violet decided to do some 'real world' research. There were only so many dumpsters in Butterfield. She decided to hit the ones closest to her house and work her way into the center of town.

The post office dumpster yielded nothing helpful at all. Absolutely boring, it contained no odors, no bugs, no nothing! It stood big and green and utterly useless. The one behind the bank revealed nothing better. Violet thought a dumpster was a dumpster, but none of these were what she needed for her scene. She sought a certain... ambiance and found it terribly frustrating that one did not make itself readily available.

At least she hadn't seen too many people. The ones who had seen her looked at her strangely and shook their heads. She chuckled. Her research sure beat working in a diner!

The dumpster behind the grocery store faired a little better. At least it emanated a rather nasty smell.

Violet really didn't want to check out the dumpster behind the diner. That was about the last place she wanted to go. She raised her chin and forced herself to face her fears—it was for the sake of research—and squaring her shoulders, she snuck behind the building. If she moved quickly, she should get something worth writing about, she hoped.

As she held the lid and tried to peer inside, she heard the sound of footsteps behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Ginger asked in her nasty-sweet voice.

Violet led the lid down with a bang. "I was just doing research for a book I'm writing."

"Oh. Well, I suppose you'd better do something with your time." Ginger lifted up her nose as she drew closer to the dumpster. "I hope it's worth it. You smell nasty."

Violet's lips curved upward in a rueful half smile. She had gone to all this trouble and had nothing really to show for it. The scene that she wanted, the scene that would make her story come alive, it simply wasn't here.

"He asked me to marry him," Ginger continued as she flashed a large diamond. Violet wondered how she managed to lift her hand.

"I'm happy for you."

"Really? The way you talked, it was as if you thought I wasn't very good for him."

Since that was almost exactly what she thought, Violet thought it best to avoid replying. Instead she said, "Well, I guess I'll be going. Take care." She waved her arm and tried not to walk away too quickly.

When Violet got home, she realized that her biggest problem was her setting. She considered going back at night. Perhaps that might make a difference, but in her heart of hearts, she knew that wouldn't solve her problem. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get it to work in a small town. She had read several stories of murders taking place in villages and other smaller locales. Those worked quite well. Unfortunately for some unknown reason, she couldn't get hers to really sing. She wondered if it would be better if the setting was in a bigger city. At least she wouldn't have to really go to one in order to research it.

***

After a shower, the rest of the afternoon sped by until finally, her aunt walked through the front door carrying the mail. When she saw Violet at the kitchen table busy at her laptop, she said, "Well, hello there! What a nice surprise."

"Hello, Aunty." Violet didn't feel quite ready to tell the other woman her bad news, so she hedged a bit, going to the refrigerator and gathering things for dinner. Her aunt was rather tired and more than willing to sit and let Violet get their meal.

Violet glanced at her aunt sitting at the table, looking through the mail. She wondered when a good time to tell her would be. The older lady absently pushed her thick glasses up her nose. As she pulled some pans out of a large drawer, she took another peek at her aunt. Although she had wrinkles on her face, laugh lines, really, and her hair was altogether grey, she still exuded kindness and strength, mainly because of her absolute trust in the Lord. As she dwelt on that, Violet knew everything would somehow be okay.

As she opened her mouth to confess, her aunt said, "Oh my! I guess, this is a rather extraordinary letter. It concerns you too, Dear."

Curious and bad news nearly forgotten, Violet asked, "What's it about?"

"It seems my uncle, a man I haven't seen or heard from in years, died suddenly, probably from a heart attack. He was probably in his nineties by now. His lawyer sent a letter."

"That's too bad. What does his lawyer want though?"

"Well, it seems we were named in his will. I got a check, very helpful by the way and you... My goodness! It really is quite extraordinary..."

"What? Aunt Mabel, are you all right?" Violet stood and got her aunt a glass of water. She was rather concerned. Her aunt had been looking a bit tired lately.

"I'm fine, Dear," she said as she sat down. "It's just such a surprise. Thank-you," she said absently, sipping the water.

"What else is in the letter?" Violet tried to keep her voice from sounding as impatient as she felt.

"He's given you his house and everything in it." Now Violet sat down too. "Where is it?"

"It's up North in one of the suburbs of Chicago."

"Chicago?!"

"Yes, but it's not the city proper. It's one of the smaller suburbs just outside of Chicago. It's called Rolling Hills. We'll need a map to locate it."

Violet typed in Google search on her computer, pulled up a map, and found where it sat in relation to Chicago. "It's one of the Northwest suburbs," then, "Goodness, it's so close to Chicago it may as well be part of it. There's, like, no space between cities. Where one ends another one begins. Why bother with different names?"

"I'm sure plenty of space existed between cities at one time, but as Chicago grew and each of the suburbs grew, they all grew closer and closer together. Now, the suburbs are called 'Chicagoland.'"

Violet thought about that. "Makes sense, I guess. But, what am I going to do with a house?"

"I suppose you could sell it and live off the interest. Or rent it. At least you have to go and check it out. According to this letter, you also now own everything in it."

Violet trembled at the very thought of traveling to such a big city. "There is no way I am going all the way to Chicago all by myself. Uh-uh. I'll just have to get some real estate agent to deal with it for me."

As she spoke, her aunt shook her head. "I'm afraid the conditions of the will state that you have to go to the house yourself. Oh, here's an interesting note," she said reading down further, "this explains why he gave you his house. He was a fan of your stories. He thought his old house would provide you with 'more ideas for your books.' It seems he was rather proud of you."

"That's strange since he never contacted us. I had an uncle who liked my books but never bothered to say, 'hello?'"

Aunt Mabel sighed. "He was a bit eccentric. Keep in mind, he was old and set in his ways. Perhaps this is just his way of reaching out to you now."

"Well, I am grateful, but I don't want to go to Chicago— land or otherwise—to see his house!"

"Sorry, Kiddo, but if you want it, you have to go."  
"I don't suppose you could come with me?"  
"As nice as that would be, I really can't leave work right now," her aunt apologized. "We're being audited and I have to help all I can."

"Are you sure I have to go? Why? What happens if I refuse?"

"I suppose you forfeit the inheritance."

Violet really didn't like the idea of driving all the way to Rolling Hills, IL. According to MapQuest, it was going to be about a six hour drive. Plus, just looking at all of those roads converging together near Chicago made her head swim. She was sure she would have serious problems navigating that. "I'll just have to consider all my options. By the way, how much did you get?"

"I got a nice, healthy little check that will pay some outstanding bills. Of course, it won't last long." Her aunt got up to explore the fridge to see what they could eat for dinner. "How was work today, Dear? I thought you would have to work late again tonight."

Violet swallowed. She had momentarily forgotten about losing her job. "Aunt Mabel, I was laid off yesterday."

"Well," she said philosophically, "at least you won't have to take time off to go see your house."

"I still haven't decided whether I really want it!" Violet protested

"I'm afraid our finances may not give you much choice." As Violet opened her mouth to argue, Aunt Mabel added, "Pray about it, Sweetheart. We can talk more tomorrow after you've had time to pray first. God's way is always the best way."

Violet shut her mouth and nodded her head in agreement with her aunt. Sometimes, she didn't like the way the Lord led. He wanted her to do some hard things sometimes. She certainly hadn't wanted to take a job at the diner, but she had to acknowledge that that helped her more than anything else to face her fear of crowds and to overcome.

She had spent many years dealing with various phobias, but through prayer and many hours of counsel, she had finally gained the freedom to have a normal life. For that she would be forever grateful.

After dinner, the two women spent the rest of the evening reading, Violet reading an ebook on her laptop and Aunt Mabel, not as tech savvy as her niece, reading a paperback. Violet finished that book, A Woman's Heart by Baroness Orczy. The ending was quite satisfying, but Violet understood the fears each of the principle characters had. Though she had never faced the horror of having someone she loved being unjustly accused of a heinous crime, she did understand loss. She knew what it was like to want to take the other's place, to love so much that you would be willing to do anything to save the other.

As she got ready for bed that night, her thoughts were still rebellious toward the idea of going up to Chicago. Frankly, she didn't want to pray about it because she suspected she already knew what the Lord wanted her to do. She had a very restless night.
Chapter 4

The next morning, she still really didn't like the idea of driving alone to a huge city merely to check out some crazy uncle's house. Her own personal feelings remained unchanged. However, as she knelt beside her bed, almost unconsciously by force of habit, she reigned in her will and purposefully listened to what the Lord said. Though she endured many terrible times in her past, Jesus always remained with her, patiently listening as she poured out her heart, always loving, always willing to lead and guide. His ways weren't easy or even all together 'safe,' but they were always good. Though Violet might not want to do things the Lord's way, His ways were always right, mainly because He saw more than she did, and He loved her beyond understanding.

As she quieted her mind and opened her heart to the Lord, she admitted His timing interested her. Might this house be His way of providing for her? Perhaps the Lord planned to use its sale to give her the funds to see her dream of writing full time come true!

Violet wore a thoughtful expression as she entered the kitchen and grabbed a bowl and a box of cereal off the shelf. Aunt Mabel already sat at the table with a plate of eggs and the newspaper. It was Saturday, and she enjoyed the day off.

"Violet,..." Aunt Mabel looked up at her niece and a world of love shone in her eyes. "This house might be God's way of providing for you."

Violet shook her head and pulled a wry grin. Of course the Lord confirmed what she'd perceived in her prayers this morning. On the other hand, she groaned at the thought of driving six hours—or more if she got lost—to such a huge city.

"You're right, the Lord told me the same thing in prayer this morning. Why would He want me to go so far from home though? Why such a huge city? Why do I actually have to go there? It would be so much easier to get a real estate agent and some kind of auctioneer and do it all from here."

"The Lord has more for you than the sale of this house or even your dream of being able to support yourself as a writer." Aunt Mabel looked into her niece's honey-brown eyes, so like her mother's. Sometimes, Aunt Mabel saw her sister instead of her niece, so alike the two were. It made her miss her sister a little less. She also knew it was something of a comfort to the girl that she looked like her mother.

"Aunty, I'm not sure I'm ready for the adventure the Lord has for me. I like my nice, safe adventures here at home, in my head and on my computer. All of my stories have good endings."

"Not quite, Dear. You still haven't let Colonel Brighton find true love and you've either killed off or run off all of his possibilities."

"The idea is that people will want to read another book in the series. Some series drag out this sort of thing for years and years."

"In your case, there might be a little more to it." Her aunt's shrewdness made her squirm.

After a few moments, she decided to rescue her niece and changed the subject, "So when do you think you'll leave?"

That didn't help. The girl appeared more uncomfortable still. "I hadn't really thought about it," she admitted.

"Well, how about we go to church tomorrow and you leave sometime next week? That will give you a chance to talk to the pastor and say goodbye to all the folks there."

"I guess that's a pretty good idea." Overwhelmed, Violet wondered what she should pack. How long would it take to sell the place? Would she have enough in savings to last?

The next couple of days went by in a blur. Pastor Richards was sad to see her go, but he echoed her aunt's words, further confirming what the Lord impressed upon her earlier. It all seemed a bit unreal, maybe even a little crazy. If Violet thought about it too much, she would start to hyperventilate. So, instead, she focused on taking one step at a time. Any moments when she became overwhelmed or stressed, she stopped, quieted her heart, and prayed. In that way, she was able to regain a sweet peace about this whole crazy adventure.

Violet and her aunt decided she'd leave on the following Saturday. This gave her plenty of time to pack and do all the other necessary things required for a long trip. She found a branch of her bank near the area of her uncle's old house. (She still found it difficult to consider it her own.) At least she would be able to withdraw cash without having to pay fees at an ATM. She printed out maps to various stores she needed—to and from. She did a change of address on-line. It proved easier to change her address temporarily and then change it back whenever the house sold. The choice of forwarding mail seemed ridiculously expensive. She also contacted a real estate agent in the area near her uncle's home.

The discussion with the real estate agent was an especially overwhelming few moments. The woman said that houses in that particular area took an average of about three months to sell. "It might sell faster, but don't get your hopes up," the woman had said. This did not make Violet happy. Three months?! It was already halfway through the fall. It would be a whole different season by the time the house sold. Also, the agent told her that her window of opportunity was closing fast. Houses moved hardly at all during the winter months. At least the agent had been up front with her. Violet respected that. She simply didn't want to stay in Chicagoland for three entire months. However, Violet brightened considerably when the agent said that the easiest thing to do would be for her to go through her uncle's things first, then hire an auctioneer. Vacant and 'move in ready' houses sold better. It all depended on how long Violet took to go through her uncle's things.

Unfortunately, that made packing even harder. How did one pack for an indeterminate time? How long should she plan on being there? How long had her uncle wanted her to stay? Her aunt went back to the letter from the lawyer, but all it said was that her uncle had specified that Violet had to come in person in order to claim her inheritance. Violet fumed a bit. It seemed he was a bit dictatorial, but there was no use in arguing. At least he had also given her a bit of money for expenses.

In the end, Violet's aunt was most helpful in helping the girl to have a good attitude about the whole thing. She had to go to the house and meet with the lawyer and the real estate agent. It would be good to actually take the time to go through her uncle's things and see if there was anything she wanted. She might be able to sell some items for more than an auction brought in. All in all, the whole thing would probably take about two weeks.

When Sue heard, she rejoiced. In fact, she offered to fly over from St. Louis and meet somewhere in Chicago. Violet was touched, but after considering it a moment thought it was really too much trouble. After all, she would only be there for about two weeks.

The day before Violet left, her aunt came home with a surprise. "Violet, we haven't really needed one of these here in this small town and you're really not going to be gone all that long, but I thought this might be useful in Chicago."

Violet wore a puzzled expression as she opened the bag her aunt handed her. "It's a cellphone! I've wanted one of these things for forever."

"It's not just a cellphone," her aunt replied. "It's a smart phone complete with GPS locator. I also paid for your first three months of service."

"Ooh," Violet cooed. "I can't wait to play with this. I can even check my e-mail, send text messages, and do Facebook and Twitter. Thank-you so much!"

"Just don't text and drive, okay?"

"Not a chance. I've heard too many horror stories about that."

Aunt Mabel smiled a watery smile as she watched the delight of her niece. Violet was always so much fun to give presents too. She had always loved surprises. Aunt Mabel would miss her dearly, but she was glad the girl was going, especially now. She wouldn't have to tell her the news until she was absolutely sure. Hopefully, it would all be easier this way. Although Violet had faced down and overcome most of her fears and phobias, (driving to a big city wasn't really a phobia, it was more just something she didn't particularly like) she knew the girl still had a terrible fear of losing the people she loved. The news from the doctor had not been good and Mabel just didn't quite know how to tell her yet.

Aunt Mabel had prayed long and hard about what to say and when to say it. Strangely enough, the Lord had led her to be silent for now. She didn't understand why, but she had a peace about it that she couldn't explain. When Violet did find out, she knew she would be devastated. After Mabel died, there would be no family left. Violet's father had been an only child and both sets of grandparents had died many years ago. Now that her estranged uncle was gone, Violet literally had no relatives left except Mabel. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Mabel turned to prepare one of the last meals they would have together before Violet left.

Chapter 5

When Violet finally pulled into her new driveway late the following night, she wanted only to crawl into a nice warm bed and sleep. The drive had been long and exhausting. She got turned around only once, however. That GPS on her phone truly blessed her.

Instead of going straight into the house, Violet sat in the car gazing. The abode didn't appear huge but did stand considerably larger than the home she shared with her aunt. The dark revealed little but appeared well kept.

The best thing about the house so far happened to be the coffee shop situated next door. At the top of her to-do list for tomorrow would be trying out The Coffee House, a most appropriate name. Violet loved coffee, espressos, mochas, lattes; she drank any time of the day or night. (She did try for decaf if she wanted to sleep in the next few hours, otherwise, she welcomed coffee anywhere, anytime!)

The key turned easily in the lock. That worry she hadn't considered on the drive up. When she turned on the light in the entryway, it looked as if the owner had merely stepped out for a few moments.

As she ventured inside further, she noticed her uncle's good taste in furnishing. Her wandering around on the first floor revealed her great uncle obvious enjoyment of art. Many lovely paintings hung on the walls. The kitchen boasted open space and efficiency with a long bar stretching from the wall almost all the way to the refrigerator, effectively separating the cooking area from the dining area. Yet, the open design enabled the cook to easily converse with any guests. A small step went down from the dining area into the family room. Along the two facing walls, two large, maroon, leather couches sat across from each other and promised comfort. A fireplace flanked on either side by bookshelves encompassed the back wall. She tried to imagine him lying there with a good book enjoying the warmth on a cold winter night.

The main hall led to the kitchen. The pantry contained plenty of dried goods and the refrigerator held various cheeses, milk, and fresh vegetables. Perhaps her uncle enjoyed cooking? After that, she found it difficult to determine where to explore next. Should she go upstairs to check out the bedrooms or see what the basement offered?

In the end, she decided to explore the basement in the light of day. Ever the mystery writer, the idea of checking out a basement all alone at night creeped her out. So, climbing the carpeted steps upstairs, the first door she came to revealed the master bedroom. The carpet flowed in here as well, and the queen sized bed beckoned. Would her exhaustion be enough to sleep in a strange bed though? As she stepped out, she decided to check the other three doors. One opened into a bathroom, (Praise the Lord!) and the other two into bedrooms. Although smaller, they each contained a desk right next to a large window. The one overlooking the side nearest The Coffee House would be a lovely place to set up her computer. Through the window, the view included the parking lot behind it.

Normally, a tall wooden street light, blacktop, and brick would not appeal, but at that moment Violet had one of her 'crazy writer ideas' as Sue called them. A large dumpster sat on the side of the parking lot. What if it contained a dead body?

Gleefully, she ran downstairs and out the door. Of course, she didn't expect to find a real dead body in her neighbor's dumpster, but she needed to check it out in order to get a sense of the setting for her book. Whenever she wrote, she tried to act out as much or set up as much as possible for authenticity's sake.

Violet always realized such freedom when in the midst of a book. She liked this phase of writing—the research and planning—almost as much as the writing itself. All her creative energies were suddenly set loose. Her aunt sometimes didn't like where that led her, but after dealing with years of grief, she gave her niece a little free rein. When Violet researched a book, she forgot about herself. No fears or phobias paralyzed. Only the quest for a story with plenty of interesting details existed.

She wrinkled her nose as she leaned in to inspect the dumpster. She had to pull herself up and balance a bit on the rim in order to see inside. There were times when she wished she were a little taller than five feet. At least the large street light did its job overlooking the parking lot behind The Coffee House. From the look of the nearly empty parking lot, everyone had already gone home and no one would witness her exploits. She knew from experience that some people were less... understanding than others.

She expected the dumpster to be more disgusting although it did stink pretty bad. As she stepped on the lip and pulled herself up to look, the street lamp next to it lit up the interior, thankfully. Inside appeared pretty much as she expected. In fact, it differed little from the dumpster outside the diner back in Butterfield. However, this one had the atmosphere she craved. Perhaps the rumble of traffic she heard in the background did it or the many houses and buildings so close together or the not quite darkness no matter the hour.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Violet froze at the angry, definitely masculine voice behind her.

"I said, 'What are you doing!?'"

If anything, the voice sounded even angrier. Slowly Violet set her feet back on the ground and turned around. Her eyes widened when she beheld not one, but two men coming toward her. She reached into her jacket pocket and fingered her pepper spray, another parting gift from her aunt.

"Hi, there," she spoke first. "Nice weather we're having tonight." What a stupid thing to say! Oh well. At least she had the pepper spray. Holding onto it made her feel a little more brave.

"What were you doing in that dumpster?" The words were slow and measured, even a bit condescending, as if he spoke to someone not quite all there.

Violet experienced a twinge of insult, but fear overruled. "Well, you see, I needed to get ideas for my research. I wanted to get the all the impressions I could, sights, sounds, smells, and touch. I didn't want to taste anything, though. That would be gross."

Oh dear, now they must really think I'm loony. She opened her mouth to try to explain further, but the man who had been speaking moved forward suddenly and Violet panicked. She whipped out her pepper spray and sprayed them both, nearly emptying the bottle.

As the two men howled in pain, she ran as fast as her legs would take her back to her uncle's house, shutting and locking the door behind her.

She squeaked and dropped her keys as her cell phone beeped. Laughing she bent over and picked them up as she answered her phone.

"Hello, Aunty. I've had the most exciting adventure."

"Uh oh. What happened?"

"Well, first off, it wasn't that bad of a drive. I only got turned around once. I was sooo glad for that GPS on my new smart phone. Thank-you so much! Then, as I was driving up here, I wondered, 'Why on earth do they call this Chicagoland?' It sounds like some kind of crazy amusement park. Then, with all of those highways and ramps, I decided that Chicagoland is probably a very good name for this place."

"So, you got there safely. You're all right?"

"Oh, I'm fine."

"Well, I'm glad that's all the adventure you had. I worried it might be something worse."

"Oh, the drive wasn't my adventure. It was merely the lead-up to the adventure I had."

"Oh no," her aunt groaned. "What happened?"

"Well, I didn't have any problems at all getting into the house. The key worked great. I worried about that, but only for a second or two."

It was good Violet's aunt didn't stand there with her niece right then. She might have strangled the girl. "Dear, can you skip ahead and tell me what happened?"

"Sorry." Violet's sheepish tones carried through the phone. "I do tend to go on and on when I'm excited about something, don't I?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Contrite now, she continued, skipping ahead to the pertinent details. "I was standing upstairs in Uncle's house when I looked out one of the windows and the perfect dumpster stood in back of The Coffee House next door. By the way, there's a Coffee House next door! I can't wait to check it out tomorrow!"

"Violet, focus."

"Right, well, anyway, as I was looking out the window, I saw a dumpster and I had the best idea for my latest mystery/adventure story." Violet paused dramatically. "What if a girl found a dead body in a dumpster? Isn't that great? I simply had to go right away and look inside and smell and even touch some of the trash. Eww, I should probably wash my hands."

Aunt Mabel heard Violet running water in the sink. "Okay, so you had to go check out a dumpster for your research. How is that an adventure?" The woman really hoped a mere rat or something like that frightened her niece.

"Well, as I was looking inside, two men came up behind me and said, 'What are you doing?' I have to remember their voices all deep and scary. Oh yes, only one of them spoke. Well, I have to remember his voice. That would be great to add to my story."

"Violet what happened? Did you have your pepper spray?"

"Yes. They kept asking what I was doing there. So, I got down and tried to explain, but they came forward and I freaked out and sprayed them both. Then, I ran back here and locked the door behind me and then you called." She finished all this in one breath.

Aunt Mabel was silent for a few moments. Then, "Violet, do you remember where those two men were coming from?"

"I'm not sure. I think they were coming from the Coffee House."

"Do you think it possible that they were employees there and didn't want someone dumping stuff into their dumpster? The owner gets charged extra for that."

The older woman heard Violet's intake of breath. "Oh no. I never thought of that. That would explain why that one guy sounded so angry. You know, they were kind of cute, especially the silent one."

Sometimes Aunt Mabel found it difficult to follow Violet's train of thought at all, especially when she was in the middle of researching. It was easier once she actually started writing. Then, at least all the worst of the craziness was done. "So, you're safe and you should probably go and see if those two men are all right."

"I'll go right now."

"NO!" her aunt cried. She took a deep, calming breath before continuing. "Just wait until tomorrow. It's late. Even though tomorrow is Sunday, the Coffee House will probably be open for a few hours. You can find out if they work there and apologize then."

Aunt Mabel was glad Violet didn't argue with her logic. Her niece had to be exhausted. "Okay, I'll wait. At least I get to go to church before I have to face them."

"So you found a church near you?"

"Yes. I looked on-line before I left. I even printed out a map to and from. It's funny. You can't just back track on your directions here. Sometimes the entrances to certain streets can't be got from the other direction."

Aunt Mabel nodded. "That was smart of you to realize that before you got lost. I'm sure after a few days you'll start to feel your way around better."

Violet laughed at that. "I doubt it. Some of those folks on the street are crazy!"

They both laughed. Then Violet signed off and got ready for bed. All that excitement had really wiped her out.

As she crawled into bed that night, she prayed thanking the Lord for getting her there safely. It was lonely, but her pastor had preached that lonely times were opportunities to draw closer to the Lord, finding comfort and companionship in Him. During this time, Violet intended to use her time wisely and pray and read her Bible more. The Lord had always been so faithful. She wanted to get closer to Him. He was certainly worth it.

As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered what church would be like...

Chapter 6

Meanwhile, Mrs. Givens, owner of The Coffee House and mother of the two men involved in the recent fiasco by the dumpster, busily nursed them, encouraging them to wash out their eyes in the sink and providing eye drops and cold compresses. Sam Givens (the silent one) took it all in stride, but Jesse, his older brother, seemed to have it the worst of the two.

"You know, if you keep rubbing them, it makes it worse," said Sam. "My eyes are already better."

"I'm so happy for you," Jesse replied sarcastically.

"Sam is right," said their mother, "but I'll check if I've got any more eye drops in my purse."

As their mother left to go get her purse from one of the back rooms, Sam gazed around the large open space and breathed in the wonderful scent of coffee. The Coffee House, a home away from home exuded peace and calm. Not merely a place for coffee, it encouraged relaxation, community, and tranquility. It made one feel safe. His mother also cultivated it as a place of ministry. Sam met with friends, taught Bible studies, and prayed with many people here. This place contained a lot of happy as well as sad memories. Life happened. At the Coffee House, people couldn't help but feel welcomed and loved. If they had a problem, they knew they could freely unburden themselves and find comfort. Here, his mother succeeded in bringing hearts and souls closer together.

The layout of the place was warm and inviting. Several dark, leather couches and chairs with ottomans sat scattered throughout the large, rectangular room, along with tables and booths that sat either two or four people. Along the center of the side wall a large gas fireplace put out the perfect amount of heat to make the room cozy in winter. Presently, he was sitting on a couch and his brother was sitting in a comfortable leather chair in front of it.

As Sam leaned forward to pick up his coffee mug from off of a short, end table, his big brother Jesse reminded him of a puppy dog. He loved having their mom baby him. Sam opened his mouth to tease him about it, but at his brother's obvious misery face, he decided not to.

Just then, their dad and younger sister, Ivy came in. As their father went to the counter to place their orders, Ivy came over and said, "I picked Dad up from the hospital after he got called in for an emergency surgery. Dad wanted a late decaf so, here we are." Seeing Jesse's red, irritated eyes, she asked, "What happened?"

"We got pepper sprayed," Sam replied in a matter-of-fact voice.

"What?!" said Doctor Givens as he sat down and handed Ivy a large cup of decaf.

"Well, we thought we had found the person who was dumping their trash in Mom's dumpster behind the Coffee House, but she pepper sprayed us before we got the chance to really question her."

"You got bested by a girl?" Ivy gleefully took the opportunity to tease her big brothers.

"She was pretty short too," Sam added helpfully. "Kinda cute." He wasn't at all embarrassed.

Jesse looked narrowly at his siblings.

"Did you recognize her at all? Did she wear a uniform or something? Did she say why she might be using your mother's dumpster?" asked their father.

"No, and no, and she said something about doing research," answered Jesse.

"If we meet her again, we'll be sure to ask from a distance," said Sam, helpfully.

"I hope she's guilty. Then, we can press charges," said Jesse.

"Jesse! You probably scared the poor thing half to death," said their mother coming back with eye drops. Handing them to him, she added, "These drops should soothe your eyes. Try not to rub them."

"Thanks," he said. "I, for one, hope we never see that girl again, even from a distance."

"You'll probably be safe tomorrow at church," said Ivy. "I certainly hope so," Jesse replied.

"Did you notice there were lights on over in the house next door?" asked Sam.

"I thought the owner had died."

"He did," their mother replied. "Should we report it? I'd hate for that house to get robbed."

"I'll call Will," said Sam pulling out his cell phone.

"Don't have to, he just walked in," said Ivy beckoning him over.

"What's up?" he asked when he got to their table. "Possible robbery over at the house next door," Ivy replied.

"Don't worry about it. I noticed it when I came. There's a car in the driveway registered to a Violet Carsten from Butterfield, Illinois. I Googled the town, it's about two hours southeast of St. Louis and tiny, barely big enough to make the Map. Violet has no police record. I'm guessing she must be some kind of relative. Usually burglars don't park their cars in the drive-way. We'll probably find out all about it in the next day or so."

Ivy was amazed at how observant and thorough Will was. She tried to resist looking at him all starry-eyed. She wondered if he would ever realize that she had grown up and wasn't just Sam's little sister anymore.

The next few minutes were spent in general chit-chat. Will was told about the pepper spray incident. He showed remarkable restraint in not teasing the brothers. Finally, they all had to get home and get some sleep before church the next day.

As Sam and Jesse got ready for bed in their own respective apartments, each had quite different thoughts about the events of the evening. Jesse hoped he never saw that crazy girl ever again. Sam hoped he would. In fact, he really wanted to see her in church the next day. As crazy as that wish was, he prayed it anyway. The Lord seemed to have a way of bringing about the best surprises.
Chapter 7

The next morning, Violet fell out of bed when the alarm rang, literally. Her uncle must have set the radio at the loudest possible volume. She wondered if the poor man hadn't been going slightly deaf. After she crawled back in, she adjusted the sound level to a reasonable level. No need to for a repeat.

Excited about finding the church she really wanted to get an early start, in case she got turned around on one of the expressways. She missed simply walking to church. At least there existed only a short walk next door to get a cup of coffee. The night before, she laid out her favorite long, black skirt and dark blue sweater, no worries about what to wear. For the time being, she elected to leave her hair down, she would do it after some coffee. Quickly, she grabbed her Bible and walked over, only to be disappointed. The hours read closed on Sundays. Who ever heard of that? Even the diner back in Butterfield opened on Sundays. The boss there never set foot in a church though. Perhaps the Coffee House owners went to church.

Back at her uncle's house, Violet prayed he had some coffee somewhere in the kitchen. She sang some serious hallelujahs when she opened up a cupboard and found several varieties. Apparently, he had really liked his coffee. Violet even found some jars of fresh-roasted beans, labeled with the coffee type and date of roast. She found a very strange looking popcorn popper that her uncle converted for some purpose. It had a lingering smell of coffee about it. She wondered if he'd used this for homemade roast. Curious, she decided to read up on it and try it sometime. She certainly liked her coffee too.

After an amazing cup and a great time reading her Bible and praying, Violet determined herself ready to face the day, traffic and crazy highways included. Even her knee-length hair didn't give her any problems that morning. As she got into her car, she thought that no matter how lost she got the Lord would help her. After all, He had already provided a GPS on her phone.

Amazingly, she got to the church with no problems. Although the amount of cars numbered much higher than she experienced at home, it flowed very well. MapQuest didn't steer her wrong, and the church stood where it was supposed to be. As Violet walked toward the entrance, a girl slightly younger than she threw open the door and with a sweet smile greeted her and shook her hand.

"Hello, I'm Ivy. What's your name?"

Violet liked this girl and her sweet smile. "I'm Violet."

"Welcome. How did you find out about our church?" Ivy asked as she ushered her inside.

"I found you on the Internet. I'm new to the area, got in last night."

"Oh, really? Where are you from?"

"I'm from Butterfield. It's about six hours south of here, population five hundred, including the cats and dogs."

Ivy laughed. "Well, welcome to Chicagoland."

"Thanks." Violet would've liked to have stood and talked longer, but other people came in and Ivy had to excuse herself.

"Talk to you later, okay?" she asked. Violet nodded as she went further in.

She stopped and looked around nervously for a moment or two before locating the bathrooms. It wasn't a large church, but it was certainly bigger than the one back home. It was beautiful, but not ostentatious. Violet thought of it as 'understated elegance,' lovely, but not showing off. The atmosphere of the place was warm and welcoming. The presence of God permitted the air and she relaxed.

A few minutes later, as she came out of the bathroom and headed toward the sanctuary, she froze. There, standing a few feet away, were the two men whom she had pepper sprayed the night before. What were the odds of that?

At that moment, they saw her too. The one who spoke last night didn't recognize her. Violet cringed observing the moment he did. She had to make things right. She squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and unflinchingly strode toward them, hoping and praying they would accept her apology.

"Hi," she said. Did her voice tremble?

"Hello," said the one who had been silent the night before. Violet decided she really liked his voice. It was warm and deep. He even managed to smile at her.

"I wanted to say, I am really sorry for pepper spraying you last night. I sort of acted without thinking. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Of course," said Mr. Silent. He had the most gorgeous brown eyes! "No harm done. By the way, I'm Sam," and he stuck out his hand to shake.

Violet smiled, relieved, and shook his hand. "I'm Violet. Do you work for the Coffee House? I figured later that you must've thought I was trying to throw out my trash in your dumpster, but really I wasn't. I only wanted to see it for research purposes." Oh dear, now she was babbling.

Sam looked confused but answered her question anyway. "No, we don't work there. Our mother owns it. Sometimes, we help out. Mostly, we drink her amazing coffee and eat her muffins."

"I'll have to try them sometime." Violet decided she wouldn't mind getting the opportunity to see Sam some more either.

She remembered the one who spoke the night before, but stood silent and intimidating today. Bravely, she turned to him, noticed the resemblance to Sam, and stuck out her hand. "Would you forgive me too? I'm afraid I sprayed you the worst."

***

Jesse thawed a little at Violet's earnestness, but he determined to remain wary. Call it paranoia, but he still didn't want to get pepper sprayed again. Grudgingly, he replied, "Yes, I forgive you," as he shook her hand.

Violet positively beamed at that. When Jesse turned to Sam, he grimaced seeing his brother melt as he looked at a pair of big, blue eyes and bright smile. This needed to be stopped. He nudged Sam with his elbow. "Aren't you on bass today?"

Sam looked at his watch and frowned. "So sorry, Violet. I've got to go. I'll talk to you after service, okay?"

***

"Sure," she said. She would love to listen to his wonderful voice some more. It was unusually deep, difficult to describe, but perfect for a hero to rescue her heroine in her latest book. She would also have to include the dark, black hair and dimples. His smile was terrific too.

"I have to do the sound board," said Jesse.

Violet jumped, then guilt overran her. She forgot Jesse still stood there! "Oh, well, it was nice to meet you. And thank-you so much for accepting my apology."

"Don't mention it," he said as he went into the sanctuary and turned left towards the sound booth.

Violet followed but stopped at the entryway and looked around wondering where to sit. She didn't really want to sit up front, but she didn't like sitting in the back either. It seemed inevitable that she would end up behind some tall person and wouldn't be able to see.

"Hey there, Violet, right?" asked Ivy coming up behind her. At Violet's look of obvious relief, she added, "Would you like to sit with me?"

"That sounds great." Although crowds didn't frighten her anymore, her stomach still did funny things in a new place. That someone chose to reach out to her helped a great deal.

The service was amazing. The music was exciting and worshipful. Obviously the musicians were all very talented, but none of them seemed to be trying to show off. They were all simply worshipping their great, awesome God.

The pastor spoke that morning on facing your fears. A lot of his scriptures were ones that Violet was already very familiar with. However, he took it all one step further. "God often calls us to step out into something new and unfamiliar, yet we hold onto the familiar," he said. "God can't bless us with the new if our hands are already full of the old. We have to be willing to let go and step out and trust."

Violet squirmed a little at his words. She liked the familiar. Although this new 'adventure' was exciting, she still really didn't want to be here. She'd much rather be at home with Aunt Mabel, sitting on the front porch, sipping sweet tea and typing away on her latest book. Guilty, she tuned back into what the pastor was saying.

"Abraham obeyed God initially and left his home and all that was familiar to him, but he didn't really let go. He took his nephew Lot with him. It wasn't until Abraham allowed himself to separate from Lot that God gave him the great promises of land and a family heritage that would last forever. At that point, Abraham still didn't have any children, but by letting go of the last ties to his extended family, he was able to begin the process of seeing God's promises fulfilled in his life, of property and the promised son that would lead to an entire nation that still exists to this day."

Violet thought of all she had let go of in merely coming to this new place. She knew she had obeyed God in making this trip. Yet, she knew she hadn't really had the best attitude about it all. Worse, she had this niggling sense that there was more that she still needed to let go of. She shuddered slightly, wondering what sort of testing the Lord had in store for her next. Simply coming here and being on her own for the first time in her life signified adventure enough!

After the service, Violet stood in her pew and reflected on the message as she gathered her things. She didn't want to reject what God had for her, but at the same time, she found it difficult to imagine handling much more. Uncomfortable with her thoughts, she welcomed the distraction when Sam joined her and Ivy.

"Have you already met my brother?" she asked.

"Yes," Violet replied. Then she added rather sheepishly, "I'm afraid I'm the one who pepper sprayed him last night."

Ivy's eyes widened. Then, she burst out laughing. "You mean to tell me, little 'ole five foot nothing you bested my two big brothers? This is awesome!"

Sam groaned. "I'll be hearing about this forever now," but the smile he sent Violet told her he didn't really mind.

"You have to come over for dinner," Ivy said, grabbing her arm. "I was going to ask you anyway, but now, you have to come."

"Oh, I'm not sure..." Violet's face must be the color of strawberries by now.

Then, Ivy's parents, Dr. and Mrs. Givens, came over and after introductions were made, echoed their daughter's invitation.

"You should come," said Sam. "Mom makes a terrific tomato pasta sauce, better than Olive Garden."

Violet gladly acquiesced to the kind pressure. She also admitted to herself a pair of brown eyes and a deep voice cinched the deal.

Several minutes later, Violet sat next to Ivy, her plate piled high with pasta. To her right sat Mrs. Givens on one end and her husband on the other. Sam sat directly across from her with Jesse next to him. As she looked at the brothers, she noticed their similarities and differences. Sam had dark, dark hair and deep, brown eyes while Jesse had lighter colored hair, more brown than black. His eyes were a little lighter as well. Yet, when he was not happy, those eyes went from honey to a dark molasses color. She noticed that when Ivy teased him about the pepper spray.

Violet decided that Sam took after his father in looks while his brother took after his mother more. She wasn't sure yet who they took after in temperament. Ivy seemed a delightful combination of both. Her eyes were lighter like Jesse's, but her hair was a beautiful, glossy black like Sam's.

"Violet," said Sam, interrupting her thoughts, "I wanted to ask what you were researching last night?"

"Oh," she blushed bright red. "I'm a writer. I mean, I write mystery/adventure novels. I had this great idea of my heroine finding a dead body in a dumpster and wanted to get a sense of all the details, you know, sights, smells, etc."

Jesse, turning an interesting shade of green, put down his fork and wiped his mouth with his napkin.

Ivy looked positively exuberant. "How fun!" she squealed. "I've never met a novelist before. How many books have you written?"

"So far, I've written only five. They're called the Colonel Brighton Adventures and are period books, a kind of combination of the Scarlet Pimpernel and Sherlock Holmes. For this latest one, though, I wanted to write a contemporary mystery/adventure. There's only so much the police or a detective could do back in the 1800s. I wanted to play with some of today's technology."

"That sounds very interesting," said Mrs. Givens. "I'm sure it's a lot safer than actually working for the police department."

"Mom, you don't have to worry about me. I work only with the victims. I just draw the bad guys. I hardly ever actually see them," said Ivy to her mother. "I'm a sketch artist," she explained for Violet's sake.

"I'm aware that drawing pictures isn't really where the action is," her mother replied. "It's that I worry about you and Will. It's a mom thing."

Ivy leaned over and hugged her mom. "The Lord will always keep me safe."

"You don't have to worry about Jesse and me at all. Jesse just works with computers." Sam turned to Violet and said, "He's a cyber-detective." Turning back to his mom, he continued, "and the folks I work with can't hurt me even if they wanted to."

Jesse turned even greener as the rest of them chuckled at Sam's joke.

Violet was confused. Looking at Sam, she asked, "What do you do?"

"I'm a medical examiner," he answered.

"His job is disgusting, but he's right, they can't hurt him," added Jesse.

"I don't think of my job as disgusting. It's just a bit sad sometimes," replied Sam.

Violet was positively thrilled about this news. "Sam, would you be willing to answer questions for me about facts in my book as I work on my research? It would really help a lot. I like to get my facts right for my readers' sakes."

"Of course! Any time. We can exchange e-mail addresses and cell numbers after lunch."

Violet realized she had found a piece of heaven. The Lord had led her to a whole family of detectives! The sister was a sketch artist, one brother was a cyber detective, and Sam was a medical examiner. Jackpot for this writer!

***

Jesse noted the dreamy look on Sam's face. While he thought Violet was nice and all, she still seemed a bit strange. "How long are you going to be here, Violet?" he asked. A little dose of reality would do Sam some good right about now.

"Well, according to the conditions of the will, I had to come up here in person and meet with the lawyer in order to claim my inheritance. My Aunt Mabel thought, since I'm already here, I should use the time to go through the house and decide what I would like to keep, and if there was anything I might sell privately for more than I'd get through doing an auction. After that I'm free to sell it. So, I'm giving myself about two weeks to actually go through it. My uncle left the place really immaculate, so it shouldn't take long. My real estate agent said the best way to sell the house is to have it empty or 'move in ready.' She said houses now take an average of about three months to sell, unfortunately, but she said we could go ahead and start showing it as soon as this coming week. So, we'll see. My biggest problem is we're starting to get into the slow season for home buying and winter is nearly impossible. However, with the money from this house, I'll be able to finally go full time as a writer. I know the Lord will work it all out."

Like a leaking balloon, Sam deflated slightly. He wanted to get to know Violet better, but two weeks wasn't nearly enough time. He had better spend some more hard time in prayer. He had lost the woman of his dreams before; he wasn't going to make the mistake of wasting time again. Yet, why did the Lord give him the go ahead on this? There wasn't enough time. It didn't make sense at all. He decided he would pray and make the most of the time given and see what happened.

"Well, we'll have to work hard to make you welcome during your short stay here," said Doctor Givens graciously.

"Oh, you all already have." Violet's eyes were bright with tears of gratitude. "I was so nervous about coming up to such a huge place all by myself and I found a whole family of friends my first day."

Ivy leaned over and hugged her. "I'm glad you came."

"Me too," she replied. Then, "Ivy, can I ask you questions for my research too? I've never met a real live sketch artist before."

"Of course. I can't let you sit in while I'm working with a client, but I can give you a tour of the local police department and show you some of the tools of my trade."

"That sounds amazing." Violet's eyes sparkled.

"Hey, in fact, why don't we meet up tomorrow? I could give you a tour then we could get lunch."

"That sounds amazing! Didn't I just say that? Oh well. That sounds amazing! I would love to get together with you tomorrow. The real estate agent is on vacation and can't meet until Thursday and the lawyer is scheduled for Tuesday. I have to go through all of my uncle's stuff, but I've got two weeks and really, how long can it take?" Violet ran out of breath.

Sam chuckled at Violet's enthusiasm. The more he spent time with her, the more he wanted to keep spending time with her. She had a vibrancy for life he found magnetic.
Chapter 8

When Violet woke up the next morning and got dressed and ready for the day, she decided she didn't want to tackle her uncle's house just yet. Instead, after her morning Bible reading and prayer, she chose to go over to the Coffee House and do some on-line research before meeting Ivy. Yes, she knew she procrastinated, but comforted herself with the idea of working on her book. This constituted work after all.

Before guilt and the never ending tyranny of the 'shoulds' stopped her, she grabbed her laptop and jacket and headed out the door.

When Violet stepped into the Coffee House that same warmth as in the church and in the Givens' home wrapped around her. More than just a place to get coffee, this place exuded peace and welcome and comfort. She loved it. And, spying Mrs. Givens herself behind the counter delighted her still further.

"Violet, how are you this morning?"

"I'm fine, Ma'am. Your Coffee House is wonderful. I just love the aroma!"

"I'm glad. Would you like to have today's special? It's a caramel mocha."

Violet's mouth watered just thinking about it. "That sounds terrific. Can I get one of your famous muffins too?"

"Of course, Dear." Mrs. Givens got her the coffee and pulled a muffin out and handed it to her.

"Thank-you." Violet would have liked to chat a bit more, but several other customers waited to be served. So, she turned around and chose a booth off to the side. The place had quite a few people, but no one spoke loudly. As she gazed around the room, she decided that somehow, she simply must use this setting for at least one of the scenes in her latest book. Suddenly filled with ideas, she set down her coffee and muffin, opened her laptop, and got to work.

After spending several minutes answering her e-mail and making comments on her author page on FaceBook, she decided to Google for information about how the police force worked in Rolling Hills. She had often found in her research if she did a little on-line research before doing her physical research (interviewing people or checking out locations), she found the physical research much more meaningful. Also, most people respected intelligent questions. They loved being the 'expert' and usually included wonderful extras that she wouldn't have thought of adding. People opened up more when someone showed genuine interest in them and their work.

Violet enjoyed researching new things. She always learned so much. It especially excited her to find and download a pdf file of police procedure during an investigation. She saved it on her 'desktop' to print it out later. Apparently, 21st century police officers had some pretty stringent rules about how to investigate and protect a crime scene. Violet positively vibrated with anticipation to tour a real police department here. Right now, only her imagination and Google images showed how it might look. How perfectly wonderful to physically observe with her own two eyes real police officers all walking around, doing their jobs, and solving important cases!

When she finally looked at her watch, she made a small squeak of surprise. If she didn't hurry, she would be late! Quickly, she gathered up her things and waved a hurried goodbye to Mrs. Givens as she rushed out the door.

The drive to the police station provided no obstacles (And she didn't get lost!). Violet gave thanks to God for that before she got out of her car. As she breezed in, she took careful note of her surroundings. The large building rather intimidated her, with its dark colors. She supposed that was done on purpose. She walked up some steps in order to get into a large bay area where everyone worked. Desks faced each other in squares. No cubicle walls separated anyone. Only a few people had offices off to the side. Violet assumed the police chief and other higher officials occupied those rooms.

Violet noted the odor of the place as well, cleaning fluid and disinfectant. If one could smell energy, however, that's what she would be detecting right now. The sounds were definitely energetic, but not too loud. In one area, Violet observed a group of police officers discussing something quite passionately but too low for her to hear. Several people were on telephones or clicking away at computers. There was even a whiteboard with pictures and writing on it. Violet would have dearly loved to have gone over and studied it, but she didn't want to get kicked out before she had a chance to tour the place with Ivy. She especially didn't want to get Ivy into trouble.

Sight, sound, smell, Violet went over to the wall and put her hand on its hard, concrete surface. The original creators built it to last. She thought about bending down to touch the floor, but instead contented herself with wiggling her toes and pushing down slightly with her feet. Her sense of this place's ambience was hardness and unyielding, a place of judgment and ferreting out truth from lies.

The last sense was taste. Violet figured she might ask Ivy for a cup of coffee later. That was a police officer's favorite drink, wasn't it? Or was that just a silly stereotype? She wanted to be sure and ask, but that wouldn't be her first question.

Just then Ivy, seeing Violet, waived her over.

"I'm so glad you made it!" she said. "Are you ready for a quick tour?"

"I can't thank you enough for this," Violet said.

"No problem!" Ivy replied. She stood and gestured at the large bay area surrounding them. "This is our 'all purpose room' where most of our detectives do their desk work. You can see that team over there at the white board. We have several and they're all on wheels so we can share." She pointed at her desk and said, "My area is off to the side mainly to give witnesses a little more privacy." She invited Violet to sit down so she could show her some of her computer software. "As people give me their descriptions, I can program them into the computer and get some terrific faces. It's funny, though, sometimes, I just have to go old school and use my sketch pad and number 2 pencil. I think people find the sound of a pencil scratching away on a piece of paper soothing somehow." She smiled at Violet. "People have to relax if they are going to give me a good description."

"You seem to really enjoy your job."

Ivy was thoughtful as she replied. "It took me a long time to figure out what to major in at college. I drove my family nuts. Jesse always knew what he wanted to do and Sam's only problem was figuring out what to specialize in in medicine. For me, I always loved to draw, but I wasn't sure what to do with it. My parents wanted me to do something that would make me be able to support myself. I was pretty good at math and science, but I didn't really love either one. Finally, I just got down on my knees and prayed, asking what the Lord would have me do with my life. He led me to major in art. At first, my parents weren't very excited about the idea. My mother understood business and my father, medicine. How would I ever pay the bills with an art degree? I told them the Lord had led me to do this, and I had to trust Him to lead me to the next step. By this time, Will was already a police officer working towards the rank of detective. He suggested I check out what it would take to become a sketch artist. I prayed about it, and here I am. I love my job. I'm really helping people and I wouldn't trade this for the world."

"That is so amazing. I'm sure the police department loves you."

"Some days are rather thankless, but for the most part, it's terrific." Standing up, she said, "Let's get on with this tour." She led Violet to one of the rooms along the side wall and said, "I also can use a conference room if I need to." She opened the door so Violet could see inside. It had glass windows with curtains pulled down for privacy. Besides a rectangular table with chairs all around, there were a couple of comfortable, leather couches facing each other with a coffee table in between.

"Come on," said Ivy. "I'll show you our interrogation rooms next."

Violet grinned at that. "I hope I never have to be in one of those," but the thought of getting to see them filled her with delicious delight.

The interrogation rooms were bright, stark and rather ugly. There was only a table and three chairs, one on one side, two on the other. On one wall was a large mirror. "Is there another room on the other side of that mirror?" Violet asked.

"Yes, there is," answered Ivy. "I'll show you that next."

The observation room was rather small and dark set with several chairs all facing the window, giving a perfect view of the interrogation room. Violet shivered thinking about it all.

"These are really the most interesting rooms in this place. Otherwise, we have an archive down in the basement, filled with old case files. There is also the morgue where Sam works, but I can't bring you down there without permission. You wouldn't want to see that would you?" Ivy looked hesitant about asking. "Poor Sam. Women get freaked out by his job, dissecting dead bodies all day and being on call a lot. He loves his job though."

"Actually, I would love to see the morgue. In my genre, I have at least one dead body to deal with in every book. This research is invaluable to me," Violet replied.

Ivy beamed. She suspected Sam liked her and thought maybe Violet returned the sentiment. She would love to see her brother get together with someone special. Perhaps the Lord had brought Violet up here for more than just the house.

"I'll have to ask Sam for permission. It would be best if he gave you a tour himself though. He can explain all the tools of his trade."

"I would really love that," Violet replied.

Ivy took her around to a few more places and introduced her to some of her co-workers. Will was out on a case, so Violet didn't get to meet him yet. However, she felt like a celebrity the way Ivy went on about how she was an author doing research. She was even able to ask some questions about police procedure that seemed to impress the detectives.

Finally, Violet and Ivy had to admit that they were starving. "Do you like burgers? Or would you rather go over to Mom's Coffee House and get a bite to eat there?"

"I love your mom's Coffee House, but I'm flexible and I'm new. Whatever you suggest would be all right with me."

Ivy was so impressed by this sweet girl. "You are so easy to please. God bless you!"

As the two girls walked out to their cars, Ivy leaned in and said, "It's kind of crazy, but my favorite place really is Mom's Coffee House. I'm glad I don't plan on moving to another state anytime soon. I would miss Mom's cooking too much!"

"Well, I went there this morning for coffee and a muffin and I can certainly see why. Of course, Sunday's lunch was phenomenal. If her sandwiches are even close to the meal we ate at your house, I know I'll love it!"

"You wouldn't mind going back there again? I mean, you were just there this morning."

"Not at all. That place is special. The atmosphere was inviting and wonderful. The free wifi made it possible for me to get good research done for my book and the food was great too. I couldn't ask for better."

Ivy smiled and hugged her. Violet was definitely a keeper. Too bad Violet's stay here was going to be so short. In spite of that, she hoped something would develop between her and her brother. They would make a good couple, she decided.

"Let's go."

Chapter 9

When they arrived at the Coffee House, the first person Violet caught sight of was Sam. He had the nicest dimples. Violet wondered how she would describe them in her latest book's hero. She had to also figure out a way to describe that melting sensation in her brain or those warm tingles up and down her arms. That would be perfect for her heroine. Of course, she wasn't going to be here long enough for anything real to develop with Sam, but oh, it was wonderful to make a new friend. Some girl was going to be very blessed someday.

Violet noticed that Jesse and another guy were sitting with Sam too. She hoped that they would all sit together.

Sam saw them and waved. He mouthed that they should sit with them as soon as they got their food. Standing at the counter waiting, Violet asked, "Ivy, who is that with Sam and Jesse?"

Ivy turned and looked. "Oh, that's Will. He's been Sam's and Jesse's best friend since they met in the four-through- six-year-old class in Sunday School. Mom calls them the Three Musketeers."

Violet barely heard Ivy's small sigh. Turning, she studied her new friend. Yep, Ivy had it bad. Violet wondered if it was a sore subject for the girl. Their food arrived then and Violet decided she would ask her about it later.

"Hey, how did you like the police station?" asked Sam. "Ivy gives a terrific tour," she answered.

"Violet does want a favor from you, Sam," said Ivy.

Sam looked at her and, of course, she blushed. Eventually, she did manage to speak though, "I'd really like a tour of the morgue. I hope that doesn't sound too weird."

"Wow, Sam," said Will, "you should keep this girl. She's actually not freaked out about your job!" Turning to Violet, he said, "Hi, I'm Will." He reached out his hand to shake.

"Nice to meet you," Violet said, sitting down. She hoped her face wasn't the color of Mr. Johnson's ruby-red apples.

The guys pulled two tables together, and everyone gathered around comfortably, Violet across from Sam, Ivy next to her and across from Will. Jesse moved and sat on the end.

"So, Sam says you're a writer. What's your latest story about?" Will asked.

"It's about a female author who writes mysteries and ends up finding a real dead body in a dumpster, sort of like a mystery story come to life. So far, all of my mysteries have been set in the time of Sherlock Holmes and Jane Austen. It's a bit different having my setting be in the 21st century, but I love it. I have to come up with a good way to kill someone that wouldn't be immediately obvious. I'm considering stabbing the guy, but doing that after he's dead to make it appear that was how he died rather than the real weapon which is poison."

"Violet, that sounds a little strange," said Jesse.

Ivy and Sam both glared at their brother, but Violet laughed. "It is. My poor aunt had to put up with a lot over the years. I scared her half to death once trying to act out a scene in one of my books where my murderer sneaks up behind his victim and stabs him with a knife. She was in her room, getting ready for something. She saw me out of the corner of her eye holding a spoon above my head and nearly went through the ceiling. She told me I wasn't too old to spank."

Everyone laughed at that, even Jesse.

"I downloaded a couple of your books last night onto my e-reader," said Sam. "I thought they were really good. I especially liked that it was as much adventure story as mystery. In fact, I lost track of time and stayed up late reading until Colonel Brighton got himself out that scrape."

"I'm glad you liked it."

"I downloaded one of your books too," said Ivy. "Miss Poole is my favorite character. I liked Jeffrey too. He seemed more the innocent one. Poor thing, he's so in love with Miss Poole, but she doesn't notice it at all."

Violet smiled at this. She loved it when people made friends with her characters. It meant a great deal to her that people liked to read her stories as much as she enjoyed writing them.

"I'll have to download a copy too. Can you get them from Amazon kindle?" asked Will.

"Yep. Look under Violet Carsten or Colonel Brighton Mysteries series."

"Do you have them in paperback?" asked Ivy. "Mom and Dad might like to read them too. Mom is okay reading it on an e-reader, but Dad is still pretty old school."

"Yes. I decided to go ahead and make them available in print through Amazon's CreateSpace publishing. You can get that straight from the regular Amazon.com too. My aunt even talked me into making audio versions through TeachOutLoud.com. That was a lot of fun."

"You're quite the business woman," said Sam.

"Not really. The bottom line is it's something I love doing. It's a gift the Lord has given me. My goal is to give people something fun to read and relax with as well as something real to reflect on."

"I liked how you talked about the Lord in your books. It wasn't preachy or anything, just very matter-of-fact," said Ivy.

Sam smiled at Violet and that melty sensation took over her brain again. All too soon, everyone had to get back to work.

Violet really didn't want to tackle going through her uncle's house. It was rather large, but she hadn't checked out all the rooms upstairs or seen the basement. She also wanted to give the house a quick vacuuming and dusting before meeting the lawyer tomorrow. If she got on it, she might have some time to do some more research and story planning in the evening. She really needed to work on some more back story for her major characters and she desperately needed a stronger motive for her murderer. She also needed some more motives for her various suspects.

The idea of story planning and research brightened her up considerably. The rest of the day and evening went quickly.

***

The next day, she woke up thinking about her coming meeting with the lawyer. He had arranged to meet her there at the house. She was glad because she didn't relish trying to find his office in downtown Chicago. However, she did think it rather unusual that he should come all the way out here.

Her lawyer, Mr. Davenport, arrived promptly at ten o'clock. Violet had dressed nicely in a simple light brown A-line skirt with a darker colored brown turtleneck. She threw over that her favorite leather blazer. Her hair had taken a little longer because she couldn't decide if she should leave it down or put it up in a chignon. In the end she elected to do the chignon. As she opened the door for the lawyer, she admitted to herself that she was really nervous. She just couldn't figure out why.

"Violet, it's so nice to meet you," said Mr. Davenport, shaking her hand at the door.

After seating him in the family room and getting him a cup of coffee, she sat down herself to listen to what he had to say.

"I assume you didn't have any trouble finding the house?" he asked.

"No, the drive was much easier than I thought it would be. The Coffee House next door is a real perk," she replied.

He chuckled at her joke as opened up his brief. "Your aunt told you the conditions of the will, yes?"

"She said only that I had to be here in person in order to claim my inheritance."

"Yes, and your uncle specified that I actually ensure you are here in the house before giving you the deed." He hesitated. "There's a little more that my secretary must have neglected to include in the letter."

Violet's stomach did a series of advanced gymnastics. "What would that be?"

"The conditions of the will state that you have to live in the house for three months before you can claim full ownership. I am to visit you once a month to verify that."

Violet was stunned. She had planned to be there for only a couple of weeks, not three, long months! What was she going to do? "I'm not sure I can afford to do that."

"Your uncle has set aside a small allowance for you to help pay for expenses. It's not very much, though."

Violet's stomach finally stopped the acrobatics. Now, it resembled a churning volcano. She hoped it would behave a little while longer. "How much?"

"It's $4000 total, I'm to give you the first $1000 now and the next two at the beginning of each month, with the last payment to be at the end of the third month."

"A thousand dollars a month. I guess I can eat lots of ramen noodles."

"He thought you had another source of income. I'm afraid that is the extent of your inheritance. If you do not consent to stay for the entire time, you will forfeit the entire amount. If you choose to leave early, you can keep the money you have received thus far, but would forfeit the house and any other money to be given to you."

"I didn't bring enough clothes with me. I suppose I could drive back and get some more."

"I'm sorry, the will specified that you were not to leave the Chicagoland area for the required three months."

Now that touched a nerve. How could her uncle be so dictatorial? How could this lawyer's secretary have neglected to put this very important information in the letter?

As she sat there steaming, Mr. Davenport said, "I'm sorry about my secretary's oversight." He looked a bit peeved, himself.

Violet let out a small sigh and answered, "It's not your fault. I guess I'll have to make do. Perhaps my aunt can ship me some more clothes."

"Tell me the cost. I'll cover them."

Surprised at his kindness, Violet said, "I really appreciate that."

He handed her a check and started packing up his briefcase. Then, he stood up and shook her hand again. As he walked to the door, he said, "I'll see you in another month. Also, I'm instructed to periodically drive by to make sure you are actually living here. If your uncle wasn't an old friend of the family, I would not have allowed him to make us all go through all this trouble."

Violet smiled. It was good to behold this calm, in control lawyer having a little feeling. He was human after all.

The reality of her situation didn't really hit her until later.

***

After rubbing his palms against the side of his kakis, Sam knocked on Violet's door. It was lunch time, and he hoped she would let him take her to eat somewhere. It wasn't a date, exactly. Why did his palms have to sweat now?

When Violet opened the door, Sam noticed that her smile was a little shaky. "How did your meeting with the lawyer go?"

She tried to talk, instead she burst into tears. Not quite sure what to say, Sam led her over to the porch swing and sat with her, letting her cry it out. Finally, he asked, "What happened?"

"According," she stopped and swallowed. Then she tried again, "according to the conditions of the will, I'm supposed to stay here for three months." Tears were still rolling down her cheeks.

Sam would have done just about anything to comfort her, but he couldn't help the fact that he wanted to do his own happy dance right about then. Now, he had time to get to know her. Three months wasn't very long, but it might be long enough to determine if this was the girl the Lord had for him. Of course, he didn't plan on marrying her after only three months, but that was enough time to at least give him a sense of where things might head in the future.

"Violet, I'm really sorry you're so upset about this, but is it really so bad?" he asked.

She sighed and looked down. "Yes, it is. I didn't plan for this. I only packed enough clothes for two weeks."

"Isn't this every girl's dream? An excuse to go shopping?" Sam tried to get her to laugh.

She smiled, but still didn't look at him. "I can't afford to go shopping. At least my aunt should be able to ship me some more. Really, I miss her."

Sam squeezed her hand, but didn't keep holding it. "So, is it just the two of you?"

"Yes, after my parents died, she was all I had. I didn't even know I had an uncle until about a week ago. I guess, now, she really is the only family I have left in the world."

"You have a church family."

Finally, she looked at him. "Thank-you. That means a lot. It's that, this city, this house, it isn't really home. You know what I mean?"

Sam smiled at her and nodded. "I want you to know, I'm your friend and you can talk to me anytime."

"You won't be bored?"

"I can't imagine ever being bored around you," he replied. He was glad when she actually laughed at that.

"Thank-you," she said again.

As he stood, he said, "You look hungry. Want to go get a bite to eat? I was thinking of a little pizza place I know."

"That sounds really nice," she said as she stood as well.

Sam grinned, relieved. "My car is parked in back of Mom's Coffee House." On the way to his car, he couldn't stop thinking about her beauty. He hadn't gotten to see her with her hair down yet. He wondered how long it was.

Chapter 10

"The thing is, my uncle has given me an 'allowance,' but I'm not sure it's quite enough. I make a bit from book sales, but that's not a sure thing. It could all disappear tomorrow. I might need to seriously consider looking for a job here." Violet was sitting across from Sam sipping a Diet Pepsi and munching on a bread stick.

"I'll look around and see if anyone I know has any openings."

"It's all so strange. Yesterday, I was only going to be here for two weeks. Now, there's three months to plan for. It's a bit overwhelming."

"I can imagine, but can't your aunt send you some things?"

"Yes. I hate to put her to the trouble, but the conditions of the will won't even let me go and get anything. I must stay here. I can't even spend the night somewhere else. It appears my uncle was somewhat eccentric."

"Hmm," Sam agreed. It did seem a bit dictatorial. Still, he had to admit he was very thankful to the crazy old gentleman. "Well, if you get lonely, call me or Ivy or even Mom or Dad or Jesse. I'm sure Ivy would be willing to spend the night if you needed her."

"Your sister is amazing. The police department is lucky. She did a couple of sketches for me. She's really talented."

"I agree. She's helped them to find a lot of criminals, and she's only been full time for about a year now."

"Oh yes," Violet remembered, "I wanted to ask when you might let me see your morgue. It would really be great for my research."

"How about tomorrow afternoon?" Sam couldn't believe he had actually found a girl who was not only not freaked out by his job, but so interested she wanted to see it for herself.

"It would be really great if I could observe an actual dead body. Goodness, that sounds terrible," she said, blushing.

Sam chuckled. "Don't worry. There are several bodies waiting for me. It's tragic, really, but it's my job."

Violet was quiet. She hoped she hadn't offended him. The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to. Whoa girl! You're only going to be here for three months. You're not really looking for that kind of relationship. Just friends. But, what a great smile and dimples too!

Sam's cell phone rang. Checking it, he said, "I'm sorry, that's work. I'm going to have to take you home." There was obvious regret in his voice.

"Of course. This is your job. I only hope taking me home doesn't mess you up."

Sam was amazed. She didn't consider herself at all. "Come on. Don't even try to help with the check. This is my treat."

Violet put her wallet back into her purse. "I really appreciate this. You're a good friend."

"Thanks," he replied, hoping that they could be more in time.

***

Later that evening, Sam, Jesse, and Will were all together in Sam's apartment. They all lived in the same building and had played a tough three man basketball game earlier in a nearby gym. Now, they were sitting around eating take out Chinese.

"So, where were you today for lunch?" asked Jesse. "Mom said she had seen your car parked out back, but you didn't come in."

Sam blushed. "I took Violet out to a pizza place for lunch."

"The girl pepper sprays you and you take her out on a date?!"

"It wasn't really a date. She was upset by some news, and I thought it would be nice to let her talk for a while."

"Did you pay the bill?" asked Will.

"Well, yes," Sam answered.

"Then it was a date," Will replied.

"You've only known her for what, two days?" said Jesse.

"Aren't you moving a little fast?"

Instead of replying, Sam looked at Jesse.

Will asked, "What was the news she was upset by, if it's all right to share?"

Sam was grateful for Will's redirection. He loved his brother, but there were times... "It's all right. It's no secret. Her lawyer said that the conditions of the will state that she has to live in her uncle's house for three months before she can have the deed."

"Wasn't she only supposed to be here for two weeks?" asked Jesse.

Nodding, he replied, "That was her original plan. Now, she has no choice. She has to stay or she forfeits her inheritance." Sam paused, then, "She was really upset about the whole thing. She can't even go home to get more of her things. It seems her uncle was a bit eccentric."

"Hmm," said Will. "Sounds a bit like a dictator. Is the house really worth it?"

"Violet was wondering that too, but this house represents her chance to go full time as a writer. It's an answer to her prayers. There's a little more to it than she expected, that's all," he answered.

Jesse wasn't sure he liked it that Violet was staying longer. She seemed nice enough and all, but was she right for his brother? Sam seemed to be really taken with her, and that worried him. He had watched Sam's heart break before. He didn't want his little brother to suffer again.

"What do we really know about Violet besides the fact that she lives with her aunt, she's a crazy writer, and she's from the boondocks?" Jesse asked.

"Well, we know she doesn't have a police record," said Will, smiling.

"She loves the Lord. She goes to church. She is kind, and she loves her work. Have you bothered to read one of her books yet? She's really good," Sam was definitely getting annoyed.

"I did last night," Will replied. "I've only been able to read the first few chapters, but Sam's right. She really is pretty good."

"I downloaded one too and okay, so she's a half-way decent writer. Why does she live with her aunt? Why doesn't she live on her own? She is an adult, right?" Jesse fired at Sam.

"Her parents died when she was fourteen in a terrible car accident. She told me more about it at lunch today. That was a really tough time in her life. She doesn't remember much of the accident itself. It was a hit and run, never caught the guy. Her aunt took her in and got her through her teen-age years. They're very close. Her aunt had cancer not too long ago, but now she's in remission. She's the only family Violet has left. They kind of take care of each other."

"Okay, but the book I read had a pretty rough murder scene in it. Not gory or anything like that, but she killed off her hero's fiancé but didn't really have him deal with it. He went on and solved the case, got the bad guy, end of story." Jesse didn't like the way that part was handled in Violet's book at all.

"That's part of Colonel Brighton's character. Keep in mind, he's supposed to be British. They don't show emotion very much. Also, getting the bad guy might have been his way of dealing with his pain."

"Uh, guys," interjected Will, "this is fiction. Who cares? It's just a story."

"But, how does Violet handle the tough stuff in real life? Will she deal with it, or will she run away and hide? Her Colonel Brighton went back home. He didn't even visit the girl's parents."

"Again, it's fiction," repeated Will.

"What do you have against Violet? We're just friends right now, and I'm praying about it and seeing where the Lord leads. If the Lord says, 'No,' then it's no. Either way, I'm trusting Him," said Sam.

"I don't want you getting hurt again." Jesse's voice sounded a little husky.

Instantly, Sam forgave him. He put his arm around his brother in a side hug. "Don't worry about me. I'm a big boy now, and I'm never alone."

"It's my job as big brother to keep an eye on you and Ivy."

"I'm so glad I'm an only child," said Will. "Too much responsibility being the oldest and a big pain in the neck if you're one of the younger siblings."

Both Sam and Jesse threw napkins at him.

"I thought we adopted you into the family a long time ago," said Sam.

"With you guys I have the best of both worlds, all the fun of brothers and a sister, none of the responsibility."

"Yeah, until Ivy finally meets, the one," Sam teased.

Both Jesse and Will groaned loudly.

"She's pretty picky, we still have a little while," Sam tried to comfort.

"At least there's that," said Will. "You know, sometimes, it's so strange. I don't feel like I've grown up yet and I'm in my twenties now. I mean, in some ways, I still think of us all as kids, but we're not. We've all got careers."

"Well, I suppose the three of us can continue to scare off anybody at church who looks too long at Ivy," said Jesse.

"And I'll keep an eye on her at work," said Will.

"If she could hear us talking about her, she'd have our heads," said Sam.

"You're probably right," said Will.

"Anybody up for foosball?" asked Jesse going to Sam's foosball table.

Sam didn't tell Will or Jesse that he was supposed to meet Violet tomorrow to let her see the medical examiner's rooms and the morgue. He figured he'd see how things went and tell them about it later... maybe.

Chapter 11

Violet didn't want to call her aunt and tell her the bad news. However, her aunt beat her to the punch and called her. She briefly considered not telling for a bit, but practicality won. She needed more clothes and shoes.

She was surprised that her aunt took the news so well. Aunt Mabel said they would celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas in January. Her aunt was unable to come up for Thanksgiving or Christmas because she'd already committed to volunteering at the local food kitchen. She rejoiced that Violet made some good friends in the church so soon. Perhaps she might get together with them.

Violet felt a little deflated when she got off the phone. She wasn't sure what she expected, but why wasn't her at least angry, or upset, or... something?

A few hours later as she was going through some more closets and drawers, her phone rang.

"Hey, there, Girlfriend, how's city living?" It was Sue.

Here Violet expected a friend who understood. Or at least she'd let her vent a bit before telling her to get her attitude straight. "Oh, Sue, it's really good to hear from you. Rolling Hills is okay, I guess."

"How is the traffic? Have you gotten lost a lot? How was church? Have you made any new friends? Are there any handsome gentlemen you need to tell me about? Of course, I have to check out anyone who might be interested in you."

"Good heavens! Let's see, traffic is doable. I've only gotten lost twice, so far. Church was awesome. I've made new friends with this great family, especially Ivy and Sam, and their brother, Jesse, and their best friend, Will. Ivy is a sketch artist for the police department, Will is a police detective, Jesse is a cyber-detective, and Sam is a medical examiner. Their parents are the sweetest people in the world. Doctor Givens is a heart specialist and Mrs. Givens owns the Coffee House, which is right next door. I suppose Sam and Jesse and Will are good looking. I'm pretty sure Ivy is interested in Will though."

"Wow. That is awesome! I'm so glad for you!" She paused, then, "Your aunt called. She told me what happened. I am already planning a trip up there."

"You are so sweet. That would be terrific." Violet smiled to herself. What a wonderful friend.

"So, what about Sam and Jesse and Will? Oh, yeah, Will is taken, right?"

Violet easily followed her friend's quick change of subject by now. Not missing a beat, she replied, "Sort of. I mean Ivy obviously likes him, but he hasn't figured that out yet. Perhaps he doesn't realize she's all grown up and is beautiful inside and out. Hopefully, he will soon."

"So, what about Sam and Jesse? They're Ivy's brothers, right?"

"Yeah, well, I'm not sure if Jesse has quite forgiven me for pepper spraying him the first night I was here, but Sam has been very nice. When I found out about the terms of the will, he took me out for pizza. At first, I felt so stupid, bursting into tears with him standing at my door, but he led me over to the porch swing and let me cry. Then, he took me to this place where they served Chicago-style pizza. I felt safe around him, like I could trust him."

"Hmm. Did he pay or was it Dutch?"

Violet was confused. "He wouldn't let me pay. I tried."

"Oooh. That means you had your first date."

"What? It wasn't a date. We're friends. Besides, I only met him three days ago."

"Well..." It was obvious Sue didn't really believe her. "Keep me posted anyway. I want to meet this Sam Givens when I come visit."

"I'm sure they will all love you."

"I'm sure I will love them if they love you."

Violet laughed. A truer friend she couldn't ask for. They talked for quite a while until Sue finally signed off saying she needed to get some sleep before she had to work the next day.

"Don't forget to call me with details of your 'tour' with Sam tomorrow."

Violet groaned. "We're only friends, and I really appreciate him letting me see a real morgue and all the tools of his trade. It'll be great for my book."

"Your books, I love. The stuff you do for your research, not so much."

"I'll leave out the gross stuff and try to answer all your questions."

"If you can't get me by cell, be sure to e-mail or text me, okay?"

"Sure thing."

The two girls finally said goodbye and Violet put her cell into her pocket. Sue was exactly what she needed that day. As she got ready for bed, she was almost thankful that she was staying a little longer than originally planned. Of course, nothing more would come out of her friendship with Sam, but she was glad to make some really wonderful new friends.

***

The next day, Jesse sat at a table at the Coffee House working on his computer. When he set down his mug of coffee after taking a sip, he nearly blew it out his nose as Violet came up to his table with a coffee carafe.

"Would you like some more coffee?" she asked.

Jesse blinked. What was she doing there, trying to serve him, wearing a polo shirt with the Coffee House logo on it?

"Jesse? Are you all right?" she asked.

"Just wondering about the new waitress," he said, gesturing at her shirt.

"Your mom is so sweet. Sam must've talked to her because when I came in this morning she offered me a job. It's perfect hours and perfect pay to keep me for the next three months. Your family is so terrific. You are really blessed to have them."

"Uh, yes..." He made a valiant effort to not groan.

Oblivious, she asked, "So, do you want that refill?"

Her perkiness nearly undid all his fine resolutions.

"Sure," he said pushing his mug toward her. He watched as she carefully poured the coffee. Amazingly, the coffee went where it was supposed to, straight into the cup, not in his lap. Perhaps there was hope.

"See you later." As she turned, she bumped into someone and the half full carafe spilled most of its contents onto Jesse's front. She got his shirt and his lap. He had to give it to her, she could do spectacular quite well.

"Oh, Jesse, I'm so sorry." She handed him a napkin and began to clean up the table and floor.

"Don't worry about it," he replied, sighing. If Sam got really serious about this girl, he was going to need a suit of armor for protection. Luckily, he had his gym clothes in a bag in his car. He would just change into them. It would be easier than going back home. At least he didn't have any clients to meet with that day.

After he had changed his clothes, he sat back at his booth, watching Violet warily. His mom saw him, came out from behind the counter, and crossed the room over to his table. "Isn't Violet wonderful? I've been needing another employee, and she's perfect. Did you know she worked in a diner for over seven years?"

"Uh, no, I wasn't aware of that," he replied. How did those customers ever survive her?

"She was let go just before she came here. She said it was because of the economy."

Jesse wondered privately if there was some other reason she neglected to mention.

"Poor thing," his mother continued. "She's not very happy about having to stick around for three months, but this is good for her and us."

"Uh, hmm," said Jesse, trying to be noncommittal. What did everyone see in this crazy girl?

***

At lunch, Jesse had more cause for worry. His mother gave Violet a lunch break so she could join Ivy, Sam, Will, and him for lunch.

"Your mom is so wonderful," she gushed. "I just can't thank her enough for hiring me."

"I'm so glad it worked out," said Sam.

Jesse tried not to glare at his brother, but he knew who got Violet hired now.

"I'm glad too," said Ivy. "Of course you're upset about having to stay longer, but I'm happy for us."

"You're sweet," said Violet. "I guess the Lord is working it all out. At least now I won't starve."

"Oh, with Mrs. Gives around, there was never any chance of that," said Will.

"Isn't this family terrific?"

"Yeah, they are," said Will looking at Ivy. When she turned toward him, he quickly looked away.

"Oh, Sam, I just remembered," Violet began. "I have to cancel my tour of the morgue with you this afternoon. Mrs. Givens hasn't worked out my hours yet and I really want to be available for her."

"I didn't realize you already planned something for this afternoon," said Mrs. Givens, coming by. "Go ahead and meet with Sam. Be sure to come back tomorrow morning about 9."

"Oh thank-you so much." Violet grinned.

Jesse wanted to gag. First of all, since when did Sam schedule a personal tour for the girl, and already she got special favors from their mom? Did she have his entire family fooled? Why did everyone think she was so wonderful? They barely met her. That does it. It's time for me to do some real investigation. Why was she 'let go' from her previous job, and what was her past really like?

After everyone left, Jesse began clicking away at his computer with a vengeance. First stop, a deep search into the Butterfield police files.

Chapter 12

Violet bounced from foot to foot unable to contain her excitement about touring a real morgue. She certainly didn't mind her guide either.

Sam tried to prepare her, but there's almost no way to be totally ready. At least he'd covered the body.

When Violet walked into the examination room, she didn't expect her reaction or the sudden memories. A large mound covered with a crisp, white sheet lay on an operating table. For a few moments the past swept her away, to another room similar to this, another body on another table, blood all over the sheets. The ability to breathe left her. She became a living statue, unable to move, only stare.

From out of a fog she heard someone speaking her name. "Violet, Violet, are you all right? Are you going to faint?" Sam supported her elbow and put his hand on her back. "I'm sorry. I'll take you out of here." He tried to gently turn her away from the room and back toward the door.

"No." Violet came back to this time abruptly. "I'm all right." She didn't want to tell him what she remembered. The pain hurt too much. She never told anyone. "It's different, seeing a body for real, rather than all prepared at a funeral or in pictures on the internet."

"Of course," he said. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, I really do need this for my research. Please forgive me."

"Of course," he said. She heard the concern still in his voice. When she smiled, he seemed to relax. "Let me show you some of my tools and equipment first." He led her over to a side wall with drawers holding numerous tools in different shapes and sizes.

In spite of her earlier reaction, Violet was fascinated by all of his various devices and methods for examining a body and discerning the cause of death. In many cases, it was obvious, but there were several tests that would help make sure they didn't miss anything. Although some samples needed to be sent off to a nearby lab, most of Sam's tests could be performed right there in the examination room. Finally, at her insistence, Sam showed her the body.

Violet was surprised at her ability to handle it. This body looked nothing like the one before. In fact, he (the man on the table) appeared rather peaceful, like he enjoyed a short nap and might wake up at any moment. On the other hand, remembering one of the saws Sam showed her earlier, this man would not 'wake up' any time soon.

"How did you decide to become a medical examiner?" asked Violet.

Sam sighed. "There was a girl I thought I was in love with who died suddenly. It turned out she was a drug addict and hid it well. Of course the medical examiner found out. Blood tests are standard procedure. I talked to him later, and he told me he debated about telling the family. Then he said something that I heard before, but it took on so much more meaning then. He quoted the Bible, the passage that says, 'the truth shall set you free'. I imagined this ideal in my mind of what she was like, but the truth was, she was lost and hurting and needed help, but it was too late."

"It wasn't your fault."

"Yes, in a way, it was. She wasn't a Christian, and I was running from God at that time. If I took the time to tell her the truth, she might still be alive today. I possessed the hope that she needed so badly and I selfishly refused to share it with her."

"I'm so sorry."

"I got on my face before God and repented like I've never repented before. I was afraid He wouldn't forgive me."

"Of course God would forgive you." Her sweet Sam suffered so much, she longed to comfort him somehow.

"Don't worry, I know that. I wasn't sure what to do with my life at that point. I realized I wanted to be a doctor not for altruistic reasons, but for selfish ones."

"What happened?"

"The Lord spoke to me. He called me to seek the truth for the sake of others. After a lot of prayer and counsel from my parents and our pastor, I decided to go ahead and get my M.D. specializing in pathology. Then, I went on to become a medical examiner. I knew what the Lord wanted for me, planned for me. I've never been disappointed with my choice. I also volunteer once a week counseling kids who are trying to stop using drugs."

"That's incredible." What incredible compassion! Rather than becoming resentful and hard at that girl's lies, he forgave her, blaming himself. Once he got right with God, he used what happened to him to help others. Instead of getting bitter, he got better.

"I figure I get paid to find the truth of what killed people, and I volunteer to help kids live a longer life."

"You are an amazing person, Sam Givens," Violet said.

"You're pretty amazing too, Violet Carsten." His intense gaze melted her down to her toes and did curious things to her stomach.

Her face heated and her heart beat like she'd never experienced before. Engage and experience or run and hide? She spied a clock on the wall. Run and hide. "Oh, look at the time. I should probably get back to the Coffee House. I still have a lot to learn. Thank-you so much for showing me your examining room." Violet managed to back out the door and leave before Sam responded.

***

Suddenly alone, Violet's abrupt departure confused Sam. What just happened? Perhaps she's shy? He suspected she had never been in any kind of romantic relationship before. The snippets of romance in her books were sweet and innocent, but rather a bit like a fairy tale, not quite real. He smiled then. The more he spent time with her, the more he felt like she was the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Oh, he would continue to pray and he certainly wouldn't rush the Lord or Violet, but he felt good about this. He remained open to any 'red lights' the Lord put in his way, but so far, it looked all 'green.'

***

That night at the Coffee House, Violet struggled to focus on her job. At least she hadn't messed up any orders yet. Mrs. Givens had to go somewhere and hadn't had time to teach her how to prepare the various coffee drinks. For the time being, the acting manager put her to wiping tables and refilling cups.

Unfortunately, poor Violet barely kept her mind on that little. At least she hadn't spilled hot coffee on anyone else. Around Jesse she picked up his cup and poured coffee into it as far away from him as she could get without actually walking away. At one point she thought she caught him glaring at her, but of course he must simply be concentrating on his work.

Sam, sweet Sam, so nice and so handsome, but Violet didn't want a relationship. How in only three months? Sam showed kindness and certainly made a good friend, but she did NOT want anything more. Mentally shaking herself, she decided her imagination simply ran away with itself. That 'look' they shared in the morgue... Her imagination carried itself away into the clouds of romance where none existed. She and Sam were friends, and that was all. End of story. Now, stop dwelling on him. I mean it!

She realized then she nearly wiped the varnish off of a table. Time to take out the trash. Certainly, no disasters in that simple task, right? It neared closing time, and she should help get everything ready to shut up shop for the night. The bag came out of the can easily, and she retreated out the back door.

A night wind blew raising goosebumps on her arms, but that seemed a good reality check. It definitely helped to clear her mind—a little. Violet fancied a shadow moving around but decided it must be some kind of animal scavenging. She smiled to herself as she remembered the first time she stood here on tiptoe to see inside the large garbage bin. She reached up and threw open the lid, letting it fall back with a loud bang. She didn't have to be quiet. This time, she belonged here. Several bags poked out of the top, and she hoped the trash collectors would come tomorrow. Then, as she raised her arm to throw the bag into the dumpster, she froze. The lid must've caught on one of the bags and moved it... and whatever was underneath it.

Violet reared back and swallowed, taking several deep breaths and closing her eyes. She could NOT have seen what she thought she did. She opened her eyes again and barely stifled a scream. There, lying amongst the trash, in front of her, right out of her latest mystery/adventure story, a human hand lay on the lip of the dumpster, dirty and unmoving.

She closed her eyes again. This couldn't be real. It had to be someone's idea of a sick joke. She opened her eyes and forced herself to move forward. She considered touching him but remembered something about not messing up evidence. Still blinking, she turned around and ran inside nearly running over Sam in her haste.

He grabbed her shoulders, steadying her and said, "Violet, are you all right?"

"Th-th-there, out back, in the dumpster. There's a man. I think he's dead."

Stunned, Sam didn't respond at first. Then, "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I hoped somebody did it as a sick joke, but it's real."

"What's going on?" Jesse asked as he joined them.

"Call Will and 9-1-1. Violet says someone is in the dumpster out back." Sam turned back to Violet gentle, yet very professional. He looked her straight in the eyes. "As a doctor, I have to go check on him. He may not be dead." Back to Jesse, he said, "Keep an eye on her. Her color isn't good. Make sure she doesn't pass out."

Jesse nodded and grabbed his cell. Violet stood there shaking.

As Jesse put his cell back into his pocket, he barely managed to catch her as she blacked out.

A few moments later, Violet came to, surrounded by Ivy, Jesse, and Mrs. Givens. Ivy spoke first, "Are you all right, Sweetie?"

"Please, tell me this isn't real."

"Sorry," said Jesse. "I'm afraid it's very real. Someone really did put a dead body in the dumpster. Will and the police are out there now."

"I can't imagine something like this happening," said Mrs. Givens. "It's terrible."

"Is Sam still out there?" Violet asked, sitting up.

"Yes. He's examining the body and trying to figure out what killed him," Ivy answered. "Did you see anyone when you went out?"

"I might have seen a shadow, but I thought it was just an animal looking for some food." She stood. "Is it all right if I go out there? I promise to stay back out of the way."

Jesse looked doubtful, but Ivy replied, "I'll go with you."

At a frown from Mrs. Givens, Jesse reluctantly followed the two women.

Out back it looked like a kind of ordered chaos. The body had been moved out of the dumpster, and Sam examined it further while other police officers cordoned off the crime scene, took pictures, and gathered evidence.

Will caught sight of them and came over. "Violet, did you see anyone or anything unusual tonight?"

"No. I saw a shadow when I came out, but I thought it was just some animal scavenging for food. I'm sorry I'm so useless."

"Don't worry about it."

***

Finished for the moment, Sam stood. His initial examination of the body concluded, now he needed to transport it to the medical examiner's rooms so it could be further studied.

His protective instincts kicked into high gear when he spied Will talking to Violet. He rushed over. "Will isn't bothering you, is he?"

Will turned to Sam and raised an eyebrow.

"Will asked me if I saw anything. I wish I had. Then, I could be more help. This is awful." The tears in her eyes made him want to take her in his arms and shield her.

"I wish you hadn't been the one to find him," he said.

"What was his name?"

"We don't know yet." He put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "There was no I.D. on him, so, I'll have to run his fingerprints and hope we come up with something."

"What killed him?"

Sam hesitated. "Are you sure you want me to tell you?"

Will looked at him like he thought he'd lost his mind. Sam ignored him and focused on Violet.

"Sam, I write about murders all the time in my books. Yes, I want to know what killed him." Violet didn't sound annoyed only very determined.

Both blinked, impressed.

Sam answered, "He was stabbed. Just once. It looks like it punctured a lung, and that's what killed him. I'll have to examine him better in the lab to be sure. Other than the stab wound, there doesn't appear to be any other bruising."

"The good thing about being the M.E. here," quipped Will, "is that he doesn't have to go through all the trash looking for an I.D. or the murder weapon. That's my job or..." He looked around and smiled as he spotted a uniformed officer. "Or I can assign it to someone else who needs the practice."

Violet couldn't help laughing, and the tension finally lifted.

"Are you going to be okay by yourself tonight?" asked Ivy. "I could come and stay with you."

"That is so nice of you, but I'll be fine. I'm sure whoever did this is long gone by now," Violet replied. "He or she probably just dumped the body and ran. I hope Will and the other police will be able to find the killer."

"Will is the best. I'm sure he'll get his guy," replied Ivy confidently.

Violet nodded at her unwavering confidence. Will looked a little embarrassed. Sam just kept looking at Violet.

Some of the men called out to Sam. "I have to go," he said with obvious reluctance. "Ivy, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure," she said as she allowed Sam to pull her aside. "What's up?"

"I would like it if you stayed with Violet tonight. She's trying to be strong, but Mom came out earlier and told me she had passed out. I would just feel better if someone were with her in case she had any nightmares. She really doesn't need to be alone tonight."

"You've got it bad, don't you?"

Sam looked at her, annoyed. "Please."

"Of course. She's my friend too."

"Hey, Violet," she said as Sam walked away, "I haven't really had a chance to see your uncle's house. I've been dying to watch this Jane Austen movie, but it's not as fun all by myself. Mom falls asleep. Could I invite myself to your place and have a girls' movie night?"

"I see what you're up to," said Violet, "but I do have a weakness for Jane Austen movies. Which one is it?"

"It's called 'Mansfield Park' and looks wonderful. I love the British accents and all the period costumes."

Will shook his head at the two ladies. At least Violet wouldn't be alone tonight. Privately, he agreed with Sam. Sometimes, death hit people at odd times. She didn't appear to be in shock, but this had to be a tough experience for her.

Will followed Sam's example and headed back to the police department to sift through all the evidence gathered so far. A 'John Doe' like this never solved easily. They needed to catch a break. He hoped those prints would pop up somewhere in the system.
Chapter 13

Violet and Ivy had a wonderful evening viewing 'Mansfield Park' and drinking hot cocoa. They stayed up far too late, and Ivy nearly ran late for work.

Despite the tumultuous events of the previous days, the rest of the week went by without any excitement. Violet met with the real estate agent and explained the conditions of the will. She frowned but didn't complain telling Violet to go ahead and put the house on the market. Selling it during this season and under those conditions might be a challenge, however.

Instead of having a mid-week service, the church in Rolling Hills had Home Fellowship Group meetings in various homes on Thursday evenings. It had an interesting mix of Bible study, fellowship, food, prayer, worship, and even encouragement. Violet thoroughly enjoyed it.

As the days passed, they started to fall into a predictable pattern. She worked most days at the Coffee House and spent most of her off time either story planning, plotting, researching, marketing, or catching up on e-mails, her blog, or her Author FaceBook page.

The month of November flew. Sue and her husband George joined her for the Thanksgiving weekend. Violet's uncle's house had plenty of room, so they all enjoyed themselves. Sue and George both loved Violet's new friends. Before they left to go back to St. Louis, Sue made the announcement that they were having a baby. Violet gladly rejoiced with her.

After that holiday, things settled down once again and Violet's only real excitement existed in her imagination. She finally figured out a motive for the killer in her book. He (or she!) worked in a local jewelry store and embezzled precious stones. Violet got the idea when she found several nice broaches and a pearl necklace in amongst some of her uncle's things. A jewelry store stood on the other side of the Coffee House and Violet decided to 'investigate.' She would get the jewelry appraised and do a little research for her book at the same time.

As she went in, she nearly ran into Will. He was on the point of entering himself, but he grabbed Violet and pulled her aside when he saw her.

"What are you doing here?"

Surprised by his tone, she stood there a moment. "Will, I wanted to get some stuff appraised. What's going on?"

"Sorry." Will fidgeted from side to side.

"Will, does this have something to do with the murder?"

He sighed, but finally made eye contact. "Maybe not, but the man you found killed was part owner here. We found some evidence that makes us suspect one of the other owners. I'm here to bring him in."

"Oh." Violet really wanted to watch, but decided to stay out of the way. She might happen to linger outside for a bit, though.

The next few minutes proved less exciting than she expected. Will went in and a few seconds later came out with another man. Violet noticed that Will opened the back door of his police car for the man. From her research she knew that the back doors were controlled by the officer sitting in the front. Once shut, the man in the back seat was effectively locked in.

The other man appeared to be of average height and build, probably late forties, early fifties. It was hard to be certain because he stooped over quite a bit, weighed down by some invisible force. His eyes struck her the most. They held such despair. She expected him to appear more... guilty. Poor man. She hoped Will and his team would be sensitive when they interrogated him. She shook herself and dismissed that thought. Of course, Will knew what he was doing. If the man killed the other owner, they would find out. If not, he would be released. Still, she wished she might watch them work.

Violet came back to earth and watched as they drove off. She stood for several moments trying to decide whether to go on in and do a little 'investigating' of her own. Her curiosity soon won out. She had learned from experience that the best way to get people to talk involved genuinely wanting to listen to them. At least, it would be great research for her book.

When she went in, she saw a couple in their twenties standing off to one side. A young man was crying and wringing his hands and his girlfriend (?) tried to comfort him. "He didn't do it," the man said. "No way, not Uncle Cal."

"It's going to be all right." The girl barely moved her mouth. "Come on, be strong, we've got a customer."

Violet noticed that the young man appeared rather tall but somewhat shy. He'd cut his brown hair short and his face was blotchy. He had that awkward, I'm-not-sure-what-to-do-with-my-life air about him. The girl, on the other hand, struck her as not only confident but knowing exactly what she wanted. Her clothing was extremely tight, and she wore a lot of jewelry and make-up. She wasn't as tall, but her demeanor was commanding for someone so young, probably not much over twenty. Violet wasn't intimidated by her, but she was a bit wary. "Hello, I'm Violet." She had decided to pretend she hadn't seen the man being led out by the police. "I wanted to have some stuff appraised. Is everything all right?"

"Everything is fine," said the girl elbowing the young man. "I'm Opal. I'm afraid our appraiser isn't available right now, but if you would like to leave the items here, I can give them to him when he gets back."

"Oh, that's too bad. When will he return?" Violet asked. She suspected the man who was led out was the appraiser, but she decided to play dumb.

"We're not sure," said the young man, mournfully.

"He'll be back by tomorrow," Opal said, rather severely.

"I'll come back then." Violet paused. Another way to win trust was to compliment people. She tried that with Opal. "I wanted to say that is a lovely hair stick you're wearing. Where did you get it?"

"Oh, this?" She patted it and smiled. "Manny here gave it to me."

"Manny has good taste."

"Of course, he chose me, didn't he?"

Violet had no idea what to say to that. So, she simply smiled and nodded. Manny merely stood there still miserable.

"Well, I guess I'll come back sometime tomorrow. Thank-you so much, Opal." Violet reached out a hand to shake. She made it a point to shake Manny's hand as well. "Thank-you, Manny." She tried to pour as much compassion as possible into her gentle smile. She was gratified when he returned her smile with a watery one of his own.

Violet walked back home contemplating the several deep issues she'd sensed going on over there. She determined to watch for a chance to get Manny by himself. For his sake, she hoped Opal was right and that his uncle would return the following day.

Later that evening, Violet was more happy than she was willing to admit at seeing Sam come into the Coffee House. Sam had been snowed under with work recently, so she hadn't seen him except at church or for a quick dash of coffee to keep going.

As she got him a cappuccino with an extra dollop of froth she asked, "Are you getting any rest at all?"

He smiled supporting his head with his hand. "Not much. I've been putting in double shifts recently."

"I heard that the man I found was one of the owners of the jewelry store next door."

"Yeah. The reason we weren't acquainted with him is because he was an investor, part owner, but he didn't really have much to do with the actual running of the business. Apparently, he owned several and lived in another state."

"I went in there today," Violet confessed. Sam sat up straight and she hurried on. "I found some jewelry in my uncle's house and wanted it appraised. I saw Will arrest someone from the store, and the idea of going in and getting that for research, how could I resist?"

"Violet, please don't go back there. Hopefully, Will got the murderer, but nothing is sure yet. I don't want you in any danger."

She smiled at him. He made her feel so protected, so wanted. "Don't worry. If it really bothers you, I'll go somewhere else to have the jewelry appraised."

Sam sighed in relief. "Thank-you." He leaned against the counter. "I was wondering..."

"Yes?" All kinds of emotions arose in her at what she thought might be coming next.

"Violet! How are you?" Ivy breezed in between them and gave her a quick hug. "I've had such a long day. Is it time for your break?"

She tried to hide her disappointment and figure out what her feelings really were. "Yes, I was about to take a break."

"Do you mind if we sit only the two of us? I could really use some girl time."

Violet hesitated, torn. "I have to get back to work anyway," he said. "I'll see you two later."

"I really appreciate this," said Ivy as they sat down. "It's been a beast of a day. I had a girl who kept changing her mind about the robber's appearance. Poor thing, she was nearly in tears at one point. Finally, I took her into one of the conference rooms and told her to close her eyes and tell me what she saw. It was grueling for both of us, but I think we finally got a good picture when it was all said and done."

"Was that how you spent your afternoon?"

"Pretty much. All I want now is a good cup of coffee and a friend to talk to."

"Well, here I am," said Violet. "Why do I get the feeling something else happened today that doesn't have anything to do with your witness?"

Ivy grimaced. "Oh, it's so frustrating. There was this new officer, a female officer, fresh out of the academy, flirting with Will. I wanted to rip out her hair. It's crazy. I'm not like that, but seeing her gazing up at him with her big, blue eyes and hanging onto his every word and laughing and joking with him made me want to cry. Why am I so invisible?"

"Oh Ivy. You're not invisible. It's not God's perfect timing yet. It's hard being patient, but when the time is right, the Lord will either open Will's eyes or send you someone else."

"I don't want anybody else," she wailed.

"You know what you have to do to have peace about this, don't you?" Violet asked. She hated to do this to her friend. She knew her next words would risk their friendship, but she wouldn't be a true friend if she didn't say them.

"What?" asked Ivy.

"You have to give up Will."

Ivy opened her mouth to protest. Then, she studied the table before her.

"It's kind of silly," she said finally. "How can I give up someone that I don't even have? And really, one person can't 'possess' another person. He will never truly be mine at all."

Violet let out a sigh of relief. "When you let go of your feelings for him and what you want, you will be free to seek what the Lord wants for you, which is always much better than your own ideas."

Ivy smiled. "You are absolutely right. I am tired of wishing. That's it. I give this to the Lord. If He wants Will to fall in love with me, He has to work things out. I quit." She sat up straighter in her chair. "That feels really good."

"I don't have a lot of experience with men, but one thing my mother always used to say was that men like to do the chasing. Then she would quote the Scripture that says, 'Do not awaken love before its time.' I figure it's easier to let the Lord handle stuff like that."

"You're right." Suddenly, Ivy had a new confidence. "I bought into the lie that I need to get married in order to be 'complete.' The truth is the Lord makes me complete. If I trust Him, everything else will work out."

Violet grinned. "Yeah." She sat there thoughtfully for a moment then said, "I might never get married, and that's okay with me."

"How can you say that?" Ivy was shocked. "My brother might have other ideas."

"What? You mean Jesse?" Violet asked innocently.

"Of course not," said Ivy, slapping at her friend playfully.

"Really, I think Sam and I are going to remain good friends. I'm not planning to stay after the three months are up, and I can't imagine him wanting to relocate to Butterfield."

"If you guys got married, you'd be welcome to stay here."

Violet's cheeks warmed to a bright cherry color. "We've only known each other for a couple of weeks. He hasn't even asked me out on a real date, and if he did, I'm not sure I would say 'yes.'"

"Why not?! You said you thought Sam was terrific." Ivy suddenly reminded her of a cat, hair up and claws out.

"Calm down. I would say 'no' for his sake, not because there's anything wrong with him. I'm not planning on staying here, and it would be unfair to him to start anything."

"I see your point, but you're wrong not to give it a chance. Perhaps love is being woken up. You can't tell me you don't have feelings for him."

Violet squirmed in her seat. Now Ivy saw too much. "He's a terrific person."

Ivy narrowed her eyes, obviously skeptical.

"Okay, I like him, but there is still the distance problem."

"Technology can overcome a great many things. I once knew a couple who wrote letters to each other for several years before getting married."

Violet sighed. "I'll think about it. Besides, he still hasn't asked."

Ivy grinned. "I'm really glad we had this talk. I finally let go of my fairy tale ideas of Will and me, and I can enjoy the idea of other people's romance." At Violet's horrified face, she added, "Don't worry, I won't play matchmaker. It's too much fun to sit back and watch."

Violet grimaced, not at all comforted by that promise.

"Besides, the one I really can't wait to see is the girl Jesse ends up with. He'll be adorable."

Both girls laughed at that.

"Poor Jesse, he seems so serious and a bit prickly. Why is he like that?"

"I have two words for you, physics major."

Violet's eyes widened. "What's wrong with majoring in physics?"

"Oh nothing," Ivy replied. "Jesse has this older brother, over protective complex combined with being a math and computer geek. The poor guy doesn't hardly stand a chance. When the Lord sends the right girl, it's going to be hilarious."

"I wonder what she'll be like?" asked Violet.

"I don't know, but wouldn't it be fun if she had a British accent?"

Violet shook her head.

Chapter 14

In the days that followed, Violet saw the man Will had arrested back at the jewelry store. He still stooped over a little, perhaps from the bite of the cold or simply weary with life. On impulse, Violet decided to bring him one of Mrs. Givens' muffins and invite him to church. When she walked into the jewelry store, she sighed relief at Manny's presence and Opal's absence.

"I wanted to bring you a muffin. I'm so sorry for the loss of your business partner, and I thought you could use a little something to make you smile."

The man's skin flushed, and he wrinkled his brow. "Thank-you," he said as he took the muffin and nibbled.

"You're welcome," she replied. "I have another one for Manny with me if he'd like it." Violet grinned at Manny's grin.

"Thanks." He took a big bite and sighed in happiness.

"I'm Violet," she said, putting out her hand for a shake.

"I'm Henry Richman," the older man replied. "You've already met Manny?"

"I came in the other day to have some jewelry appraised. I don't have it with me now, but could I bring it back later?"

"Of course. Anytime this afternoon would be fine. We close at six."

"Thanks. I'll be sure and come back before six." Violet's eyes danced, glad Mr. Richman had warmed up to her. "By the way, our church is having its annual Christmas banquet this Sunday. I'm sure Mrs. Givens will be bringing muffins. You're more than welcome to come," she added, handing them a church card.

Again, the man seemed surprised. Then, thoughtful, he took the card. "Thank-you. I haven't been to church in years, but why not? The muffins are certainly worth it."

Violet nearly did a happy dance at his joke. "Church starts at one. I promise to save out a muffin or two. They'll go fast."

He smiled and nodded. "I'll hold you to that."

"I could go for more of these muffins. I'll come too," said Manny.

Violet grinned as she left. Unfortunately, she didn't realize that Opal came in from the back and heard most of the conversation. That girl did not like the idea of Manny going to church. She saw all other women as potential threats to her relationship with him, and Opal jealously guarded what she considered hers.

***

The following Sunday, Violet rejoiced that Mr. Richman, Manny, and even Opal came to church. She didn't quite understand the girl's glare, but she determined to be as welcoming as possible. She'd saved out two muffins and managed to find one more for Opal. The Lord answered her prayer through the service, and she saw Mr. Richman's heavy burden lifted. He walked out looking years younger.

"I wanted to thank you for inviting me," he said later. "I really needed this. I didn't realize how much. I'll be back."

Violet grinned and said, "We have a Home Fellowship Group meeting on Thursdays at Mr. and Mrs. Givens' home. It's at 7 o'clock. You're more than welcome." She added in a whisper, "Mrs. Givens usually serves some special treat."

"I might try to make that too," he replied. "Thank-you."

Will came into the store, and Mr. Richman stiffened. Will came forward and reached out a hand to shake. "I'm really glad you were able to come today. I hope there are no hard feelings."

The older man relaxed a little. "I know you were trying to do your job. I do hope you find the real killer soon."

"Me too," Will replied.

***

By Thursday evening, Sam had finally gotten the opportunity to talk to his pastor, Violet's pastor back in Butterfield, and her Aunt Mabel. He'd considered driving down, but decided against it and phoned them. All he had wanted at this time was permission to date Violet. When the time came to buy a ring, he determined to go ahead and make the drive down to Butterfield to meet face to face with the people most important to Violet. All of this trouble may be a little old fashioned in today's world, but Sam wanted to do things right this time. Violet was worth it.

That night at the Home Fellowship Group, he determined that he would get Violet alone for a minute or two. If he had to, he would enlist Ivy's help. For some reason, Jesse resisted the whole thing, but Ivy and even his parents supported him completely.

He managed to get to his parents' house first before anyone showed up. Ivy and his mother were putting the finishing touches on some snacks for their guests.

"Stop prowling around like a caged lion," his mother said.

"Is he nervous or something?" Ivy lifted her eyebrows and blinked innocently.

"What if she says 'no'?" he asked.

"She won't," said Mrs. Givens. "You two have gotten to be good friends over the past several weeks. I think she'll give it a chance, especially when she hears that her aunt is in favor of it."

"Her aunt's favor of it surprised me. She might have given me permission to marry her if I'd asked."

Ivy laughed. "Well, I'm glad you're finally going admit you have feelings for each other."

"It's this wait that's killing me, and I'll probably have to hold on even longer, until after the study is over."

Ivy's cell rang. "Hey, Violet, what's up?"

"I've got a flat tire," she said. "I must've run over a nail. I'm afraid I won't be able to make it tonight. I wanted to let you guys know."

"That's too bad," Ivy replied. She looked significantly at Sam. "Hey, I've got an idea. I'll call Will and get him to pick you up. How does that sound?"

"I'd hate to put him to the trouble."

"It's all right. I'm sure he won't mind. I'll call him when I get off the phone. It'd be great if you came tonight."

"All right, I really appreciate this."

"Not a problem. See you in a bit."

As Ivy put her cell back into her pocket, Sam got off of his own cell. "Will is already on his way. Thanks. I would've gone to pick her up."

"Yes, and in going there and coming back here again you both would have missed most of tonight's study. This made more sense."

***

Later, as Violet sat in the Givens' living room chatting and enjoying Mrs. Givens' excellent snack food, she tried not to think of sinister things happening to her car. She hadn't mentioned it to Ivy, but it wasn't only one flat, it was two. Finally, smiling at her own over-active imagination, she let it go and made a mental note to ask if anyone knew a good mechanic or a good place that would patch or change a tire.

When the meeting was over, Violet was surprised when Sam offered to give her a ride home. "Thank-you. I really appreciate it."

"No problem," he said as they got into the car.

Sam seemed unusually quiet as they drove back to Violet's house. She didn't mind, but she wondered if everything was all right.

"Sam, how is work? Has it been really busy recently?"

He seemed a bit preoccupied. "Work is good. None of my patients ever complain."

Violet laughed. "That is really bad."

"If only the police detectives never complained," he added.

"Pressure?"

"Not too bad. Everyone wants their stuff done first, and there's only so many of us to do the job."

"I hope things slow down for you."

"I don't mind. I mean, for the victim's sakes, I wouldn't mind if there were less of them, but the work itself is good."

Then, they pulled into her drive-way. Violet was touched when Sam jumped out to open her door for her. He even saw her to her door. As she put her key in the lock, Sam stopped her. "Violet, I wanted to ask you if you were busy tomorrow night?"

Violet stood there and thought a moment. "No, I've got the evening off. I was going to work some more on my book, but I can do that on Saturday. Do you need me for anything?"

Sam hesitated. "I talked to your aunt yesterday."

Violet was surprised. "You did? What on earth did you talk about? Is she all right?"

"She's fine. I asked her if I could have her permission to ask you out on a date."

Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "What did Aunt Mabel say?"

"She said I sounded like a very nice young man. She also said, 'Our pastor called me earlier. Go for it. You sound like you're good for her.'"

"Wow."

"Talking to my pastor and your pastor in Butterfield was intersting. They were a little back and forth. Your pastor wanted to talk to my pastor and check me out. I finally got the go-ahead from him today."

"But, Sam, I'm not staying after the three months are up. Is that fair to you? Is that fair to either of us?"

"I want to give it a shot. Will you have dinner with me?"

At the earnest look in his eyes, all of Violet's resistance melted. "All right."

Sam's face lit up so that his dimples came out in full force. "I'll pick you up tomorrow at six. Is that all right?"

"All right."

They laughed, and Sam nearly skipped back to his car. Violet couldn't stop smiling as she went into her uncle's house. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day. Now there was only one problem: What on earth was she going to wear?!

Chapter 15

Friday dawned bright and clear. Violet had to work that morning, but the rest of the afternoon and evening were free. When she had seen the schedule earlier that week, nothing unusual struck her. Now, she couldn't help wondering if a kind of sweet conspiracy existed.

She went about starting her day smiling and hurrying when she noticed how much she'd allowed herself to daydream. She loved working next door. Even with a light blanket of snow on the ground, she didn't mind the commute! God blessed her so much.

Jesse must've arrived when his mother opened. Or perhaps he had a key? He sat at a booth along one side tapping on his laptop. Violet grabbed a carafe of coffee and walked over. "Jesse, are you hot on the trail of some cyber criminal?"

He jumped and shut his laptop with a click.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm sorry. I can't talk about my cases." He rubbed his nose and shifted, not quite meeting her eyes.

"Oh. Well, do you want more coffee?" She held out the carafe.

"Uh, yes, thanks." He moved his coffee mug over for her to pour.

As Violet walked away to see what else needed to be done, the whole experience with Jesse struck her as quite strange. She shook her head and shrugged it off. He must be working on something important. People sometimes glare when they're concentrating and they don't even realize it. She tried to leave him alone the rest of the morning.

All too soon her shift ended. As she walked the short distance home, her stomach reminded her of a flock of migrating geese. What outfit should she wear that night? When she stood in front of her closet, nothing at all spoke to her. She groaned in defeat and decided to work on her book for a while. Perhaps distraction might help ease her nervous stomach.

Unfortunately, she got a little too into her work and lost track of time until the clock read 5. She squeaked and jumped up, rushing around throwing clothes on and then discarding them onto the bed. Finally, she chose a pretty, red sweater and a long black skirt. When she went into the bathroom to do her hair, she nearly wept as she tried to put it up. Nothing looked right. Finally, she decided to concede defeat and left it down. She debated on whether to wear perfume and decided instead to put a little lotion on her hands. She liked the minty scent, and it took her mind off her nerves.

The alarm on her phone rang causing her to jump again. She pursed her lips and took a deep breath willing herself to slow down as she walked downstairs and out her door. She checked the address of the restaurant Sam sent her earlier and entered it into her gps.

On the way, she prayed asking the Lord to help her focus on His will and not get carried away by her own feelings or fears. She liked Sam, but did the Lord want this?

Sam had suggested meeting at the restaurant. Though both hoped for a good date, driving separately meant either could leave if things didn't go well. That was the practice of his sister, Ivy and what his parents preferred as well. Of course, he would pay for the meal, but she had the power to leave at any time. This idea was new to Violet, but she liked it.

At the restaurant, she felt a few moments trepidation when she didn't see Sam right away. Maybe she got the address wrong! What if he decided he didn't want to do this after all? Perhaps he saw her outfit and realized what a country girl she was and slipped out the back door!

Then Sam waved to her from a nearby table. He stood as she approached and he looked... The ability to describe him left her. Here, the personification of all her favorite heroes existed. Reality collided with imagination. She blinked several times.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi, yourself." Earth to Violet. Come in, Girl!

"Can I get your chair?" He smiled and put a hand on her chair.

Finally, reality intervened. "Yes, thank you."

She sat down and reached for a glass of water. Sam sat down and handed her a menu. "I love the manicotti, but order whatever you like."

A waitress appeared only a few moments later and Violet panicked. What should she order? The prices caused her to suck in her breath. In the end, she ordered more water and the manicotti too.

While they waited for their food, Sam told funny stories about Will, Jesse, and himself when they were kids. As she listened, she felt herself relax. Apparently, their lives today weren't all that different from the dreams they had had when they were younger. Will always wanted to be a police detective. He constantly asked to play cops and robbers. Computers fascinated Jesse. He usually came up with something technical to help solve their latest 'case' and save the day. Sam always wanted to be a doctor. Of course, there had to be some kind of medical emergency, and Sam pulled out his father's old stethoscope and listened to someone's heart. Then, after listening carefully, he pronounced them ready to go off and fight the bad guys again. Occasionally, he performed surgeries, but he had to be careful he didn't tickle too much. Will laughed and squirmed the worst. They'd end up wrestling each other instead of fighting bad guys. As youngest, Ivy played the criminal. She spent a lot of time in their pretend jail. To stave off boredom, she started bringing her sketch book.

Violet loved those stories. As an only child growing up on a farm, she enjoyed lots of pretend playmates and, of course, several animals, but not too many real kids to play with. She thought she would ask Ivy to bring out some family albums the next time she came over. She would love to see them all as children.

As they enjoyed their meal (fantastic manicotti!), they both grew quiet. Finally, Sam asked, a little hesitantly, "Violet, what happened to your parents?"

She let out a small sigh before answering. "I was fourteen, and we were coming home from church. The other driver probably didn't see the stop sign. He hit our car at an angle and we rolled a few times before landing in a ditch. I was unconscious, I don't know how long. When I came to, I was pinned in, but somehow, I wasn't hurt, just bruised. I couldn't get my parents to respond to me. I couldn't move. I couldn't get out to help them. I was terrified the car would explode." She chuckled at herself. "Too much fiction, I guess. Anyway, it took a couple of hours before someone found us. All I could do was pray." A tear rolled unnoticed down her cheek. "My mom had already died by the time we got to the hospital. My dad was still alive, but critical. The nurse who told me about my mom tried to be kind. She said I should stay in my bed and not to worry, but I had to find my dad. First chance I got, I snuck out. It didn't take long to find him. When I saw him, he was just lying there on a table, covered in blood. He died in surgery. I was all alone."

Sam didn't say anything. He just reached across the table and gently squeezed her hand.

She smiled through her tears. "You know, I've never told anybody about seeing my dad. I wasn't supposed to be there. Another nurse came in and made me leave. The next time I saw my parents was at their funeral."

"That sounds traumatic. How did you cope?"

Violet gave a wry chuckle at that question. "I didn't. At first, I was just numb. Then, all of a sudden, I started having all these fears. Every time I went near my aunt's car, I hyperventilated. What if something happened to her too? In fact, at first, I hid in a closet and waited all day for her until she came home from work. My pastor knew a retired psychologist in a nearby town, and he helped me. I went through all the stages of grief and drove my poor aunt nuts. Once my fears were dealt with, my 'pendulum' swung the other way, and I became a daredevil. I hung out with the 'bad crowd' at school. I tried cigarettes. YUCK! I even stole my aunt's car."

"Wow."

"My aunt let the police arrest me to get my attention. I was so angry when she finally bailed me out. I was so selfish. I pushed and lashed out and tried my aunt's patience over and over and over. Finally, the Lord got my attention when my aunt got really sick. She was diagnosed with cancer. I realized that I had been running. I didn't want to feel anything, not fear, not love. I had shut myself off from the healing and comfort the Lord wanted to give me. I wanted control, which I finally realized is an illusion. Of course, I had choices, but only Jesus has true control over life. I still didn't understand, but I prayed and Jesus comforted me. My aunt's cancer went into remission, and I started to look at my life and wonder what I was going to do with it. That's when I started writing. I can control everything in my stories!"

Sam laughed. "So, did you write mysteries?"

"No, I just journaled at first, writing down my thoughts and feelings. From there, I thought that some of that would make a great story. I had all of these 'what if' questions. What if my parents hadn't died? What if I was the one who had died? What if the guy who hit us had been caught? What if I was armed with a gun and met the guy who hit us? What would I do? From there, I started writing scenes and scenarios that turned into books. I went to college through an on-line program, much cheaper, and one of my professors encouraged me to develop my skills. When self-publishing became easier and cheaper, I jumped on it and here I am today, five books and counting."

"Wow."

"You said that," she teased.

"I think of some of the stuff I've been through, but that doesn't even come close to what you've had to endure."

"I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but I don't know what I would be like if these things hadn't happened to me. I mean, I wish I hadn't tried cigarettes, but the Lord forgave me. I don't really understand why, I probably never will, but I know there is a God who loves me and will comfort me if I let Him. Life hurts sometimes. I can't control that, but I can control how I respond. Do I respond with fear and by running away or by faith? I want to choose the best thing given what I have."

"You're an amazing person, Violet Carsten."

"So are you, Sam Givens."

On the drive back to Violet's house, Sam followed her, wanting to be sure she got home safely in the dark. They turned their cells on speaker and chatted about nothing and everything. She wished this evening would never end.

Sam walked her to her door. "I want to do this again."

"I would like that."

"How about tomorrow?"

"Seriously?" Violet laughed.

"Yeah. You've got just over a month left. I want to squeeze every moment I can out of it."

She smiled as she pulled her keys out of her purse. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay."

"How about lunch?"

"I have to work until noon, but I'm free after that." Sam's dimples were showing again as he grinned and Violet got that melty feeling again.

"See you tomorrow."

Violet waved and put the key into the lock. She thought she would like more days like this one. As she fell asleep that night, she wondered how the Lord would work all of this out. For the first time since she arrived, she thought about what it would be like to stay.

Chapter 16

The next day, Violet woke floating on air. The morning sped. By the time Sam came to the Coffee House, Ivy, Will, and Jesse were already there.

"Guess what?" asked Ivy.

"What?" asked Sam sitting down at the table with them. He didn't take off his coat, intent on getting away with Violet soon.

"Mom needs to get Christmas presents for several friends and family. She's too busy to shop herself, so she gave me money and a big list. Please, somebody come with me and help," Ivy pleaded.

Will and Jesse hesitated. Neither liked shopping much, but knowing Mrs. Givens, Ivy really did need help.

Sam wanted that afternoon with Violet, but... He glanced over at her his eyebrows raised. She nodded slightly, and he grimaced. Her smile widened, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess so. Violet and I have to eat first though."

"That's fine. I haven't eaten yet either," said Ivy.

"I have, but I can always go for another of your mom's muffins," said Will.

"I never turn down anything mom makes," said Jesse.

"You'll probably need to curb those appetites now," said Ivy. "Your metabolism won't stay high forever."

"May as well enjoy it while I can," said Will as he went to get another muffin.

"I can take orders for everybody if you like," said Violet. "Aren't you off work?" asked Sam.

"Yes, but I don't mind."

"No way!" "You're off work now!" "Huh uh!" everyone chorused.

Sam made a show of pulling out a chair for her and taking her order. As she waited at the table for everyone to return, Violet thanked the Lord for friends like these... and someone who might be, maybe... more.

***

The mall complex covered several city blocks, the largest Violet had ever seen. Ivy's list was formidable, so they decided to split up and meet back at a certain time. Ivy insisted that she go with Violet to get the 'girly' stuff. (Her mother needed a gift for a wedding shower as well.) All three men were glad enough to allow Ivy and Violet to get that stuff. Sam comforted himself with the idea that once they met up again, he'd suggest a switch.

***

The items on the men's list didn't take long. They weren't really interested in 'shopping'. They merely wanted to get the job done.

Finally, as they meandered around to kill time before meeting back with the ladies, Jesse took the opportunity to share what he'd found during his internet search. His investigation into Violet's past brought forth some bitter fruit. He had been debating with himself for the last several days about whether to even tell Sam, but in the end, his brother should be told.

"Sam, I have to tell you something... something about Violet."

Sam and Will both looked at Jesse.

"She has a police record. She was arrested for vandalism and theft. She stole a car. That happened a while ago, but more recently, she was arrested for vagrancy. I thought you should be told."

At first Sam was livid. Why investigate Violet like that? Talk about invasion of privacy! He took a deep breath and willed himself to calm down. "Jesse, it's obvious you did all of this because you care, but Violet told me herself about her past. She took a long time to heal after her parents' deaths and she didn't always handle it well. She was just a kid."

Jesse's eyebrows rose in surprise. He didn't expect that Violet would have told Sam about her past. "Okay, I get that she might have reacted badly after the death of her parents. That would be tough on anybody, and those records were from when she was a minor, but what about the recent arrest? That happened only last summer."

"Uh, Jesse, how did you manage to get access on what shouldn't even exist now, if all of that happened when she was a minor?"

Jesse's jaw went forward. "I'm good at what I do, and nothing is ever totally erased from the cyber-sphere."

"Look, you're my friend, but I am a police officer. For now, I'll pretend I'm not hearing this stuff." Will went to study some baseball hats in a nearby store.

"Jesse, your gifts and abilities are amazing. I can't even pretend to understand what you are able to do with computer and internet technology, but you don't have to protect me. I talked with her pastor, our pastor, and her aunt. Our pastor talked with her pastor. She's been fully vetted."

"You still haven't answered my question about her arrest last summer." Jesse's eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms over his chest.

Sam chuckled. "You're like a dog with a bone. Well, to satisfy your curiosity, we'll ask her." He looked down at his watch. "In fact, according to my watch, we're supposed to meet them right now. I only hope she doesn't press charges for invasion of privacy."

Jesse harrumphed a bit and went into the hat store to get Will.

***

"Hey there!" said Ivy waving from a table in the Food Court.

Sam waved back as they went to join them.

"I've got a question for you, Violet. You don't have to answer if you don't want to," said Sam.

Violet cocked her head at his serious tone, but she replied, "Okay. I reserve the right to not answer then."

Ivy looked curiously first at Will who shrugged his shoulders and then at Jesse who wouldn't look at her.

"Were you arrested for vagrancy last summer?"

"What?" said Violet, and she burst out laughing. "Is that all?"

"What's vagrancy again?" asked Ivy.

"Basically, it means being a homeless person. You get arrested if you're caught sleeping in a public area that doesn't allow that sort of thing," answered Will.

"Did you run away, Violet?"

"No, I didn't run away. My story is simple. I was doing research for one of my books. I wanted to get the feel for one of my main characters. I got a box from the grocery store and tried to spend the night in the main park in Butterfield. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that was against the law until I got woken up, rather rudely by the way, by a police officer. More unfortunately, he'd recently graduated from the academy and believed strongly in following the letter of the law, to its full extent. So, I only spent half the night in my box in the park. The other half of the night, I spent at the police station trying to explain what I was doing. I might have fought it in court, but the whole thing was just so ludicrous that I didn't bother." She paused, tilted her head at Jesse, and asked, "How did you even find out about that? I had completely forgotten about it until now."

Sam looked triumphantly at Jesse and said, "Jesse is very good at what he does."

Jesse shifted in his seat. Finally, he said, "I found your juvenile record and then the arrest last summer. I was concerned. I wanted to look out for my brother."

Will and Ivy held their breath waiting for Violet's response. Sam sat there glaring at Jesse.

Violet, on the other hand, appeared truly serene. "It's really rather wonderful. I only wish I had a big brother just like you."

All of them sat stunned by Violet's response. She looked right past the invasion of privacy and saw the heart of love beating fiercely beneath.

Jesse was perhaps the most surprised of all. He expected hostility and instead met love and understanding. Perhaps Violet would be okay for his brother after all. Of course, the Lord was in all of this. "Thank-you."

Violet's eyes twinkled as she asked, "Jesse, would you mind doing me a favor?"

He shifted uncomfortably, but nodded.

"Would you let me interview you for my next book? I would love to write a cyber-crime story."

Sam and Ivy's eyes widened at Jesse's pleased smile. "I think that sounds like a lot of fun. We can figure out a time later."

"Great! I've finished the revisions for my Girl-Finds-A-Body-In-A-Dumpster story and published it last night. It's available now on Smashwords.com and should be up in a couple of days on Amazon kindle, Barnes and Noble, and lots of other places too. I decided to include a pepper-spray scene. I couldn't resist."

"That's awesome!" "Terrific!" "That's really great," Everyone congratulated Violet.

"What is your title?" asked Ivy.

"'Murder with a Little Bling, A Lily Green Adventure' I decided to start a whole new series with a girl who reminds me a bit of a terrific new friend I've made. She's smart, sweet, and spunky."

"I wonder who that might be?" asked Sam. He knew already. Violet had mentioned it to him a few weeks ago.

They all looked at Ivy. As she realized Violet was talking about her, her eyes lit up. "Really?" she squealed.

"Just wait until you get a chance to read the dedication page," Violet replied.

Ivy hugged her and wiped some tears from her eyes. "I've never had my name in a book before. This is so cool."

"Don't let it go to your head," said Sam.

Ivy punched him in the arm.

"So, what's it about?" asked Jesse.

"Well, I had already decided that I was going to have it be a sort of embezzlement scheme involving jewelry. I got the idea when I found some jewelry in my uncle's house. I had thought about making the murderer be the partner, but I changed my mind at the last minute when Will arrested that partner in the jewelry store next door to the Coffee House."

"We never caught the real murderer. I can't help thinking that we must have missed something. Who committed the murder in your book, Violet?" asked Will.

"I should make you wait until you've read the book," she teased.

"Please," Ivy pleaded.

Violet was touched at everyone's eagerness. "Okay, so long as you all promise to actually read the book when it comes out."

They all promised solemnly.

"It was the girlfriend. Only the twist I added was that she was really the daughter of the man she had murdered because he had rejected her mother a long time ago. She became the boy's girlfriend in order to get easy access to the jewelry store and find her father. There are really only so many reasons people commit murder. I decided to go for the revenge option."

"Wow," said Sam.

"I can't wait to read it," said Ivy, "and not just because Lily Green is like me."

"When did you say it would be up on Amazon?" asked Jesse.

"Probably in the next couple of days. I've had lots of excerpts and some fun character interviews on my blog. The feedback has been terrific. I think this book is my favorite so far."

Will was so quiet, Sam commented on it. "Are you all right?"

He looked up in surprise. He had been so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't realize at first that Sam had spoken to him. "Yeah, I'm good," he said as he pulled out his phone and started rapidly texting.

Ivy looked at her watch. "Oh dear, I have to get these back to Mom ASAP. She has some sort of Christmas party with one of her community organizations tonight. We'd better run."

Chapter 17

They had all driven separately. So, after putting everything into Ivy's car, Sam and Violet turned their cells on speaker again as they drove home. Again, she felt very comfortable around him. They chatted about her latest book and her funny character interviews.

"Those are a lot of fun," said Sam. "I always look forward to reading them."

"Thanks," she replied. "Actually, they're great for marketing. It's a neat way to soft sell books. People get interested in the characters and want to buy the book to find out what happens to them."

"Once again, I see what a smart businesswoman you are."

Violet blushed. "The truth is, I got the idea from someone else. I enjoyed reading her character interviews so much that I borrowed the idea."

Sam shrugged. "Who cares where you got the idea. It's still a good one."

Violet smiled and nodded.

All too soon, they arrived at her house. She parked in her driveway and Sam behind his mom's Coffee House. As she got out of her car, Sam surprised her by running over and walking with her to her door. Such a gentleman. He made her feel so cherished and safe.

As she opened the door to her house and flipped on the light, she glanced inside and turned to say goodbye one more time. Then, she whipped around and did a double take.

"Sam..."

He was already headed for his car, but he stopped and turned. "What is it?"

"Someone broke into my house." Violet had tears in her voice.

Instantly, he was by her side. As he looked inside for himself, he pulled out his cell and called Will.

When Violet started to go inside, Sam stopped her. "Why?" she asked. "I want to see what kind of damage they did."

"Wait until Will and the other officers get here. You want to make sure whoever did this is gone and you don't want to accidentally mess up any evidence the police might find."

"Oh, yeah. How stupid of me."

"Don't beat yourself up over it. Your first reaction was natural." Sam led her to back to his car and tried to comfort her as they waited.

It seemed only seconds later that Will and several other police cars showed up.

The various policemen spent quite a while going through the house. Violet sat outside fidgeting, unable to sit still. Finally, she paced up and down her front porch.

"I don't understand why someone would do this. I mean, I get stealing, but why make such a mess? Why destroy?"

"I'm so sorry, Violet." Sam wished he had the words to comfort her. He'd already called Ivy. She voiced Sam's idea of having Violet spend the night with her and their parents. Sam said he wasn't sure what they were going to do for the night, especially considering the conditions of the will. He hated the idea of Violet staying there. Ivy told him to keep her posted. She still had to get all of their mom's stuff dropped off. If the lawyer gave them problems, Ivy said she'd spend the night with Violet one way or the other. No way would she leave her friend alone that night!

"Violet, you should call your lawyer. Surely, he wouldn't expect you to spend the night under these conditions."

"I hope so, and at least it gives me something to do while I wait."

The lawyer was very kind and said that since he had already conducted his surprise monthly visit, he would assume her presence. He recommended that she take only one night away, however. Relieved, Sam offered to take her to his parents' house.

"No. I want a chance to walk through my uncle's house. Besides, the police will want me to give at least a cursory check to see if they stole anything."

Sam looked like he wanted to argue, but instead he said, "At least you'll be spending the night with Ivy and our parents. I'm glad you won't be alone tonight."

Violet was touched at his protectiveness. He wasn't possessive. He only wanted her to be safe. That knowledge almost made this nasty situation better.

Will came out. "I'm sorry, we made more of a mess by dusting for fingerprints. We probably won't get anything, but we'll try. Can you do a quick walk through with me to check if anything is missing?"

"Yes, please." Violet raced inside. Of course, Sam came along.

Inside looked terrible. Plants and furniture were turned over. Curtains were pulled down. It looked as if someone had spread flour all over the place. Will told her that was the police dusting for prints. In the bedrooms upstairs, clothes were strewn all over the place. Violet was very glad she took her little computer with her wherever she went. She hated to imagine what this horrible person would have done to it. Amazingly, her clothes weren't damaged. They were merely strewn all over. She wondered if they got into a hurry at the end.

In the basement, books were strewn all over the place, many ripped apart. It seemed Violet's books were especially targeted. Will had hoped she wouldn't notice that, but she did. Why would someone do this to her?

As she stood in her basement looking at the remains of her books, she had a thought. Turning, she raced back upstairs.

Will shot a questioning look at Sam. He shrugged in response as they followed her. They found her up in her room. She was looking in one of the drawers. Then, she dug in amongst some of the clothes.

"The jewelry is gone, the stuff I was going to have appraised. Do you think...? I can't imagine they would do something like this. I mean, Manny's been coming to church. He wouldn't do something like this, would he?"

"I don't know," said Will. "Unfortunately, we would need some kind of proof to bring them in for questioning."

Violet sat down on the floor discouraged. She knew better than to argue with Will. After all, it wasn't his fault. If Manny and his girlfriend had done this, it would be difficult to prove. "Too bad you probably don't have their prints on file."

Will and Sam both looked as frustrated as Violet.

"I wonder if Jesse might be able to find something, you know, like do a search on their drivers' licenses or something."

"Let's see if we got any useful prints and take it from there," said Will. "Are you staying with Ivy and the Givens' tonight?"

"Yes, I already called the lawyer and let him know what's going on. He approved given the circumstances."

Will nodded. "Good idea. You don't need to be here tonight. I think we've done about all we can. Why don't you go ahead on off to Ivy's?"

Sam was more than happy to get Violet out of there. He wished he could take her away forever. Who cared about the will, anyway? He made more than enough to provide for her and any children they might have.
Chapter 18

The next day as Ivy drove the two of them to church, Violet said, "When rain falls, the whole sky drops down. On top of everything, my car refuses to start? At least I didn't break down on the way to your house last night. I'm sorry." She moaned. "I'm such an inconvenience."

Ivy's lips curved upwards at her friend's theatrics. "I don't mind a bit and Sam is more than ready to take you wherever you want to go." She raised her eyebrows and glanced over.

Violet blushed. "You guys are terrific, but it'll still be good to get my car fixed. I've owned that thing since my seventeenth birthday. It's so strange without it."

"I understand. You have a certain level of independence and control with a car."

"Exactly." Violet grinned at her friend's understanding. "I'll call the mechanic you recommend tomorrow. Maybe it'll be a quick fix."

"They're honest too," Ivy replied. "I appreciate that they don't treat me like I'm an idiot female who knows nothing about cars and that they don't try to talk me into repairs I don't need."

The church parking lot had already filled by the time they arrived. So, the girls parked on one of the side roads.

"I'm glad for no snow yet," said Violet.

"Me too. I love these shoes, and I want to get as much wear out of them as I can."

Violet looked down at Ivy's shoes. They were a pair of four-inch heeled sandals. She questioned her friend's sanity in attempting to walk in those things, not to mention the fact that her feet must be cold.

Service blessed her from worship all the way through altar call at the end. Though her world flipped upside down in so many ways, she loved the reminder she always got in a good service. God was still God and nothing surprised Him. He didn't require a 'Plan B' for her life. Plan A continued to unfold according to His will.

Ivy invited Violet to come back over to her house for lunch, but she declined. She wanted to get back to her uncle's house and clean. She knew the hardest part of defeating that particular monster consisted of simply getting started. Will added more frequent patrols in her area, and Sam and Ivy made her promise to text every couple of hours. She thought they were all being a little overprotective, but their concern for her safety showed her how much they loved her.

The afternoon and evening rushed by. Violet managed to get the top floor cleaned up. She wrote down other small items she noticed missing. How aggravating! She saw Manny and his uncle in church that morning. Opal came too. She watched them closely when Sam mentioned what happened. Manny and his uncle appeared quite upset. Opal's sympathy seemed a little more forced, however. Violet still had no idea why.

Finally, near midnight, Violet had the main floor cleaned minus one of the bathrooms. She figured she would tackle that tomorrow. At that moment she needed to use it. She opened the door and nearly screamed. She backed out quickly and slammed the door behind her. The word "LEAVE" written in blood red lipstick on the mirror stayed in her mind's eye.

Forgetting her need for the bathroom, she ran into the kitchen and grabbed a towel and some cleaner. Fire burned in her eyes as she marched back into the bathroom. She worked with a vengeance as she almost rubbed the reflection off. When she finished, she stared at herself in victory. God protected her. No matter what this crazy person threw at her, she determined to stick it out—at least until the three months were up!

The rest of the week went by rapidly. The police weren't able to get any usable prints. Violet described the jewelry to Ivy who created pictures of them on her computer and added them to their police data base. If any pieces popped up, they would be quickly acted upon.

Other than that frustrating, ugly event, Violet had a good rest of the week. Christmas time had arrived, and she looked forward to her aunt coming for a weekend visit. She wanted to get her impressions of Sam.

On Friday, Violet rejoiced especially that her car functioned as it should again. The repairs required the mechanic to order special parts. No way would it get done on Monday. One more thing to go wrong, she thought. She started to freak out a little when the mechanic said it wouldn't be finished by Tuesday or Wednesday either. Finally, she got it back on Thursday. As she drove to the airport, she joyfully anticipated seeing her aunt again. They had been separated for over two months, really not long, but to Violet, it seemed like forever.

Aunt Mabel grinned as she walked into the airport terminal and saw Violet jumping up and down trying to see. There were a lot of people there and she stood only five feet tall. When she finally got to Violet, they hugged each other, each clinging to the other for different reasons.

"I've missed you so much. How are you?"

After she caught her breath back, Aunt Mabel said, "Well, I was pretty good until you squeezed the air out of me!"

They both laughed. Violet grabbed her aunt's bag and led her towards her car.

"Goodness, I knew traffic would be bad, but this is a lot of people," Aunt Mabel said.

"I'm still not really used to it, but it's getting a little easier."

"You drive like a pro. You zip in and out of traffic. You ignore the speed limit. It's like you've been here for years rather than only a couple of months."

"You are so sweet." Violet grinned. Her aunt knew how to encourage her and make her feel like she had accomplished something major. "I've missed you so much." Her throat caught.

Aunt Mabel reached over and touched her shoulder. "I've missed you too, Sweet Girl." She changed the subject abruptly and asked, "Anything exciting happen recently?"

Violet cringed. She didn't want to tell her aunt what had happened, but she refused to lie. "Well..., a little incident occurred." She hedged, hoping to come up with a distraction.

"Did you pepper spray your boyfriend and his brother again?"

"No! And he's not really my boyfriend. We're merely good friends."

"He didn't sound like he wanted to be merely good friends when I spoke to him on the phone."

"I don't really want to label us yet. I like him, maybe more than I should, but what will happen when I go home?"

"Have you considered staying?"

"No! I can't leave you."

"Violet," her aunt spoke gently, but firmly, "I love you dearly, but I will not keep you from what God has for you. Don't use me as an excuse to avoid relationships."

Violet squirmed a little. Had she been really been doing avoiding relationships? Is that why she had never dated? When she took care of her aunt for those years, it was a natural excuse. The town was so small that soon, men stopped asking. Violet never noticed.

"Aunty, is Sam the man God has for me? I care for him more than... more than... Oh, Aunty, I'm ready for this."

"It's all right. I'm not sure anyone is really ready for love. Trust the Lord. He will never lead you the wrong way."

Violet received a sweet comfort by her aunt's words. "It's easier to trust the Lord with my writing than with real life."

Aunt Mabel chuckled. "Of course it is. C. S. Lewis said of Aslan the lion in his Chronicles of Narnia book, 'Of course he's not safe, but he's good.' Jesus isn't safe, but He's good. The choice to follow Him gives you the greatest adventure imaginable. He offers joy unspeakable, peace that passes understanding, and a love greater than you've ever experienced. Trust and obey."

Violet didn't reply immediately. She merely sat and pondered her aunt's words. They drove in comfortable silence the rest of the way.

When they arrived at the house, Aunt Mabel said, "Goodness, it's big, isn't it?"

"Yes," Violet replied dryly. "It's a lot to clean. I like small better."

"It should get a good price, though, yes?"

"The real estate agent thinks so. She was not happy when she found out about the will. She already had some people lined up to see it, but they wanted to move in before the three months ended. She wants me to wait until March or April to put it on the market."

"She might be right. However, in God's hands, even at the worst time to sell, He can make it happen."

They walked into the house and Violet led her aunt upstairs first to the room she had made up especially for her. It was the larger of the two bedrooms, the one that looked into the back yard, rather than next door into the famous parking lot. Aunt Mabel was tired from her flight and wanted to lie down for a few minutes. So, Violet left her to go prepare some dinner for the two of them.

***

The two had a wonderful Christmas. Sam, Ivy, Jesse, Will, and even Dr. and Mrs. Givens surprised them by coming past their house Christmas caroling. Aunt Mabel invited them in for hot cocoa, and they stayed for a little while. Violet was especially touched at Sam's gentle courteousness towards her aunt.

The weekend went by far too quickly for Violet. Her aunt seemed to be running on fumes at times, but Violet dismissed it. Surely it was the fact that they had a busy weekend, and her aunt was getting older. Too soon, it was Monday, and she had to take Aunt Mabel back to the airport.

"Is there any way at all you might stay a little longer?"

"No, Sweetheart. I have to get back to work. They need me. Also, I've got some volunteering duties to do for the church this week." She gave her niece a big hug. "I'm going to miss you so much." Her flight was called, and she was gone.

Violet didn't bother to wipe the tears as she walked out of the airport. She cried all the way home and was glad there was no one there. She kind of wanted to be miserable all alone.

Chapter 19

Once again time sped up and suddenly January arrived. Violet had only one week left to fulfill her obligation in order to claim her inheritance.

Since her aunt had left, Violet spent some time every day with Sam. Because of their crazy schedules, sometimes, they saw each other in the afternoons and other days, evenings. Almost in spite of herself, Violet realized that she did love Sam. She didn't want to. What about the distance? Did she want to live permanently in Chicagoland? Sam certainly deserved it, but did the Lord want this for her? For them? Was this love real?

Love prevailed through consistent, continuous choice more than mere emotion. She knew better than to 'follow her heart'. She had seen way too many heartaches from her co-workers and the various patrons at the diner. Sometimes, following your heart led you straight off a cliff.

She also knew better than to trust her head. She saw way too many people intellectualizing love. That became more selfish than selfless. Or worse, it resembled more of a corporate merger, not love. It certainly was no way to raise children.

Violet wanted to be led of the Lord in this, yet He had been strangely silent recently. Maybe the problem wasn't Him. Perhaps she refused to listen. Unfortunately, sometimes it's easier to hear to what you want to, rather than that still small voice of the Lord.

"Violet? Violet, you're going to wipe the finish off of that table," said Jesse.

"Oh! Sorry." She blushed scarlet.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

She smiled at him and chuckled. "It's good. I'm only thinking."

"About another story?"

"Something like that." Indeed, only this story was her own.

***

"Will!" Violet called. She stood near the back cleaning some tables.

He waved and placed his order as she hurried over to him.

"What's up?" He thanked the barista and took his coffee over to another counter to add some creamer. Violet followed.

"I wanted to ask if you had any progress on who messed up my uncle's house. Any leads on the jewelry?"

"Sorry," he said stirring his coffee. "We can't seem to get a break at all with that case."

"What about the dumpster murder? Any leads there?" She walked with him and stood as he sat down across from Jesse at his booth.

"We've got suspects, but they all alibi out and we don't have enough evidence to do any kind of further search." He sighed. "Violet, I'm really sorry, but sometimes real life isn't as cut and dried as fiction. Sometimes, we don't get the bad guy."

Later that afternoon...

"I've been praying and hoping that there would be some lead, some breakthrough, something before I leave."

"You don't have to leave. Your real estate agent even said it would be better to wait until spring."

Of course, he thought only of his friend, but Violet hated pressure like this. She wanted so badly to go home, but this place and these people pulled more and more. "Will, I have to figure this one out on my own. My aunt nearly died of cancer when I was in high school. She's the only family I have left in this world."

"Your aunt is a terrific lady. I was glad we had a chance to meet her over Christmas," said Jesse.

Violet shot him a grateful glance. "She is wonderful. Only she would put up with me during my 'rebellious' phase."

Will and Jesse laughed.

"I'd better get back to work," Violet said.

***

That night, Violet and Sam had another date. He treated her like a princess. Sometimes, they went out to eat and talked for hours over their meal. Other times, Sam surprised her with something new. One evening he took her ice skating. She loved how he held her hand the whole time to keep her from falling. Another time, he took her to a park for a 'winter picnic'. Hot cocoa never tasted so good. He even took her to donate blood once. That didn't go so well, especially when she nearly passed out afterwards, but she did like the fact that he caught her before she fell.

Tonight's date started out simply. They sat at the Coffee House playing Scrabble and sipping coffee.

"I still think you have an unfair advantage," said Sam.

"I don't think so. You always get big points for those crazy scientific words I have to look up," Violet replied.

"It's my only defense."

"Well, beat this," she said putting down the word 'perfect'.

"I'll sure try," he said as he put down the word 'marry'.

"Good word," she said, "but I still got more points than you."

"I'm not done."

"You can't skip a space."

He smiled. "Read it."

She looked at the words there before her. 'Marry Me'.

For a moment her whole world stopped. She stared, completely stunned. Sam got up from the table and went down on one knee. He held a little black box out to her. Inside rested the most beautiful engagement ring she'd ever seen. "Violet, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

"I—I—I... Oh wow."

Sam waited. Violet noticed suddenly that every eye in the Coffee House looked their way. She felt her neck and cheeks heat. As she gazed at Sam, she realized this was one of those times in your life where you have to make a decision. She did love him. But, did she want to spend the rest of her life with him? Did she want to live here permanently? Sam's job was here. She knew the economic situation in Butterfield. Staying here would be the right thing to do. Yet, in some crazy way, that terrified her. It all happened so fast. Could she trust Sam with her life, her future, everything? Did she really trust the Lord to guide her in this? As she reached out to the One who never led her wrong, she suddenly sensed everything would be okay. Peace beckoned. Love and joy called out to her. She needed only to accept it.

"Sam, I do love you." She paused and smiled with tears in her eyes. "Yes, I'll marry you."

He grinned as he slipped the ring onto her finger. It dazzled her. A large diamond occupied the center with three smaller diamonds on either side. It exuded a classic elegance. She knew she would never tire of simply gazing at it.

Suddenly, everyone in the Coffee House erupted in cheers. Violet and Sam both jumped. For a few moments, they forgot anyone else existed.

Mrs. Givens came over and hugged Violet. "I'm so glad you're joining our family."

Violet nearly broke down at those kind words. Mrs. Givens squeezed her again before going back to work.

Sam's cell phone beeped. He looked down and laughed as he rapidly texted back. "It says, 'Did she say Yes yet?'"

Violet laughed too. The door to the Coffee House opened and in trooped Will, Jesse, and Ivy. Ivy gave Violet a big hug, and Will and Jesse clapped Sam on the back.

"I am so happy for you two," said Ivy, standing between Sam and Violet, an arm around each.

"It's about time," said Will.

"I'm happy for you guys too," said Jesse. "Having an author in the family will be fun."

"Now you have to marry a musician, and we'll have the arts covered," said Ivy to Jesse.

He groaned. "No way. Musicians are even worse than artists."

Ivy punched him in the shoulder.

They all decided to order some more muffins and join the Scrabble game. Violet wondered at this new family she would soon be a part of. She realized that the adventure Sue had wanted for her was only beginning. There were many twists and turns, but it proved to be more wonderful than anything her imagination might produce.

***

They decided to have the wedding in February. Valentine's Day fell on a Saturday that year and Violet loved the idea of having that as their anniversary.

Instead of selling her uncle's house, they opted to keep it. The house officially belonged to her now. Why not make it theirs?

This seemed like a dream. She kept expecting to wake up, but she didn't want to.

Sunday came, and Violet drove Sam home from church. He had had a late night and barely kept his eyes open. Violet had no trouble finding her way around now and offered to drive. She liked driving his car. He owned a blue sports car, and she felt like a race car driver. She liked the fact that he trusted her to drive it as well. Also, he looked really cute when he fell asleep.

From out of nowhere a car crashed into their side. Violet tried desperately to control it, but she spun out, and they rolled down the side of an embankment into a ditch. Violet would have screamed, but she didn't have time. When they finally came to a stop, both were unconscious.

Violet came to first. When she saw Sam, she panicked. "Please wake up, please. Dear God, please let Sam live. I'll give him up if only You'll let him live. Please, Lord, please."

She heard sirens and then paramedics arrived prying open the doors and pulling both of them out. Sam remained unconscious. Violet shook with sobs and kept asking about Sam. The EMTs sedated her before putting her in the ambulance. She prayed as a peaceful darkness closed over her.

When she woke up, she lay in a hospital bed. A nurse came into her room as she tried to get up to go look for Sam.

"Woah there, you've been pretty banged up," said the nurse as she gently pushed Violet back down onto the bed. "You're going to need to take it a little slow for a few days, but then you should be good to go."

Violet obeyed, thinking she would wait until the nurse left. "How's Sam?"

"I'll check on him and let you know in a few minutes." The nurse stuck a thermometer in Violet's mouth and wrote down the result on a chart. Then she checked her pulse. Satisfied, she said, "Get some rest and I'll be back."

Violet felt in no mood to wait for even a single second. The moment the door closed, she sat up and swung her feet over the side of the bed. The room spun a little as she stood, but her vision soon cleared. Then, she went to the door and peeked out. She saw a different nurse at the nursing station and went over to ask about Sam.

"Sam Givens?" she said, checking her chart. "He's in surgery right now. Then, he'll be transferred to intensive care. His room hasn't been assigned yet."

"Can I go to wherever he is and wait for him?"

The nurse frowned seeing her hospital gown. "I suspect you should be in bed. Why don't you lay down and I'll tell you when he gets out of surgery?"

Frustrated, she refused to give up easily. Instead, she dutifully went back to her room, but, rather than getting into bed, she opened the closet hoping they had kept her clothes. Her coat was torn and dirty, but her jean skirt and sweater were fine. Quickly, she changed. She got a lovely surprise on the closet floor. Someone had grabbed her purse. When she opened it, her laptop seemed to smile at her. She pulled it out and turned it on, surprised that it appeared unharmed.

She put it back and went to over to the room phone. With her most innocent voice, she asked Sam Givens' location.

"He's listed as in surgery right now."

"Where would that be?"

"Floor seven. Follow the signs to the waiting room."

"Thank-you so much." Violet signed off and grabbed the rest of her things out of the closet. Then, she peeked out the door again. That first nurse came out of another room and appeared to be heading her way. She shut the door and practically leaped into bed pulling the covers up over her clothes. Then, she closed her eyes and tried to quiet her heart and slow her breathing back to normal.

The nurse walked in. "Poor thing," she said. "She must be tired out."

Violet decided to go along and kept her eyes closed. As soon as she heard the door click shut as the nurse left, she sat up in bed and swung her legs over the side for the third time. She grabbed the rest of her things and snuck out the door and down the hallway.

The trick to making people think you were where you were supposed to be was to walk with confidence. She straightened her back and kept her eyes forward, walking with purpose. She turned a corner and looked for signs for the nearest elevator.

Once on the seventh floor, she followed the signs for surgery. She stopped when she saw Sam's family sitting in a nearby waiting room.

They didn't see her, and she relaxed. She couldn't face them. She had been driving. It was her fault they had gotten into an accident in the first place. She saw a door marked 'Chapel' and ducked inside glad no one else occupied the room.

She didn't pray. She sat on one of the pews and thought about what she should do. Her first instinct was to run, call a taxi, go back to her uncle's house, and then go back home. There were two things holding her back. First, she couldn't leave not knowing what happened to Sam. Second, she had been driving Sam's car and didn't have any transportation.

However, she did have a credit card. She could go to the airport and fly home, but she had to find out about Sam first. She took a deep breath, stood, and peeked out the door and into the waiting room. A doctor stood among his family and from their reactions, she assumed Sam was okay. Now, she needed to get to a phone and find out which room they'd assigned him.

She stopped at a nursing station and asked for a pen and paper. Then, she quickly wrote a note before giving back the pen. She wandered around for another few minutes before finding a phone and getting Sam's room number.

Fatigue threatened, so she decided to go rest in a nearby waiting room. She figured if she waited long enough, she could catch Sam by himself. Perhaps if she closed her eyes for a few moments, she would get her strength back.

She was shocked when she woke up and looked at the time. It was dark outside. Perhaps this would work in her favor and she would catch Sam alone and asleep. She got up and went in search of his room.

When she found it, she used her fingertips to knock on his door. When she got no answer, she carefully opened the door and tiptoed inside. Sam was lying on the bed, asleep. He looked so wonderful, so gentle and sweet. She reached out a hand and touched his forehead, gently brushing aside his hair. She didn't realize she was crying until a tear fell on his face.

He shifted and Violet froze. When he didn't open his eyes, Violet let out the breath she had been holding. She walked determinedly over to the table and put down the note she had written previously and set the engagement ring on top. Then, hardly able to see through her tears, she hurried out.
Chapter 20

Violet's luck held until near the building entrance. She headed for an information booth to get a taxi or bus ticket. Unfortunately, her intense focus became her downfall, and she nearly ran into Will.

He grabbed her shoulders to steady her. "Violet, you weren't in your room when we came to visit you earlier. Have they released you already?"

"I hate hospitals." She didn't directly answer his question, but he didn't appear to notice.

"The police report didn't have much. Can you tell me what happened?"

Violet wouldn't meet his eyes. "A car hit us. I must not have been watching carefully. I lost control, and we went into the ditch. It was all my fault." She barely managed to keep the tears back.

"Hey, it wasn't your fault." He narrowed his eyes and studied her. "Do you need a ride home? I can give you a lift."

"Thank-you." The walk through the hospital and the tension she carried exhausted her. Sheer force of will kept her eyes open on the way home. At least he seemed to understand her need for silence and didn't pressure her to speak.

When they got there, he walked her to her door. As she put the key in the lock, she said, "Thanks. I really appreciate this."

"No problem. We were all worried about you when you weren't in your room. Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"I think I need to rest for a little while."

He nodded and left. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it staring off into space. Fatigue overwhelmed her to the point that even thinking clearly had become difficult.

After a moment or two, she pushed away from the door and wandered upstairs to her room, setting her laptop down on her desk. Automatically, she opened it and typed in her password. Then, she stared at the blank screen for several minutes. Finally, she shut it and sat and thought. Officially, her time in her uncle's house was up. She now held full claim to the house and might do what she wanted with it. Right now, she wanted to get out as quickly as possible. She opened her laptop again and sent an e-mail to her real estate agent telling her to put the house on the market immediately. Then, she e-mailed her lawyer and asked him to mail her the title deed to her aunt's home back in Butterfield. With that done, she stood up and started packing.

It was dawn when she finished. As she got into her car, Jesse saw her on his way into the Coffee House. He changed direction and jogged over to her. She thought about trying to somehow conceal the suitcase, but the rest of her stuff sat obvious in her car. Instead, she shoved it in the back seat and slammed the door. She grasped the door handle for the driver's side.

"Violet, what's going on? Why are you leaving? You aren't still blaming yourself are you? Will told us that he took you home last night."

Reluctantly, she took her hand off the car door handle and turned towards him. "Jesse, I don't want to talk about it."

"How can you say that? You can't just leave. He loves you."

"Jesse, marrying Sam is a bad idea. He can do so much better. I never should have said, 'yes' to him."

"What craziness are you saying? I haven't seen him this happy since he was a kid playing doctor."

Violet looked down at the ground and tried to keep the tears from falling again. "I can't face losing someone I love again," she whispered. "I saw him there in that hospital bed. He's better off without me."

"Violet, that's not true. How can you lie to yourself like this?"

She grabbed the car door handle again and pulled determinedly. "I've made up my mind. This is the best thing for him. I'm going home."

"Violet, you're making a huge mistake."

Her lips formed a thin line, and she got into the car slamming the door shut. She rammed the key into the ignition and turned it. Jesse didn't move. She rolled down her window and said, "I'm sorry. It's what I have to do."

She put the car into gear and backed out of the driveway, determined to never set foot in Rolling Hills ever again. As soon as she got on the highway, the tears started flowing. She had to wipe her eyes in order to see the road.

***

Several hours later, her aunt's open mouth clearly indicated her surprise. "Violet!" She wrapped her arms around her. "Are you here for the weekend?"

"No, Aunty. I'm here to stay."

"What about Sam?"

Instead of answering, Violet burst into tears and ran to her old room. Aunt Mabel decided now would not be the best time to get her questions answered.

Later she knocked on Violet's door. "Dear, I've brought you some dinner. Won't you open the door?"

"Thank-you, Aunty, but I'm not hungry."

"I'll leave it in the refrigerator for you then."

"Thank-you."

Aunt Mabel sighed. Perhaps it would be best to let Violet rest for a while. Surely, she would be willing to talk in the morning.

That night, Aunt Mabel got a call. "May I speak with Miss Mabel please?"

"This is she."

"This is Jesse Givens. I'm Sam's brother. Did Violet make it back home okay?"

"Yes, she's here. Jesse, what's going on?"

"My friend Will told me—No, I'd better take it from the beginning. Violet and Sam were in a car accident a couple of days ago. Violet was driving and she and Sam were rushed to the hospital. Sam was unconscious, but Violet wasn't. Apparently, she blames herself, but it wasn't her fault."

"Oh no, another car accident. She blamed herself for her parents' deaths too. How is Sam?"

"He's pretty banged up and he's got a broken leg, but he's going to be fine. The doctors are going to let him out in less than a week. He doesn't know about Violet yet. She left her ring and a note in his room. She said she couldn't marry him. Can you talk to her?"

"I'll try, but I can't promise anything. This touches on her deepest fears."

"Thank-you. We'll all be praying."

"Thank-you. You're all a terrific group of people, exactly what Violet needs. I know the Lord will work all of this out, but be patient. It may take a while."

Jesse signed off and Aunt Mabel sat back in her favorite comfy chair tense with concern. Then, she forced herself to relax and bowed her head in prayer.

The Lord allowed this to happen so Violet would face her fears. Even the news of her own sickness was all part of God's plan.

She needed a peace about telling Violet that the cancer had returned. She feared that it would send the poor girl over the edge, but there was no way to hide it now. Even walking around the house winded her.

***

The next morning Violet didn't wake up until after eleven. Her muscles complained a bit, but she forced herself to get up, anyway. At least her clothes covered most of the bruises. The night before, she hadn't brought in her suitcase, so she had to come out of her room to get that and other things out of the car. She hadn't even brought in her computer.

As she walked through the family room towards the front door, her aunt saw her. "How are you this morning?"

"It's good to be home."

Aunt Mabel noticed the girl hadn't answered her question. She decided to let her get her stuff and question her over coffee.

After a hot shower and a change of clothes, Violet mood improved a little. The aroma of coffee brewing effectively lured her to the kitchen and Aunt Mabel. She accepted that she had better face her sometime, might as well get it over with.

Violet grabbed a mug and filled it, fortifying herself for what was to come. Her aunt let her sit down and sip a bit before speaking.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"All right then, I'll talk."

"Before you try to convince me to change my mind, you should know that I won't. This is best for Sam."

"I wasn't going to talk about Sam or even you for that matter."

Surprised, Violet sat there and waited.

"Violet, you need to face your biggest fear—the fear of losing the people you love."

"Aunty, I can't. I can't do it."

"I wasn't done."

Chastised, Violet closed her mouth and waited for her aunt to finish.

"Violet, the cancer has come back. The doctors say I have maybe a couple of months left."

Everything in Violet's world suddenly came crashing down all around her. She wanted to scream or cry or even speak, but instead, her entire body froze in shock. Finally, she uttered one word, "No."

Aunt Mabel reached across the table and took Violet's hand. "You knew this might happen. The first time I was diagnosed, I wasn't supposed to live more than a few weeks. Here I've been given six more years with the sweetest, loveliest girl in the world. I'm ready to die. I'm looking forward to being with my Jesus. It's my time and I want to be with Him."

"But I don't want to lose you." Violet didn't even attempt to wipe away the tears that fell onto the table.

"You aren't really losing me. I get to go first."

"It's not the same."

"Violet, let me ask you a question."

She nodded to her aunt.

"Have you prayed about Sam? Have you asked the Lord what He thinks about this accident? Have you considered that Satan is playing with your head, and you are letting him?"

"That's more than one question."

"Young lady, you did not answer any of them." Aunt Mabel allowed her niece to see her anger.

She cringed.

"Well?"

"No, Aunty. I haven't been able to pray."

"That's a lie straight from the pit of Hell too. The only one keeping you from praying is you. Don't you think it's time you got on your knees and talked to Him?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

Aunt Mabel smiled as Violet left the room. Then, she grimaced as a shaft of pain went through her. Once again, the doctors were wrong. Instead of a couple of months, Aunt Mabel had only a few days. She did regret that she probably wouldn't live to see Violet's wedding, but she wouldn't miss that heavenly wedding of the Lamb for anything.

***

Instead of going to her room, Violet went outside. The biting cold matched the numbness inside. She checked her cell and found several missed calls. Of course, one of them came from Sam. Guilt gnawed at her for ignoring his calls, but she told herself this was for the best.

She walked around the yard and then off down the road toward the farms, trying to pray. Then, she ran. She ran without seeing. She ran until her sides ached and her nose ran. Finally, unable to go on, she stopped. She was in the cemetery, next to her parents' granite marker. At that, she knelt down and wept. She poured out her heart and soul and still continued to weep. She cried until there were no tears left. Then, she screamed and beat on the ground.

When she stopped, she was covered in grass and mud. She turned onto her back on the cold, hard ground, spent. The sky, bright blue with streaks of white stared back. "What am I going to do, Lord? I've lost everyone and everything. What is there left for me? I'm numb, Lord. I don't even want to write. I'm lost and I don't know how to find my way back. Is there even a 'back' for me? What am I going to do?"

She lay there and waited. Slowly, feeling came creeping back into her body. Her fingers and toes tingled and her nose stung with the cold. Her heart beat strong and steady and her lungs took air in and out. "So, I'm alive, Lord. What am I supposed to do? And for that matter why am I the one who lives? Why not me who dies?"

The sky was silent. Grunting, Violet sat up and looked around at all the tombstones surrounding her. In a flash, she realized this wasn't necessarily a place of death, a place of endings, but rather, it was a place of beginnings, the beginning of a new life in a different form, a different world. Not every one of these people made it to heaven. Their new beginning was more of an endless end. Those who did make it to heaven experienced life in a way more alive than in a fleshly body. However, this didn't answer Violet's question of what she was supposed to do now.

Disgusted, she stood up and dusted off her jeans skirt. She suspected she knew what she was supposed to do, the right thing to do. The problem was she did not want to do it. It was a long walk back to her Aunt Mabel's house. As she went, she realized she didn't think of it as home anymore. Her aunt wouldn't be there much longer. How could it be home without Aunt Mabel? She wasn't even sure she wanted to stay in Butterfield anymore.

Chapter 21

As she opened the door at home, she frowned. Her stomach growled signaling dinner time. Usually, at that hour, at least some noise hummed, coffee brewing, oven baking, something. Instead, silence reigned. Smells and sounds and an atmosphere emanated throughout home, making it 'home.' Every time she walked through the door, this place enveloped her peace. Concerned, she crept through the house, the only sound a loud creak from a loose floorboard. "Aunt Mabel, where are you?"

When she got to her aunt's room, her aunt lay on the floor unconscious. A scream rent her throat. "No! Aunt Mabel, wake up! Please!" Cradling her aunt, she pulled out her cell and dialed 9-1-1. Tears streamed unchecked down her face.

At the hospital, Violet paced back and forth in the waiting room.

Her cell rang, and unthinking, she answered it. "Violet! I'm so glad you answered your phone! How are you? I've been so worried."

"Hello, Ivy. I'm all right."

"Where are you? The hospital staff were in an uproar after you left."

"Oh, sorry about that. I really hate hospitals."

"Well, where are you?"

Violet's voice caught before she could get the words out.

Finally, she said, "Ivy, I'm at a hospital in St. Louis. My aunt's cancer has come back. The doctors don't have much hope. I found her unconscious today and brought her in."

"Violet, that's terrible. We'll all be praying for you."

"Thank-you." Ivy really did love her, even though she didn't really understand. "Ivy, please tell everyone thank-you... if I don't see them any time soon."

Violet heard Ivy's intake of breath, hesitancy, as if she wanted to say one thing, but changed her mind. She breathed out and said, "Violet, we all love you. Don't forget that you have family here."

"Thank-you." She clicked the phone off and tried not to cry. No, she didn't have family in Chicago. Her only remaining family consisted of her aunt, lying in a hospital bed. Soon, she would be all alone.

The next several days were a blur. Her aunt regained consciousness and spoke coherently. Those sweet conversations remained long in Violet's memory. They chatted of many things, her aunt's life, joys and sorrows. They talked about faith and heaven and a new life with the Lord forever. Aunt Mabel also spoke to Violet about her career and the gift of storytelling. God gave her this gift and called her to use her gifts and talents wisely. It would be great when she got to the point of being able to write full time, but she needed to seek the Lord even in her writing. When she learned to forget about seeking after things for herself and focused instead on seeking the Lord and praising Him, everything would fall into place.

They also talked about Sam. Violet didn't know what she would do. Would he be able to forgive her? She deserted him when he needed her most. She left him in the hospital and ran away. What kind of fiancé did that? He deserved so much better.

"He doesn't want your definition of 'better'. He wants what the Lord brought into his life. He wants you." Aunt Mabel's body was weak, but her voice rang strong. Violet couldn't help feeling the force of it.

"I'm not sure I can face him now."

"That's a cop-out and you know it. Don't make him wait too long."

Violet shifted uncomfortably and nodded. Aunt Mabel sighed. She wanted things to be worked out for her niece, but feared that wouldn't happen until after she died.

Aunt Mabel lasted only three weeks. During that time, Violet camped out at the hospital, sleeping in the room with her or out in the waiting room. The hospital staff more than tolerated her. They gave her a pillow and a blanket and tried to make her as comfortable as possible.

After she died, Violet spent another week with funeral arrangements. The number of people that came surprised and touched her. Even Sue drove from St. Louis. Violet purposely didn't tell Ivy and her other friends (or Sam) about the funeral. She couldn't face them. The constant activity helped to keep her busy and distracted, sleep seemed a distant memory. By the time the day of the funeral arrived, Violet barely moved, much less spoke. Sue didn't even try to get more than a few words from her friend. Instead, she hugged her and whispered words of comfort and encouragement.

After the funeral, Violet paced the house, doing nothing of any consequence. Her aunt didn't have a lot of money, so once all the funeral expenses were paid, the house alone remained. Ever frugal, Violet had money saved up from her time in Chicagoland, so she decided to busy herself with writing for the time being. The necessary research and story planning she finished before she left Rolling Hills. So, she did what comforted her most—she wrote. Entering her imaginary world, she began to deal with what reality gave her.

This book challenged her in ways no other had. The story ended up as a prequel to Violet's newest series, the Lily Green Adventures. In it, she talked about Lily's best friend, Marla, and her terrible childhood, how her parents were killed and, unlike Violet, she didn't have an aunt to take her in. Instead, she bounced from foster care to foster care. Her supposed 'caregivers' either ignored her or treated her as an unpaid servant. Over the years, the neglect and the mistreatment took its toll. Marla grew up calling herself damaged goods and worthless. When she met Lily, Marla found it extremely difficult to trust. She especially had a problem with accepting unconditional love from anyone.

The first time Marla went to church and experienced real, full, complete, true love, she broke down. Tears ran down Violet's cheeks as she wrote that scene. When the Lord brought the true love of a man into Marla's life, she had a difficult time accepting that as well. The Lord used an earthly love to show His own love. With every word, Violet worked through her loss and pain. Slowly, she let go and began to trust the Lord, His way, and His timing.

Another interesting thing happened with this book. With every word, Violet spilled out her love for Sam. Unintentional at first, but as she wrote, she recognized this and allowed it. More tears went into this work than any other before.

She spent more time than ever before editing and proofreading, making changes over and over again. She sent it off to beta readers she's met online and then changed some more.

After Violet finally published it, she wondered whether to celebrate or take a nap. She considered finally driving up to Rolling Hills. However, she couldn't quite work up the courage. How could Sam possibly forgive her after all this time?

***

As the months passed, Jesse and Will couldn't understand Sam's steadfast devotion. Jesse worried that Sam refused to let go and move on.

"I tried to get Sam to go to that singles' retreat that the church put on, but he said, 'no' all four times I asked him." Jesse and Will sat at a booth in the Coffee House.

"I worry about him too, but he has to live his own life. We can't force him into anything. How long has it been now?"

"It's been nearly six months. She's published a new book. I almost didn't download a copy out of spite, but then I decided that was silly and went ahead."

Will chuckled at Jesse's misplaced loyalty. "I almost didn't either," he admitted, "but I'm glad I read it."

"I read it too," said Ivy. She had just come in and overheard them. "I cried more than once."

"The house sold," said Will.

"You know, she lived here for such a short time, but it seems so strange to have another family there," said Jesse.

"Let's talk about something else," said Ivy. "Here comes Sam."

Sam smiled as he sat down at the table. "How's it going?" He acted like he hadn't a care in the world. Yet, they all noticed that he looked up every time the Coffee House door opened.

"Not much," Will replied. "What's up with you?"

"I had a long day, but I chose to stay up late last night reading Violet's latest book, so it's my own fault. Have you read it?"

They were all shocked into silence. Ivy spoke first. "Uh, I did, and I liked it. I kept wondering if Marla wasn't Violet, herself. At least she had had her aunt, but what if she hadn't had anybody?"

"Violet's stories seem to have more of herself in them than perhaps even she realizes." The corners of Sam's lips curved upward slightly.

"Why don't you call her? Maybe she'll answer. Or, why not just drive down there?" asked Will.

"I've prayed about it. That's not what I'm supposed to do. I have to just wait."

Jesse shot a meaningful glance at Will.

"Sometimes, it's not waiting, it's letting go and trusting that the Lord's got this," Ivy said. "Violet taught me that."

"Sounds like a good lesson," said Will.

Ivy smiled. Though she had initially accepted Violet's words, she still had to deal with the habit of day dreaming about him. She had to work to change her mental patterns and form the new habit of consciously, intentionally letting go. She would still like a life with Will, but she would rather trust the Lord than try to make something happen herself. Now, she saw Will as merely a friend. Although, strangely, she thought she caught him staring at her once or twice, but of course not. It had to be just her imagination.

"Oh, here comes Guinevere," said Ivy. "I still can't believe you're married, Jesse. That has to be the fastest romance on record."

Sam didn't want to remind everyone that if he had had his way, he and Violet would've been married after less than four months. Jesse and Guinevere had been married for only about two weeks now. Once again, he fingered the engagement ring he carried around in his pocket and gave it all over to the Lord and patiently waited a little longer.

***

Meanwhile, Violet's book remained on Amazon's best-seller list. In fact, a major New York publisher contacted her asking if she would be interested in a publishing contract. Overnight, her income went from about $1000 a month to between $5000 and $10,000 a month.

She now had an agent and flew regularly to and from New York City. She did book tours all over the US. At first, her book tours were along the East coast, New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Atlanta, and eventually Miami.

It all seemed a crazy blur. She thanked the Lord daily, overwhelmed by this opportunity. She sensed her book was good, her best yet, but she hadn't expected it to do quite this well. It was even doing well over in Europe. The publisher was considering having it translated into German and French.

Violet enjoyed sitting in bookstores signing copies of her book and meeting all kinds of different people. It was so strange, suddenly being so popular. Strange, how far she had come, but Violet was grateful. Her dream had come true. Her writing brought in enough money to support herself. She could write full time with plenty to pay any and all bills and have quite a bit left over for savings or fun. After making so little waitressing, this felt strange.

In a bookstore back in New York, Violet sat at a table talking to people and signing books. Seeing the next person in line, she started. At first glance, he resembled Sam, but of course not. She smiled weakly and said, "Who should I make this out to?"

"Please make it out to Monica Nelson. She's my wife. She's working tonight or she would be here. She loves your books."

"Tell her thank-you for me. She's blessed to have such a sweet husband that would do something like this for her."

He blushed. "It's her birthday tomorrow, and I wanted to surprise her."

"I'm sure she'll love it." Violet wrote, 'Happy Birthday! Love, Violet Carsten' and handed the book back.

He read it and grinned. "My wife will be so thrilled. Thank-you."

The rest of the evening went well. Violet was tired when it was over. All she wanted to do was fall into bed in her hotel room, but her agent wouldn't let her go just yet.

"Violet, I wanted to go over this next week's schedule with you." Landry, Violet's agent, had an IPad and was quickly tapping away, not even looking at her.

"Are we going to stay here for a while or go somewhere else along the East coast?"

"Nope. Now, we're finally going inland, Nashville next, then on to Chicago."

Violet was silent. Of course, she would have to face going back to Chicago and Chicagoland someday, but she wasn't sure if she was ready yet. Landry didn't notice the lack of response.

"We're scheduled for two bookstores in Chicago and one out in one of the suburbs." She tapped some more. "Oh, Bartlett is very convenient, very close to the airport. I'll reschedule our flight and plan on flying out right after the Bartlett store is done."

Violet didn't say anything. From experience, arguing with Landry proved futile at best, exasperating at worst. The woman was an absolute powerhouse and was very good at her job. She certainly knew how to market her books. Landry had even mentioned doing a book tour overseas. Violet thought that it would be absolutely amazing to go to Europe.

When she finally did get to bed that night, Violet didn't even remember hitting the pillow.

***

The stores in Nashville were a lot of fun. Violet really loved the Southern accent. The people down South were a little more laid back than those up North as well. She found it refreshing that there wasn't quite the rush—not nearly like it was in New York. People would want to have an actual conversation with her and the other people in line didn't mind waiting. In fact, many of them would chime in.

Landry spent most of her time looking at her watch and tapping on her IPad. Violet thought slowing down slightly disagreed with her agent. She made a mental note to herself to include characters like Landry and some of these wonderful Southerners in a future novel. It would be a lot of fun to see a character like Landry forced to slow down for a little while. Perhaps, she would have a Landry-like character get stuck somewhere out in the middle of nowhere, somewhere Southern, and have some sort of adventure. Maybe her Landry-like character is related to Lily Green. Sisters perhaps? Cousins? How fun!

Soon, her Nashville stint ended and it was time to face Chicago. Violet didn't mention anything to Landry. They were not really friends, more business partners, and this issue was still a little sore.
Chapter 22

Guilt for avoiding her friends so long weighed like a broken tractor on Violet's heart. They welcomed her into their lives and homes and she repaid their kindness by shutting them out and ignoring them. The bleak winter landscape reminded her of the hopelessness she tried to run from. Yet, running didn't help. Only turning back to Jesus and allowing Him to do a healing work ever did. Now, the time had come to reconcile with her Chicago friends. Would they ever forgive her? No matter what, they deserved an apology.

And Sam? She still loved him. What if he loved someone else? What if he already married someone else? It would serve her right and she determined that, no matter what, she would be happy for him.

The first bookstore happened to be a Barnes and Nobles near DePaul University. The crowd received her well, and she enjoyed her time there. Yet, none of her friends showed. Her tension mounted. To avoid reconciliation would be wrong. More than enough time passed. Her friends deserved better.

Landry planned Violet's book tour to begin in Chicago proper, then work their way north, ending in the Northwest suburbs. At the second store, again, none of her old crowd came. Perhaps they didn't know about her book tour. This concerned her, but they shouldn't come to her. She should go to them and apologize. All she really wanted to do was go back to the Coffee House and it be like that wonderful time before the car accident before her aunt's death.

The day of the Bartlett bookstore arrived and Violet alternated between pacing around her hotel room and changing her clothes for the fourth time. Coffee only made things worse. Unfortunately, her schedule didn't call for her until later in the afternoon and early evening. After that, Landry had booked them a 10pm flight back to New York.

Landry came into her hotel room at around nine. "You're up and about early. We're not supposed to be in Bartlett until 4 o'clock this afternoon. Why don't you take it easy today? I will. Or you might work on your next book. I'm sure you've got some great ideas in that creative brain of yours. There's a Coffee Shop downstairs. I wonder if they've got any good muffins. I haven't had a really good muffin in months."

On impulse Violet said, "Landry, I'd like to borrow the car keys. Don't worry, I've been here before. I can find my way around. My phone has a really good GPS on it too."

Landry's eyes widened in surprise. Violet didn't normally explore the various cities. She tended to remain in her hotel room at her computer. "Are you sure you'll be okay? We can't be late."

"I'll be fine. I don't intend to go into Chicago proper and I know all about rush hour times."

Landry pursed her lips, unconvinced.

"I used to live here and I've got my cell. Call if you get worried about me." Finally, her agent appeared at least mollified. Before Landry changed her mind, Violet took the keys and left. Once on the highway, a million memories came flooding back. She thought of Dr. and Mrs. Givens and how kind they had been. Mrs. Givens had taken a chance on a girl she hardly knew and hired her when she needed a job so badly.

She thought of Ivy. What a sweet and wonderful friend! Without her there would be no Lily Green. Without these people, Violet wouldn't be here today. Her time spent in Chicagoland made those books possible.

Then, there were Jesse and Will. Jesse hadn't even liked Violet when they first met. Of course the pepper spray hadn't helped. Will was friendly at least. She wondered if he had ever figured out what a terrific girl Ivy was.

She drove past the place where she and Sam got into that car accident, and a tear rolled down her cheeks. Some red trash lay on the ground, reminding her of Ginger's roses back in Butterfield. Like the other woman's treatment of those roses, she tromped all over Sam's love for her and the friendship of Ivy, Jesse, their parents, and Will. Her thoughtlessness shamed her.

When she got to the Coffee House, she sat out in the parking lot for several minutes trying to gather up her courage. Her stomach rumbled, signaling lunch time. Jesse spent most of his day at a booth in the Coffee House, so he probably occupied his favorite space. Of course, Mrs. Givens would be there. She owned the place after all. Would Ivy and Sam come for lunch?

What if no one showed up? Maybe this was all a huge mistake and it would be best to let it all be. No one came to those bookstores in Chicago proper. What if she stayed out of their lives forever? Would that be the better thing, the kinder thing?

No. That would be cowardly and her friends deserved better. Her Lord provided this opportunity. 'All things worked together for good...' If she didn't do this, it would be wrong. She took a deep breath, opened the car door, and stepped out. As she drifted toward the door, she wondered if she should get some coffee first to fortify herself. No, the little caffeine already coursing through her made her fidgety enough. She hung back from the counter, then, biting her lower lip forced herself forward.

"Is Mrs. Givens here?" The barista smiled and pointed off toward the back of the Coffee House. Mrs. Givens sat at a booth doing some paper work.

"Hello, Ma'am," Violet whispered. She shifted from one foot to the other and braced herself for a much deserved rejection.

"Violet?!" Mrs. Givens stood and practically through herself on her. "I've missed you so much. How have you been?"

At first no words came. She felt like the Prodigal had come home. "I-I've been doing a lot of traveling, my books and all."

"I'm so happy for you."

Violet blinked back tears at the older woman's kindness. "Mrs. Givens, I-I must apologize for the way I treated you and everyone else. You invited me into your home and practically made me part of the family. I left, and it was so wrong. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Oh yes. I forgive you. We all prayed for you every day."

"Somehow, I knew."

"Violet?!" Jesse stood up from another booth nearby and hurried over. "How are you?"

"Jesse, I-I'm so sorry. What I did, I hurt you and you didn't trust me in the first place..." She closed her eyes and then opened them, looking him in the eye. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"Yes. You hurt my brother, but you hurt so much yourself. I couldn't stay angry and I couldn't hold your bad choices against you. You just should have come back sooner."

Violet nodded and smiled ruefully. She appreciated his candor. What an awesome brother! Two down, but she still needed to make things right with Ivy, Will, and... Sam.

"A lot has happened in the last year," Jesse continued.

Violet started to ask what, but she a shriek from the other side of the room stopped her.

"Violet!!!" Ivy stood at the counter one moment and then barreled forward in the next. She grabbed her in a bone-crushing hug.

When Violet finally got her breath, she said, "Ivy, I need to apologize. I wronged you so, so much. Please forgive me."

Ivy grinned. "I love you, and I worried about you." She gave her another hug. "You should have come back sooner."

"I know." Violet blinked back more tears. She did not deserve such kindness.

Then, Will came in. Violet saw his eyes widen from across the room. He jogged over and gave her a big hug too. "How are you?"

"I'm okay, but I came back to apologize. I should have done that much, much sooner. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Of course. You're 'family'. But, you're right in that you should have come back sooner."

"Thank you." She needed a tissue.

Sam walked in then with a beautiful woman. She punched his arm and shook her head. They looked like they belonged together. Of course, he moved on and Violet should be glad for him, for them. At the moment, unfortunately, jealousy rose up and her hands fisted. They hadn't seen her yet.

Her smile tightened as she tried to focus on the people surrounding her, but the thought of facing Sam and the beautiful girl with him felt like a tractor running over her heart. "I need to use the restroom."

"Of course." Mrs. Givens stepped aside allowing Violet to move past her into the small hallway behind them.

Violet felt guilty slipping out, but that beautiful woman, who was she? In a stall she leaned her head against the door and concentrated on breathing. It shouldn't surprise her Sam got on with his life. Too much time had passed. She blinked several times and pressed her lips together firmly. Tears were not an option. Like a soldier going off to battle, she opened the stall door and marched back into the Coffee House.

"Violet, I want you to meet someone." Jesse spoke to her as she came back. Sam stood at the counter ordering coffee with Will next to him. Jesse indicated Guinevere, and Violet pulled her lips back into what she hoped might qualify as a smile.

"Hello. I'm Guinevere." The beautiful woman put her hand out to shake.

It was hard to not respond to Guinevere's radiant kindness. Her British accent only added to her appeal. Violet shook her hand. "Violet Carsten." She tried to clear the sudden huskiness in her voice. "Nice to meet you."

"Wait a minute! Violet Carsten?" Guinevere's eyes widened. "Are you the author of the Lily Green Adventures? I love those books!"

Violet nodded a little self-consciously. "That's me."

"Oh, I can't wait for your next one. Tell me, though, are you going to allow Lily and Garrett to finally marry? They seem to have such a time." Guinevere brought her hands together in front of her face, and Violet caught sight of a wedding band.

Of course, but Sam deserves to be happy. "It doesn't look too good right now, but we'll see." Inwardly, she thought perhaps she ought to make Lily's relationships much better than hers had been. Guinevere seemed good for Sam. At least she probably treated him better than she ever did.

Violet looked up and saw him then. He stood next to Guinevere, but to her, the whole rest of the world disappeared. "Hi, Sam."

"Hello," he replied. Violet couldn't read his expression.

Everyone excused themselves and moved to another part of the Coffee Shop. She looked down, swallowed, and looked back up. "I came back to apologize. I treated you worst of all."

"I forgive you."

Violet looked down at her shoes, courage gone. The tears wouldn't be held back much longer. She raised her head, but struggled to look at him directly. "Thank-you." She could barely speak over the lump in her throat. "Congratulations. I saw Guinevere's ring. I'm really happy for you. She seems like a nice girl."

Sam's eyebrows crinkled. "Uh, thanks. We all love her. She's good for Jesse."

Violet didn't understand about Jesse, but Guinevere would probably be a wonderful sister-in-law. That must have been what he meant. "I need to get going. I have another book signing to go to this afternoon."

Sam blinked. "Are you in town for long?"

"No. I have to catch a plane at 10 o'clock tonight."

Sam frowned. "Where do you go next?"

Small talk. Did she expect more? All she wanted to do at that moment was curl up into a ball and weep. "I'm going back to New York. I haven't gotten an apartment there yet, but I probably should. Hotels are expensive and I spend a lot of time there."

"Oh. New York is bigger than Chicago."

"Yes." Only her will kept the tears in check. She needed to leave, now. "I have to go." She tried to give everyone one last smile as she hurried out. Then, she got into her rental car and wiped away rivers of tears all the way back to the hotel.

Chapter 23

"Wait a minute," said Jesse. "She left? You let her go? Why don't you go after her?"

"I think she is under the impression that Guinevere and I are together." Sam shook his head wishing he had said more.

"Why didn't you enlighten her?" asked Ivy.

"She said she had to get to the bookstore this afternoon. Then, she ran out before I had a chance to say anything else."

"The one in Bartlett, right? I planned to go tonight," said Will. "If she didn't come to us, I would go to her. She needs to know what happened with the case involving that man she found in the dumpster and your car accident."

"She deserves to know," said Ivy. "I tried to contact her several months ago, but this would be best in person, not in e-mail or over the phone."

"She didn't want any contact. She got her wish," said Jesse. "What could we do?"

"Maybe one of us could have gone to her aunt's funeral," said Ivy.

"She didn't want us there," said Sam. "We needed to honor her choices."

"Even though they were bad ones?" asked Ivy.

Guinevere grinned. "The Lord has a way of working out all things for good, even the stupid things we do."

Jesse grinned back and squeezed her hand. "What if all of us take a trip out to Bartlett and finish some business?"

Sam grinned and nodded, fingering the ring in his pocket. "I've got a couple of things to take care of at the lab. I'll meet you guys there." Hope had returned. Despite their awkwardness, he had glimpsed love in Violet's eyes. He refused to let her go easily.

"Oooh, I can't wait," said Ivy. "When does the book signing start?"

"Four o'clock," said Guinevere. "If Jesse hadn't already planned to go, I would've gone by myself."

"No chance of that," said Will.

***

Violet spent the rest of the day in her hotel room.

Finally, at 3:00 Landry knocked on Violet's door. Upon her, she asked, "Are you all right, Violet?"

"I'm tired."

"I suppose these book tours do take their toll. It's good that this is the last one for a while. We have only a couple of meetings in New York next week. Then, you're free to write for the next few months."

Violet smiled at that. "That sounds really good."

"Well, you have been working hard." She looked down at her watch. "We need to go now. I want to get everything all set up and be sure they have plenty of books for you to sign."

The people at the Barnes and Nobles in Bartlett greeted them eagerly. Despite Violet's earlier disappointment, the mere smell of a bookstore always lifted her spirits. She liked the staff instantly and worked hard to remember everyone's names.

She used her own IPad to take a picture with everyone and typed in their names and the location of the store. After her book started really selling, she purchased an IPad, along with a keyboard and a carrying case. Thus far, it proved more than worth the expense. It allowed her to take pictures, take notes and reminders, and research on the Internet. It also weighed a good deal less than her old laptop.

Her book signing was supposed to last from 4-6, only two hours. Violet would be glad when it ended. Then, one more week of meetings and she could go back to Butterfield. All she wanted was to go home and hide for a while. Things hadn't gone as she had wished, but what had she expected? Did she really suppose Sam would wait for her? Why should he? She certainly hadn't given him any reason. She never even tried to call him in almost a year.

The cold and light snowfall didn't keep people from coming to the bookstore. Landry, pleased with the turnout, wandered around the store picking up books and thumbing through magazines. Violet tried her best to be kind and attentive to each person who asked for her signature, but she longed to be alone.

Suddenly, Sam appeared in front of her table. She blinked twice to make sure her tired brain hadn't merely conjured him. "Sam?"

"Yes. You didn't suppose I would let you leave again, did you? You forgot to say goodbye—again!"

Violet blushed. "I guess I did forget to say goodbye. I'm sorry." He stood there looking at her, his eyes speaking what she feared to hope, feared to let herself dream. "Do you want me to sign a book?"

"No. I don't want you to sign a book."

Violet looked at all the people standing behind him, including Ivy, Will, Jesse, and Guinevere. "Um, well..."

Then, Sam came around the little table and got down on one knee like a knight of old. He took her hand and gazed into her eyes. "What I want, Violet Carsten, is to ask for your hand in marriage one more time. Will you marry me?"

This can't be real. "But, but, what about Guinevere?"

"Guinevere is quite happily married to Jesse," said Guinevere. Violet noticed then that they held hands. Her eyes widened, and she looked back at Sam.

"So, you're not already married?"

"Well, I hope to be soon, if you'll have me." Sam was eye to eye with her, still on one knee.

"Sam, how can you still love me? I was awful to you."

"Violet, I told you. I forgave you a long time ago. You made things right today when you apologized to everybody." Then, he pulled the ring out of his pocket. "I've been holding onto this for a long time now. Don't you think it's time for you to put it back on?"

"Oh!" Violet stared at the ring in unbelief. "You've been carrying this for a whole year?"

"Yes. I love you, Violet. I never stopped loving you. I will always love you." He smiled that beautiful smile with those deep, deep dimples that melted her all the way to her toes. "Now, before my knee falls asleep completely, will you please say 'yes?'"

"Oh! Yes! I love you, Sam!" Violet threw her arms around him and nearly knocked him over.

"Well, it's about time," said Jesse.

"I'll say," said Will.

Ivy and Guinevere grinned at each other.

Then, everyone surrounded Violet and Sam and congratulated them. Not only did they hug Ivy, Will, Jesse, and Guinevere, they hugged people they had met only that night.

Sam sat down with Violet and several people asked that he pose with Violet and sign books too. Both young people fairly glowed for the rest of the night.

Finally, at 6 when the signing ended, they all went over to the Barnes and Noble restaurant and had coffee and muffins. They agreed that it wasn't nearly as good as Mrs. Givens', but it was a decent second.

As they sat around the table, Will said, "Violet, we finally solved that case involving that man you found in the dumpster."

Violet's eyes widened. "Really? I've been wondering about that."

"Well," said Ivy, "Sam and your car accident is involved in that too."

"What? When that car ran into me, I thought I somehow caused it all."

"No. That was a hit and run. It turned out that Opal hit you two. She also murdered that guy you found in the dumpster. She had another boyfriend on the side who helped her," Will explained.

"What? Opal? Manny's girlfriend at the jewelry store?"

"Yes," said Will. "And Opal is not her real name. It's Mara Richman."

"Richman? As in Manny and his uncle? She's related?"

"More than related," said Ivy. "Opal, or Mara rather, was Mr. Gil Richman's daughter. Gil was Cal Richman's brother, part owner of the jewelry store."

"And Gil Richman was the one I found in the dumpster. So, Mara was his daughter. Why would she kill her own father?" Violet was horrified.

"Apparently, Gil got Mara's mom pregnant and then took off. Mara's mother was very bitter about the whole thing and passed her hate along to her daughter. After her mother died, Mara spent the next several years looking for her father. When she found him, she decided a simple murder was too good. She wanted revenge, and not just on him, but on his entire family. So, she killed her father and then planned on killing Cal Richman and eventually Manny as well."

"Wow," said Violet, "but how does our car accident fit in?"

"Well, Mara read your blog posts on your latest book and thought you were on to her. You used the jewelry store as your setting and had the girlfriend be the culprit. In fact, it was something that you said that made us take a closer look at her. When we ran her name and picture through our system, we found all kinds of stuff on her. She is wanted for armed robbery in at least two other states."

When Will took a breath, Sam took over. "Mara was worried that you had her figured out and tried to scare you off first by trashing your house. When you didn't leave, she decided to take you out by running us off the road."

"That's insane," said Violet, "I still don't see how on earth she could have gotten Gil Richman into the dumpster."

"Remember that other boyfriend?" asked Ivy. "He was a jealous boyfriend, in fact. That was another thing that helped us catch them. He saw Manny hugging her and took a swing at him."

"When we arrested him for assault, and ran him through our system, we found out that he and Mara were partners. Once we leaned on him, he spilled everything."

"Wow," Violet repeated.

"Will, you have to tell Violet about Mara's arrest," said Ivy. "That was amazing."

"Well, she wasn't at home so we went to get her from the jewelry store. It turns out she had somehow managed to knock Cal Richman unconscious and was about to stab him the same way she had stabbed her father. We caught her in the act."

"Poor Mr. Richman," said Violet. "Is he still coming to church?"

"He says the Lord saved his life for a purpose. He and Manny were baptized and have been coming regularly to church and Home Fellowship groups ever since. He wants to do as much as he can for the church and has been volunteering every chance he can," Sam answered.

"So, how long will Mara and her boyfriend be spending in jail?"

"Mara is looking at a very long time, possibly life. Her case is still in the system and it hasn't been decided yet. Her boyfriend will get less because he decided to cooperate," answered Will.

"I really missed out," said Violet. "I'm glad for Mr. Richman, but poor Manny. How did he take the whole Opal-Mara thing?"

"He was grossed out when he realized she was his cousin," Jesse answered. "He was more than willing to testify against her. It took some time for him to forgive her, but I saw him checking out the single girls in the church the other day. He's going to be fine."

"Goodness, and you're married?! I would love to hear that story."

"I'm afraid that will have to be saved for another day," said Landry coming up to the table. "We still have a plane to catch tonight."

Chapter 24

Though everyone violently opposed Violet leaving, she needed to attend a couple of meetings the following week. However, she and Sam spoke to each other several times a day, either through their cell phones, or texting, or video conferencing through their Skype accounts. Violet loved simply looking at him on her IPad. While video-conferencing, she caught several screen shots of him and used them a screen saver.

Her publisher wanted to discuss a movie deal. Mostly, Violet just followed Landry's lead and signed papers. It was in Landry's best interests to help her interests. Her agent negotiated well and eventually produced a contract that satisfied everyone.

Landry managed a press release about Sam's proposal and newspapers in Bartlett printed the story. Soon other news agencies picked up the romance of it and it spread all over the country. Sam took his sudden celebrity status in stride and focused on marrying the woman he waited so long for.

Violet asked Sue, Ivy and Mrs. Givens to help her plan the wedding. They chose the church in Rolling Hills because it made traveling easier for the bulk of their guests. She asked her pastor back in Butterfield to give her away. They chose February 14, Valentine's Day for their date. Although year later than originally intended, they determined to make up for lost time.

When the day of the wedding arrived, Violet rejoiced that Landry attended. Now that she'd resolved so many things, she wanted to reach out to her agent and allow herself to make friends with others again. Mr. Richman and Manny came to her wedding too. Her only sadness consisted of the fact that her aunt hadn't lived to see this day. She knew Aunt Mabel would have loved it. However, gazing around at her new family, she marveled at the way the Lord worked all things together for good. Even through the most horrible things, God worked, and would always help her overcome her worst fears.

Afterwards, as she sat back in her chair at their wedding table enjoying merely looking around the room, Violet thought about her own happily ever after. In the end, she did have an adventure—and a man better than any she might have dreamed up. She authored books full-time, but even better, she received something she'd yearned for—a family of her own. Doctor and Mrs. Givens opened themselves up to Violet in a way she hadn't felt since before her parents died. Through their son, they shared their name and their hearts. She now claim the name 'Givens' as well. Violet Givens, or maybe Violet Carston-Givens, she hadn't decided yet. Landry encouraged her to hyphenate her name, but that could be determined later.

And, the Givens' family added another member while she hid herself away. She couldn't wait to hear Jesse and Guinevere's story. Across the tables, in their candlelight dining room, she caught Will looking at Ivy with a light of longing in his eyes. She would enjoy watching their stories unfold.

"What are you smiling about?" Sam put his arm around her and touched the side of his forehead to hers.

"Reality is more wonderful than my own imagination. I am so blessed."

He grinned as everyone around them began clicking their glasses with their spoons. His eyebrows danced as he leaned over and kissed her.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christina Li, BA, MA, is an author, journalist, inspirational speaker, wife and mother of five. She has always enjoyed romance. Of course it has to have a happy ending!

Christina and her family live in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago where they serve in a wonderful church, homeschool, and laugh a lot. Without the Lord, she knows none of this would be possible. Besides writing, she enjoys a great cup of coffee, fresh-roasted and ground by her awesome husband!

For more 'A Little Bit of Coffee, Flowers, and Romance' and other books visit: https://christinalibooks.wordpress.com/bookstore/

If you liked Violet Miracle, please consider leaving a review: Violet Miracle (A Little Bit of Coffee, Flowers, and Romance, Book 1)

She LOVES to hear from her readers!

Connect with Christina on FaceBook: facebook.com/ChristinaLiBooks

Twitter: twitter.com/ChristinaLiBook @ChristinaLiBook

Blog: ChristinaLiBooks.wordpress.com

Christina serves as church blogger for The Life Church of Glenview: TheLifeChurchofGlenview.org/blog

Other Books by Christina Li

Rescuing Vanessa: A Little Bit of Coffee, Flowers, and Romance by: Christina Li

Vanessa is hiding something. No matter what, she can't seem to escape her mistake. Shame keeps her from trusting the Lord, her family, even the man who loves her. Will she be able to let go and allow herself forgiveness? Or will she fall prey to the man who wants her dead?

Defeat Fear Forever by: Christina Li

Do you suffer from fear? Do you feel like your dreams will never come true because of your fears? Are you afraid of failure, success, sickness, job loss, financial troubles, death? Defeat Fear Forever addresses those very issues in nine progressive chapters. Warning: Don't buy this book if you are not willing to change the way you think and act. Don't buy this book if you are not truly willing to do what it takes to defeat fear–for real and forever. There are things in this book that will more than likely challenge what you have always been taught. However, if you are willing to apply the messages in this book to your own life, you will start to see victory. You will even start to see miracles. What are you waiting for? Don't you think it's time for some real change? Nominated for a Global eBook Award.

Annie's Adventures: The Chemistry Calamity! by: Christina Li

Annie is a ten-year-old homeschool girl who decides to find the perfect project for the local Science Fair. After several false starts and even a few disasters, Annie and her sister, Merri, think they've finally figured out the perfect project. Will they complete it in time? What will the judges think? Read and see!

This book is a 'day in the life' of a homeschool family using the Unit Study approach. At the end, the author gives a book list (used in this Unit Study) as well as several hints and tips on teaching your own Unit Studies at home using items you already have or can get easily through your local library!

Coming Soon!

Saving Guinevere

Finally, Jesse and Guinevere's story! :)

