At the sound of a knock on the door, she called softly, “Come in.”
Her mother, wearing a dark green silk suit, entered her room.“Is the bride almost ready?Your friends are gathering in the living room.”
“Yes, I just have to fix these flowers in my hair,” said Hazel.She’d chosen to wear a simple white lace, V-neck dress with capped sleeves.Simple but elegant to match her surroundings and this special event.
Her father knocked on the door and entered.“Is my daughter ready for me?”
Hazel and her mother turned as he walked over to them.“The two most beautiful women in the world,” he murmured and kissed each of them on the cheek.
“I’ll walk you, Helena, into the ceremony and come back for you, Hazel.Mike looks like he’s more than ready for you to arrive.It’s a good thing Jed is standing beside him to keep him calm.”
After her parents left the room, Hazel glanced at her image in the mirror, once again surprised to see herself in a wedding dress with a precious baby bump.The love she shared with Mike had happened quickly, yet it felt as if it was part of a plan that was bigger than they could ever have imagined.A life destined to become shared with many.
Bringing her thoughts back to the present, Hazel smiled at her father and held out her arm for him to take.
Walking into the living room, she paused to gaze at her friends, old and new, waiting for her there.It seemed appropriate that Eugenie “GG” Wittner was among them because she was very much a matriarch of Lilac Lake.
Hazel lifted her eyes to Mike, and a silent message of love passed between them.She stepped forward to meet him and looked down at Jed, who stared up at her with a wonderous look while he stood proudly next to Mike.
Hazel prayed he’d always be part of their lives.
Mike’s fingers covered hers, and she gazed at him, ready to face the future with him by her side.
# # # # #
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Enjoy an excerpt from my book,Love’s Harvest:
CHAPTER ONE
Heart pounding, she raced into the South Carolina woods, smashing dried leaves beneath her feet, struggling to catch her breath, intent on finding her husband.The farther she went, the sicker she felt.Suddenly she stopped and grabbed onto her sides.
Ahead, a figure was sprawled on the ground.
She drew closer, then let out a bloodcurdling scream as she stared at the mixture of blood, skin, and bone that remained of his head.“No-o-o, Jesse, No-o-o!”
Sarah Bullard Miller bolted up from her bed with a start and drew a deep breath.Then another.She rubbed her eyes and reminded herself this was just a dream of something awful that had happened two years ago.
She sat quietly and listened, hoping her two daughters hadn’t heard her cries.
All was quiet.
Her adrenaline left her in a rush, leaving her feeling weak and nauseous.The dream was always the same, followed by a familiar pattern of emotions, everything from anger to a sense of loss to guilt.Suicide survivors told similar stories, and though it was helpful to know she wasn’t alone in feeling this way, it didn’t lessen her sense of failure.
Weary, she got up out of bed and wandered into the kitchen of the riverside cabin she was renting in her hometown of Lilac Lake, New Hampshire.She looked out at the pinkening streaks in the sky that indicated another pleasant fall day.Feeling more grounded, Sarah fixed herself a cup of coffee and took a seat at the kitchen table, trying to settle her nerves.The nightmare wasn’t as frequent a visitor as it had been at the beginning.Therapy and being back home, where she helped her parents with the Bullard’s Hardware Store, were all part of her plan to try to get back to a healthier life with her four-year-old twin daughters, Mia and Emily.
She heard the girls moving about in their bedroom and watched as they padded into the kitchen, climbed up into her lap, and sleepily laid their heads on her shoulders.Out of the wreckage of the past, these were her treasures.She adored them.At four, the girls were active and always doing something.What one didn’t think of for getting into trouble, the other did.Emily’s hair was light-brown, while Mia’s was a bit blonder.But all four eyes were the same distracting green color in identical faces —faces with classic features like their father's.
“Do we have school again today?”asked Emily.
