Beauty: An Everland Ever After Tale by Caroline Lee

Author:Caroline Lee [Lee, Caroline]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Mythology & Folk Tales, Romance, Western, Fairy Tales, Westerns, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fantasy
Amazon: B01DL9M1OO
Published: 2016-05-31T04:00:00+00:00

Join me for a picnic tomorrow after church? Just the three of us.

So of course she sent Eddie back with an agreement. They often closed the store Sunday afternoon, and this would be a lovely day. Two friends, a teacher and his student, enjoying a gorgeous spring day together.

As they rounded Perrault Street, she saw Jack Carpenter standing on Vincenzo’s front steps. And…was that Vincenzo himself speaking with him? It was! The man—the self-proclaimed recluse—was actually standing on the front porch, speaking with Jack. The doctor must have alerted him to their arrival, because suddenly he stood straighter and turned his face towards the street.

She pulled Eddie to a stop in front of his house, and smiled at both men. “Good afternoon, gentlemen.”

Jack bobbed his head and murmured a “hello,” but Vincenzo felt for the railing and came down the steps towards them. His formal, flourishing bow had her giggling. “Mrs. Mayor! I’m so glad that you and young Eddie deigned to join me this fine day. Doctor Carpenter here was just telling me that the absolutely best place to picnic in these parts is north of town, near…” He turned slightly to include Jack in the conversation, “Which lake was it?”

Jack smiled. “Lake Enchantment, north of town. It’s pretty rare to find a lake in these parts, and this one is…” He shrugged, and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Well, there’s something special about it. It’s actually why Everland is here—people settled here because of it.”

Nodding, Vincenzo turned back to them. “Then I should visit it, I suppose. Lake Enchantment, apparently. Do you know it?”

Eddie was practically vibrating with excitement. “Do we? Yes, sir! Tom and Jack and me go down there to fish, all the time!” Eddie’s voice turned hesitant, then. “I brought my poles, if that’s all right, sir?”

“Of course it’s all right, son. You can give me some pointers.” Arabella’s breath caught slightly at Vincenzo’s grin. He seemed as excited as Eddie was about this outing. As excited as she was, truth be told. “Gordy—who is hiding inside, I think—has already packed a luncheon.” He turned back towards the porch, but Jack was there with the basket, holding it out.

“Here you go, Signore.”

The gesture obviously surprised Vincenzo, but he recovered, and managed to grab the basket’s handles on the second attempt. “Thank you, Jack.” Then he thrust his hand out towards the other man. “And thank you for your advice on the picnic locale.”

One brow raised at the gesture, Jack shook the offered hand, and then glanced at Arabella. She wondered what he thought of her, spending the afternoon with a single man and with only her son for a chaperone. “Not a problem. I hope that you three have a nice time. Meredith, Zelle and I used to head up that way when Zelle was younger, but we stay closer to home these days.”

As their daughter had gotten older, Jack and Meredith were very careful about where she went and who she went with…and it was more than just being proper.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.