Harlequin Special Edition: April 2022, Box Set 1 of 2 by Nancy Robards Thompson

Author:Nancy Robards Thompson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

I didn’t see you at church this morning.

Claire winced at the text message from her mom, and again when she checked the time stamp and realized it had been sent several hours earlier.

Though it seemed like a simple and straightforward message, the words were weighted with disappointment and disapproval.

It was her own fault, Claire knew. Not only because she’d given them so much cause for disappointment and disapproval in the past, but also because she’d been attending Sunday services fairly regularly since her return to Haven. It was her way of offering the proverbial olive branch—a gesture of apology and repentance.

And though she didn’t sit up front with her mom—she wasn’t sure either of them was ready to take things that far—she went to church and she listened to her dad preach, and in doing so gave both her parents a little bit of hope that perhaps her soul wasn’t completely unredeemable.

She was tempted to text a reply, but decided that her apologies would likely be better received in person.

So she cleaned up and drove into town, stopping at Sweet Caroline’s to pick up a few treats on her way to the simple bungalow that had been her childhood home. Though her mother might express disapproval of decadent indulgences, she wouldn’t let them go to waste.

“Hello, Claire.”

She started at the sound of her father’s voice as she walked past the doorway of his study. She hadn’t expected him to be home. Sunday afternoons he was usually in his office at the church, where members of his congregation could seek him out for counsel or prayer.

“Hi, Dad.” She dutifully went to him, sitting behind the big desk, and kissed his cheek. “Is everything okay at church?”

“Everything’s fine,” he assured her. “We’ve got a young pastor visiting from Oklahoma who’s covering the office today.”

“That must be a nice break for you. I mean, I know your work is a pleasure, not a burden, but—”

“But yes,” he interrupted her rambling to agree. “It is a nice break. And though your mom didn’t mention that you were stopping by, it’s even nicer to see you here.”

“Mom didn’t know,” Claire admitted.

“Well, it’s good to have you home.”

“It’s good to be home,” she said, no longer surprised to realize it was true.

“So—what’s in the box?”

The eager tone of his question made her smile.

She broke the seal and opened the lid, letting him take his pick of the doughnuts.

“She’ll be upset if this spoils my dinner,” he warned, just before he bit into the sweet doughy goodness of the apple fritter he’d chosen.

“So don’t let it spoil your dinner,” Claire advised.

He was chuckling when she walked out of the room.

“Claire.” Elsa carefully marked her page in the Bible and set it on the table beside her chair. “I didn’t know you were going to stop by.”

“I’ll be sure to call first next time,” she promised, touching her lips to her mother’s cheek as she’d done with her father’s.

“Did you want tea?” Elsa was already rising.

“Tea would be nice.

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