The Blue Ridge Romance Collection by Denise Hunter

Author:Denise Hunter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2019-06-25T00:00:00+00:00

Hope brushed away the wrapping paper and held up a heavy black object. “Um . . . what is it?”

Brady smiled at the look on Hope’s face. That little frowny face she made was adorable. “It’s an elephant,” he said helpfully.

She gave him a look. “But what’s it for?”

Brady reached into the box and pulled out its match. “Bookends.”

“Oh.” She set them on the coffee table opposite each other and considered them. The elephants were sitting, their feet extended forward, their trunks lifted high, poised to hold up a heavy row of books. “Well, that makes sense, I guess.”

Brady gave a wry smile. The gift was from his dad. “It’s the same thing he got Audrey and me for our wedding.”

“What? Are you kidding me?”

“He probably gets the same wedding gift for everyone.”

Audrey had taken the bookends in the divorce, though, so they could still use them. He wadded the paper up in a ball and tossed it on the floor where Sammy was having fun with the boxes.

“I’m sorry,” Hope said. “That must not feel very good.”

“That’s just the way Dad is. I’ll use them to prop up my sci-fi collection, though he’d never approve. Novels are a waste of time according to him. But at least he came to the wedding, you know?”

His birth mom hadn’t even known about their nuptials. They hadn’t known where to send an invitation since she moved around a lot and didn’t keep in touch.

“When’s the last time you saw April?” Hope jotted down the gift on her notepad.

“About five years ago. She showed up at my grandma’s place and stayed just long enough to upset everyone, and then she was gone again. She came back about a year and a half ago, but she didn’t bother to look me up. Actually, that’s what had me so upset the night I lost my head and slept with Audrey.” He shook his head. “Stupid.”

“I remember that. It was your birthday.”

“Right. Not my finest hour.”

“You were hurt, understandably.” She gave him a sympathetic look. “It’s terrible what drugs do to people.”

Brady opened an envelope. “Yes, it is. This one’s from Ruby Brown.” He began ripping off the paper. “Granny took care of Mom for a long time, but she finally had enough. You can’t blame her.”

“That must’ve been hard, but she did the right thing. Enabling a drug addict doesn’t help anyone.”

“I know. It’s just weird having a mom out there somewhere who couldn’t care less about you. She just gave me up like I was nothing.”

Hope touched his hand. “I’m sorry, Brady. You deserved so much better.”

Her green eyes tugged at him. Made him feel she understood. No wonder her friends poured their hearts out to her.

“At least I had Mom and Dad, you know? They were good parents. And I got a sister out of the deal.” Maybe he’d never felt like he’d quite belonged in the family, but he was blessed, he knew. It just seemed like a raw deal that the

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