Home Away From Home by Penny Frost McGinnis

Author:Penny Frost McGinnis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: contemporary romance, Christian romance, late-in-life romance, island life, Abbott Island, kayaks
Publisher: Mt. Zion Ridge Press
Published: 2023-04-01T00:00:00+00:00

THE SCENT OF LAVENDER mixed with lemon thyme stirred in the air as a soft breeze crossed Violet's patio. On Sunday afternoon her herb garden, filled with fragrant plants, served two purposes—flavoring food and visual beauty.

"Dad helped you plant your herbs, didn't he?" Ivy touched the leaves of the rosemary. "The smells out here calm me." She took a slow, purposeful breath. "I'd be out here all the time."

With a tray of lemonade and cookies in hand, Violet set it on the metal, glass-topped table. "I love to wander through my garden. After the kids go to bed, Joseph and I relax out here. I rub the lavender between my fingers and breath in the fragrance. Lavender aids in sleep. I've made sachets and placed them under my pillow."

"Why am I hearing about this now?" Poppy stepped onto the stones Joseph had dragged from a creek bed and laid in an attractive pattern. "I need help sleeping."

"Hey, Poppy, I'll make each of you one when I harvest the buds and dry them." Violet handed her sisters a drink. "Help yourself to the macarons. I bought them at the new bakery in town. They're delicious."

Ivy lifted one of the light pink treats from the plate. "Don't you mean macaroons? Actually, this looks nothing like a macaroon." She bit into the sweetness. "But, wow, does it taste delicious. Am I getting an almond flavor?"

"You are. Macarons are baked with almond flour, and macaroons with coconut. They're both yummy, but I love the crispiness and flavor of these." Violet popped the rest of her cookie in her mouth."

Poppy nibbled on a green one. "Doesn't matter to me what they're called when they're this good."

The sisters settled in the wicker porch chairs and sipped lemonade. Ivy cleared her throat. "So, I went to visit Dad yesterday. Took him groceries."

"I haven’t stopped in for two weeks." Poppy had mentioned her art classes had doubled over the last few weeks. "How was he?"

Ivy placed her glass on the side table. "He coughed a lot, and the doctor says he's regaining his strength after the stroke. The cough may be from allergies or a dry throat. He scheduled an appointment next week with his general practitioner, so I'll have to make sure Dad tells him how he's feeling." She tapped her red fingernails against the arm of the chair. "I confess, I probed some while I was with Dad. He asked if we had cleared Mom's office. I asked a few questions about his memory loss, and he said he has dreams of a little girl he's familiar with but can't place. Did he have a daughter before he met Mom?"

A soft breeze waved across the patio and carried the fragrance of lavender. "We found those newspaper articles. If he was the man from the car wreck who disappeared, he did. If the obituary we found was his first wife, he left a daughter behind. She'd be in her fifties by now. Imagine your dad vanishes and you have no clue where he is.

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.