Falling In Love With Her Husband Page 24

  “May I join the women?” my mother asked.

  I nodded. “Of course.”

  Ann’s father smiled and led my mother to the kitchen so my father and I could be alone.

  Feeling awkward, I closed the door. “Would you like to sit?”

  “Yes, I would.”

  He’s as nervous as I am. I took a deep breath as I sat across from him. I couldn’t think of what to say, so I waited for him to speak.

  “I came to apologize,” he slowly began. “I feel like a fool.” He shifted in the chair. “Will you let me into your life?”

  I fought back the swell of emotion that came over me. “You have always been my father. I would like to have you back in my life. I am sorry for the way I left. I was afraid you would talk me out of it if you knew.”

  He smiled. “Yes, I would have, but that would have been wrong. You were right. You have to follow your path, not mine.”

  “Thank you.”

  Ann and my mother stepped into the parlor. My mother held Nathaniel in her arms.

  Ann smiled. “It’s good to see you, Mr. Brothers. Will you be staying here for a couple of days? We have a guest bedroom.”

  My parents and Ann looked at me.

  “It would be nice to talk,” I replied.

  My father nodded. “Yes, we will stay for three days. Thank you.”

  “His name is Nathaniel,” she told Father, smiling at the baby. “May he see him?” she asked me.

  “Of course,” I softly replied.

  “We’ll leave you two alone,” Ann said.

  We nodded as they left.

  Father grinned. “I remember the day you were born. I held you in my arms and you looked so much like this little one. Where did the years go?” He sighed. “In the end, it’s family that matters. It’s not what you do with your life, it’s who you do it with. The job at the bank isn’t worth losing my relationship with you.”

  “I appreciate that. And who knows? Maybe he’ll want to be a banker. He might even want to work in Virginia. But it has to be his choice.”

  He wiped the tears in his eyes. “You are a good son.”

  We spent the next ten minutes talking about what I was doing and what was happening back in Virginia.

  I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye. Ann stood by the parlor doorway, smiling at us. When she realized we saw her, she announced that dinner was ready.

  I waited until Father entered the kitchen so I could have a moment alone with her.

  “How did it go?” she asked.

  “Very well.”

  “I’m glad. We’ve all been hoping for a reconciliation. What a great Christmas gift. It makes the hat I gave you fail in comparison.”

  I hugged her. “The greatest Christmas gift I have ever received is your love. You have made my life complete. Merry Christmas, Ann.”

  “Merry Christmas, Todd.”

  We kissed before we entered the kitchen.

  You’ve read Todd and Ann’s story.

  But Kent Ashton has a story to tell as well…

  Kent Ashton’s Backstory

  In Falling In Love With Her Husband, Kent Ashton was the villain… Or at least that is how Ann Statesman and Todd Brothers saw him.

  But was he really? Why did he really end his courtship with Ann? Was his scandalous behavior with Rebecca Johnson the reason he became engaged to her? And what compelled him to go after Ann after she married Todd and moved to North Dakota?

  This novella tells why he did what he did. And it paves the way for the book that will lead to his own happy ending.

  Please note: This is the prequel to Catching Kent. It does not have a “happily ever after” ending. The happy ending comes in Catching Kent.

  Kent Ashton finds his happy ending in…

  Catching Kent

  Kent Ashton has returned to America in search of a new start, a chance to live a quiet and unassuming life. But fate has other plans.

  After spending time in Ireland, Kent Ashton has returned to America. It’s his chance at a new start, and he’s determined to go all the way to California–far away from his past and the list of regrets he’s left behind. But while in Omaha, Nebraska, thieves rob him and leave him for dead in the back of an alley. That’s when Dave Larson finds him and brings him home so he can recover. As soon as Kent is better, he plans to continue his journey to California.

  But Dave’s daughter, Rose Larson, has other plans for him. She’s bound and determined to make him her husband. Sure, he might protest, claim he’s not the right one for her, that she’s better off with someone else. But she’s not one to give up lightly, and if she has to chase him to get him to the altar, then so be it.