Castles in the Sand

Sally John

Description

In Castles in the Sand, the follow up to the first book in The Beach House series, author Sally John explores themes of forgiveness and redemption.When Susan and Drake Starr discover that their 20-year-old daughter Kenzie is pregnant, their lives are turned upside down. The news sends Drake, a pastor of a huge San Diego church, reelingand he sends Kenzie packing. Susan finds herself caught in the middle. Does loving Drake mean cutting ties with her only child? What will this path mean for her daughter? For herself?When Susan seeks the refuge of a beach house, a secret from her past resurfaces. This is a captivating story of how God's mercy is evident when our foundations crumble.

Sujets

• Romance

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers
• Date de parution: 01 juillet 2006
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736934831
• Langue: English

Extrait

Sally John

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS EUGENE, OREGON
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, 21 st Century King James Version (KJ21 ). Copyright 1994, Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237, and used by permission, and from The New Jerusalem Bible, copyright 1985 by Darton, Longman Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.
Some quotations are also taken from The Book of Common Prayer .
Cover by Garborg Design Works, Savage, Minnesota
Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Ste #200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.
Cover photos Ross Anania / Photodisc Red / Getty Images; Krzysztof Nieciecki / istockphoto; Ron Hohenhaus / istockphoto
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
CASTLES IN THE SAND
Copyright 2006 by Sally John
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data John, Sally, 1951-
Castles in the sand / Sally John.
p. cm. - (The beach house series ; bk. 2)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7369-1317-1 (pbk.)
ISBN-10: 0-7369-1317-3 (pbk.)
Product # 6913173
1. Pregnancy, Unwanted-Fiction. 2. Clergy-Family relationships-Fiction. 3. Fathers and daughters-Fiction. 4. Mothers and daughters-Fiction. 5. Seaside resorts-Fiction. 6. Domestic fiction. 7. Psychological fiction. I. Title. II. Series.
PS3560.O323C37 2006
813 .54-dc22
2006004026
All rights reserved . No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 / BC-MS / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments
The Beach House Ladies
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
Forty-Five
Forty-Six
Forty-Seven
Forty-Eight
Forty-Nine
Fifty
Fifty-One
Fifty-Two
Fifty-Three
Fifty-Four
Fifty-Five
Fifty-Six
Fifty-Seven
Fifty-Eight
Fifty-Nine
Sixty
Sixty-One
Sixty-Two
Sixty-Three
Sixty-Four
Sixty-Five
Sixty-Six
Sixty-Seven
Sixty-Eight
Sixty-Nine
Seventy
Epilogue
Questions for Discussion
Other Books by Sally John
About the Author
For Selah Grace Carlson
Acknowledgments
I am so very grateful to my walking encyclopedias who responded to a myriad of requests for information throughout the writing of this story and to my encouragers who read early drafts-
Cindi Cox; Elizabeth, Tracy, Patti, and Christopher John.
Special thanks to~
Dave and Peggy Hadacek, for the provision of a writing table.
William Payton, for an uncommon expression of the faith.
Much appreciation to~
All the wonderful people at Harvest House Publishers, who tenderly care for my work.
Heartfelt thanks to my gracious collaborator~
Editor Kim Moore.
And, as always, thanks to my Tim.
The Beach House Ladies

Susan Starr ~
Wife of Drake; mother of Kenzie, 19; wedding coordinator; singer
Natalie Starr ~
Susan s sister-in-law; wife of Rex; mother of two boys; soccer coach
Kenzie Starr ~
Susan s daughter; girlfriend of Aidan Carlucci; barista; musician
Pepper Carlucci ~
Wife of Mick; mother of six, including Aidan, 25; bookstore clerk
The Martha Mavens ~
Mildred and Leona: 77-year-old twins; widowed
Tess: wife; mother; director of church women s ministries
Gwyn: divorced; paralegal
Emmylou: wife; pregnant with first child; hairdresser
Yahweh your God is there with you, the warrior-Saviour. He will rejoice over you with happy song, He will renew you by His love, He will dance with shouts of joy for you, as on a day of festival .
-Zephaniah 3:17-18 NJB
Prologue
New Year s Day
San Diego, California
A few minutes after seven o clock in the evening on January first, the year her daughter was nineteen years old, Susan Starr nearly fainted for the first time in her life.
Mom?
Susan s head felt cotton stuffed, but she heard concern in Kenzie s voice. The sight of her only child dimmed as if a gauzy curtain had dropped between them. Black shadows pawed at the edges of the curtain. She leaned forward until her head hung between her knees.
Dad! Do something!
Young lady, after what you just told us, there isn t a thing I can do. What did you expect? You re out of the country for four months, and then you come home with with with this !
Even in her half-coherent state, Susan realized her husband was about to launch into a tirade. It meant civil, three-sided conversation was over.
She sat up and blinked, pretending she could see straight. Drake, I m fine.
You are not fine. He rose from his armchair and drew all six slender feet and three inches of himself upright, stiff and straight as the fireplace poker on the hearth behind him. Our unwed, unemployed daughter has just announced that she s- He clamped his mouth shut.
Pregnant . Susan filled in the blank and gazed at Kenzie, seated all alone in the center of the couch. She resembled an imp, especially now with her short dark brown hair spiked every which way. Some people judged her insolent before she uttered a word. They would say the silliest things about her attitude, even when she was a baby.
A baby.
Tears stung Susan s eyes, and she put a hand to her mouth. Her baby was having a baby!
Drake propped his hands on his hips. Mackenzie, how could you? Though his height and glower intimidated, he never raised his voice during a rebuke. When extremely agitated he lowered the volume to just above a whisper. Like now, it commanded more attention than an out-and-out, top-of-the-lungs roar.
He went on. Shock and dismay do not begin to describe our reaction! How do you think your mother will ever be able to show her face again? And how do you think I can ever preach again? What am I supposed to say to my congregation? By the way, forget everything I ve ever taught in the past ten years about parenting. My single, jobless, sometimes-college student of a daughter is- Again he locked his jaw, cutting off the key word.
I m sorry I ve hurt you. It was Kenzie s third reiteration of an apology. She had opened and closed her confession with it: I m sorry. I have to tell you something, and you re going to be upset. But-I m pregnant. I m sorry .
Honey. Susan paused, not sure how to delicately phrase the question. Who who s the father?
Aidan.
Drake plunked back onto his chair as if rammed there by something.
Susan said, Oh.
Aidan Carlucci. The guy from the band. Sort of grungy-looking. Older. By what? Five or six years? Long hair. Susan met his parents once. The father wore his hair in a ponytail. The mother had a peculiar name.
Mom, I love him. Unlike her flat tone of voice, her eyes pleaded. They were pale blue like Susan s and outlined in Drake s deep gray color. Slanted in a curious, almost foreign way, they aided and abetted the elfin image. He loves me.
Drake huffed. Love. What could you possibly know about love at your age? It has nothing to do with one-night stands. You have to be friends first. For goodness sake, we don t even know his family. There are more than a thousand people in the church, and you take up with some stranger.
It wasn t a one-night stand.
He went speechless again. His face reddened.
And we are friends. She turned to Susan. Give him half a chance. You ll like him.
Does he know?
Why wouldn t he? We re in this together. He s totally committed to the relationship.
Oh. Susan twisted a piece of hair dangling loose from the French twist Kenzie had arranged just hours ago, before dinner. They had giggled
The fire crackled. Rain beat against the windows with a steady staccato sound. Lights twinkled on the Christmas tree in the corner.
Susan could not get her mind around Kenzie s news. The ramifications were endless. But the situation was not all that uncommon, even among their congregation. Off the top of her head she counted three couples-good, solid people-who housed out-of-wedlock grandchildren and-
She gasped. I m going to be a grandmother!
Kenzie flashed a smile. Yeah. Grandma Susan.
A brand-new knowledge burst inside of her. She loved this unborn soul! Loved him with all her being. Flesh of her flesh of her flesh. Another generation had begun.
She felt her heart leap across the room, flying toward the grandchild. She longed to literally dance after the feeling and embrace Kenzie and-by extension-the little one. But she hesitated and then the moment was gone and Drake was speaking.
Kenzie, I cannot marry you in the church. You know that, right? I do not perform the ceremony for anyone who has had relations.
Drake! Susan sputtered his name. This is our daughter!
I d look like a hypocrite.
But-
No, we will not discuss it further. The people know my stance. I have to live out what I preach.
You married the Malcolms in the chapel. We could-
Perhaps, but I-
Mom! Dad! Kenzie held up a hand. It doesn t matter. We re not getting married.
What? Drake s low-keyed voice took on an edge.
Oh, honey, Susan whispered. The worst of her fears had just become reality. Not only was her child unwed and pregnant, she planned to remain unwed. How had such upside-down social norms tak