|
ba64d4a
|
In the last three years, he'd met many women.Young. Old. Pretty. Plain. Devout. Flirtatious. After living only among men for years,he found he enjoyed the company of women.Their gracious manners.Their gentle ways.Their lovely figures. But never had he felt anything deeper than a surface admiration. Perhaps because he'd been so focused on his training.Yet only after a handful of minutes, Joanna Robbins had touched something deep inside him, ..
|
|
kindred-spirits
joanna-robbins
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
cf7d7b6
|
Charlotte dropped her gaze to her feet. You're the most heroic man I've ever met, Stone Hammond. Slowly she lifted her face. I owe you everything.
|
|
stone-hammond
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
d16c954
|
You might of put Travis from your mind, but I still think he claims a piece of your heart.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
2a57519
|
As if he sensed her need, Levi scooped her into his arms and carried her back to the rock she used for sitting. But instead of depositing her there, he tucked her closer and sat down with her in his lap. He didn't say anything, just held her. And it was perfect.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
2e88168
|
The Lord probably didn't appreciate her feigning nearsightedness in order to repeatedly lean into her husband when she should've been concentrating on the meaning behind the hymn she was singing.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
f1f329e
|
Ach. Now, there be a lass with a bonny look to 'er. And I'm thinking it's nae me she's coming to see.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
4a7dfa7
|
Joanna's quietly intent nature contrasted sharply with Holly's vibrancy. While Miss Brewster's flirtation stroked his ego, the spiritual maturity Miss Robbin's exhibited commanded his admiration and respect.
|
|
flirty
holly-brewster
spirtual
crockett-archer
maturity
joanna-robbins
respect
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
5a845d4
|
Call me Levi." Duncan nodded. "Levi, then. 'Tis a fine name to be carrying." Levi shook his head and chuckled softly. "Keep your flattery for the women, Duncan." "Why do ye think I'm practicin'?" Duncan winked at him. "I got me a bonny lass to impress. She's a shy one, but I'm determined to coax her out of hiding." He wiggled his eyebrows and lifted his knees in a high-stepping jig as he danced his way through the doors, leaving Levi with a..
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
5f404c2
|
Anyone who could disappear with three kids and leave no trace is a force to be reckoned with. I respected your mind from the beginning, but over the last few days, I've come to respect your heart as well.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
2d11515
|
Please go outside. I really don't want to hurt you." Levi pulled up short. "No. Not toward me. To the door. The door!" She squealed, and Levi bounded forward, taking the stairs in a single leap. He threw the door wide and brought up his fists, ready to take on the unseen threat. "Get it off! Get it off!" She held her skirts away from her body and twisted her head to the side as if trying to put as much distance as possible between her and t..
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
8e57615
|
He could fit what he knew about women in a bullet casing and still have room for the gunpowder.
|
|
inspirational
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
fdb1ca9
|
Scripture instructs God's people to give our best to whatever task we turn our hands to, to conduct ourselves as if we work for the Lord himself, not for man.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
2a52fad
|
One who will offer you his coat when you're cold or cut you a bloom from his favorite rosebush just because he was thinkin' about ya while he worked. One who'll take your sass in good humor and sass you back when ya need it.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
19922bb
|
I don't want anyone hurt because I made a wrong choice, God. I need all the wisdom and guidance You can spare.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
e7a4889
|
Something nudged Mollie's shoulder. With the nudge came a reminder of the pain. She tried to snuggle back down into the darkness that had cushioned her from the agony in her head, but then someone called her name. Someone she knew. Jacob. He sounded far away. Surely he wouldn't mind if she just slipped back into the warm darkness for a little while. "Mollie Tate. Don't you dare leave me." Goodness, he sounded demanding. And worried. And per..
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
49132cc
|
The friendly, welcoming smiles she had grown to love still made her breath catch, but he'd added a new weapon to his arsenal. A secret, intimate smile that reminded her of warm kisses and strong arms. It never failed to flush her cheeks and flutter her stomach. The man was an invalid in a dressing gown convalescing amid a mound of cushions on the parlor settee; yet when he smiled at her like that, he became masculinity personified. Gideon h..
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
e409d39
|
Hang in there, Mollie." Jacob's voice rumbled just beneath her ear. She tried to pick out his words as the darkness rose to claim her. "I'll patch you up, I swear it. Don't leave me, sweetheart. Please. I love you too much to lose you."
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
67b3e02
|
I want to trust you that completely, her heart prayed, for she knew she didn't. She was a clinger, not a leaper. Once she found a safe branch, she grabbed on and held tight with every once of strength she had, terrified that if she let go, she'd plummet back to where she'd come from. She wanted to leap forward in faith, but her claws were to embedded. Something would have to shake her loose. And that prospect terrified her.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
42ed82e
|
It's been hours, son." Footsteps echoed in the room. "Let me sit with her for a few minutes while you go--" "I'm staying. I have to. I love her, Uncle Curtis." There were the words again. Only this time instead sounding like a promise, they sounded like torture. "I want to have a family. With Mollie." He paused. "With you, too." "Jacob." It seemed to be all Uncle Curtis could say. Mollie couldn't blame him. It was the only word she wanted t..
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
d83878b
|
Scripture calls you a hiding place, a mighty tower, a shield to those who put their trust in you. Yet sometimes evil penetrates your defenses. Helen bit her lower lip. I never understood why. She lifted her chin and squinted at the sky. But deep in my soul, I believe you are good. I believe you are strong. And I believe that I don't have to understand everything. I just have to trust. So that's what I'm going to do. Trust you to take care o..
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
79da70d
|
Jacob remained by Mollie's side throughout the night, clinging to her hand as well as to her vow. She wasn't going to leave him. She'd given her word, and Mollie never broke a promise. He prayed. He tended the cuts she'd suffered from the blackberry brambles when she'd fallen. The vines had grown entangled within a cedar's branches, and as best he could tell, she'd climbed the tree in order to reach the ripe berries that other pickers had l..
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
096ac4f
|
How had he managed to hitch himself to the one woman in all of creation who not only understood his past but stood ready to fight for his future? The miracle of it made his head spin. All he could do was thank God for antiquated laws and prejudiced council members.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
9761c8f
|
Helping a woman make biscuits should not make a fellow this happy. But when the woman was the fellow's wife, and she smiled at him as if he were the noblest hero of her acquaintance--well, it couldn't be helped.
|
|
marriage
romance
relationship
love
inspirational
smiles
wife
husband
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
f0dc4d8
|
He hated the their first kiss was up for public consumption, but if she expected him to give her a polite buss on the cheek, she was fixin' to be disappointed. He wanted no doubt in anyone's mind, especially his new wife's, that this marriage was real.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
e3c8423
|
Abigail's pulse hiccuped as Zach lowered his face towards hers, and when their lips touched--mercy, but her knees nearly buckled. He was kissing her. Honest-to-goodness kissing, As if he meant it. As if this marriage were something more than a business arrangement. As if he actually had feelings for her.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
0cc648f
|
How often had he wanted to believe that he was created for some higher purpose?
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
9e35c09
|
We can't change the past," he said, stroking the side of her face. "All we can do is strive not to make the same mistakes in the future."
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
caf34e3
|
Have you forgiven yourself?" The quiet question slipped between his ribs to stagger his breath. "Abby squeezed his hand. "That's the hardest part, I've found." A thickness crept up Zach's throat. "How do you manage it?" "Little by little. I take comfort in the scriptures that talk about how God removes our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west, how He will remember our sins no more, how He urges us to cast our cares on ..
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
23da2fc
|
I got ya, darlin'." "I'm not your darling."
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
b90d672
|
Guilt leads us to confession and repentance, she told me, but after we take it to the cross, we're suppose to leave it there, not carry it around with us. Jesus's burden is light. Guilt is heavy. Satan is the one who wants to increase our burden, to weigh us down with shame and despair, to steal our joy and the strength of the Lord that goes with it. Believing his lies instead of God's truth makes us weak. Made me a hypocrite.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
19c4c32
|
The best way to take our minds off our own troubles is to help someone else with theirs.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
a723b64
|
A man did what was right even when the odds were stacked against him.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
2fc20f0
|
His gaze slid toward the back of the sanctuary and collided with Joanna, standing silently in the doorway. You...Crockett's voice tapered off. For a moment, all he could do was stare. Her rapt attention, the tiny smile that brought into relief the freckles dusting her cheekbones, the way the light passed through the doorway behind her to see her hair ablaze beneath the prim straw bonnet she wore. Yet it was her inner light that captured hi..
|
|
spirituality
inner-beauty-quote
joanna-robbins
religious-faith
tapestry
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
1027d6a
|
Lewis had wormed his way into Ben's heart months ago. It hadn't taken long. The kid was so eager to please and so hungry for male attention, a rare commodity in a town full of womenfolk. Now Ben couldn't imagine his life without the little guy. Although . . . a secret smile slid across Ben's face as he watched the two young'uns crawl around in the dirt like pups themselves . . . he could imagine giving Lewis a little brother or sister to pl..
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
f60459b
|
Ye comin'?" Ben shook his head. "Nope. I'm just the driver. Ms. Adams owns the shop. She makes all the buyin' decisions." McPhearson nodded. "Seems my woman's determined to make a few buyin' decisions of her own." He shrugged. "I'll have to keep an eye on her. If Hazel has her way, she'll probably trade away me favorite chair. Finally got the thing fittin' me backside just the way I like it." "Colin McPhearson," his wife scolded from the po..
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
b8d04c9
|
She's a tough one, Hermes," he murmured to his lead horse, a giant black Shire that stood over seventeen hands, "but I think she'll be worth the trouble." He patted the beast's neck, his gaze searching out Lewis to make sure the boy was keeping out of trouble. "Ma would like her, don't you think? Seeing as how they're cut from the same cloth. Smart, hardworking ladies, dedicated to their boys. Tori would fit right in at family dinners." Hel..
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
f278953
|
He knew what it was to work for something he wanted, something he valued. He'd expend no less effort to win Tori's trust and affection. And God willing, her hand in marriage. She was his matched pair. He felt it in his bones. "Mr."
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
22bedaf
|
Nicole tightened her grip on the satchel she carried. I need help, Lord, her spirit pled. You led Abraham's servant to Rebekah when he searched for a wife for Isaac, and I ask that you do the same for me. Lead me to the right man, and help me to recognize him when I find him.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
8af4f4b
|
I . . . uh . . . thinking about the time you got mad at me for . . . trampling that cockroach. Then remembered how you lit into Goodwin with that bat. I found it funny.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
31bdad8
|
I'm not sorry for intervening," she said. "In fact, I'd do it again. But it seems like in choosing to do so, I surrendered my pacifist principles. Am I a hypocrite?" He laid a hand on her knee. "No, Eden. Not a hypocrite. You are a brave, beautiful woman, a guardian of pea . . . of life. You fought only when you had no other option. Truly honorable."
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
f29c48a
|
She'd bet in his childhood he was one of those boys who pestered his brothers to the precise point where they would retaliate so that he could escape punishment while they received a scolding for beating on him. He probably had a full arsenal of crocodile tears to go along with those devastating dimples.
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
35a6735
|
He tried to smile, but his bloodied lip wouldn't do more than twitch. "Want to tell you . . . got interrupted . . ." His eyelid drooped, and his words drifted away. Eden's chest throbbed. "You can tell me later," she assured him, stuffing down her disappointment while her fingers brushed the hair at the top of his head. "It's all right to rest." "No . . . tell you . . . now." His words were so low they were hard to make out. Eden leaned clo..
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
edccf96
|
Lewis!" The boy jumped and spun around. "What?" "Keep that animal away from my crates." Tori drew in a breath and deliberately calmed her voice. "Have him play on the other side of you, dear, where there's more open space for him to explore. And if you think he might need to . . . um . . . water the flowers, let me know at once and we'll--" Masculine laughter cut off her words. "Water the flowers?" Ben tipped his head back and laughed all t..
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |
|
686c400
|
Since he looks so much like Hermes and Helios, I figured he needed a name to help him fit in with the family. Hercules starts with an H and matches the stories Mr. Ben tells, so it just seemed right." Ben turned to look at her. She saw the motion out of the corner of her eye and felt his gaze upon her, but she didn't glance his way. She couldn't. Not when everything inside her had frozen at the words that slipped so casually from her son's ..
|
|
|
Karen Witemeyer |