"Heart's Desserts" - Softcover

Rene, Michelle

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1452566615 ISBN 13: 9781452566610

Verlag: Balboa Press, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

After the sudden death of her husband, Tessa Barnes finds herself examining a life without her best friend and soul mate. A strong faith in God, a passion to bake, and memories of Great-Grandmother Heart inspire her to open a unique dessert boutique where sharing the love of sweets with that special someone is the chef’s special. As Tessa’s dream comes true, her home and heart are filled with new friends and experiences she never imagined. She watches her daughter go off to college and her brother find love. Through her strength and sharing her love of God, Tessa encourages others to examine their own faith and life’s purpose as they provide support at the trial of the man who killed her husband and assist with bringing "Heart’s Desserts" to life. As opening night draws near, Tessa and her loved ones find themselves in a flurry of fun and laughter while they work day and night. When tragedy strikes again, the future of the boutique and a loved one are at stake. But through love and faith, family and friends prove that anything is possible when the "Heart" is at the center of what truly matters. Heart’s Desserts is book one in the Heart’s trilogy, in which God, Grammy Heart, and her family inspire others to follow their passion in finding life’s true purpose.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Michelle Rene is a creative advocate and the winner of multiple indie book awards.Her YA historical fantasy, Manufactured Witches, won the OZMA award and was honored by the Indie Author Project as Texas' Best YA Novel in 2019.It's sequel, The Canyon Cathedral, won first in category for the Dante Rosetti Award and was a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards for LGBTQ+ Fiction.When not writing, she is a professional artist, belly dancer, and autism mom. She lives with her husband, son, and ungrateful cat in Dallas, Texas.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

"Heart's Desserts"

By Michelle Rene

Balboa Press

Copyright © 2013 Michelle Rene Schafer
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4525-6661-0

Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

"Marni, you were amazing today," Andrew said tohis daughter as they drove home from her final highschool volleyball game.

"Thank you, Daddy," Marni said. "It was so much fun. Ican't believe we finally won the State Finals after four years. Didyou see the look on Coach's face? It was like he couldn't believewe had finally done it.

"We are so proud of you and all your friends," Tessa said."That last point was one for the books. Those giant girls fromthe other team were helpless as you hit that ball out of nowhereoff the net. The crowd was cheering so loudly no one could hearthe final call. The referee had to blow his whistle for at least twominutes before the crowd settled down long enough to get theword out that the ball was in. Everyone knew you were going towin it." Tessa looked back at her daughter with a huge smile onher face as she reached over and squeezed Andrew's shoulder.

"Well I think this calls for take-out Sushi and some ofMom's homemade peach ice cream I know is in the freezer.What do you think Marni?" Andrew asked as he looked in therearview mirror and smiled at Marni in the back seat.

"Sounds good ... Daddy, watch out!" Marni screamed as shewatched a car tear through the red light heading straight forAndrew's side of the car.

Waking in a cold sweat Tessa shook from the nightmare. Asit had the past few nights, the dream started out wonderful withthe three of them chatting about Marni's state volleyball finals.The team had won and as all the girls were seniors it was anextra special way for them to end their high school years. Theywere heading home to celebrate when the accident happened,killing Andrew on impact and leaving Tessa and Marni alone.That was three nights ago and Tessa had just gotten releasedfrom the hospital the evening before.

Tessa got up from her bed and went to the bathroom for adrink of water and to cool her face. Her arm was in a cast andthe bruises were starting to yellow as they healed. With a heavyheart she looked at the alarm clock. It was three o'clock in themorning. Andrew's funeral would be held in several hours.Tessa still couldn't believe that she was going to bury her bestfriend and soul mate.

They had known each other for five years before they gotmarried. Andrew was a senior the year they met. He was a yearahead of Luke in school and they played on the varsity baseballteam together. Luke had brought Andrew home for one of theirmother's famous "Sunday Dinners" where everyone was invitedand you never knew who was going to show up. When Lukeintroduced Andrew to Tessa she instantly became tongue tied.She had met many of Luke's friends, and even had a crush on afew, but there was something special about Andrew. It was likehe could see into her soul. He smiled at her and she immediatelyknew that they would play a very important part in each other'slives.

As she reminisced, Tessa went into her room and slowlyremoved her damp nightgown and thought about falling inlove with Andrew. After he came home that Sunday they beganspending time together. At first it was hanging out after baseballgames then going to movies. Eventually they began spending asmuch time together as they could. Andrew was going away tocollege and they wanted to make as many memories as possiblebefore he had to leave. Even though Tessa was only a sophomorewhen Andrew left, she knew he was the man for her and viceversa. He gave her a promise ring their last night together andpromised that he would be faithful to her forever and he hadbeen.

They were married a year after Tessa graduated from highschool and Andrew had graduated from college with a degreein Finance. The wedding was attended by many as both Tessaand Andrew had grown up in Titon and their families had beena part of the community for decades before. It was a weddingthat many spoke of for years. Tessa went to college then onto lawschool while Andrew built his reputation as a finance manager.He managed many high profile accounts in Ohio and acrossother states and was very successful. Tessa got pregnant withMarni in her first year of law school but was able to take onlyone semester off and passed her bar by the time Marni startedkindergarten. Since then Tessa had become partner and wason her way to senior partner when the accident happened.Everything had changed in a split second and Tessa wasn't surewhat she wanted to do anymore. Living without Andrew wasnever in her plan.

Andrew finally came to her while she was in the hospital.He told her that he needed to say good bye before he moved onbut wanted to also tell her that she had to keep living, move onand fulfill her dreams and life's purpose and support Marni indoing the same. Tessa cried as he spoke to her and held her thenshe agreed to do as he requested. He promised he would checkin on her from time to time, kissed her good bye then driftedaway. After he left, Tessa had a conversation with God and gotthe same answer. Andrew was gone forever, or at least foreveron Earth, and now she had to move on and live her life. Tessaknew that God had a reason for taking Andrew early and shewould honor them both by living exactly as she was destined.

After a quick shower, Tessa put on some sweats so she couldwork around the house getting it ready for the reception afterthe funeral. It would be difficult with only one working arm,but she needed to keep busy if she wasn't going to sleep. Marniwould be home soon and she wanted to spend some time withher before the funeral.

As she went downstairs she realized that the house wassparkling. Looking out the front window she could see thatthe lawn was mowed and the weeds were pulled. Entering thekitchen, there were beautiful flowers that had come from theyard and placed in a vase on the island. She picked it up andread the attached note.

"Tessa and Marni, We are so sorry for your loss. We know itisn't much but we took care of the yard and house so you wouldhave nothing to worry about on the day of Andrew's funeral.We love you all so much and wish you God's blessings duringthis time. Love, `The Uncles'."

Tears poured down Tessa's cheeks as she read the note. "TheUncles" were Luke's friends from his police station and softballteam. They spent many a Sunday at the house for dinner asTessa had continued her mother's tradition after her parentshad passed away. These men were part of the family. Andrewwould be greatly missed by them too as he was their friend andfinancial guru as well as a great competitor for the video gamesthey loved so much.

Tessa smiled as she remembered the last Sunday they wereall together. The boys had gotten a new game and they werewild with excitement, bound and determined to beat Andrew.Little did they know he had gotten the game earlier in theweek and practiced before they came over for dinner. Andrewbeat the pants off of all of them and everyone had a great timeteasing each other. Marni and her best friend, Sage, loved allthe "Uncles" and loved playing the games with them as well.Sundays were the best days at their house but now that Andrewwas gone they would be so different.

The guys had worked hard in the house and the yard andthere was nothing for Tessa to do to prepare for company.Andrew had made all the funeral arrangements years ago afterhe had helped a woman deal with her husband's estate that hadgone into probate because he did nothing to prepare in case hepassed early. It was such a difficult case and the wife almostlost everything. Andrew vowed he would never leave Tessa andMarni...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Balboa Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2013
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1452566615
• ISBN 13: 9781452566610
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 232
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: KreGa Onlinehandel GmbH; 4950000000000; info@krega-onlinehandel.de; ; Birkenweg 31; Brakel; 33034; Deutschland