Kara Lennox - A Second Chance

Luc’s jaw dropped. He glanced over at Loretta, but she shrugged helplessly. “How did you know we’re getting married?”

“You’re not getting married,” Celeste said imperiously. “ I’m getting married. Or rather, Michel and I are. That’s why Michel planned this dinner. Isn’t it?”

“I thought I planned the dinner,” Luc said. “To announce Loretta’s and my engagement.”

Vincent let loose with a hearty laugh. “Sounds like everyone’s getting married!”

Then the rest of what his grandmother had said sank in. “ Grand-mère, you really mean it? You want to give me the B and B? Won’t the rest of the family object?”

“Anne and the girls are completely in favor of it. You’re a part of our family. Your father didn’t get a fair shake, and nothing can ever change that, but we all agreed you should have the B and B.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Thank you would be appropriate.”

Luc stepped around the table and wrapped his arms around his grandmother. She was stiff at first, but gradually she relaxed. “Thank you. You know, I was positive you came to Indigo to fire me and take over running the B and B yourself.”

“Good heavens, what an awful idea. I’ve never worked for a living a day in my life. Why would I start at age eighty-five?”

“This calls for a toast,” Doc said, refilling everyone’s wineglasses. “Best wishes to the brides…” He lifted his glass to Loretta, then Celeste.

“And the grooms,” Celeste finished for him, nodding toward Luc and Doc in turn. “Now doesn’t this just prove that anyone, even a cranky old woman, can turn over a new leaf and make a fresh start?”

More toasts followed, along with plenty of hugs and tears. For the first time since he’d left the Hotel Marchand in disgrace, Luc felt a part of something larger than himself-a family, a community. He had real ties now, ties that could never be broken.

“I almost forgot,” Doc said. “Who’s up for a boat ride?”

“A boat ride?” Celeste echoed. “With all the wine we’ve had, who among us would dare pilot the boat?”

“Oh, all right, we don’t have to actually ride in the boat. But we do have to go look at it.”

“Michel, have you lost your mind?”

But Doc wouldn’t be dissuaded, and they all abandoned their pie to troop outside and down the brick walkway. Luc grinned. With everything else that had happened the past couple of days, he’d forgotten this last surprise.

Loretta took his hand. “What’s going on?” she asked. “You look like you know something.”

“You’ll see.”

Luc’s boat, looking spiffy even in the dark, bobbed gently on the water next to the dock. Doc shone his flashlight on the stern, where his surprise became apparent. The Bitchin’ Mama was no more. Now the boat bore the name, Celeste.

“Oh, Michel.” Celeste giggled like a schoolgirl.

“It was all Luc,” Doc said.

“It’s my present to you, Grand-mère, ” Luc said. “For giving me the chance to start over. I know it’s not much, but if you hadn’t sent me here, I never would have met Loretta or Zara, and I might never have known what it was to belong somewhere, to be a part of something bigger than myself, and to love someone more than life itself.”

Celeste dabbed at her eyes. “It’s one of the nicest presents I’ve ever received. I’ve always wanted to be immortal.”

Kara Lennoxis a bestselling author who has written more than fifty contemporary romance novels. She lives in Texas with her husband, also a writer, and a small menagerie. Her ever-changing hobbies include cross-country bicycling, metal-detecting, bird-watching and mosaics; most recently she’s taken up cooking. Kara has earned her living as an art director, a fitness instructor, an advertising copywriter, an actress and a blackjack dealer, but she prefers writing to just about anything.