Lorraine Beatty - Their Family Blessing

She owns the lodge, but he owns the land...

Mississippi Hearts seek happy endings

When single mom Carly Hughes inherits the Longleaf Lodge, she gains a heap of trouble—her teenage crush, Deputy Mackenzie Bridges. Her father left Mack the land around the lodge. While Carly wants to sell for her daughter’s sake, Mack wants to stay for his niece’s. And if they can’t work together, they’ll both lose everything...including the renewed spark between them.

LORRAINE BEATTYwas raised in Columbus, Ohio, but now calls Mississippi home. She and her husband, Joe, have two sons and five grandchildren. Lorraine started writing in junior high and is a member of RWA and ACFW, and a charter member and past president of Magnolia State Romance Writers. In her spare time she likes to work in her garden, travel and spend time with her family.

Also By Lorraine Beatty Contents Cover Back Cover Text About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Introduction Dear Reader Bible Verse Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Epilogue Extract About the Publisher

Mississippi Hearts

Her Fresh Start Family

Their Family Legacy

Their Family Blessing

Home to Dover

Protecting the Widow’s Heart

His Small-Town Family

Bachelor to the Rescue

Her Christmas Hero

The Nanny’s Secret Child

A Mom for Christmas

The Lawman’s Secret Son

Her Handyman Hero

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Their Family Blessing

Lorraine Beatty

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09479-5

THEIR FAMILY BLESSING

© 2019 Lorraine Beatty

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

“I’m glad you’re back.”

Carly’s admission left Mack off balance. He wanted to believe the sincerity and affection he saw in her eyes, but he didn’t want to read too much into it, either. “You’re just glad I’m here to help finish the repairs.” He’d meant it as a jest but Carly paled and stepped back.

“You’re right. That’s all that matters.”

She held his gaze a long moment, and he realized he’d hurt her feelings. But he was afraid to believe that her words were more than normal concern for a friend. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have been flippant. I’m tired. Thank you for caring. I mean it.”

She nodded but didn’t move. He sensed she wanted to say more, but Lucy came up and took his hand. “Will you come play with me?”

How could he refuse such a request? He smiled at Carly. “I’ve been summoned.” He walked off, but he could feel Carly’s gaze on his back. What did she want to say to him?

Dear Reader Contents Cover Back Cover Text About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Introduction Dear Reader Bible Verse Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Epilogue Extract About the Publisher ,

Welcome back to Hastings, Mississippi, and the ladies of the widow’s walk group. I hope you’re enjoying reading about the widows learning to love again after loss. I have a lot of admiration for the women who are courageous and carry on. Carly is one such woman. Life has given her many challenges and she’s strived to rise to the cause. But many of her issues are things she needs to confront.

The words of one of my favorite hymns kept repeating in my mind as I wrote this book. “Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

Have you ever taken something at face value because you didn’t want to know the truth? Had you sided with someone because you were loyal, never asking what actually happened or because you were unwilling to accept that the person you cared about would shift the facts?

Mack and Carly learned the hard way how much jumping to conclusions can distort a relationship far into the future.

Sometimes we have to stop and face the truth, ask the hard questions and stop accepting the standard explanation. It was only when Carly and Mack let go of the old notions and half-truths, and allowed the Lord to shine a light on the truth, that they were they able to put the past behind them and embrace the future they were supposed to have.

I hope you’ll enjoy their journey as they travel the winding road to their happily-ever-after.

I love to hear from my readers. Contact me on my website or through Love Inspired books or directly at Lorrainebeatty@comcast.net.

Blessings,

Lorraine

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.

—Luke 6:37

To my precious daughters-in-law, Robin and Cindy, who have made my sons happy all these years. You are a blessing to all of us.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text She owns the lodge, but he owns the land... Mississippi Hearts seek happy endings When single mom Carly Hughes inherits the Longleaf Lodge, she gains a heap of trouble—her teenage crush, Deputy Mackenzie Bridges. Her father left Mack the land around the lodge. While Carly wants to sell for her daughter’s sake, Mack wants to stay for his niece’s. And if they can’t work together, they’ll both lose everything...including the renewed spark between them.