A Holiday Heâd Never Forget
From his first encounter with the feisty redhead, widower and fire marshal Ryan Owen knows heâs in trouble. Heâs in Vine Beach to heal, not to find romance. As for Leah Berry, sheâs come home strictly to lay claim to her familyâs restaurant and fend off developers. Leah is infuriated when Ryan shuts down the restaurant on violations. Both are determined to have their way, even as something unexpected starts blossoming between them. Theyâll need to learn the hardest thing about love and faithâletting go.
âGet. Out. Of. Here,â Leah said through clenched jaws.
The dog paused long enough to blink, then returned his attention to Baby, her oversize orange tabby, whose hissing and howling did nothing to help the situation. Leah waved her magazine at the dog, but the animal ignored her completely.
A shrill whistle split the air. The dog froze and looked back toward the open door. Another whistle and he made a hasty exit.
Leah stormed out in pursuit of whoever owned the disaster with paws only to slam into a wall of gray fabric.
The collision knocked her backward, and she saw stars. A pair of strong arms caught and pulled her upright.
âDid you hit your head?â
âIâm fine,â she said, though her field of vision was limited to a gray Firemenâs Training School T-shirt. Moving her gaze higher, she recognized her rescuer as someone who looked very familiar.
Ryan Owen.
About the Author
KATHLEEN YâBARBO is a multipublished bestselling author of Christian fiction and nonfiction with over thirty books to her credit. She writes historical novels for Waterbrook Press and is the coauthor of two nonfiction books on divorce and empty nest syndrome. A tenth-generation Texan, she holds a marketing degree from Texas A&M University and a certificate in paralegal studies. Kathleen is the proud mother of a daughter and three grown sons.
As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. âProverbs 26:21
âItâs just dinner.â
âRobert Turner
In memory of Ryan Euan,
for a life well lived in a time far too short, and for those in whose hearts he will continue to live.
Chapter One
âLeah, somebody needs to tell the guy at table seven that we closed twenty minutes ago. He just ordered another plate of fried shrimp then had the nerve to ask me to bring him a dessert menu.â
Leah Berry looked up from the list she was making to see the young waitress scowling at the offending customer. Dark hair, muscles and a leave-me-alone expression marked him as a guy who wasnât expecting company or, apparently, planning to leave, even though the sign on the door was clearly marked with the news that Popâs Seafood Shack was only open for lunch on Wednesdays until 3:00 p.m. from the first of November through the end of the year. It was now 3:20 p.m.
Much as Leah needed to get over to the stables and see to the horses, it wasnât worth losing a customer over. If sheâd learned anything since she left her curatorâs job at The Galveston Preservation Society last spring to run the family restaurant, it was that the customer came first.
âBe nice and go fill his tea glass,â she said firmly. âAnd smile when you hand him that menu.â
The waitress, barely out of her teens and more set on a modeling career than one in food service, opened her mouth to complain then obviously thought better of it. Kate Murdoch hadnât quite taken to being a waitress but she was willing to work for what the restaurant could afford to pay her during the winter season. Plus, her father was the mayor of Vine Beach and an old friend of Popâs. Much as Leah hoped Kate made a success of her modeling dreams, she didnât wish for it to happen soon.
Grabbing a menu with one hand and the tea pitcher with the other, Kate wound her way through the maze of tables to where the stranger sat mesmerized by the view of the Gulf beyond the wide expanse of windows. He offered the waitress a nod then went back to gazing at the water again. Leah watched to make sure the future super model offered no evidence of her irritation.
âI told you we needed a rule about ordering all-you-can-eat in the last hour before closing,â Kate said when she breezed past to deposit the empty plates. âHeâs picking at the shrimp and staring out the window. Seriously. Iâm so over this.â
âHe probably just doesnât realize weâre only open for lunch on Wednesdays,â she offered to Kateâs retreating back.