Unanswered Prayers

Cover Page

Excerpt

About the Author

Title Page

Epigraph

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Dear Reader

Copyright

He came to a stop in front of her and took her cold hands in his. His eyes glowed with sincerity and determination. “And a good father to your baby. I promise you that I’ll love it like it’s my own.”

“But why, Howard?” she asked. “Why would you want to saddle yourself with a…a…pregnant woman and a baby that isn’t yours? What’s in this noble gesture for you?”

“I’d have a chance to do something worthwhile by helping you put your life back in order.”

“You want to marry me because you want to do something worthwhile?” Eva shook her head. “Don’t you think that’s taking the Good Samaritan bit a little too far?”

“It has nothing to do with my being noble or a Good Samaritan,” Howard asserted in a voice that straddled the fence between anger and hurt. “I’m offering to marry you because I love you.”

“You what!”

“I love you…I have for a long time.”

has been an active member of her church for more than thirty years. She’s sung for weddings and funerals, led ladies’ class discussions and home Bible studies. Though she’s taught Bible classes for various ages, she confesses to liking five-year-olds best because of their openness and honesty.

Through the efforts of a good friend, Penny was involved with the parish jail ministry for approximately two years. She recalls clearly the first time she went into a cell and heard the sound of several doors slamming shut and locking behind her. She’s often thought that that frightening feeling of being cut off from safety is infinitesimal compared to what it would feel like to be cut off from God’s love and mercy. It was during her time of participating in the jail ministry that she began to understand why Jesus fraternized with sinners: it’s impossible to reach others with a “holier-thanthou” attitude.

Penny likes writing about all kinds of relationships, and hopes her writing shows readers that no matter what the situation, God is in control and that His grace truly should be sufficient.

The author and her husband have been married for almost thirty-five years. They have two sons and a daughter, and eight grandchildren-six boys and two girls.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.”

—Romans 8:28

“There’s Miss High and Mighty, herself.”

The feminine, sibilant whisper carried down the aisle, transmitted on the deodorized air. Maggie Langley, who had stopped her supermarket buggy in front of the ice cream section, was too engrossed in planning the impromptu celebration of her two-month-old marriage to Rio Langley to pay the comment any mind.

She and Rio had been so busy since they got married, they hadn’t had much time for fun-or romance. But tonight would be different, Maggie silently vowed.

A willful smile curved her mouth. If anything could take her mind off the upcoming appointment with her gynecologist in Austin the following day, it was a romantic evening with the man she loved…

“Just look at her! Don’t she think she’s somethin’ in that fancy outfit!”

Outfit. Hmm. She would wear that satin cocktail dress she’d picked up on sale for New Year’s Eve and never had the courage to put on. Forget the ice cream. She’d play soft music and have candles-lots of candles.

“Shush. She’ll hear.”

“Don’t shush me. She ain’t no better’n the rest of us, married to that half-breed! Why, even his own father wouldn’t claim him. And now she’s tryin’ to tell the rest of us how to raise our kids? That’s a hoot, now idn’t it?”

Hearing the word half-breed alerted Maggie to the fact that the woman was talking about her. She froze, as stiff and unyielding as the container of ice cream in her hands.

“I said shush up,” cautioned the other voice. “She’ll hear, and besides, he did marry her.”

“Well, whoop-de-dang-do!” the harpy said, in a voice that dripped sarcasm. “That broke-down rodeo rider ain’t no prize.”

Maggie was too shocked to realize that her hands were stinging with cold. Hot color scalded her face, but it wasn’t the heat of shame or embarrassment. It was anger. Fury, in fact.

Having grown up with a preacher father, in a family whose very cornerstone was love, it was hard for her to imagine how anyone could be so self-righteous, not to mention bigoted. Every time she confronted either attitude, she grew angry-and more than a little sad. Gossip was as much a part of Crystal Creek as its small-town friendliness, but Maggie wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to it. Didn’t these women have any idea how much potential pain their comments carried?

She wondered if she should confront the spiteful woman or pretend she hadn’t heard the unkind comments. She didn’t care what was said about her, but Rio had suffered enough during his life for being a “halfbreed” born out of wedlock with no father in sight. She wanted to march over to the woman and inform her that whatever Rio Langley’s heritage might be, he was a good man, one who didn’t have to boost his self-esteem by hurting other people. He was kind and generous, with a heart as big as the state they lived in.