Instant Family

The Single Mom Next Door

Summer at a picturesque Silver Lake resort marks a new beginning for Frankie Munro and her daughter. After a painful marriage, the single mom shies away from any personal connection—though she admires the tender care handsome neighbor Ben Cedar shows his dad. Ben wasn’t there for his mother when it counted, so he’s determined to help his father cope with Alzheimer’s. Yet it’s Frankie’s shy ten-year-old daughter, Rae, who really gets through to his dad. As their relatives bond and flourish, so do Ben and Frankie’s feelings for each other. Before the season ends, can they let go of their pasts and fight for a second chance...together?

“What are you thinking about?”

Why, Ben wondered, did her radar always zero in on him when he least wanted it to?

He hesitated. It wasn’t likely that he could put his conflicting thoughts into a coherent explanation even if he wanted to. Frankie remained silent, sipping her own coffee and looking away from him.

Finally he answered, “I’m thinking about Dad and wondering what I should do.”

Frankie did look at him then, and her eyes—beautiful eyes, Ben thought, not for the first time—were filled with understanding.

“Maybe I can help?” she offered. “I mean, I can’t make the decision for you, but I’ve observed a lot of seniors and I’ve seen what their families go through. It might help even to just talk about it.”

“It might,” Ben conceded. But he stayed silent. And while it was true that his thoughts were always edged with worry about his father, he was also trying to comprehend the mixture of traits—hard and defensive, soft and empathetic—that composed his summer neighbor.

Dear Reader,

I’m so excited to share my debut novel with you! Thank you for coming on this journey with Ben and Frankie.

It meant a lot to me to write this book for a few different reasons. My father suffered with Alzheimer’s disease before he passed away and, like Ben says, I missed the person he had been long before he actually died. He wasn’t a pastor like Ben’s father, but was a journalist who taught me my love of books and writing and always encouraged me to write. Many of Al’s behaviors are modeled on my dad’s, but I know that it’s a complex disease that can affect people in many different ways.

I am also a single mom like Frankie—my husband passed away of heart disease several years ago. In writing about Ben, I thought about my husband’s kind heart, sense of humor and work ethic.

More than anything, though, I wanted to write a book about second chances. Of course, I thought a great deal about my dad and my husband, and sometimes had a few tears, but more than anything I thought of the many blessings that I’ve been given as life has continued on—my daughter, my family, my friends, my writing community and, now, readers like you.

Life has unexpected turns, but I believe in God and I still believe in happy endings!

I’m active on social media. Find me on Twitter at @gartshoredonna and on Facebook at facebook.com/dlgartshore. Feel free to email me at deelynn1000@hotmail.com. Come find me—I love to talk about books and writing and hear what people’s goals and dreams are.

Thanks again!

Donna

DONNA GARTSHORE loves reading and writing. She also writes short stories, poetry and devotionals. She often veers off to the book section in the grocery store when she should be buying food. Besides talking about books and writing, Donna loves spending time with her daughter, Sunday family suppers and engaging online with the writing community.

Instant Family

Donna Gartshore

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;

and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge Him,

and He shall direct thy paths.

—Proverbs 3:5–6

This book is dedicated in memory of my father,

Ian Franklin Bickle, and my husband,

James Douglas Gartshore.

And it is for Sara Gartshore, who has made

every single day of being her mom a blessing,

and for my family, near and far, who mean more

to me than I can express.

Thanks also to my wonderful editor,

Melissa Endlich, for giving me this chance.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

About the Author

Title Page

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

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

“Is this the surprise you talked about, Mom?”

Somewhere in her mind, Frankie Munro registered her daughter’s tremulous question and felt Rae’s small, sweaty hand clutching her own. But she couldn’t find the words to answer her.

A surprise, indeed, but not a pleasant one and not at all the one she had been planning to share.

The cabin that she had booked for the summer was covered in violent-looking splashes of paint and offensive graffiti. In no way did it represent the rustic yet pristine atmosphere she had pored over in the brochures advertising Silver Lake Park in Saskatchewan, Canada. It had been a six-hour drive from their home in Regina, Saskatchewan, and they had passed the time talking of the possibility of bear sightings with a kind of gleeful fear, and speculating how cold the water would be.

Since Frankie’s husband walked out on them several months ago, she wanted to do something to return the light to Rae’s eyes. Rae was an intuitive ten-year-old with an advanced talent for art, but it had been months since Frankie had seen her enthusiastic about drawing or painting. She hoped that spending the summer together, away from their house and the memories it held, would help return a spark of artistic interest to Rae, and with that would come a return to the happy, inquisitive girl she had been.

She hoped the time away would help restore some of her own motivation, too. She’d had goals—she wanted to be a nurse—and although those goals had been put on the back burner due to her ex-husband’s demands, they still simmered within her. Frankie wanted to use the summer to rediscover the woman she had been before Trevor left: the woman who’d had goals...the woman who’d had faith.

Frankie worked as a nurse’s aide at a senior-care home in Regina. She usually liked her job very much and had a true affinity for the seniors she worked with. But in the months after her husband left, she’d been a mass of nerves, mistakes and indecisions, until the manager of the home had called her in and explained that she had to take some time off and find an effective way to deal with her obvious stress.

Thus, a paid leave of absence, combined with financial help from her parents, which Frankie had accepted only after they signed a note saying she would pay them back in full as soon as she could, cleared the pathway for her to plan this summer getaway with Rae.

Research and word of mouth had brought her to the conclusion that Silver Lake looked like a positive place with the right balance of nature and town activities. The beautifully scenic photographs of trees, flowers and local animals gave her hope that Rae would feel compelled to capture them on canvas. As the plans came together, her hope for a new start began to grow tentatively. She had not yet decided if that new start would include a church.

But now, as they looked at the vandalized cabin, Frankie prayed silently, an ache of regret in her throat. God, I wanted You to meet us here.

Suddenly, rapid footsteps came up behind them and Frankie spun quickly around. The man approaching them was very handsome. He was also very angry.

“What are you doing?” the stranger demanded. His dark blue eyes seemed to give off sparks of fury. “Why are you lurking around these cabins?”

Frankie attempted to give Rae a reassuring smile and stepped in front of her, adopting a defensive stance. Not that she thought she had any real hope of intimidating this stranger, since she stood at five foot four and he had to be at least six feet tall. Still, if he imagined he was going to threaten them or get anywhere near her daughter, she’d do whatever she could to prove him wrong.

“We’re not lurking,” Frankie told him, hoping that if she spoke loudly enough it would mask the way her voice was shaking. “I paid to rent this cabin and we get here and—this!” Her hand flipped toward the vandalized cabin with a gesture that managed to be both defiant and defeated.

The man studied them with a speculative look on his face, then relaxed his shoulders and stepped back.

* * *

Ben Cedar felt decidedly chagrined. He had thought the small, slight figure wearing cutoff shorts, a T-shirt and a baseball cap was a teenage boy, with his little sister, but he’d already launched into his tirade before he realized his mistake.

This woman, whoever she was, might be dressed in a boyish fashion, but up close she was unmistakably female. He didn’t think he’d ever seen skin quite as smooth and golden peachy or features so delicate. He could see the sheer resilience it took for her to keep her brown eyes locked to his. Behind her, the girl peeked out, her eyes wide and her hands over her mouth.

Ben felt even worse and tried to give the little girl a friendly smile, but she gave an audible gasp and retreated.

The woman looked like she would take great pleasure in maiming him or worse.

“I’m sorry,” he said, attempting to rectify the situation. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.” He tried to push out another smile, but the truth was that he didn’t need any more complications added to his summer—or to his life—and he just wanted the misunderstanding to go away as quickly as possible.

The woman didn’t answer, but her expression clearly said that he wasn’t convincing her.

“My name’s Ben Cedar,” he said, making another attempt. “My father and I are here for the summer. We’ve spent every summer here since I was a kid. My mom used to...” He stopped himself and said more briskly, “Well, anyway, yours isn’t the only cabin to be vandalized. It’s been happening all over the place and some of the town businesses have been hit, too. It’s really put a damper on people’s vacations.” Regret darkened his eyes. “It’s a real shame, too,” he said. “This has always been such a great place for families. I have a lot of happy memories here. I don’t know what’s gone wrong, though I have some suspicions.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, but my daughter and I don’t appreciate being accused,” the woman said. Despite the slight tremor in her voice, her stiff posture and rigid mouth told Ben that she wasn’t about to concede her ground easily.

Lord, please help me make this right.

“Hello, there!” said another voice.

Ben closed his eyes for a moment, feeling a pulse of anxiety. Now was definitely not the time for his father to make a scene. He silently reminded himself to be patient. His dad couldn’t help his behavior and, besides, having one last memorable summer with him was one of the main reasons that Ben was here.

Ben thought about what was facing him at summer’s end, and an acute ache pulsed behind his eyes. But he couldn’t dwell on that now. The time to move his father into full-time care loomed soon enough without him letting his worry about it devour the days they had here.

His father grinned and waved happily at the little girl, and Ben braced himself.

“Would you like to walk down to the beach with me and look for seashells?” he asked her, as if it were the most natural thing in the world for him to say to a little girl he had never met.

Ben saw the woman study his father for a moment, and then a glimmer of understanding crept into her eyes.

“Dad, we don’t know these people,” he said, willing a gentle voice, almost as if speaking to a child. “And you know what I’ve told you about talking to strangers.”

The man hung his head and shuffled his feet back and forth in the dirt on the road between the cabins. The action stirred up a small cloud of dust.

“Did you have your nap?” Ben asked.

His dad shrugged and his open face threatened to collapse into a scowl.

Ben pretended not to notice the change in his dad’s mood and pushed away the foreboding in his own gut. It was, he reminded himself, the least he could do to take care of his father. Especially since there were times that he hadn’t been there when he should have been.

“You know I told you that if you had a nap and gave me some time to get some things done, I would take you for ice cream,” Ben said, pushing down the surge of guilt that threatened to rise up into his throat. The last thing he needed was to feel more guilt over this woman and girl he didn’t even know.

The man’s mouth made shapes without any words coming out and he kicked the dirt harder, in an expression of inarticulate frustration.

“Mom?” The girl tugged on her mother’s hand and whispered loudly, “What’s wrong with that man?”

“Rae...” the woman began to protest.

“It’s okay,” Ben said, directing his words to her. “My father has Alzheimer’s disease. I’m not sure how to explain that to your little girl.”

Her lovely brown eyes searched his face for a moment and then she gave a small nod. She glanced down at the girl.

“I’ll explain later, Rae.” She looked at Ben again. “Any ideas on what I can do about the cabin?”

“If you can wait until I get my dad settled again, I’ll take you down to the office and you can talk to the people who manage these cabins.”

“Will they be able to do anything about it? I think I should go talk to them right away.”

“They’ve been getting cleaning crews out. If you can hold off just a bit, it might help if I go with you. They’ve known Dad and me for a long time.”

Ben’s father started to wander off and Ben reached out and took his hand. They tussled briefly as the older man tried to get away, but eventually he calmed down and allowed his son to lead him back toward their cabin.

“There’s a good place for ice cream just at the end of the walk,” Ben said over his shoulder. “Turn right. It’s the place with all the big umbrellas.”

After a challenging ten minutes or so, Ben got his father settled back into their cabin and gave him a pile of hand towels to fold to keep him preoccupied. He found that repetitive activities calmed his father.

Ben eased himself out the cabin door, locking it behind him. He walked quickly, then broke into a jog, anxious to get to the Ice Cream Adventure as soon as possible. He had to admit that it wasn’t only because he was worried about what his Dad might do if he got bored of folding and realized that he had been left alone in the cabin. He told himself that he just wanted to get the situation rectified as quickly as possible. But something about the woman—her fragility, combined with her obvious determination to be strong—tugged at him.

When he spotted them sitting under a gaudy orange umbrella, nibbling and licking at ice-cream cones, Ben breathed a thankful prayer.

He paused a moment to gather himself. He’d already made a bad first impression and he didn’t want to swoop down on them like he was on a hunt.

“Hi,” he said, as he drew near to their table. “I see you waited.”

The woman studied him as if she was trying to decide what would be an appropriate response. Ben noticed how long her eyelashes were, framing her large, expressive eyes.

Finally, she said, “Well, there wasn’t really much else we could do, was there?” She looked at her little girl to signify she didn’t want to alarm her any more than she had been.

Her tone was mild enough, but it made Ben squirm a little.

“I’d really like it if we could start fresh,” he said. “So, when you’re finished your ice cream, I’d be happy to go with you to the office to explain the situation and make sure you get the help you need.”

The last part of his statement made the woman suddenly sit up straight in her chair and square her shoulders.

“Thank you for your concern,” she said in a polite tone with frosted tips, “but I’ll figure something out.”

The little girl nibbled her ice-cream cone like a nervous mouse and her eyes darted up to Ben, back to her mother and back to Ben again.

“Look,” Ben said, “I know it was wrong of me to take my stress out on you, but can you please forgive me so we can move past it?”

Was it his imagination, or did her mouth stiffen a bit at the word forgive?

She shrugged. “Okay, no big deal. We all have stress, right?”

Ben found himself wanting to ask her what she was stressed about. You don’t need to know, he reminded himself. You have enough of your own to deal with right now.

These days, it felt like it was nothing more than sheer effort, coupled with a long-standing faith, that kept him from wondering why he bothered with God. Yet, although his father’s disease now challenged Ben, it was his father who had taught him in the first place to trust God in all situations.

The tough times are when you have to lean on him harder than ever, his father had always said.

Lord, I’m leaning as hard as I can. Please help me to trust that You won’t let me fall.

He shook himself out of his reverie and realized that the child was watching him warily.

She was a cute little girl, he thought, although a bit unkempt, with the ends of her braids going fuzzy in the humidity and her glasses sitting a bit lopsided on her nose. He also noted that she must take after her father, wherever he was, because her features were round and soft, whereas her mother’s features were small and delicate. Regardless, he certainly wasn’t going to ask.

“I won’t force my help on you,” Ben said, looking from one to another, “but please let me know if you need anything. Since we’re going to be neighbors for the summer, I hope we can get along. I’m Ben Cedar.”

The woman scrutinized his face again. Ben wished he could ask her what she was looking for, although he sensed that she might not be able to answer that question even if she wanted to. Then she gave a brief sharp nod as if she’d made a decision.

“Frankie,” she said. “And my daughter is Rae.”

“Nice to meet you,” Ben said. He noticed that ice cream from Frankie’s cone was melting its sweet and sticky way down her arm while she kept her eyes on him.

He looked away. Something told him she wouldn’t appreciate it being pointed out to her.

“Frankie?” he said, instead. “Is that a nickname for something? Frances? Or Francesca?”

“Francesca,” she repeated with a little snort of laughter that surprised him. “Um, no. I’m not exactly the Francesca type. My Mom’s favorite book is The Member of the Wedding, but I doubt you’ve heard of it.”

“I remember there was an old movie,” Ben replied. “Julie Harris, right?”

He felt a certain degree of satisfaction when Frankie blinked her surprise.

“I watched it with my dad one night,” he said. “It was on the late show, some channel where they play old movies.”

Mentioning his dad brought a rush of trepidation to Ben. He really had to get back to the cabin.

Frankie noticed her arm and, with a quick, somewhat accusing glance in his direction, began to wipe the ice cream off with a napkin.

“Are you done?” she said to Rae. “We’d better go see someone about our cabin. It’s going to be fine,” she hurried to reassure her daughter, who suddenly looked like a wizened and worried little old woman. “It’s going to be just fine. I promise.”

Ben thought that the little girl would have no idea what it cost her mother to make that promise, and he could see the sheer will it took for Frankie to keep a smile on her face for the sake of her daughter.

He made a decision then and sent a quick prayer up to the Lord daring to ask Him to bless what was quite possibly the most inane idea he’d ever had. Still, if it would fix the problem and let him get his focus back on why this summer was so important to him—the amends he needed to make—he was willing to take the chance.

“I have a great idea. You’ll take our cabin,” he said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt, “and we’ll move into yours.” He wondered how he would get his father and their belongings relocated. But the words were out and there was no way he was taking them back.

“If you can just find something to do for another hour or so, I’ll stop into the office and make all the arrangements.”

“I need to let them know I’m here,” Frankie protested.

Ben braced himself to stand his ground.

“Could we please, Mom?” Rae’s small voice floated up like a hopeful balloon between them. “I really want a nice cabin like you promised.”

“Please let me do this,” Ben said, nodding his head toward Rae. “I can explain everything to them and you and your daughter can just relax for a bit, and then we’ll call it even.”

“Even?” Frankie retorted. “What have I done for you?”

“You’ll be doing something for me by letting me make up for the misunderstanding,” Ben said.

* * *

Frankie held Rae’s hands as they took their time looking at the displays in the Nature Center. At least Rae looked, and Frankie was grateful that her daughter was occupied. It gave her time to try to organize her own thoughts, which had been jumping from place to place like a skittish cat since they had first laid eyes on their vandalized cabin.

First and foremost, she absolutely had to make sure this summer was a healing time for Rae. As well, she had come to Silver Lake seeking to regain and strengthen her own independence, so she was not happy about needing help from a stranger almost from their first moment there. She hadn’t even wanted to accept financial help from her own parents. When she had heard Ben say that the beach community had been plagued with vandalism this summer, she had fought hard against the feeling that her goals for the summer would fail.

Frankie’s thoughts jumped to Ben. She wasn’t at all sure what to think of him, and at the same time asked herself why she should bother thinking about him at all.

Yet, even if his physical appeal wasn’t enough to draw her attention, there was a complexity about him that intrigued her more than she wanted to admit. He was apologetic and polite on the surface, though she sensed that something darker simmered beneath, as if he had plenty of his own troubles—or secrets—to worry about... Still, his concern and gentleness with his father was evident, and he had insisted on giving up his cabin for them, people he didn’t even know. What kind of person did something like that?