Happily Ever After (29 page)
Read Happily Ever After Online
Authors: Susan May Warren
Tags: #Fiction, #Christian, #Romance, #Contemporary
“Mister, I
am
your public,” Mona said, and a new wave of disbelief washed over her.
Jonah’s
here, kissing
me.
“You can’t stop writing any more than you can stop breathing.”
He leaned his forehead against hers. “Have I told you how much I love you?”
“Tell me again.”
“Since it’s okay with you, I have one more book to write,” he said. “I’ll call it
Deep Haven
Dreams.”
Then Joe gave her a kiss that was so sweet, so gentle, so perfect it sent shivers to her toes. It spoke of commitment and
promises that were forever. When he drew away, a lopsided smile creased his face. His incredible eyes, however, were serious.
“It will be the last of the series. Jonah has finally found what he’s been searching for.”
He put his arms around her, drawing her close, holding her eyes with a soul-reading look. Mona barely managed to find her
voice. “And what’s that?”
His gaze left hers briefly, scanning beyond her and encompassing the bookstore—at the many repairs he’d completed, at her
bookshelves, the coffee bar, the oak stumps, the light fixture in the hallway. When he looked at her again, tears pooled in
his eyes. “Peace.”
Mona traced the shape of Joe’s crooked smile and wove her hands into his soft hair. Then she kissed the man upon whom she’d
come to depend, to trust, to love. The man God had sent to remind her that yes, dreams do come true in the hands of the Author
of happy endings.
“Welcome home, Jonah Michaels.”
The idea of
Happily Ever After
has been incubating in my heart since childhood, when I first set eyes on the North Shore of Minnesota. It seems as though
everything significant in my life has birthed from moments sitting on the shores of Lake Superior, listening to the call of
the seagulls or throwing stones into the surf. I found the Lord at a camp on the Gunflint Trail, met my husband years later
in Grand Marais, and began my writing dreams at a rough-hewn picnic table overlooking the rocky shoreline.
Mona and Joe—and their story—touched my heart and reminded me that God is the author of my dreams and all my golden moments.
My desire in writing this story was to share how God truly is our refuge, our deep haven, and that whatever happens, whether
travail or triumph, we can fling ourselves into the Father’s loving arms with trust and abandon.
A good friend once told me that God doesn’t give us a dream just to yank it away and laugh. We serve a loving God who knows
our hearts better than we do and longs to delight us with His love. I’ve clung to that thought throughout the years as my
family and I have served God in challenging places, enduring difficult stages in our missionary service. Through it all, I’ve
seen His provision, His protection, and His love, showing me repeatedly that I am His beloved child. Most of all, I’ve learned
that the more I surrender to Him and the more I trust in His grace for every situation, the more He surprises me with His
abundance. Try it! Give Him your dreams and your heart, and enjoy being loved by the Almighty.
Thank you for reading
Happily Ever After
. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. I’m looking forward to sharing with you other romantic
adventures on the shores of Lake Superior in Deep Haven, Minnesota.
God bless,
Susan May Warren
the Author
Susan May Warren recently
returned home after serving for eight years with her husband and four children in Khabarovsk, Far East Russia. Now writing
full-time as her husband runs a lodge on Lake Superior in northern Minnesota, she and her family enjoy hiking and canoeing
and being involved in her local church.
Susan holds a B.A. in mass communications from the University of Minnesota and is a multipublished author of novellas and
novels with Tyndale, including
Happily
Ever After
, the American Christian Romance Writers’ Book of the Year.
Flee the Night
,
Escape to Morning
, and
Expect the Sunrise
comprise her romantic adventure search and rescue series.
Reclaiming Nick
is the first book in Susan’s new romantic series.
Susan invites you to visit her Web site at
www.susanmaywarren.com.
She also welcomes letters by e-mail at [email protected].