Wildflowers
Authors: Robin Jones Gunn
“Years ago my daughters and wife were inhaling Robin Gunn’s stories and loving them, so I had to take a peek myself to find out why. I did. Robin’s characters are believable, and her stories have just the right blend of hope, broken hearts, disappointments, lighthearted fun, joy, and an eternal perspective. The Lord Jesus always plays a role, whether behind the scenes or in the thick of things. Robin lives the faith that’s so evident in her books. She knows how to tell a story—and the stories she tells make an eternal difference.”
R
ANDY
A
LCORN
,
AUTHOR OF
D
EADLINE
“When you read a Robin Gunn book, you know you’re going to receive a tender lesson in what it means to belong to Christ—and you will be blessed for it.”
F
RANCINE
R
IVERS
, A
UTHOR OF
R
EDEEMING
L
OVE
AND
T
HE
M
ARK OF THE
L
ION
S
ERIES
“Robin’s warmth, insight, and humor spill over from her heart onto the written page. She delights us with the well-woven fabric of a well-told tale, and I’m certain Robin delights the Lord with her obvious passion for Him.”
P
ASTY
C
LAIRMONT
, A
UTHOR OF
G
OD
U
SES
C
RACKED
P
OTS
AND
S
PORTIN
’
A
’
T
UDE
“Robin Jones Gunn cares. She cares about her characters, she cares about her readers, and most of all, she cares about their mutual search for a life that pleases the Lord. Her novels are a delight to read—perfectly crafted, heartwarming, and fun. I’m always thrilled when one of Robin’s books appears on the top of my to-be-read stack!”
L
IZ
C
URTIS
H
IGGS
, A
UTHOR OF
M
IXED
S
IGNALS
,
B
OOKENDS
, AND
B
AD
G
IRLS OF THE
B
IBLE
“Whenever I think of stories that touch the heart, I think of Robin Jones Gunn’s. They touch my heart and leave me wanting more. Reading a novel by Robin Jones Gunn is like spending time with a good friend … troubles are lighter and joys are deeper.”
A
LICE
G
RAY
, A
UTHOR OF
S
TORIES FOR THE
H
EART
B
OOK
C
OLLECTION
“Robin Jones Gunn writes from a heart of love. Her tender stories honor the Savior and speak truth to a world desperately eager to hear it.”
A
NGELA
E
LWELL
H
UNT, AUTHOR OF
T
HE
T
RUTH
T
ELLER
“Robin Gunn is a gifted and sincere storyteller who gets right to the heart of matters with her readers.”
M
ELODY
C
ARLSON, AUTHOR OF
H
OMEWARD
HE
G
LENBROOKE
S
ERIES
#1 Secrets
#2 Whispers
#3 Echoes
#4 Sunsets
#5 Clouds
#6 Waterfalls
#7 Woodlands
#8 Wildflowers
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
WILDFLOWERS
published by Multnomah Books
© 2001 by Robin’s Ink, LLC
International Standard Book Number: 978-1-59052-239-4
Cover design and images by Steve Gardner/His Image PixelWorks
Edited by Janet Kobobel Grant
Scripture quotations are from:
The Holy Bible
, King James Version
Holy Bible
, New Living Translation (
NLT
) © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible
(
NASB
) © 1960, 1977 by the Lockman Foundation
The Holy Bible
, New King James Version (
NKJV
) © 1984 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
New Revised Standard Version Bible
(
NRSV
) © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
The Holy Bible
, New International Version (
NIV
) © 1973, 1984 by International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House
Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.
M
ULTNOMAH
and its mountain colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photo-copying, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission.
For information:
MULTNOMAH BOOKS • 12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200 Colorado Springs, Colorado 80909
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Gunn, Robin Jones, 1955-
Wildflowers / by Robin Jones Gunn. p.cm. eISBN: 978-0-307-82470-7
1. Separated people–Fiction. 2. Restaurateurs–Fiction.
3. Restaurants–Fiction. I. Title.
PS3557.U4866 W55 2001 813′.54–dc21 2001003457
v3.1
For my sister-in-law, Kate Gunn Medina
who for more than twenty-five years
has bestowed generously on me
love and friendship.
You are a treasure
.
“I was asleep, but my heart was awake.”
S
ONG OF
S
ONGS
5:2,
NASB
G
enevieve was dreaming. She knew she was dreaming because this was the third—no, the fourth—time the same dream had invaded her sleeping mind. The dream always started the same way: She was standing inside her newly acquired Wildflower Café, looking out the window at all her Glenbrooke friends who had gathered to celebrate the grand opening. She was ready to open the door and let them in when she paused. Scanning the smiling faces, she searched for her husband, Steven. But Steven wasn’t there.