Winter Winds
Authors: Gayle Roper
RAISE FOR
G
AYLE
R
OPER’S
N
OVELS
Winter Winds
“In
Winter Winds
, Gayle Roper creates memorable, lovable characters and places them into an exciting, fast-moving plot that kept me turning pages to the end. It’s laugh-out-loud funny all the way through, and yet the message of hope and faith flows from the pages like a healing balm. This is Gayle’s best yet, and I’ve been an avid fan for years.”
H
ANNAH
A
LEXANDER, AUTHOR OF THE
H
IDEAWAY SERIES
“Romance, suspense, and feisty characters, coupled with important lessons in perseverance and forgiveness, make Gayle Roper’s
Winter Winds
an interesting read.”
S
YLVIA
B
AMBOLA, AUTHOR OF
R
EFINER
’
S
F
IRE
,
T
EARS IN A
B
OTTLE
,
AND
W
ATERS OF
M
ARAH
“Skillfully blending humor and suspense, Gayle Roper explores the turmoil of relationships gone awry in a rapid-fire series of twists and turns that keep you turning pages.
Winter Winds
is a wonderful read!”
C
AROL
C
OX, COAUTHOR OF
T
O
C
ATCH A
T
HIEF
“Gayle Roper’s
Winter Winds
was a wonderful blend of heartwarming characters, hometown setting, humor, and intrigue. I loved this book and wanted to marry the characters off to my own kids!”
C
OLLEEN
C
OBLE, AUTHOR OF
W
ITHOUT A
T
RACE
Autumn Dreams
“Autumn Dreams
takes readers on a delightful off-season vacation to the Jersey shore of my childhood—complete with an ocean view and a delicious menu of characters. Cassandra and company face more than one stormy night before this romantic mystery concludes with a sunny splash. Enjoy the trip!”
L
IZ
C
URTIS
H
IGGS, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF
B
OOKENDS AND
B
AD
G
IRLS OF THE
B
IBLE
“When Gayle presses her peopled pen, a cast of heart-lively folks emerge. Colorfully arrayed in real-life pressures, you’ll recognize their struggles and feel their emotions. My greatest challenge was not to peek ahead, but I didn’t want to ‘awaken’ from this
Autumn Dream.”
P
ATSY
C
LAIRMONT
, W
OMEN OF
F
AITH SPEAKER AND
AUTHOR OF
S
TARDUST ON
M
Y
P
ILLOW
“Gayle Roper has written another wonderfully entertaining book with characters that endeared themselves to me in the first few pages and a neatly woven theme that shows the wisdom of waiting on God’s perfect timing.
Autumn Dreams
was my third ‘season’ in Seaside and I can’t wait to return for the winter.”
D
EBORAH
R
ANEY
, R
ITA
A
WARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF
A
FTER THE
R
AINS
AND
A S
CARLET
C
ORD
“Gayle Roper spins a memorable tale of romance and intrigue, embellished with a cast of heartwarming characters armed by faith and united by love against a threat to one of their own.”
L
INDA
W
INDSOR, AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF
A
LONG
C
AME
J
ONES
AND
D
EIRDRE
“Master of romantic suspense Gayle Roper has delivered another winner in
Autumn Dreams
. Real characters with all their flaws and all their baggage fill the pages of this well-written book. Once you pick it up, you will not be able to put it down until you have come to the dramatic end!”
L
INDA
H
ALL, AUTHOR OF
S
TEAL
A
WAY
,
S
ADIE
’
S
S
ONG
,
AND
K
ATHERYN
’
S
S
ECRET
“I loved the first two books in Gayle Roper’s series. Now she’s done it again—wielding her powerful pen, creating captivating and compelling characters, a page-turning plot, and stirring action that inspires me to say, ‘More! More!’ I’m so glad this isn’t the end. Write number four quickly, Gayle!”
K
ATHY
C
OLLARD
M
ILLER, SPEAKER AND
AUTHOR OF
P
RINCESS TO
P
RINCESS
Summer Shadows
“Once again, Gayle Roper shows herself to be a master at creating compelling characters.”
N
ANCY
M
OSER, COAUTHOR OF THE
S
ISTER
C
IRCLE SERIES
“Suspenseful drama, sweet romance, and breezy seaside setting … Gayle Roper’s
Summer Shadows
is ideal for summer reading.”
D
E
A
NNA
J
ULIE
D
ODSON, AUTHOR OF
I
N
H
ONOR
B
OUND
AND
T
O
G
RACE
S
URRENDERED
Spring Rain
“Spring Rain
is a heartwarming love story that doesn’t shy away from tackling tough subjects like homosexuality and promiscuity. Ms. Roper handles them with grace and compassion, never compromising the hope-filled truth of God’s Word while giving us a bang-up tale of romantic suspense!”
L
IZ
C
URTIS
H
IGGS, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF
B
AD
G
IRLS OF THE
B
IBLE
“Spring Rain
contains all the mystery, suspense, and romance a reader could want. I also appreciated the story’s ‘something extra’: realism and candor. Thank you, Gayle, for speaking the truth in love!”
A
NGELA
H
UNT, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF
T
HE
N
OTE
“This is a realistically portrayed story of love and forgiveness, filled with emotion and grace … A compelling read.”
R
OMANTIC
T
IMES
MAGAZINE
“Spring Rain
weaves powerful lessons on contemporary moral issues into a wonderful story—a very powerful combination!”
B
OB
D
AVIES
, N
ORTH
A
MERICAN
D
IRECTOR
, E
XODUS
I
NTERNATIONAL
“Gayle Roper is in top form with
Spring Rain
. Her storytelling skills make this one a page-turning experience readers will love.”
J
AMES
S
COTT
B
ELL, AUTHOR OF
B
LIND
J
USTICE
AND
F
INAL
W
ITNESS
OVELS BY
G
AYLE
R
OPER
S
EASIDE
S
EASONS:
Spring Rain
Summer Shadows
Autumn Dreams
Winter Winds
T
HE
A
MHEARST
M
YSTERIES:
Caught in the Middle
Caught in the Act
Caught in a Bind
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.
WINTER WINDS
published by Multnomah Books
© 2004 by Gayle G. Roper
eISBN: 978-0-307-78168-0
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from:
Holy Bible
, New Living Translation © 1996. Used by permission of
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.
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 Doubleday 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, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission.
For information:
MULTNOMAH BOOKS
12265 ORACLE BOULEVARD, SUITE 200
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80921
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Roper, Gayle G.
Winter winds / by Gayle Roper.
p. cm. — (Seaside seasons; bk. 4)
1. Clergy—Fiction. 2. Spouses of clergy—Fiction. 3. Separated people—Fiction. 4. Seaside resorts—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3568.O68W56 2004
813′.54—dc22
2004000276
v3.1
For Frank and Margaret Wilder
who exemplify the gift of hospitality
and model the love of Jesus
My deepest thanks to:
Nancy Ferguson Notaro, owner of Harbor Light Christian Bookstore, Ocean City, New Jersey, who was so gracious in sharing the workings of a resort town bookstore and hosting a book signing for me.
Josie Haines, manager of the Mustard Seed Christian Bookstore, Exton, Pennsylvania, who let me wander around her store and eavesdrop and who introduced me to the pink sheet.
Chris and Peggie, pharmacists at the Ocean Pharmacy, Ocean City, New Jersey, who shared their pleasure with life in a nonchain pharmacy.
Reverend Don Phillips, Ocean City Baptist Church, Ocean City, New Jersey, who told us all about life as a pastor in a resort town church with its fluctuating summer attendance and stable winter congregation.
Julee Schwarzburg, my editor par excellence, who makes everything better.
My prayer board, who encourage me, keep after me, and most important, pray for me.
Chuck, my husband, who wandered around Ocean City with me one winter weekend, asking all the good questions that I hadn’t thought of.
Be kind and compassionate to one another
,
forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you
.
E
PHESIANS
4:32,
NIV