Chapter 1
Sitting on the love seat parallel to the huge natural stone fireplace, Carrie Richards gazed out the window at the tall red rocks of Sedona, the unopened letter in her hand. Light snow fell, dusting the earth.
The postman had delivered the letter more than an hour before. It was addressed to Ms. Carrie Richards at her home. It was the return address that prevented her from opening it.
"It can't be," she said aloud to herself for the twentieth time. "Phillip is dead. He has been for six months. This cannot possibly be from him." Fear and curiosity both crept up her spine as she anticipated what on earth this letter could be. A sick joke, a sales promotion, or heaven forbid, a message from the grave. Carrie shuddered!
Finally resisting no longer and compelling herself to face her fears, she tore open the envelope. With shaking hands, she pulled out an ordinary sheet of writing paper.
Dearest Carrie,
I have arranged to have this letter sent to you six months after my funeral. I want you to have time to adjust to my death before telling you this news. Before I continue, I want you to know that you have been the love of my life, my soul mate, and the reason for my very existence. I have loved you from the moment we met and I have never been unfaithful to you. Please understand, darling, I cannot write the whole story down on paper, for it is long and complicated.
I must now tell you that I have two children, twins, Phillip and Jessica. Their Uncle Ron lives in Phoenix. If you choose to pursue this, and I pray that you do, he will tell you anything you want to know. Below are his phone number and address.
My Eternal Love,
Phillip
Still wearing the jacket she put on to collect the mail, Carrie went out the door and began walking the grounds, the letter clutched tightly in her hand. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she walked the snow-covered yard and across the barren, rocky plane beyond, high above the towns of Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon. Through moist eyes, she viewed the splendor that had brought her and Phillip to this wonderland. Mountains provided all the splendor of a western movie by day and a breathtaking view of city lights by night surrounded by the tall red rocks reaching majestically for the sky.
Walking her property usually had a calming effect on Carrie, but today, it was just the opposite. Weeping uncontrollably, she returned to the house and collapsed in gut-wrenching sobs on the living room carpet in front of the huge picture window. She cried for Phillip's illness, for his pain and suffering and for his death. She cried for all the long, lonely days and nights she'd endured since then. She cried for her anger at him for leaving her after only thirteen years and for her future without him, but mostly, she cried for the betrayal. The secret family he chose to keep hidden from her and her lack of understanding why.
Carrie remembered the first time she had met Phillip. She was working at a large bookstore in Phoenix, near where she lived. Fresh out of college and with an adequate inheritance from her grandmother, she wanted to own a bookstore. Not a large chain in a big city like this one, but a store all her own she could fill with books on every subject, from classics to best sellers, great literature to children's books. She had a goal for her future, but her plan included at least one year of on-the-job training, and this job was perfect. Not only did she ring up sales and help customers, but she was allowed to be involved in the purchasing and inventory as well. Her business degree would see her through the rest.
When Phillip walked into the bookstore, Carrie noticed he was tall, attractive and handsomely built. He wore dress slacks and an open collar on his shirt with an air of sophistication about him and a pleasing smile on his face.
Phillip was looking for a book on Northern Arizona. He explained to Carrie he was short on time and asked if she would assist him. While browsing through the books, he told her that he was a doctor working in the emergency room of a local hospital. He was saving his money to open a practice of his own in the small community of Sedona, in the mountains of northern Arizona. They chatted amicably while searching for just the right book. With the selection made and transaction completed, Carrie handed him the receipt. Phillip thanked her and left.
The following day, Carrie received a bouquet of pink roses with a card.
Thank you for helping me find the right book. Would you please have dinner with me Thursday evening?
The card was signed Dr. Phillip Richards, followed by a phone number. Carrie held the bouquet to her nose, inhaled the heady sweet scent and blushed. She picked up the phone, dialed the number and after a brief exchange, a date was arranged.
)
When Carrie Holland receives a letter from her husband of thirteen years, six months after his death, telling her he has two children and begging her to contact them through their Uncle Ron, her life was thrown into turmoil. Discovering the children are five-year-old twins and were conceived through artificial insemination with the deceased sister of the famed mystery writer, Ronald Burke, only complicates things. Can Carrie get past the hurt and betrayal to raise these children as her husband requests? Life gets complicated when the little girl has an emergency appendectomy, forcing Carrie to spend time with the children and fall in love with them. After having the twins for a year, Ron is not willing to let them go. His solution is a marriage of convenience. Can Carrie marry Ron for the sake of the children? Can Ron give up his bachelor freedom to be a husband and father?
