Free A Time To Love (A Mill Creek Crossing Romance) by Angelina Rose Page A

He cared for her, and he made sure she felt safe each and everyday. As O’Malley’s thrived, she felt better and better about herself as a person and a business woman. Zeke’s health improved, and doctors said he was in remission again which allowed him to come back to work a few days each week.
     
    During his off time, Brice and Eva enjoyed being together more. She’d moved into his home a couple of months ago, enjoying his famous home cooked meals every night. And when he’d proposed to her just before Thanksgiving, she gladly accepted. Gracie had continued to insist they split the money, but Eva held out. Of course, she knew through the small town grapevine Gracie had set aside half the money in a trust fund for her sister and her own children one day.
     
    Gracie hadn’t quit her job at the diner, saying she enjoyed being with her friends in town everyday. But she had cut back on her hours a lot, and Randy was able to leave his job as a janitor to pursue his passion of writing. As he worked on his first novel, a science fiction fantasy, Eva could tell her sister’s marriage was better than ever. In fact, Gracie and Randy had taken several romantic trips to make up for the ones they didn’t get to take while they were worried about money.
     
    Eva had continued to work with Brice and Zeke on making O’Malley’s a legend in the area. Adding karaoke nights and events had increased revenues by thirty percent already, and Zeke was excited about the new direction his business was taking. Eva seemed to be just the tonic the two men needed to have a good relationship. It helped Zeke adored Eva, and she would often run Brice’s ideas through herself so Zeke would agree. It was a funny inside joke to Brice and Eva, but it seemed to work well for the business.
     
    “Sis!” Eva yelped as she opened the front door to see her sister standing there. “When did you guys get back?” she asked.
     
    “Just a few hours ago!”
     
    “Where is she?” Eva asked clapping her hands together.
     
    “Randy is getting her out of the car right now,” Gracie said with a huge smile. The couple had just returned from picking up their new baby daughter they’d adopted from Guatemala.
     
    “Eva, meet Lucia,” Randy said as he walked to the door with a bundled up baby. With a dark tuft of hair and bronzed skin, she was instantly enamored with her new niece.
     
    “She is so beautiful,” Eva cooed as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Come on in.”
     
    The two sisters sat down as Eva held Lucia in her arms. She knew she couldn’t wait to be Lucia’s aunt, and she was excited to think about having her own family with Brice one day too.
     
    “Where’s Brice?” Gracie asked.
     
    “He ran to the store, but he should be home soon. Hi, Lucia…” she said as the baby opened her eyes. “Welcome to the family.”
     
    “I was going to hold out until Brice got here, but I’ve got some news…”
     
    Just as Gracie started to speak, Brice walked in carrying two big grocery bags filled to the brim with food.
     
    “Oh, wow! Is that her?” he asked as he dropped the bags on the counter. “She’s gorgeous… Name?”
     
    “Lucia,” Eva said smiling up at him.
     
    “And look at you, Eva, looking all motherly,” Brice said smiling. “Can’t wait to see you holding our babies one day.” Eva smiled back and her heart melted when she heard him talking about that. For a moment, she marveled at how much a year could change things.
     
    “Gracie was just about to tell me something,” Eva said as she tore her eyes away from Lucia.
     
    “Yes. While we were in Guatemala, I wasn’t feeling well. Turns out, Lucia is going to have a brother or sister in a few months!” Gracie said laughing.
     
    “Seriously? Oh my goodness!” Eva said trying not to scare the baby. “But you didn’t try IVF yet…”
     
    “I know! It was natural! I even went to see a local American doctor there in Guatemala, and she confirmed it. We