Free Forever's Promises (Forever In Luck Series Book 1) by J. Darling Page B

times in the past, it’d been like her
own, but then everything changed, and— the door opened.
    “Linnie,
I’m so happy you’re here. You don’t have to wait, come on in,” Bev said,
becoming misty eyed as Linnie walked into the house. “Oh my, it’s like it was…
Oh never mind me,” she said, with a wave of the hand. “I’m just so happy.
Things haven’t been right for a long time and now, they’re…better,” she
finished with a smile. Then overwhelmed with emotion, she threw her arms around
Linnie and hugged her tight, not letting her go.
    Being
there, held in Bev’s arms, was right and strange all at the same time. Linnie
knew she held a special place in the Sanders’s heart, a place she’d always
cherish, as they’d fully expected her to become their daughter. So, it was
understandable they’d have missed her, as much as her own family, had while
she’d been gone. That was the right part. The strange part, was that this was
the first motherly nurturing she’d had, since her mother passed away. It felt good,
and yet it was awkward and a little unsettling, too. Nate’s mom was one of the
nicest people she’d ever known, and they’d always gotten along, but being here with
her now, made Linnie feel the loss of her own mother more than ever.
    Taking
notice, Bev asked, “Is everything okay?” When she didn’t answer, Bev pulled her
over to the couch and sat next to her. “I’d hoped this wouldn’t be difficult
for you, but I see that it is. Can I say something to you, something I’ve
wanted to say for a long time?”
    Looking
down, Linnie nodded.
    “You’re
the daughter I wish I could’ve had, and although I’ll never be your one true
mother, I hope you’ll look upon me as one. No matter what happens, you can
always come to me, you’re not alone.”
    Crying,
she was crying again. Weren’t they supposed to be working on a project or some
shit? She hadn’t planned on this today. Man, when was the crying going to end?
She hated crying. Well, at least she wasn’t bawling. Taking the box of tissues
Bev was handing her, she used a couple to wipe away her tears. How had Bev known
that was exactly how she was feeling? Alone. No mom, no sisters, no grandma, no
aunts. Just Jules, and the men in her life. She really needed to get out more. Taking
another tissue, and a deep breath, she looked at Bev and said, “Thank you. I
appreciate that.”
    Smiling,
Bev patted her hand and said, “You know, Nate would have a fit if he thought I
upset you.” This caused them both to laugh. “Come on, enough of this. Let’s have
lunch and work on that project. I hope you’re good with computers, because I’m kind
of slow at it, but I’m learning.”
    An
hour later, they were joined by Gertie Aker, and Nancy Barnes. They were
putting together a slideshow presentation for the Veteran’s Day program at the public
school. Every year, the students of Luck School put on a program honoring veterans
across the country. It was a tradition, and Linnie remembered it well. Generally,
the student’s printed the names of veteran’s they wished to pay a particular
acknowledgment to, on the program handouts, but this year, the hope was to have
a picture show of those being honored playing at some point during the program.
    “Oh,
look at this one,” Gertie said, handing it to Nancy.
    “Gosh,
that’s a nice picture, let’s scan that one first.”
    “Do
you think we should put some of these smaller ones on one slide?” Bev asked.
“Like, maybe two or three to a slide. We need to leave enough room to add text
boxes though, so we can put in their names.”
    Nancy
nodded. “I think that’d be fine.”
    “Linnie
and I set up the scanner before you arrived. Thank goodness she was here, because
I’d already forgotten what to plug in where.”
    Gertie
reached over and gave Linnie’s hand a squeeze. “Yes, Linnie, we’re so glad to
have you home.”
    “Thank
you,” she responded. “It’s been good to be