Castles in the Sand

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, 21
^st
Century King James Version (KJ21
^®
). Copyright © 1994, Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237, and used by permission, and from The New Jerusalem Bible, copyright © 1985 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.

Some quotations are also taken from
The Book of Common Prayer
.

Cover by Garborg Design Works, Savage, Minnesota

Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Ste #200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.

Cover photos © Ross Anania / Photodisc Red / Getty Images; Krzysztof Nieciecki / istockphoto; Ron Hohenhaus / istockphoto

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

CASTLES IN THE SAND

Copyright © 2006 by Sally John

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
John, Sally, 1951-

Castles in the sand / Sally John.

p. cm. — (The beach house series ; bk. 2)

ISBN-13: 978-0-7369-1317-1 (pbk.)

ISBN-10: 0-7369-1317-3 (pbk.)

Product # 6913173

1. Pregnancy, Unwanted—Fiction. 2. Clergy—Family relationships—Fiction. 3. Fathers and daughters—Fiction. 4. Mothers and daughters—Fiction. 5. Seaside resorts—Fiction. 6. Domestic fiction. 7. Psychological fiction. I. Title. II. Series.

PS3560.O323C37 2006

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, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

06  07  08  09  10  11  12  13  14 / BC-MS / 10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1

Acknowledgments

The Beach House Ladies

Prologue

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-One

Twenty-Two

Twenty-Three

Twenty-Four

Twenty-Five

Twenty-Six

Twenty-Seven

Twenty-Eight

Twenty-Nine

Thirty

Thirty-One

Thirty-Two

Thirty-Three

Thirty-Four

Thirty-Five

Thirty-Six

Thirty-Seven

Thirty-Eight

Thirty-Nine

Forty

Forty-One

Forty-Two

Forty-Three

Forty-Four

Forty-Five

Forty-Six

Forty-Seven

Forty-Eight

Forty-Nine

Fifty

Fifty-One

Fifty-Two

Fifty-Three

Fifty-Four

Fifty-Five

Fifty-Six

Fifty-Seven

Fifty-Eight

Fifty-Nine

Sixty

Sixty-One

Sixty-Two

Sixty-Three

Sixty-Four

Sixty-Five

Sixty-Six

Sixty-Seven

Sixty-Eight

Sixty-Nine

Seventy

Epilogue

Questions for Discussion

Other Books by Sally John

About the Author

I am so very grateful to my “walking encyclopedias” who responded to a myriad of requests for information throughout the writing of this story and to my encouragers who read early drafts—

Cindi Cox; Elizabeth, Tracy, Patti, and Christopher John.

Special thanks to~

Dave and Peggy Hadacek, for the provision of a writing table.

William Payton, for an uncommon expression of the faith.

Much appreciation to~

All the wonderful people at Harvest House Publishers, who tenderly care for my work.

Heartfelt thanks to my gracious collaborator~

Editor Kim Moore.

And, as always, thanks to my Tim.

Yahweh your God is there with you,
the warrior-Saviour.
He will rejoice over you with happy song,
He will renew you by His love,
He will dance with shouts of joy for you,
as on a day of festival
.

–Zephaniah 3:17-18
NJB

New Year’s Day

San Diego, California

A few minutes after seven o’clock in the evening on January first, the year her daughter was nineteen years old, Susan Starr nearly fainted for the first time in her life.

“Mom?”

Susan’s head felt cotton stuffed, but she heard concern in Kenzie’s voice. The sight of her only child dimmed as if a gauzy curtain had dropped between them. Black shadows pawed at the edges of the curtain. She leaned forward until her head hung between her knees.

“Dad! Do something!”

“Young lady, after what you just told us, there isn’t a thing I can do. What did you expect? You’re out of the country for four months, and then you come home with…with…with
this
!”

Even in her half-coherent state, Susan realized her husband was about to launch into a tirade. It meant civil, three-sided conversation was over.

She sat up and blinked, pretending she could see straight. “Drake, I’m fine.”

“You are not fine.” He rose from his armchair and drew all six slender feet and three inches of himself upright, stiff and straight as the fireplace poker on the hearth behind him. “Our unwed, unemployed daughter has just announced that she’s—” He clamped his mouth shut.

Pregnant
. Susan filled in the blank and gazed at Kenzie, seated all alone in the center of the couch. She resembled an imp, especially now with her short dark brown hair spiked every which way. Some people judged her insolent before she uttered a word. They would say the silliest things about her attitude, even when she was a baby.

A baby.

Tears stung Susan’s eyes, and she put a hand to her mouth. Her baby was having a baby!

Drake propped his hands on his hips. “Mackenzie, how could you?” Though his height and glower intimidated, he never raised his voice during a rebuke. When extremely agitated he lowered the volume to just above a whisper. Like now, it commanded more attention than an out-and-out, top-of-the-lungs roar.

He went on. “Shock and dismay do not begin to describe our reaction! How do you think your mother will ever be able to show her face again? And how do you think I can ever preach again? What am I supposed to say to my congregation? ‘By the way, forget everything I’ve ever taught in the past ten years about parenting. My single, jobless, sometimes-college student of a daughter is—’” Again he locked his jaw, cutting off the key word.

“I’m sorry I’ve hurt you.” It was Kenzie’s third reiteration of an apology. She had opened and closed her confession with it:
I’m sorry. I have to tell you something, and you’re going to be upset. But—I’m pregnant. I’m sorry
.

“Honey.” Susan paused, not sure how to delicately phrase the question. “Who…who’s the father?”

“Aidan.”

Drake plunked back onto his chair as if rammed there by something.

Susan said, “Oh.”

Aidan Carlucci. The guy from the band. Sort of…grungy-looking. Older. By what? Five or six years? Long hair. Susan met his parents once. The father wore his hair in a ponytail. The mother had a peculiar name.