Lighting Candles in the Snow (21 page)

“I should have called, Karoline, I knew I should have. But I didn’t want to push myself on you. I wanted to give you some space, to give you time to think about things, about how you felt about me.”

“I was going crazy not hearing from you.”

“You came by here?” He jerked his head toward his mom’s house.

“Yes. Your mom and I talked, Jeremy. We talked for a long time. About everything.”

He and I silently watched the snow falling faster, like a blizzard coming down.

Finally Jeremy broke the silence. “When it snows big fat flakes like this in March, it doesn’t mean anything. It will be gone by noon tomorrow, all melted.”

The snow was piling up on the windshield. Jeremy watched it, hypnotized.

I didn’t want him looking at the snow. I reached up and touched his face. I pulled his hair back and smoothed it over his shoulders.

“Jeremy, oh Jeremy,” I said softly. “Look at me, my darling.”

He turned and reached for me, tracing my lips with his finger. “Babe, I love you more than I could ever say. I never want to hurt you again.”

“I don’t want to hurt you either, but I imagine I will at some point. And you’ll hurt me, despite your best efforts not to. But we’ll work through whatever happens. We belong together, Jeremy. I want to be with you forever.”

“And I you.”

He pulled me to him and we kissed, while the silent snowflakes fell.

I touched the side of his face. You can live with a person for years and still not know him. God, how I loved this man.

I said, “Your mom told me about . . . about Stuart. And what happened that day. She told me the whole story.”

He shook his head. “She talks too much. She lives in the past.”

“I’m glad she did. It helps me understand. Knowing this part of your history makes me love you more.”

“It doesn’t change anything.”

“It changes
me,
Jeremy.”

I leaned over to kiss him again, and to brush away the tears on his cheeks. I had never seen him cry before, ever.

“Let’s go inside and see your mom. It’s been you and her against the world for too many years. I want her to know that I’m crashing the party.”

Jeremy kissed me back, soft and tender. “If you think it will help, babe. Okay, I’m ready. I trust you.”

“Good. Come on then, let’s go. It’s about time the two of you welcome me to the family.”

Mrs. London’s (Nonny’s) Pulled Pork Barbecue

(Excellent for a large family gathering. Cut the sandwiches in half for the grandchildren.)

2 onions, sliced

2–5 lb. pork roast

5–6 whole cloves

2 cups water

2 or 3 16 oz. bottles barbecue sauce

1 large onion, chopped

Put one sliced onion in bottom of slow cooker. Add meat, cloves, and water, with second onion on top. Cover and cook on low for 8–12 hours.

Lift meat from slow cooker onto a large pan. Remove bone and fat from meat and then return to cooker. Add chopped onion and the 2 bottles barbecue sauce. Cover and cook an additional 2–3 hours on high, stirring only occasionally. Add additional barbecue sauce if needed. Serve from pot on large buns. Makes 12–16 sandwiches.

About the Author

B
orn and raised in central Illinois, the daughter of a Methodist minister from Indiana and a school teacher from Nebraska, Karen Jones Gowen has down-to-earth Midwestern roots.

Gowen attended Northern Illinois University in DeKalb before transferring to the University of Illinois in Champaign–Urbana. After converting to Mormonism at the age of twenty, she transferred to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where she met her future husband. She obtained her degree at BYU in English and American Literature.

The Gowens have lived in Utah, Illinois, California and Washington, currently residing near Salt Lake City. They are the parents of ten children. Not surprisingly, family relationships are a recurring theme in Gowen’s writing.

Lighting Candles in the Snow
is her fourth book and third novel.

She is currently working on a cookbook. For more about Karen and her books and activities, visit her website at
karenjonesgowen.com
.

Acknowledgements

F
irst and foremost I owe deep gratitude to my husband, Bruce, for his unfailing support of my desire to write. Through our years together you have always been my strongest ally in whatever scheme or dream I imagined. Thank you, Bruce. I owe my happiness to your eternal love and enthusiasm.

And to our hugely talented children who provided valuable feedback and input as I was writing this novel, just as you did with my previous books, I appreciate all of your selfless efforts in my behalf. Little did I realize during those long summer months of our endless library trips and read-ins and book discussions that I was raising my future beta readers and editors-in-training.

I wish to thank the staff of WiDō Publishing who are so supportive and helpful in every step of the way. No author could ask for a better publisher.

Many thanks to Tracy Jo Blowers for her incredible cover design. Her eye and skill in photography truly amazes me, and thank you to Lisa Marek Olson for sharing your expertise in making Tracy’s art and vision fit my book cover.

A special thank you goes out to my sisters, Julie, Jeri, and Becki. One of you gave me ideas about addiction, others about divorce. You know who you are. Thanks for your input and your willingness to listen to me read from my manuscript during sisters’ weekends. And to our cousin Peggy, who listened to a very rough draft as she sat in as a Jones girl and honorary sister one weekend in St. George.

My countless appreciation goes over the Internet to my blogging, writing and reading friends. Thank you so very much for your follows, your comments, your posts, and your dedication to books and the craft of writing. You are all my inspiration.