The Magnolia Inn(85)

Jolene scattered a few rose petals as she walked down the center aisle and stopped in front of an archway covered with ivy and red roses. She turned and winked at Dotty, who was sitting on the front row of chairs, along with Flossie and Lucy. Then Sugar appeared at the back of the room with her arm looped in Jasper’s.

Everyone stood up, and it took only a couple of minutes for her to make her way to the front of the arch and hand off her rose bouquet to Jolene.

“You may be seated,” the preacher said and began the ceremony.



Tucker tried to listen to the preacher, but his eyes kept shifting from his beautiful wife to his baby daughter. The Magnolia had been the best thing that ever happened to him. Within these walls he’d come to grips with his grief, given up the bottle, and learned to love again. And now he and Jolene had a beautiful little black-haired daughter with big blue eyes.

“The ring,” the preacher said.

Tucker reached into his pocket and handed it to him. Maggie continued to fuss. Dotty tried giving her a pacifier, but that didn’t work. The preacher kept talking about the significance of the wedding ring, but Tucker’s daddy instinct was on high alert. Finally, he could stand it no longer. He took a couple of steps and reached for his daughter. Dotty handed her over, and Maggie immediately settled down.

The ceremony ended, and the bride and groom quickly made their way to the office. Pictures would be done in a few minutes, but all the guests were invited to the reception in the Tipsy Gator.

Jolene looped her arm into his. “Aren’t you glad we didn’t do it this way?”

“Amen, darlin’.”

With his wife on one arm and his baby nestled in the other, there was no place on earth that Tucker would rather be than at the Magnolia Inn.





Acknowledgments Dear Reader, Fate does have a way of showing up at the most unusual times.

On the way home from a big family Christmas vacation in Florida last year, Mr. B and I made a loop through Texas to find new sites for my upcoming books. When we reached the outskirts of San Antonio, it started to snow, and the weatherman said that there was bad weather to the west. That made us decide to go east instead, and we wound up going all the way to Jefferson, Texas, which isn’t far from the Louisiana border.

We covered the whole little town, block by block, and I wasn’t inspired. So we started back to Marshall, a few miles down the road, to our hotel. And that’s when I saw the Magnolia Inn. A two-story house nestled in tall pine trees and set back off the road, it even had a big front porch. Instantly, I could visualize Jolene and Tucker meeting for the first time right there. The basis for the story came in bits and pieces over the next couple of days as we traveled from there back to our home in southern Oklahoma. If it hadn’t been snowing west of San Antonio, if I’d found a spot I could live with right in Jefferson, if we’d driven east, west, or north out of town instead of back south? Yep, fate knew where to take us for sure.

Now you hold the story in your hands, thanks to Madam Fate sending us in the right direction. Speaking of the finished book, I want to thank Krista Stroever and Megan Mulder, my amazing editors, for helping me to bring out every emotion in all the characters. I’m so blessed to have them working with me. Thanks also to my publisher, Amazon/Montlake Romance, for continuing to believe in me. And to my awesome agent, Erin Niumata—we’ve been working together for almost twenty years. Without her I could never accomplish what I do. Also my thanks to Mr. B—the marriage that was only supposed to last six weeks has made it fifty-two years now. He’s my best friend and soul mate, and he’s always ready to drop whatever he’s doing to read through a manuscript for me or to go on a road trip to make sure I have the details just right. And last, though not least, to all my fans for reading my books, for writing reviews, and for sending fan mail. I love you all!

As I write “The End,” I’m leaving behind good friends that I’ve made with these characters. I hope that when you finish reading it these folks are your friends, also!

Sending all of you hugs until next time, Carolyn Brown