Love Returned Read online

  Love Returned

  Mildred Colvin

  (2011)

  * * *

  Christian Romance

  60,000 words

  Megan McGinnis was pressured to give up her baby and has regretted doing so ever since. Now she’s met Scott Landis and his son, Randy. His adopted son.

  About the time she falls in love with Scott, circumstances convince her Randy is the baby she gave away nine years ago. But what can she do?

  If she confronts Scott, she'll lose his love, and he'll keep Randy from her. If she marries Scott without telling who she is, she'll have Randy and Scott, but be living a lie. Is there a happy ending to her life?

  Love Returned

  Mildred Colvin

  Dedication

  To those of you who, like Megan and Scott, give freely to the youth of your community. May God bless your time and effort.

  Also, to my husband who served as Cubmaster for Pack 230 for several years.

  ~*~*~*~

  Love Returned

  by Mildred Colvin

  This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or persons.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without permission in writing from its author except in the case of brief quotations used in reviews.

  All scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

  Copyright © 2011 Mildred Colvin

  All rights reserved.

  Cover photo Horse Looking At You by Andrea Schafthuizen

  ~*~*~*~

  Megan hung the last ornament

  on the tree and turned to find Scott standing two inches from her with a twinkle in his eye and a sprig of greenery in his hand. He held it above her head.

  She backed up but stopped when a branch touched her back. “That wouldn’t be mistletoe, would it?”

  He nodded, took a step forward and grinned. “None other.”

  Surely he wouldn’t kiss her in front of Randy. She looked from one side to the other before finding Randy leaning against the doorframe watching. A huge grin brightened his face. A slow burn started in her cheeks.

  “Scott!”

  Her objection might as well have been a request for all the notice Scott took. He leaned toward her, still holding the mistletoe in place above her head.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be watching the spaghetti?” Megan couldn’t get away. A step either way might knock the tree down.

  Scott shook his head, coming ever closer. “Spaghetti’s ready. I took it off the stove.”

  His smooth baritone surrounded her while his spicy aftershave drew her even closer. One more inch and she’d be in his arms. Warmth from his body reached for her, and she swayed. Then Randy giggled.

  Scott dipped his head for a quick peck on her cheek and straightened laughing.

  “Oh.” Megan’s cheeks flamed, and her pulse raced. Disappointment and relief warred inside.

  “I’ll do better when there’s no audience.” Scott stepped back after his whispered promise.

  ~*~*~*~

  ~One~

  Megan McGinnis yelped and jerked back. She touched a hand.

  Her gaze skimmed past the well-sculpted male fingers, moved up a muscled arm dusted with dark hair, and over a broad shoulder, to a rather attractive specimen of the stronger sex. The palm of her hand burned, and heat crept up her neck to fill her face.

  Where had the man come from? One of the other campsites, obviously. Her mind had been filled with her dream.

  “I am so sorry. I—” She couldn’t think. She wrinkled her nose. “I didn’t see you.”

  He laughed. Not a polite titter, but a throw-back-your-head-and-let-it-out laugh.

  Her hand tightened on her water bucket. A smile touched her lips, and before she could stop, she was laughing, too.

  “I apologize.” He shook his head. “It’s just that you looked so cute when you squealed and then—” He tapped his nose and grinned. “That cute face you made—I’m sorry. Are you serious you didn’t see me?”

  “Of course not. I made it up so we could hold hands.” He thought she looked cute? No one had called her cute since she was five, certainly no one ever said so twice in a row.

  She giggled at his raised eyebrows. “What can I say? My mind was on something else. And really, I don’t go around holding hands with strange men.”

  His eyes, bluer than any she’d ever seen, twinkled above a lop-sided grin. “I’m not so strange once you get to know me.”

  “Is that right?” What was wrong with her? She never flirted, but unless the rules had changed in the last ten years, that’s exactly what she was doing now. Of course, today her emotions were in such turmoil, she might be capable of doing almost anything. Just not this. Not with a stranger.

  She shook her head and stepped back before he could respond. “Look, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to do—” She twirled her finger in a circle to include the faucet. “You know. Go ahead and get your water. I’ll wait.”

  “I apologize again, Ma’am.” His voice deepened, became serious, although his eyes still twinkled as if they couldn’t stop laughing at her. “I’ve been rude, and I assure you, my mother taught me better.” He grinned, and her heart fluttered.

  She looked into his eyes and smiled. The dream she wanted to cling to wouldn’t stay. It never did.

  “You’re forgiven. I should have been watching.” She reached into her memory for the blond-haired baby boy that had felt so real in her arms only twenty minutes ago. Her heart sank. Already he’d dissipated into her sub-consciousness, just as if he had no more substance than the campfire smoke drifting over the Missouri State Park campsite where they now stood.

  He stepped back with a courtly bow. “You go ahead, please.”

  “Thank you, kind sir.” She tugged on the sides of her jean shorts and executed an awkward curtsy, then positioned her bucket under the faucet and turned it on. If Mr. Blue Eyes with charm oozing from every pore wasn’t standing so close, she’d try to pull her dream from its final resting place. But she couldn’t concentrate with him so near. As much as she wanted the dreams to stop, she clung to the phantom baby who always disappeared with the morning light as surely as her own baby had disappeared nine years ago. Every year around his birthday, her arms ached for the baby she’d never held, until he came to her at last in the wee hours of the morning for a few precious moments.

  “Whatcha doing, Aunt Megan?” Derek ran to her side. He looked at the man. “Hi, I’m Derek Judson. This is my Aunt Megan. Are you waiting for water?”

  “Yes, I am.” The man shook Derek’s hand. “I’m pleased to meet you. My name is Scott Landis. I have a son about your age. He’s over there in that camper.”

  A son? With a mother? Megan’s heart plummeted, and she mentally kicked herself. This wasn’t the first time she’d made a fool of herself, and it more than likely wouldn’t be the last.

  Derek glanced toward the camp beside theirs. “I bet sleeping in a camper is cool.”

  Scott laughed. “Randy seems to like it. He was still sleeping when I came out. I planned to have breakfast ready, but I’m not much good with a match and firewood.”

  Megan looked at Scott to see if he were joking. “Don’t campers usually come equipped with a stove?”

  “Yeah, the camper has a stove.” Scott shrugged while a sheepish grin made him look as young as Derek explaining away one of his misdeeds. “This is our first overnight. I borrowed the trailer, but I forgot to have the propane tank filled.”

  Megan laughed longer than was pol
ite. She set her bucket down. “You’re kidding! So now you’re reduced to the level of a true camper.” She looked at the tiny home on wheels and added. “At least when it comes to cooking. So then, what’s your problem?”

  Scott’s eyebrows drew together. He took his turn at the faucet. “It’s the wood, I guess. And maybe the matches. I can strike a match.” He shrugged. “They just won’t stay lit long enough to catch the wood.”

  “Where did you get wood?” Megan glanced at the firebox and grill located at the end of the paved driveway that marked Scott’s camp site.

  Scott grinned. “Early this morning I scavenged through the woods to gather some dead and broken limbs.”

  Megan smiled. “Uh oh, I’m not sure that’s allowed in state parks. Good thing you didn’t get caught.”

  “Aunt Megan can build a fire for you.” Derek said. “She’s real good at stuff like that. I bet she could build a big fire in a pouring-down rain.”

  “Wow, she must be good.” Scott looked at Megan with a wide smile and twinkling blue eyes. “But I wouldn’t want to impose myself on your aunt.”

  “Ah, that’s okay.” Derek took over as if Megan couldn’t speak for herself. “She don’t mind, do you, Aunt Megan?”

  “Doesn’t mind.” She corrected without conscious thought. Of course, she minded. Building fires for good looking married men wasn’t exactly her favorite thing. Where was his wife, anyway? Megan had just crawled from a tent that had seen better days. Her shirt had a hole in the sleeve and her blue jeaned cut offs were stained and frayed around the edges. Already she felt like the ragged end of an unwanted toy. How could a married man flirt like that within sight of his wife? The guy was a jerk.

  Megan brushed her flyaway hair from her face and looked up at the oh-so-appealing man in front of her. He stood a good eight inches taller than her five-foot-four-inch frame. In navy blue twill shorts and light blue polo shirt, he looked as if he’d just stepped from a fashion catalog. His dark, curly hair dipped over the left side of his forehead giving him a dashing appearance.

  Scott turned the water off and smiled at Megan as if waiting for her to offer her help.

  “It’s no imposition.” She sighed. Even well dressed, handsome, married people need help once in a while. As a Cub Scout leader, she knew the “Do a good turn daily” motto as well as anyone. Derek would never believe another thing she tried to teach him if she didn’t help. “You did say you have matches, didn’t you?”

  He nodded.

  “And kindling?”

  “You mean broken twigs?” He fell into step with her and Derek as they crossed the grass to his firebox.

  “Yes, that should work.” Megan looked at three large sticks of firewood lying on top of a pile of scattered twigs. Ashes from some burned paper proved Scott had tried to build a fire.

  “Maybe if we rearrange some of this.” Megan knelt beside the metal box and pulled one of the sticks to the side.

  Scott took her lead, lifting the other two and putting them aside. “What now?”

  Megan glanced at him. He sat in a deep knee-bend, his arms resting on his thighs, watching her. The guy couldn’t look any more masculine if he tried. She forced her concentration back to the task at hand. “The idea was right, but you need your kindling closer together for warmth so it will stay lit. Do you have any more paper?”

  Scott sprang up with an ease suggesting he was no stranger to exercise. Megan watched him stride to the camper and back. He handed her a newspaper section. “Will this do?”

  “Yes, great.” She wadded several sheets of paper and made a circle of paper balls in the center of the firebox. Then, she stood the broken twigs on end in the middle of the circle and carefully placed several more on top. “Derek, will you get me some of those?” She pointed to some sticks piled against a nearby tree, and her nephew ran to do her bidding.

  When he handed them to her, she broke them into short pieces and placed them on top of the smaller kindling. Scott watched as she built up the layers, although he didn’t comment until she struck a match and held the flame against the paper.

  As a yellow flame spread around the circle of paper and engulfed the kindling and then the larger sticks, he shook his head. “Hmmm. I wonder if there’s a manual on fire building I could read.”

  Megan laughed. “We’ll let this catch and then put your firewood back on. It may need some more of these sticks first, though. Derek, do you want to break some? If you’re careful, you may place them on the fire.”

  “Hey, neat.” Derek’s enthusiasm, as he snapped the sticks against his knee, brought a shared smile between Megan and Scott.

  After Derek carefully placed his sticks on the fire, Megan put two larger pieces of firewood on top.

  She stood and looked down at her handiwork with satisfaction. “I think it’ll burn now. You can lower the grill anytime you want.”

  “Thanks. I owe you one.” Scott gave a short laugh. “You’ve probably figured out I’m not much of a camper.”

  “The thought did cross my mind.” Megan smiled. “Is this your first camping experience?”

  “It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? We usually stop in motels, but Randy decided he’d like to try roughing it, so we found a friend with a camper and hit the road.”

  “Hey, Dad. What’s going on?” A tousled blond head stuck out of the camper’s front door. The boy’s dark eyes took in the group before he stepped outside.

  “Randy, this is Derek and his Aunt Megan. They’re camped next door to us.”

  “Hi.” Randy hesitated. “Did you come over for breakfast?”

  Megan laughed, and Scott coughed. Derek stepped forward. “No, we got our own food. Aunt Megan came over to build your fire ‘cause your dad couldn’t get it lit.”

  “Oh.” Randy glanced at the fire. “So where’s the food?”

  Before Scott could answer, Megan said, “I think that’s our cue to leave. I’m glad we met.” She smiled at Randy. “Both of you.”

  His answering smile was quick and sweet. Megan liked Randy at first sight. His tousled blond hair and sleepy brown eyes indicated he hadn’t fully awakened. She understood as she wasn’t a morning person, either. Although, when she camped, she usually became wide-awake with the first ray of light that touched her tent.

  Megan glanced at Scott’s camper. No wonder Randy was still half-asleep. He hadn’t really been camping, yet.

  “Thanks again.” Scott held out his hand, and Megan slipped hers into it for a quick handshake. “If you hadn’t rescued us, we’d have been forced to eat everything raw.”

  “Yuck.” Randy made a face.

  Megan laughed and stole a glance at Scott. For a man, even a married man with no clue about camping, he seemed quite nice.

  “Just in case you weren’t told,” she began. “There’s a lakeside open air chapel about a quarter of a mile down that trail.” She pointed to an opening in the trees.

  Scott looked. “Not much of a trail, is it?”

  Megan shrugged. “It isn’t very wide, but it’s well traveled so there’s not much chance of running into spider nests or too many ticks.”

  “Oh, how wonderful.” Scott grimaced as Randy straightened, looking at the opening of the trail. “There’s more to this camping experience than we realized, isn’t there, son?”

  Randy nodded and muttered something unintelligible.

  Megan smiled at Scott. “You never know until you try it. But really the service should be worth attending. It isn’t at all like being in church, and there’s a feeling in the outdoors you can’t find in a building. They start at ten. You and your entire family are welcome to attend.”

  “Family?” Scott frowned then ruffled Randy’s hair. “What you see is what you get. What do you think, son? It’d be pretty nice to go to church outdoors, wouldn’t it? That would certainly qualify as a new experience.”

  “Great. We’ll see you later then.” Megan didn’t wait to hear Randy’s idea of going to church outdoors. What had Sco
tt meant? What you see is what you get. She slipped an arm around Derek’s shoulders and grabbed her full bucket of water. Together they walked across the grass to their camp. Shelly, Derek’s mom, rose from her brightly burning campfire, a curious expression on her face.

  Derek veered away as Megan set the water on the end of the table. “I’m going to the restroom, Mom.”

  His mom nodded. “Wash your hands while you’re there.”

  He took off in a run with only a wave as answer.

  “Who’s the hunk with the cute, little boy?” Shelly’s brown eyes, a shade lighter than Megan’s, danced with merriment. “Now I know why you get up so early when we go camping.”

  Megan laughed at her sister’s teasing. “Don’t worry, Shelly. He can’t even light a fire.”

  Shelly’s eyebrows rose. “There’s more than one kind of fire, Megan. Are you telling me he didn’t fan any old embers in that heart of yours?”

  “Oh, honestly!” Megan opened the ice chest and took out a pound of bacon. “My heart isn’t cold.”

  “I see.” Shelly set their iron frying pan on the grill. “That must be why you haven’t been on a date in almost ten years.”

  “I don’t date. You know that, and you know why.” Megan peeled bacon strips from the package and laid them in the pan while Shelly got a dozen eggs from the ice chest.

  “Now that’s where you’re wrong, because I will never understand why you don’t find some nice, attractive man and settle down to have a couple of cute kids.”

  Megan sighed. “This is an old argument, Shelly. I don’t see a long line at your door, either.”

  Shelly shrugged. “When the right man shows up, I won’t run him off.”

  Sealing her mouth had always worked best to stop an argument with her sister. Megan concentrated on keeping the bacon from burning and was glad when Shelly left her alone. As soon as the edges browned and curled to her satisfaction, she poured out most of the grease. Next, she broke several eggs into the pan and stirred them with a fork.