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Prologue

The previous summer, three close friends had given birth to their first babies within a short timespan after moving to Cypress Cove. Their stories about coming to Cypress Cove could fill a book.

First to move from Pensacola, Maggie Angel came to Bayou Cottage, running from heartbreak after her bridegroom brought his mistress along on their honeymoon. Bayou Cottage had been in the family for generations and had been slowly sinking into the marsh when Maggie’s aunt, Elizabeth Bonnet, offered her the building and its surrounding one hundred acres of land, complete with wild horses.

She grabbed the offer, fleeing from Pensacola, and shortly after she arrived, Justin Chastain, local veterinarian and a childhood acquaintance from summer days when she had visited her aunt, came to visit on horseback. They became inseparable.

She promised Justin they’d get married in October, but two Octobers had passed and still no wedding. When their little girl, Justina Maria Chastain, had her first birthday, that reminded Justin.

“Um, you promised me we’d get married in October.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t say which October, did I?”

“Aw, babe, what about Tina?” he asked.

“Tina doesn’t care that we aren’t married,” Maggie replied, grinning. “Just ask her.”

Shortly after Maggie moved to Bayou Cottage, her best friend, Annie Markley, came for a long weekend visit. During that weekend, she met handsome hardware store heir Steve Casson. They had instant chemistry—so instant that she got pregnant the same day, up against Bayou Cottage in view of Maggie and their friends. They were married a month later, and in June of the following year, she had little baby Stevie Casson. But sadly, after Stevie’s first birthday, his father asked Annie for a divorce.

Annie wasn’t alone for long, however, before Justin’s half brother, Chris Harcourt, came into town and fell in love with Annie and baby Stevie.

The January after Maggie and Annie moved from Pensacola to Cypress Cove, their best friend, the third Musketeer, Katrina Blanchard, came for a visit and never left. She’d fallen in love with Justin’s brother, Sheriff Dave Chastain, and they had a baby boy at the same time Maggie had Tina.

“We all have babies and no one is married to the father,” Annie said while the three friends were at the park having their weekly coffee get-together, three toddlers, two nannies, and a teenage babysitter running rampant around them. “Is this something we dreamed of when we played baby dolls?”

“I don’t think so. But I have no intention of getting married,” Katrina said.

“Dave has asked you, though, hasn’t he?” Maggie asked. “I’m getting nervous. Justin is pressuring me, and I’m a proponent of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

“You don’t want to get married?” Annie asked.

“No, you know that,” she answered.

“I don’t get it,” Annie said. “I’m ready to get married again. I know it’s fast, but I don’t care.”

“You just got a divorce from Steve,” Maggie said, grimacing. “You need time to recover from that.”

“I don’t. I was glad he left,” she replied. “I want to be Chris’s wife. I want a guy who has a bigger paycheck than I do.”

“Well, you don’t have any paycheck right now, do you?” Katrina asked.

“Right, which was why even Steve’s paltry wage was better than nothing.”

“You get money from working at the rescue; don’t forget that,” Maggie reminded Annie.

“And thank you so much for that, Maggie. I’d be destitute if it weren’t for you.”

“How much longer do you have in school?” Katrina asked.

Annie was working on her master’s degree in social work. She planned on hanging out a shingle and doing counseling as soon as she got her license to practice.

“Eight months, then add on a few extra for the licensing process. Then I have to find a room to rent to have clients in because I don’t want them coming to my house.”

“Oh, yeah, I always think of the movie The Sixth Sense when you say that. Creepy!”

“Exactly.”

“You have a great goal,” Maggie said. “Focus on that and forget getting married. We are both divorcees. Ugh!”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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