was time for the bride to throw her bouquet. All the senior ladies and Jill’s friend and former secretary, Louise, lined up and waited for Jill to toss the bouquet over her shoulder. A senior named Sadie caught the bouquet, immediately marched over to Elroy Hitchens, and said, “What do you think about this, Elroy?”
“They smell nice,” Elroy said. It wasn’t the answer Sadie wanted, but she took it with good grace and moved on so the other ladies could ooh and aah over the flowers.
Rose, Violet, and Iris appeared out of nowhere. “It’s time!” they said in unison, the way they always spoke when they were together.
From somewhere, a whistle sounded. It was Albert, who then shouted as loud as he could, “Time to get ready, everyone! The bride and groom will be departing shortly.”
The room cleared, as if by magic. Lynus and Lewis walked over to where Jill was talking quietly with Barney and said their good-byes. Before he left, Lewis handed her a small, flat package. Inside, as she and Gus discovered later, were two framed pictures of their wedding cake, decorated all over with sixty fortune cookies.
Forty-five minutes later, everyone was dressed in casual, comfortable clothes. Barney led the parade out to the parking area. He put his arm around Rose and whispered, “This honeymoon is probably going to go down in history. The bride and groom are driving a big yellow bus to Las Vegas and taking along fifty-three seniors plus the best man and the maid of honor!”
“Are you sure, Barney, that the people you hired to clean up and put everything back in place are reliable? The seniors were a little worried about their personal belongings.”
“Not to worry, Granny; they’re bonded and licensed. There won’t be any problems. You guys ready?”
“We are. None of us have ever been to Las Vegas before. Can you imagine Jill and Augustus giving each of us a fifty-dollar bill to gamble? And the casino will give us another twenty-five. Jill said it’s customary to do that. I might be old, but I don’t think I ever saw that in any of the etiquette books.”
“You’re slipping, Granny. Even I knew that,” Barney said with a straight face.
“I guess I am getting old, but I’m glad I can learn something new each day. Thank you for enlightening us, Barney.”
Outside, Albert’s whistle blasted through the air. The seniors lined up, not sure which bus to get on. They waited for the bride and groom to make the decision. Gus looked at Barney and grinned. “We’re going in my new bus. All aboard!”
Gus, Jill, Priscilla, and Barney were the last to board. The workers Barney had hired to clean up after the wedding waved from the front porch of Shady Pines.
“Isn’t this great, Priscilla?” Barney asked the woman he hoped to marry. “Getting married, then taking your family along on your honeymoon. In a big yellow bus. I don’t think it gets any better than that, do you?”
“You can’t wait to drive this bus, right?” Priscilla asked.
“I take over for the second half of the trip. Got my license right here with me.”
“Well, in that case, I’ll marry you.”
Unaware of what had just happened, Gus settled himself behind the wheel and turned the key in the ignition. The seniors clapped and whooped when the engine of the new yellow bus growled to life.
Before Gus shifted gears, he took a moment to look around at his big family, two of whom had their arms wrapped around each other and were oblivious to the rest of the world. Then he looked at his new bride, who was grinning from ear to ear. In that moment, he knew that if he lived to be a hundred, he would never ever be as happy as he was then. His fist shot in the air. The seniors clapped once again.
“Next stop, Las Vegas!” Gus shouted.
FERN MICHAELS is the USA Today and New York Times
bestselling author of the Sisterhood and Godmother
series, Tuesday’s Child, Southern Comfort, Betrayal, Return
to Sender, and dozens of other novels and novellas. There
are over seventy million copies of her books in print. Fern
Michaels has built and funded several large day-care
centers in her hometown, and is a passionate animal lover
who has out-fitted police dogs across the country with
special bulletproof vests. She shares her home in
South Carolina with her four dogs and a resident
ghost named Mary Margaret.
Visit her website at fernmichaels.com.
GOTCHA!
They’re back . . . !
The long-awaited return of the sensational Sisterhood!
REVENGE IS NEVER OUTDATED
Sometimes, justice is a long time coming. That’s the case
with Julie Wyatt, whose story strikes close to home for the
original founder of the Sisterhood, Myra Rutledge, and her
best friend—and fellow Sister—Annie. Julie is convinced
her greedy daughter-in-law Darlene had something to do
with the mysterious circumstances surrounding her son
Larry’s death. She desperately wants to get a confession out
of Darlene—and to ensure the safety of Larry’s daughter,
Olivia. As Myra, Annie, and their cohorts dig deeper into
Darlene’s shady dealings, events unfurl in a way that no one
could have predicted, bringing to light the true meaning of
loyalty and courage—and the kind of friendship that can
create miracles . . .
A Zebra mass-market paperback on sale July 2013!
BALANCING ACT
One of the most acclaimed storytellers of her time, #1 New York
Times bestselling author Fern Michaels weaves unforgettable tales
of love, family, friendship, and self-discovery. Together in one vol-
ume for the first time, here are two classic stories about following
your heart—wherever it leads . . .
ALL SHE CAN BE
Rita Bellamy has had enviable success as an author, but it
came at the expense of her marriage. Now she’s starting
over in a small lakeside cottage, slowly rebuilding the confi-
dence that was shattered. But is the younger man next door
a fun, frivolous diversion or something much more?
FREE SPIRIT
Moving to Washington, D.C. to be with Griff should be the
beginning of an exciting new chapter in Dory’s life. Yet
there are adjustments too, and sacrifices she never
expected. And soon Dory must weigh the price of love
against everything she hoped to gain . . .
FANCY DANCER
On his thirty-fifth birthday, Jake St. Cloud inherits a
fortune—and learns the whereabouts of his mysterious
half-brother. On her deathbed, Selma St. Cloud revealed
that Jake had a sibling, a product of his father’s affair. At
last, Jake is in a position to track down Alex Rosario and
make amends for their father’s past neglect.
At least, that’s the plan. When their initial meeting goes
badly, a distraught Jake crashes his car and is sentenced to
community work—with Alex as his parole officer. Jake must
spend a year helping Angelica Dancer and her daughter,
Fancy, at the Dancer Foundation for neglected children.
Fancy, scarred within and without by the accident that
ended her ballet career, is even less happy with the arrange-
ment than Jake. Yet as they’re thrown together, Jake, Alex,
Angelica, and Fancy make unexpected connections. And as
he unravels the painful truths of his past, Jake realizes that
his mother’s greatest gift to him lies not in his inheritance,
but in the future, and the family, he’s slowly piecing
together . . .
RETURN TO SENDER
At seventeen, Rosalind “Lin” Townsend found herself pregnant
and alone. Her deeply religious father threw her out of the house,
and Nick Pemberton, her baby’s father, refused to marry her. Yet
even at the lowest point in her life, Lin vowed to succeed on her
own terms, and to give her son, Will, all the love and happiness
she’d been denied.
Nineteen years later, Lin has made good on her promises, and
Will is about to start his freshman year at NYU. But when Lin visits
New York with Will, she crosses paths with the one man she
thought she’d never see again—Nick Pemberton, now a million-
aire CEO, and the man who sent back all her letters unopened.
Seeing him fills Lin with anger, and she resolves to right the
wrong he did to Will. If she succeeds, like she has with everything
else, the cost of revenge may be the loss of a bright new future . . .
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2013 by MRK Productions
Fern Michaels is a Registered Trademark of First Draft, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013930667
ISBN: 978-0-7582-8671-0
Table of Contents
Books by Fern Michaels:
Title Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Epilogue
Teaser chapter
Copyright Page