Autumn Dreams
Authors: Gayle Roper
RAISE FOR
G
AYLE
R
OPER’S
N
OVELS
Autumn Dreams
“Autumn Dreams
takes readers on a delightful off-season vacation to the Jersey shore of my childhood—complete with an ocean view and a delicious menu of characters. Cassandra and company face more than one stormy night before this romantic mystery concludes with a sunny splash. Enjoy the trip!”
L
IZ
C
URTIS
H
IGGS, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF
B
OOKENDS
and
B
AD
G
IRLS OF THE
B
IBLE
“When Gayle presses her peopled pen, a cast of heart-lively folks emerge. Colorfully arrayed in real-life pressures, you’ll recognize their struggles and feel their emotions. My greatest challenge was not to peek ahead, but I didn’t want to ‘awaken’ from this
Autumn Dream.”
P
ATSY
C
LAIRMONT
, W
OMEN OF
F
AITH SPEAKER AND AUTHOR OF
S
TARDUST ON
M
Y
P
ILLOW
“Gayle Roper has written another wonderfully entertaining book with characters that endeared themselves to me in the first few pages and a neatly woven theme that shows the wisdom of waiting on God’s perfect timing.
Autumn Dreams
was my third ‘season’ in Seaside and I can’t wait to return for the winter.”
D
EBORAH
R
ANEY
, RITA A
WARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF
A
FTER THE
R
AINS AND
A S
CARLET
C
ORD
“Gayle Roper spins a memorable tale of romance and intrigue, embellished with a cast of heartwarming characters armed by faith and united by love against a threat to one of their own.”
L
INDA
W
INDSOR, AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF
A
LONG
C
AME
J
ONES
AND
D
EIRDRE
“Master of romantic suspense Gayle Roper has delivered another winner in
Autumn Dreams
. Real characters with all their flaws and all their baggage fill the pages of this well-written book. Once you pick it up, you will not be able to put it down until you have come to the dramatic end!”
L
INDA
H
ALL, AUTHOR OF
S
TEAL
A
WAY
, S
ADIE’S
S
ONG
,
AND
K
ATHERYN’S
S
ECRET
“I loved the first two books in Gayle Roper’s series. Now she’s done it again—wielding her powerful pen, creating captivating and compelling characters, a page-turning plot, and stirring action that inspires me to say, ‘More! More!’ I’m so glad this isn’t the end. Write number four quickly, Gayle!”
K
ATHY
C
OLLARD
M
ILLER, SPEAKER AND AUTHOR OF
P
RINCESS TO
P
RINCESS
Summer Shadows
“Once again, Gayle Roper shows herself to be a master at creating compelling characters.”
N
ANCY
M
OSER, AUTHOR OF
T
HE
S
EAT
B
ESIDE
M
E
“Suspenseful drama, sweet romance, and breezy seaside setting … Gayle Roper’s
Summer Shadows
is ideal for summer reading.”
D
E
A
NNA
J
ULIE
D
ODSON, AUTHOR OF
I
N
H
ONOR
B
OUND
AND
T
O
G
RACE
S
URRENDERED
Spring Rain
“Spring Rain
is a heartwarming love story that doesn’t shy away from tackling tough subjects like homosexuality and promiscuity. Ms. Roper handles them with grace and compassion, never compromising the hope-filled truth of God’s Word while giving us a bang-up tale of romantic suspense!”
L
IZ
C
URTIS
H
IGGS, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF
B
OOKENDS
AND
B
AD
G
IRLS OF THE
B
IBLE
“Spring Rain
contains all the mystery, suspense, and romance a reader could want. I also appreciated the story’s ‘something extra’: realism and candor. Thank you, Gayle, for speaking the truth in love!”
A
NGELA
H
UNT, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF
T
HE
P
EARL
“This is a realistically portrayed story of love and forgiveness, filled with emotion and grace … A compelling read.”
R
OMANTIC
T
IMES
MAGAZINE
“Spring Rain
weaves powerful lessons on contemporary moral issues into a wonderful story—a very powerful combination!”
B
OB
D
AVIES
, N
ORTH
A
MERICAN DIRECTOR
, E
XODUS
I
NTERNATIONAL
“Gayle Roper is in top form with
Spring Rain
. Her storytelling skills make this one a page-turning experience readers will love.”
J
AMES
S
COTT
B
ELL, AUTHOR OF
D
EADLOCK
OVELS BY
G
AYLE
R
OPER
S
EASIDE
S
EASONS:
Spring Rain
Summer
Shadows
Autumn Dreams
Winter Winds
T
HE
A
MHEARST
M
YSTERIES:
Caught in the Middle
Caught in the Act
Caught in a Bind
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.
Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
AUTUMN DREAMS
published by Multnomah Publishers, Inc.
© 2003 by Gayle G. Roper
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from:
The Holy Bible
, New International Version © 1973, 1984 by International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House
Other Scripture quotations are from:
Holy Bible
, New Living Translation (
NLT
) © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Multnomah
is a trademark of Multnomah Publishers, Inc.,
and is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The colophon is a trademark of Multnomah Publishers, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission.
For information:
MULTNOMAH PUBLISHERS, INC. • P.O. BOX 1720 • SISTERS, OR 97759
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Roper, Gayle G.
Autumn dreams / by Gayle Roper.
p. cm. — (Seaside seasons; bk. 3)
eISBN: 978-0-307-78165-9
1. Single people—Fiction. 2. Baby boom generation—Fiction. 3. Parent and adult child—Fiction. 4. Adult children of aging parents—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3568.O68A97 2003
813′.54—dc21
2003004145
v3.1
For Chuck
,
the best of the good guys
,
with love and respect
.
Special thanks to Bobb Biehl of the Masterplanning Group International (
www.masterplanning.tv
or
www.masterplanninggroup.com
) for his great tips on how Dan would approach business and management matters. Anyone who says, “At about five this morning, I thought of something Dan would do, but I didn’t call” is someone who understands that Dan and Cass are “real” and that I like to sleep. It’s a privilege to share Aylen Lake with you and Cheryl, to say nothing of dinner at Wilno Tavern or the Madawaska Valley Inn.
Thanks to Peg Fulton of Parkside Bed & Breakfast, 501 5th Street, Ocean City, New Jersey, who shared not only her Bed & Breakfast with us, but also gave me invaluable information, insights, and stories about running a Bed & Breakfast at a shore resort. She also arranged for our tour of the New Brighton Inn Bed & Breakfast which became the prototype for SeaSong.
And to Claire Gallagher, who was gracious enough to read
Autumn Dreams
in manuscript form and give me her opinion of Jenn and Jared. With no teens of my own anymore, Claire was a wonderful and much-needed help.
Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches
when the vision will be fulfilled
.
If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place
.
H
ABAKKUK 2:3, NLT
