A Thousand Sunsets

By Jannie Lund

Struggling to be a dad and a son, Alexander didn’t know he was lost. Living her dream, Sarah didn’t know she needed to be found. Enter cupid in the form of a dying man, who hasn’t had much contact with his children and grandchildren in the years after his wife’s death. In the meantime, however, a new family has formed around him. Patrick McCullough’s staring contest with death and wish to unite the family of his blood and the one of his heart kindles love meant to last, causes tempers to flare, and creates second chances that are given, taken, and thrown away. In the middle of the chaos, a young boy struggles to stay afloat.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Satin Romance
• Release date: Aug 7, 2014
• ISBN: 9781612359472

Jannie Lund

Jannie started writing because she couldn’t help herself. She needed to get some of the many stories trapped inside her head out. That was her excuse then, and it’s her excuse now. A mixture of a healthy imagination and difficulties getting the words out of her mouth made writing her outlet, and since 2008 she’s been fortunate enough to publish some of the many words she types.When she’s not writing–or thinking about writing, which takes up most hours of the day–she manages to squeeze in some running, photography, and various creative pastimes.

Book preview

A Thousand Sunsets

by Jannie Lund

Published by

Satin Romance

An Imprint of Melange Books, LLC

White Bear Lake, MN 55110

www.satinromance.com

A Thousand Sunsets, Copyright 2014 Jannie Lund

ISBN: 978-1-61235-947-2

Names, characters, and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States of America.

Cover Design by Stephanie Flint

Table of Contents

A Thousand Sunsets

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

About the Author

Previews

A THOUSAND SUNSETS

by Jannie Lund

Struggling to be a dad and a son, Alexander didn’t know he was lost. Living her dream, Sarah didn’t know she needed to be found. Enter cupid in the form of a dying man, who hasn’t had much contact with his children and grandchildren in the years after his wife’s death. In the meantime, however, a new family has formed around him. Patrick McCullough’s staring contest with death and wish to unite the family of his blood and the one of his heart kindles love meant to last, causes tempers to flare, and creates second chances that are given, taken, and thrown away. In the middle of the chaos, a young boy struggles to stay afloat.

To all the dreamers in the world and to those willing to give the dreamers a chance.

Thank you to Kym Clarke for believing in me first, to Anna Grethe Jensen for believing in me always, to Heather Upton for guiding me through the grammar jungle and lending an invaluable critical eye, and to Nancy Schumacher, Jane Bonander, Barbara Bradley, and Stephanie Flint for giving this dreamer a chance and making the dream shine.

Chapter One

Patrick smiled as the sound of laughter drifted through the open window from the garden below. It was a beautiful day outside. The sun shone from a clear-blue sky, and the gentle breeze was warm and fresh. If he’d been able, he would have liked to spend the afternoon in the hammock while enjoying the sound of the waves and his boys having fun.

It was a damn shame that it took a man so long to figure out what the important things in life were. If he hadn’t spent years being clueless and chasing empty dreams, he would have had more time to enjoy what really mattered. He sighed. Time was running out. He had known it for some time, and while he had accepted it for the most part, he still managed to forget about it sometimes. Then when he remembered it again, it took him by surprise, wrapping his heart in numbing fear for a moment or two.

He’d accomplished more than he had ever dreamed he would, only now it felt like he had gone about it all wrong. He’d certainly made something of himself, starting from a poor farmer’s son in County Wicklow, Ireland, but he hadn’t stopped at that. After finding his good fortune in Virginia, he’d kept working when he should have spent time with his family, kept powering on when he should have slowed down, and neglected Niamh and the children just so he could make more money than any of them would ever spend. Out of everything he had ever done, that was his biggest regret. Unfortunately, life didn’t come with do-over.

Then again, in some ways, the two boys laughing down in the garden were his do-over. All the time and attention he’d failed to give his own children, he’d lavishly poured onto Alexander and Nathan. Heaven knew they’d needed it, both of them, and he’d had plenty of it to spare after finally realizing what was important.

Oh, he knew that there where whispers and gossip in town about why he’d taken in the boys, but he wouldn’t have gotten as far as he had without doing things his way. He had also learned not to give a damn about what people thought or said about him. So, if the nosy gossipers in town thought Alex and Nathan were his bastard children that he’d kidnapped from their mothers, it just meant that he had something to laugh about, and he’d taught the boys the same thing. He might not share an ounce of blood with them, but they were his boys in every way that mattered.

What’s put a smile on your face?

Patrick started. He had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn’t heard Joanna come in. It was quite a feat, too, as the tray she carried rattled with a teacup in a saucer, and her heavy breathing after maneuvering the stairs should have given her away even before she’d entered the room.

I was just thinking about the boys and listening to them through the window, he replied, scooting up so he was sitting more comfortably against the pillows. They sound like they’re having fun.

She put the tray down on the bedside table and plopped down in the chair next to the bed. With a sigh, she ran a hand through her short, chemically enhanced curls. I’d say. They’re throwing a football around, and every time it ends up tangled in the sheets I have out on the line, they laugh like a couple of hyenas. I had to threaten them with broccoli instead of apple pie to get them to mind my laundry.

Boys will be boys. Patrick chuckled and looked longingly at the window, wishing he could watch them have fun. He still remembered when there had been nothing but fear and sadness in their eyes. Nathan, especially. Then he looked at Joanna. And don’t lie. You haven’t the heart to deny them pie.

She snorted with laughter. That’s the truth, and they know it just as well as you do.

Patrick leaned back against the pillows with a smile. Joanna was a gem and the sole reason that he’d been able to take Nathan in. His health had already started failing around this time the year previously, but he’d wanted Nathan just as fiercely as he’d wanted Alex sixteen years earlier. The boy’s real parents hadn’t given a damn about him, exactly like Alex’s, and it had mattered a great deal to Patrick to be able to make a difference for the boys.

Niamh had just died when he’d found a twelve year old Alexander Dane sleeping behind a dumpster outside one of his own McCullough factories in Richmond. The boy had been scared, hungry, and reluctant to admit either. Patrick had taken him into the cafeteria and fed him while he’d tried to find out what the kid’s deal was. Even if they’d both been less than enthusiastic to admit it, they’d needed each other.

Gaining Alex’s trust had taken a long time. The kid had done a great deal of pushing Patrick and Joanna away until he’d realized that they were to be constants in his life, and it had taken nearly as long to get rid of all the bad habits he’d picked up on the streets after he’d run away from his abusive mother and drug addict father, who hadn’t even wanted him back. He rarely spoke about the first twelve years of his life, but over the years Patrick had pieced together the whole story. Alex had become a fine man. He’d thrived after realizing that he finally belonged somewhere safe and with people who loved him. Patrick could never be sure if the emotional scars from his childhood had healed or if Alex just hid them well, but at twenty-eight, he was a well-respected doctor in a Richmond hospital and a wonderful role model for Nathan, who, at age ten, battled some of the same things Alex had at that age. Patrick couldn’t have been prouder.

Though, how the boys might have turned out without Joanna at the helm was not even worth thinking about. Patrick had hired her to run the kitchen, but pretty soon she’d been running the house as well as its inhabitants. It was an arrangement that had the people of Rosehip Cove both wondering and gossiping, the old business tycoon, the middle-aged housekeeper, and the boys they’d taken in. What other people thought had never worried Patrick. He knew it worked for the four of them, and that was what mattered.

So, how are you feeling today? Joanna interrupted his thoughts, handing him a cup of tea.

He smiled at her. You could take the boy out of Ireland, but you couldn’t take Ireland out of the boy. And Irish boys drank tea, at least when they didn’t drink whiskey. He’d even turned Joanna, who had been a die hard coffee drinker, into a tea drinker. It’s a fine day, and the boys are having fun. It’s difficult to feel bad.

Difficult maybe, but not impossible. I think you’re evading my question, you old rascal, she claimed.

That sounds like something I’d do without as much as batting an eyelash, he admitted with a wink. But as it turns out, I really am feeling fine today. Fine enough to broach a subject with you that I’ve been dreading.

Oh dear. I swear to God, if the boys broke any of the pretty Waterford crystal you give me for my birthdays, they can smile as charmingly as they want, but th –

Patrick chuckled. No, no. Nothing is broken. Well, at least not that I know of.

Thank heavens. I do hate to scold them, even when it’s necessary.

Patrick sipped his tea and wondered if he should chance one of the sugar cookies on the plate. He knew they’d be delicious as all of Joanna’s cooking was, but they made him cough, which in turn made his chest hurt something awful. He sighed. Better not tempt fate.

I was thinking of inviting the family, he said, focusing his attention on her reaction instead.

She frowned. What family?

My family, he replied, trying not to grimace at the mere thought. Niamh had been the glue that held the McCullough family together, and when the cancer had taken her, it had been the last he had seen of the family he had failed. In sixteen years, the only one of his kids he’d seen was his oldest son when they’d run into each other in a restaurant in Richmond. They’d both been there with business associates, so they hadn’t exchanged more than an awkward hello.

Most days, Patrick was able to convince himself that sometimes life just took unexpected turns that you had to live with. Some days, however, he dealt with blame, guilt, and longing. It just seemed that the more time that went by, the more difficult it became to try to change things. He’d been putting it off for sixteen years, and now he was almost out of time. He couldn’t afford not to try to make an effort.

I’m not sure I know what you mean, Joanna said, frowning. Do you actually want to invite your family? The people you haven’t seen or spoken to since your wife passed away?

I think I do. He had thought a lot about it in the previous months, and there wouldn’t be any more chances to reconcile with them. This was it.

She seemed to think it over. Well, then. Invite your family, Patrick McCullough, and let’s see what kind of people they are.

You know, I’m wondering that myself. And since the thought of his family suddenly filled him with dread and anxiety, he grabbed a sugar cookie. A man only lived once.

* * * *

After dinner, Nathan came to see him. Patrick enjoyed listening to the boy chattering on about what he’d accomplished during the day. Not that long ago it had been difficult to get him to say anything at all. He had been so closed off, sad, and afraid when he’d arrived a year earlier.

And then Alex said that he might take me to a football game soon. I mean, if it’s all right with you. He also said that we could go hiking for a few days now that school is almost out for the summer. That would be so cool. Nathan took a deep breath. Hey, did you have some of Jo’s apple pie for dessert? How come it gets better every time she makes it, huh?

Patrick chuckled. The boy was practically vibrating, and his brown eyes sparkled. It had hurt to see them dull and almost lifeless, and seeing them now was a blessing worth counting. Yes, I tasted it, but I’ve given up trying to figure out why Joanna’s wasting her culinary talents on us instead of having her own restaurant somewhere.

Make her stay, please? Nathan pleaded, wide-eyed and apparently afraid for his future meals.

I’ll do my best, son, Patrick promised him, solemnly. Now, have you done your homework for tomorrow? It might be the last day of school before summer, but that’s no reason to slack off.

Nathan frowned. Almost.

Almost isn’t good enough if you ever want to make all your dreams come true. Hop to it, and then maybe we can squeeze in a chess lesson before bedtime.

The boy nodded, but didn’t do a very good job of hiding his disappointment. Early on, Patrick had discovered that, like with Alex, there was nothing wrong with Nathan’s head. He just didn’t find any pleasure in his schoolwork like the way Alex had. In fact, it was his fascination with science that had put Alex on the path toward becoming a doctor in the first place. The only thing Nathan willingly read were those fantasy books of his full of dragons and sorcerers and whatnot. Patrick encouraged it, as he was still Irish enough to appreciate a good tale, and good tales often came with all kinds of imaginative beings. He was used to leprechauns and fairies, but dragons weren’t bad.

Jo told me that I might find you in a speculative mood, Alex said when he came in a few minutes after Nathan had left. He was carrying the small tray with the cups of tea they often ended the day with together when Alex wasn’t in Richmond.

Did she tell you why? Patrick asked.

Alex put the tray down and sat in the chair next to the bed, slipping his feet onto the bed to relax. The boy was so at ease with himself and always seemed to relax into his surroundings. It was something that Patrick both admired and envied. No, she was all mysterious and told me that you’d either tell me or I’d see for myself. I had no idea what she meant, but figured that since she’s a woman I can’t really be blamed for that.

Patrick laughed. Took me years to get to that conclusion. Give me that tea cup, will you?

Alex reached for the tea and got comfortable again. Even without looking, Patrick knew that he was curious. I told Joanna earlier that I’d like to invite my family out here.

Okay...

Chuckling into his tea over Alex’ reaction, Patrick gave in and elaborated. I could walk right by my grandchildren on the street without recognizing them. You know, if I wasn’t chained to this damn bed and all. I don’t know my family, Alex. I have great-grandchildren that I’ve never even seen. Now time’s running out, and I’m going to need your help getting them out here because a simple invitation won’t work.

I’ll do whatever you want me to, you know that, Alex replied without hesitation. Even if you want me to go kidnap every last one of them.

To himself, Patrick could admit with a sly smile that he liked the idea. I think we’ll try something a little less violent, he said just as a chuckle got caught in his throat. He coughed and spluttered, grateful that Alex was there to take away the tea and help him sit up before getting the oxygen mask.

Patrick was exhausted when he was finally able to get his breath again. Coughing took so much out of him these days, and he often cursed his lungs to hell and back.

Are you okay? Alex asked, concern marring his face.

Patrick nodded and removed the mask. He hated worrying Alex, but at the same time there was no one in the world he trusted more with his health, with his life, with anything. That was why he’d swallowed his pride and asked him to spend less time at the hospital in Richmond and more time at home. Alex had readily agreed, and Patrick was satisfied that he’d be getting the best care in whatever time he had left.

He carefully lifted his tea and drank again. Alex was patiently waiting for him to talk, so he could take his time and find the words he needed. It’s important to me that you know my reasons for wanting to see my family.

Alex shook his head. Patrick, they’re your family. You don’t need reasons, and you certainly don’t need to explain them or justify them to anyone. Least of all to me.

But I do, Patrick insisted. "At least as far as making sure that