The minute Magnus had heard that Elvi’s neighbor was considering moving his family to the city and selling their house here in Port Henry, he’d walked next door and made a very generous offer. Shortly after, Harper and Drina had bought the house next to Mabel and DJ’s.

It all felt perfect to Allie, and as she stood there she pondered how funny life could be. She had never imagined she would marry, and her life had never been easy before coming to Port Henry, and yet here she was not just married, but happily, and with those bad times nothing more than a memory. Oh, she wasn’t foolish enough to think that hard times wouldn’t come again. That was part of life. But she knew they would pass, and she could survive them so long as she had Magnus at her side. In truth, their love was really the most rare and wonderful find in this world, and she thanked God for it every day.

The clang of a screen door drew her gaze to Elvi and Victor’s house and Allie smiled when she saw Liam rush to the deck railing to wave at them.

“There you are,” he said, sounding excited and impatient all at once. “Elvi sent me to get you. Us kids want to play alligator island and Elvi says Dad has to make the tape islands for us.”

“All right,” Magnus said easily, taking Allie’s hand as they started across the yard to the deck. “Tell her we’re coming.”

Liam nodded happily and whirled to rush back into Casey Cottage.

The moment the door closed, Magnus squeezed her hand and asked, “Have I told you that I love you and our son yet today?”

Allie’s smile widened. “Only three or four times. I was beginning to worry you were tiring of us.”

“Never,” he assured her as he released her hand to wrap his arm around her instead, and Allie leaned into his chest, believing him.

An Extract from IMMORTAL ANGEL

One

“Professor Straithe is late.”

“Si, but he’s always late,” Ildaria pointed out as she pulled her notebook and a pen from her knapsack and then set the bag on the floor next to her seat.

“Yeah, but he’s really late tonight,” Lydia responded and then added eagerly, “Five more minutes and he’ll be fifteen minutes late. Then we can leave. Class will be canceled and we can hit a bar or something.”

Ildaria shrugged as she opened her notebook to a clean page and predicted, “He’ll walk in one minute before the fifteen-minute point and we’ll be stuck here. He’s done it several times this semester.”