In bloom, p.1
In Bloom, page 1
Books by Fern Michaels
Santa Cruise
No Way Out
The Brightest Star
Fearless
Spirit of the Season
Deep Harbor
Fate & Fortune
Sweet Vengeance
Holly and Ivy
Fancy Dancer
No Safe Secret
Wishes for Christmas
About Face
Perfect Match
A Family Affair
Forget Me Not
The Blossom Sisters
Balancing Act
Tuesday’s Child
Betrayal
Southern Comfort
To Taste the Wine
Sins of the Flesh
Sins of Omission
Return to Sender
Mr. and Miss Anonymous
Up Close and Personal
Fool Me Once
Picture Perfect
The Future Scrolls
Kentucky Sunrise
Kentucky Heat
Kentucky Rich
Plain Jane
Charming Lily
What You Wish For
The Guest List
Listen to Your Heart
Celebration
Yesterday
Finders Keepers
Annie’s Rainbow
Sara’s Song
Vegas Sunrise
Vegas Heat
Vegas Rich
Whitefire
Wish List
Dear Emily
Christmas at Timberwoods
The Lost and Found
Novels:
Hidden
The Sisterhood Novels:
19 Yellow Moon Road
Bitter Pill
Truth and Justice
Cut and Run
Safe and Sound
Need to Know
Crash and Burn
Point Blank
In Plain Sight
Eyes Only
Kiss and Tell
Blindsided
Gotcha!
Home Free
Déjà Vu
Cross Roads
Game Over
Deadly Deals
Vanishing Act
Razor Sharp
Under the Radar
Final Justice
Collateral Damage
Fast Track
Hokus Pokus
Hide and Seek
Free Fall
Lethal Justice
Sweet Revenge
The Jury
Vendetta
Payback
Weekend Warriors
The Men of the Sisterhood
Novels:
Hot Shot
Truth or Dare
High Stakes
Fast and Loose
Double Down
The Godmothers Series:
Far and Away
Classified
Breaking News
Deadline
Late Edition
Exclusive
The Scoop
E-Book Exclusives:
Desperate Measures
Seasons of Her Life
To Have and To Hold
Serendipity
Captive Innocence
Captive Embraces
Captive Passions
Captive Secrets
Captive Splendors
Cinders to Satin
For All Their Lives
Texas Heat
Texas Rich
Texas Fury
Texas Sunrise
Anthologies:
Home Sweet Home
A Snowy Little Christmas
Coming Home for Christmas
A Season to Celebrate
Mistletoe Magic
Winter Wishes
The Most Wonderful Time
When the Snow Falls
Secret Santa
A Winter Wonderland
I’ll Be Home for Christmas
Making Spirits Bright
Holiday Magic
Snow Angels
Silver Bells
Comfort and Joy
Sugar and Spice
Let it Snow
A Gift of Joy
Five Golden Rings
Deck the Halls
Jingle All the Way
More from Lori Foster
Too Much Temptation
Never Too Much
Unexpected
Say No To Joe?
The Secret Life of Bryan
When Bruce Met Cyn
Just a Hint—Clint
Jamie
Murphy’s Law
Jude’s Law
The Watson Brothers
Yule Be Mine
Anthologies:
All Through the Night
I Brake for Bad Boys
Bad Boys on Board
I Love Bad Boys
Jingle Bell Rock
Bad Boys to Go
I’m Your Santa
A Very Merry Christmas
When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys
The Night Before Christmas
Star Quality
Perfect for the Beach
Bad Boys in Black Tie
Truth or Dare
Bad Boys of Summer
Delicious
Give It Up
In Bloom
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHORS
FERN MICHAELS
LORI FOSTER
CAROLYN BROWN
ZEBRA BOOKS
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
www.kensingtonbooks.com
All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Compilation copyright © 2022 by Kensington Publishing Corp.
Amazing Gracie © 2022 by Fern Michaels
Meant to Be © 2022 by Lori Foster
The Mother’s Day Crown © 2022 by Carolyn Brown
Fern Michaels is a registered trademark of KAP 5, 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.
To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
Zebra and the Z logo is a Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-1-4201-4610-3
ISBN: 978-1-4201-4613-4 (ebook)
Table of Contents
Also by
Title Page
Copyright Page
Amazing Gracie
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
EPILOGUE
Meant to Be
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
The Mother’s Day Crown
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
EPILOGUE
Amazing Gracie
FERN MICHAELS
CHAPTER ONE
May 2022
Gracie checked the supplies for the next flight, making sure there was plenty of booze, pretzels, sodas, and coffee stocked. The new crew would arrive in time to set up the hot meals and everything else that went along with a nine-and-a-half-hour flight from Dallas to Dublin. She’d just finished four twelve-hour days of flights and was ready for a break. At thirty-two years of age, she had spent most of her adult years traveling the world. But now she was looking forward to working domestic flights again, relishing their simplicity. A couple of drinks, snacks, a crying baby once in a while, and even the occasional grope from passengers who had had too much to drink would be a breeze compared to what was involved in international flights.
She recalled her first international flight after spending two years working domestic. She’d known immediately that it was her jam. Plans for flight training to become an airline pilot had gone down the tubes when she found out that twenty-twenty vision, even with glasses or contacts, was required. She’d had laser surgery in high school to correct her vision. A year later, however, she had to have a second surgery. Fearing another vision issue, Gracie knew it would be wrong to endanger hundreds of passengers should she become an airline pilot. Being a flight attendant may have been her second choice, but she took pride in her work and enjoyed traveling the world and making new friends. Since she was responsible only for herself, it was the ide al life.
Though there was a long list of responsibilities involved in prepping for overseas flights, she was diligent in her duties, which included checking equipment, learning how to use a defibrillator, and performing CPR. She was trained to handle the situation if a woman went into labor. And she had even been trained in how to handle the death of a passenger or, heaven forbid, a member of the crew. Fortunately, no one had ever died on one of her flights, though she once had to assist in delivering a premature baby boy to a young woman traveling alone with a toddler. It was a frightening experience, but Gracie’s instinct and professional training had kicked in, and when they touched down in Dallas, both mother and baby, as well as the toddler, were fine. When she walked down the aisle to inform the passengers they had a new baby on board, she was filled with pride from helping bring a new life into the world, and they’d clapped vigorously for her and the doctor who, luckily, had been on the flight.
Now that she was head flight attendant, once all the passengers were seated, Gracie would explain and demonstrate the emergency procedures and inform the passengers about the length of the flight, something most of them already knew. She would also inform the passengers that if there was a headwind, the time in the air might be greater, also explaining what to do should the aircraft encounter turbulence. Once they were airborne, the captain would repeat her instructions. After he was finished, her work began. Working in first class was simple. She enjoyed making her guests comfortable so they would have the best flight possible.
Before commencing her duties in first class, Gracie would walk through the plane, looking for anyone who feared flying. Long experience allowed her to identify such passengers in an instant, and she took extra care to see to it that their every need was met in the hope of easing their fear. Her older sister, Hope, didn’t like to fly, so she had a bit of knowledge about fear of flying. Many of her fearful passengers found themselves able to relax after she distracted them. Being able to help them was extremely satisfying. She had always been a people person, never met a stranger, and could talk for hours if the situation called for it.
Her mother often told her that she should have studied law, since she had the ability to speak so eloquently and endlessly. Her sister Hope was a talker, too. When they were together, they could yak, as her mother referred to it, for hours on end. Hope worked as a nurse anesthetist and had the same passion caring for her patients as Gracie had for seeing to her passengers’ needs.
Gracie had taken two weeks of vacation time to head to Amarillo for the upcoming Mother’s Day weekend. She had done this every year except last year, during the Covid-19 pandemic, since moving to Dallas to begin her training as a flight attendant after spending two years earning an associate’s degree in marketing. Her passion for the sky was much greater than her desire to earn a bachelor’s degree, much less a master’s degree, as her sister had.
Hope still lived in Amarillo, and she, too, would take two weeks off just to spend time with Gracie and their mother. The three women would do all the girly things they always did. The only difference this time around was that Hope could truly relax. Having divorced Roy Gates, she now had the freedom to do as she pleased. Roy was an okay guy, but he was fifteen years older than Hope and way too controlling.
Their mom, Ella, was as sweet as the iced tea she served up, which Gracie craved all the time. Gracie could not recall ever having the sort of teenage issues with her mother that some of her friends had with theirs. There had been no reason to. Her mom doted on both her and Hope. If Gracie ever met anyone to share her life with, and if she was lucky enough to have children, she would raise them exactly as her mother had raised her and her sister.
Ella’s husband, Gracie’s father, had died two years after Gracie was born, and Gracie knew that her mom could have dated. Instead, she chose to devote her life to her daughters. There were times when she wished that her mom would find someone to love, someone with whom to share her life. The thought of her mom living alone for the rest of her life always made Gracie sad. But her mother assured her that she was happy, and that is what really mattered. And there was still time for each of them to meet the man of her dreams. Gracie couldn’t help but laugh at the thought.
“What’s so funny?” Jessica asked.
Gracie gathered her luggage and a freshly dry-cleaned uniform from her small storage space at the front of the airplane. “Wondering if Mom will ever date, maybe marry again.”
Gracie and Jessica shared an apartment in Dallas. They practically knew one another’s life stories after six years of flying and rooming together.
“You never know. She’s still young enough; plus, she’s gorgeous. She could be Hope’s twin rather than her mother.”
“Yep, they look like sisters; they get that a lot. Don’t know what the heck happened to me. An odd strand in the gene pool, I suppose.” She smiled. Gracie was tall, with a slim, athletic build, her eyes an unusual mixture of gray and green, her hair thick and long, the color of a shiny copper penny.
“You look like your father.”
“I know; don’t know why I let my thoughts stray. I’m tired, ready for a trip home. Wish you could go with me. Mom and Hope adore you.”
“It’s all good. I’m headed to London, and I have the entire weekend to myself. I didn’t want to take the extra time off because Tina is still out on maternity leave. Us older, more experienced gals are hard to find these days.”
Gracie rolled her green eyes. “Hey, just because we aren’t twenty with plenty doesn’t mean we’re out of the game yet.” Twenty with plenty was their private joke, referring to younger women with great bodies to match.
Jessica winked. “Nope. I’m not out of the game.” She offered up a snarky grin. Jessica was the opposite of Gracie. Average height, short blond hair, eyes so dark that one couldn’t distinguish the iris from the pupil.
“I assume you have a date for your weekend in London,” Gracie teased.
“I never kiss and tell,” Jessica replied. “Though if there’s any hot romance going on, I’ll send you an e-mail.”
“As long as you leave out the details,” Gracie joked. “Even if you say you never kiss and tell, we both know that’s a crock of bologna!”
“Bologna doesn’t come in crocks, Gracie.”
They both burst out laughing, as this, too, was a private joke. Jessica used a crock of shit, but Gracie rarely swore. She thought it unladylike and knew that if she slipped while on duty, a passenger might hear. In addition, she didn’t want to tarnish her professional image. She was no goody two-shoes, but there were certain behaviors she preferred to avoid. Cursing at work was one of them.
“So you keep reminding me,” Gracie said.
“You gonna take a hopper to Lubbock?”
Gracie glanced at her watch. “Yes, and I need to be at Gate C in fifteen minutes. Be safe in London. Send me a text when you arrive, and I’ll do the same.”
Jessica laughed. “I will, Mother.”
Gracie rolled her eyes, gave her friend a one-armed hug, then raced through Love Field to Gate C, dragging her luggage behind her. The flight was just over an hour if all went as scheduled, which she had no reason to believe would not happen. She’d arranged for a rental car in Lubbock for the drive to Amarillo.
She usually made it in two hours, not making any stops along the way. There wasn’t anything she cared to see on the trip from Lubbock to Amarillo, which she had made numerous times, and she always made sure she had an audiobook for the drive. Reading was one of her favorite ways to relax, and she had made sure to visit the local library. She had been a member of her hometown library ever since she was a toddler. Audiobooks were great, but there was nothing like holding a book. Feeling the different textures of paper and experiencing the scent she couldn’t quite put a name to were a big part of her life. On downtimes during a long flight, she always had a book with her.
As soon as she rounded the corner to Gate C, she spied another flight attendant she had worked with in the past. “Hi, Elsa,” Gracie said.
