All Is Bright by Colleen Coble Read Free Book Online

too?”
    â€œNope.” There was no way in the world Delilah could hide the fact she was here with Tom. He was bound to show up before Pearl left. “I-I came over with Sheriff Bourne. I had a glitch in the flowers for Elin’s wedding, so he offered to run me over on his boat.”
    Pearl tipped her head to one side. “You’re getting flowers at a bookstore?”
    â€œWell, no. I arranged for the flowers, then we both decided to grab some Christmas presents here.”
    â€œDinner later at The Black Pelican, no doubt.”
    She’d never fool those wise old eyes. “There was some mention of that, yes.”
    Pearl sat back with a satisfied smile. “I’m glad to see you having some fun, Delilah. You work too hard and you never take time for yourself, and Tom has been alone too long.”
    â€œHis wife died, but that’s about all I know.”
    Pearl nodded. “A sad story. She was a schoolteacher and caught meningitis, which isn’t common in an adult. She was prone to migraines, and she refused to go to the doctor until the infection was pretty far gone. The Coast Guard airlifted her to Richmond, but it was too late. Poor Tom was just a deputy back then, and it hit him hard. She was pregnant, too, so it was a double blow.”
    Delilah sucked in a breath. “That’s terrible.”
    â€œIt was indeed. I’ve never known him to show any interest in another woman before now. I’m sure he’ll tell you all about it. He’s a good man.”
    â€œYes, yes, he is.” How did she go about changing the subject? This whole idea of any kind of relationship was too new for Delilah.
    Pearl pushed a salt-and-pepper lock out of her eyes. “You look like you want to run.”
    â€œI don’t have any business dating anyone,” Delilah blurted out. “I sure can’t compete with a memory like that.”
    â€œCompete? Is that how you view letting someone care about you, honey? Is that why you do so much for everyone else? You feel you have to prove yourself? People love you for who you are. You don’t have to work so hard at it.”
    Delilah bit back the gasp that gathered in her throat. “I-I need to run to the restroom. Be right back.” Her cheeks burned as she rushed away.
    Thankfully, the bathroom was empty, and she locked the door behind her, then splashed cold water on her face. Pearl’s observation had been like an arrow to the heart. She patted a paper towel on her dripping face and stared in the mirror.
    A thirty-three-year-old woman with haunted eyes stared back at her. Any carefree spirit she’d once possessed had been knocked out of her after being shuttled around from home to home. Then Pete had come along, and she’d walked on eggshells when she was with him because he was so volatile. After failing her mother, then failing every other relationship from that of a foster kid to her romance with Pete, she’d been afraid to try to do more than be the friend in the background.
    Was it time to go for more, to actually want something for herself? And was that even okay with God? Since she’d failed so miserably, she poured everything into being the best person, the best Christian she could be. Any other desire she’d called selfish and had tried to bury.
    Was this an invitation from God to walk through an unknown door? A tiny sprout unfurled inside and reached for the sunshine of hope. Maybe it was, and she wasn’t going to pull it up by the roots, not this time.

    Delilah checked everything off her list as she looked around. The large greenhouse on the Tidewater Inn property had been transformed to a winter wonderland with fake snow, evergreen trees decked out in white lights, and wreaths in all the right places. More lights hung around the greenhouse, and it would be spectacular at dark. A red carpet runner would lead from the entrance to the other side. And the temperature had reached a