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  Softly & Tenderly

  “[E]xquisitely written, an achingly beautiful story about lost and found relationships . . . this story is not to be missed.”

  — Susan May Warren, RITA award-winning,

  best-selling author of

  Nightingale

  “Fans of Karen Kingsbury’s tender family stories will love this southern-flavored tale of triumph and grace.”

  — Lisa Wingate, best-selling author of

  Tending Roses and Larkspur Cove

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  The Sweet By & By

  “A heartwarming collaborative debut.”

  — Publishers Weekly

  “Enter the magic of Whisper Hollow and open your heart. Like Sara Evans’s bittersweet songs, the notes and melody of Jade Fitzgerald’s past sing a new future. In a world of wounded souls, forgiveness and redemption are the lyrics of this enchanting story.”

  — Patti Callahan Henry, New York

  Times best-selling author of

  Driftwood Summer

  “The Sweet By and By is the flowing story of a family struggling across the generations for redemption and reconciliation. The women in this novel are sometimes funny, sometimes serious, but always interesting. I was hooked from page one.”

  — Homer Hickam, best-selling author

  of Rocket Boys and The Red Helmet

  “. . . witty dialogue, believable characters and a page-turner of a plot. Just what I look for in a good book!”

  —Cassandra King, author of The Same

  Sweet Girls

  “Conveys a meaningful message about forgiveness.”

  —CBA Retailers + Resources

  “Beautifully real characters shine in this even more beautiful story. A wonderful first novel.”

  —Eva Longoria Parker, actress and

  model

  “Wow! I am completely inspired by this book. I have always admired Sara’s ability to tell stories through her music, and now I can say wholeheartedly that she is able to make a great story sing on the pages of this book. This is a beautiful, breathtaking novel full of redemption, reconciliation, and grace. I fully recommend it!”

  —Robin McGraw, #1 New York Times

  best-selling author

  Love Lifted Me

  Other Books by Sara Evans with Rachel Hauck

  The Sweet By & By

  Softly and Tenderly

  Other Novels by Rachel Hauck

  Lost in NashVegas

  Diva NashVegas

  Sweet Caroline

  Love Starts with Elle

  Dining with Joy

  The Wedding Dress *coming April 2012

  Love Lifted Me

  SARA EVANS

  WITH RACHEL HAUCK

  © 2012 by Sara Evans

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

  Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].

  Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION, © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

  Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.

  Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to real events, businesses, organizations, and locales are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Evans, Sara, 1971-

  Love lifted me / Sara Evans with Rachel Hauck.

  p. cm. -- (A songbird novel ; 3)

  ISBN 978-1-59554-491-9 (hardcover)

  1. Married people--Fiction. 2. Betrayal--Fiction. 3. Forgiveness--Fiction. 4. Career changes-Fiction. 5. Tennessee--Fiction. 6. Texas--Fiction. 7. Domestic fiction. I. Hauck, Rachel, 1960-II. Title.

  PS3605.V3765L68 2012

  813’.6--dc22

  2011038299

  Printed in the United States of America

  12 13 14 15 16 17 QG 7 6 5 4 3 2

  Contents

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-one

  Twenty-two

  Twenty-three

  Twenty-four

  Twenty-five

  Twenty-six

  Twenty-seven

  Twenty-eight

  Twenty-nine

  Thirty

  Thirty-one

  Thirty-two

  Thirty-three

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Reading Group Guide

  Author Bios

  One

  By the time July’s heat settled over the Appalachians, Jade Benson was getting a little bit stronger. As she unlocked the front door of her riverfront Chattanooga shop, the Blue Two, she knew what she had to do.

  The hollow sound of her footsteps in the empty shop echoed in her soul and back again.

  Jade dropped her keys on the sales counter, a lovely antique case once belonging to Woolworth’s, and peered in the Walmart bag swinging from her fingertips.

  For Sale.

  If she’d learned anything from the spring, it was that sometimes a girl had to let things go—the past, fears, hurts, dreams—and start over.

  You are here. Chart a new course.

  Jade wadded up the plastic bag as she pulled out the For Sale sign and considered her options.

  Should she sell? Surveying the shop, she considered the remodeled walls, the new windows and door. The fragrance of lumber and fresh paint lingered in the air.

  When a racing F350 had crashed through the Blue Two in the wee hours of a March morning, she never dreamed it would symbolize her life.

  But, ho boy, and boy howdy. Jade tapped the sign against her palm. Yeah, sell. She never wanted a second vintage shop anyway. The venture had been her mother-in-law’s brainchild. Not for herself, of course, but for Jade.

  She’d resisted until the second miscarriage. But then busyness proved to be the drug she’d needed to get through the days.

  A lot had changed since she opened this store over a year ago. She wasn’t just Jade Benson, business owner and Maxwell Benson’s wife. She was a mother. At least that’s what her heart told her every morning when she woke up with Max’s son sleeping down the hall.

  Asa. The twenty-two-month-old with expressive brown eyes and bow lips called her Mama. He was the beautiful silver lining amid Max’s betrayal and Jade’s mama’s death. The mama who forced her to take command of her life and stop being led where she didn’t want to go.

  All this time she thought she was in control. But fear had ruled her from her core out.

  Asa was a complete and utter wonder. Jade never tired of him and each time his pulpy little hand slipped into hers, she changed. It was the most magical feeling on earth. Possibly in heave
n.

  Oh Max, you broke my heart, then healed it with your son.

  Except things with the little charmer’s father weren’t settled. Their Saturday calls were charged with feelings waiting to be spoken face-to-face. Jade expected Max home any day now, but when she asked for a specific date, he’d answered with a vague, “Next week.”

  Believe it or not, she understood him. He was nervous. Not quite ready to face his mess. Neither was she.

  Jade leaned against the window and stared toward the Tennessee River and the downtown park. She missed springtime—the festivals and the flow of vintagehunting customers. She missed the bloom of the magnolias. With the remodel, this shop could—no, would—take off. But her heart belonged somewhere else.

  Do it.

  Why did doing the right thing prove challenging? Jade crossed the barren shop with a determined thump of her heels and snatched the Scotch tape off the top of her desk.

  Tearing off two strips, she returned to the front pane and stuck the sign to the glass.

  For Sale.

  She stepped back, testing her decision. The Blue Two was for sale. Closing. Going away. This part of her life would be over.

  Jade exhaled. Relief. The shop had served its purpose. Now it was time to move on.

  She didn’t have time to linger—she needed to pick up Asa from school. Jade had him in Ritterhouse Academy from eleven to two every day. While he played, she ran errands and took care of shop business.

  She might be selling the Blue Two, but she still had the Blue Umbrella up the mountain in Whisper Hollow. That shop would never go away.

  Jade tossed the tape onto the sales counter and snatched up her keys and the Walmart bag. Tomorrow, she’d call a Realtor. Make it official.

  It felt good to decide. She was getting a little bit stronger every day.

  As Jade headed for the door, a woman—a svelte and toned brunette in designer clothes and sun-kissed hair—walked in.

  “Can I help you?”

  The woman returned Jade’s query with brilliant blue eyes. “Are you Jade Benson?” Her voice was low and unsure.

  “Who would like to know?” Jade rattled her keys, crunching the Walmart bag with her fingers.

  “Taylor Branch.” She approached Jade with her hand outstretched. “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

  “Actually, I’m on my way out.” Jade matched Taylor’s firm grip. “I need to pick up my son.”

  “Asa?”

  Jade stepped back. How’d she know? “Is there something specific I can help you—”

  “I’m a friend of Rice McClure’s. I’m a paralegal at the law firm where she worked. I was in Nashville visiting family and decided to drive over to see you.”

  “How did you know where to find me?”

  “I called your other shop. The girl there said you were here.”

  Lillabeth. Trustworthy girl Friday. Always faithful—but a bit loose-lipped.

  “Rice was more my husband’s friend.” Jade tugged her phone from her pocket and checked the time, making a point. “If you want to talk about her, you might want to drive up the mountain to Whisper Hollow and see her parents. I don’t believe they’ve left for Europe just yet.”

  “I came to see you.”

  “Me? Why?” A warm rush under Jade’s skin. A familiar sensation, one stirred by her heart when she braced for unexpected news. But how many more surprises could this year bring?

  The warm air of the shop hovered close. Jade wished for a cool drink and a river breeze.

  “Selfish reasons, I assure you.” Taylor inched farther inside the shop, confident and poised. “Rice talked about you. She respected you even though she never regretted what happened with your husband.”

  “Max said she did. They both did.”

  Taylor smiled. “Rice knows how to say the right things to the right people.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” For claiming to be Rice’s friend, this Taylor painted a darker picture of the woman Jade knew. A childhood friend of her husband’s. His former fiancée. The mother of Asa. “What are your selfish reasons for being here?”

  “Rice left Whisper Hollow because she felt bad for you, yes, but once she had the baby, she hoped Max would follow her to California.” Taylor peered at the floor, skipping the toe of her leather shoe over the painted cement. “She was a brilliant lawyer, but a bit of a dreamer when it came to everyday life.”

  “Manipulative would be a good word.”

  “It’s what made her a great lawyer. In the courtroom she was solid, grounded, levelheaded. In her personal life, she was more of a romantic with her head in the clouds.”

  “So . . . you drove from Nashville to tell me Rice loved my husband?” After this spring, such a confession merely bounced off Jade. Worse had happened.

  “Not exactly.” Taylor shifted her stance. “Holding out for Max was the one thing I never got about Rice. I mean, the man of her dreams was married. And from what I could tell, he wasn’t giving up his marriage to you for Rice. Even after Asa was born. He came to see him, but—”

  “He flew to California?” Jade fielded the small confession, then tossed it from her heart. She wasn’t really surprised. Max did try to do right by his son, even if he had betrayed Jade by not confessing his bachelor-weekend encounter with Rice.

  “He came to see him for a day, signed the birth certificate, and held him for a while. Then flew home. His company has a jet, I guess?”

  “Yes, Benson Law has a jet.” Pieces of Max’s confession surfaced. “Max said Rice wanted to raise Asa alone. She didn’t want him in her life.”

  “Bluffing. Another thing she was really good at. Did you ever play poker with her?” Taylor closed her eyes, shaking her head. “Anyway, Rice figured Max couldn’t resist the lure of a son. After all, he is a third or fourth generation lawyer, heir to a big legal dynasty. What prince doesn’t want an heir? A son? I told Rice to move on, you know? California is a bastion for good-looking, savvy, smart, wealthy men. She could’ve had anyone she wanted. But she had her mind set on Max. He was the one that got away. Maybe convincing herself one day she’d get him back, especially since they were bonded by a son, was her way of coping.”

  “Coping with the fact that Max was married to me or that she seduced a man before his wedding?” Jade checked the time on her phone again. “I’m sorry, but I need to go pick Asa up from school. We have a playdate in the park with some friends.” Jade took an affirming step toward the door but Taylor didn’t move. Jade sighed. “Is there anything else?”

  “Rice wanted what she couldn’t have and the more she couldn’t have it, the more she wanted it. That woman loved a challenge. I drilled her a hundred different ways. Why Max? Of all the men in the world, why some old boyfriend from high school? Why the man she could’ve married but didn’t? For crying out loud, if she really wanted him, why didn’t she marry him when she had the chance? I swear she only wanted him because you had him.”

  “Wouldn’t surprise me. So, Taylor, do you have a point somewhere in this story?” Jade kept a slight irritation in her tone, hoping to prod Taylor along.

  “I’m getting to it. This is where it gets sticky. Where Rice went too far and why I’m standing here.”

  Now she had Jade’s attention. Her heart waited. Wide open. The mood between them shifted. Friendly fire fixing to hit.

  “Asa was Rice’s ultimate coup. It’s how she figured to keep Max in her life forever.” Taylor paced to the sales counter and propped against it, her confidence fading. “She created an unbreakable bond by having his child.”

  “His first, I know. And a son.” Those two facts visited Jade at night and demanded her attention. Max had a son. But she was not his mother. She’d cried out for peace and wisdom from her Lord in those times.

  “Right, right, of course, you’ve thought of that.” Taylor fell silent.

  “Is that all?”

  Taylor shook her head. When she peered at Jade, her eyes glistened. “I thought
this would be easier.” She exhaled, pinching the bridge of her nose, squeezing her eyes shut. “It just makes no sense, but—?” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. The blue light of her eyes dimmed. “Rice lied, Jade.”

  “She lied? About what?”

  “She lied about Asa. Max is not his father.”

  Two

  Under a blaze of Texas sun, Max rolled left, arm cocked for the pass, looking for his receiver. A teen named Calvin Blue.

  When the kid broke through a pack of defenders and slanted across the meadow, Max spiraled the football toward him, hitting the young would-be tailback in the hands. Calvin tucked the ball away and raced for the orange pylons.

  Touchdown. Calvin juked and jived in the makeshift end zone. “Can’t touch this. Can’t touch this.” He spiked the ball into the mowed grass, then strutted past his opponents, taunting, “Sorry to make y’all eat my dirt.”

  “All right, Calvin, bring it back. Nice play. We’re all amazed.” Max had been around football his whole life. It was his passion next to Jesus, Jade, and the law, and he’d never seen a sixteen-year-old cut and run the ball like Calvin.

  The boys gulped water from the cooler. Max reached for his shirt tossed on the ground. Today was a shirts and skins game. The last.

  Taking a long drink from his own water bottle, Max dumped the rest over his sweaty head. The cool wetness ran down his hot face and into the collar of the T-shirt that swung loose about his waist. Between fasting before the Lord, ranch work, and afternoon football, Max’s lawyer physique had been whittled down and chiseled.

  He whistled for them to huddle up. Calvin arrived first and propped his arm on Max’s shoulder, sweating and panting, his dark skin glistening.

  “Good job today, everyone. I’m proud of you. Dale, nice crab block on Sam here.” Max jutted his elbow into big Sam’s ribs. He was what, fifteen, sixteen, and twice Dale’s size. “And Tucker? You created the hole for Calvin’s touchdown.” The shy sandy-blond boy kicked at a clump of grass. He was lean and built, with undisciplined athletic prowess because he lacked the confidence to develop his skill.

  “And you.” Max turned to the cocky star player leaning on his shoulder, then bounced the ball against his head. “Remember, every great player needs a team.”