Who are Sam and Kate you ask? They are the characters in the fourth book in the Ashbrook, Montana series.  But don’t let me get ahead of myself it’s story time. Picture if you will, a beach at the beginning of May.  Seagulls are flying overhead. The sun is generating the perfect amount of warmth to feel good on your shoulders.

We were there because our son Christopher graduated with a Masters Degree from Troy University.  Several of his friends from the Air Force base joined us for a celebratory barbecue. So now add hot dogs, burgers, ice cold beer and Pepsi, and you have the makings for one of those scenes out of Top Gun.

Mixed in with the families searching for crabs and children building sand castles, Christopher and his friends tossed around a frisbee, played football, and soaked up the sun. We were living one of those Zac Brown “Summer in the Sand,” life couldn’t get any better moments.

Christopher and his friends had taken a break from playing around to eat when we noticed another summer in the south moment. On a different section of the beach, people, dressed much nicer than us, were setting up for a wedding. We’re talking tulle linking chairs together to form an aisle and an arch decorated with flowers.  The seagulls played the part of the doves flying overhead.

Christopher was standing with a woman I totally approved of when a plane with a banner flew by. Someone in the group read it. “It says marry me.” The romance writer in me (I had written three books by this time) gushed. But I didn’t say anything. Christopher said to the woman who turned out to be one of his besties, “Oh my Gosh, wouldn’t it be funny if a couple was on the beach and she  thought the proposal was for her, but it was for somebody else.”

She laughed in agreement.

The entire story of Sam and Kate popped into my head.  Two days later, I came home to Montana and finished the first draft in five weeks.  Except Sam and Kate were single parents who helped each other through the teenage years. And, secretly the liked each other.  A year later, Marry Me Kate was live for everyone to see.

So there you have the story of Sam and Kate.  If you’re curious to know what the story is like the I have attached a hyperlink to their names that should take you to a preview of the first ten percent of the book. Check it out.

And so I close this week’s post with warm summer wishes.

Until the next story

xoxoxo
M.H.M