A Reason To Live: An Inspirational Romance (A Reason To Love Book 1) Read online

  A Reason To Live

  A Reason To Love Series: Book One

  By:

  T.K. Chapin

  www.tkchapin.com

  Copyright © 2018 T.K. Chapin All rights reserved.

  Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with.

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  Version: 06.02.2018

  ISBN-13:

  Available Books

  By T.K. Chapin

  (Inspirational Christian Fiction & Romance)

  A Reason To Love Series

  A Reason To Live

  Journey Of Love Series

  Journey Of Grace

  Journey Of Hope

  Journey Of Faith

  Protected By Love Series

  Love’s Return (Book 1)

  Love’s Promise (Book 2)

  Love’s Protection (Book 3)

  Diamond Lake Series

  One Thursday Morning (Book 1)

  One Friday Afternoon (Book 2)

  One Saturday Evening (Book 3)

  One Sunday Drive (Book 4)

  One Monday Prayer (Book 5)

  One Tuesday Lunch (Book 6)

  One Wednesday Dinner (Book 7)

  Embers & Ashes Series

  Amongst the Flames (Book 1)

  Out of the Ashes (Book 2)

  Up in Smoke (Book 3)

  After the Fire (Book 4)

  Love’s Enduring Promise Series

  The Perfect Cast (Book 1)

  Finding Love (Book 2)

  Claire’s Hope (Book 3)

  Dylan’s Faith (Book 4)

  Stand Alones

  Love Interrupted

  Love Again

  A Chance at Love

  The Broken Road

  If Only

  Because Of You

  The Lies We Believe

  In His Love

  When It Rains

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  Dedicated to my loving wife.

  For all the years she has put up with me

  And many more to come.

  Table of Contents

  Note from the Author

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Book Previews

  Prologue

  Other Books

  Bonus

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Note from the Author

  God so loved the world . . . Four words that most, if not all, Christians know, many by heart. It’s simple, yet so complex. I don’t believe I’ll ever fully understand the unsearchable and unfathomable depths of God’s love, but I am thankful for His love nonetheless. This new series, entitled, A Reason To Love, is a series that focuses on God’s love moving through us and unto others. Often our most difficult times in life are the times God uses to mold us, to shape us, to make us something new. I know in my own life I’ve never enjoyed the difficult times, but I would never trade the growth that came from them. These times in which we feel we are being bathed in fire, I believe is a refinement process the Lord is putting each one of us through. He doesn’t make it happen but can use it for our own good and His glory.

  In the first book, A Reason To Live, we follow the story of Jonathan and Kylie. Jonathan is a man who I feel a lot of people can relate to in some degree. He’s been through hardship and difficulty and he’s in a desert place now. Kylie too has had her share of troubles, but she’s turned more to God through the process. Can God bless the broken roads that led these two hearts to cross each other? You’ll have to read it to find out.

  I pray this inspirational Christian romance inspires your faith, warms your soul, and fills you with the hope that is only found in the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. May this story bless you in reading it as much as it has done me in writing it.

  Sincerely,

  T.K. CHAPIN

  Yet you, LORD, are our Father.

  We are the clay, you are the potter;

  We are all the work of your hand.

  Isaiah 64:8

  Chapter 1

  POUNDING COMING FROM THE FRONT door of his house on the South Hill woke Jonathan Dunken from sleep at three o’clock in the morning. Then the doorbell chimed, pulling him further away from his slumber and fully awake. He had only been asleep for an hour, as he had been up late the night before sketching building concepts for a client. He was the co-founder and sole architect of his and his brother Tyler’s company, Willow Design. A company the two of them started just a few years ago, after Marie passed and Jonathan needed more work to throw himself into.

  Pushing his eyelids open, he sat up in his bed, smoothing a hand over his face. Who on earth is that? He wondered. The doorbell chimed again, and he begrudgingly emerged from his bed and left his bedroom.

  He traveled out from his room, through the long hallway, and down the glass stairs. As he entered the foyer, more pounding on the door sounded, edging his already growing irritation. He was ready to rip into whoever was on the other side of that door. But when he finally opened it, his heart plunged and the wind fanning his anger fell quiet. It was his sister-in-law, Shawna Gillshock, a woman he hadn’t seen since the funeral four years ago.

  Shawna looked just like he remembered her—a mess, her brunette hair disheveled, eyeliner mingled with rainwater ran down each of her cheeks. She was wearing a stained pair of ragged sweats three times too big and a ragged oversized hooded sweatshirt. He immediately noticed the sight of fresh blood on a cut near her left eyebrow.

  “I need your help, Jonathan. I didn’t know where else to go.” Her voice was strained, filled with desperation. She jerked her head toward the car in the driveway. Sheets of rain and wind whipped back and forth in the night’s air, dancing across the headlights of the car. “My dad wouldn’t let me come to his house
. I need a place for me and my daughter, Rose, to stay tonight. My boyfriend beat me again, and I’m leaving him for good this time. You’re the only person I know that he doesn’t know. Please?”

  Jonathan was moved with compassion, though a part of him wanted to say ‘no’ to her. Deep down, somewhere beneath the pain and grief that followed losing his wife, he heard a whisper and felt a nudge. Let her stay.

  “Okay. You can stay.” He helped her inside with her luggage and daughter. The luggage she had brought didn’t consist of much. A backpack and one suitcase. Once the two of them had everything inside the house in the foyer, he led the way to the guest room on the main floor of the two-story house. The room was tucked away at the end of the hallway. Opening the door, he flipped on the light switch. Two lamps, one on each nightstand on either side of the bed, turned on. Each of the nightstands, along with the dresser and crown molding, was stark white. The walls were a warm brown, not dark, but not light either. On the far side of the bedroom, near the dresser, was another doorway leading into an en-suite bathroom.

  “Thank you so much for this.” Her words were filled with genuine gratitude as she set her backpack on the bed. She turned and glanced at the TV on top of the dresser.

  “How long do you think you’ll be here, Shawna?” Jonathan was gently reminding her it wasn’t a long-term solution but more of a friendly gesture in a time of need.

  “Just a few days. I’m going to call my dad again tomorrow and see if I can convince him to let us stay there with him and Betty until I can figure something out.”

  The mention of her parents jogged painful memories that Jonathan had tried to forget. His parents had died his senior year of high school, so he only really had Marie’s parents in his life. “Okay, and if he doesn’t budge?”

  Shawna turned to face him. “I’ll figure something out. Don’t worry about me, just thanks again for tonight.”

  Her daughter became fussy a moment later, a whimper escaping. “What’s wrong, Rose?”

  She touched her tummy. “I’m hungry.”

  “How old is she?”

  Smiling, Shawna turned to him. “She’s two. Talking away already. Do you have anything she can eat?”

  Scrambling through the fridge in his mind, he shrugged. “Does she like tuna?”

  “Um, not really. Do you have hot dogs, macaroni, or something more kid-friendly like that?”

  “No, but there are eggs in the fridge. Sorry. I wasn’t really prepared for you.” He tipped a smile, trying to loosen the awkwardness and embrace the disturbance of the entire situation.

  She laughed lightly. “It’s totally fine. Eggs work great. She loves scrambled eggs. Thank you again, Jonathan. It means the world that you took us in tonight.”

  “Don’t mention it. Do you need help cooking, or can you manage it?”

  “It’s pretty basic. I think I got it handled. You look like you need some sleep, so go ahead.”

  “I do need sleep. Going back to bed now. ‘Night.”

  Leaving Shawna and Rose in the guest room, he shut the door quietly and thought of his late wife, Marie, as he made his way back to his bedroom upstairs. Shawna was his only sister-in-law, and she had made frequent appearances in his and Marie’s life, but that had been years ago. Even back in the day, Shawna was always in need. Her life reminded him of a slow-moving train wreck in progress. Though her life was a wreck, Marie was always ready and willing to love on her and care for her when she was in need of her big sister. That was Marie’s nature with not only family, but anyone who was in need.

  Chapter 2

  Jonathan - Age 25

  TOASTING GLASSES OF SPARKLING CIDER while a fire roared in the fireplace, Jonathan pulled Marie in close to him. His mouth tipped a smile as he peered into her inviting green eyes. “To us and our first home, my love.”

  The glasses clinked together, and they both sipped. Marie set her glass down on the coffee table and sat down on the couch. Jonathan joined her. She beamed as she turned her body fully toward him and leaned forward. “You’re the best husband a wife can ask for. Did you know that?”

  He set his glass down beside hers and then moved across the couch and over her. She let herself sink into the couch as he crawled on top of her, holding himself up by his hands. A smile curling both corners of his mouth, he felt love as he peered into her eyes. They had a connection that went beyond words, beyond a simple ‘I love you.’ Kissing her, he stopped and brought his lips near her ear. “You’re the best wife. You bring sunshine into an otherwise dark world.”

  They kissed.

  Deepening the kiss, Jonathan placed his hand on her hip, then slid it up her side. Her back arched. Moving his hand again to her hip, he slipped his hand beneath her shirt, his fingers lightly gliding across her side.

  The doorbell rang, bringing their moment to an abrupt stop.

  Sitting up, Marie hugged herself with her arms and flashed a look of bewilderment at Jonathan.

  “Who is that? It’s almost ten o’clock.” Jonathan arose from the couch and walked to the front door to answer it. He checked the peep hole. It was Shawna, his sister-in-law. His insides ached knowing the romantic evening with his beloved was over before it had officially begun.

  Marie lifted herself from the couch and came to him at the door. Placing a hand on the small of his back, she peered up at him. “I know that look. It’s Shawna, isn’t it?”

  Jonathan turned to his wife and lowered his voice. “Yes, but can’t we just not answer this one time?”

  “Jonathan. We are to imitate Christ, aren’t we?” Reaching past him, she grabbed hold of the door handle and opened it. Marie was a devout wife, but not to a fault. She knew God came first and she wasn’t afraid to remind Jonathan of it when he needed reminding.

  A broken Shawna stood on the porch of their new house. “He broke my heart! I can’t believe it. I thought this one was different!”

  They continued talking in low voices as Marie led her inside. Jonathan took the glasses of sparkling cider into the kitchen. He was annoyed about her sister showing up, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. As he prepared coffee for the two of them, he wondered how long she’d be sticking around this time. She had a pattern. After a day, sometimes a few, she’d end up talking to whatever boyfriend had upset her and then go right back to the same guy who’d broken her heart into a million pieces.

  Returning to the living room, Jonathan handed them both a cup of coffee.

  “Thanks, Jonathan.” Shawna took the warm beverage quickly and brought it to her lips for a drink. Marie, however, only took a sip and set it down. She then pressed in on more conversation with her sister. It fascinated Jonathan how she could listen to the same issues and stories over and over again and care deeply each time. He knew one thing for certain—Marie definitely had more of the Spirit of Christ within her than he did. That was one of the reasons he’d fallen so deeply in love with Marie. She had always made him want to be a better man, a better person, just by the way she was.

  #

  Two weeks later, Shawna was still living with them in their new home. Jonathan decided to speak with Marie about asking Shawna to leave. He did it over a candlelit dinner on the back patio of their house one evening when he got off work early from the design firm. He cooked her favorite meal, seafood Alfredo, and even bought a bouquet of flowers. He thought he could sneak all the romance in without her knowing he was up to something.

  Setting her fork down after eating, she wiped her mouth with the napkin and smiled at him across the table. “You can’t fool me, Jonathan. I know you too well. What’s all this about?”

  He swallowed the lump of anxiety in his throat. Gaze gliding over to the sliding glass door into the house, he looked back at Marie. “Don’t you think it’s about time for Shawna to leave? She’s not looking for a job and there’s zero movement going on with her.”

  Marie got quiet. That quietness was the quietness Jonathan knew all too well. She closed her eyes for a moment
—he suspected she was praying—then opened them. “Jonathan, I love you. I love my sister too. She is trying to start a new life without the abuse. She’s been going to church with us, and I really think it’s helping her by staying with us.”

  “I get that, but—”

  Marie interrupted. “But, what?” She shook her head. “Remember God’s love for us, Jonathan. It’s unconditional and it never runs out. We need to extend that the best we can. I totally agree that if she starts seeing that man again or shows signs of drug use, she has to leave. But until then, I feel it’s okay. If you strongly disagree with it, that’s fine. She can leave. I don’t want to cause issues in our marriage. I will do whatever you ultimately wish to do, but I can’t help but state my view on the matter.”

  Jonathan’s heart couldn’t help but be moved by the compassion and gentleness of his wife. She disagreed with him, yet would submit if it came to it. “You’re right about God’s love, Marie. I guess I just need to focus on the good. She isn’t with him and she’s doing the right things in life.”

  Two days later, Marie found a pipe in one of her sister’s jean pockets and showed it to Jonathan. With tears in her eyes, Marie showed her the door. Holding his wife close to him after his sister-in-law left, Jonathan kissed the brow of his wife’s forehead and thanked her for doing the right thing. The two of them spent the rest of that particular evening praying for Shawna and reading their Bible together. They weren’t sure where Shawna would end up that evening, or the nights following, but they let the Lord comfort their broken hearts and their faith comforted them.