As Doves Fly in the Wind

By Mary Lou Cheatham

Description:

Jessica Boudreaux Hays, a retired music professor, has recently moved to Rousseauville to open a bed and breakfast in her grandparents’ house. An attractive and talented fifty-five-year-old widow, Jessica loves to cook, entertain, and play the piano. Her life is filled with problems. Emmie, her younger sister who lives with her, cannot be left alone. The sisters recently lost their parents in an automobile accident. The residents of the village are charitable but superstitious. For some mysterious reason, they refuse to go near her or the bed and breakfast. Another frustration in Jessica’s life is her cyber romance with a mysterious stranger.

Dale Bonnier, a fifty-five-year-old widower, pastors two small churches in rural south Louisiana. He inspires the people in Rousseauville with his compelling sermons. He is considerate and approachable but at times disorganized and impetuous. His parishioners, especially Jessica, find his preaching inspiring.

Dale has a recurring problem with his past. In the 1980s, when he was an intense young man, he destroyed his home and family as he sought to satisfy his cravings for illicit drugs. Thirty years have passed. God has forgiven him, but the past has left indelible scars. Can Dale forgive himself? He cannot turn his past around, but he hopes it will be used to influence and inspire others.

Jessica tries to start over in Rousseauville, but she encounters unpredicted stormy times. Can she find acceptance? Will she ever find a man she can love and trust?

Book Takeaway:

Forgiveness is essential in the course of a lifetime. It begins with self-examination and earnest prayer to forgive oneself. Forgiveness is the first step toward true love.

Why the author wrote this book:

I began this project to show how people can have second chances so they can be used both to help and to influence those around them. Also romance is not only for the young. AS DOVES FLY IN THE WIND is a story of two mature people who became transparent before their Lord and honest in all their relationships. The results of living a genuine life with no time for laziness or deceit, a life of moving forward to seek God's leadership, can be greater than one might imagine.