This month, we’ve been invited to Pops Montfort’s home on the Isle of Grace, off the coast of Savannah, Georgia. Pops, the father of Rafe Montfort (the hero of EVERY DEEP DESIRE), lives in a double-wide trailer deep in the Isle of Grace and there’s an enormous barn out back.
Since Rafe has returned (and won back his wife Juliet), he’s been trying to heal his difficult relationships with his father and his estranged brother Philip. To help fix the rift between the brothers, Pops has decided to make a meal for his sons and daughter-in-law. He’s set a table in the barn where the cross-breeze coming off the water blows through, and he’s done all of the cooking himself.
Pops comes across as old and cranky, but I know for a fact that he’s thrilled Rafe has come home and that Juliet is now a part of their lives again. Pops wants nothing more than to bring his family together and has decided the best way to do that is cook them all dinner. And yes, Pops did all the cooking himself!
Pops Montfort ~ “When my son Rafe returned after having been gone for eight years, I almost didn’t believe it. If I hadn’t seen him for myself, with those tattoos all over his arms, I wouldn’t have. But now that Rafe is home, and has proved himself the man I always hoped he’d become, I’m determined to bring my family back together.
Philip, my youngest son, took Rafe’s disappearance and subsequent imprisonment hard. Things have been even harder since Rafe came home. But I know both of my sons want to heal their relationship and I’m determined to help them.
When I reached out to my daughter-in-law and told her about my idea, she was so happy she offered to help. So now she and Rafe, along with Philip, have come to the Isle for dinner. Juliet set up a table in the barn, complete with a tablecloth and flowers and tiny lights, and is serving homemade sweet lime iced tea. She has such a lovely way about her that despite both Rafe and Philip entering the room ready for a fight, they’re now laughing at her stories about the first time I took her fishing. (It didn’t work out so well for either of us, but we did have fun.)
For years I prayed my son Rafe would come home. And despite knowing the terrible things he’d done, he was still my son. And a father is nothing if he can’t forgive his sons.
As my grown sons laugh with Juliet, I serve my homemade Tomato and Okra Soup (from fresh vegetables from my garden). For the first time in eight years I realize that miracles really do happen, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
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