Tea and Chat with Nancy Morrison

Valerie: Hi, Nancy! Welcome to Inspy Romance! Say hello to all our readers, many of whom have been waiting for your son Garret to fall in love.

Nancy (smiles and waves): You’ve been waiting? Think how his mama must feel! That boy is thirty, and it’s been years since he’s last been in a relationship.

Valerie: Oh, tell us about that!

Nancy: Now, I promised him I wouldn’t go blabbing his past to just anyone who would listen, so my lips are sealed. Let me just say that Tuck — that’s my husband — and I were happy when they broke up… but not at how it happened. It was a very ugly situation. Poor Garret. He was such a trusting soul.

Valerie: Now you’ve got my curiosity piqued…

Nancy: Oh, no, you don’t. It’s his story to tell, not mine, although I truly didn’t believe he’d hold it in for five years. It’s just that….

Valerie: Give us a little hint?

Nancy: No. My lips are sealed.

Valerie: Okay, I’ll let it go for now. Tell me about his childhood. He seems so easy-going. Was he a quiet baby?

Nancy: I, uh…

Valerie: Whoa, I didn’t think that was a super personal question.

Nancy (glances around): Can I trust your friends to keep a secret?

Valerie: A secret?

Nancy: You see, we adopted Garret when he was four. It wasn’t classified back in Tennessee where we lived at the time. Tuck and I always had a full house with foster children, but God saw fit to allow us to adopt two of those boys. We’d had Kellen for several years before Garret came to stay.

Valerie: Bless you two for opening your home. What an oasis you must have been to those kids.

Nancy: We did our best to love each one and teach them that God would never leave them, no matter what happened. We’ve had occasional news from some of them in the intervening years, and that’s been a blessing. You see, we were never able to have babies of our own, but God had other plans. Tuck taught at the university for many years, and we had a small ranch just begging for children. Fostering was a match made in heaven.

Valerie: Garret is quite talented musically. When did you notice that, and how did you nurture it?

Nancy: He is, isn’t he? I taught piano lessons to our foster children and some from the neighborhood. Our older son, Kellen, struggled to follow the simplest instructions. He had a poor attitude, even then. Young Garret could barely wait for his brother to vacate the piano bench so he could perform the exercises correctly. Music did not endear the boys to each other.

Valerie: I’m sorry it became contentious between them, but I’m so thankful that you nurtured his talent. Listening to him lead the church’s worship band just warms my heart. He could have played professionally!

Nancy: He once planned — no. I can’t tell you about that.

Valerie: Another mysterious piece to the puzzle that is Garret Morrison?

Nancy: That’s one way to put it. Look, if you want to know more about my son, you’ll have to read his story. You’re the one who’s writing it down, aren’t you? That’s the best way to understand him from the inside out. Maybe he’ll tell you all those secrets. Meanwhile, we need to keep him in prayer, that God would heal his tender heart and open it to love. Tuck and I are getting on — we were no spring chickens when we adopted Garret! — and it would rest my soul to know Garret was on God’s chosen path for his future.

Valerie: I’m so thankful Garret came to live with you and Tuck. His story could have turned out much differently.

Nancy: We are thankful every day for that boy. Believe me.

Valerie: Thanks for having a cup of tea with me today and giving me some insight into Garret. And I’m sure our Inspy Romance friends are just as delighted to meet you as I am.

Nancy (blows kisses): Trust in God’s path for you, and read our son’s story!

Tori Carmichael has been in a holding pattern since her dad’s debilitating accident. Now that the family’s ranch resort is on stable footing again, she’s ready for her future, but her plan to become a teacher dims in the glow of her dreams about the newest cowboy in Saddle Springs. Too bad there seems little sign Garret will ever return her interest.

Garret Morrison had planned to resume his music career after taking time to regroup from a shattered relationship, but his aging parents need his help with their riding stable. He pours himself into worship ministry at the local church, avoiding starry-eyed Tori for her own good. Every woman he’s loved has left him, one way or another, and he can’t face the possibility one more time.

What will it take for Garret to discover that love is worth the risk? And will that realization come too late to save what might have been?

The Cowboy’s Belated Discovery released on November 19th. It is available on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited. Pick up your copy here!

If you could ask Nancy Morrison any question, what would you ask her?

Valerie Comer (341 Posts)

Valerie Comer is a USA Today bestselling author and a two-time Word Award winner who writes where food meets faith and fiction. She injects experience laced with humor into her green clean romances. Her life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local foods movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily-ever-afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.