At I Heart Lesfic, we believe the world could use a bit more kindness after one of the hardest and longest of years. Many authors have signed up to help IHL spread kindness in the world.

Today, the wonderful Miranda MacLeod is here to share a story. Also, one lucky winner will receive a signed hardcover copy of Accidental Honeymoon. Below the guest post, you’ll find more details about the giveaway.

Take it away, Miranda.

THE LAST TIME I SAW MY DAD

I’ve been struggling for several days to come up with a topic to write about, not because I can’t think of examples of kindness, but because I can think of all sorts of things but none of them lend themselves to a good story. But yesterday I remembered something that had happened exactly a year ago to the day, and it seemed appropriate to share it now.

Last year, right as the WHO had officially declared a pandemic, and all the schools were saying maybe we won’t have classes “for a week or two,” and all the businesses were telling employees to take some work to do at home “just in case,” I got word that my dad was in the ER after a fall.

I called the hospital, and they said they couldn’t tell me anything over the phone and I just needed to come in person with some ID and then they’d be happy to update me. They stuck to this even when I told them I lived 3,000 miles away. This is not the part of my story that involves kindness, but it is the part where I may have lost my temper and done a lot of screaming. Anyway, eventually I got someone to understand the situation and was finally told that no, my dad hadn’t fallen, he’d had a stroke.

One good thing when everyone has been told not to go anywhere was I was able to get on a nearly empty cross-country flight a few hours later. I got to LA, met up with my brother, and went straight to the hospital. My dad’s condition was clearly very serious, though we were able to communicate with him and he knew we were there. There was no doctor available on the weekend, but we were told Monday morning we would get to see the doctor first thing and get the full scoop.

Monday morning, we arrived at the hospital. A big white tent had materialized, with a sign directing people with Covid symptoms to please go there first, and a table had been set up outside the main door where a security guard informed us that as of a few minutes ago, the hospital was not allowing any visitors. We still hadn’t talked to a doctor, and now we were starting to panic, or at least I was. The security guard, whom I will call kind person number one, gave me the direct number of the hospital’s social worker.

And this is where the moment of kindness I wanted to tell you about comes in, because when I spoke to the social worker and he found out we were standing right outside on the sidewalk, he decided to call security and tell them to let us inside so we could meet with him in person. After we got the answers we needed, he let us stay another three hours with my dad even though we technically weren’t supposed to be there.

The reason I remember this so clearly is that it ended up being the last time I saw my dad. We thought he was going to have a long road of recovery ahead of him at a rehab facility, but he actually passed away just a few days later. The fact that social worker bent the rules even though the whole world was turning upside down meant I had a chance to say good bye to my dad in person and give him a hug before I flew home. I had no idea at the time how many families would have to say good bye to loved ones over video screens and phones in the coming year. But I know how lucky I am that I didn’t have to.

GIVEAWAY

ACCIDENTAL HONEYMOON

by Miranda MacLeod

Available in Kindle Unlimited

Would you marry a woman you hate for a life-changing inheritance?

Monica’s business has been hit hard by a global recession, her ex-girlfriend is selling the house out from under her, and the hot handy ma’am, Ray, who was hired to fix up the place, turns out to be the most annoying woman on the planet. Could things get any worse?

All Ray wants is to finish her job and say adios to the world’s most high-maintenance client. But after being mistaken for Monica’s girlfriend, how can Ray walk away when going along with the charade would grant an old lady her dying wish? It’s not like Ray intended to be so charming that Monica’s grandmother would rewrite her will.

Now the unlikely couple stands to inherit a vineyard in rural New England and a heap of cash large enough to change both their lives. The only hitch? They have to get hitched. And since Monica is a professional wedding blogger, they’ll have to make it the wedding of the century while convincing two million followers they’re madly in love.

No problem, aside from the simple fact that they can’t stand each other. There’s a good chance the whole thing could end in disaster, but is it possible these enemies might find true love along the way?

Best-selling lesbian fiction author Miranda MacLeod has written a slow burn fake-relationship romance that will warm you through and through. 

MEET THE AUTHOR

Originally from southern California, Miranda now lives in New England and writes heartfelt romances and romantic comedies featuring witty and charmingly flawed women that you’ll want to marry. Or just grab a coffee with, if that’s more your thing.

Before becoming a writer, she spent way too many years in graduate school, worked in professional theater and film, and held temp jobs in just about every office building in downtown Boston.

CONNECT WITH MIRANDA MACLEOD

Website / Facebook / BookBub / Goodreads

Thanks so much for stopping by today.