“I said,” Lindy Lee supplied, “that I need a little boy in my life. A little boy just like Gabe.”
Holly wondered if she’d heard correctly. This woman who looked identical to her employer sounded nothing like the Lindy Lee she knew. Gone was the dictatorial, demanding tyrant who ran her fashion-design business with military precision. She’d either been taken over by aliens or Lindy Lee had a gentle side that she kept hidden and revealed only on rare occasions. Like Christmas...
An hour later, during a private moment in the kitchen, Jake gave Holly a gift—a cameo that had once belonged to his mother. He said J.R. had given it to him for this very purpose the night before. Holly was thrilled, honored, humbled. She held her breath as he put the cameo on its gold chain around her neck. Holly didn’t have anything for him, but Jake said all he wanted was a kiss, and she was happy to comply.
Two hours after that, the small group gathered around the table laden with Christmas fare, including several bottles of exceptional wine brought by Jake and his father. Gabe sat between Mickey and Lindy Lee and chatted nonstop, while J.R. and Jake sat with Holly between them. They took turns saying grace, then took turns again, passing serving dishes to one another.
Amid the clinking of silverware on china and the animated conversation and laughter, Gabe’s voice suddenly rose.
“Mrs. Miracle was right,” he declared after his first bite of turkey. “This is the best Christmas ever.”
* * *
Emily Merkle reached for her suitcase and started down the long road. Her job in New York was finished, and it had gone even better than she’d expected. Holly and Jake were falling in love. J.R. had more interest in anticipating the future than reliving the pain of the past. Mickey had met Lindy Lee, and Gabe had settled in nicely with his aunt Holly.
Emily hadn’t walked far when she was joined by two others, a beautiful woman and a ten-year-old girl. Kaitlyn skipped gracefully at her mother’s side, holding Helene’s hand.
“All is well,” Emily told the other woman. “J.R. and Jake will celebrate Christmas from now on. It was a big leap for J.R., but once the grandchildren arrive, he will lavish them with love.”
“Jake will marry Holly?” she asked.
Emily nodded. “They’ll have many years together.”
“You chose well for my son.”
Emily nodded in agreement. Jake and Holly were a good match and they’d bring out the best in each other.
The other woman smiled contentedly. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“It was my pleasure,” Emily told her.
And it truly was.
* * *
ISBN-13: 9781488076510
A Christmas Message
Copyright © 2020 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Christmas Letters
First published in 2006. This edition published in 2020.
Copyright © 2006 by Debbie Macomber
Call Me Mrs. Miracle
First published in 2010. This edition published in 2020.
Copyright © 2010 by Debbie Macomber
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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A Christmas Message Page 32