by Donna Ball
But before he could even begin to try to explain the error, Park Sung began gesticulating wildly, hopping up and down as he beckoned them inside with sweeping arm gestures. “Hahmonee!” he declared. “Hahmonee!”
Paul looked at Derrick and repeated, “Harmony?”
Derrick shrugged, as confused as Paul was. They saw no choice other than to follow Park Sung inside.
He led the way to the massage room and opened it with a flourish. “Soo. Prize,” he announced. Hesitantly the two men looked around.
The room was a peaceful oasis of variegated shades of green, calm winter light filtering through the transparent window shade. Flickering candles smelled of lemon grass and balsam, and the soothing sounds of a lute played a melody against the background sounds of a waterfall. All was exactly as it had been designed, except when Derrick moved his eyes toward the ceiling. He clutched Paul’s arm, speechless, and Paul tilted his head to look upwards as well.
The entire ceiling was covered with a mural magnificent enough to rival any fresco in any palazzo in Italy. Cerulean blue skies and gold-tipped clouds provided a heavenly backdrop for the angels, dozen of them. There were blond angels, brunette angels, male angels, female angels, young angels, old angels. There was one angel with long blond curls that looked suspiciously like Harmony. And another …
“Oh, my God,” Derrick whispered. “It’s you!”
Paul nodded slowly and turned his head meaningfully in another direction. Derrick followed his gaze. “And me,” he added.
“It’s actually rather … mesmerizing,” Paul admitted after a moment.
“Like a train wreck in heaven,” agreed Derrick, his head still tilted back. “You want to look away, but you can’t.”
Park Sung stood close by, his head also tilted to the ceiling, beaming proudly. “Hahmonee,” he said.
Paul and Derrick tore their eyes away from the ceiling and met each others’ gaze with a smile. “Surprise,” they said in unison.
Bryce Phipps stood with one hand on the back of his wife’s chair, watching her face as she accepted the blue-foil wrapped box he offered to her. Around them the others laughed and chatted, Christmas carols played, glass hummingbirds caught the lights on the Christmas tree and seemed to flutter their wings in delight. Their hosts returned to the room with another pitcher of eggnog and an armload of firewood. Yet the two of them, though in the middle of the gaiety and activity, had surrounded themselves with a gentle veil of privacy through which others could look, but not intrude.
“I know you said no gifts,” Bryce said quietly. “But I’ve waited for years to give you this. When we came here, I thought it would be my last chance. Now I just think it’s time.”
She looked at him uncertainly. “What is it?”
“I have no idea,” he admitted. “David got it for you that Christmas … the Christmas before he died. He had the store wrap it for him and he wouldn’t tell me what it was.” He smiled a little, remembering. “Although he was dropping so many hints I’m sure he would have blurted it out in another day or two.”
Angela dropped her eyes to the package in her lap, her hand hesitant, making no move to unwrap it. She said softly, “He’ll always be with us, won’t he?”
Her husband slipped his hand beneath her hair, caressing her neck. “I hope so. And I think it’s up to us to make sure he is.”
Angela slit the tape with her fingernail and folded back the paper. She opened the box and removed the soft packing material. For a moment she just stared, in wonder and disbelief, at what was inside.
“Oh my goodness,” she whispered. “I remember this.”
Slowly, she drew the snow globe out of the box and held it up to the light. She turned it upside down and then right-side up, watching the snow swirl around the wooden house with the different colored painted doors. She couldn’t help herself. Holding her breath, she peered more closely, looking into the golden windows. But as hard as she tried, she couldn’t see inside. And then she realized it didn’t matter. Because she was already here.
She laughed out loud in delight. “Look!” she exclaimed. “It’s just like this place!”
Everyone crowded around to see, and even Paul and Derrick were impressed by the resemblance. “What do you know about that, old man?” Paul declared. “Our fame is even more widespread than we knew!”
“We must try to find one like it,” agreed Derrick. “It would look divine on the reception desk. Do you mind my asking where you got it?”
Angela just shared a smile with her husband and replied, “I’m afraid they don’t make these anymore.”
What had the man in the store said when she’d asked what would happen to the people inside the globe? They’ll go on living their lives. That was it. She reached up and clasped her husband’s hand, pressing it against her shoulder, smiling. “Thank you,” she said.
They’ll go on living their lives.
“Hey,” Kelly Bartlett said. She crawled under the Christmas tree and brought out another package, this one wrapped in silver. “There’s another present here.” She looked at the tag. “It’s for you guys,” she said, handing the package to Derrick. “Both of you.”
They exchanged one of those delighted Christmas morning who-can-this-be-from looks, and Derrick tore off the wrapping.
“You are such a heathen,” Paul complained affectionately, trying to salvage the wrapping paper Derrick had discarded. “Reclaim, reuse, recycle.”
“Will you look at this?” Derrick held up a polished wooden plaque for everyone to admire. “Isn’t this lovely?”
“Beautiful craftsmanship,” agreed Paul. “What’s engraved on it?”
“It says …” Derrick turned the plaque around and read out loud, “Don’t be afraid to show kindness to strangers, for thereby many have entertained angels unaware.”
“Well,” Paul said, a little uncertainly, “what a lovely sentiment.”
“Perfect for our front hallway,” Derrick suggested.
“Is there a card?”
Derrick dug back into the box and came up with a folded sheet of paper. “Ah,” he said, smiling. “It says ‘Thanks for the hospitality, Mick.’”
“Well now.” Paul’s smile broadened as he took the plaque and admired it. “Isn’t that nice? I always did say he was a man of class and distinction.”
“Multilayered,” agreed Derrick.
Paul’s expression was considering. “A little odd,” he admitted.
“But nice,” Derrick said.
Across the room, Geoffery Windsor looked at Mrs. Hildebrand and winked. She smiled back, and both of them lifted their cups in the air in a silent toast.
~*~
December 26
Thank you for making the Hummingbird House your holiday destination! Check-out is at 11:00 a.m. Airport transportation will be waiting at the main entrance. Please enjoy a farewell champagne brunch with us in the dining room beginning at 9:00 a.m. We hope your stay has been as memorable for you as it has been for us and that you will allow us the pleasure of your company as soon as your schedule permits. In the meantime we will hold you in our hearts until we meet again. Safe travels and Happy New Year—
Your hosts,
Paul and Derrick
~*~
Also in this series:
The Hummingbird House
Entrepreneurs Paul Slater and Derrick Anderson have a few things to learn about life in the country—and about operating a B&B. But with a little help from their friends, and perhaps a touch of magic, they’re soon on their way to making the Hummingbird House a destination of distinction, where the unexpected is only a matter of routine.
And don’t miss:
The Ladybug Farm series by Donna Ball
For every woman who ever had a dream… or a friend
A Year on Ladybug Farm
At Home on Ladybug Farm
Love Letters from Ladybug Farm
Christmas on Ladybug Farm
Recipes from Ladybug Farm
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Vintage Ladybug Farm
A Wedding on Ladybug Farm
The Raine Stockton Dog Mystery Series
Books in Order
SMOKY MOUNTAIN TRACKS
A child has been kidnapped and abandoned in the mountain wilderness. Her only hope is Raine Stockton and her young, untried tracking dog Cisco...
RAPID FIRE
Raine and Cisco are brought in by the FBI to track a terrorist …a terrorist who just happens to be Raine’s old boyfriend.
GUN SHY
Raine rescues a traumatized service dog, and soon begins to suspect he is the only witness to a murder.
BONE YARD
Cisco digs up human remains in Raine’s back yard, and mayhem ensues. Could this be evidence of a serial killer, a long-unsolved mass murder, or something even more sinister… and closer to home?
SILENT NIGHT
It’s Christmastime in Hansonville, N.C., and Raine and Cisco are on the trail of a missing teenager. But when a newborn is abandoned in the manger of the town's living nativity and Raine walks in on what appears to be the scene of a murder, the holidays take a very dark turn for everyone concerned.
THE DEAD SEASON
Raine and Cisco take a job leading a wilderness hike for troubled teenagers, and soon find themselves trapped on a mountainside in a blizzard… with a killer.
ALL THAT GLITTERS: A Holiday Short Story e book
Raine looks back on how she and Cisco met and solved their first crime in this Christmas Cozy short story. Sold separately as an e-book or bundled with the print edition of HIGH IN TRIAL.
HIGH IN TRIAL
A carefree weekend turns deadly when Raine and Cisco travel to the South Carolina low country for an agility competition
DOUBLE DOG DARE
A luxury Caribbean vacation sounds like just the ticket for over-worked, over-stressed Raine Stockton and her happy go lucky canine companion Cisco. But even in paradise trouble finds them, and when someone she loves is threatened Raine must use every resource at her command to track down a killer before it’s too late.
HOME OF THE BRAVE
There’s a new dog in town, and Raine and Cisco find themselves unexpectedly upstaged by a flashy K-9 addition to the sheriff’s department. But when things go terribly wrong at a mountain camp for kids and dogs over the Fourth of July weekend, Raine and Cisco need all the help they can get to save themselves, and those they love.
DOG DAYS
This tenth anniversary installment of the Raine Stockton Dog Mystery series, the dog days of summer bring murder and intrigue when Raines takes in a beautiful English Cream Golden Retriever covered in blood, and the complications have only begun. Readers will enjoy discovering all ten of the titles of the previous books hidden in the text of this one.
Don’t miss the first book in the powerful new Dogleg Island Mystery Series
FLASH
Almost two years ago the sleepy little community of Dogleg Island was the scene of one of the most brutal crimes in Florida history. The only eye witnesses were a border collie puppy and a police officer. Since that time Flash has grown from a puppy into a vital part of the Dogleg Island Police Department, and has lived happily with the two people who rescued him on that horrible night: Deputy Sheriff Ryan Grady and Police Chief Aggie Malone.
Now the trial of the century is about to begin. The defendant, accused of slaughtering his parents in their beach home, maintains his innocence. Aggie and Ryan, the top witnesses for the prosecution, are convinced he is lying. But only Flash knows the truth.
And with another murder to solve, a tangle of conflicting evidence to sort out, and a brutal storm on the way, the truth may come too late... for all of them.
Spine-chilling suspense by Donna Ball
SHATTERED
A missing child, a desperate call for help in the middle of the night… is this a cruel hoax, or the work of a maniacal serial killer who is poised to strike again?
NIGHT FLIGHT
She’s an innocent woman who knows too much. Now she’s fleeing through the night without a weapon and without a phone, and her only hope for survival is a cop who’s willing to risk his badge—and his life—to save her.
SANCTUARY
They came to the peaceful, untouched mountain wilderness of Eastern Tennessee seeking an escape from the madness of modern life. But when they built their luxury homes in the heart of virgin forest they did not realize that something was there before them… something ancient and horrible; something that will make them believe that monsters are real.
EXPOSURE
Everyone has secrets, but when talk show host Jessamine Cray’s stalker begins to use her past to terrorize her, no one is safe … not her family, her friends, her coworkers, and especially not Jess herself.
RENEGADE by Donna Boyd
Enter a world of dark mystery and intense passion, where human destiny is controlled by a species of powerful, exotic creatures. Once they ruled the Tundra, now they rule Wall Street. Once they fought with teeth and claws, now they fight with wealth and power. And only one man can stop them… if he dares.
The Kincaids by Donna Ball and Shannon Harper
Raging Rivers
Katherine Carlyle and Byrd Kincaid, fugitives and reluctant heroes, begin a journey west and launch a dynasty that will forge a nation.
Prairie Thunder
Legendary trailblazer Boothe Carlyle leads a wagon train west, where young Kitty Kincaid will rediscover her heritage and finally earn the proud warrior name she was given at her Shawnee mother’s breast.
Westward Winds
Peril and promise await the children of Katherine and Byrd Kincaid in the high mountains and brutal plains of the American frontier they have worked so hard to tame.
Mountain Fury
The California Gold Rush brings turbulence and hope to the lives of the children of Byrd and Katherine Kincaid, and will forever alter the destiny of the wild land they love.
Romance Revisited by Donna Ball
MATCHMAKER, MATCHMAKER
He was a cowboy looking for a wife. She was a lady specializing in brides. They were made for each other... They just didn't know it yet.
A MAN AROUND THE HOUSE
He was the answer to a busy working woman's dreams. But was he too good to be true?
FOR KEEPS
He's an animal trainer who lives by one rule: never get attached. She's a social worker who knows all too well the price of getting involved. It may take an entire menagerie to bring them together, but eventually they both must learn that sometimes it's for keeps.
STEALING SAVANNAH
He was a reformed jewel thief now turned security expert and her job depended on his expertise. But could he be trusted not to steal the most valuable jewel of all-- her heart?
UNDER COVER
She's working on the biggest case of her life, and her cover has already been blown-- by the very man she's investigating. Now they must work together to solve an even bigger mystery-- their future together.
THE STORMRIDERS
They were thunder and lightning when they were married, and their divorce has been no less turbulent. But trapped together during a deadly blizzard with the lives of an entire community depending on them, they discover what's really important, and that some storms are worth riding out.
INTERLUDE
Sometimes a chance encounter is over in a moment, and sometimes it can last a lifetime.
CAST ADRIFT
She was a marine biologist on short deadline to find a very important dolphin, with no time to waste on romance. He was a sailor who knew there could only be one captain on his ship-- himself. But two weeks at sea together could change everything...
ABOUT THE AUTHOR….
Donna Ball is the author of over a hundred novels under several different pseudonyms in a variety of genres that include romance, mystery, suspense, paranormal, western adventure, historical and women’s fiction. Recent popular series include the Ladybug
Farm series, The Hummingbird House series, The Dogleg Island Mystery series, and the Raine Stockton Dog Mystery series. Donna is an avid dog lover and her dogs have won numerous titles for agility, obedience and canine musical freestyle. She lives in a restored Victorian Barn in the heart of the Blue Ridge mountains with a variety of four-footed companions. You can contact her at http://www.donnaball.net.
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Seventeen
Eighteen
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About the Author