“Do you think you could catch me if I jump?” she called, startling him.
He looked up into the branches of the giant oak to see her perched on one of the limbs over his head.
“I think I could manage it.” A faint smile played on his lips.
Taking him at his word, Veda pushed herself off the limb and fell into his arms. “Merry Christmas, Reese McNally.”
He leaned over and caught a quick kiss, but Veda saw the tears in his eyes before he did.
“Awww, don’t cry, Reese,” she said, scrambling out of his arms to stand on her feet. “Remember what I told you about being a crybaby when we were little?”
Ignoring her, he turned his eyes to the tree once more. “When did you do this, Veda? When did you come out here and tie yellow ribbons around the tree?”
“I came out earlier, before I even called you.” She moved closer to wrap her arms loosely around his waist, smiling up at him. “Do you like it?”
“What does this mean, Veda?” He looked down at her, his brown eyes serious now. “This isn’t one of your jokes or something, is it?”
“No.” She punched at him. “And you’re spoiling my surprise with all your worries. Don’t you get it, Reese? It’s my way of telling you I’m staying.”
“You’re staying?” He seemed to have trouble processing the words.
“S. T. A. Y. I. N. G.” She spelled out the letters slowly.
“I know how to spell,” he said. He put his hand under her chin to turn her face up to his. “What changed your mind?”
She crossed her arms in irritation, “I never changed my mind, Reese. I just hadn’t made up my mind before.”
“Oh, yeah, I remember. You said your decision was pending.”
“Well, it’s not pending anymore.” She put a hand up to his face again, letting her fingers caress his cheek.
“What’s changed?” He searched her face as he asked the question.
“I heard the wind sing.” Her voice dropped with the words.
He looked puzzled.
“Like Unole said. Remember?” She gave him a tentative smile. “Please say you understand. It’s important to me.”
He considered her words. “You connected with your heritage. You got the knowing you’ve been seeking in some way.”
“Yes.” She smiled at him.
“How did it happen?” He pulled her to sit down beside him on the log by the fence they always climbed over.
She paused to find the right words. “First at the Mimosa. Remember when we were outside and that touch of chill wind blew around the house and then came again?”
“Yes.”
“I could hear in the wind that there was a problem with Sutton. I got this urgency that I should go home right away.” She hesitated. “With the second wind it grew clearer. It was as though I could hear the words singing on the wind: Go home right now. Go home right now.”
He looked at her. “That’s kind of spooky, Veda.”
“It was,” she agreed. “But I’m glad I listened. And on the way home, I got a check to notice that truck passing by us, to get the license number. I knew it was the thieves.”
“Well, anyone might have expected that with a truck coming out of the farm road loaded with Christmas trees.”
She pushed at him. “You didn’t notice the truck, smarty. And I might not have noticed it either without that little feeling.”
“Okay.” He pulled his scarf closer around his neck against the chill.
Veda looked into his eyes, wanting him to understand. “Then, at the church, when I got up to tell my story, it happened again. Didn’t you notice the air swirling in the church, the candles flickering?”
He touched her face. “I was too busy watching you, waiting for your story. So proud you were going to share for Rita Jean’s memory.”
“Something stirred in me then, too, Reese. I had a story all planned, but something welled up inside and gave me another story to tell.”
He considered that. “It was a good story you told.”
She punched his arm. “You are so pragmatic sometimes, Reese McNally. Don’t you see? I knew what story to tell. I heard the wind sing. It came to me what story to tell, and the gift to tell it welled up inside me, too.”
He reached over to brush snow from her hair and to touch her cheek. “I’m glad, Veda. Unole spoke to you.”
“Yes.” She sighed, seeing that he understood at last.
“So what does this mean?” he asked.
“It means I know this is where I’m meant to stay, that this is where I belong.”
“And that’s why you put the yellow ribbons on the tree?”
She smiled at him. “So you’d know I meant to stay—just like you used to dream. I know it’s hurt you that I took such a long time making up my mind.”
He fell silent for a minute, and while he paused, some church bells in the valley began to peal. The sound of them carried on the air, filling Veda with a sense of peace it seemed she’d been seeking all her life.
“Would you have left me if these things hadn’t happened, Veda?” Reese’s face looked anxious.
She leaned nearer to kiss him gently. “I don’t think I could have left you, Reese, even if these things hadn’t happened. Every day I knew more and more how much I still loved you.” She paused. “But don’t you see how much this means to me? I feel so right in myself for the first time. I feel like I not only belong with you but that I belong here. I know the store is my legacy, the people here are my legacy, and you—you’re my legacy. I know of a surety I’m meant to be here. And I am the new storyteller. The gift has been passed to me.”
He smiled then. “I see.”
His eyes moved to the tree again, swathed in yellow ribbons growing wet from the falling snow. “It’s a great Christmas gift, Veda. Thank you.” He shivered and leaned over to kiss her again. “Does this mean you’ll marry me and that we’ll do the happily ever after thing?”
“Probably,” she replied saucily, pulling away to stand and dust the snow off her pants and coat. “But I want the whole courting and dating thing first. I want time for us to get to know each other in a whole new way.” She hesitated. “And I want time for Pamela to get used to me, and to feel like I belong to her, too.”
“I don’t think you’ll have any problems there.” He stood also and took her into his arms. “We’ll do the courting thing, Veda, but it might be hard to wait too long to do the marrying thing.” His mouth dropped to hers in a fiery, passionate kiss, taking her breath away in the cold winter air. “I love you more than life, you know.”
Veda relished the warmth of his arms and the solid sense of knowing she was exactly where she needed to be at last.
“We’d better head back before everyone comes looking for us,” Reese said with reluctance, taking her hand to start walking down the path toward the McNally Farm. “I’m sure Pamela is champing at the bit to get into the Christmas brunch and all the fixings. And I know she can’t wait to show you all her Christmas gifts.”
“She told me you bought something for me,” Veda teased. “But she said you wouldn’t tell her what it was.”
“If I’d known what would happen today, I’d have bought an engagement ring.”
She smiled at him. “There’s time enough for that later.”
He leaned over to catch another kiss. “Hmmm . . . if I recall correctly, you have a birthday next month.”
“That might be a little too soon.” She wrinkled her nose. “We might not have enough courting and dating and all that behind us yet.”
They walked on in the thickening snow of Christmas morning toward the lights of the McNally farmhouse.
Reese tucked her hand into his arm, pulling her closer. “I wish Rita Jean was here to see this happy ending,” he said, his voice softening.
“Oh, I think she is,” Veda answered, as a twist of wind slipped through the trees and lingered around them.
Dear Reader,
If yo
u’d like to read the story of how Grace and Jack Teague met and how the Mimosa Inn came to be, look for Lin Stepp’s Smoky Mountain novel, Down by the River, published by Kensington in June 2014. And for more Smokies pleasure, watch for the next heartwarming story, coming soon in January 2015, Makin’ Miracles, set in the charm of downtown Gatlinburg.
Lin Stepp
Photo by M2IFOTO © 2006
Fern Michaels is the USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of the Sisterhood and Godmothers series, and dozens of other novels and novellas. There are over seventy-five million copies of her books in print. Fern Michaels has built and funded several large day-care centers in her hometown, and is a passionate animal lover who has outfitted police dogs across the country with special bulletproof vests. She shares her home in South Carolina with her four dogs and a resident ghost named Mary Margaret. Visit her website at www.fernmichaels.com .
Photo © Kimberley Butler Photography
Nancy Bush is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Nowhere Safe, Nowhere to Hide, Nowhere to Run, Hush, Blind Spot, and Unseen, and Something Wicked, Wicked Game, and Wicked Lies in the Colony series cowritten with her sister, bestselling author Lisa Jackson. She is also the coauthor of Sinister, written with Lisa Jackson and New York Times bestselling author Rosalind Noonan. Nancy lives with her family and pug dog, The Binkster, in the Pacific Northwest. Readers can visit her website at www.nancybush.net and check out her blog at www.nancybush.blogspot.com.
Photo by Edgardo Aponte
Rosanna Chiofalo is also the author of Bella Fortuna and Carissima. An avid traveler, she enjoys setting her novels in the countries she’s visited. A first-generation Italian American, her novels also draw on her rich cultural background. When she isn’t traveling or daydreaming about her characters, Rosanna keeps busy testing out new recipes in her kitchen. She lives in New York City with her husband. Readers can visit her website at www.rosannachiofalo.com.
Photo © Katie Riley
Dr. Lin Stepp is a native Tennessean, a businesswoman, and an educator. She is on faculty at Tusculum College, where she teaches psychology and writing. Her business background includes over twenty years in marketing, sales, production art, and regional publishing. But closest to her heart is her beloved series of contemporary novels set in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Visit her on the web at www.linstepp.com.
PICTURE PERFECT
Lost in the Woods
Pediatrician Lorrie Ryan has been looking forward to camping with her seven-year-old nephew, Davey. It’s a chance to let the fragile, sheltered boy spend time away from his nervous, overprotective parents, and have the adventure he’s always wanted. But in the lush, verdant woods, Lorrie never imagines they are not alone . . . or that their idyllic trip will soon become a chilling nightmare of survival . . .
In one terrifying moment, Davey disappears. The local police find no trace of him, and a desperate Lorrie turns to the one man who can help—FBI agent Stuart Saunders. Now, the hunt is on for a child growing weaker by the minute . . . and a cruel predator whose twisted game of cat and mouse has only just begun . . .
I’LL FIND YOU
Only Killing Stops the Pain . . .
Callie Cantrell has only fragmented memories of the car accident that killed her husband and son. One year later, she’s still trying to start over, yet she can’t shake her unease. Especially when former LA cop West Laughlin barges into her life, searching for his young nephew. At first he thinks Callie’s lying about who she is and what she knows. But soon it’s clear that Callie and West are linked by a killer who has bent others to his twisted will. The worst night of Callie’s life was just the beginning of his vengeance. And when her turn comes again there will be no escape . . .
CARISSIMA
From Rosanna Chiofalo comes a sumptuous new novel
that sweeps readers from the Italian-American enclave
of Astoria, New York, to the stunning vistas of Rome, and
introduces two very different women—in a story of
friendship, love, and destiny . . .
In college, Pia Santore dreamed of going to New York and taking the Big Apple by storm with her younger sister Erica. Instead, Pia has arrived in Astoria, Queens, with a prestigious journalism internship at a celebrity magazine . . . and without Erica. Though the neighborhood has an abundance of appeal—including the delectable confections sold at her aunt Antoniella’s bakery—the pain of losing Erica a few years ago still feels fresh.
Pia’s arrival coincides with an unexpected sighting. Italian movie icon Francesca Donata is rumored to be staying nearby, every bit as voluptuous and divaesque as in her heyday. With the help of a handsome local artist with ties to Francesca’s family, Pia convinces the legend to grant her a series of interviews—even traveling to her house in Rome. In the Eternal City, Pia begins to unearth the truth behind the star’s fabled romances and tangled past. And here too, where beauty and history mingle in every breathtaking view, and hope shimmers in the Trevi Fountain and on the Spanish Steps, Pia gradually learns how to love and when to let go. For when in Rome, you may find your carissima—your dearest one—and you may even find yourself . . .
DOWN BY THE RIVER
Set against the backdrop of Tennessee’s breathtaking
Smoky Mountains, Lin Stepp’s Down by the River is a
warmhearted novel that proves it’s never too late—
or too early—for a fresh start . . .
While on a visit to the Smokies, Grace Conley makes a stunning decision: She’s going to walk away from her busy life in Nashville to move to tiny Townsend and open a bed-and-breakfast. There’s a beautiful old inn for sale along the Little River that will do perfectly. Of course, Grace’s family is scandalized. After all, she’s a middle-aged widow! And as a career homemaker, she’s always been available for babysitting, chauffeuring, and generally being the peacemaker among her grown children. Has Grace lost her mind? She begins to wonder the same thing once she finds herself attracted to the local ladies’ man. But the surprises don’t stop there . . .
To further complicate her move, Grace’s daughter, Margaret, has grudgingly come to live with her. Having just graduated from college, remote Townsend is not where she envisions her future. Yet the handsome young minister next door is convinced he and Margaret are meant for each other. As life choices abound, soon both women will discover that the biggest decisions require confidence, a sense of humor—and a deep, abiding faith.
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Compilation copyright © 2014 by Kensington Publishing Corporation
Candy Canes and Cupid © 2014 by MRK Productions
White Hot Christmas © 2014 by Nancy Bush
Seven Days of Christmas © 2014 by Rosanna Chiofalo
A Smoky Mountain Gift © 2014 by Lin Stepp
Fern Michaels is a registered trademark of First Draft, Inc.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
If purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
Zebra and the Z logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-1-4201-3106-2
First Electronic Edition: October 2014
eISBN-13: 978-1-4201-3107-9
eISBN-10: 1-4201-3107-9
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