Thelma hopped up first. “Early for guests.” She opened the door, her tone changing completely. “Well, come on in.”
Chloe recognized her best friend’s voice. Grace, her aunt Ruth, Noah and Susie chattered while they strolled into the parlor.
“Merry Christmas!” Chloe rose from the sofa. “I didn’t know we’d get to see you today!”
“And miss my namesake’s first Christmas?” Grace replied with a swift hug. “Ah, there she is!” Grace walked quickly to the cradle, stopping first to greet Jimmy. “Hey, big brother. You still liking your sister?”
“Yeah.” Jimmy ducked his head. “She’s okay.”
Grace grinned. “Going to keep her then?”
“Uh-huh.”
Reaching the cradle, Grace peered down. “I’m not quite sure how we managed to have the three most beautiful children in the world.” The baby held up one hand and Grace offered her pinky finger which Gracie latched on to. “She’s getting really strong.”
Susie tiptoed next to her mother. Fascinated, she stared into the cradle. “Is our baby going to be that little?”
Chloe stared at her friend, hoping Grace’s prayer had been answered.
Grace patted her still flat tummy. “I imagine so.”
Chloe rushed to give her a hug, while Evan pumped Noah’s hand in congratulation.
“Ruth Stanton!” Barbara declared. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Promised I wouldn’t,” Ruth replied with an apologetic shrug and nod toward her niece.
Barbara and Ruth had become fast friends. Ruth urged Barbara to join the ladies auxiliary and picked her up each week to attend the meetings. In between, they had lunches both out in town and in the house. Many afternoons were spent playing dominos, gin rummy or hearts. Barbara still had to carry her portable concentrator, but Ruth treated it as just an extra purse. They had purchased a power scooter so Barbara could walk through town with her friend.
And, as Evan had predicted, they had yet to need extra help to ensure someone was always in the house with Barbara. Using the lighter wheelchair Chloe had suggested, it was always easy to pack the chair in the back of a car. So Barbara attended church regularly, including special events like the live nativity the previous evening.
Barbara winked at Ruth. “I’m happy for all of you.” The much prayed for pregnancy was a blessing Grace and Noah had wanted for some time.
“Between us, we’ll have four little ones to spoil.” Ruth patted Susie’s back.
“And I’m the oldest,” Jimmy bragged.
“You sure are, big guy.” Evan scooped him up, flinging him up over his head, making Jimmy giggle.
The blessings continued to flow, Chloe thought. Mitchell Stone had revived due to the large order they had been able to produce. Everyone’s jobs were safe. The company was doing so well that Melanie, the woman Chloe had stepped in for, didn’t have to return to work. Instead, they were able to hire her husband for a different position and Melanie was ecstatic to be home with her children.
Grace reluctantly retrieved her hand when the baby’s eyes closed. “She gets prettier every day.”
“Just like her godmother.” Chloe and Evan had readily agreed to name the baby after Chloe’s best friend because, without her, they might not have had a happy ending. Grace had been pivotal in negotiating the tricky issues that divided them. And, she’d been instrumental in successfully bringing Barbara to Rosewood. Grace had filled Ruth in on everything so that Barbara would be prepared for what she was walking into.
“Do you suppose we’ve started a tradition?” Grace mused.
“Having new babies for Christmas?”
“I can’t imagine a better one.” Chloe squeezed her friend’s hand. “I’m so happy for you.”
“I’ve pretty much been waltzing on air since I suspected. I just didn’t want to say anything too soon.”
“Your timing’s perfect.” She chuckled.
“What?”
“Just thinking that one day Gracie will wear Mom’s pearls on her wedding day, too.”
“She’s a bit young,” Grace teased.
Chloe rubbed the emerald ring on her right hand. Evan had given it to her when Gracie was born. For Christmas, she had received the matching earrings. He continued to spoil her and she loved every moment.
As though he knew her thoughts, Evan met her eyes from across the room. It had been that way since their wedding day, their unspoken communication of each other’s needs.
Weaving through their small crowd, speaking to guests on the way, Evan and Chloe met near the fragrant Christmas tree. There was one other ornament that also adorned the tree. A bride and groom, hand in hand, beside a manger cradling the holy babe.
The Lord had brought them together, blessed them beyond measure and continued to hold them in His hands. Looking around the room at all the dear faces, Chloe was so thankful she had to bite back a tear.
“What is it, my love?”
“I’m just so happy,” she sniffled.
Evan took her hand, absently polishing the deep green gemstone on her finger. “We’ve got a lot to be happy for.” His life was changed forever. Hope replaced longing, love conquered pain. He put an arm around her waist. “I wasted a lot of time being angry.”
She touched his cheek. “The Lord has plenty of patience.”
“He needed it with me.”
“He knew you were worth it.” Chloe smiled tenderly. “So did I.”
Evan kissed her long, slim fingers, warmed as always by the sight of the gold band encircling her left ring finger. What if she hadn’t persisted, had accepted his refusal?
Chloe’s hair fell long and loose, the waves cascading over her shoulders, resting full and thick on her back. He would always remember the first silky touch of her curls, the sight of her moonwashed lips, their softness when they kissed for the first time. “I love you more every day,” he said quietly, so only she could hear. “No, every minute.”
“You’re determined to make me cry,” she replied, placing her hand on his chest, atop the beat of his heart. “I believe this is mine.”
“Always.”
Gordon snapped his camera. “Now, I need you two over by Jimmy and Gracie.”
Barbara had removed Gracie from the cradle, coaxing her awake with Jimmy’s help.
Amused, Evan held his wife’s hand as they approached their children. Sitting side by side on the couch, Evan plunked Jimmy on to his lap while Chloe held the baby.
“Smile,” Gordon instructed.
Instinctively, Chloe and Evan turned to each other with tender smiles. Gracie cooed and Jimmy grinned.
Gordon clicked the camera, captured the moment. “Perfect picture.”
“Perfect family,” Evan replied.
He didn’t mind as his father shepherded everyone into various groups for all the photos he wanted to take. Then Gordon set the timer and everyone crowded together for a shot of the entire family. Grace, Noah, Ruth and Susie were now family, too. They could fill a new album with just the ones Gordon would shoot this day.
Evan reached again for Chloe’s hand. “Always,” he murmured, lowering his mouth to hers. Not a whisper of air separated them. And Chloe leaned into his kiss, lingering, loving, wishing the moment would never end.
Just as their marriage. It had taken wing on the tail of the Christmas star. And, now, it glowed, growing brighter, stronger, more heavenly. “Always.”
Dear Reader,
Like many of you, I’ve been caught in the excruciating position of being in one place, while needing to be in another. To be entangled in family and work in one state, while aging parents reside in another. They call us the Oreo generation for a reason, I suppose. More and more of us are dealing with our children growing into adults while our parents are reaching their twilight years, putting us in the middle. For me, it’s not duty, it’s love.
But love, as we also know, is tricky enough on its own. And, when it’s new love, how do we make these cruci
al decisions?
I feel a special kinship with Chloe Reed as she must choose between love and family on opposite sides of the country. And, I hope you’ll enjoy this venture to Rosewood as we’re all reminded of how very special our families are. And, how much they love, give, inspire and challenge.
Blessings,
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
How did you feel about Chloe leaving her mother in Milwaukee?
Taking a child across the country to a new home is fairly daunting. Would you ever consider doing anything similar?
Did you agree with Chloe’s decision to accept her boss’s offer?
Do you think Chloe should have placed Barbara in a lower-quality facility so that she didn’t have so much financial pressure?
Should Chloe’s younger brother have been urged to do more for their mother? Or, did you feel his primary obligation was to his wife and children?
Evan considered the stone company’s employees to be family. Do you feel he was overly concerned about their welfare? Or did you admire his principles?
Evan’s father, Gordon, opened their home to Chloe. Do you think he was right? Or should he have respected Evan’s wishes?
Chloe’s mother agreed to move to Rosewood. Do you think Barbara will be happy close to her daughter? Or will she feel she’s left everything familiar behind?
In Barbara’s position, what would you have done?
Can you understand Chloe’s belief that she couldn’t give Jimmy a good home on her own?
Do you think Evan should have given more consideration to Jimmy’s grandparents’ offer to put him in boarding school?
Grace, the heroine of Promise of Grace, overcame incredible difficulties. Do you think she has come full circle? Now giving back to the community that embraced her?
Is belief and love enough to bind a family? Are finances merely secondary considerations?
Can you imagine yourself living in a place completely different, perhaps even opposite, of your home? From big city to small town? Or vice versa?
How much would you be willing to sacrifice for your family? All the generations of your family?
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7655-4
JINGLE BELL BLESSINGS
Copyright © 2010 by Bonnie K. Winn
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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*Rosewood, Texas
Jingle Bell Blessings Page 19