A Mother for Christmas
Page 9
“Ah Margaret, you gave me such a scare. I never want to experience that again. I love you too much to lose you.”
“You love me?” Meg squeaked, her face pressed into his chest.
Cole leaned back. “I do. I really do.”
Meg put her arms around his neck. “I love you, too. I was so scared I would never see you again.”
Cole kissed her head. “The boys have been beside themselves. Jack is afraid you will never forgive him.”
“There is nothing to forgive.”
“Are you up for breakfast?”
Meg shook her head. “I’d really like a bath and some clean clothes.”
“Agnes will be happy. She has been trying to wash these linens for a week.”
“Merry Christmas, Cole,” Meg said.
“Merry Christmas, my love.”
Meg got cleaned up and was sitting in bed when everyone came into the room. Dinner was a celebration. Cole said grace, thanking the Lord for his abundance, mercy and miracles.
They had roast goose from the smokehouse along with many sides, cakes and pies that Agnes and the children prepared. Everyone crowded into the bedroom and they ate together as a family. Luella wore more than she ate.
When they were finished eating, the boys brought the presents in from under the tree. The socks were filled with a small cake covered in white sugar, some jacks, and a penny. Meg knew the penny was from Roscoe. He would do the same thing in her Christmas socks.
Agnes had wrapped up the scarves Meg made for each of the children and Cole. He leaned down and kissed her cheek.
The children made drawings for Meg, and Jack even wrapped up one of his beloved wooden animals that Cole had carved him. Cole knew that was special as it was his most prized possession.
“Did you get what you wanted for Christmas, Jack?”
Jack threw his arms around Meg and held her close. “I did. I got a Ma for Christmas.”
Cole watched as Meg’s eyes met his. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
I love you, she mouthed to him.
I love you more.
It was the best Christmas ever.
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The End
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Check
out the first book with Minnie & Oskar playing matchmaker!
A Cowboy for Christmas
Spinster Mail Order Brides Book #11
A woman with nothing to lose. A man with everything to gain. Can a Christmas wish bring these lonely hearts together?
Spinster Flory West has run out of options. She is turning twenty-eight and no decent man will look at her, especially now that she isn’t alone. After her parents died, she became the sole guardian of her ten-year-old sister, Gloria. Needing to provide a home and security, she decides to take a chance on being a mail-order bride. Not willing to wait for a response, she picks an ad and takes a train west with her sister to the little town of Nomad, Montana.
Quite content with the life of a bachelor, Jonathan McRaney has it all. He runs his own cattle operation, has money in the bank, and owns his own house. The only thing he doesn’t have is a wife, and if he had his way, he would never get married. When a woman shows up in town, claiming to be his mail-order bride, he has every intention of sending her away, once the next stage comes to town. What he didn’t count on was an entire town conspiring against him!
Will Flory be able to convince Jonathan to go through with a marriage of convenience before the next stage arrives right after the holidays? Will a child’s Christmas wish show these two lonely hearts the true meaning of Christmas? Will Jonathan be able to let his new family go or convince Flory that she belongs with him on the range?
Click here to read A Cowboy for Christmas
Read all of Christine’s Books
Writing contemporary romance as Christi Bortner:
1. Dancing to the Altar (Holliday Islands Resort #2)
2. The Mountain Rescue (Disaster City Rescue #6)
Writing historical romance as Christine Sterling:
The Silverpines Series:
1. Wanted: Medicine Man
2. Wanted: Gravedigger
3. Wanted: Redemption
The Silverpines Companion Tales:
1. The Coffin Maker
2. Snowbound
3. Changing Seasons
The Proxy Bride Romances:
1. A Bride for Jeremiah
2. A Bride for Elijah
3. A Bride for Benjamin
The Pinkerton Matchmaker Romances:
1. The Pinkerton Matchmaker
2. An Agent for Claudette
3. An Agent for Penelope
4. An Agent for Marianne
5. An Agent for Pearl
The Cowboys and Angels Romances:
1. Bride in Blue
2. Beauty and the Baker
3. Tempting the Tailor
4. Married by Midnight
The Belles of Wyoming Romances:
1. Wynter's Bride
2. The Homecoming
3. A Matter of Marriage
4. The Barn Raising
The Black Hills Brides Books:
1. Her Secret Past
2. Her Secret Baby
3. Her Secret Shame
4. Her Secret Love
The Christmas Books:
1. A Cozy Mitten Christmas
2. A Cowboy for Christmas
3. A Mother for Christmas
Read Christine’s Other Books:
1. Gwyneth (Widows of Wildcat Ridge)
2. Moving from Maryland (Pioneer Brides of Rattlesnake Ridge)
Click here to visit Christine’s Amazon page.
About Christine
Christine Sterling published her first book in 2017. She is the creator of the wildly popular Pinkerton Matchmaker Series and the Proxy Bride Series. She is an author in multiple collaborations, including: The Belles of Wyoming, Cowboys and Angels, The Widows of Wildcat Ridge and Silverpines, where her book Wanted: Medicine Man won best historical novel of 2018. She recently joined Sweet Promise Press as a historical romance author, writing for the Pioneer Brides of Rattlesnake Ridge series.
She writes sweet and wholesome historical western novels under the name Christine Sterling and sweet contemporary novels under Christi Bortner. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, a spoiled Shih Tzu, two German Shepherds and an energetic Border Collie, that keep her on her toes.
She spends her time writing, thinking about writing, and dreaming about writing. Her favorite things are a good cup of tea, puppy snuggles, a movie that will make you cry and hearing from her readers.
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A Mother for Christmas
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons, organizations, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
The book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. All rights are reserved with the exceptions of quotes used in reviews. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage system without express written permission from the author.
Scriptures quoted from the King James Holy Bible.
All books titled or quoted in this story belong to their respective authors.
A Mother for Christmas ©2019 Christine Sterling
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p; Cover Design by Virginia McKevitt,
Black Widow Books
Editing by Carolyn Leggo and Amy Petrowich
1st Ed, 12/2019