by Judith Keim
While she was making notes about opportunities in the area, Jake called. “I’ve got to be away for a day or so. Business I have to take care of. I told Silas that you’d stop by. Okay?”
“Yes, I’ve already promised him that we’d spend time each day looking for our special star for the top of the Christmas tree.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you Christmas Eve. Remember, you’re going to spend that evening and all the next day with my family.”
“Yes. I’m already thinking of little gifts I can bring.”
Noelle could hear the smile in his voice. “All we really need is you.”
She clicked off the call and sat a moment letting a wave of happiness wash over her. She’d decided not to share her situation with her mother and father yet. And though she’d talked to her group of women at New Life, she hadn’t mentioned it to them either. She told herself not to be superstitious, but she didn’t want to say anything about her relationship with Jake until more time had passed.
Later that morning, she and Silas walked the beach. The wind off the water was cold and Silas was as ready as she when it was time to end their search. They’d decided they still had a little time to find what they were looking for.
###
Noelle opened one of her new cookbooks, searching for a dessert she could make for Christmas Eve. That, she decided, would be one of her gifts for the entire family. She just had to make sure it turned out right. She decided on an old-fashioned recipe called Snow Pudding. The jelled lemon, sugar and water mixture would be topped with a vanilla bean custard sauce. That’s the part she was worried about. Cookbooks warned of overheating and “breaking” the sauce.
She was in the middle of making the sauce when her cell interrupted her. She stopped stirring the sauce and clicked on the call. At the sound of Jake’s sexy hello, she grinned. She couldn’t wait to see him again.
“Well, hello? How is your business trip going?”
“Very well. What are you doing?” he asked.
She shrieked, dropped the phone and went to the stove. The custard mixture was madly boiling. It looked awful. She pulled the pan off the stove and sighed at the thought of starting all over again.
“What’s going on? Is everything all right?” asked Jake when she returned to the call.
“It will be. I’m cooking something, and it isn’t going well.”
“Need help?”
“No, thanks. I’ve got to do this on my own.”
“I won’t keep you. I just wanted to let you know I love you,” said Jake.
“How sweet,” she said, remembering how he’d told her that earlier. “I love you too. Can’t wait to see you!”
“I should be there sometime tomorrow in the early afternoon. Save some time for me.”
“That’s an easy promise to make.” She was still smiling when she clicked off the call. She gamely got more eggs out of the refrigerator.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The next morning Noelle awoke with a sense of expectation. Lemony sunshine shone through the window in her bedroom, beckoning to her. She put on her jogging clothes and headed out to the beach. Knowing she’d be seeing Jake later in the day made her feel wonderfully alive.
Jogging along the sand, she lifted her arms in the air, like she’d once done, feeling as if with a few extra flaps of her arms she could take flight. She hadn’t mentioned to anyone that Christmas Day, was her birthday, and she wouldn’t. She had enough to celebrate already.
As she ran, she studied the sand looking for the special item for the Christmas tree—something that would serve as a Christmas star in keeping with the theme of the tree. Will had assured her that he had something suitable if they didn’t find what they wanted on the beach, so she decided not to worry about it. As long as Silas was satisfied, she would be too.
After returning to the house, she showered and dressed for her appointment at the day spa. In addition to getting her hair trimmed, she was going to enjoy a manicure and pedicure—a gift to herself.
Noelle left the cottage in a jovial mood. She already had books to give Silas for Christmas, and she was going to buy a bottle of champagne to accompany the dessert she was providing as her contribution to Christmas Eve dinner. The second batch of custard sauce had turned out fine. All she needed was a small crystal bowl to serve the sauce in and a gift for Jake.
At the day spa, Noelle reveled in being pampered. She’d been so busy with Silas and the Bellingham family that she hadn’t bothered with her hair or her nails for a while.
When she explained why she was visiting the area, her hairdresser nodded. “It’s good to make a clean break. I’m from Ohio originally, but I love living in Florida where I can get out on the beach with friends almost any day of the year.”
“It’s nice,” agreed Noelle. She hadn’t told her hairdresser everything, of course, but enough to value her encouragement. It had taken four amazing women to make Noelle move forward. Now it seemed so simple. And how valuable it was. When the time came to break the news of her relationship with Jake, they’d be among the first to know.
When she left the spa, Noelle all but danced into the mall to purchase the small serving bowl she’d seen earlier and to buy a gift for Jake. After much thought, she ended up buying him a pewter picture frame. It represented so many possibilities to her.
At the cottage, she wrapped her gifts and transferred the custard sauce into the newly washed crystal bowl. She decided to do some more investigation about the area online. At the sound of a knock at the door, she hurried to answer it.
She opened it and faced Jake. He was wearing a Christmas-red V-neck sweater and a smile that made her insides tingle.
“Welcome home!” she cried, throwing her arms around him.
His eyes glowed as he bent to kiss her. “Thought I’d never get here. Sometimes I hate flying. Want to walk along the beach with me while I stretch my legs?”
“Sure. Come in, and I’ll get my jacket.”
The sun that had awakened her that morning was still shining brightly as they walked along the beach. Sunlight tipped the edges of the waves rolling into shore making the scene sparkle like the crystal glass bowl she’d purchased as part of her surprise for his family.
“How was your trip?”
“That’s what I want to talk to you about,” said Jake. He grinned at her.
“All right,” she said slowly. Jake was acting like a kid at Christmas.
Jake pulled her over to a spot away from the ocean, near an area of sea oats. He knelt in the sand and pulled a small, black-velvet box from his pants pocket.
“Noelle North, will you marry me? I don’t want to wait any longer to make you a permanent part of my life. I can’t imagine ever being without you. My son adores you, and I do too. In the short time I’ve known you, I realize what I’ve been missing all my life. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted rolled up in the cutest, the bossiest, the most wonderful person I’ve ever met. I will be forever grateful if you say yes.”
Surprise turned to tears of joy that rolled down her cheeks freely. She clasped his face in her hands and kissed him, her lips telling him her answer. When they parted, she said, “Yes, yes, and yes!”
He opened the box. A large, round diamond flanked by baguettes on either side winked up at her. The sun shone on it, sending light in all directions. Glancing at the streaks of refracted light, Noelle let out a gasp.
“Glad you like it,” said Jake.
“No! Over there! Look! Our Christmas star!”
She raced over to the sea oats and from their growth pulled out the empty shell of a starfish. “This is what we’ve been waiting for! Silas will be thrilled!”
Jake laughed and held up the ring box. “What about this?”
She hurried to Jake’s side and set down the starfish on the sand next to them. “I love it! I really do. And I promise to wear it always.”
Jake slid the ring on her finger. “There. That’s more like it.”
Noelle
smiled and held out her left hand, studying the ring that symbolized the life they would build together. “It’s beautiful, Jake. I love it, but not as much as I love you.” She clapped her hands together. “Oh my God! I have to call my parents.”
“They already know,” said Jake. “My business trip was to meet them and get their blessing. Your parents are great people who love you a lot, and they understand how anxious I am to make you mine.” He gave her a sheepish look. “They put me through pretty much what my parents have done with you. I get it. Each of us has been hurt, and our families want to make sure we’re going to be happy together. I guess I’d want to do the same thing for Silas.”
“Can I just tell you that I think you’re the best man I’ve ever met?”
“Your mother told me you were born on Christmas and you’ve always been her Christmas angel.” He pulled her to him. “And now you’re my Christmas angel. For now, and always.”
He squeezed her tight. “I also went to see your friends at New Life. Aware that you’d be leaving them, I wanted to make sure they were all right with everything. They were thrilled their Plan A had worked out the way they wanted.”
New tears threatened. “You did all that for me?”
His smile was tender as he reached for her. “I’d do anything for you.”
Her heart filled and overflowed with love for him. She couldn’t hold back her tears of joy.
“Are you all right,” he asked, giving her a look of concern.
“I’m better than all right. With you, I’m the happiest woman in the world.”
“Well, then, you’d better give me another kiss.”
They were smiling as their lips touched.
###
At Althea’s house, his parents were napping, giving Noelle and Jake privacy with Silas. When they showed Silas the starfish, he cried, “It’s perfect!”
“And guess what, Silas,” said Jake. “Look at Noelle’s hand. We’re engaged. She said yes. Noelle and I are going to be married, and she’ll become your mother.”
Silas threw his arms around Noelle’s waist and hugged her hard. When he lifted his face, she saw tears in his eyes. “Now you can read my secret message to you.” He turned to Jake. “Lift me up, Dad. I need to give it to her.”
Jake held Silas in his arms and held him as high as he could.
Silas reached for the shell and took it in his hands. “Got it.”
Jake lowered Silas to the ground and stood by while Silas handed Noelle her shell with his message attached.
“Here,” said Silas. “It’s from me.”
With trembling fingers, Noelle began to unfold the note that had been attached to the shell.
“Hurry!” cried Silas, jumping up and down. “I want to tell you my secret!” He motioned for her to bend down.
Eyes sparkling with excitement, he whispered in her ear. “I love you.”
Noelle hugged him and said, “I love you too, Silas. I always have.”
She handed Jake the note. In bold letters, Silas had printed: “I love you, Noelle! Will you be my mom?”
Jake read the note and smiled at them, the rims of his eyes red from holding back tears. “I love the two of you more than you’ll ever know.”
“Are we a family now, Dad?”
He hugged Silas to him. “Yes, son, we are the happiest family I know.”
“Now, Dad, put up the Christmas star. My wish came true.”
Jake placed the starfish at the top of the tree and then stood back.
Smiling at her, Jake clasped Noelle’s hand and put his arm around Silas’s shoulder, and the three of them, bound together with the promise of their future, gazed up at their perfect Christmas star.
As a special Christmas gift to my readers, I’m including the recipe for Snow Pudding.
SNOW PUDDING
For the pudding:
2 envelopes plain gelatin
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups boiling water
¼ cup lemon juice
3 egg whites
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
Combine gelatin, sugar, salt in bowl, Add water and stir until ingredients are dissolved. Cool.
Add lemon juice and chill until syrupy (almost congealed).
Quickly beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add ¼ cup sugar slowly and beat until peaks are stiff.
Fold the stiff egg whites into the gelatin mixture and add lemon rind.
Fold carefully but completely so the effect makes the mixture look white like snow
Chill thoroughly until pudding is firm
Take the three leftover egg yolks and use them to make a custard sauce
CUSTARD SAUCE
For the sauce:
3 egg yolks
4 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup of scalded milk
Flavoring to taste – usually vanilla, but can use any favorite liqueur or brandy
Heat water to a simmer in the lower part of a double boiler. Beat the egg yolks lightly and put them in the top section of the boiler with a pinch of salt and the sugar. Gradually add the scalded milk, stirring it in slowly with a wooden spoon. Cook and stir until the mixture begins to form a film or coating on the spoon. Do not let the water boil. As soon as the sauce coats the spoon slightly, take it from the hot water and pour into a cool bowl. If this sauce is overheated or overcooked, it will curdle.
Thank you for reading A Christmas Star. If you enjoyed this book, please help other readers discover it by leaving a review on your favorite site. It’s such a nice thing to do.
Enjoy an excerpt from my book, Going Home– A Chandler Hill Book (Book 1 in the Chandler Hill Series, which will be out in early 2019.
CHAPTER ONE
In 1970, the only things Violet Hawkins wanted for her eighteenth birthday were to escape the Dayton, Ohio, foster-care system in which she’d been raised and to make her way to San Francisco. There, she hoped to enjoy a mellow lifestyle and find the love that had always been absent in her life.
Though she made it to San Francisco easily enough, she soon discovered she couldn’t afford a clean, safe place in which to settle down. At first, it hadn’t seemed to matter. Caught up in the excitement and freedom of living in a large city where free love and openness to so many things reigned, she almost forgot about eating and sleeping. One couch, one futon was as good as any other as long as grass or other drugs were available, and others didn’t mind giving her a place to sleep. But after spending four months there, the dollars she’d carefully saved, which had seemed so many in Dayton, were nothing but a mere pittance in a city where decent living was too expensive for her. She took to wandering the streets with her backpack until she came upon a friendly group willing to give her a sleeping space inside or a bite to eat.
One June day, feeling discouraged, she’d just sunk down onto the steps outside a row house when a young man emerged.
He smiled down at her. “Tired?”
She was more than tired. She was exhausted and hungry. “Looking for work. I need to eat.”
He gave her a long, steady, blue-eyed look. “What’s your name?”
“Violet Hawkins. But call me Lettie.”
His eyebrows shot up. “With all that red hair, no flowery name for you?”
She shook her head. She’d always hated both her hair and her name. The red in her hair was a faded color, almost pink, and the name Violet indicated a delicate flower. She’d never had the luxury of being the least bit frail.
He sat down beside her and studied her. “You don’t look like the hippie type. What are you doing in a place like this?”
“On my eighteenth birthday, I left Dayton, Ohio, to come here. It sounded like a great plan—all this freedom.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Four months. I thought it would be differen
t. I don’t know ... easier, maybe.”
He got to his feet. “How about I fix you a sandwich, and then I’ll tell you about a job, if you want it. It’s at a vineyard in Oregon. I’m heading there later today.”
Her glance slid over his well-built body, rugged facial features, and clean, shoulder-length, light-brown hair. He didn’t fit into the usual crowd she’d been with, which made her cautious. “Who are you? And why would you do this for me?”
“Kenton Chandler.” His lips curved into the same warm smile he’d given her earlier. “I’m heading to Oregon, and, frankly, I could use the company. Keeps me from falling asleep.”
“Yeah? And what is this vineyard?”
He shrugged. “A couple of years ago, my dad bought a small inn with 75 acres of land in the Willamette Valley south of Portland. He’s planted most of the land with grapes. He doesn’t know that much about making wine and wants me to learn. That’s why I’m in San Francisco. I’ve been working at a vineyard in Napa Valley just north of here, learning the ropes.” He grinned. “Or maybe I should say, learning the vines.”
“What kind of sandwich?” she asked, warming toward him and his wacky humor. Her stomach rumbled loud enough for them both to hear it.
“How does ham and Swiss sound?” he said, giving her a knowing look.
“Okay.” Lettie didn’t want him to think she couldn’t manage on her own. That was dangerous. She’d learned it the hard way, fighting off a guy who thought he could have her just because he gave her a puff of weed. She’d been careful ever since to stay away from situations and guys like that.
“Well?” He waved her toward the door.
Lettie checked to see if others were within hearing range if she needed them. Plenty of people were hanging around nearby. Thinking it was safe, Lettie climbed the stairs behind Kenton. He didn’t know about the knife tucked into one of the pockets of her jeans.
Inside, she found the same kind of contrast between this house and others she’d been in. It wasn’t sparkling clean, but it was tidier than most.