Love Inspired Historical November 2015

by Linda Ford

  Anticipation ran high as they finished their meal and went back to the parlor, where the tree was waiting to be decorated. Jenny’s eyes sparkled like stars as she helped put her grandmother’s beautiful glass ornaments on, along with cornucopias filled with candies.

  Candles were added last, and Maida and Gretchen joined them as Michael lit the tree. Millicent was sure she’d never seen a more beautiful one.

  Then it was time to give Mrs. Heaton her gift. Millicent excused herself to pull it out from the telephone alcove, where she’d hidden it earlier. She brought the present in and handed it to their landlady.

  “Mrs. Heaton, this is for you, from all of us.” The sweet woman’s eyes were full of surprise as Millicent handed her the gift.

  “Why, I don’t know what to say!” Mrs. Heaton put a hand to her chest and looked around the room at everyone. “I— Thank you all!”

  “Open it, Granma!” Jenny hurried to her side.

  “You help me.” Within only a few seconds she was drawing the first album out of the wrapping and began turning the pages. “Oh, look, there’s Michael and Violet before they were married!”

  She kept turning pages, oohing and aahing over each one. Tears were in her eyes as she looked up. “Oh! How wonderful this is! I can see this took a while to make and I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart!” She continued to turn the pages, lingering to read the comments.

  “That’s what we’ve been doing at our parties, Mama,” Rebecca said. “It was Millicent’s idea and she graciously let us all have a part in it.”

  “New albums can be added each year, Mrs. Heaton. We all wanted to do something to let you know how much you and your home mean to all of us.” Millicent bent down and gave her a hug and then moved out of the way so everyone else could do the same.

  “This means more to me than I have words for.” She held the album close to her heart and there was no doubt how touched she was at their gift.

  “I don’t think there is anything any of us could have given her that she would love like these albums,” Matt said from behind Millicent.

  “I’m so happy she does.”

  That would be the only present opened that night; they’d give their gifts to the couples to take home and open the next day. And the boarders would open theirs the next morning.

  Even as the married couples put on their wraps and took their leave, Millicent still felt that same anticipation she’d felt earlier. But the boarders seemed in no hurry to go to bed, looking at the lit Christmas tree and enjoying the crackle of the fire in the grate.

  “I think it’s time we put our gifts to each other under the tree,” Julia said.

  “Yes, let’s do!” Georgia said.

  “I brought mine down earlier,” Millicent said as the ladies headed upstairs and the men all headed downstairs.

  “I have several gifts in my study, but I’m a bit tired. Would you mind going to get them, Millicent dear?”

  “Not at all. I’ll put them under the tree for you, Mrs. Heaton.” She hurried back to the study to find several wrapped boxes on Mrs. Heaton’s desk. Millicent stacked them and then, making sure not to drop any, she went back to the parlor to set them under the tree. But the room was empty. Where was everyone?

  She put the gifts under the tree as she’d said she would, then stood and turned to find Matt standing in the doorway. He had the sweetest smile on his face as he began to walk toward her, his gaze locked in on her. Millicent’s heart began to thud stronger, louder, with each step he took. Soon Matt was standing in front of her.

  “I thought everyone would be back down by now,” she said, sounding a bit breathless even to her own ears. “Have you seen Mrs. Heaton?”

  “Maybe they decided to retire for the night.”

  “But—” She stopped because Matt looked up over their heads and her gaze followed his, to find a big clump of mistletoe hanging on the chandelier above her. Then her gaze met his as she looked down. He smiled and pulled her close with one arm while he raised her face to his with his other hand.

  “Millicent, I hope I never have to use mistletoe as an excuse to kiss you again, but I cannot wait to find out—”

  His lips claimed hers in a kiss she knew she’d never forget. It was firm…and soft…and lingered when she responded.

  Then Matt pulled back, but still holding her, he looked deep into her eyes. “Remember I said we needed to talk?”

  She nodded.

  “It’s time. I love you, Millie. Have loved you for even longer than I realized—I think from the day you moved in here. Is it possible you could ever…feel the same way?”

  “Oh, Matt. I already do, but I—”

  His fingertips gently touched her lips, serving to quiet her. “No buts please. Not until you hear me out. I know you don’t want me to work on the Park Row and that you fear something might happen to me. And I’m willing to quit.”

  “Matt, I can’t ask you—”

  “You haven’t asked me. But you have inspired me to think about starting my own business. I’d been thinking about doing so one day anyway. Do you love me, Millicent?”

  “I do.”

  “Then I think that one day is here. I’m willing to do whatever it is I need to, to show you how much I love you. If you’ll marry me, I’ll start my own business and work on houses or buildings not so tall. I’ll go with you to your suffrage meetings and support you opening your own shop. I love you for the woman you are, Millie. Will you have me? Will you be my wife?”

  She couldn’t believe all he was willing to give up for her, to accept her just as she was and not ask her to give up anything!

  She wrapped both arms around his neck. “Oh, Matt, yes! I’ll marry you. But you don’t have to give up what you love to do. I can’t ask you to do that. What I’ve realized I can do is trust the Lord to keep you safe, and trust Him to guide us in our life together.”

  She stood on tiptoe as Matt bent his head and they sealed their promise under the mistletoe.

  Then Matt raised his head and grinned before yelling, “She said yes!”

  Footsteps were heard coming from every direction of the house as Julia, Georgia and Emily came running downstairs, Joe and Stephen running up from downstairs, and Mrs. Heaton, Gretchen and Maida from the kitchen!

  “What? You all knew he was going to—”

  “Millie, I had to have some help in getting you alone for long enough to ask you.”

  Millicent began to laugh. “And the mistletoe?”

  “He snatched that from Luke and Kathleen’s the night of the progressive party,” Joe said. “I put it up while you were in the study and then hurried out of here fast as I could.”

  Matt put his arm around her and looked at everyone over the top of her head. “Thank you all for your help. I should have come to you weeks ago.”

  “But the Lord had to show me the way,” Millicent said. “The timing is perfect and I, too, thank you all!”

  The clock struck midnight and they all shouted, “Merry Christmas!”

  *

  On Christmas morning, Millicent still couldn’t quite believe Matt had proposed to her. She lay in bed and relived the night before, then flung off the covers. She couldn’t wait to see him—to find out if it really had happened.

  It was earlier than usual, but she hurried to dress and get downstairs, hoping to be able to see Matt before everyone else came down.

  She entered the parlor to see him putting something under the tree and her heart expanded to near bursting with the love she felt for him.

  He turned and smiled when he saw her standing there. “I was hoping you’d be down early.”

  “I was hoping you’d be up early.”

  They met in the middle of the room and he pulled her into his arms. “Last night was real, wasn’t it? You accepted my proposal of marriage, didn’t you?”

  “I did.”

  His lips captured hers and she wondered how each kiss could be better than the last.
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br />   Then he pulled her over to one of the settees and took her hands in his. “You still want that building for your shop, don’t you?”

  “Well, I’m not sure I can afford it or that—Matt, where will we live after we’re married?”

  “Well, I think we should live there. I can have an office downstairs and we both loved the building. I…uh…” He pulled out the package he’d just put under the tree and handed it to her. “Please, open this now and let me know if I did the right thing.”

  Millicent carefully unwrapped what appeared to be a scroll. She unrolled the papers and quickly skimmed the words. “Matt? What is this? I don’t understand.”

  “Well, I knew you wanted the building but didn’t think you could afford it. I want you, but was afraid you might turn me down. So I bought the building and put it in your name. It’s my Christmas, engagement gift to you.”

  “But if we’re to be married, it should be in your name.”

  Matt shook his head. “It doesn’t matter to me whose name is on the deed. If you’d turned me down, I was going to sell it to you for what you could afford, or rent the bottom floor to you, if you didn’t want to leave Heaton House. It is perfect for your shop.”

  Millicent could barely breathe. The enormity of what he’d done, of how much he loved her…

  “Millicent, are you upset with me? Did I take too much—”

  “Oh, Matt, how I love you!” She threw her arms around him and kissed him in a way that surely showed him how much. It was only the sound of footsteps on the stairs that pulled them apart just before everyone entered the parlor calling, “Merry Christmas!”

  They gathered in the dining room for breakfast before opening gifts, and Mrs. Heaton asked Matt to say the prayer.

  He bowed his head and began, “Dear Lord, we thank You for this day, and the food we’re about to eat. We thank You for each other and our many blessings. Most of all, we thank You especially for Your Son and our Savior, whom You sent to this earth so that we might have the hope and promise of eternal life with You through Him. It’s in His precious name we pray. Amen.”

  After a joyously happy breakfast, they all went back to the parlor to exchange gifts. The boarders seemed very pleased with their framed photos and Maida and Gretchen seemed especially happy with theirs.

  After everyone else had opened their presents and gone up to put them away, Millicent pulled her gift to Matt from under the tree.

  “My present to you pales in comparison to yours for me, but I hope you like it.” She pulled out the small package and handed it to him.

  Matt opened the gift and smiled when he saw the photograph of the two of them he’d asked for. “I love it, Millie. It shows that we’ve cared about each other, even when we were trying not to. And your gift to me pales in no way. You’ve agreed to become my wife—an answer to my prayers.”

  He took her into his arms again and just before his lips touched hers, Millicent sent up a silent prayer thanking the Lord for taking control and answering hers.

  *

  Dear Reader,

  I knew Matt and Millicent would get together from the day I moved them into Heaton House in A Place of Refuge. And while their differences drew me to write more about them, I knew their attraction would eventually draw them together.

  Even the other boarders seemed to believe there was something between the two throughout A Home for Her Heart and A Daughter’s Return.

  How could they resist once they began spending time together? But it was going to take more for them to ever see that they were meant for each other and that the Lord had plans of His own—even as they fought their growing feelings. It took getting to know each other to find they’d been working on assumptions, to find there might be a way to come together with the Lord’s help. I loved watching Matt and Millicent find they loved each other too much to deny it and to finally ask the Lord to guide them and show them the way to each other.

  Setting this story at Christmastime and getting to enjoy New York City in 1897 was such a joy! I loved doing more research and it was so much fun to find that Macy’s Christmases and those window displays have always been wonderful! I loved getting the old and new boarders together to help make a gift for Mrs. Heaton, and their determination to make traditions of their own. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I loved writing it, and look forward to the next Boardinghouse Betrothals story.

  Thanks so much for reading The Mistletoe Kiss story. Please let me know what you thought of it and feel free to connect with me at my website at: janetleebarton.com. I’d love it if you’d sign up for my newsletter there. You can also email me at janetbwrites@cox.net or write me in care of: Love Inspired Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279.

  Blessings,

  Janet Lee Barton

  We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired Historical title.

  You find illumination in days gone by. Love Inspired Historical stories lift the spirit as heroines tackle the challenges of life in another era with hope, faith and a focus on family.

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  ISBN-13: 9781460389003

  The Mistletoe Kiss

  Copyright © 2015 by Janet Lee Barton

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  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. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.

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  You find illumination in days gone by. Love Inspired Historical stories lift the spirit as heroines tackle the challenges of life in another era with hope, faith and a focus on family.

  Four new titles are available every month.

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  ISBN-13: 9781459292239

  Copyright © 2015 Harlequin Books S.A.

  The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:

  A Baby for Christmas

  Copyright © 2015 by Linda Ford

  The Rancher’s Christmas Proposal

  Copyright © 2015 by Sherri Shackelford

  The Bachelor’s Homecoming

  Copyright © 2015 by Karen Vyskocil

  The Mistletoe Kiss

  Copyright © 2015 by Janet Lee Barton

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All character
s in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

  www.Harlequin.com