Candy Cane Wishes

by Leah Atwood

  Once he left, she sat next to Donovan. “I’m so sorry. I have thought the worst of you.”

  “You have to know I’d never hurt you.” His eyes crinkled at the sides. “Work comes second to people, especially those I care about.”

  “I know that now, and I should have known it then.” She wrung her hands. “I’m rusty on relationships. I’m so afraid of getting close to anyone, I think I got scared when I realized how deep my feelings for you went—maybe even welcomed an excuse to push you away.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” He stilled her hands with his. “I know life is hard and dealt you a raw deal. There are no guarantees, but we can have today, and tomorrow’s today, and the next day’s today, and all the todays that God grants us. I’ve fallen in love with you. I want you to meet Brody … and one day I want us to become a family.”

  “You mean that?”

  “With all my heart.” His arms folded around her.

  She leaned into his embrace, breathing in his piney, rustic aftershave. “I’d like that very much.”

  Epilogue

  Two Years Later-

  Gerard knocked on Donovan’s office door. “You wanted to tell me something?”

  “Yes.” Donovan grinned. “Remember last year, you said I’d have to try hard to top our Christmas headline?”

  “I’m not sure it’s possible to beat a Christmas wedding, celebrating your marriage to Zoe. When the town learned the details of your romance, the two of you became celebrities in Nativity.”

  Donovan wiggled his brows. “If I give you a story that outdoes it, will you give me a raise?”

  A loud chuckle came from Gerard’s portly belly. “You’re already getting a raise and promotion.”

  “Thank y…” He stopped mid-sentence. “What do you mean a promotion?”

  “I haven’t told the staff yet, but I’m retiring next month. I spoke with Mr. Talbot, and he agrees with me.”

  “On?”

  Gerard winked. “That you’d make a great editor. You have the insight, integrity, and work ethic. The job is yours if you want it.”

  “Are you kidding? Of course, I want it.” If it weren't inappropriate to hug his boss, he’d embrace him with gratitude, but he settled for shaking his hand. “Thank you for believing in me.”

  “You’ve proved yourself worthy at every turn. You deserve it.” Gerard let go of his hand. “I believe you had something to tell me?”

  He nodded and lifted the paper from his desk and showed it to his boss. “How would you like The Daily Nativity to publish the official pregnancy announcements of twins due in May?”

  “Well, I’ll be.” Gerard slapped his back and chuckled again. “When you told me two years ago you’d make it up to me when WTCH published the story on Zoe, I didn’t realize the extremes you’d go to. Congratulations.”

  Donovan glanced at this desk and eyed the candy cane he kept there. He’d saved it all these years, not knowing it would lead him to Zoe, the love of his life. Gerard left the office, and Donovan packed his attaché case. He’d promised Zoe and Brody he’d only stay a few hours, so he could get home to build the gingerbread house with them.

  He drove home, enjoying the visual effects of last night’s snowfall. A yard filled with electric lighted candy canes greeted him. It hadn’t been his or Zoe’s doing, but the citizens of Nativity thought it would be fun to gift them with the decorations. Neither of them minded the thoughtful gift from their beloved hometown.

  And they treasured the reminder of the candy cane wishes that brought them together. What had begun as a mission to help others, had healed their own wounds and gave them a happily-ever-after ending.

  Dear Reader,

  The idea for this story first came to me last year and was inspired by the painted rocks that were popping up all over the nation. If you’re not familiar with them, in communities across America, people painted rocks, often with inspiring messages, and hid them around town. Strangers would find them and often go online and post where they’d found one. Those little rocks brought lots of smiles and joy to the people who discovered them.

  Zoe’s candy cane wishes are much like these rocks. They hold little monetary value, but have the ability to change a person’s mood, day, and even entire course of actions. Mother Teresa is quoted as having said, “There are no great things, only small things with great love. Happy are those.” This Christmas, I challenge you to seek small things to do for others, but here’s the hard part—do it out of love.

  Maybe it’s as simple as smiling at the disgruntled cashier or taking the cart to the return for the elderly couple. It could be sending a note telling someone what they mean to you and how they’ve inspired you or telling someone thank you for their unnoticed work. The possibilities are endless on how to spread joy. And in the process, you just might find yourself smiling as well.

  God Bless and have a Merry Christmas!

  Until next time,

  Leah

  P.S. If you can’t get enough Christmas, scroll to the end for information on a specially priced, limited-time bundle of Christmas novellas.

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  About the Author

  USA Today Bestselling Author Leah Atwood is a small-town girl at heart and currently lives in a rural town in the deep South, though Maryland will always be home. She graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in International Business but gave up a career in sales and marketing to follow love, a decision she's never regretted.

  From the old west to Cajun country, Leah infuses true-to-life characters with small-town charm to invite her readers into a world where faith and love will always prevail. In both her historical and contemporary works, she believes in delivering inspirational stories that will leave her readers with a smile.

  When not writing, she's busy raising two kids and corralling three dogs (an eighty-four-pound shepherd/lab mix and an eleven-pound rat terrier/jack russell mix, and a recently added pit bull puppy she found left for dead on the road), or participating in a myriad of community and church events.

  Other Available Titles

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  Come to Me Series

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  Calling Love

  Lost in Love

  Waiting on Love (Bonus Novella)

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  Not This Time

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  Table For One (Novella)

  A Summer Homecoming (Novella)

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  Enjoy this sample from Come to Me Joyful:

  After the clock hands hadn’t moved in five minutes, Luke decided they must be broken. At least that’s what he told himself because if time was moving that slow for real, suffice it to say, he was in trouble.

  His gaze shifted to the clock again. Victory! The hand finally moved. If he hadn’t been in a meeting surrounded by his colleagues, he would have pumped a fist in the air. All right, so he didn’t have the best attitude about this conference, but who schedules a three-day conflict resolution seminar to start the Monday after Thanksgiving? An out of town one, at that.

  Didn’t the powers-that-be in corporate have families or non-work-related activities? Nah, they’re married to their careers. Luke tapped his company-provided tablet and attempted to find his place in the notes. He’d tuned out somewhere between “for the next fifty minutes” and “practice resolution techniques through role-playing workplace simulations”.

  He really hoped he hadn’t heard the lecturer correctly. Role-play, really? He was an almost thirty-year-old professional. The men and women he supervised were accountants, not high on the chart for creating conflict within the office. But no, somebody, somewhere thought because he’d been promoted to a managerial role that he should attend the conference.

  “I need two volunteers.” The lady in charge—Mrs. Houser, he remembered after a brief glimpse at the outline on his tablet—peered around the room that reminded him of a college lecture hall. “You, in the blue sweater, come to the front.”

  Luke cast a look around the room to see who the unlucky person was, only to realize with horror that he was the sole individual in the room of sixty people who wore a blue sweater. Forcing a smile for the benefit of setting a good example, he marched to where Mrs. Houser stood.

  “You’ll be our person in charge. Sit down here.” She pointed to the oval table that was front and center. “This will be your office.”

  “I think it’s an improvement over my current one.”

  The people in the room laughed and Mrs. Houser smiled. To her credit, she had a sense of humor. She scanned the room again. “Who will be our disgruntled employee? Katherine, would you mind?”

  Hey, why does Katherine get a choice, and I was volun-told? His mental grumbles ceased when he saw that Katherine was Kate Jergens, one of his two bright spots of this confounded conference. Her long blonde hair hung straight to the middle of her back. Not a strand was out of place—never for Kate, who always had it completely together.

  When he’d first moved to Lafayette four years ago, he’d had something of a crush on her, but what man didn’t? Kate was beautiful, inside and out, the consummate girl-next-door. He’d first met her when he’d visited a friend’s church. He and Kate had recognized each other from work and it started a conversation between them. Even though he’d ultimately chosen to attend a different place of worship, that one visit to Kate’s had broken the ice between them at work.

  They’d become acquaintances, and then friends. Several times he’d thought about asking her out, but the timing was never right, and lately, she seemed to keep a distance most the time. Regardless, he enjoyed being in her presence. Kate infused joy in everything around her. Even now, she smiled at him as she stood on the other side of the table.

  “Katherine, you’re to be an employee approaching your supervisor regarding a problem with another employee.” Mrs. Houser tapped a finger to her chin. “Let’s say Johnny Doe turns his reports in late every Friday. In turn, this makes you late with your reports, which reflects poorly on you. You’ve already talked to Johnny, but with no change in his actions—what do you say to your boss?”

  Kate looked at him with sapphire blue eyes. She lifted a fist, knocked on a pretend door.

  “Come in.” He could play this game. It wasn’t so bad. “What can I help you with today, Ms. Jergens?”

  “There’s a problem I’d like to discuss with you regarding Mr. Doe.” Taking a chair from the front row, Kate pulled it to the table.

  He crossed his hands and put on a solemn, all-business expression. “Tell me what’s going on?”

  After Kate had answered, he proceeded to ask further questions to flesh out the details of Step One-Identify the Problem. Mrs. Houser nodded with approval.

  Ten minutes into the exercise, she excused them to return to their seats. “Wonderful job demonstrating the steps for conflict resolution. Thank you for your participation.”

  From her seat, Kate turned her head and flashed him a grin. Oh yeah, that alone was worth the trip to the head of the class. His mind wandered again, and he planned his evening. The hotel served a continental breakfast and Sinclair Industries provided a catered lunch. That left him on his own for dinner, or supper as they called it in the South.

  A few of the guys asked him to join them at the brewery after today’s sessions, but he didn’t feel entirely comfortable with that idea. Last time he’d gone out with them, he’d been the designated driver and had been teased mercilessly for not drinking. The ribbing he could tolerate—he was secure in his life choices, but the truth was—he simply hadn’t enjoyed himself.

  “That is all for today.” Mrs. Houser’s concluding words snapped Luke back to the seminar. “Tomorrow, we’ll discuss what to do when the resolution steps still don’t work. Until then, you are dismissed.”

  Hallelujah. Among the clamoring of chairs moving and people standing, Luke rushed to power off his tablet then slipped it into the padded pouch of his backpack. A shadow crossed in front of him, and he looked up to see Kate, her sweet smile directed at him.

  “Nice job, earlier.” She laid a manicured hand on the table. “I think you made an impression on Nancy, I mean Mrs. Houser.”

  “Thanks, I think?” He lifted a brow, twisted his mouth. “I didn’t realize the two of you were on a first-name basis.”

  A soft, musical laugh danced off her lips. “When I started at Sinclair, she was the human resource manager for the Lafayette office. She hired me and played a pivotal role in me getting the resource training position last spring.”

  “Yet she calls you Katherine?” Casting a wink, he couldn’t resist baiting her.

  She scrunched her nose, gave an indifferent shrug. “She doesn’t believe in nicknames.”

  “Katherine does have a nice ring to it.”

  Her gaze narrowed, but her eyes still sparkled with humor as she shook a finger at him. “Don’t think about it. Kate, it is.”

  “How about Katie?”

  A wistful look with a small frown flickered on her face, but she quickly blinked it away and shook her head. “There’s only one person who can get away with calling me that and it’s no one here.”

  The chink in her always upbeat attitude intrigued him, but he didn’t press. He examined the cleared-out room. “They didn’t waste any time leaving.”

  Adjusting the bag on her shoulder, Kate gave the room her own once-over. “I know a large group made reservations for an Italian restaurant five blocks away that someone wanted to try.”

  “Are you joining them?”

  “No, not tonight.” Her lips quirked into the faintest of frowns again.

  Its unexpectedness tugged at his heart. “Are you okay?”

  A weak smile appeared. “I’ll be fine. Just a rough holiday.”

  She shouldn’t be alone this evening. He didn’t know what she was facing, but he could tell she needed a friend.

  A janitor with scraggly white hair popped his head into the room. “Would you two mind moving your conversation outside?” His keys jingled. “Time to lock up.”

  They left the training room and ambled to the elevator. Kate didn’t seem in any hurry to go anywhere, thus reinforcing Luke’s belief that something was wrong. This wasn’t the Kate he’d known for four years.

  He pushed the ‘down’ button outside the elevator and waited. “What are your plans for dinne
r since you’re not joining the others?”

  “I hadn’t thought that far.” She gave a delicate shrug. “Probably order room service or walk to the deli next to the hotel for a sandwich.”

  “Care to split a pizza with me?” So it wasn’t the date he’d envisioned asking her on many times, but he didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity. It wasn’t often anymore that she approached him outside of a group.

  Blue eyes sparkled after a split second of indecisiveness. “You know what, that sounds much more enticing than spending the evening sulking in my room.”

  “Sulking?”

  She cleared her throat. “Don’t mind me. I’m in a weird mood.”

  Ding. The elevator doors slid open.

  Luke stepped in after Kate. “Is seven okay? I need to log in to the Sinclair Portal to review and approve two reports before I go.”

  “Perfect. It will give me time to change.” A wry smile rolled across Kate’s face when she looked down at her navy skirt and matching jacket. A magenta scarf added her own style to the outfit. “Pizza should never be eaten in a suit. It takes away the fun.”

  “I agree.” Next to her, he felt underdressed in his business casual attire even though it was the conference’s dress code. At least I won’t have to change for dinner.

  “Which pizza place did you have in mind?”

  “Any of them within walking distance of the hotel?” He chuckled, a reaction to his nervousness. His mouth had opened and made the invitation before he’d thought it through. “Or we can go to the deli next door.”

  “Pizza’s fine.”

  A circular button with an L glowed, indicating they’d reached the lobby. The doors opened, granting them access to the main floor of Sinclair Industries headquarters. An impressive, global logistics company, Sinclair Industries had their top North American office located in downtown Baltimore. Behind the front desk, the company’s name hung proudly in three-dimensional bronze letters. Two employees, one female, and one male, stood behind the reception desk, each speaking into an earpiece. The spacious open area had a constant stream of employees coming and going.