A Christmas Promise (Kansas Crossroads Book 16) by Amelia C. Adams

Author:Amelia C. Adams [Adams, Amelia C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

This was no good. It was no good at all. Miranda had made the decision to stop daydreaming about Richard Norton, but ever since the snowball fight, he was all she could think about. She wasn’t even doing her job properly—the other girls had to keep reminding her of her tasks.

The food for the Christmas Eve dinner they’d be serving that night smelled wonderful. The pot of wassail had been started even though it was just nine in the morning, and the combined fragrances of cinnamon and orange tickled her senses.

“Now this is what I call a Christmas celebration,” Mrs. Dupree said, entering the dining room and looking around with appreciation. “You’ve all done a beautiful job getting ready for the holidays, Miranda.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Dupree. Your praise is worth a great deal to us—we hope we’ve made you proud.”

Mrs. Dupree seemed a little misty-eyed as she nodded. “I admit, it was hard for me to leave the hotel after everything I’d done to get it up and going in the first place, but I’ve never worried about it for a second. It’s been in the best of hands since I left.”

Elizabeth entered the dining room a moment later, little Rose on her hip. “It’s time for church,” she announced. “Tom has the buggy ready for anyone who’s coming.”

Miranda swallowed. “I’m coming,” she said, her voice sounding a little strained. She’d been wrestling with that decision for most of the night, trying to decide what to do. She didn’t want to give anyone the false impression that she’d somehow managed to put aside her feelings of doubt and was now a faithful convert, but she also didn’t want to miss Richard’s first sermon. Friendship finally won out over pride, and she had dressed in blue muslin rather than her usual work clothes when she climbed out of bed.

Elizabeth smiled, most likely unaware of how difficult it had been for Miranda to make that choice. “All right. I’ll meet you out there.”

Josie, Kate, and Nora were the only other waitresses who elected to come—the others were either preparing for the first Sunday train or weren’t interested in the sermon. Mr. Brody drove them, as he did every Sunday—he wasn’t the sort to run around quoting scripture at every opportunity, but he was a religious man, and it showed in the way he treated people.

As Miranda took her seat, she looked around nervously to see who else was there. Was Richard used to standing up in front of so many people, or would he be surprised to enter the chapel and see the crowd that had gathered?

“I can’t imagine why Pastor Osbourne would turn over the pulpit to someone so untested,” whispered a woman sitting directly behind Miranda. “This is his first assignment—he’s sure to make an utter mess of it. And on Christmas Eve!”

“I met him the other day, and I think he’s a perfectly nice young man,” a second woman replied.

“Being nice isn’t the only qualification,” the first woman insisted.

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