A Christmas Promise by Thomas Kinkade & Katherine Spencer

Author:Thomas Kinkade & Katherine Spencer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

CHAPTER EIGHT

THANKSGIVING DAY AT HER IN-LAWS’ HOUSE WAS JUST AS JESSICA expected: cheerful and crowded, with music playing in one room and the TV blasting a football game in another. Every room was filled with guests; a folding chair or snack table was squeezed into every corner space. Jessica had no idea how they would all manage to fit at the table, though it stretched from the Morgans’ small dining room out into the living room and even made an L-shaped turn, to avoid the piano.

It was the same at every holiday she spent here. It seemed like utter chaos, with adults charging about with platters and steaming pots, and children chasing each other through the narrow hall. But it all fell into place eventually. Even magically, it seemed.

She drifted into the kitchen, wondering if she could help. Molly and Sam’s mother, Marie, stood at the stove, debating the best way to roast a turkey. “I know what they say in cooking school, but I’ve been cooking our turkeys for over thirty years, honey. Don’t you think that by now I know how to do it?”

“I know, Mom, and they always come out great. I’m just saying there’s more than one way to do it, that’s all.”

Molly turned to Jessica and rolled her eyes. Jessica noticed that even the indomitable Molly didn’t bother to argue with Marie.

Molly’s younger sister Lisa sat at the kitchen table, feeding one of her twins. The baby was about six months old, a beautiful little girl with a round face and a pink button nose.

Just the way she’d imagined her own baby would look. The one she lost.

“She’s getting so big,” Jessica said softly, trying to sound bright and positive, despite her own wrenching emotions.

“Isn’t she?” Lisa answered without looking up. She kept offering the bottle, and the baby kept turning her head away. “She’s so fussy today. Must be all the excitement. The slightest change in routine throws them off.” Lisa sighed and glanced up at Jessica. “Just wait. You’ll see,” she promised.

Jessica forced a smile. “I hope so.”

She knew her sister-in-law meant well but the comment still stung. People didn’t realize how it could hurt to be around children when you were longing for your own. Why was it so easy for some women and so hard for her? It just didn’t seem fair. Lisa hadn’t even been trying to start a family when she ended up with twins.

Jessica shook off the feeling. She didn’t want to mope the whole day. She went to stand near her mother-in-law and finally caught Marie’s attention. “Can I help with anything?”

“Oh, well, let’s see . . . can you take this tray into the TV room? I fixed some special snacks for the kids.”

Molly leaned over her shoulder and appraised the tray of tiny hot dogs and miniature pizza rounds. “Oh, Mom, you spoil them with all that junk food.”

“Oh, hush. It’s their holiday, too, you know. What are grandmas for?”

“Exactly,” Jessica replied. She took the

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