Island Christmas by Kimberly Rose Johnson

Author:Kimberly Rose Johnson [Johnson, Kimberly Rose]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781943959051
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Mountain Brook INK
Published: 2014-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Sunday morning Rachel held Jason’s hand as they climbed the stairs into the old church building. Her fingers tingled, and her stomach roiled. Why was she so nervous? It was only church, and she’d been invited to be there.

A man held the door open and handed her a program, or something that looked like one. “Welcome.”

“Thank you.” She stepped inside and warmth enveloped her. It hadn’t snowed last night, but it was certainly cold enough. Once December hit, the temperature had dropped dramatically. Even the longtime residents talked about how unusually cold it was this year.

Jason wrenched free from her and tore across the foyer. “Chris!” He launched himself at the startled man.

“Oh no,” she moaned as she hustled across to where Jason was now comfortably situated in Chris’s arms.

Jason grinned wide and patted the man on the back. “Look, Mommy. Chris is here.”

“I see.” She wanted to reprimand her son for his behavior but didn’t want to draw any more attention than Jason had already done. She wiped her moist hands down the side of her slacks and looked around the small foyer. “Have you seen Zoe? She said she’d be here and invited us to sit with her.” Was that a flicker of disappointment in Chris’s eyes?

“She and Nick are already seated in the sanctuary.” He put Jason down. “Maybe Jason would enjoy the three-and-four-year-olds’ class.”

Rachel hesitated. Zoe mentioned that there were a few other kids here that were her son’s age, and it would be good for him to be around other children. “What do you think, Jason? Would you like to go play with other kids?”

He scrunched his face up and pressed his lips together. She held her breath.

Suddenly his face relaxed, and he shrugged. “Okay.” He slipped his hand into hers.

That went much better than expected. Since he spent most, if not all, of his time with adults, she’d been afraid he’d insist on staying with her.

“I’ll show you where his class is.” Chris led the way down a nearby hall.

After Jason was checked in, they went back to the sanctuary where everyone was standing and singing.

“We’re late.”

“It’s okay. They start like this so latecomers can slip in unnoticed.” He grinned. “You’re welcome to sit with me, then you won’t have to go to the front to be with Nick and Zoe.”

That sounded good to her. She trailed him into a nearby row and tried to follow along with the words projected on the screen above the stage, but she’d never heard the song before, so it was tough. She finally decided to simply listen to the blended voices. The result was quite beautiful. Tension melted, and for the first time all morning, she relaxed. Maybe there was something to this church thing after all.

The song ended and everyone sat. After a few more songs, the minister did his thing. The deep, gentle timbre of his voice was easy to listen to. The sanctuary was nicely decorated with holly wreaths on the end of every other row, and red bows on the rows in between.

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