One Night Before Christmas by Catherine Leigh

Author:Catherine Leigh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2011-06-08T00:00:00+00:00

Carly sat on a hay bale, singing as cheerfully as she could, while trying to keep thoughts of Sylvia from dampening her joy in the season. The wind had picked up, and she longed to be indoors by a fire. Yet she hated for the evening—perhaps her last with Jonah—to end.

At last the truck turned down toward the river and stopped in front of the Moose Lodge. The little white wooden structure looked ablaze with ropes of Christmas lights along the roofline and at every window. The smell of warm sticky buns and cocoa reached them on the street, even before the front door opened.

Carly remained slumped on her hay bale while all the others left the truck. Mrs. Watson leaned heavily on Jonah as she made her way slowly up the walk. He lifted her up the stairs, but did so as unobtrusively as possible. The sight made Carly’s heart swell with happiness.

A minute later he returned to the truck. “C’mon, Silk, you’ll freeze to death out here.”

She grinned at him. “Are you going to give me that baloney again about how you only kidnapped Mrs. Watson for singing and got her into the lodge with all her dignity intact, just as another ruse to see me?”

Jonah laughed heartily enough to warm Carly even in the bitter December wind. “No, Silk. Mrs. Watson has charms of her own. Now come have hot chocolate before your tush freezes to the hay.”

Carly took his hand and climbed down. If tonight really was the last time she was ever going to see Jonah St. John, she might as well enjoy every minute of it.

Still holding her hand, Jonah escorted Carly to a chair by Mrs. Watson and went to get her cocoa. Carly looked around, relieved to see DeeDee had joined the helpers in the kitchen where she couldn’t keep her eagle eye on Carly.

Mrs. Watson turned to her. “That young man gets his own way quite a bit, I’d wager,” she said. “Pushes his way in, demands you do things his way. Men. They’re all like that.”

Carly couldn’t help smiling. She could tell Mrs. Watson wasn’t really angry. “I haven’t known him long, Mrs. Watson, but I’d say he usually gets what he wants one way or another.”

“You be careful, Carly,” Mrs. Watson said. “He’s not the sort of man to do things halfway. If you give your heart to this one, he’ll demand you give it all. No holding back. And if you lose your heart to him, you’ll lose the whole thing, too.”

“Lose my heart?” Carly said. “I know better than that. I keep my heart very well protected.”

Mrs. Watson regarded her over the rim of her mug. “Maybe you used to, but have you looked in a mirror recently? Seen all that glow to your complexion? Sparkle in your eyes? I can tell you right when it started, too.”

Carly was spared the problem of answering when Maizey joined them. “Well, Esther,” she said. “Are you going to come back to the choir now? After tonight, everyone knows it’s not your voice that keeps you at home.

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