The Christmas Angel Project by Melody Carlson

Author:Melody Carlson [Carlson, Melody]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC042000, FIC027020, Life change eventsn—Fiction, Generosityn—Fiction, Charityn—Fiction, Christmas stories, Christian fiction
ISBN: 9781493405145
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2016-07-13T04:00:00+00:00

9

It wasn’t until Grace was driving through town, coming home late from work on Thursday, that she remembered she’d offered to host the angels’ meeting tonight. One week ago, she had been all excited about having it at her house, thinking she’d have her Christmas decorations up and even some baking done. She’d even imagined preparing some small gift—something like Abby had done—to give to each of her friends.

But in reality, not a single decoration was up, she hadn’t baked in ages, and her house needed to be cleaned. She glanced at her dashboard clock, deciding she had enough time to stop by the Harvester Bakery. Of course, when she got there, after parking across the street and running through the rain, she discovered they had just closed. Seeing someone inside, she even banged on the front door. But the woman scowled at her and disappeared into the back.

Soggy and cold, Grace continued driving home, hoping that she might have a package of store-bought cookies in her pantry. As soon as she parked in the garage, she dashed into the house, hoping that she could wrangle Joel into helping her do a whirlwind cleaning. “The angels are coming tonight,” she yelled at him as she ripped off her damp coat. “I need your help.”

“What?” He looked at her like she’d lost her mind.

“The book group. They’re meeting here.” She started grabbing dishes out of the sink. “Why can’t you ever put a dirty dish in the dishwasher?” she growled as she shoved a grimy plate in without bothering to rinse.

“Hello and good evening to you too,” he said in an offended tone.

“I need you to help me clean up. After all, this is your mess.”

“My mess?” He rolled his eyes. “Then let’s leave it where it is. I like my mess.”

“Joel!” she growled. “Help me now! They’ll be here in about fifteen minutes.”

“Why not let your friends see how we really live?” Joel taunted her. “Show them that you’re not as perfect as you pretend to be.”

She held a coffee mug in the air, ready to hurl it at him, then realized she’d simply have to clean up the broken shards. “Get out of here,” she yelled angrily. “Go hide in your stupid man cave!”

He simply shrugged, then made himself scarce while she continued throwing the dishes into the dishwasher, knowing she’d need to rinse and rearrange them later. She put on the teakettle and started a pot of decaf, and while the coffee was brewing she wiped the kitchen counters. In the pantry, she dug around until she unearthed two packages of cookies, which she quickly arranged on a pretty plate before setting out cups and napkins.

It was a meager offering compared to Louisa’s spread last week, but it would have to do. She was lighting a vanilla candle to set by the cookies when she heard the doorbell. Though she paused to smooth her hair and compose herself, she knew it was useless. Everything in her wanted to scream—she was not an angel and she never would be! Instead, she went to greet her guests.

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