The Wish Book Christmas by Lynn Austin

Author:Lynn Austin [Austin, Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION / Christian / Historical, FICTION / Romance / Historical / 20th Century
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2021-09-07T00:00:00+00:00

Alan Hamilton arrived at the bungalow right on time after lunch and offered to drive everyone out to the Vandenbergs’ farm in his car—a shiny new red-and-white Buick Roadmaster. “Wow!” Harry said when he saw it. “Your car looks like a candy cane!”

“Can we really ride in it, Mr. Hamilton?”

“Of course,” he said, opening the rear door for them. “Hop in.”

Eve scrambled into the backseat with Harry and Bobby so Audrey would have to ride in the front with Alan. Eve was certain that Audrey would scold her for it later, just as she had scolded her for inviting Alan to come with them in the first place. “I didn’t invite Alan,” she had reminded Audrey. “Your son did. And Alan could have politely refused, you know.”

“I don’t see how,” Audrey had sniffed, “with everyone ganging up on him.”

Tom was waiting for them in the farmyard with an ax and the sled, his light-brown hair disheveled by the wind. The sight of his handsome grin and easy stance made Eve long to run into his arms. Tom shook Alan’s hand, saying, “Welcome to our farm,” and patted Harry’s and Bobby’s heads. He gave Audrey his endearing, lopsided smile but was noticeably cool to Eve. She probably deserved it. She wanted to apologize to him for the way they had parted at the school Christmas program, but she wasn’t sure how or where to begin.

“Can you pull us on the sled, Uncle Tom?” Harry asked.

“Sure thing. Climb aboard.” Tom laughed and chatted with Alan as they tromped across the field through the snow to the grove of Christmas trees, pulling the sled. Tom’s dog, Champ, scampered alongside them, sniffing for rabbits. It had been another hectic week at work for Eve as her boss hurried to finish all his last-minute correspondence before closing the office for three days over Christmas. She was grateful to spend her Saturday off in the sunshine and country-fresh air. But Tom’s coolness chilled her heart.

Of course, Harry and Bobby chose trees that were taller than Tom’s and Alan’s heads. “They need a big, big one!” Harry had decided with childlike generosity.

“The Robertsons’ house doesn’t look very large,” Audrey said. “Let’s see if we can find a smaller one that won’t take up too much space.” Eve felt a pang as Tom chopped it down, as she always did when a living tree was felled. At least it was for a good cause. They pulled the tree back to the farmhouse on the sled, then loaded everything into Tom’s truck and Alan’s car for the short ride to the Robertsons’ house. Grandma Van came along, too.

“Now, please remember to be very polite,” Audrey told the boys, “and don’t say anything about how poor they are. We don’t want them to be embarrassed.”

“That’s right,” Eve added. “The three Wise Men were very rich, remember? And baby Jesus was so poor he had to sleep in a stable. So we’re just going to give the Robertsons our gifts and go home again.

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