Yuletide Peril by Irene Brand

Author:Irene Brand [Brand, Irene]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Suspense, Christmas Stories, General, Romance, Religious Fiction, Christian, Inheritance and Succession, Sisters, Romantic Suspense Fiction, Love Stories, Stanton (W. Va.), Christian Fiction, West Virginia, Religious, Fiction
ISBN: 9780373442287
Google: yT9uOx0i8QYC
Publisher: Steeple Hill Books
Published: 2005-07-15T13:14:31.275000+00:00

Although Linda was as angry at her daughter as Janice had been with Brooke, she went ahead with plans for the sleepover because the invitations had already been given. She told Janice that if she canceled the party, she’d have to give a reason, and she wanted as little gossip about the girls’ stunt as possible. It bothered Janice that Brooke still didn’t feel guilty about trying to bring Lance and her together, but she wouldn’t punish her by taking away the opportunity for her sister to be with her friends. She gave permission for Brooke to go to the sleepover.

The day of the party, Janice was making curtains at Mountjoy when her cell phone rang.

“Hello,” Lance said. “Are you by yourself?”

“No, Cecil is working on the steps to the second floor.” She hadn’t told Lance that she was afraid to be alone at Mountjoy.

She sensed his hesitation before he said, “We haven’t had a chance to talk about what happened the other night. I realize you were embarrassed by the situation, but it would have been a pleasure to have dinner with you.”

“Thanks for letting me know that. I was so angry and afraid that I wasn’t very diplomatic. Nothing personal.”

“I’ve been thinking that the kids may have had a good idea. Since you’ll be alone for the evening, let’s have dinner together.”

Her pulse beat rapidly, and Janice disguised her elation by saying teasingly, “Are you sure you aren’t using me as an excuse to get out of a house with five girls?”

“I do wonder if the walls are thick enough to muffle their merrymaking, but that isn’t the reason I’m asking.”

“With Brooke in Linda’s care tonight, I’d love to accept your invitation. Are we going to have cheeseburgers at the diner?” she added, mirth in her voice.

He laughed in a mellow tone that always thrilled Janice. “I think we can do better than that. There’s a good Italian restaurant a few miles south of town. Would you like that?”

“Very much.”

“Then I’ll pick you up about six o’clock.”

Janice cradled the phone in her hand after Lance hung up, and she stared dreamily out the window without seeing the wooded hills in their autumn beauty beyond the house. With the suspense hanging over her head, was she foolish to become involved romantically with Lance? Janice knew she was lonely. She’d been lonely all her life—even in a crowd of people she’d often felt alone.

She wanted someone to care for her and she’d be vulnerable in a relationship with Lance. He’d asked her once to be his friend, but often she’d wondered how it would be to be more than a friend to Lance. If she dated him and lost her heart to him, and he wanted nothing but friendship, she’d be hurt again. She’d had so little love in her life that it seemed she had a void where her heart was.

Janice had never felt that her parents loved her. Brooke loved her, but it was a childish love—a dependent love.

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