A Semi-Precious Christmas by Jan Elder

Author:Jan Elder
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: christian Fiction
Publisher: Pelican Book Group
Published: 2015-02-14T16:00:00+00:00

10

I finished fastening Miss Margaret’s earrings and slipped into my gold flats. Why was I so nervous? I’d already met his mom, Maggie seemed to like me, and I was confident Chris liked me, too. Maybe it was the fact it had been almost a year since I’d been out on a real date.

Nah. Couldn’t be.

If Amee could see me now, she’d snicker at my apprehension.

“Silly, huh, Butterscotch?” I hefted him into the air, his baby fat soft on my fingertips. In the New Year, I’d have to work on portion control. I held him close, kissed the top of his head, and then plopped him back onto my borrowed twin bed at Uncle Marty’s. My chunky boy arranged himself in the middle of the comforter and stretched to impossible lengths. He closed one eye and licked a furry toe.

Ginger leapt from the windowsill she’d claimed as her own, leveled me with a glare, and dove under the bed, where she huddled with the tip of her tail sticking out. I had to figure out a way to cure that scaredy-cat-ness. She so wanted to be loved. She just didn’t know enough to let her guard down. I vowed to spend more time bringing her out of her self-imposed isolation.

The doorbell rang, and I tripped lightly down the stairs and threw wide the front door. I regretted the extra flourish immediately. An icy cold breeze flew up my dress and I struggled to smooth down the thin skirt. Brrrr. Not a wise move.

Chris covered a smile with his hand and held out a small paper bag. “A gift for milady.”

Milady? Someone had been reading too many Arthurian legends. “For me?”

“Uh, not really, but open it.”

Nestled inside the bag were two pouches of cat treats—one chicken, one salmon. Aww. Thoughtful. And smart. The sure way to get in my good graces was through my furry creatures. “Good guesses. Ginger will love the chicken, and Butterscotch—the big one—will do back flips for a taste of salmon. His mournful stare wears me down more often than not.”

Chris widened his eyes and smirked. “Hmmm.”

It took me a second to see the irony. “I guess it’s obvious my chunky kitten gets what he wants, huh?”

“I didn’t say a word. Did you see my lips moving?”

“I’ll just put these safely in the pantry. Even through the packaging, Butterscotch will sniff them out. I think he’s part bloodhound.”

As Chris helped me with my coat, he touched an earring. “Very unusual. They look good on you. But then, you’d make anything you wear look beautiful.”

He certainly was sweet. Genuinely so.

“They were a gift from a friend. Thank you.”

The drive to Chris’s mom’s house took little time. I’d been warned not to bring any food, much less a hostess gift.

Mrs. Lane greeted me like a long-lost relative and promptly made it clear I was to call her Shelly, no buts about it. She wore a dancing reindeer sweater and matching earrings.

Maggie tiptoed down the staircase in purple slippers, a plastic horse in each hand.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.