The Far Side of Heaven by D.L. Gardner

Author:D.L. Gardner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sweet Romance, Novella, Christmas, Mountain Christmas, Snow, Small Town
Publisher: D.L. Gardner
Published: 2020-10-12T00:00:00+00:00

Christmas is coming

“THE WORLD IS FULL OF magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” -W.B. Yeats

MORNING HAD INDEED come before Dallas realized, and this morning was Christmas Eve. Something magical had to happen today. Something good had to show itself. He stretched his arms and rubbed his matted hair. Sleeping in his clothes had not been comfortable and tackling a drunk in the middle of the night hadn’t helped either. He threw the covers aside and wandered through the empty store to peek out the window. Snow no longer fell, but clouds still hovered low. Icicles dripped from the awning over the shop. He had tried to keep the fire going but had fallen asleep. The room was chilly and smelled of burnt wood and cold ash. Looking at his watch, he knew Charlene would be up soon to open shop.

He rolled the blankets and the sheepskin into a bundle and set it behind the counter. Pulling the tables back where they belonged, he placed the chairs around them. In the kitchen, Dallas looked for a pot and filled it with water and, being as the electricity was still down, he set it on top of the potbelly stove. One lone piece of firewood remained in the log holder. Smoke puffed out at him when he opened the door to place the log on top of the coals. A turn of the flue drew the smoke up the chimney and blowing on the embers started a flame.

The colors had faded from his jacket, but still dotted across the bodice. With one shake, the streams of light faded away. He put his jacket on and without a word, Dallas slipped on his gloves and went outside, holding the bell on the door so that it didn’t ring and wake Charlene.

Surprisingly, the streets were filled with children. Two boys and a girl sped down the hill in a sled kitty-corner from where he stood. Directly across the way, in front of a boarded up storefront that, according to the sign used to be a cobbler’s shop, youngsters put their finishing touches on a snow fort, and other boys and girls on his side of the street were in the process of constructing their own. A rosy-cheeked young man skidded into him when Dallas stepped outside.

“Whoa, there!” Dallas exclaimed as the boy grabbed Dallas’ coat to keep from slipping on the icy sidewalk. Dallas caught him and helped him gain his balance just as a snowball plodded into Dallas’ back.

“What’s your name?” Dallas asked.

“Jimmy,” the boy said, panting, his freckled face glowing from the cold morning air. “Our fort’s not done and already they started attacking.”

“We don’t need a fort. Let’s give them what for. Come on, I’ll help you.” Dallas said and waved to the boy’s companions as he scooped a mound of snow off of the hood of Charlene’s truck. He formed a snowball, packed it tight, and handed it to Jimmy, gathering more snow for himself.

“Charge!” he said.

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.