Linda Warren - A Texas Holiday Miracle

Dear Reader Dear Reader Dear Reader Title Page ABOUT THE AUTHOR Acknowledgements Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Epilogue Extract Copyright , Welcome back to Horseshoe, Texas (The Sheriff of Horseshoe, Texas, Mills & Boon American Romance, March 2009; One Night in Texas, Mills & Boon American Romance, May 2014). This is a story about learning to love and live again. I have to warn you—there are some scenes that are sad, but if you hang in there, you’ll cheer for Lacey and Gabe and maybe even shed a few tears of joy for them. This story came out of nowhere. Late one night I was watching reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond. Ray wanted to tell Ally the truth about Santa Claus. Debra was adamantly against it. Back and forth it went with their crazy antics. Then I read a story on the internet about a woman who had lost her husband and wanted to make Christmas special for her little girl. But all the little girl wanted was for her daddy to come home. These two things got me thinking. What would you do if someone told your child there was no Santa Claus? No Christmas? And what if you had to handle it alone while dealing with a heartbreaking loss? We’ve all lost loved ones and know how difficult it is to let go. Lacey has lost her father and has guardianship of her six-year-old half sister, Emma. Her next-door neighbor, Gabe Garrison, has lost his eight-year-old son in an accident. This was a difficult story to write because of the grief, but a dog named Pepper and a little girl who doesn’t believe in Christmas anymore pulls it all together in an unimaginable way. Keep reading to the very last page and you’ll believe in miracles, too. Merry Christmas! With love and thanks, Linda Warren You can email me at Lw1508@aol.com, or send me a message on Facebook, www.facebook.com/lindawarrenauthor , or Twitter @texauthor , or write me at P.O. Box 5182, Bryan, TX 77805. Visit my website at www.lindawarren.net . Your mail and thoughts are deeply appreciated.

Title Page A Texas Holiday Miracle Linda Warren www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR ABOUT THE AUTHOR ABOUT THE AUTHOR Acknowledgements Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Epilogue Extract Copyright Two-time RITA® Award-nominated and award-winning author LINDA WARREN loves her job, writing happily-ever-after books for Mills & Boon. Drawing upon her years of growing up on a farm/ranch in Texas, she writes about sexy heroes, feisty heroines and broken families with an emotional punch, all set against the backdrop of Texas. Her favorite pastime is sitting on her patio with her husband watching the wildlife, especially the injured ones that are coming in pairs these days: two Canada geese with broken wings, two does with broken legs and a bobcat ready to pounce on anything tasty. Learn more about Linda and her books at her website, www.lindawarren.net , or on Facebook, www.facebook.com/authorlindawarren .

Acknowledgements A special thanks to my go-to ladies, Cindi, Joan, Charissa and Tammy, who know everything from kids to Christmas to plotting. Thank you! Dedication Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Epilogue Extract Copyright I dedicate this book to the readers, who write to me, buy my books, come to book signings, encourage me and support me. Your friendship means the world to me. Wishing you love, joy and happiness this holiday season. And a miracle or two. Love, Linda

Dedication Dedication Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Epilogue Extract Copyright I dedicate this book to the readers, who write to me, buy my books, come to book signings, encourage me and support me. Your friendship means the world to me. Wishing you love, joy and happiness this holiday season. And a miracle or two. Love, Linda

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Christmas was the happiest time of the year for many people, but for Lacey Carroll it would be the saddest. Too much had happened to...

The front door slammed with the strength of a gale-force wind. She paused in spooning macaroni and cheese onto a plate. Not another bad day. This would make four in a row. She placed the pot on the stove, wiped her hands on a Frosty the Snowman dish towel and made her way into the living room.

Her six-year-old half sister, Emma, sat in the middle of the sofa with her arms clutched across her chest, her face scrunched into a dipped-in-vinegar frown. One of her pigtails had come undone and stuck out in a snarl on the left side of her head. Grass and bits of leaves were tangled in her blond hair. Smears of dirt marred her face, her red T-shirt and her jeans. Her sneakers were filthy, the shoelaces undone. She’d been fighting. Again!

Before their father, Jack, had passed away five months ago, he’d asked Lacey to care for Emma, so Lacey was now Emma’s legal guardian. She couldn’t refuse her father’s dying wish, even though she had a good job in Austin and her own life. At twenty-eight, she’d made a life-changing decision because she loved her sister. Days like this, though, tried her patience and reminded her how ill equipped she was to raise a child.

She’d bought child-rearing books and kept a mental one filled with common sense in her head. On most days she needed both.

“What happened?” Lacey asked in her best authoritative voice.

“Don’t talk to me. I’m mad,” Emma shot back.

“Lose the attitude. What happened?”

Emma glared at her through narrowed eyes. “I told you don’t talk to me.”

“And I told you to lose the attitude. Now!”

Emma turned her face away in anger.

Lacey sat beside her. “What happened?” she asked again, this time in a more soothing tone.

Emma whipped her head around. “I wanted to hit him in his big fat nose.”

Oh, good heavens. Lacey took a deep breath. “Who did you want to hit in the nose? You know hitting is against our rules. Daddy’s rules.”

“Brad Wilson. Daddy would’ve hit him, too.”

“I don’t think so. Daddy didn’t believe in violence.”

Emma’s face crumpled. “He said...said...there’s no Santa Claus, and Jimmy and I...were big babies for believing in him.”

Oh, no! Lacey flipped through pages of the mental book in her head. She knew what Emma’s next question was going to be and she had to have an answer. A good one.

“Is it true, Lacey? Is there no Santa? Did Daddy put my gifts under the tree?” Big green eyes, just like Lacey’s, begged for an answer.

As Lacey saw it, she had three options. Lie like she’d never lied before. Tell Emma Brad was teasing her. Or offer the truth. How could she tell a six-year-old there was no Santa Claus?