Jessica Matthews - The Child Who Rescued Christmas

The Child who Rescued Christmas

Jessica Matthews

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Cover

Title Page The Child who Rescued Christmas Jessica Matthews www.millsandboon.co.uk

Praise Praise for Jessica Matthews: ‘With a rich backstory and an emotional reunion, readers are treated to a beautiful love story. It is heartwarming to see two people deeply in love get a second chance.’ —RT Book Reviews on SIX-WEEK MARRIAGE MIRACLE

About the Author About the Author JESSICA MATTHEWS’S interest in medicine began at a young age, and she nourished it with medical stories and hospital-based television programmes. After a stint as a teenage candy-striper, she pursued a career as a clinical laboratory scientist. When not writing or on duty, she fills her day with countless family and school-related activities. Jessica lives in the central United States, with her husband, daughter and son.

Dedication Dedication To my family, especially my husband, whose support never wavers.

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Copyright

‘With a rich backstory and an emotional reunion, readers are treated to a beautiful love story. It is heartwarming to see two people deeply in love get a second chance.’

—RT Book Reviews on SIX-WEEK MARRIAGE MIRACLE

JESSICA MATTHEWS’Sinterest in medicine began at a young age, and she nourished it with medical stories and hospital-based television programmes. After a stint as a teenage candy-striper, she pursued a career as a clinical laboratory scientist. When not writing or on duty, she fills her day with countless family and school-related activities. Jessica lives in the central United States, with her husband, daughter and son.

Dear Reader

Have you ever made a mistake that you bitterly regretted—to the point where you wish you could turn back time and make a better choice? My hero, Cole, had such a moment in his life, and it eventually came back to haunt him. Naturally I had to create a heroine strong enough to bear up under the pressure, and the following pages are the result. And what better time to set a story about love and forgiveness, goodwill and peace, than at Christmas?

So, as you take time to enjoy the season, I hope Sara and Cole’s journey will touch your heart.

Happy reading!

Jessica

Dedication

To my family, especially my husband, whose support never wavers.

THIS day just kept getting better, Sara Wittman thought wryly as one of the morning headlines caught her eye.

Three people killed in medical helicopter crash.

She hated reading news like that—it was a horrible way to start her day—but morbid curiosity and a healthy dread drove her to read the few facts listed in the article.

En route from the University of Oklahoma Medical Center in Oklahoma City to Enid, the A-Star 350 helicopter went down in an open field thirty miles outside its destination for unknown reasons. The three people on board, pilot James Anderson of Dallas, Texas, Nurse Ruth Warren of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Nurse Lilian Gomez of Norman, Oklahoma, died at the scene.

According to statements released by AirMed, the company that operates this flying medical service, the circumstances of the crash are still uncertain. The incident is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

As a nurse assigned to the medical-surgical floor of Nolan Heights Hospital, she occasionally cared for a patient who had to be flown to a tertiary care center for treatment and consequently had met the dedicated staff who flew those missions. Although Nolan Heights used a different company for their flying ambulance service, the men and women who specialized in providing that type of medicine were a special breed who’d garnered her respect. These people would be missed, not only by their families but also by the medical community as a whole.

“You’re looking rather glum this morning.” Cole, her husband of nearly three years, breezed into the kitchen wearing dark slacks and a rust-colored shirt—his usual attire for another busy day in his medical practice. He bussed her on the cheek before heading for the coffeemaker where she’d already poured a cup of the French roast she’d made strong enough to keep him running all morning.

She savored his husbandly peck before rattling the newspaper. “I was just reading about a medical helicopter crash in Oklahoma. Two nurses and the pilot were killed on the way to collect a patient.”

“That’s too bad,” he remarked as he sipped from his mug and slipped a slice of bread into the toaster. “No one we know, I hope.”

“No,” she said, “although one of the nurses is from your old stomping grounds.”

“Tulsa?”

“For being gone most of the night because of a patient, you’re remarkably sharp this morning,” she teased.

“It’s all done with smoke and mirrors,” he answered with a grin that after one year of dating, two years of living together and three years of marriage still jump-started her pulse every time. “But in answer to your question, Tulsa is a relatively large city. I didn’t know every kid in my grade, much less my entire school.”

“I suppose it would be surprising if you knew Ruth Warren.”

He visibly froze. “Ruth Warren?”

“Yeah,” she confirmed. “It doesn’t give her age, though.” Then, because the news had obviously startled him, she asked, “Did you know a Ruth Warren?”

“The one I knew was a schoolteacher,” he said slowly, his gaze speculative. “High school biology. Now that I think about it, she’d always talked about going into nursing. Maybe she finally did.”

“Then it could have been your friend.”

“I doubt it. Even if she did make a career change, the Ruth I knew was scared of heights. She’d always joked about how she’d never get on an airplane.”

“There must be two Ruth Warrens,” she guessed. “Both names are common enough and her surname could be her married name.”

“It’s possible,” he murmured thoughtfully.

“Regardless, I’m sure her family, and everyone else’s, is devastated.”

“Hmm.”

“And when a tragedy like this happens close to Christmas, it has to be even more difficult to handle,” she commented, imagining how the season would never again be the same for those left behind. In the blink of an eye for these families, the holiday had lost its inherent excitement.

“Hmm.”

Sara recognized his preoccupied tone. Certain his mind was already racing ahead to concentrate on the day’s hectic schedule, she said offhandedly, “It’s nice that we’re closing the hospital at noon today.”