Bonnie Winn - Jingle Bell Blessings

A surge of love overwhelmed Evan. He hadn’t thought he had that much love left in him after he’d lost his wife and son. But his heart told him there was room for Jimmy.

Evan made his way to where he had seen Chloe sitting. Jimmy ran from the stage straight to her. She knelt, giving him a huge hug. Getting closer, he could hear her praising his performance. “You were the very best one!”

He bounced on his sneakers. “Really?”

“Really!” She hugged him again. “The very, very, very best.”

Jimmy hugged her back hard before finally letting go.

“You haven’t told me what you want for Christmas yet, big guy.”

“A family.”

She leaned her head against his. “Me, too.”

Evan was struck by their words. The star on the stage twinkled, beaconing its message of hope. And he wondered if he dared believe.

is a hopeless romantic who has written incessantly since the third grade. So it seems only natural that she turned to romance writing. A seasoned author of historical and contemporary romance, Bonnie has won numerous awards for her bestselling books. Affaire de Coeur chose her as one of the Top Ten Romance Writers in America.

Bonnie loves writing contemporary romance because she can set her stories in the modern cities close to her heart and explore the endlessly fascinating strengths of today’s women.

Living in the foothills of the Rockies gives her plenty of inspiration and a touch of whimsy, as well. She shares her life with her husband, son and a spunky Norwich terrier who lends his characteristics to many pets in her stories. Bonnie’s keeping mum about anyone else’s characteristics she may have borrowed.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord.

—Psalms 127:3

For our beautiful Liberty Winn

Born April 18, 2010

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

Epilogue

Letter to Reader

Questions for Discussion

Chloe Reed gripped little Jimmy’s hand as much to stop her own shaking as to reassure him. Everything was on the line. The boy’s future, her own. Swallowing, she tentatively raised the brass knocker on the massive front door.

Silence.

She bent down to encourage Jimmy, and whispered, “It’ll be okay, I promise.”

The door whipped open suddenly and she nearly teetered. Unnerved, she looked up, way up, to meet a dark pair of unpleased eyes. Set in a rugged face with a determined chin, his eyes swept over her in uncompromising dismissal.

Awkwardly, Chloe straightened up, expecting to meet him face-to-face, but he was tall, unusually tall. “Um…hello.”

“Yes?”

“I’m here to see Evan Mitchell.”

“You’re looking at him.”

“Oh.” She’d held a wild hope that she’d knocked on the wrong door. Despite her boss’s warnings, she had wanted to believe that Evan Mitchell would be approachable, reasonable.

“I’m Chloe Reed.” Wishing she could shield the little boy, she squeezed his hand again. “And this is Jimmy Mitchell.”

Eyebrows as dark as the man’s thick hair swooped downward. “What are you doing here?”

Wanting to protect the seven-year-old, Chloe beseeched the man with a pleading glance.

Relenting, Evan opened the door wider. “Come in.”

She and Jimmy both stared as they walked into the circular, two-story-high entry hall, their steps echoing on the marble floor of the impressive house.

Evan hadn’t expected his late cousin’s son to appear on his doorstop, but he didn’t want to hurt the boy. Raising his voice, he called for the housekeeper. “Thelma! Can you come out here?”

Wiping her hands on a cheery gingham apron, a pert woman in her sixties dashed into the hall. “What is it? I’m in the middle of pie making and…” Her voice trailed off when she saw Chloe and the boy, her face easing into a smile. “Who do we have here?”

“Spencer’s boy,” Evan replied briefly.

Thelma’s eyes widened, then warmed in understanding as she spoke to Jimmy. “Do you like apple pie?”

Uncertain in his new surroundings, Jimmy looked at her warily, taking a step backward, leaning against Chloe.

Thelma walked toward him, extending her hand. “I’ve got lemon meringue, pumpkin, cherry and banana cream, too. I sure could use a taster.”

Jimmy looked up at Chloe, who nodded. Accepting Thelma’s hand, the pair disappeared in the direction of the kitchen.

Evan wished he could whisk the woman away as easily, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Instead he gestured toward the parlor, observing the swing of her long, wavy, caramel-colored hair as she walked. Once in the room, she turned, her large green eyes questioning.

“Have a seat.”

As she did, he wondered what his late cousin’s attorney was up to now. Sending a pretty woman was novel, even for Holden Wainwright.

“Miss…?”

“Reed,” she supplied nervously. “Chloe. Call me Chloe, please. I work for Holden Wainwright. I’m his…that is, I’m the estate representative for Jimmy’s parents.”

He’d guessed as much. “What are you doing here?”

“Mr. Wainwright wants what’s best for Jimmy. Your cousin and his wife didn’t have any immediate family who could take care of him. And Mr. Wainwright himself is an old bachelor—he doesn’t have a clue about raising a young boy. That leaves you.”

“Wainwright knows how I feel about that.”

Her face filled with distress, darkening her already unusual eyes, pulling down the edges of her full lips. “He does?”

“Oh, come now, Miss Reed—”

“Chloe,” she corrected, staring at him in shock.

“Miss Reed, we aren’t going to get to know each other well enough to worry about first names. I told Wainwright I wasn’t going to change my mind. And I’m not.” The thought of growing close to another child… The pain nearly choked off his breath. And his voice was gruffer than usual because of it. “You’ve come on a fool’s errand. I can’t say whether you’re Wainwright’s pawn or a schemer yourself. Doesn’t matter. You can sort that out with Wainwright when you’re back in Milwaukee.”

Chloe found her voice. “It’s taken us forever to get out here. The flight from Milwaukee to San Antonio took two plane changes. Then driving way out here to Rosewood…and you expect us to just turn around and head back?” Some of her distress had vanished, leaving fire in its place. “And I’m supposed to tell Jimmy what? That the only relative he has on this continent doesn’t even want to get to know him?”

Evan watched as the quivering in her neck spread to the hollow at the base of her throat.

She stood abruptly, pressing her hands together. “How do you live with yourself?”

Bleakly. “We aren’t in the time of Dickens, Miss Reed. There are no workhouses, no orphanages. Spencer left the boy a trust fund that’ll guarantee his future.”

“The boy’s name is Jimmy. And all the money in the world can’t replace his parents.” She gestured toward the rest of the comfortable room. “Since your father is alive and living here, you obviously can’t understand that kind of trauma.”