Christmas Wishes...Special Delivery

By Mary Manners

When attorney Riley Harper comes home to Maple Ridge following the death of his grandfather, the last thing he expects to find is Kaylee McKenna living in his grandparents' guesthouse. Though he and Kaylee were once best friends, Riley cannot find it in his heart to forgive her for the death of his mother. His heart, full of bitterness and resentment, has room for little else. Kaylee has no time to dwell on events of the past, especially where Riley's concerned; she's too busy raising her six-year-old niece, Rosie, and working as an ER nurse. With Christmas quickly approaching, her days are spent helping with charity events and filling the wishes on Rosie's Christmas list. But when Rosie's father makes an unexpected visit, Kaylee must call on Riley's legal expertise to ensure Rosie of a safe and secure future. Will Rosie's special Christmas wish heal Riley's damaged heart and bind the trio together as a forever-family?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pelican Book Group
• Release date: Dec 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781611163476

Book preview

Thanks

Christmas Wishes Special Delivery

Mary Manners

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Christmas Wishes Special Delivery

COPYRIGHT 2013 by Mary Manners

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or Pelican Ventures, LLC except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

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Contact Information: [e-mail]

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version(R), NIV(R), Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Cover Art by Nicola Martinez

White Rose Publishing, a division of Pelican Ventures, LLC

www.pelicanbookgroup.com PO Box 1738 *Aztec, NM * 87410

White Rose Publishing Circle and Rosebud logo is a trademark of Pelican Ventures, LLC

Publishing History

First White Rose Edition, 2013

Electronic Edition ISBN 978-1-61116-347-6

Published in the United States of America

Dedication

To Bryson, Gage and Skylar...may your wishes always come special delivery.

Praise for Mary Manners

Wisdom Tree: Named Book of the Year by The Wordsmith Journal Magazine

Light the Fire: Winner of the 2012 Inspirational Reader's Choice Award

Mary Manners: Named Author of the Year by Book and Trailer Showcase.

Other Titles by Mary Manners

Mended Heart

Tender Mercies

Light the Fire

Buried Treasures

Wisdom Tree

Sweet Treats Bakery Series

Kate's Kisses

Grace's Gold

Tessa's Teacakes

Mattie's Meltaways

Lone Creek Ranch Series

Lost in Lone Creek

Lullaby in Lone Creek

Lesson in Lone Creek

Love in Lone Creek

Mills Landing Series

Miracles and Mischief

Stolen Miracles

Miracles and Dreams

Dollar Downloads

Brenna's Choice

Starfire

Wounded Faith

Angel Song

Willow Lake Series

Whispers at Willow Lake

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; if one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up.

~ Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

1

Gravel chomped and spat beneath the wheels of Riley Harper’s Escalade as he swung into the long, winding drive off Cardwell Lane. Majestic white oaks, their leafless branches like gnarled fingers, formed a canopy, blocking a sky ripe with angry gray snow clouds. A gust of wind howled as it whipped dried leaves into a frenzied dance along a blanket of brown grass stunted with frost. Thankful he’d beaten the storm, Riley drew close to Gran’s stately white-frame house that sat like a sentinel on a gentle knoll at the top of the drive. Its massive porch invited guests to linger and, even now, a quartet of rocking chairs swayed in a slow, even cadence against the wind as if ghosts from the past communed together sharing a late-afternoon story while the storm prowled over the mountains.

Riley rounded a curve and pulled alongside the detached garage that had, back in the day, doubled as Gramps’s workshop. He killed the SUV’s engine and leaned back in the seat, and sighed. He’d made it…he was back in Maple Ridge for the first time in nearly a year. This time, he planned to stay for more than a few nights. How much longer, though, he wasn’t sure. He stretched his legs and the knots of tension from his spine, as the wind whispered and tree limbs sang a mournful melody, mirroring the state of his heart.

Gramps was gone for good. It was hard to believe, nearly impossible to grasp. Riley still pictured him, strong and tanned, with a subtle blend of gray through his jet-black hair, ambling toward the woods with a fishing pole in one hand and the lunch Gran had packed in his other. Where had the days, the months…the years gone?

Riley sighed once more, deep and full, and then grabbed his duffel bag and slipped from the car. The sweet scent of pine caressed as the first snowflake of what promised to be a monster of a storm splatted the bridge of his nose. He brushed it away and pulled the collar of his wool jacket tight against the bite of a frigid gust. He wound his way over frozen earth toward the wide front stairs, flanked on each side by pillars thick as century-old oaks, and paused at the welcome mat to brush dirt from his shoes. Music drifted through the door, mingling with laughter and a child’s high-pitched giggles. Gran must have the TV on; it was the only explanation for laughter so close on the heels of Gramps’s death. Gran, who’d filled her days with caring for Gramps during his extended and heart-wrenching battle with Alzheimer’s, must miss him terribly.

Riley sucked a single deep breath, tamping back a stab of regret that he’d missed the funeral nearly a month ago, and had only now been able to break away from his responsibilities as a prosecution attorney in Jacksonville to pay his condolences to Gran. He raised his fist to knock on the weathered wooden door, but stopped just short of contact. No need to ask for permission to enter. This was his home.

Home…the single word hit Riley like a sucker punch. Even now, nearly a decade after he’d left, he thought of this old place and the acres of sprawling meadow that surrounded it as home.

He grabbed the knob, gave it a quick turn before pushing the door open. A gust of wind followed him into the living room, rustling the pages of a newspaper splayed across the coffee table beside one of Gran’s dog-eared word search magazines. She devoured puzzles, so he sent her a subscription to the large-print edition every year for her birthday.

The scent of cinnamon drifted from the kitchen’s doorway, making his belly yowl in protest to the fact that

Reviews for Christmas Wishes...Special Delivery

[sweetpeasuzie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The rustic patina of Maple Ridge, Tennessee is the backdrop for Mary Manners’s cozy romance Christmas Wishes: Special Delivery. Themes such as being given second chances at love and admitting mistakes done in the past make the story radiate with a slice-of-life realism as if the scenes are inspired by somebody’s actual life.Kaylee McKenna, a nurse at a local hospital, accepts the responsibility of taking care of her 6-year-old niece Rosie. The daughter of Kaylee’s brother Cody, a consummate drifter, Rosie is an endearing character whose innocence carries Kaylee through the tragedies which have marred her life. Mainly a secondary character, Rosie’s influence over Kaylee enables her aunt to forgive the man who broke her heart. Rosie also plays a role in influencing this man to admit his past mistakes and to forgive Kaylee’s father for the wounds he inflicted. The author shows that everyone could benefit from a Rosie in their lives.Riley Harper, a revered prosecutor, returns to his grandmother’s house in Maple Ridge to discover Kaylee and Rosie are living in the guesthouse. The wounds which Kaylee’s father inflicted on him return to the surface but with guidance from Rosie, Kaylee, and his grandmother Ruth, Riley finds the comfort he needs to heal his heart. He undergoes a renewal or a baptism by fire which empowers him to let go of the anger that he had directed at Kaylee for her father’s actions.The fluidity of the story enables the reader to grasp each nuance of the tale and to connect with the lead characters roiling emotions. The struggle and tension feels real and the reconciliation brims with genuineness. It’s a touching story that gratifies the reader’s need for happy endings.