A Forever Home for the Holidays

By Melissa Davis, Karen Fuller and Erik Daniel Shein

Emma Miller has lost everything. At the tender age of sixteen, a tragic accident took her parents and her beloved dog from her. Now stuck in the foster care system, Emma is in foreign territory. Her experience so far has her wanting to run away.
However, love can come from unexpected places; she only has to open her heart to find it. When presented a Christmas miracle, Emma holds on to it for all she’s worth, but will it be enough?
A Forever Home for the Holidays is a heart touching, emotional roller coaster ride about a young girl’s journey to find herself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: World Castle Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Sep 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781953271174

Melissa Davis

Born in Southern Illinois, Melissa Davis fell in love with reading from an early age, so much so that she started writing when she was in the second grade. From poetry, to short stories, she has a love for it all. When she was in high school she attended Illinois Summer School for the Arts at Illinois State University, which lead her to attend the university. After graduating with a Bachelors in Education, Melissa taught for several years until her children were born, allowing her to fulfill two dreams at once: motherhood and penning her first books.

Book preview

1.png

A Forever Home for the Holidays

by

Melissa Davis, Karen Fuller & Erik Daniel Shein

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

WCP Logo 7

World Castle Publishing, LLC

Pensacola, Florida

Copyright © Arkwatch Holdings, LLC & Erik Daniel Shein 2020

Authors: Melissa Davis, Karen Fuller & Erik Daniel Shein

Smashwords Edition

Hardback ISBN: 9781953271150

Paperback ISBN: 9781953271167

eBook ISBN: 9781953271174

First Edition World Castle Publishing, LLC, September 29, 2020

http://www.worldcastlepublishing.com

Smashwords Licensing Notes

All rights reserved. A Forever Home for the Holidays is a Trademark of Arkwatch Holdings, LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means—electronic, digital, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for the author or third party’s web sites and their content.

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Arkwatch Holdings, LLC

4766 East Eden Drive

Cave Creek, AZ 85331

Cover: Karen Fuller

Editor: Maxine Bringenberg

Chapter 1

Life was a series of moments interconnected and twisted in ways no one could ever untwine. One moment everything was wonderful, and the next, it was as if the world had spun on a dime. To say one moment could shape an entire lifetime was more than accurate. It was a reality that could not be reversed and something no child should ever face alone, but Emma Miller had no other choice. She was too young to fight the odds that had been stacked against her.

The sixteen-year-old sat on the back seat with her whole body scrunched together tightly, all the while wishing she could sink into the seat and disappear completely within its folds. She clutched a small ceramic circle in her hands. To most people, it might look like a sand dollar, but it was so much more important than that. The ceramic pawprint was from a happier time, her one constant reminder of those she had loved and lost. It was all she had left of her former life, one of the only things she was allowed to keep. The rest of her belongings fit into the backpack sitting on the floorboard next to her feet.

As Emma stared out the window of the blue sedan at the scenery flying by her, she’d never felt so alone in her life. Emma glanced down at the pawprint and wiped a stray tear from her cheek. She missed Buster. The six-year-old beagle had been her only friend for so long. Emma had always found it hard to make friends under normal circumstances, for her shy nature always got in the way. By the time she had finally figured out how to interact with the other girls at school, they had already banded together in their picky little cliques. They might as well have a sign stamped to them that said no losers allowed, for that was the way they made her feel. While the boys were not nearly as heartless, she had missed her window with them too. Emma was too shy to interact with them much. On most school days, Emma spent her time sitting by herself with her nose stuck in a book, waiting until she could go home to the only people who cared about her.

If only she could rewind the clocks or use a time machine to go back in time. Emma would give anything to have them all back again. If only she could invent a magic eraser that could remove the tragedy that had sent her on her current trajectory. All these if onlys, they were things she wished for, even though she knew wishes were nothing more than thoughts that could never become reality. Emma no longer believed in magic, rainbows, or butterflies. Her world was wilting away one petal at a time, and everyone else seemed to hold the power.

How could so much go wrong in a year? Squeezing her eyes shut, she could still hear the squeal of breaks and the crash of twisted metal that had punctuated her life with its cruelty as it stole her life in one fatal swoop. The memories of that day were a little fuzzy past the moment of impact. It was everything that had come before that she tried to hang onto. Emma and her parents had taken a road trip to see Grandma Evie just before Christmas. Her parents had sat in the front, while Emma and Buster had their favorite spots in the back. Random Christmas songs had been playing on the radio as they traveled, and she and her mother had been singing loudly along with each of them, much to her father’s dismay. An occasional missed note would have Buster howling, which sent Emma and her mother into a fit of giggles laughing at the silly dog. Her father had shaken his head at the lot of them, something he often did whenever Emma and her mom got carried away with their singing.

Before they left their house that morning, Emma had heard her parents discussing a winter road advisory that had come on the news. Her parents had been split on whether they should make the trip, but the disappointment on Emma’s face had convinced them that the trip was necessary. Emma wished she had not been so selfish that she could take it all back, but some things were permanent. Dad had been convinced it would be safe enough, especially since Grandma Evie only lived a couple of hours away. With the tire chains in the trunk, he had believed if anything happened to the car, they’d be able to deal with it. If they had known what fate lay in store, they would never have left the house.

Emma was desperate to hit the rewind, to just go back to the moment before she had woken up that morning. But life had no way back, or a pause button to keep the rest of her world from spiraling out of control. Emma tried to swallow back the emotion that burned the back of her throat. She had tried to keep herself together, promising herself she would never let them see her cry again, but the bitter emptiness inside was hard to swallow.

It would always come back to that last day when her loving family was erased from her life. Emma would never look at snow and ice the same. Christmas lights would remind her of the red and blue flashing lights and howling wind mixed with the lonely sirens. That was the last thing she remembered before all the lights faded to black.

Three days later, Emma woke up in a hospital bed in a lot of pain. Her head had felt like mini-explosions erupted behind it every time she blinked. Her head had been wrapped in a scratchy bandage that made her feel like she was wearing a ten pound weight around it. That was nothing compared to the cast around her leg that made her feel even more trapped, as its weight kept her glued to her bed.

When she finally glanced around the room, she had seen her grandmother, Evie, who had fallen asleep in the chair next to her bed. She remembered wondering where her parents were because they would never just leave her alone in the hospital. At least one of them would have been by her side. That was the moment she realized deep in her heart that they were gone. Emma had not been able to stifle the sobs that had bubbled up inside her.

Her grandmother had opened her eyes with a sad exhaustion that would never disappear. The years had taken a toll on her, but when she gazed at Emma, her expression softened with relief.

Emma! Oh, thank God you’re awake.

Emma had watched her rise from the chair, even though the pain from arthritis made that an almost impossible feat. She had approached the bed and leaned over to kiss Emma on the forehead.

I’ve been so worried about you.

Even the simple kiss had hurt, but it was the dawning knowledge of her grandmother’s words that had cut her to the core. Grandma Evie had not said we’ve, but had carefully chosen I’ve. With the use of that one lonely word, Emma’s heart had sunk. She had not wanted to hear the truth. Every inch of her had been desperate to believe it had all been a mistake. Emma had taken a painful breath to ask the one question that would forever haunt her. Where are my mom and dad?

When tears filled Grandma Evie’s eyes, it had confirmed everything in Emma’s mind. I’m so sorry, baby. They’re gone.

No, no, I can’t believe it, she had thought to herself, a thought she had every day since. The words were just as true today as they were then. They were gone, disappeared as if they had never been there at all. Emma would probably never come to terms with that. Emma remembered closing her eyes and willing the world to just slow down for one minute, but everything was spinning out of control. As the tears fell down her face, Emma’s only consolation was the thought of the only friend she ever had. She remembered searching her grandmother’s eyes as she asked the next question. Buster? Where is Buster?

Grandma Evie had sniffed back her own tears. He’s with them.

The uncontrollable tears were back as Emma’s painful voice almost screamed at the world. Why didn’t they take me with them? Why did they leave me behind?

Grandma Evie had shook her head in denial and tried to soothe her grandchild, even though she was dealing with her own grief. Don’t say that, child. Don’t ever say that. Life is precious.

But I have no one. Emma’s voice had almost been a broken whisper.

You have me. Don’t ever forget that. Her grandmother had said that with such conviction that Emma almost believed her.

A week later, Emma had left the hospital on crutches with her grandmother. She had missed the funeral, and Christmas had come and gone with barely any of its usual sparkle. Grandma Evie had taken Emma to her small two-bedroom house, where Emma awkwardly settled in as she tried to deal with the loss of everything she had known and loved before.

The months crept by as Emma slowly adjusted to her new life with her grandmother. It had been a challenge getting Emma settled into a new school and routine, but they were starting to make it through the hardest times. That was until her grandmother started getting confused and forgetful. A few times, Grandma Evie got lost coming home from the grocery store. Once, she even forgot she had started a pizza in the oven. Its charred remains were all that were left by the time they realized what had happened. Grandma Evie had tried to laugh it off, but it was clear something was wrong.

It was the time she forgot to pick up Emma from school when it all hit the fan again. That had set off enough warning bells to get the school and other officials involved. Grandma Evie was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and the doctor recommended she be placed in a retirement home for her own safety. In either case, Grandma Evie was no longer fit to care for a child. In the span of a little less than a year, Emma was alone again.

Emma!

Emma was brought back to the present with a cold, dark, harsh dose of reality. It was the voice of her social worker, Jill Jones, talking to her. A constant reminder of how utterly alone she really was.

The rural country road they’d been traveling on had few houses—nothing to break up the monotony of the trip. The destination seemed just as bleak as the rest of her life, which did not slip by Emma one bit. Ms. Jones was taking her to a new foster home in the middle of nowhere, apparently. With her luck, this new family wouldn’t want her either. Emma took a breath and tried to remind herself that Grandma Evie had wanted her; it simply wasn’t in the cards.

Emma, are you even listening to me?

Yes, ma’am. Emma felt a little guilty for that little white lie, but what did that woman expect her to be doing right now?

Jill glanced into the rearview mirror into the backseat where Emma sat. Their eyes met in the reflection, and Emma could see the concern etched on her social worker’s face, but making her social worker feel better was beyond her right now.

Jill sighed to try again. It won’t be all that bad, Emma.

Emma looked away from the mirror to stare out the window again. What would the woman do if she told her what she really thought? It seemed to Emma she was already getting the rough end of the stick. Even so, she didn’t have the energy to debate how bad life could get. Emma was pretty sure she had even less to lose than most people, but it could always get worse. Wasn’t her life proof of that? That social worker had no clue how bad any of this was for her. It was better to keep her mouth shut. It wouldn’t change anything anyway.

Your grandma would have kept you if she could have.

The sharp stab of pain in her heart was back—the grief, the loneliness. Why did everyone have to keep reminding her of what she had lost? Emma felt the hot tears slide down her cheeks again. She didn’t want to cry. She didn’t want to do anything but turn back the hands of time, to a time when she was happy. Emma would even settle for the less happy moments with her parents like when she had used a black Sharpie marker to draw all over the wall her mother had just painted. Even if it meant her mom would be there yelling at her for doing so.

Jill looked back into the rearview mirror and smiled at Emma. You’ll like the Smiths. Nice people. And they already have a few foster kids, so maybe you can make some friends while you’re there.

Emma swiped her hands over her cheeks to dash the tears away. She had her doubts as to how nice the Smiths were. In the two nights she had spent at the foster care facility, she’d heard horror stories about how horrible some foster homes could be. When Ms. Jones didn’t say anything else, Emma glanced up at the rearview mirror and saw that the woman was waiting