The Hope of Christmas

By Carol James

Cameron Blake has everything a man could want. Or so it appears. But in the dark of night, the contents of an old manila envelope remind him that the one thing he truly wants is beyond his reach.

Kristin Hansen returns home after a messy break-up. While her parents think she' s returned to recuperate after surgery on a broken arm, she' s actually escaping from an abusive relationship.

When the pastor of a local church recruits Kristin and Cameron to supervise the building of the church' s float for the upcoming Christmas parade, their hidden secrets are exposed. Cam sees in Kristin what he truly desires... but knows he can never have.

As Christmas nears, can Kristin help him find the thing that' s eluded him all these years? The one thing his heart truly desires? Hope.

• Language: English
• Publisher: White Rose Publishing
• Release date: Nov 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781522304425

Carol James

Carol James is a small town girl from Saskatchewan, Canada. She enjoys time with her family, her Labrador retriever and her Arabian horses.

Book preview

The Hope of Christmas

Carol James

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.

The Hope of Christmas

COPYRIGHT 2023 by Carol James

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. eBook editions are licensed for your personal enjoyment only. eBooks may not be re-sold, copied or given to other people. If you would like to share an eBook edition, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. 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, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations, marked KJV are taken from the King James translation, public domain. Scripture quotations marked DR, are taken from the Douay Rheims translation, public domain.

Scripture texts marked NAB are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition Copyright 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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, 2023

Electronic Edition ISBN 978-1-5223-0442-5

Published in the United States of America

Dedication

In honor of my parents, Ralph and Lillian Wilson who loved well and unselfishly. I miss you every day.

What People are Saying

Carol James tells beautiful stores that will capture your heart. She has quickly become a go-to author for me, reliable and consistent with a clear message of hope. Stacey Weeks, award-winning author of In Too Deep.

Praise for No Longer a Captive: One of the best romances I’ve read. The author’s three-dimensional characters allow the reader to experience the joy, sorrow, pain, and love that Ethne and Daniel feel. I rode the roller coaster of emotions in every page of this book, through Ethne’s troubled past and with each cautious step as she learned to trust. A five-star novel." Kathleen Neely, author of The Street Singer

Comments from readers:

Praise for The Waiting: I was captured from the beginning. I couldn’t put it down... I love the characters, the mixture of serious and humorous moments. Carol James did a great job of showing that God loves us where we are. I would recommend this book to everyone. Cynthia M.

1

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19

Kristin Hansen rolled onto her side and pulled the comforter up to her nose. I hate the cold, she muttered. Lucy yipped in agreement and burrowed closer. The Channel Eleven weatherman had predicted tonight’s low would be thirty-eight. Thirty-eight…in early November…in Texas. Almost unheard of. Before she climbed into bed last night, she’d turned on the heat and set the thermostat on sixty, just in case. But in the dark of predawn morning, the temperature felt much lower. She sighed. Time to turn up the heat.

Rolling over, she grabbed her robe from the foot of the bed and pulled it on as she slid her feet into her fuzzy slippers. Then she padded down the hall to the thermostat. She tapped the up-temperature button. Nothing. When she flipped on the hall light, a soft glow warmed the area around her, so the electricity was working. She pressed the temperature buttons on the thermostat. Still nothing, and the display read fifty-one.

She’d gotten the last few moving boxes emptied and thrown away a week ago, and now just as she was beginning to feel settled and at home, this happened. She’d wait until the morning to contact maintenance. Today was Friday…no, now Saturday morning…and she refused to bother anyone in the middle of the night. But, as with most events in her life, her timing was impeccable. Impeccably wrong. Including that one night in Fort Worth. She should have moved back home when she first suspected something. But she hadn’t. And she’d paid the price for her procrastination.

She padded back down the hall to her bedroom. Monday at work, Dad would remind her she should have listened to him and spent the extra few dollars per month to rent a unit with a fireplace.

Tomorrow she’d buy a space heater. Right after she called maintenance.

She turned off the light and made her way back to the bed. Lucy greeted her with the I-need-to-go-outside dance. No, Luce. Please, not now. Kristin kicked off her slippers, eased under the blankets, and did her best to pretend to be asleep.

Lucy sprung up beside her and whined.

How could such a little dog be such a big problem? Kristin held up the covers, inviting her underneath. Come on, sweetie. Give me a few more hours. Please.

A moan followed by a sharp bark emphasized Lucy’s desperation. She and Lucy obviously had different priorities and schedules.

Kristin rolled out of bed…again. And stepped into her slippers…again.

Lucy twirled and danced down the hall, underscoring both her joy that progress was being made and her agony at its slowness. As they entered the kitchen, Lucy added high-pitched whines to her repertoire.

OK, OK, girl. I’m moving as fast as I can. Grabbing the leash from the hook beside the pantry, Kristin clamped it onto Lucy’s collar and opened the back door. Lucy raced down the steps heading out into the backyard while Kristin stumbled behind her, fighting to maintain her footing.

Lucy wasted no time sniffing but ran straight behind her favorite bush. And they were ready to head inside in a matter of minutes. Which was a good thing, because Kristin could no longer feel her toes. As frigid as her apartment was, the Texas wind made the outside feel twice as cold.

As they bounded up the stairs to the back door, a gust of wind sucked the door shut. Kristin grabbed the doorknob, and her heart sank. She’d been in such a hurry that she’d forgotten to unlock the door. Or grab a key. Or her phone. And she hadn’t gotten around to hiding a key outside like Mom kept suggesting. Plus, she refused to give one to neighbors she barely knew.

Lucy ran up and down the stairs, wagging her tail and squeaking as if this was some fun game or adventure.

Girl, you know I love you, but I don’t like you very much right now.

More tail-wagging and springing about illustrated Lucy’s indifference to Kristin’s statement.

She had only one choice. She would have preferred to wait until tomorrow morning, but by then, she might have morphed into a giant icicle encircled by a dancing dog.

They headed