Snow Angels Page 36
In the kitchen, Sheila checks the roast—a gift from that man at the Shuka, Mr. Boghosian. His delivery boy dropped it off with a card early this afternoon—something Sheila has to ask Joe about when they have a minute to talk. Sure beats the ham-potato soup she was planning to serve. Now there’ll be roast beef and mashed potatoes. Jen is making a broccoli casserole, and Joe’s brother Greg from Syracuse will undoubtedly bring some nice wine.
Ladling beef broth onto the roast, Sheila smiles over how much this Christmas has come together. When she spoke to her sister earlier, they made a deal for the new year that’s going to work well for everyone. Jen is going to pay Sheila to watch little Ian during the work week, and now PJ will have a playmate around while Katie is at school. It will be a joy to watch the two cousins being raised as brothers for a while, a notion that chokes Sheila up when she thinks about how close they’ll become. And the money Sheila will make in the process…well it’s all a godsend. It’ll give Joe and her some breathing room. No more money arguments. No more bursting into tears in the middle of a department store.
This family, this house, this Christmas…they are truly blessed.
“I just realized it’s our first Christmas in this house,” Sheila calls. “I hope your brother can find it. Did you give him directions, Joe?”
“He’s a cop. He’ll find it.”
Sheila pops in a Christmas CD and heads back to the living room, where Katie is modeling her mystery gift—the beautiful handmade hat with braids.
“Gorgeous and warm, just what I wanted for you.” Sheila kisses the top of her daughter’s head. “And that points the finger back at Jen as the gift-giver.”
Then Joe opens his package, and a half dozen pair of black socks spill out.
“That’s not something Jen would buy.” Sheila ducks back into the kitchen for a trash bag. “Sorry, honey, but it looks like you got the booby prize. Black socks?” She covers a giggle. “Okay, then.”
“But I think it’s a great gift.” Joe holds up a packet of dark wool as if he were inspecting gold bullion. “Reinforced toes and heels, these are perfect. I’ve worn through my socks for work. Got holes in the heels. My pasty white toes stick out. It’s kind of embarrassing in the locker room, but I didn’t want to say anything. I mean, it’s no big deal. Better to have a roof over our heads than to buy new socks, right? But these…these socks are a very thoughtful gift.”
Sheila whips gift wrap into a bag, steps around Katie, who is setting her teacups up on the dining room table, and then nearly trips over PJ as he crawls by with his car.
Inside the living room she removes her smart red jacket and sinks onto the couch beside her husband. “So I suspect Mack did it,” she says.
He slips an arm around her. “How about your sister?”
“She says no. She’s bringing our presents over when they come for dinner.”
“Then who gave us these gifts?” Joe asks.
“I don’t know, but tell me what happened to you today. Did you pull out the paperwork from yesterday to show Mack?”
“Actually, we didn’t get that far.” He shifts, leaning against the arm of the couch so that she can see his face. “About halfway through the morning, I realized that I was wasting my time trying to convince everyone that a kid was dead. Instead, I decided to be proactive. I went to the apartment where we’d found his body, caught him before he went in. Mack and I took him to the hospital for treatment.” He seems to be rethinking it as he tells the story. “At the end of the day, the kid was alive, reunited with his father. I still can’t believe it. Well, I guess I can. He’s alive, Sheila.”
“Because of you.”
“I’d like to think so, but really, I’m just glad that he’s still here.”
She hikes her knees onto the couch, grabs his shoulders, and gives him a shake. “Don’t you see? That was it! It’s the miracle I asked for.”
“Easy.” He laughs, steadying her with his hands. “You know, I love the way you leap to conclusions with the smallest crumb of evidence.”
“Are you kidding me?” She whacks him on the shoulder. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, what’s it going to take to make a believer out of you, Joe Cody? You wanted to make a difference, and you did! You saved a person’s life, and I don’t think we can begin to know how many people that affected. And maybe, just maybe, this kid will go on to make a difference in other people’s lives. Maybe you can’t conceive of all the good that will come of the action you took today.”
“I hope you’re right. I already talked to Jen about setting up an interview for Armand at Juilliard after he’s out of rehab. She thinks she can make it happen for him.”
“Nothing short of a miracle.” Sheila shivers in awe. She fixes her gaze on her husband, her kind, courageous Joe. “You were part of a miracle, honey. I’m so proud of you.”
He leans close and kisses her, lightly at first, then with more pressure, his lips prodding hers. Stung by desire, she closes her eyes and sinks into a happy sigh. Her Joe is back…her own hero.
When they come up for air, he cups her face gently. “You know, it’s a good thing I have a wife I can talk to. I hated dumping on you last night, ruining your Christmas Eve with a story about a nineteen-year-old dying. But if I hadn’t told you about it, I’d really think I was losing it.”
She squints at him. “Mack really doesn’t remember?”
“No. And neither did the EMS workers who pronounced Armand dead.” He shakes his head. “You know, when I saw that kid walking down the street today, it was just this huge moment. Huge. He was all strung out, but he was alive. That’s not something you appreciate every day.” He sinks back on the couch. “It’s an amazing day.”
“It’s an amazing life.” She snuggles in beside him. “And you know what? What if you aren’t the only one around here who is privy to miracles?” She smoothes down the red jacket beside her. “I think we had a few miracles of our own here. A police car that repairs and wraps itself. A jacket and hat we can’t afford. And those sexy black socks.”
“I still think we have Jen to thank for all that.”
“That’s not fair! I believed in your miracle. Can’t you give mine a little respect?”
“Okay, Shee. Nice miracles you got there.”
She smacks his knee, but doesn’t object when he presses a kiss into the sensitive spot under her ear. She closes her eyes, wondering about the gifts. Maybe it was Jen.
Or maybe some things defy explanation.
Small miracles.
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2009 by Kensington Publishing Corp.
“Snow Angels” copyright © 2009 by Fern Michaels
“The Presents of Angels” copyright © 2009 by Marie Bostwick Skinner
“Decorations” copyright © 2009 by Janna McMahan
“Miracle on Main Street” copyright © 2009 by Rosalind Noonan
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Zebra and the Z logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 1-4201-1332-1
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Friday, December 19, 2008Eagle, ColoradoInterstate 70 Grace Landry glanced in her rearvie
Chapter 1
Chapter 2 Max Jorgenson jerked awake from a sound sleep when Cliff and Ice-D, his two Siberian Husk
Chapter 2
Chapter 3 With the girls trailing behind her, Grace returned to the kitchen, surprised to find thei
Chapter 3
Chapter 4 Max stormed out of the room before the kid could pose any more nosy questions. He hadn’t
Chapter 4
Chapter 5 “Amanda? Ashley?” Grace called out into the darkened room. Remembering their fear of the
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Blinding sunlight filled the bedroom, casting a burnished glow across the pine furniture.
Chapter 6
Chapter 7 Max blasted down the mountain like a stick of dynamite. Slivers of ice zoomed past his he
Chapter 7
Chapter 8 Three hours later, Max drove back to the cabin with good news for Grace and her charges.
Chapter 8
Chapter 9 Sunday, December 21, 2008The First Day of Winter Grace tied the bright red ribbon around
Chapter 9
Chapter 10 The road leading off the mountain was completely cleared of the afternoon snowfall. The
Chapter 10
Chapter 11 Christmas Eve, 2008Ten Minutes before Midnight Grace had just turned off her bedroom lig
Chapter 11
Epilogue Christmas Day, 2009 Grace paced back and forth inside her suite. She looked at her Rolex,
Chapter 1 In the fourth month of her pregnancy and thrilled by the peapod swelling in her abdomen,
Chapter 1
Chapter 2 The week before Thanksgiving, Kendra looked very different than she had twelve weeks prev
Chapter 2
Chapter 3 Andy Loomis leaned back in his desk chair and rubbed his eyes, trying to ward off a heada
Chapter 3
Chapter 4 After Nora left, Kendra was alone in the dance studio. Advanced beginners’ tap was the la
Chapter 4
Chapter 5 Andy pulled his car into the driveway next to Kendra’s, turned off the ignition, and sat
Chapter 5
Chapter 6 Darla took a sip from her coffee cup and looked at Kendra doubtfully. “Are you comfortabl
Chapter 6
Chapter 7 Kendra decided that going to the grocery store on the day before Thanksgiving was definit
Chapter 7
Chapter 8 Denny reached across the table, picked up a pitcher and poured a stream of syrup over his
Chapter 8
Chapter 9 “A year?” Thea asked, her eyes wide with admiration. “They actually paid you to just hang
Chapter 9
Chapter 10 One of the nurses, an older woman with red hair and rimless glasses, greeted Andy by his
Chapter 10
Chapter 11 Kendra clutched the rails of the hospital bed and leaned closer. “Are you comfortable?”
Chapter 11
Chapter 12 “When oh when am I ever going to learn?” Kendra asked herself as she stomped on the park
Chapter 12
Chapter 13 Thea was in her bedroom with the door closed. When Kendra walked down the hall she could
Chapter 13
Chapter 14 “All right!” Kendra clapped her hands, applauding after the Raggedy Ann dancers made the
Chapter 14
Chapter 15 It was still dark outside, barely past five when the telephone rang, but Andy was alread
Chapter 15
Chapter 16 It was past ten when Kendra, who was just putting a batch of apple cinnamon muffins in t
Chapter 16
Chapter 17 After they talked to Thea, calmed her down, and then told her about Sharon, and then cal
Chapter 17
Chapter 18 Kendra frowned as she stared at her clipboard, checking items off the list. “And you cha
Chapter 18
Chapter 19 The sound of applause still ringing in her ears, Kendra let out a deep, satisfied sigh.
Chapter 19
Chapter 20 “Honey?” Not wanting to startle her if she was sleeping, Andy tapped softly on the door
Chapter 20
Dear Reading Friend, I hope you enjoyed your trip to Maple Grove. Those of you who read my first Map
Chapter 1 When you’re an ordinary person, you don’t expect extraordinary things to happen to you. O
Chapter 1
Chapter 2 It was a short aisle, just a stroll between two rows of folding chairs in my parents’ bac
Chapter 2
Chapter 3 A few weeks after my father’s death I was at my mother’s house helping her plant annuals
Chapter 3
Chapter 4 I took a week off from work to be with my mother and to figure out exactly what would be
Chapter 4
Chapter 5 When Randy didn’t come home on Monday I went through his things. Most of his boating and
Chapter 5
Chapter 6 I pulled up my sloping drive and parked. I helped my mother from the car and we entered t
Chapter 6
Chapter 7 A month went by and I heard nothing from Randy. Two weeks after my meltdown in the garage
Chapter 7
Chapter 8 Renee was right. I did have a hard time shaking thoughts of Baxter Brown. Who was he real
Chapter 8
Chapter 9 As the holiday season moved into full swing things got crazy. The jangling phone and flow
Chapter 9
Chapter 10 The Biltmore installation took the entire week and I never worked so hard. There was hef
Chapter 10
Chapter 11 As the Christmas season picked up I saw my new love interest at least once a week. It se
Chapter 11
Chapter 12 Randy showed up again in the spring. I’d hired an attorney and put the divorce into proc
Chapter 12
Chapter 13 I wondered all week if I should tell Bax about my dinner date with Randy on Friday, but
Chapter 13
Chapter 14 Randy left right after our unexpected encounter. “Think about this,” he’d said. I was su
Chapter 14
Chapter 15 You can’t reason with a drunk. And certainly not a drunk Randy. He rang the doorbell and
Chapter 15
Chapter 16 The front doors to Laurel Gardens whispered wide at my arrival. The lobby was filled wit
Chapter 16
Chapter 17 The new divorce papers that gave Randy the house were ready that next Wednesday and I’d
Chapter 17
Chapter 18 I gave myself three months to find another place. Randy didn’t push me. He didn’t even b
Chapter 18
Chapter 19 As the limousine threaded its way through the countryside, my heart ached with the sweet
Chapter 19
For Mike, one of the good guys. Truly the Finest.
Chapter 1 “Snow.” The white stuff starts coming down as Officer Joe Cody turns onto Main Street. It
Chapter 1
Chapter 2 Working her way through a display of miniature sweaters that would be oh-so-cute but oh-s
Chapter 2
Chapter 3 Despite the reported robbery, it’s business as usual inside the Shuka, the small grocery
Chapter 3
Chapter 4 “Did you know the world is a snowball?” Armand Boghosian follows her up the stairs to her
Chapter 4
Chapter 5 A few blocks away Joe and Mack are ticketing illegal parkers on Main Street, the four-lan
Chapter 5
Chapter 6 With the stroller in one arm and Patrick Joseph in the other, Sheila clambers down the st
Chapter 6
Chapter 7 “Three o’clock, man. We got one more hour on patrol and then we are done with this rodeo
Chapter 7
Chapter 8 In the Chinese language there are many words for misfortune, and since the day her parent
Chapter 8
Chapter 9 Joe steps out of the patrol car and pushes through the thick, wintry air toward the Shuka
Chapter 9
Chapter 10 “Pumpkin, you’ve been flicking those lights on for an hour now.” Sheila leans into the o
Chapter 10
Chapter 11 Dread is a bitter taste in his mouth as Joe leads Mr. Boghosian into the apartment build
Chapter 11
Chapter 12 By the time Sheila wheels the stroller up to the steps of the church, she is ready to sp
Chapter 12
Chapter 13 That night as Joe reaches into PJ’s crib to say good night, he flashes back to Garo Bogh
Chapter 13
Chapter 14 “Oh, my God.�
�� The words are half prayer, half a sigh as Sheila watches the front door cl
Chapter 14
Chapter 15 Main Street, Flushing, is uncharacteristically quiet and sparsely populated this morning
Chapter 15
Chapter 16 “Katherine Bernadette Cody, put those presents down and help your mother decorate these
Chapter 16
Chapter 17 The Aided Call is a welcome distraction from the surreal morning. Auburndale House, an a
Chapter 17
Chapter 18 “Look, man, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but it’s okay. You know?” Mack steps
Chapter 18
Chapter 19 “You still here?” A nurse smiles at Joe when she steps into the hospital room to check t
Chapter 19
Chapter 20 “Yes, yes, Auntie,” Wendy Min says in the fluent Mandarin her parents have always insist
Chapter 20
Chapter 21 The minute he walks through the door, Sheila knows he’s back. She sees it in the way he
Chapter 21