LITMIR.BIZ

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Jo nodded. “Noelle Grace.”

      “Noelle for the season and Grace after Grace Harding?”

      Mary Jo smiled, nodding again.

      “I like it,” Mack said. “The name’s just right. Elegant and appropriate.”

      His approval pleased her. She didn’t want to think too closely about how much his opinion meant to her—or why. She understood that they’d shared something very special, something intimate, while she was in labor. But that didn’t mean the bond they’d experienced would last, no matter how much she wanted it to. Mack had come into her life for a brief period of time. Soon she’d go back to Seattle with her family, and he’d go on living here, in Cedar Cove. It was unlikely that she’d see him again; there was no real reason to. The thought was a painful one.

      “Noelle Grace was a joy to behold,” Mack said with a grin.

      “Was she asleep?”

      “Nope, she was screaming her head off.”

      Mary Jo instantly felt guilty. “Oh, the staff should’ve woken me. It’s probably her feeding time.”

      Mack pulled up a chair and sat down beside the bed.

      “Nope, she just needed her diaper changed and to be held a little.”

      “Did someone hold her?” The nursery was crowded with newborns and there were only a couple of nurses on duty.

      “I did,” Mack admitted, somewhat embarrassed.

      “You?”

      “I hope you don’t mind.”

      “Of course I don’t! I—I’m just surprised they’d let you.”

      “Yes, well.” Mack looked away and cleared his throat. “I might’ve led the nurse to believe that Noelle and I are. related.”

      Mary Jo burst out laughing. “Mack, you didn’t!”

      “I did. And I have to say that the minute I settled her in my arms, Noelle calmed down, stopped crying and looked straight up at me.”

      “You brought her into the world, after all.” She probably didn’t need to remind Mack of that; nevertheless, she wanted him to know she hadn’t forgotten what he’d done for her.

      The night before, she’d told her brothers that she would never have managed if not for Mack, and that was true. He’d been her salvation. She wanted to tell him all this, but the right words escaped her. Besides, she wasn’t sure she could say what was in her heart without getting teary-eyed and emotional.

      “I’m so glad you stopped by. I was going to write you and Brandon and thank you for everything.”

      “It’s our job.” Those had been Brandon’s words, too, and in his case, she assumed they were true. But Mack. Dismissing her appreciation like that—it hurt. Not wanting him to see how his offhand comment had upset her, she stared down at the sheet, twisting it nervously.

      Mack stood and reached for her hand, entwining their fingers.

      “Let me explain,” he said. “It is part of what we agreed to do when we took the job with the fire department.” He paused for a moment. “But the call from you wasn’t an ordinary one.”

      “How so?” she asked and looked up, meeting his eyes.

      “I’ve never delivered a baby before.”

      “I know. Me, neither,” she said and they smiled at each other.

      “It was one of the highlights of my life, being there with you and Noelle.”

      “Mine, too—I mean, you being there.”

      “Thank you.” His words were low and charged with intent. He leaned forward and braced his forehead against hers. “If it’s okay with you …”

      “What?” she asked breathlessly.

      “I’d like to see Noelle sometime.”

      “See her?”

      “See both of you.”

      “Both of us,” she repeated, afraid she was beginning to sound like an echo.

      “As long as it’s okay with you,” he said again.

      She nodded, trying not to act too excited. “If you want.”

      “I want to very much.”

      “I’ll be back in Seattle,” she said.

      “I don’t mind the drive.”

      “Or you could take the ferry.”

      “Yes.” Mack seemed just as eager to visit as she was to have him come by. “When?”

      She wanted him there as soon as possible. “The doctor said he’d release Noelle and me this afternoon. My brothers are picking us up at three.”

      “Is tomorrow too soon?” he asked.

      Mary Jo was convinced the happiness that flowed through her must have shone from her eyes. She didn’t think she could hide it if she tried. “That would be good,” she said shyly.

      “Merry Christmas, Mary Jo.”

      “Merry Christmas, Mack.”

      Just then the nurse came in carrying Noelle. “It’s lunchtime,” she said cheerfully.

      Mary Jo held out her arms for her baby, born on Christmas Eve in Cedar Cove, the town that had taken her in. A town whose people had sheltered her and accepted her. The town that, one day, she’d love to call home.

      Home for her and Noelle.

       Call Me Mrs Miracle

      DEBBIE MACOMBER

      To

      Dan and Sally Wigutow

      and

      Caroline Moore

      in appreciation for bringing

      Mrs Miracle

      to life

      Chapter One

       Need a new life? God takes trade-ins. —Mrs. Miracle

      Jake Finley waited impatiently to be ushered into his father’s executive office—the office that would one day be his. The thought of eventually stepping into J. R. Finley’s shoes excited him. Even though he’d slowly been working his way through the ranks, he’d be the first to admit he still had a lot to learn. However, he was willing to do whatever it took to prove himself.

      Finley’s was the last of the family-owned department stores in New York City. His great-grandfather had begun the small mercantile on East 34th Street more than seventy years earlier. In the decades since, succeeding Finleys had opened branches in the other boroughs and then in nearby towns. Eventually the chain had spread up and down the East Coast.

      “Your father will see you now,” Mrs. Coffey said. Dora Coffey had served as J.R.’s executive assistant for at least twenty-five years and knew as much about the company as Jake did—maybe more. He hoped that when the time came she’d stay on, although she had to be close to retirement age.

      “Thank you.” He walked into the large office with its panoramic view of the Manhattan skyline. He’d lived in the city all his life, but this view never failed to stir him, never failed to lift his heart. No place on earth was more enchanting than New York in December. He could see a light snow drifting down, and the city appeared even more magical through that delicate veil.

      Jacob R. Finley, however, wasn’t looking at the view. His gaze remained focused on the computer screen. And his frown told Jake everything he

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