A Christmas Worth Billions (Countdown to Christmas Book 4) (16 page)
Read A Christmas Worth Billions (Countdown to Christmas Book 4) Online
Authors: Jaclyn Weist
Lily didn’t stop running until she was nearly home and needed to stop to catch her breath. She couldn’t believe she’d left her kids for that long. She burst through the door and found Mary and Patrick still by the fire, playing with the toys they’d unwrapped.
“There you are. Get your coats and come with me.” Lily bent over, still gasping for air.
“Where are we going?” Mary asked. She grabbed her coat off the couch and put it on.
Lily shook her head and held up a finger. “One sec.”
A knock came at the door, and Lily answered it. David stood there, holding a few gifts in his hands. She let him in, and couldn’t stop grinning.
“I tried to catch you so you wouldn’t have to run all the way home, but you were too fast. I had these in my car, but I didn’t know if you’d let me deliver them. When you came to the church, I thought maybe …” He looked between the kids and then at the fire. “Why is it so cold in here?”
Lily blushed. “No firewood. We were hoping to head to the church to get some warmth, but then I got sidetracked.”
“Well, then, you can all just head over to my house instead. How does that sound?” He looked up at Lily. “If that’s okay with you?”
“Of course.” Lily grabbed her canister of hot chocolate and followed David outside. “What happened to your other truck?”
David opened the door for her. “It was too conspicuous.”
Lily shook her head and climbed in, thankful for the turn of events. She smiled at the church as they drove past, thinking of the realization she’d had that morning.
Patrick and Mary ran inside David’s house, ahead of Lily and David. They stood in front of the Christmas tree and stared in awe at the gifts beneath it.
David started a fire in the fireplace while Lily got hot chocolate and toast ready for breakfast. Once they had eaten, the kids took turns opening gifts.
“Oh, man, just what I always wanted.” Patrick held up a football. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. We’ll have to go out and practice once we’re done with gifts.” David handed Mary hers.
Mary opened the present to find a doll and a few sets of clothes for it. She touched the hair in awe. “It looks just like me.”
“That’s what I thought, too.” David handed Lily a gift. “I might have gone a little overboard on yours.”
Lily opened the box to find a thick coat with a fur lining. There were gloves and a scarf to go with it. “Thank you.”
“Wait, there’s one more.” He handed her another box, his eyes dancing.
Lily opened it and pulled out a delicate sculpture. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked up at David. “It’s beautiful.”
“It’s called
A Mother’s Love,
and when I saw it, I knew it needed to be yours. I’ve never seen someone protect their children so fiercely.”
“Thank you.” Lily leaned forward and kissed David, making her kids squeal in delight. She pulled away and gathered up all the wrapping.
“What about you?” Patrick asked. “Where’s your present?”
David laughed. “I already opened presents from my family. I got socks and a sweater. Perfect for the winter. And I got you guys. There’s not much more I could want. Although . . ." He paused. “There might be one more thing.”
Lily watched as David got up and left the room. She finished cleaning up the wrapping paper just as he walked back in with an envelope.
“I debated showing you this, but here’s a Christmas gift to all of us. Who wants to open it?” David held it up in the air. He laughed when both Mary and Patrick raised their hands and bounced up and down. “Hmmm, no one else does, so I guess I will.”
David slowly opened up the envelope and pulled out a sheet of paper. He pretended to read it before handing it off to Lily. She scanned the letter, her eyes growing bigger as she got to the bottom. The person who had put an offer on the diner was David—and his offer was over double what she’d asked.
“I can’t let you lose the diner, but this way, we can do it together. That is, if you’ll allow me to be a part of your life.” His eyes held a spark of hope as he studied her face.
Lily threw her arms around his neck, her heart nearly bursting with joy. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
If you enjoyed this Christmas romance, be sure to look for the others in the Countdown to Christmas series
. Find them
HERE
.
About the Author
Jaclyn is an Idaho farm girl who grew up loving to read. She developed a love for writing as a senior in high school, when her dad jokingly said she was the next Dr. Seuss (not even close, but very sweet). She met her husband, Steve, at BYU, and they have six happy, crazy children who encourage her to keep writing. After owning a bookstore and running away to have adventures in Australia, they settled back down in their home in Utah. Jaclyn now spends her days herding her kids to various activities and trying to remember what she was supposed to do next. She has published six books in a year, and her mind is still reeling from the awesomeness. Her books include
Endless: A Modern Cinderella Tale; The Princess and the Prom Queen; Magicians of the Deep;
and the Luck series—
Stolen Luck, Twist of Luck, Best of Luck
, and
Just My Luck
, a novella. You can learn more about her at
www.jaclynweist.com
.
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