Free A Callahan Carol by Geralyn Dawson, Emily March

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    A Summary of Prior Events
     
    Once upon a time following years of infertility, the beloved wife of Texas oilman-and-rancher, Branch Callahan, gave birth to a son. A religious woman, Margaret Mary named her child for the apostle Matthew, and life in Brazos Bend was good. The following year, the Callahan marriage again was blessed, this time with identical twin boys, Mark and Luke. Four years later, Branch and Margaret Mary welcomed yet another son. He was given the name John and he was treasured by all.
    The Callahan family lived, loved, and thrived in their small, Texas Hill Country town. As children, the mischievous boys earned the nickname Holy Terrors, but they were good boys at heart and the townspeople tolerated their highjinks.
    Sadly, when the boys were in their teens, tragedy stuck the family. Margaret Mary fell ill and died.
    Branch sank into mourning so dark, deep and powerful that he neglected his sons completely. Because of Branch’s depression his boys essentially lost both parents. The boys dealt with their own intense grief by elevating mischief-making to recklessness which culminated one night in an act of drunken carelessness that burned a local factory–the town’s largest employer–to the ground.
    In the aftermath, an angry and bitter Branch Callahan banished his boys from Brazos Bend.
    Years passed. The boys grew to men. Fine men. Matt’s calling took him to clandestine service with the CIA. Mark found his place as a Military Intelligence investigator, and Luke worked undercover for the DEA. John’s talent for languages took him to the State Department. As adults, the Callahan brothers reconnected and eventually reconciled with their father–until tragedy again struck the family.
    John was attacked, kidnapped, and held for ransom by Eastern European criminals. Branch’s misguided efforts to secure his release failed, and the Callahans learned that their beloved son and brother was dead. The Callahan family broke.
    Years passed. The surviving sons remained estranged from their father until, one by one, exceptional women entered–or in Mark’s case, re-entered–the lives of the Callahan men. First, Luke met Maddie Kincaid, aka Baby Dagger, the infamous rocker love child who helped mend the fence between father and son. Then Matt tangled with Torie Bradshaw; loving her precipitated his reconciliation with Branch. Finally, the healing of Mark’s damaged relationship with his ex, Annabelle Monroe, allowed forgiveness to enter his heart. On the occasion of their wedding, they and the rest of the Callahan family received a priceless gift from an old enemy: news that John was still alive.
    The Callahans were ecstatic. Each of them reached out to contacts all over the world trying to locate him. Months passed, then years. Despite vigorous and intensive search, the Callahans never uncovered so much as a sliver of evidence to support their enemy’s claim.
    Was it just a vicious lie? Another wound inflicted by the cruelest of enemies? Privately, Mark began to wonder. Lying awake in bed in the middle of the night, Luke despaired. Each time he held his young son, Johnny, Matt fought back fears that the boy’s namesake no longer lived.
    Branch Callahan, the aging, but still stubborn patriarch of the Callahan family, remained convinced that one day, John Gabriel Callahan would walk through the front door of Callahan House.
    At least, he did until John’s most recent birthday. Faced with yet another milestone that tore his heart in two, the months and years of futile searching finally defeated him. Branch lost his faith, his hope, and his love.
    Branch Callahan became the Scrooge of Brazos Bend.

Part One
    Brazos Bend, Texas
    “I can’t believe Grandpa Branch wants to cancel Christmas,” seven-year-old Johnny Callahan declared as he hopped down from the cab of his father’s pickup on a clear, crisp December morning. He kicked a brittle leaf from a cottonwood tree that lay in the driveway of his