Free A Forever Thing: A Contemporary Christian Romance NOVELLA by Debra Ullrick Page A

officer.
    “Hi, Chris. This is Angie’s mom. I’m sorry to bother you, but can I speak to Angie for a moment?”
    Kelly nodded. “Oh, okay. Thanks.” She moved the cellphone away from her mouth. “She’s getting her now.”
    He nodded.
    “Hey, baby. No. Nothing’s wrong. Angie. No. I’m fine. Listen, I’ll tell you in a minute. I need to ask you something first.” Kelly shook her head. “Did you take your laptop to Marissa’s this morning?”
    Tate stood there. He wished he could hear the other side of the conversation.
    “Oh, okay. Well, next time make sure you shut the door tight, okay? No. You’re not in trouble. We just wanted to make sure nothing happened to it.” She looked over at him and smiled. “Yes, your plan worked.”
    Even from a foot away he heard Angie holler, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
    He smiled and joy flooded him. Angie’s approval meant a lot to him.
    A nanosecond later, and an idea struck him. “Hey, before you hang up, do you mind if I talk to Angie for a minute?”
    She shook her head no. “Sorry, what did you say, baby?”
    Tate sent her a sheepish look of apology.
    “Okay, that’s nice. Listen, you can tell me all about it tomorrow morning, okay? Tate wants to talk to you now. Okay. Love you, too, baby. Have fun. Here’s Tate.” She handed the phone to him.
    He held the phone to his chest. “Why don’t you go on inside? I want to talk to Angie for a sec.”
    She frowned.
    “Please?” He batted his eyes at her like he’d seen Angie do when she wanted her way. Hey, it worked for Angie, maybe with a little hope and a prayer it would work for him too.
    She shrugged. “Okay. Whatever.”
    He laughed. Angie was rubbing off on both of them.
    She grabbed her duffle bag and disappeared into the house.
    Tate hiked his boot on the bumper of his truck and settled his arm on the top of his tailgate. “Hi, cupcake.”
    Angie told him how happy she was and how she had worked it all out. When she finished, he asked her the question he wanted to. Not only did she agree, but he had to yank the phone away from his ear because she squealed so loud he was sure his eardrum had burst. He said his goodbye and hung up. Starting tomorrow he had work to do.
     
    ♥ ♥ ♥
     
    Christmas Eve came bright and early. The whole day, Kelly and Angie prepared the house for that evening. Outside the snow fell in big fluffy flakes, and one could barely see the Christmas lights and lawn ornaments on her lawn or any of the neighbors because of it and the darkness that had descended on them.
    Angie helped set the table with a Christmas centerpiece made out of pine branches, pinecones, red and white roses, baby’s breath, a gold ribbon and a little decorative nativity stick. Amazing how only three weeks ago, she was a rebellious child, and now she was her old bubbly self again.
    For the twentieth time, Angie ran to the window, and Kelly laughed.
    “Angie, he’ll be here. He’s probably still at work. He warned us he might be late with all the snow. I’m sure he’s probably finishing up some paperwork or something and he’ll be here soon. Come in here and finish setting the table, please.” she hollered over her shoulder as she leaned down to take the ham out of the oven and basted it once again.
    A minute later and Angie got to work setting their Christmas china out and their best silverware and glasses. She gave it a lot more care and attention than she normally did. Not only had she given it more care, but she had also set the different sized candles Tate had brought over out on the hearth, the end table, and coffee table too. The living room flooded over with lit scented candles. Her house smelled like vanilla, citrus, pine, and berry. A weird combination, but Kelly didn’t mind.
    Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas played softly over the surround sound speakers throughout the house. Angie’s idea. Kelly was glad to see her daughter getting into the Christmas spirit again. It was all because of