03_The Unexpected Gift Read online

  “No problem. If you give me your number, I’ll fax you directions to the cottage.”

  After complying, Morgan ended the call and tried to turn her attention back to the latest campaign she was developing for a new brand of soft drink. But it wasn’t easy.

  Although, she’d more or less resigned herself to the fact that she’d have to be civil to Grant for the next few months, however much his obvious disapproval rankled her, she’d consoled herself with the knowledge that she really wouldn’t have to communicate much with him. However, if he was chairman of the board of Good Shepherd, there was very little chance she could avoid talking with him on a regular basis. Which was not a good thing, since they were about as compatible as the proverbial oil and water.

  Plus, the clock had started ticking on Aunt Jo’s six-month window, and Morgan figured she’d be spending two, maybe three days at the cottage in December. Tops. It didn’t take a math genius to figure out that at this rate, there was no way she was going to meet the four-week residency requirement.

  She had to come up with a better plan.

  So much for a good night’s sleep. As the crash of the surf and the howling wind outside Aunt Jo’s cottage jarred her awake for the umpteenth time, Morgan peered bleary-eyed at the illuminated face of her travel alarm. Twelve-thirty.

  Merry Christmas, she thought grumpily.

  She scrunched her pillow under her head, pulled the blankets up to her ears, and tried by sheer force of will to ignore the unfamiliar sounds of the elements raging outside her window. But it was no use. It was too noisy and she was too tense.

  Morgan had ended up working until midafternoon on Christmas Eve, and by the time she’d arrived in Maine and wandered for what seemed like hours on the back roads in search of Aunt Jo’s isolated cottage, she’d been forced to contend not only with the dark, but with sleet, snow and ferocious wind.

  When she’d at last pulled to a stop in front of the weathered clapboard structure, she’d had to sit in her car for a full minute until her nerves stopped vibrating. She’d ruined her twenty-dollar manicure as she’d tried without success to pry open her frozen trunk. She’d slipped and slid toward the door in her high-fashion, expensive boots, which had not been designed for the backwoods of Maine. And she’d lost her Saks scarf in a tug-of-war with the gale-force winds.

  It had not been an auspicious arrival.

  Taking a deep breath, Morgan tried to force herself to relax, but sleep remained elusive. Finally, when the first light of dawn began to creep in under the window shades, she gave up. If she was the praying type, she’d send a desperate plea heavenward for a fortifying cup of coffee. As it was she just crossed her fingers and headed for the kitchen.

  But a quick search of the pantry turned up only Spartan supplies—two cans of soup, some stale crackers, salt and pepper, a can of tuna and a couple of stray tea bags. She wasn’t much of a tea drinker, but at this point she’d settle for anything with caffeine.

  As she filled a mug with water and put it in the microwave, she glanced around. The cottage might have appeared rustic on the outside, but Aunt Jo had created an impressive kitchen. Though compact, it was very functional, with state-of-the-art stainless-steel appliances. And the adjacent eating area, tucked into a bay window that afforded a clear view of the churning waves in the gun-metal-gray water of early dawn, was inviting.

  After making her tea, Morgan wandered into the living room. Despite their philosophical differences, she had to admit that Aunt Jo had good taste. The bright walls were hung with what looked like original paintings and watercolors, and plaid and chintz fabrics in cheerful colors covered the upholstered furniture. A small deck opened off the living room, again affording a panoramic vista of the ocean just seventy or eighty feet away.

  As she stood at the window sipping her tea, dawn began to stain the sky an ethereal pink. She watched, transfixed, as the color deepened and spread, dispersing as the sun crept over the horizon. It seemed the storm had passed, for the sky was clear now and the wind had all but disappeared. As the sun rose higher, its rays reached out to touch the ice-encased trees and the snow-laden boughs of the fir trees, turning the scene into a magical, sparkling wonderland and filling the world with dazzling, brilliant light.

  Which was a good thing. Because all at once the lights in the cottage flickered and went out.

  With a look of dismay—and a sudden feeling of fore-boding—Morgan walked over to the phone and picked it up. Dead. Why wasn’t she surprised? So far, nothing about this trip had gone as planned. And with the electricity out, she could pretty much write off the possibility of getting much work done once her laptop battery gave out, she thought in disgust.

  Setting her tea aside, she fumbled in her purse for her cell phone. She didn’t have much hope that it would function in this remote area, but it was worth a try. She’d promised to call Clare and A.J., who were spending Christmas together in North Carolina.

  Much to her surprise, she got a signal, and a moment later Clare answered.

  “Morgan! Did you get to Aunt Jo’s cottage okay? We heard on the news that there was a pretty bad storm in Maine, and we’ve been worried.”

  “I’m here, safe and sound,” Morgan assured her.

  “So how’s the cottage?”

  “Remote. Isolated. And without electricity or phone right now. I’m on my cell.”

  “Do you have heat?”

  “I spotted a kerosene heater, so I should be okay. This must happen on a regular basis.”

  “So what are you going to do today?”

  Morgan dropped into a chintz-covered chair. “Well, I’d planned to work, but without electricity my laptop won’t last long.”

  “Maybe you could think about going to church. After all, it is Christmas. Remember how we all used to go together early in the morning, then come home and open presents? And Mom always made a wonderful dinner. I can still taste her roast lamb and oven-browned potatoes.”

  Morgan glanced at the cans of soup and tuna she’d taken out of the pantry, along with the stale crackers. It was a far cry from the holiday meals of her childhood, when she’d been surrounded by family in a house filled with love.

  “Yeah, I remember,” she replied, her lips curving into a wistful smile. “Those were good years.”

  “I wish you were here, Morgan. We miss you. And I hate for you to spend Christmas alone.”

  “I miss you guys, too. But I’m used to being alone, so don’t worry about me. Can you put A.J. on?”

  “Sure.”

  After a few seconds of silence, her younger sister spoke. “So what’s this about working on Christmas?”

  “Don’t start with me, A.J.,” Morgan warned.

  “Hey, I only have your best interests at heart. Nobody should work on Christmas. It’s a day for God and family. So just chill out and relax for once. Maybe even go to church, like Clare suggested. It couldn’t hurt, you know.”

  “I haven’t decided yet what I’m going to do.”

  “What are you having for dinner?”

  Again, Morgan glanced at her meager supplies. She’d planned to stop and pick up a few things during the drive yesterday, but she’d gotten a late start, and when the weather turned bad she’d just kept going. She’d tossed a couple of frozen microwave dinners in the car with her luggage, but even if she could get the trunk open, the dinners weren’t going to be of much use without electricity.

  “I’m not sure yet.”

  “We’re having roast chicken with garlic mashed potatoes, and Clare made a wonderful chocolate mousse for dessert.”

  Morgan’s mouth started to water. “Think of me while you’re eating.”

  “You know we will. Listen, Morgan, Clare was right. We miss you.”

  “I miss you, too. How’s it going at the bookshop?”

  “Okay, I guess.” A.J. said with a chuckle. “But I think I’m driving my partner, Mr. Conventional, nuts. He’s the Oxford-shirt-wearing, let’s-plan-everything-out-down-to-the-las
t-detail type.”

  Morgan laughed. “And how’s Clare doing with her assignment from Aunt Jo?”

  “She seems to be ensconced in the Wright household. But I’d say she has her work cut out for her with the good doctor and his problem child.”

  “Well, tell her I wish her luck. And stay in touch, okay?”

  “You, too. Merry Christmas.”

  As the line went dead, Morgan felt oddly bereft. She’d told Clare that she was used to being alone, and that was true enough. She liked her independence, and she’d created the precise life she wanted. But as she recalled the happy Christmases of her youth, she wished now that she could have found a way to join her sisters for the holiday. All at once the notion of spending the entire day alone, with only her work for company, held no appeal. Maybe she’d drive into Seaside and try to scrounge up some food. And if she saw a church, maybe—just maybe—she’d stop. After all, as both A.J. and Clare had reminded her, it was Christmas.

  The trunk of her car was more cooperative this morning, and after a quick shower and change of clothes, Morgan tackled the drive into Seaside. The snow-covered roads were far easier to negotiate in the daylight, and within fifteen minutes she was in the tiny town. Maybe she’d find a nice restaurant or café and have a decent Christmas dinner after all, she thought, her sprits rising as she turned onto the main street.

  But there was one little problem.

  The streets were deserted and everything was closed and locked up.

  As Morgan sat in her car debating her next move, a tall white spire in the distance caught her eye. She wasn’t in the mood for church, but a twinge of guilt about her lapsed faith niggled at her conscience. And it wasn’t as if she had anything else to do. Including eat, she thought, with one more glum look around the shuttered town. Besides, it might be nice to attend services, for old time’s sake. If nothing else, it would break up what otherwise promised to be a long, empty day. At least she could check it out. If she happened upon a service, great. If not…well, then it wasn’t meant to be.

  But as Morgan drove past the church, the steady in-flux of people made it clear that she was just in time for a ten o’clock service. A wry smile tipped up the corners of her mouth. Clare and A.J. would be pleased to find their wayward sister back in the fold—at least for one day.

  Morgan found a parking spot down the street and made her way toward the tall spire that rose in splendor toward the cobalt-blue sky. As she slipped into the back of the spruce-and poinsettia-bedecked church, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, the choir was singing a pre-service program of familiar carols. And with sudden vividness and poignancy, memories of her childhood came rushing back—memories of the warm and loving family she had been blessed with, of a life that was simple but good, of the sense of security she’d always felt as she’d observed the steady, deep love between her parents.

  Over the years, those happy, younger days had become just a distant recollection, but today the memories were startling in their intensity, perhaps because the setting reminded her of the Christmas services they’d all attended together in a church very similar to this one. It had been a holiday ritual.

  But everything had changed forever the year her father died. Her sense of security had been shattered as her mother struggled to hang on to the farm her husband had loved. Clare had gone off to college. And life had never been the same again. She had left, when the time came, without a backward glance. Yet in this place, on this day, she wished she could recapture that sense of closeness, of family, that had once been such an integral part of her life. Her eyes grew misty, and she bowed her head, hoping no one would observe her uncharacteristic display of emotion.

  But she wasn’t quick enough. Grant was making his way back down the aisle to retrieve his father’s glasses from the car when he noticed the striking woman with the dark copper-colored hair seated in a back corner, alone. In the instant before she bowed her head, he caught the glimmer of unshed tears in her eyes. His step faltered, but he quickly regained his stride. The woman was a stranger to him, and whatever her problem, it was none of his concern.

  Still, he was curious. He knew most of the members of the congregation, even the ones who only attended services on special days. In fact, he knew most, if not all, of the year-round residents in town. And though Seaside was becoming a summertime mecca for those seeking peace and quiet, it had few visitors in the off season. The woman could be someone’s relative, visiting for the holiday, he supposed. But if that was the case, why was she here alone? Especially on a day that most people spent with those they loved?

  Grant knew he should just forget about the woman. He’d probably never see her again. But his brief glimpse of her had left him disturbed. Because in her eyes he’d seen what he had often experienced these past two-and-a-half years, despite his faith and the love and support of his extended family. Loss. Abandonment. Emptiness. And the sense that things would never be the same again.

  Grant knew there was nothing he could do about his own situation except pray. Which he did. Every day. And that gave him great comfort.

  But from the desolate look in her eyes, he somehow sensed that the solitary woman in the back of church didn’t have that kind of faith to rely on, that despite her presence here today, she didn’t expect to find any solace in the Lord. And perhaps she wouldn’t even try.

  So he did it for her.

  Lord, please watch over Your daughter, who seems in need of comfort. Let her feel Your healing presence and give her guidance, as You have done for me. And on this Christmas Day, don’t let her feel alone or abandoned. Instead, let her feel Your love and care in a tangible way. Amen.

  Chapter Three

  The low-battery light gave an ominous blink, and as Morgan shut down her laptop in frustration, her stomach rumbled. Again.

  Her foray into Seaside to buy food had been useless, so she’d had to make do with the meager provisions in the cottage. And she was rationing those. Which wasn’t easy, since her last real meal had been a late lunch yesterday. So far, she’d eaten one can of cold soup and a few crackers, all the while thinking about the meal A.J. and Morgan had planned. The pitiful can of soup, tin of tuna and handful of crackers that remained just depressed her, so she knew she needed to do something to distract herself. Namely, more work.

  Her face resolute, she moved her laptop aside, reached for her bulging briefcase, and withdrew the latest layouts and copy for an upcoming ad campaign. Looking at photos of toothpaste and reading about the merits of the product wasn’t the most exciting activity for Christmas Day, but it had to be done sooner or later. And since she had nothing else planned for the day, she might as well get it over with.

  But as Morgan tried to focus on the layouts, she found her attention wandering to the scene outside the bay window. It was just as lovely in the early afternoon as it had been this morning. The view of the sea was framed by a few fir trees, and there appeared to be a small beach. The rough water was dotted with frothy whitecaps that peaked and dissolved in rapid succession, and the vast expanse of open sea was mesmerizing. She set her pen aside and propped her chin in her hand, the ad copy forgotten for the moment.

  A sudden knock on the door startled her out of her reverie, and she looked toward it in surprise—and with more than a little trepidation. No one in town knew she was here except Grant Kincaid. And he was unlikely to make an appearance on a holiday, she thought wryly. In Boston, she never answered the door without having the security guard in her building screen visitors. However, she didn’t have that luxury out here. And this was a pretty isolated spot.

  She reached for her cell phone, then made her way to the door and checked for a peephole. No luck. She moved to the window. A pickup truck was parked next to her sporty car, but she couldn’t get a glimpse of her visitor from this angle.

  Another knock sounded, this time with a bit more force, and she moved back to the door. At least there was a chain lock. Not that that would do her much good if someone was de
termined to get in. But it would slow them down while she called 911.

  Sliding back the chain, Morgan opened the door just enough to peer out with one eye. A man with vivid blue eyes and neatly trimmed sandy brown hair stood on the other side, dressed in a wool topcoat with a scarf wrapped around his neck. He appeared to be several inches taller than Morgan, maybe close to six feet. And he definitely did not look like a derelict.

  “May I help you?” she said, her voice muffled through the door.

  “I’m Grant Kincaid. May I come in?”

  Morgan’s eyes widened. “Of course. Sorry for the caution, but I’m a big-city girl. I wasn’t expecting anyone today.” She slid the lock back, then moved behind the door as she opened it to give him access to the small entry area.

  Stepping inside, Grant pulled off his gloves while she shut the door behind him. “Sorry to disturb you on Christmas, but…” His voice died as he turned and found himself face to face with the woman he’d seen in church. The one who had been fighting off tears, who had looked so alone and sad. Which was not at all the image he’d formed of Morgan Williams. In his mind, he’d come to think of her as cold, calculating and rather hard. This slender woman, dressed in black slacks and a soft angora sweater the exact color of her jade-green eyes, didn’t look hard at all.

  But there was surprise on both sides The man with whom she shared ownership of this cottage wasn’t at all what Morgan had expected, either. For some reason she’d thought he would be older. But he looked to be only in his late thirties. And what was the reason for that odd expression on his face? As the silence lengthened, she grew uncomfortable. “Is something wrong?” she asked at last.

  Grant forced himself to take a deep breath. “Sorry for staring. I was expecting a stranger, but I saw you in church this morning.”