“Lemme make you those sandwiches.”

“What about giving us directions?”

King, or whatever his name was, sighed as if this was asking too much. “I could—for a price.”

Linc slapped a ten-dollar bill on the counter.

The grouch eyed the money and shrugged. “That might get you there. Then again, it might not.”

Linc threw in another ten. “This is all you’re getting.”

“Fine.” He pocketed the money and slouched off toward the kitchen. “I’ll be back with your order.”

Ten minutes later, he returned with a large white bag packed with sandwiches, potato chips and canned sodas. Linc decided not to ask how old the meat loaf was. He paid the tab and didn’t complain at the price, which seemed seriously inflated.

“About those directions?” Linc asked.

Ned took out the map the firefighter had drawn and spread it on the linoleum counter. The route from Cedar Cove to the Harding place looked pretty direct, and Linc didn’t know how he’d managed to get so confused.

“The King’s gonna set you straight,” the grouch told them.

“Good, because we are lost,” Mel said, dragging out the last word.

“Big-time lost,” Ned added.

This was a point that did not need further emphasis. Linc would’ve preferred his brothers keep their mouths shut, but that wasn’t likely to happen.

“Okay, you’re here,” King informed them, drawing a circle around their current location. He highlighted the street names at the closest intersection. “You’re near the corner of Burley and Glenwood.”

“Got it,” Linc said.

“You need to head east.”

“East,” Linc repeated.

“Go down about two miles and you cross the highway via the overpass.”

“Okay, got that.”

The grouch turned the directions around and circled the Harding ranch. “This is where Cliff and Grace Harding live.”

“Okay.”

“So, all you do after you cross the highway is go east. Keep going until you see the water, then turn left. The Harding place will be about three-quarters of a mile down the road on the left-hand side.”

“Thanks,” Linc said. Those directions seemed easy enough for anyone to follow. Even the three of them.

The grouch frowned at hi, and Linc assumed he was hinting for more money, which he wasn’t about to get. Grabbing their sandwiches, Linc handed the bag to his youngest brother and they piled out the door.

“Merry Christmas,” Ned called over his shoulder. Apparently he hadn’t grasped yet that this man wasn’t doing any kind of celebrating.

The grouch’s frown darkened. “Yeah, whatever.”

Linc waited until they were back in the vehicle before he commented. “Miserable old guy.”

“A regular Scrooge,” Mel said.

Ned tore open the sack and passed one sandwich to Linc and another to Mel. Linc bit into his. The old grouch made a good meat loaf sandwich, surprisingly enough, and right now that compensated for a lot.

The three of them wolfed down the food and nearly missed the sign for the highway overpass.

“Hey, you two, I’m driving,” Linc said, swallowing the last bite. “Pay attention, will you?”

“Sorry.” Ned stared out at the road.

“He said to drive until we can see the water,” Linc reminded them.

“It’s dark,” Mel protested. “How are we supposed to see water?”

“We’ll know when we find it,” Ned put in.

Linc rolled his eyes. “I hope you’re right, that’s all I can say.”

Linc couldn’t tell how far they’d driven, but the water never came into view. “Did we miss something?” he asked his brothers.

“Keep going,” Mel insisted. “He didn’t say when we’d see the water.”

“He didn’t,” Linc agreed, but he had a bad feeling about this. The road wasn’t straight ahead the way the grouch had drawn it on the map. It twisted and turned until Linc was, once again, so confused he no longer knew if he was going east or west.

“You don’t think that King guy would’ve intentionally given us the wrong directions, do you?”

“Why would he do that?” Mel asked. “You paid him twenty bucks.”

Linc remembered the look on the other man’s face. He’d wanted more. “Maybe it wasn’t enough.”

“Maybe Mr. Scrooge back there needs three visitors tonight,” Ned suggested. “If you know what I mean.”

“He had three visitors—us.”

“Yeah, and I think he was trying to con us,” Linc muttered.

“I guess he succeeded,” Mel said, just as Ned asked, “But why? What’s the point?”

“The point is that he’s trying to make us miserable,” Linc said. “As miserable as he is, the old coot.”

The three of them fell into a glum silence. It sure didn’t feel like any Christmas Eve they’d ever had before.

16

By the time Grace and Cliff arrived at church for the Christmas Eve service, both her daughters and their husbands were already seated. So were Lisa, Rich and April. Maryellen held Drake, who slept peacefully in his mother’s arms. Katie, as well as Tyler, were with the other local children getting ready for the big Christmas pageant.

Katie was excited about being an angel, although Tyler, who’d been assigned the role of a shepherd, didn’t show much enthusiasm for his stage debut. If he displayed any emotion at all, it was disappointment that he couldn’t bring his drum. Kelly had explained to him that the shepherds of the day played the flute, not drums, because drums would frighten the sheep. The explanation satisfied Tyler, who was of a logical disposition, but it didn’t please him.

Grace and Cliff located a pew directly behind her daughters and Lisa. As they slipped in, Grace whispered that she’d prefer to sit closest to the aisle, craving the best possible view of her grandchildren’s performances. Once they were seated, Cliff reached for her hand, entwining their fingers.

Maryellen turned around and whispered, “Is everything all right with Mary Jo?”

“I think so.” Grace still didn’t feel comfortable about leaving her alone. But Mary Jo had been adamant that Grace join her family, so she had. Now, however, she wished she’d stayed behind.

Cliff squeezed her hand as the white-robed choir sang Christmas hymns, accompanied by the organist. “O, Come All Ye Faithful” had never sounded more beautiful.

Olivia and Jack, carrying his Santa hat, came down the aisle and slid into the pew across from Grace and Cliff. Justine and Seth accompanied them. From a conversation with Justine earlier in the week, Grace knew Leif had gotten the coveted role of one of the three Wise Men.

As soon as Olivia saw Grace, she edged out of her pew and went to see her friend. Olivia had wrapped a red silk scarf around her shoulders, over her black wool coat. Despite everything she’d endured, she remained the picture of dignity and elegance.

She leaned toward Grace. “How’s Mary Jo?” she asked in a whisper.

Grace shrugged. “I left her at the house by herself, and now I wish I hadn’t. Oh,” she added, “apparently her brothers are in town….”

“Problems?”

Grace quickly shook her head. “Mary Jo actually seemed relieved to hear from them.”

“Is she going home to Seattle with her family, then?” Olivia stepped sideways in the aisle to make room for a group of people trying to get past.

Grace nodded.

“How did they find out she was with you?” Olivia asked.

“They tracked her down through Mack McAfee. He phoned the house and talked to her directly. Then Mary Jo spoke with her oldest brother and decided it would be best to go back to Seattle.” Grace had been with her at the time and was astonished by the way Mary Jo’s spirits had lifted. Whether that was because of her brothers or because of Mack…Grace tended to think it was the latter.

“Mack appeared to have a calming effect on her when I saw them at the library,” Olivia said, echoing Grace’s thoughts.

“He does,” she agreed. “I noticed it after she got off the phone, too. Apparently he suggested she should return home with her brothers.”

“I’m glad,” Olivia said. “For her own sake and theirs. And for Mom and Ben’s…” She paused, shaking her head. “As necessary as it is for them to know about this baby, I’d rather it didn’t happen the second they got home.”

“Her real fear was that her brothers were going to burst onto the scene and demand that David do the so-called honorable thing.”

“David and the word honor don’t belong in the same sentence,” Olivia said wryly.

“Mary Jo’s brothers were arriving any minute. I’d like to have met them. Or at least talked to them.” Grace would’ve phoned the house, but by now Mary Jo should be well on her way to Seattle.

Olivia straightened. “We’ll catch up after the service,” she said and slid into the opposite pew, beside Jack.

No sooner had Olivia sat down than Pastor Flemming stepped up to the podium. He seemed to be…at peace. Relaxed, yet full of energy and optimism. The worry lines were gone from his face. Grace knew this had been a difficult year for the pastor and his wife, and she was glad their problems had been resolved.

“Merry Christmas,” he said, his voice booming across the church.

“Merry Christmas,” the congregation chanted.

“Before the children come out for the pageant, I’d like us all to look at the Christmas story again. For those of us who’ve grown up in the church, it’s become a familiar part of our lives. This evening, however, I want you to forget that you’re sitting on this side of history. Go back to the day the angel came to tell Mary she was about to conceive a child.”

He opened his Bible and read the well-known passages from the Book of Luke. “I want us to fully appreciate Mary’s faith,” he said, looking up. “The angel came to her and said she’d conceive a child by the Holy Spirit and she was to name him Jesus, which in those days was a common name.” He paused and gazed out at his congregation.

“Can you understand Mary’s confusion? What the angel told her was the equivalent of saying to a young woman in our times that she’s going to give birth to God’s son and she should name him Bob.”

The congregation smiled and a few people laughed outright.

“Remember, too,” Pastor Flemming continued, “that although Mary was engaged to Joseph, she remained with her family. This meant she had to tell her parents she was with child. That couldn’t have been easy.

“What do you think her mother and father thought? What if one of our daughters came to us and said she was pregnant? What if she claimed an angel had told her that the child had been conceived by the work of the Holy Spirit?” Again he paused, as if inviting everyone to join him in contemplating this scenario.

Pastor Flemming grinned. “Although I have two sons and no daughters, I know what I’d think. I’d assume that a teenage girl—or her boyfriend—would say anything to explain how this had happened.”

Most people in the congregation smiled and agreed with nodding heads. Grace cringed a little, remembering as vividly as ever the day she’d told her parents she was pregnant. She remembered their disappointment, their anger and, ultimately, their support. Then she thought of Mary Jo and turned to exchange a quick glance with Olivia.

“And yet,” the pastor went on, “this child, the very son of God, was growing inside her womb. Mary revealed remarkable faith, but then so did her family and Joseph, the young man to whom she was engaged.”

Something briefly distracted the pastor and he looked to his left. “I can see the children are ready and eager to begin their performance, so I won’t take up any more time. I do want to say this one thing, however. As a boy, I was given the role of a shepherd standing guard over his sheep when the angel came to announce the birth of the Christ Child. When I grew up, I chose, in a sense, the very same job—that of a shepherd. Every one of you is a member of my flock and I care for you deeply. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” the congregation echoed.

As he stepped down from the podium, the children took their positions on the makeshift stage. Grace moved right to the end of her pew to get a better view of the proceedings. Katie stood proudly in place, her gold wings jutting out from her small shoulders and her halo sitting crookedly atop her head. She couldn’t have looked more angelic if she’d tried.

Tyler had borrowed one of Cliff’s walking sticks to use as a staff. He was obviously still annoyed to be without his precious drum, glaring at the congregation as if to inform them that he was doing this under protest. Grace had to smother a laugh.

Oh, how Dan would’ve loved seeing his grandchildren tonight. Their grandson was like his grandfather in so many ways. A momentary sadness came over her and not wanting anyone to sense her thoughts, Grace looked away. She didn’t often think about Dan anymore. She’d loved her first husband, had two daughters with him, and through the years they’d achieved a comfortable life together.