She was just reaching the end of the street where the realtor’s office was when, through a window, she saw Luke hugging a very attractive woman. After the hug, Luke held both the woman’s hands. Riley couldn’t see Luke’s face, but by the way the woman was smiling at him, it made her think theirs was definitely more than a professional relationship.
Riley frowned. She turned back around and started walking quickly in the opposite direction.
She had no idea where she was going. She just knew she didn’t want to interrupt Luke in what looked like a private moment.
When she ended up back inside Merry and Bright, Lisa came hurrying over. “Did you forget something?”
Riley shook her head. “Uh, no, but I thought I’d just look around some more if that’s okay. Maybe get some inspiration for my Christmas novel like you were saying.”
“Of course,” Lisa said. “I would love that. You know a lot of the things we have are made by local artists.” She picked up a beautiful ceramic Christmas platter that was white with blue snowflakes. It was big enough to fit a whole turkey. “Emily, one of our young artists made this.”
Lisa put the platter back down and walked over to a shelf where there was a collection of all white glossy ceramic angles that were about six inches tall. “And these angels,” she said proudly, “are a Christmas tradition here at Christmas Lake.”
“How so?” Riley asked.
Lisa carefully picked up an angel and brought it over to show Riley. “They’re made by the Harrison family. The family has been making these special angels for almost a hundred years.”
“Why are they so special?” Riley asked.
Lisa smiled as she led Riley over to a cozy sitting area by a crackling fire. They both took a seat before Lisa continued.
“As the story goes, Thomas Harrison was a struggling artist,” Lisa said. “Pottery was his specialty, but he was barely making enough to live on. That’s when he fell in love with our local railroad tycoon’s only daughter, Cynthia. It was a Romeo-and-Juliet love story from the start.”
Riley frowned. “Cynthia’s parents didn’t approve of Thomas?”
Lisa shook her head. “Tom was pretty much penniless, and they wanted more for their daughter, so right before Christmas, Cynthia’s parents forbid them from seeing each other.”
“But they saw each other anyway,” Riley said confidently.
“No,” Lisa said with a sigh. “Sadly, they didn’t. Thomas thought Cynthia’s parents were right, that she deserved much better than him. He loved her and wanted the best for her. Cynthia, being the spirited girl that she was, was very angry at Thomas for not fighting for their love. They argued and broke up, just as Cynthia’s parents had hoped.”
Riley leaned forward. “What happened next?”
“Thomas was, of course, heartbroken,” Lisa continued. “He went back to his workshop, and to try to take his mind off Cynthia, he started working on one of his ceramic bowls. That’s when a flash of bright white light blinded him for a moment and the bowl slipped from his fingers and crashed to the floor, breaking into pieces.”
Lisa paused.
“And?” Riley pressed. She was totally invested in the story.
Lisa smiled an all-knowing smile. “And when Thomas went to pick up the pieces, one of the pieces was in the shape of an angel.”
Riley’s gaze flew to the angel figurines, then back to Lisa. “What happened next?”
Chapter Seventeen
Lisa smiled a knowing smile. “Some say what happened next was a Christmas miracle. The broken piece of pottery gave Thomas an idea. He decided he would try to make his first angel and give it to Cynthia for a Christmas present. Even if they couldn’t be together, he wanted her to know that he would never stop loving her. So he worked night and day for the next two days, putting his whole heart and soul into making that angel. He finally finishing it just as the sun was coming up on Christmas morning. He quickly wrapped it in the only thing he could find, an old gunny sack, and he persuaded one of housekeepers that worked for Cynthia’s family to hide his gift underneath the family’s Christmas tree.”
Riley, barely able to stand the suspense, reached out and took Lisa’s hand. “Please tell me Cynthia got the angel and that her parents didn’t find it first and throw it away,”
Lisa gave Riley’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “The housekeeper was apparently thinking the same way you are. So she tucked the burlap sack way behind all the family’s beautifully wrapped presents.”
“So Cynthia found it?” Riley asked.
Lisa smiled and nodded. “She did, but only because once she was done opening all her extravagant gifts, a ray of light beamed through the window, illuminating the hidden present. When Cynthia opened the sack and took out the angel, it glowed in the light, and there was also a note from Thomas.”
“What did it say?” Riley asked breathlessly.
Lisa’s smile grew. “It said, ‘Cynthia, you will always be my angel. You will always have my heart. I love you now and always. Merry Christmas, Thomas.’”
Riley didn’t realize her eyes had filled with tears until she felt one tear slowly slide down her cheek. Embarrassed, she quickly brushed it away. Then she noticed Lisa also had tears in her eyes.
“I always cry when I tell this story because it’s so beautiful,” Lisa said as she gently wiped a tear away.
“What did Cynthia do?” Riley asked.
“Cynthia took her angel and went to find Thomas,” Lisa answered. “She told her parents that she didn’t care if they cut her off from the family fortune like they had threatened to. She said she didn’t need their money, that she and Thomas would be just fine on their own because they had what really mattered. She had love.”
“Wow,” Riley said softly.
Lisa nodded. “You see, she had faith in Thomas and faith in their love. When she went to the pottery shop to find Thomas, she took out
