Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Blurb
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
About the Author
Evanlea Publishing
The Forever Gift
A Forever Safe Christmas Romance
By
SIMONE EVANS
The Forever Gift: A Forever Safe Christmas 5
Copyright © 2019 Josette Schaber (as Simone Evans, Josette Reuel, Ella Rose)
Cover design by Evanlea Publishing & Designs
Proofreading and Edits: Evanlea Publishing & Designs
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems — except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews — without permission in writing from Evanlea Publishing, Josette Schaber, or Simone Evans.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
This book is sold in print and electronic formats and is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book, when in electronic format, may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person or use proper retail channels to lend a copy. If you are reading this book in print or electronic format and did not purchase or borrow it through proper channels, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
**Disclaimer: Translations were completed using Google Translate and as such have not been verified. Poetic license has been exercised in regards to spelling and removal of language specific characters to facilitate the flow of the story. The use of these translations is to create a mood within the story. However, in many cases, names and dialog are fictional creations of the author and not meant to be translations of other languages.
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A Forever Gift
By Simone Evans
Clara Wood grew up with her single mother in Nevada. It wasn’t until her mother died that Clara learned she still had a family — her grandmother out East in Holiday City, Ohio. Living life a day at a time, Clara is stuck in a dead-end job and a crap apartment, but at least her life is her own. So, when her grandmother begs her to visit, Clara claims she can’t miss work.
Then, a little over a year after her mother’s death and nearing Christmas, Clara loses her job and is a week from being kicked from her apartment when her grandmother contacts her with a promise of a life-changing gift. The catch… she has to visit Holiday City. With hopes of a gift that could help her get back on her feet, Clara packs up everything of value and hits the road.
Will a Christmas gift become a Forever filled with love?
Dedication
To family, friends, traditions, and the magic of the holidays.
Chapter One
“Get your fucking hands off of me,” I smacked my boss’s hands away from my ass. It had been like this since the first day I made the deal to work under-the-table for the male chauvinist pig.
This time, Ronnie had cornered me in the back hallway when I went to find napkins to fill the containers out front. I’d always known he was a slimeball but for the past seven months, he’d paid me under-the-table and allowed me to keep my money away from the mother-grubbing assholes who had already taken all of my mother’s insurance money. Earning money off the books really helped to keep me off of the collection agencies’ lists — you couldn’t get anything from someone who had nothing. During the long process of my mom’s death, she’d racked up a lot of debt. Which meant I had a decent amount of my own, too. I would have given anything for my mom — but none of it had been enough.
“Don’t be ungrateful, Clara,” Ronnie leered at my boobs. “I’ve been rubbing your back and now… now I think it’s time for you to rub mine.” He waggled his eyebrows and rubbed at his groin.
“You're sick,” I snarled and tried to get past him.
Ronnie took a step in front of the door to the front of the bar where we worked. It was a dive in a bad part of Vegas but putting up with guys pinching my ass allowed me to earn tips on top of the money Ronnie slid to me without the government knowing.
Some rock version of a Christmas classic began to blare from the speakers and the vein in my forehead began to throb with more intensity. Fucking holiday season, I snarled to myself.
I hated this time of the year. My mom had died around Thanksgiving a year ago. Not to mention that the several before that had been lacking in holiday cheer as she’d gotten worse.
“Come on, hot stuff, just a little fun.” Ronnie moved toward me and I could feel as well as smell his horrible breath.
“Look, pencil dick, if you don’t get the fuck away from me, then I’ll—”
“Clara, Clara, Clara,” Ronnie tsked at me. “Just show me a bit of gratitude and you ca—”
I didn’t give the shit-for-brains a chance to finish his vulgar statement. Instead, my knee found itself shoved into his groin with as much force as possible.
“No one… and I mean no one touches me unless I say,” I spit into his red face as he gasped for breath and squealed like a pig.
“You’re” — Ronnie panted as he forced the words past his lips — “fired!”
“Fuck you! I quit!”
**
An hour later I was sitting at my tiny two-seater kitchen table. I stared at the wall as I groaned in defeat.
“Fucking pig,” I snarled in frustration.
Ronnie had refused to pay me the money he owed me. It was almost two weeks' worth, something over eighty hours I had worked — covering everyone else's call-offs — and he laughed in my face because I couldn’t do anything about it. There was no proof I even worked for the man.
Friday would have been payday and I
