A Promise
For
Christmas
Lynn Landes
By:
Lynn Landes
Published by:
Landes Publishing
Cover art by:
Cora Graphics
www.coragraphics.it
This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, and events portrayed in this novel are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by Lynn Landes
http://[email protected]/
All rights reserved.
Other titles by Lynn Landes:
Mercy's Promise
Savannah's Promise
A Question of Faith
Delta's Dawn
Dust & Dreams
Stolen Dream's
Treasured Dreams
Perilous Dreams
Chapter 1
Nazareth, Pennsylvania
1878
“Oma, will you tell me the story again?” Tinley pleads.
“Of course. Snuggle down into your blankets,” Elizabeth says. Snow white hair and bright green eyes glow with the joy of having her only grandchild home for the holidays.
Tinley settles back on her pillow and stares at her. “Are you a snow angel?”
“Not yet, my sweet,” she laughs while propping a pillow behind the child. Elizabeth sits in the rocking chair next to the bed and frowns like she can’t remember the words.
“Where do I start?” she teases, and Tinley giggles, covering her mouth with her hand. Dark curls bounce as she moves excitedly.
“You remember, Oma,” she says. “No one knows where it came from…”
“That’s right,” Elizabeth laughs. “No one knows where the lantern came from, nor do they understand the source of it’s power.”
Tinley nods and listens with rapt attention.
“Some say it’s the magic of Christmas that gives it light, others say if you make a wish under the lantern, your most secret wishes will come true.” Elizabeth’s eyes glaze over as she remembers her childhood.
Sebastian stops outside the door and listens to his mother tell his daughter the story she told him when he was little.
“Once, when I was a little girl about your age, I snuck out.”
Tinley gasps, “Oma!”
“I know it was naughty, but my Papa was away working on the railroads, and I desperately wanted him to come home again. I’d have given anything for one of his big hugs.”
“What happened?” Tinley asks softly.
“It was the clearest night, and the brightest stars were shining in the winter sky. I dressed in my boots, coat, and gloves, not forgetting my scarf, for the wind was up, and I didn’t want to be sick when Papa came home.”
“Was the lantern glowing?” Tinley asks.
“Yes, a brilliant glow that seemed to light the path from the front door to the lantern.”
Tinley glances out the window and back. “You were very brave, Oma,” she whispers.
“Sometimes, we must be brave. I made my way to the lantern and stood beneath it, closing my eyes tightly. I made my wish, and the lantern flickered!”
“It did!”
Elizabeth nods, “That very next morning, my Daddy came home!”
Tinley’s eyes flick to the window, and she falls quiet. “Oma do you think Christmas magic could bring my Mama home?” Her mother left when she was a baby. Papa said she had a sickness and died shortly after.
Sebastian flinches as if struck. The pain that had dimmed rears it’s ugly head, reminding him of why they came home for the Holidays. They’re here to make new, happy memories with no reminder from the past.
“No, my sweet, God needs all his angels.”
“I thought so,” Tinley says.
“You could always ask for something else for Christmas. If you want, I could walk with you?” she offers, hoping Tinley will say yes.
Sebastian had told her just that morning how Tinley was keeping her Christmas list all to herself.
Tinley thinks hard. “Maybe I could ask for something else,” she murmurs. “I can’t tell you Oma, or it won’t come true.”
“Never stop dreaming, dearest,” Oma says, kissing her on the forehead.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Tinley yawns.
Sebastian takes that as his cue, “Time for sleep,” he says, pushing into the room. Elizabeth smiles at her son and watches the two of them from the door. Identical dark curls and eyes shine back at her, and the joy in her heart is palatable.
“You made my secret dreams come true by coming home for the holidays. Tomorrow we shall see if we can’t dig up our Christmas decorations. I haven’t decorated in years.”
“That sounds fun, right, Daddy! Could we get a tree?”
“Of course, we will find the biggest one in the woods. It won’t stand a chance against my ax.” Sebastian pumps his arms to show his muscle and Tinley giggles.
“You’re funny, Daddy,” she yawns again and lays back to let him tuck her in.
“Sweet dreams, my heart.”
Her eyes drift shut, and she smiles, thinking about all the things she could wish for. The truth is that she only wants one thing for Christmas. A new mother. God needs her mother, but perhaps he could send her a new one for Christmas?
Tinley dreams that night of an angel with dark hair telling her to make a wish. She smiles in her sleep, and the lantern grows brighter. The beam seeks its target and shines on Tinley snuggled in her bed.
The light wakes her, and she stares with wonder as her room fills with golden honey colored light. Tossing the covers from her little body, she runs to the window seat and climbs up to look outside. The lantern is glowing so brightly!
Tinley nods and makes her decision. She pushes open her door and tiptoes down the hallway to the grand staircase with the ornate iron railing.
Her feet are quiet on the wood floor as she heads to the front door. “Coat,” she mumbles to herself and grabs her coat and slips on her boots. Tinley looks up the steps towards her Father’s
