A Gift to Last (17 page)
“So their settlement meeting went well,” Shirley murmured.
“Really well,” Mercy said, grinning widely. “Okay, okay, so I joined them for a few minutes. Trust me, the meeting went better than either of them expected.”
“They’re getting back together,” Gabriel continued, “and are determined to make a real effort to give their marriage another chance.”
“Do they last?”
“With ups and downs over the next few years, but they always manage to work things out. They both decide that love, like most everything else in life, is a decision and they’ve decided to stay together.”
“What about the winery?” Shirley asked.
“Greg does replant with the vines Matthias sells him, and in a few years Bennett Wines will once again be known as some of the area’s best.”
“Matthias and his grandson?”
“The boy makes a full recovery and Matthias takes frequent trips to California. When the grapes mature, Greg gives Matthias a percentage of the profits as a means of thanking him for his forgiveness and for his help through the early years. That small percentage is enough for Matthias to retire completely. And Gloria meets a good man, a new assistant winemaker hired by Greg. They eventually get married.”
“I’m glad,” Mercy said. “For all of them.”
“What about Greg and Edward?” Goodness asked. “Does he ever find out that Greg’s his biological father?”
Gabriel shook his head. “Edward doesn’t change his mind about not wanting to know him, and Greg respects his decision. However, he is deeply grateful for the opportunity to have met the son he fathered.”
Mercy smiled sadly as the carolers began singing “What Child Is This?” Shirley nodded in understanding.
“Now, are you three ready to return to heaven?” Gabriel asked.
Goodness and Mercy agreed, but with obvious reluctance.
“Can we come back next year?” Goodness asked as they drifted upward.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” Gabriel told her.
“Yes.” Shirley linked hands with her two friends. “We’ll just have to see who needs our help most,” she whispered to Goodness and Mercy.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-2850-8
A GIFT TO LAST
Copyright © 2002 by MIRA Books.
CAN THIS BE CHRISTMAS?
Copyright © 1998 by Debbie Macomber.
SHIRLEY, GOODNESS AND MERCY
Copyright © 1999 by Debbie Macomber.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, MIRA Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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