Starry Night (21 page)

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Carrie whispered, worshipping him with her eyes, loving him so much it felt as though her heart were about to crack wide open.

“Oh, yes, I’m here and I’m not going away. I doubt Sawyer is talking to me any longer, and even Hennessey looks at me with disgust.” He studied her, his gaze delving into hers. “I hardly know myself any longer.”

“Oh, Finn, I love you so much.”

He brushed the hair from her forehead. “Answer me
truthfully, Carrie. Would you seriously consider resigning from your job with the newspaper?”

This wasn’t a difficult question. Carrie nodded. Her ultimate goal had always been to eventually return to Seattle. “I don’t have to work for a newspaper to be a writer. I’d even be happy freelancing from home.”

He hugged her close. “My home is wherever you are. I think to be fair to us both, we can divide our time between Seattle and Alaska.”

“You’d be willing to do that?”

Finn smiled down on her and kissed her again. “I want the opportunity to get to know my mother, and this will give you a chance to be close to your own family. We’ll make it work, Carrie.”

“My home is with you and with Hennessey, and then later, of course, we’ll be adding to the family.”

His head came back up. “You want another dog?”

Carrie slapped his chest. “No, silly. Children.”

“Oh, yes,” he said with a chuckle.

Carrie nestled her head beneath his chin. “Things are right between you and your mother?” Although she hadn’t been able to take her eyes off Finn, Carrie had noticed the happiness that seemed to radiate off Joan. It seemed both Carrie and Joan were having the best Christmases of their lives.

“You were right about her. She’s never stopped loving me.”

“You seem to have that effect on women.”

He brought her mouth close to his. “Certain women, at any rate.”

“This woman.”

Finn spread nibbling kisses down the side of her neck. “This man loves this woman.”

“Good, because this is just the beginning for us. And this time it’s for keeps.”

“For keeps,” Finn repeated. He was willing to admit he’d been a fool. He’d assumed he’d be able to walk away from Carrie and not look back. At the time, it’d seemed the prudent choice. He knew when he found the article on her laptop that Carrie had never intended to submit it. Finding it gave him all the excuse he needed to break it off. Only she’d called his bluff. She’d forced him to lie. He wasn’t proud of the things he’d said to Carrie. At the time, it had seemed necessary. Finn had believed that it would be tough the first couple of days but within a short amount of time he’d be over her.

Wrong.

Miserable didn’t even begin to describe his feelings. He
felt lost, cast adrift with nothing to anchor him. Before Carrie had entered his life, everything seemed perfectly fine. He’d been content. Happy, even—and perhaps he was.

Then she was dumped into his well-ordered existence—no thanks to Sawyer O’Halloran—and everything changed. All at once he became aware of the dark shadows in what had once been light, the isolation he’d accepted rather than deal with the past and his parents’ divorce. At first he assumed he could let her go, and he later realized he was making the same mistake as his father with his unwillingness to compromise. His father had been determined to stand his ground. If Joan loved him, she would accept his terms, and as a result he’d ended up lonely and bitter. Finn refused to repeat history. He loved Carrie, and if loving her meant spending part of the year in Seattle, then that was a small sacrifice in order to make her his wife. In order to make her happy.

His thoughts returned to his ridiculous efforts to sever the relationship. Carrie knew him far too well, had refused to believe he didn’t love her. How easily she saw through his ploy. She’d read him perfectly. If that wasn’t bad enough, she’d been unwilling to settle for his token apology by giving her the opportunity to write the article about him that everyone seemed to want.

This woman could be stubborn. It didn’t help matters
that she held his heart in the palm of her hand. Still, he fought it; still, he assumed he could go on without her. What a laugh that turned out to be.

It wasn’t only Carrie, either. In all the years since his mother had walked out, not once had Finn felt the need to connect with her again. She’d left him and his father. Pride demanded that he have nothing more to do with her, despite her repeated efforts to reach out to him.

Feeling alone and lost, Finn had to accept that as difficult as it was to admit, he needed his mother. His children would need their grandmother.

Carrie wanted children. The thought both thrilled and terrified him.

“You’ve got a funny look,” she said, gazing up at him, frowning slightly.

Finn kissed her again, and a sense of happiness and joy filled him until it felt as if he could soar. “We’re going to be just fine.”

“Yes, I know,” Carrie agreed.

Her parents and his mother came back into the room, and Carrie scooted off his lap. They stood and he slipped his arm around her waist.

Her mother’s eyes were moist with tears, and she held her fingers against her lips, watching the two of them.

“Are you going to love our Carrie?” Nick Slayton asked.

“Dad!” she protested, clearly embarrassed.

“With all my heart,” Finn promised, keeping her close against his side.

“That’s good enough for me.” Nick thrust out his hand for Finn to shake. “Welcome to the family.”

The two men clasped hands, and their gazes held for an extra-long moment as understanding passed between the two of them.

Oh, yes, this was definitely going to be the best Christmas of Finn Dalton’s life.

TO CONNY AND GINA JOHANNESSON
IN APPRECIATION OF YOUR
FRIENDSHIP AND TALENT

BALLANTINE BOOKS BY DEBBIE MACOMBER

Starry Night
Rose Harbor in Bloom
Starting Now
Angels at the Table
The Inn at Rose Harbor

For a complete list of books by Debbie Macomber, visit her website at
www.debbiemacomber.com
.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

D
EBBIE
M
ACOMBER
is a #1
New York Times
bestselling author and one of today’s most popular writers, with more than 170 million copies of her books in print worldwide. Five of her novels have scored the #1 slot on the
New York Times
bestseller list, with three debuting at #1 on the
New York Times
,
USA Today
, and
Publishers Weekly
lists.

Debbie Macomber is the author of more than 100 novels, most recently
Starting Now
, a Blossom Street book, and
Rose Harbor in Bloom
, a Rose Harbor Inn novel; two bestselling cookbooks; numerous inspirational and nonfiction works; two acclaimed children’s books; and the beloved and bestselling series of novels set in Cedar Cove, Washington, upon which the Hallmark Channel based its first dramatic scripted television series,
Cedar Cove
. Macomber’s
Mrs. Miracle
(2009) and
Call Me Mrs. Miracle
(2010) were the Hallmark Channel’s top-watched movies for the year.

www.debbiemacomber.com

Ring in the holiday season with the return of angels Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy in
Angels at the Table

A delightful and romantic story about two people who are brought together by a twist of fate, but just as easily pulled apart.
In the end, it will take a little angelic intervention to reunite the young couple and create an unforgettable Christmas miracle.

Available from Ballantine Books
Read on for a special sneak peek!

Chapter One

“This is really Earth?” Will, the apprentice angel, asked, lying on his stomach on a low-flying cloud with his three mentors. His eyes widened as he gazed down on the crazed activity below.

“This is Earth,” Mercy informed their young charge with a tinge of pride. For all its problems, Earth was a fascinating place to visit, with the tall buildings that butted up against the sky and people milling about with such purpose, most of them unaware of the spiritual world that surrounded them. More times than she could remember Mercy had lost patience with humans. Those who were considered the apex of God’s creations appeared to be slow-witted and spiritually dull. Yet she loved them and treasured her Earthly assignments.

“It’s New York,” Shirley added, resting her chin in her
hands as she gazed longingly below. “Oh, I do so love this city.”

“Manhattan, to be more precise,” Goodness clarified and ended with a little sigh, indicating that she, too, had missed visiting Earth.

The four hovered near Times Square, watching the clamoring crowds jockeying for space on New Year’s Eve.

Will’s eyes widened as he intently studied the scene taking place in the streets below. “Is it always like this—so busy and crowded, I mean?”

“No, no, this is a special night. The people are gathering together to usher in the New Year.” Time was a concept reserved for Earth. In heaven it was much different. Consequently, the time restriction placed on the three Prayer Ambassadors when given Earthly assignments had caused more than one problem.

“Did Gabriel want us—”

“Gabriel,” Shirley gasped, and quickly cut him off. “He doesn’t exactly know that we’ve brought you here. It would probably be best if you didn’t mention this short visit to him, okay?”

“Yes, please, it would be best not to let
anyone
know we’ve shown you Earth.” It went without saying they’d be in all kinds of trouble if Gabriel learned what they’d been up to.

“Gabriel means well but he tends to get a little prickly
about these things,” Goodness explained to their young charge.

“Why is that?” Will stared at all three of them.

“Well, you see, we … the three of us … thought we should give you a bird’s-eye view of Earth and these people God loves so much—strictly for training purposes.” Mercy looked to her friends to expound upon their intentions, which were honorable if not a tad bit sneaky.

This Earthly visitation had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. Mercy had been the one to suggest it. Naturally, Goodness was quick to agree, and after some discussion Shirley had seen the light as well.

Will, an apprentice angel, had been placed under their charge, and given this honor, it was only right that he get a glimpse of the trials and tribulations that awaited him once he started working as a Prayer Ambassador. The job could be a bit tricky, and the more Will understood the idiosyncrasies of humans, the better he would do once given an assignment from Gabriel.

Mercy was certain that under their tutorship, Will would make a fine Prayer Ambassador one day. He was young and enthusiastic, eager to learn about Earth and the role he would play.

As Mercy, who had falsely been labeled a troublemaker, had pointed out, theirs was a duty that required serious dedication. She wasn’t alone in believing this. Goodness—oh,
poor Goodness—had gotten something of a reputation, too, and Mercy felt partially to blame, but that was another story entirely. Shirley tended to be a bit more on the straight-and-narrow path and had worked hard to reform her friends. In fact, Shirley, a former Guardian Angel, had done such a marvelous job, Gabriel had offered to let them train the promising young angel who was with them now.

Naturally, it was understood that if the three of them accepted this assignment training Will, then of course there would be no hanky-panky, no tricks, no nothing. All three had agreed. This was a high honor indeed and their intentions were good.

Now here they were, New Year’s Eve in Times Square, in one of the most amazing cities on Earth. Mercy breathed in deeply, savoring the moment. Bringing Will had been a good excuse, but the fact of the matter was that she had missed visiting Earth. It’d been a good long while since their last assignment, and she missed the razzle-dazzle of the big city.

“Isn’t Earth just marvelous?” Goodness said, her huge wings fluttering with delight. “Just look at all those neon lights. I’ve always been especially fond of light.”

“As we all are,” Shirley reminded them.

“Can we go down there with the people?” Will asked.

“Absolutely not.” Shirley’s loud protest was instantaneous.

“I don’t think it would hurt anything,” Goodness countered, her gaze still fixed on the bright lights of the city below.