Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Mary's Christmas Surprise
    Mary's Christmas Surprise
    Mary's Christmas Surprise
    Ebook101 pages1 hour

    Mary's Christmas Surprise

    By Carol James

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Mary Sherman's Christmas is nothing like she's planned. Her fiancé has called off the engagement just days before Christmas, and her parents have gone on an anniversary cruise around the world.

    Suddenly alone for the holidays, Mary returns to the comfort of her childhood home to spend Christmas in her parents' empty house. There's only one problem. The house is not empty. Unbeknownst to Mary, her parents have taken in a boarder, a handsome carpenter named Jake Wolesky.

    Mary's Christmas surprise may make this the best holiday ever.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWhite Rose Publishing
    Release dateDec 1, 2018
    ISBN9781522301837
    Mary's Christmas Surprise
    Author

    Carol James

    Carol James is a small town girl from Saskatchewan, Canada. She enjoys time with her family, her Labrador retriever and her Arabian horses.

    Read more from Carol James

    Related to Mary's Christmas Surprise

    Related ebooks

    Sweet Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Family Plot

      May 7, 2020

      The Family Plot
      10 min read

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Sep 1, 2022

      First prize 10 and under Tang Li, age 9 Palmetto Bay, FL My name is Anisa. I was in Hawaii on vacation. I enjoyed sipping refreshing drinks, overlooking the turquoise ocean, and dancing with others, before I overheard that the priceless Fire Ring wa

      10 min read

    • Article

      Stay and Fight

      Jul 9, 2019

      Stay and Fight
      16 min read

    • Article

      A Temporary Arrangement

      Oct 2, 2023

      A Temporary Arrangement
      19 min read

    • Article

      The Education of Mrs. R.

      Sep 6, 2022

      An adolescent shriek woke her. Cockerels, she thought, cockerels, with a wry twist to the word. She lay in the dark listening. There was no use in covering her head; the screaming still came through. The soloist was suddenly submerged in the chorus.

      13 min read

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Jan 1, 2022

      It was an unusual birthday. Colorful banners blanketed the backyard. Kids chased each other through the grass. Adults talked. It all went downhill from there. My little sister was turning five. On her birthday cake, painted in frosting, was a fat, pi

      7 min read

    • Article

      The Boy Who Cried Wolf

      Jun 9, 2020

      Josh Turner from Austin, Texas The egg landed with a splat on the truck window. ‘Bullseye,’ grinned my buddy Dave*. Hiding in the shadows, as the car drove past, we could see the driver gesticulating furiously. It was 31 October 1990 – Halloween – a

      4 min read

    • Article

      STEPPING Out

      Mar 4, 2020

      STEPPING Out
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Showing

      Sep 10, 2021

      Mariette Sanquhar Chuter, the listing real estate agent for the house, entered the code on the lockbox, removing the brass key. She turned the lock on the heavy wooden door and entered the house at 999 Canto Street. The owners were already in the pro

      20 min read

    • Article

      Sifting

      Mar 4, 2024

      CASSANDRA GARBUS is the author of the novel Solo Variations. Her fiction has appeared in Kenyon Review Online, American Short Fiction, Texas Review, Meridian, Louisiana Literature, and The Cortland Review. Lily slumps on the living room couch, absorb

      22 min read

    • Article

      Protected

      Jun 24, 2023

      Protected
      4 min read

    • Article

      POISON ON Pink Paper

      Jan 2, 2020

      POISON ON Pink Paper
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Children of Conscious Reunion

      Dec 10, 2023

      It was nearly nine o’clock, and someone was knocking on Ana Marie’s storm door. She laid her dishrag in the sink and walked into the living room with Banjo coming along behind her. As she approached the foyer, she saw the caller was a woman, elderly,

      18 min read

    • Article

      Rediscover THIS DAY

      Apr 1, 2021

      Rediscover THIS DAY
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Hampstead MYSTERY

      Oct 26, 2022

      A Hampstead MYSTERY
      9 min read

    • Article

      Hard Metal

      Jun 10, 2023

      When Raúl gave me his security job for August, he told me not to see anything. You don’t see nothin’, he said, because we both know I get curious. Sometimes the other guys think I’m soft, the way I get lost in my head. My girlfriend says it’s trauma,

      6 min read

    • Article

      Life After Death

      May 27, 2022

      Life After Death
      14 min read

    • Article

      Blended

      Aug 6, 2020

      Blended
      10 min read

    • Article

      The Man I Should Have Married

      Dec 29, 2019

      The Man I Should Have Married
      11 min read

    • Article

      Appreciating Hate

      Sep 10, 2021

      Felix thought of his mind as though it were artwork – a painting. His skull was the frame, the canvas inside the frame was the grey matter, the applied paint was his education, and that insubstantial feeling evoked by the art piece was his consciousn

      7 min read

    • Article

      AN EXCERPT FROM The First Line of Dante’s ‘Inferno’

      Dec 1, 2020

      Early forties, tall, self-possessed. Hiking in the woods in search of her missing sister. A young park ranger, late twenties. Pretty. Slim. Strong. The play is formatted like prose; however, it is intended for performance. If actors simply perform th

      15 min read

    • Article

      The Duplex

      Jun 9, 2020

      I moved to Los Angeles to sing. When was this? August? June? I was twenty-nine, and those were shapeless months, when the days blended together and I refused to pull them apart. My landlord was unusually close to her adult son. His name was Jeffrey,

      21 min read

    • Article

      Proverbs Of A Faceless Time

      Dec 1, 2023

      Proverbs Of A Faceless Time
      9 min read

    • Article

      Now The Leaves Are Falling Fast

      Apr 10, 2021

      I watched my wife leave our neighbor’s house, her empty hands shoved deep in the pockets of her red anorak. She came inside through our carport. I met her in our kitchen. “Beverly was really happy for the soup,” she said. “Honestly, it was a little s

      8 min read

    • Article

      Summer Reads

      Dec 30, 2019

      Summer Reads
      7 min read

    • Article

      Faceleessevil

      Mar 16, 2021

      Faceleessevil
      3 min read

    • Article

      DON’T GO INTO The Cellar!

      Jan 21, 2020

      DON’T GO INTO The Cellar!
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Mary's Christmas Surprise

    5/5

    1 rating0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Mary's Christmas Surprise - Carol James

      inspiration.

      1

      I’m home! Mary’s words echoed in the silent darkness of her parents’ house. Her announcement was living proof that, as Mom said, old habits die hard. For a few seconds, she’d forgotten no one was home.

      An excited bark sounded from the kitchen. Well, no one was home except Riley.

      Stepping into the foyer, Mary set down her suitcases, turned on the light, and then made her way into the kitchen as a playful yip greeted her.

      Riley was in his crate. On the counter, his leash and box of treats sat beside a piece of paper inscribed with the vet’s phone number and care instructions in Mom’s handwriting. So, maybe coming home would do some good after all. Keeping Ri crated while Mom and Dad were gone bordered on cruelty, but Mary understood. Leaving him at the kennel for weeks while they were on their anniversary trip would have cost a fortune. Tomorrow, Mary would call the neighbors and let them know she was home and could take over the Riley duties.

      She squatted and struggled to unlatch the door of the now rocking crate. Before she could pull the door open completely, seventy pounds of black lab bounded out, knocking her to the floor and covering her face with dog kisses. Hey, buddy. I’ve missed you, too. As she pulled him close, he nuzzled her shoulder and whimpered. At least one man in this world, besides Dad, loved her.

      C’mon, Ri. Tonight and for the rest of the Christmas holiday, you’re bunking with me. No more sleeping in that jail.

      ~*~

      Something startled her awake. Her bedroom door had been pushed open. She reached her hand out to Riley’s side of the bed. It was empty but still warm. Where was that dog? As she rolled out of bed and put on her robe, a series of rhythmic slaps sounded below. Someone, definitely not Riley, was walking across the tile floor in the foyer. An intruder. Anyone who’d been watching the house would know her parents had been gone for weeks. Her heart pounded, the blood throbbing in her ears. Dad had always said Riley would probably lick any burglar into submission. But Ri should have at least barked or whimpered with joy while he was doing it. She’d heard nothing. The truth rose up in her throat. Riley was probably drugged or dead somewhere.

      She grabbed her phone and tiptoed as lightly as possible toward the closet. After silently closing the door, she crouched in the far corner. Heart racing and fingers shaking, she managed to dial the police.

      Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?

      Someone’s broken into my house, and they’re still here. I think they’ve killed my dog, she responded, her voice barely above a whisper. As the spoken words hit home, tears filled her eyes.

      What’s your name, and where are you? the operator asked, her voice steady.

      Mary Sherman. I’m at 865 Saddle in a closet in the back bedroom upstairs.

      Good, Mary. Stay there. A patrol car’s been dispatched. Now describe yourself to me.

      What? I...

      So I can relay it to the officers.

      Dark brown hair, past my shoulders. Brown eyes. Five feet eight. About one thirty. Hurry! Please hurry!

      We will, Mary. I’ll stay on the phone with you until the officers arrive. Do you have any weapons?

      Weapons? No.

      Great, Mary. That’s perfect.

      Maybe not. What if the police didn’t make it in time? What if he found her first? She absolutely needed a way to protect herself.

      In the far corner behind some prom dresses stood her old tennis racket. That would be her best choice of weapon should the intruder find her before the police arrived. She crawled over, sat, and placed it diagonally across her body. Some shield this would make, but it was better than nothing. She wouldn’t give in without a fight.

      Mary, are you still there?

      Yes. Her whole body trembled.

      Good. You’re doing great. The officers are on your street, so they’ll be there any minute. For your safety, please stay where you are. They’ll come get you when everything is under control.

      OK.

      The minutes seemed like hours before commotion rumbled downstairs and a familiar bark sounded. Tears she’d been holding back rolled down her cheeks. Riley was OK.

      They’re here. Thanks so much.

      Good. Now stay on the—

      She tapped End on her phone and waited. Maybe she should go downstairs. No. What if the criminal had overcome the police? She’d wait. Her fingers were numb from gripping her racket so tightly.

      A muffled voice sounded through the door. Mary? It’s Officer Jenkins. You can come out now.

      How did she know Officer Jenkins was actually a policeman? It could be the killer trying to find her. But then a murderer probably wouldn’t know her name. Unless he had stalked her all the way from the Atlanta airport. Her pounding heart jerked her entire body.

      Mary? Are you OK?

      She couldn’t spend the rest of her life—however short—in her closet. Please, Father... She opened the door and inched out into the bedroom. A policeman stood inside the doorway to the hall, his hand on his gun.

      Drop the racket, a voice hiding in the darkness behind her commanded.

      She jumped and did as she was told.

      Hands on your head.

      What’s going on? She struggled to keep her voice even as she complied.

      Ignoring her question, the officer in the doorway flipped on the light. OK, Jake. Does she look familiar?

      A tall man with longish, dark brown hair and an even darker lumberjack beard stepped into the room and stared at her in silence. With brows knit, he slowly shook his head. No...wait, yes. Yes, she kind of looks like the girl in some pictures downstairs.

      They thought she was the criminal? Of course, they look like me! They are me! I’m not the intruder. He is! This is my parents’ house, and I’m the one who called nine-one-one. Someone please tell me what’s going on.

      Looks like there’s been a little mix-up, the voice behind her chuckled. We’ll be on our way, and ol’ Jake here can clear things up. I imagine he can answer any questions you have.

      ~*~

      Ol’ Jake pulled a bag of coffee out of the canister next to the stove. How about some decaf? He opened the cabinet by the sink and grabbed a couple of mugs. He certainly knew his way around Mom’s kitchen.

      Sure. She was trying to appear calmer than she felt. This whole thing was unreal. Surely, any second now, she’d wake up and find herself upstairs in her bed.

      As she sat at the table, her reflection came into view in the back window. Her hair looked like a family of spiders had been weaving little webs and had gotten off course. She reached up and quickly tried to smooth the tangled mess.

      Riley padded over and placed his head in her lap. His eyes sparkled, and his tail wagged. Ri

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1