Her Christmas Wish

Her Christmas Wish
Kathryn Springer

To: Uncle EliFrom: OliviaDear Uncle Eli,I don't think Daddy is getting me what I really want for Christmas–a mommy. He's been sad since Mommy died, and I want him to be happy again. And ever since Leah, my new nanny, came to stay, he's been smiling more. She's really nice. She makes cookies with me and takes me to church. I think Leah is perfect for us. I told him he should marry her, but he's busy with his carpentering stuff. Maybe he'll listen to you? Tell him my Christmas wish is to have Leah with us, ALWAYS.

She put out her hand. “I’m Leah Paxson.”

Ben said the first words that came into his head, something he never did. “You can’t be!”

Leah grinned. “The last time I looked in the mirror, I was.”

“But…” Words failed him. Again. This wasn’t part of his plan. She wasn’t part of his plan. Desperate times might call for desperate measures, but that didn’t mean he had to hire a college student to be his daughter’s nanny. Hadn’t he told the agency representative what he wanted? Sedate. Quiet. Dignified. And didn’t those qualifications translate into someone elderly?

“I’m sorry, Miss Paxson. Please come in.” So I can fire you.

TINY BLESSINGS: Giving thanks for the neediest of God’s children, and the families who take them in!

KATHRYN SPRINGER

is a lifelong Wisconsin resident. Growing up in a “newspaper family,” she spent long hours as a child plunking out stories on her mother’s typewriter. She wrote her first “book” at the age of ten (which her mother still has!) and she hasn’t stopped writing since then. Initially, her writing was a well-kept secret that only her family and a few close friends knew about. Now, with her second book in print, the secret is out. Kathryn began writing inspirational romance because it allows her to combine her faith in God with her love of a happy ending.

Her Christmas Wish

Kathryn Springer

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

—Jeremiah 29:11

This book is for the two special guys in my life, whom God has blessed me with:

Reid—who spent a summer patiently emptying the dishwasher, answering the phone and waiting until after lunch to go fishing so Mom could write in the mornings.

And to Pete—who steadies me during the ups and downs of a writer’s life and doesn’t look at me like I’m crazy when I tell him there are people talking in my head (they’re characters, honey, really!).

I love you both.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Letter to Reader

Chapter One

“Are you telling me there’s a nanny shortage?”

Ben Cavanaugh tried to keep his voice even but he knew his frustration level had risen in direct proportion to the number of days he and Olivia had been forced to manage without Mrs. Baker.

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you, Mr. Cavanaugh,” Mrs. Wallace, the director of Tender Care Childcare, said seriously. “We placed most of our nannies months ago, when school recessed for the summer. I’m just not sure if we can help you. When did you say you needed someone?”

Yesterday. That’s when he needed someone. Ben exhaled a silent, steady breath. If he were a praying man, this probably would have been the time to appeal to God to intervene somehow. He didn’t. Instead, he reluctantly moved to Plan B.

“Can you recommend another agency?” he asked, pinning the telephone between his ear and shoulder as he searched his desk for a pen. The only one he could locate had a bright pink pom-pom where there should have been an eraser. He tested it on a piece of paper and the ink came out: pink glitter suspended in clear goo. He definitely had to have a talk with his daughter about what constituted a proper writing tool!

“If you can give me a few more days, I’m sure we can help you,” Mrs. Wallace said.