Since it will soon be Christmas, I've been looking through my books for scenes about the Christmas season. I found one here in TRUTH AND SOLACE. Maggie receives a very special Christmas present from Luke. Several months prior, when she was very broke, she had to pawn the antique earrings passed down to her from her late mother in order to pay the rent. Unbeknownst to her, Luke has been searching for the earrings, and when he finds them he gives them to her for Christmas.
Excerpt:
Maggie couldn’t believe he’d done this. “How did you find them?”
Luke shrugged. “I did some phoning around.”
Not for a minute did she believe it had only taken a few phone calls to find her mother’s antique earrings, the ones she’d had to pawn.
“What is it, Maggie? What did Luke get you?” Phyllis asked.
“Earrings.” A tremor shook her voice. “They belonged to my mother.”
“Then, how did Luke get them?”
A very good question. “I had to sell them to a pawn shop a few months ago. I…I needed the money.” Emotion clogged her throat. He hadn’t given any indication he’d been looking for the earrings. How much did he have to pay? She knew what she’d received from the pawnshop, and he’d have had to pay a lot more than that to get them back. More tears filled her eyes. Luke was the kindest, most generous man she knew.
“Can we see the earrings, Maggie?” Reese asked.
She wordlessly handed the box to him. Abby lifted one of the earrings and held it up to the light. “I remember Miranda wearing these. They meant a lot to her.”
She and Reese exchanged a sad smile before he handed the box back to her. Maggie passed the box to Phyllis so she could take a look as well. Then, she lifted her gaze to Luke’s. “Thank you. You don’t know what this means to me.”
“I think I have an idea.”
Of course, he did. No one knew her better than Luke did, even though they’d been apart for ten years.
She went to him, sitting beside him and placing her hand on his cheek. She wished she had the words to express her gratitude. “Thank you.”
His throat worked as he nodded. “You’re welcome.”
She leaned forward to kiss him. His lips were warm and sweet and welcoming, and she desperately wanted to deepen the kiss. But she was acutely aware that his family was watching. She contented herself by resting her forehead against his for a moment and breathing him in, reveling in the spicy, clean scent that was all Luke.
Blurb:
The truth could destroy them. Or set them free.
Maggie Lindquist left Solace Lake determined never to return. Circumstances have pulled her back and she’s helping to restore her family’s dilapidated fishing lodge. When she agreed to the plan she didn’t expect to have to work side by side with the man who abandoned her ten years earlier. She didn’t expect to like him, or want him ever again. But can she trust him as she once did?
Luke Carlsson rushes home to tend to his ailing mother. Her lengthy illness means he needs to stay, at least temporarily. And to stay, he needs to work. Solace Lake Lodge offers him a job and an opportunity to work with the woman he’s never stopped loving. But the restoration is unleashing secrets hidden for decades and no one is left unscathed. Especially not Maggie and Luke, whose love needs to be resilient enough to forgive, and strong enough to build a future together.
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/TruthAndSolace
For more excerpts, check out the MFRW Blog Hop here:
Comments