eyes light up with excitement as they learn about nature and our mission to preserve and care for our world. I couldn’t be happier to have made this career switch. And to think, it might never have happened if I hadn’t fallen in love with you.”
Finding Asher was all due to Annette and her act of revenge. When Everly arrived in the Amazon, she was convinced this was the worst thing that could happen to her. This was supposed to be a vacation? Despite everything, it had turned into the best thing to ever happen to her. She’d met Asher, fallen in love, reunited with her family, and begun the greatest adventure of her life.
All she could think now was how grateful she was to Annette.
To Nancy Jacuzzi,
a woman of extraordinary shopping skills,
a connoisseur of fine wines,
a culinary expert,
a jigsaw puzzle master,
and
a treasured friend
BALLANTINE BOOKS FROM DEBBIE MACOMBER
A Walk Along the Beach
Window on the Bay
Cottage by the Sea
Any Dream Will Do
If Not for You
A Girl’s Guide to Moving On
Last One Home
ROSE HARBOR INN
Sweet Tomorrows
Silver Linings
Love Letters
Rose Harbor in Bloom
The Inn at Rose Harbor
BLOSSOM STREET
Blossom Street Brides
Starting Now
CHRISTMAS NOVELS
Jingle All the Way
A Mrs. Miracle Christmas
Alaskan Holiday
Merry and Bright
Twelve Days of Christmas
Dashing Through the Snow
Mr. Miracle
Starry Night
Angels at the Table
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DEBBIE MACOMBER, the author of A Walk Along the Beach, Window on the Bay, Cottage by the Sea, Any Dream Will Do, If Not for You, and the Rose Harbor Inn series, is a leading voice in women’s fiction. Thirteen of her novels have reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller lists, and five of her beloved Christmas novels have been hit movies on the Hallmark Channel, including Mrs. Miracle and Mr. Miracle. The Hallmark Channel also produced the original series Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove, based on Macomber’s Cedar Cove books. She is as well the author of the cookbook Debbie Macomber’s Table. There are more than 200 million copies of her books in print worldwide.
debbiemacomber.com
Facebook.com/​debbiemacomberworld
Twitter: @debbiemacomber
Instagram: @debbiemacomber
Pinterest.com/​macomberbooks
Mrs. Miracle shows an ordinary family how blessed they are in this uplifting holiday tale from Debbie Macomber.
A Mrs. Miracle Christmas
Continue reading for a preview.
CHAPTER ONE
Laurel McCullough arrived home to find two police cruisers parked in the driveway with their lights flashing. If that wasn’t enough to get her heart racing, it was seeing her grandmother on the front porch, clearly distressed, wringing her hands and looking around anxiously.
Laurel slammed her vehicle into park and leaped out of her car, nearly stumbling in her eagerness to find out what had happened.
“Nana,” she cried, rushing toward her grandmother.
The instant Laurel came into view, Helen covered her mouth with her hands, and her eyes, filled with dread, looked to the ground.
“Laurel, oh dear, oh dear,” she said, her shoulders slumping. “I’m sorry. I’ve made a terrible mistake.”
Laurel wrapped her arms around her grandmother, hoping to comfort her. “Officer, what’s going on here?”
“Are you Laurel Lane? This is your grandmother?”
“Yes, but McCullough is my married name.”
“I’m so sorry,” Helen repeated, worry lines creasing her face. “When I woke from my nap, my mind was fuzzy. I was afraid because you weren’t home from school, so I called the police.”
“Your grandmother reported that her ten-year-old granddaughter hadn’t returned from school,” the kind officer explained to Laurel.
Laurel swallowed down her shock. Nana had been mentally slipping for a while now—little things she couldn’t remember, small details—and this was the second major incident within a short time period.
“As you can see, I’m a bit older than ten,” Laurel told the officer. “I’m sorry that we’ve troubled you. She’s a bit confused right now. I came to live with my grandmother when I was ten.”
“No trouble, Miss. We’re just happy we aren’t looking at an abduction.”
After answering a few more questions for the officers, Laurel gently led her grandmother back into the house and had her sit in her favorite chair.
“I don’t know what came over me,” Helen said, and moaned, covering her cheeks with her hands. “I’m so embarrassed.”
Helen wrapped her arms about herself like she needed to hold on to the present and leave the past behind. “I…I looked at the time and you weren’t home and suddenly you were ten years old again. I was convinced something dreadful had happened to you. What’s wrong with me?” she cried. “How could I have done something so bizarre? Am I going crazy?”
Laurel went to her knees in front of her precious grandmother. “Of course you aren’t crazy, Nana. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Those officers came