Endless Love (Santa’s Secret Helpers #5) - Leeanna Morgan Page 0,7
he saw the kittens, John smiled. They were curled around each other on a fluffy gray blanket. With a tray of kitty litter, a big bowl of water, and the kittens’ bed, they would be as warm as toast and much safer than under a house.
“Patrick thinks their mother must have moved them to my house, then left,” Shelley said. “They were cold and hungry when we found them.”
“And dirty,” Bailey added. “Shelley’s taking them to the animal shelter on Saturday. But it would be so much better if you adopted them.”
“I won’t need to. There will be lots of families looking for kittens.”
“I’m not sure there would be at this time of the year,” Shelley said with a worried frown. “Most people are still getting over Christmas.”
“The perfect family will come along,” John said.
“I hope you’re right.”
Bailey shooed John and her sister out of the laundry. “We’ll close the door so the kittens don’t run through the house while we’re gone.”
John looked over his shoulder at Bailey and Shelley. “Do you mind if I come with you to deliver the baskets?”
Shelley slipped her warm hand into his. “I can’t think of anything better. The gift baskets are in Bailey’s truck.”
With her keys in her hand, Bailey smiled. “We’ve already made two little kittens happy tonight. Let’s make some more wishes come true.”
As they walked down the hallway, John sighed. He knew all about wishes coming true. He’d met Shelley’s family a few months ago and had always enjoyed their company. But when he’d met Shelley, his whole world had changed.
Without knowing it, she’d made his Christmas wish come true, and each day was better than the last.
“I don’t know how we’ll ever be able to repay your kindness,” Iris Donaldson said to John, Bailey, and Shelley. “You’ve made three children very happy.”
“I’m glad we could help,” Shelley said. “If you want to write a message to the person who asked for the Christmas wish for you, we could give it to them.”
“Thank you. I’ll do that.” Iris smiled at her children. They were gathered around the dining table, helping each other log into their school’s website. “We only have one computer in the house and couldn’t afford individual laptops. This will make a big difference to what they can do in their classrooms and at home.”
John knew how much this meant to Iris and her children. It wasn’t easy raising children, especially when you didn’t have a lot of money. “If you have any issues with the computers, come and see me.”
Iris hugged each of them. “Thank you again. I’m sure my children will enjoy writing a thank you note to everyone. We’ll bring the letters to The Welcome Center after everyone finishes school tomorrow.”
John picked up his jacket. “I’ll look forward to seeing you. If I’m not there, Shelley will probably be in her office.”
Shelley smiled at Iris. “I’ll be at The Welcome Center until five o’clock. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
After the children said goodbye, John followed Bailey and Shelley toward the truck. “That was a great way to spend an evening.”
“And it’s not over yet.” Shelley waited for her sister to unlock the doors. “Kylie has invited us to her store for a cup of coffee and a preview of our next fundraising pages on her website.”
He checked his watch. “Are you sure you don’t want to do it tomorrow? It’s getting late.”
“It has to be tonight. I’ve got a full day of appointments tomorrow. Then, after work, Bailey and I are going to The Fairy Forest and talking to Daniella. We need to work out how many tables we’ll need for the wedding.”
“As well as a hundred other things we need to finalize,” Bailey said with a sigh.
John didn’t want their double wedding to be stressful on anyone. Unfortunately, Shelley and Bailey looked overwhelmed. He held Shelley’s hand. “Can I talk to Daniella tomorrow instead of you and Bailey?”
“If you could, that would be great. Adding more wedding guests means we have to reorganize the layout of the room and check that our caterers can still provide the food we need.”
Bailey started the truck. “Do you have the final number of people you’d like to invite from your side of the family, John?”
He pulled on his seatbelt. “Almost. Mom and Dad are just going over the last few names.” It was never going to be easy to keep the number of wedding guests to a minimum from his side of the family. With five