A Mrs. Miracle Christmas - Debbie Macomber Page 0,2
Laurel was in awe at what a patient and loving father her husband was.
But then, two weeks before the adoption was to be finalized, Jonathan’s birth father had been located. He’d known nothing of the baby and decided he wanted his son. Jonathan had been taken from Laurel and Zach, ripped from her arms. Numb with grief, she’d sunk into a deep depression that had lasted for weeks.
Reeling from the heartache of losing their foster baby, as well as the failed IVF treatments and the endless waiting list from the adoption agency, Laurel decided her heart could endure no more grief. They both agreed it was time to let go and accept that this was the way their lives were meant to be.
“I have the children in my class,” she murmured out loud to her grandmother, trying to reassure herself. As a first-grade teacher, Laurel loved every student. Teaching was her calling and her joy, and every day she looked forward to spending time with these precious little ones who were craving to learn.
“You’re a wonderful teacher,” Nana said. “You’ll be an equally fantastic mother.”
The front door opened, and her husband called out to announce he was home. Zach was Laurel’s rock, her voice of reason, the one who kept her on balance through the worst part of this vicious roller-coaster ride. A computer programmer, he worked at the downtown Seattle offices of Amazon.
He paused when he saw Laurel on the floor in front of her grandmother. Alarmed, his eyes quickly met Laurel’s.
Scrambling to her feet, Laurel stood and hugged her husband, loving the solid feel of his body against hers. “It’s been quite the day.” She hated to hit him with unwelcome news the instant he walked in the door. “Did you happen to see the police cars leaving the neighborhood on your walk home from the bus stop?”
Perplexed, Zach said that he had.
“I’m afraid I’m the culprit,” Helen announced. “I called the police because I thought Laurel had been kidnapped.”
“What?” Zach burst out.
“It’s all been taken care of,” Laurel hurried to say, not wanting to upset her grandmother further. “Just a misunderstanding.”
“I forgot that Laurel is an adult,” Nana explained to Zach. “In my mind she was still a schoolgirl, and she wasn’t home from school, and I got worried, so I called the police, and they came, and…oh dear, I’ve really made such a mess of things, haven’t I?”
Zach gently touched her shoulder and looked lovingly into Helen’s eyes. “Are you okay? That’s all that matters.”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine. I feel so foolish.”
His brow furrowed and he shared a worried look with Laurel. “Let’s just be glad everything turned out okay. What’s for dinner?” He looked over at his wife. This was a code the two shared that meant they needed to talk privately.
“Meat loaf,” Laurel said, heading toward the kitchen. “I need to get it in the oven.”
“I’ll help,” Zach said, following close behind.
The minute they were sure Nana couldn’t hear their discussion, he expressed his concern. “What was Helen thinking calling the police?”
“I know. And it was only last week when she got lost in her own neighborhood. What are we going to do?”
Sinking into a kitchen chair, Zach folded his hands, a habit he had when deep in thought. “This can’t continue. We need to bring someone in.”
“But who?”
“There are agencies that provide this kind of care. It’s time we looked into it.”
Neither of them dared to mention the expense. Somehow, they’d make it work. They both knew that Nana wouldn’t do well in an assisted-living facility. She was most comfortable in her own home, surrounded by all that was familiar and by those she loved.
Laurel lowered into the chair across the table from her husband. Her heart sank as she shared more unfortunate news. “Nana called me Kelly last week.”
Zach placed his hand over Laurel’s, giving it a gentle squeeze.
Kelly was Laurel’s mother, who had died in a freak accident when Laurel was ten. Her mother had slipped on the ice, hit her head, and died shortly afterward. Laurel’s father, Michael, regularly traveled out of state as a business consultant, and, unable to change his work commitments, he reluctantly sent Laurel to live with her grandparents. Eventually, her father had remarried and moved to another state with his new wife. Rather than uproot Laurel, he knew it was best for his daughter to stay with her grandparents. Laurel’s relationship with her father remained close, and they’d talked almost every