Mrs. Miracle Page 0,21

two full-time and one part-time employee were well trained and able to carry on their duties without her standing over them with a whip and chair.

She was a natural with children, although she hadn't had much opportunity of late to get involved with them. Working with the younger generation didn't intimidate her, not the way it would others. The truth was, she was desperately lonely. The holidays were always difficult for her. Others had family, friends, obligations. At no other time of the year did it bother her more that she wasn't married. The Christmas project would help take her mind off all that she'd missed.

But the most convincing argument, the one that carried the most weight, was what her employee had said about meeting Seth Webster. He didn't know her. Had no reason to make her acquaintance. Weeks, months, could pass before she had an opportunity to invent an excuse to meet him. Yet here was the golden opportunity to not only meet him, but work with his children, get to know him and his sons. Talk about having something handed to her on a silver platter.

"No one knows me," she said several minutes later, picking up the conversation where they'd left off.

Jayne looked at her and blinked. "You mean at church? Sure they do. Maybe not by name, but certainly they know your face."

"It'd be like asking a stranger to step in."

"There'll be other adults there as well. It isn't unusual for a number of parents to pitch in."

"It isn't?" This gave her hope.

"Mrs. Darling has been teaching the children the music ever since September. I think you'll find that it isn't nearly as demanding as everyone's made it seem. All that's really required is the right person."

"And you think that's me?" She remained skeptical, but Jayne was right: this was a golden opportunity.

"Beyond a doubt. You're perfect."

"Hardly," Reba said. She was a long way from that.

"As an added bonus you get to meet Mr. Webster."

"Seth," she supplied without thinking.

"Seth, is it? And just how did you find that out?"

The corners of Reba's mouth tickled with the effort to repress a smile. "I have my ways."

"I'm sure you do."

The morning passed quickly. With the holidays fast approaching, the foot traffic was higher than usual. It amazed Reba that people actually expected to walk into a travel agency and book an extensive trip for the holidays. November and December were two of the most popular vacation months of the entire year.

"You'll thank me for this later, you know," Jayne commented after Reba called and talked to Pastor Lovelace. He seemed genuinely pleased to hear from her and ecstatic when she told him the reason for her phone call.

"Don't be so sure. Depending on how this turns out, I might be forced to hire a hit man."

"Just you wait, you're going to thank me for this," Jayne said with utter confidence. Lights from the Christmas tree stand on the other side of the parking lot blinked on in the descending daylight. "Who knows how long it would have taken you to meet Seth Webster if it weren't for me?"

Reba pinched her lips together to keep from retorting. Yes, meeting Seth was one of the reasons she'd agreed to take over the coordinator's job, but it wasn't the only one.

The bell over the door jingled as the latest customer entered the shop.

Reba glanced up and smiled automatically. "Can I help you?" It wasn't until the words had slipped past her lips that she realized it was Seth Webster who stood in front of her desk.

The air between them sizzled. Reba wondered if anyone else noticed. She did, and she knew he did, too.

"Hello again," he said, and smiled.

It took a great deal to unnerve her, but he'd succeeded.

"How can I help you?" she asked in what she hoped was a nonchalant manner, gesturing toward the empty chair in front of her desk. Now all she had to do was figure out a way to carry on an intelligent conversation.

Chapter 9

Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous: you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides.

- Margaret Thatcher, as told to Mrs. Miracle

Emily Merkle hummed softly to herself as she went about preparing dinner for Mr. Webster and the children. It was these short-term assignments that she enjoyed the most. Timing was everything.

She never doubted that broken hearts could be mended, but all the pieces had to be gathered together first. She'd see to that, of