A Seagrove Christmas (South Carolina Sunsets #6) - Rachel Hanna Page 0,9

outstanding job!”

The sun had just set, and Lucy was back in the kitchen preparing dinner. If there was one thing Julie was excited about, it was seeing Lucy back at the inn. She had spent some much needed time with her family, but Julie had missed her food. Not that Julie was a terrible cook, but it also wasn’t something she enjoyed doing every single day. With a new little boy in the house who had a ravenous appetite, she felt like she needed to cook all the time.

When it was just her, she could get by on some microwave meals and the occasional home cooked Sunday meal. Plus, Dixie would often bring a lot of the food, so she didn’t feel like she was doing it alone. And then when it was her and Dawson just dating, he would often help her cook.

A new little boy with an enormous appetite had proved to be a challenge over Thanksgiving. It seemed like Julie couldn’t feed him enough. Every time she turned around, he was asking for a snack or she was making a sandwich. He didn’t have a big weight problem, although he was on the chubbier side. She remembered those days herself when she still had baby fat. It all melted off when she became more active in her teenage years.

“Wow! You two are doing a fantastic job with that. Are you having a good time, Dylan?” Dawson asked, as he walked through the door. He had been outside, working on some project in the barn. Julie wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but Dawson had taken up an interest in building furniture, so she figured it had something to do with her Christmas present that he was being very tightlipped about.

“It’s really fun!” Dylan said, sneaking one of the final gum drops and popping into his mouth. Julie pretended she didn’t see him.

“Listen, I need to tell you something. I hope you don’t get mad, but a woman came into the bookstore today that really seemed in need. She’s visiting town for the first time, says she has some family here. Anyway, she kind of appeared down on her luck, and she was staying over at the motel.”

Dawson smiled. “You offered her a room here, didn’t you?”

Julie scrunched her nose and shrugged her shoulders. “Are you upset?”

He leaned down and kissed her on top of the head. “Of course not! It’s Christmas, and we do for others at Christmas, don’t we?”

Dylan nodded. “That’s what my Sunday school teacher said. We should do nice things for other people all year, but especially at Christmas time because that’s what God would want us to do.”

Julie and Dawson had gotten Dylan involved with their church. He needed a foundation, and not just one with his family. They wanted to do everything they could to rebuild his sense of security after suffering so many losses in his young life. They wanted him to have a community of people surrounding him who loved him and would always be there for him.

“We will always welcome people here when we have room,” Dawson said.

Dylan giggled. “Like they had to welcome Mary and Joseph at the inn?”

Dawson nodded. “I guess it’s a lot like that. Anyway, when is this lady coming?”

“Tonight. In fact, I expect her to show up at any minute.”

“Do we know her name?”

“Tina Hobbs.”

“I’ll go get her room ready. And if you can tell Lucy that we’re going to have an extra mouth to feed for the next little while, that would be helpful.”

Julie watched her husband walk up the stairs and was again in awe of his giving nature. Dawson was truly one of those people who would give the shirt right off his back, and she knew he would never be mad about her inviting someone to stay. Still, she hadn’t quite started feeling like the inn was also her home. With Janine living at the cabin with Colleen, she sort of felt like a fish out of water sometimes. She loved living at the inn, with its space and beautiful, sweeping views, but in her mind it was still a part of Dawson’s family. His heritage. She figured at some point, it would start to feel like her own home too.

Before Julie had a chance to go tell Lucy, she popped her head out of the kitchen. “Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes.”

“Thanks, Lucy. Listen, do you mind setting an extra place tonight? We have a new guest