Jensen A New Vision

A Recipe for Love
1. Auflage 2023
ISBN: 979-8-3509-1400-9
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 332 Seiten

Readers who enjoy baking, small-town romance, quirky angels, and characters over forty will fall in love with Chelsi and Jake, two childhood best friends coming back together 30 years later.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Jensen, Janet

Leseproben

Chapter Two The Plan Jake Hollister and his eight-year-old daughter, Penny, had returned to Kringle, Vermont three years ago after the death of his wife, Amelia. Penny had been struggling with the Christmas holiday since the death of her mother, but was beginning to show restored excitement about the upcoming events. She had signed up again to sing with the children’s choir in the town’s Christmas festival, Kringlefest. For the past fifty years, patrons came from miles around to enjoy the sights, sounds, and flavors of the upcoming season. Since Kringle was not a winter touristy town, the festival was a much-needed boost for some of the smaller businesses. It was nearly 1:45 p.m. when Jake Hollister pulled into the Saint Michael’s Community Center parking lot, put the truck into park, and left it idling for warmth. Yesterday, all the Saint Michael’s participants had begun preparing for the pageant, and rehearsals were wrapping up for the afternoon. Throughout the morning, the temperature had dropped considerably, now hovering just below freezing. Threatening clouds hung low in the darkened sky, and several dozen birds huddled close on the overhead powerlines. The town of Kringle, Vermont was bracing for a major snowstorm, this one predicted to be ten to twelve inches of snow beginning as freezing rain. A friendly wave came from a female driver in the vehicle parked next to him. Acknowledging her, Jake rolled his window down. “Shouldn’t be too much longer,” the woman said. “I try to arrive early so Reese doesn’t have to wait outside in the cold.” Jake returned the small talk but couldn’t remember the woman’s name. Luckily, she told him her daughter’s name, and he remembered Penny going to her sleepover birthday party last month. An alert chimed on Jake’s phone. “Gotta go,” he told her, waved, and rolled his window up. Jake was an EMT with the Kringle Fire Department and had just completed this week’s rotation. Hoping he didn’t have to cover another shift, he removed his reading glasses from inside his puffer vest to read the incoming text. The sound of giggling girls exiting the rec center distracted him from his phone. Disappointment washed over him as he watched his precious daughter walk slowly toward the vehicle. Her head was down. A mane of dark brown hair framed the fur-lined hood of her red-quilted jacket. This can’t be good, he thought as she got into the truck. Trying to be as upbeat as possible, Jake said, “Hey, Pen. Have a good time at choir rehearsal?” “No, it was terrible! I don’t want to sing in the Christmas Pageant this year,” she said, slamming the back door to the truck a little harder than she should have. “But why, Sweet P? Yesterday you were so excited after choir practice you could hardly wait to show me your song booklet.” “That was yesterday. Before this.” Without looking up, Penny tossed a crumpled-up piece of green paper over her father’s shoulder. “What’s this?” “Pageant information. Please read it, Daddy.” Jake removed his glasses from the dash, flattened the handout against his thigh, and began to read aloud. “Kringle, Vermont’s, Golden Jubilee, Christmas Pageant.” He’d found it hard to comprehend the town of Kringle had been participating in the Christmas tradition since the year he was born. Up until Jake graduated high school, he had always lived in Kringle. His family looked forward to Kringlefest every year. His mom organized the baked goods, while his dad built the outdoor Living Nativity scene. Jake had been excited the year his father told him if he could hammer fifty nails into a spare piece of lumber without hammering his thumb, he would be allowed to help. That had been the year his best friend, Chelsi Burnett, moved into town. “Date, December 24th, yup. Time, uh-huh. Boy, I sure hope it won’t be as cold as last year. Remember how windy it was, and how we had to bundle up, Pen?” Penny sat in her seat, arms folded across her chest, unresponsive. “Tree lighting ceremony, always a crowd favorite. I wonder who Mayor Schaefer will choose this year to have the honor of pushing the button.” Jake looked in his rearview mirror at his daughter. Nothing. Um, a little help here, Amelia. You were so good at knowing exactly what to say to Penny. “Okay, well this is a fun change. Instead of an electric light parade, a pet parade has been put in its place. Want to enter Cocoa? I’m sure she’d like to spend some time with other dogs.” She looked up. “Sure. Okay. I thought that sounded like fun.” “That’s the spirit, kiddo.” “Hmmm…Children’s art display inside the community center. Well, you’ve already completed your colored pencil drawing of a tea party in the gazebo. And it is quite lovely, I might add. I could never draw or paint as good as you. Even my stick figures were unrecognizable. You certainly inherited your mother’s artistic flair.” Penny let out a quick laugh. A surge of tears streamed from her unsmiling eyes. “You have to say that. You’re my dad.” “Gingerbread house competition at the firehouse.” He sucked in a deep breath between his teeth. “Yep. There’s the first reason.” He turned around in his seat. “Well, Pen, we don’t have to—” “And we won’t!” she blurted out. He held up both hands in defense. “Hey, you can’t blame me for that one. How was I supposed to know the paper pastry bag would explode?” “You squeezed it too hard and the white icing squirted all over my lap. After I cleaned it up, I walked around all night looking like I wet my pants.” “And I did apologize for that. I guess I’m not as good of a gingerbread house assistant as your mom was. She was great at everything. Hey, to play it safe, I’ll put an extra set of clothes for you in my truck. Okay?” “I still don’t want to decorate a gingerbread house,” she mumbled. “Oh, here! I know you’ll love this one. Santa and his reindeer carousel ride. See, you’ll miss out on a great experience if we don’t go.” His daughter’s eyes connected with his in the truck’s rearview mirror. “Maybe I’ll get to ride Rudolph.” “Good girl, Penny. There’s the smile I’ve been waiting for. I hope you get your wish on that one. However, I won’t be joining you on your carousel ride.” “But why not, Daddy? It sounds like so much fun.” “It’s a long story, from when I was young.” “I don’t mind,” she said, sitting up a little taller. “I love hearing stories from when you were little.” “Well, I was a few years older than you when Grandma took me and Uncle Randy for a day trip to Coney Island in Brooklyn. The school year had just ended, and summer was right around the corner. We had had a lot of fun playing games, eating coney dogs and cotton candy, then laughing at each other in those distorted mirrors; you know, the ones that made you look tall and skinny or short and fat.” His daughter nodded. “The line for the carousel ride was pretty short, and we had just enough time before the beginning of the Mermaid Parade.” Penny leaned closer and blinked her eyes several times. “You saw a mermaid parade?” “Well, not exactly. You see, we missed it. There was this older kid in front of us in line who was bragging about how easy it was to get a brass ring from the carousel’s dispenser. He must’ve been around twelve and said he already had a couple at home. He bet me I wouldn’t be able to grab one.” “Ooooh, peer pressure! Not good, Daddy. Did you get the brass ring?” “Nope. I couldn’t quite reach it. So, when the bell rang indicating the last rotation, I took my safety belt off. When I reached for the brass ring, I slipped on the smooth surface of the saddle and fell off the horse. I landed hard on my shoulder. The pain was so bad, I thought it was broken. Haven’t been on a carousel since.” Penny covered her mouth and let out a short gasp. “Did you break your shoulder?” “Fortunately, no. But Grandma had to take me to the hospital for X-rays. The doctor said it was a bad sprain and I shouldn’t use it for a few days. He put my arm in a bright blue sling to stabilize it.” “No wonder you don’t want to ride the carousel with me.” Jake resumed his search for the offending item on the crumpled-up flyer. “Hot chocolate with marshmallows,” he said, smiling. “I was so embarrassed!” Penny said. “Every time I saw Jacob and Jordan at the festival, you know, the twins whose parents own Java Joes, they would puff up their cheeks, imitating you and Uncle Randy. Luckily, when school started, they had forgotten about it.” “Okay. You win.” Her dad crossed his heart. “I promise this year not to compete with Uncle Randy to see who can stuff the most marshmallows in our mouths. Deal?” “Deal.” “I love this one the best,” he said, shifting in his seat. “A performance by the Saint Michael’s Children’s Choir. That’s you! Homemade Christmas cookies. Yum!” “What do you mean, Yum. Didn’t you read the next line?” “Let’s see… four-dozen homemade cookies to be...