Christmas promise, p.1
Christmas Promise, page 1
Christmas Promise
Soul Sisters at Cedar Mountain Lodge Book 16
Violet Howe
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, events, and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
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No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
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www.violethowe.com
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Cover Design: Elizabeth Mackey
www.elizabethmackeygraphics.com
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Published by Charbar Productions, LLC
(e-v1)
Copyright © 2023 Violet Howe/LM Howe/Charbar Productions, LLC
All rights reserved.
E-ISBN: 978-1-7339634-4-2
Books by Violet Howe
Tales Behind the Veils
Diary of a Single Wedding Planner
Diary of a Wedding Planner in Love
Diary of an Engaged Wedding Planner
Maggie
THE CEDAR CREEK COLLECTION
Cedar Creek Mysteries:
The Ghost in the Curve
The Glow in the Woods
The Phantom in the Footlights
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Cedar Creek Families:
Building Fences
Crossing Paths
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Cedar Creek Suspense:
Whiskey Flight
Bounty Flight
Fallen Bloodlines:
Vampire Born
Soul Sisters at Cedar Mountain Lodge
Christmas Sisters
Christmas Hope
Christmas Peace
Christmas Secret
Christmas Promise
Christmas with Maddie (Boxset)
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Sail Away Series
Welcome Aboard
Moonlight on the Lido Deck
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Click here or visit www.violethowe.com to subscribe to Violet’s monthly newsletter for news on upcoming releases, events, sales, and other tidbits.
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Or join her Facebook reader group, the UltraViolets, for fun interaction, advance news, exclusive content and giveaways.
For Dad
May our hearts always remember each other,
even when our minds no longer do
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Christmas Eve, one year later
Continue The Story…
Also by Violet Howe
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Thank You
Chapter 1
“Guess what I did?” Lindsey asked Robert when he opened the front door.
“Nothing illegal, I hope.” He lifted his glass to rattle the ice cubes. “I’ve kicked off the weekend with a couple of pre-dinner cocktails, so I’m a poor candidate to drive the getaway car.”
“No getaway driver needed this time, but I’ll keep you in mind for any future crime sprees.” She scanned the room as she unzipped her coat. “Where’s Madds?”
“Claire flew in from her latest cruise this afternoon, so Maddie went over to return the plant that’s been in our care while she was gone.” He took Lindsey’s coat and hung it on the rack by the door. “She should be back any minute. Dinner’s in the oven, almost done. You want a glass of wine?”
“Yes, please,” Lindsey said as she tossed her scarf over her coat and tugged the hem of her sweater down around her hips.
“Are you going to tell me what you did, or will I be kept in suspense until my wife returns?”
“I suppose I should wait and tell the two of you together.” She paused for a moment while Robert retrieved the wine and a glass, and then she laughed, clasping her hands together. “Oh, screw it! I can’t wait. I have to tell someone. I put in an offer on the condo!”
“What? That’s awesome. Congratulations!” He finished pouring the wine and handed Lindsey the glass. “I thought you’d decided against it.”
“I had, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt like I was missing a great opportunity. I love the layout, and the renovations they’ve made to the kitchen and the bathroom add a lot of value to the unit. Of course, being in the building next door is the biggest draw. Maddie and I will be close enough to walk to each other, and I won’t be crashing your guest bedroom every time you turn around.”
“You know we love having you here.”
“And I love being here.” She set the wine glass on the end table and plopped down on the sofa next to it. “I never imagined I’d have a sister, and having found her so late in life, I don’t want to miss out on anything else. I want to be near her. Plus, I’ve grown so close with Jo and Stevie these past three years, and I never realized being an aunt could be so much fun. I adore those girls and their kids. Now that I have this big family, I need to be close by where I can help out and participate in the kids’ activities. Besides, I’m already coming here one weekend a month to volunteer my veterinary services with Marissa, so it makes sense to have my own place in Granite Ridge sooner rather than later.”
“So, what will you do? Just continue working at your clinic in Boise and then come up here to the condo when you can get away?” Robert asked from his recliner.
“For now, that’s what I’ll have to do. But I was thinking on the drive up tonight that I’d like to start lightening my workload to be able to spend more time here. I don’t necessarily want to sever ties with my existing patients, but moving forward, I could minimize the number of new clients I take on, and I might even remove myself from the weekend rotation completely so I could come up every Friday.”
“Will the other vets at your clinic be okay with that? Although, I suppose you can do whatever you want since you own the place.”
“I have a great staff, and they’re very capable of functioning without me. Plus, they’re young and eager to work. I think they know the time is coming for me to phase out. We’re a close team. They all recognize that my priorities have shifted since Maddie and I connected. My work is still my main focus, of course, but spending time with you guys the last three years has made me realize I want more out of life than just my job.”
Robert chuckled. “Speaking as a reformed workaholic, I can certainly relate to that. Since meeting Maddie, I’ve done much better at making time spent away from work a priority. It’s a lesson I wished I had learned sooner so my son could have benefitted more from it.”
“Well, I can’t see that I’ll ever stop working, but I figure if I can work hard from here instead of there, then when I do have free time, I’d already be close by.”
“What do you mean by work hard from here? Doing what? I assumed you would retire when you left Boise.”
“Nope.” She gave a slight shake of her head with a mischievous grin. “I have big plans for Granite Ridge. It’s gonna take some time to line it all up, which is why I want to start laying the groundwork now. The condo is only one piece of the puzzle, and if I can get the rest of the pieces to come together the way I want them to, I’ll have plenty to do here when the time comes to sell my clinic in Boise.”
Tracing his finger around the rim of his glass, Robert grinned back at her. “Puzzle pieces. Groundwork. Secret plans. I’m intrigued. Care to share more?”
Lindsey shifted her position on the couch, tucking her foot beneath her so she could face Robert. Her enthusiasm for the topic was evident in the way her voice and her eyes brightened, and her sly grin broke into a full-on smile as she talked. “Okay, so you know what I’ve been doing with Marissa, right?”
Robert nodded. “Yeah. Basically, she takes in the older pets that get dropped off at the shelter, and you volunteer to help with their veterinary care while she tries to find them a home. Claire introduced you two, right?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, it’s always a challenge to get these older guys and gals adopted. People tend to want puppies or younger pets with a lot of life left in them. Plus, the seniors typically require more hands-on care, and they often have hefty medical expenses in their golden years. So Marissa and I agree it would be easier to place them if the prospective owners knew the pet’s medical expenses would be covered for the rest of their lives. Meaning no cost to the owner, not just for regular check-ups but for X-rays, scans, lab work, medications, you name it. Eventually, we’d even provide mobile services for in-house visits for those who need it.”
“Wow. That would certainly sweeten the deal, but how would you and Marissa swing that? Sounds pretty costly, especially if you plan to keep adding more pets to the roster.”
“Correct. Which is why we’ve decided to start a charity and begin fundraising. I’ve got an appointment with an attorney to see what I can legally run through my clinic as far as medications, lab work, scans—anything we’d normally have to pay for. If I can provide all that with no markup, then any dollars we raise will go farther. Obviously, I can
“Forgive my ignorance on the topic, but how big of a problem is this? Are there really that many older animals being surrendered here in Granite Ridge?”
“More than you might think.”
Robert shook his head in disbelief. “How can people give up an animal who’s been part of their family for years just because it gets old?”
“Well, to be fair, sometimes the owners themselves have gotten older and developed issues that prevent them from keeping their pets. But more often than not, it comes down to money. The older pets get, the more complications they’re likely to have, and if a family can’t afford the expense, sometimes they have to decide between not providing the care the pet needs or surrendering it in hopes someone else will be able to cover the costs. It doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t love their animals. Sometimes they simply can’t afford the ongoing care demands.”
“Then in those cases, why not just offer these discounted services to the people who own the pets to keep them from being surrendered in the first place?”
“That’s another layer of our plan. We’re trying to come up with income guidelines to determine who would qualify, but for those who do, our charity would cover the cost of that pet’s medical care, enabling them to stay with their family.”
“You ladies have put some serious thought into this.”
“Yes, we have. We even have a name for it. We’re calling it Sunset Paws; you know, because they’re in the sunset stage of life.”
“I like it. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen you this excited about anything. Good for you!”
“I am excited. I’ve had a soft spot for this cause for quite some time, and I’m thrilled to have found Marissa and discover that we have such similar visions for how we want to address it. This is a project I can throw myself into wholeheartedly, and I’m psyched to get it going. Caring for animals is all I’ve ever wanted to do, and I still love my job. But I’ve been at that clinic in Boise for over twenty years. I’m grateful for the success I’ve had there. I’ve been able to achieve the goals I set when I started out to own my clinic and be respected in my field. But it’s time for a change. I’m ready for something new. A new challenge. A new project. New goals.”
“In a new location, no less. Well, I’m happy for you. I’m assuming you’ve told Maddie about this?”
“Of course. I’m surprised she hasn’t mentioned it to you.”
“To be honest, we don’t see each other as often when we’re both in holiday mode. The lodge is sold out through New Year’s, and we’ve got Winterfest coming up, so I’m working longer hours. And you know your sister’s obsession with everything Christmas. It’s her favorite time of year, so she’s busy spreading holiday cheer everywhere she can. If she’s not volunteering at the school or helping some family in need, she’s doing every activity imaginable with Jo and Stevie’s kids. And she loves every minute of it, so I’m happy for her to be able to do it.”
“Maddie is like Granite Ridge’s own personal elf. I always tell people I never really cared for Christmas celebrations before my sister got ahold of me.”
They both laughed, and then Robert lifted his glass to her. “Well, I think this plan of yours is a noble idea, and I wish you great success.”
“Thanks. Marissa has a background working with nonprofits, so she’s a whiz at this fundraising thing. You’ve met her, right? She’s got such a dynamic personality and more determination than anyone I’ve ever met, except maybe Maddie. If anyone can get this thing off the ground and make it succeed, it’s Marissa. I’m just along to provide medical care and moral support.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. You bring more to the table than you think. You’re a successful businesswoman yourself, remember?”
“True, but I took over a clinic someone else had already established. This is building something from nothing and asking other people to foot the bill for it. And you haven’t even heard the final stage of the plan. Like I said before, we have big ideas!” She spread her hands out to each side in an expansive motion as she said it, and then, leaning forward, she dropped her voice as if she was confiding a huge secret to Robert. “If we can get the hospice project up and running, fully funded, then eventually, we want to expand beyond the senior pets and open a free clinic for pets of every age.”
Robert’s brows lifted, his eyes widening. “Free? Really?”
“Well, not entirely free, but we could offer some routine services—like exams, for instance—for free and then price everything else as low as possible. People shouldn’t have to worry about breaking the bank to get their fur baby the care it needs. Think about how many more pets we could find homes for if the owners didn’t have to lose sleep over the cost of the medical bills.”
Robert’s brow creased with his frown. “What does that do to your profit margin, though? How will you make money?”
“The point is not the profit margin. We’re looking at the clinic as being another arm of the charity. We’d still rely on fundraising to provide that as a service to the community.”
His frown deepened as he rubbed his hand over his chin with a doubtful huff. “Whew!”
“I know,” Lindsey said, holding up a hand to ward off his protest. “It sounds crazy.”
“No. Well, maybe a little. I mean, it’s a lovely idea—again, noble is the word that comes to mind—but it’s one thing to donate your time and your skills part-time to a charity and raise enough funds to cover a few medical expenses here and there. It’s quite another altogether to run a business with the intention of making no money.”
“Keep in mind that the services we’d offer for free won’t cost us anything. Anything that would cost us, we’ll charge enough for to ensure we break even.”
“Okay, but what about the overhead of a brick-and-mortar location? Obviously, you would know more about that than me, but off the top of my head, I’m thinking there must be some cost for the space, whether that’s mortgage, rent, or purchasing a building out right. You’ve got utilities, taxes, insurance. Then there’s whatever equipment and supplies you need for the veterinary practice itself. And even if you intend to live off your retirement at that point and don’t need additional money coming in, you’d have to hire staff if you’re doing any kind of volume at all. Unless you’re expecting to run an all-volunteer team?”
“All valid points, and all things we’ve considered.” Lindsey sighed and sat back against the sofa. “Look, we know it won’t be easy, which is why the clinic is the final phase of the plan. There’s a lot to be done before we get to that point. But we believe in what we’re doing, and we believe we can find a way to make it possible. Some day.”
With another sigh, Robert’s frown softened, and he smiled. “I’m sure you will find a way. It’s a great idea, and I think it would be good for the community. But I’m also genuinely curious as to how you’d sustain it.”
“I understand, but it’s not a novel concept. It’s been done before, and we’ve been studying examples of clinics that operate this way or in similar fashion. We’ve also researched existing charitable organizations that provide funding for veterinary costs to see what practices we could emulate and what we could tap into as resources. We won’t make a move until we’re certain we have a path to make it work.”
“If there’s a path, I know you’ll find it. And look, despite my seemingly skeptical outlook, you do have my support, and Maddie’s as well, I’m sure.” Standing, Robert motioned for her empty glass, and when she handed it to him, he took it to the bar to refill it. “Generating the kind of consistent, steady baseline you’re talking about will be much more difficult if you’re relying only on grass roots, small-amount donors. For a clinic, you’ll need benefactors. Patrons who are passionate about animals and supportive of your cause. You need to find people who are willing to commit to ongoing donations of sizable amounts.”
