Whispers From The Heart
Chapter One
If you had told me last Christmas, I’d be a young widower the same time next year, I wouldn’t have believed it. Yet here I am in December, gazing helplessly at the grocery store shelf, my motherless babe in my arms.
“Bear with me, sweetie. I’m afraid your dear old dad’s at loss for all this.”
Tucking Hope’s head onto my shoulder, I continue to stare at the shelves holding things I know nothing about. But I’m determined to make this happen. All I want is to give my infant daughter a proper Christmas. For not only is this our first Christmas on our own, it is also my baby girl’s first birthday.
My poor little girl, my sweet Hope. I’ve let her down in so many ways. For too long I’ve lived in the shadow of my grief. I’ve neglected her, I have, and I won’t deny it. I can tell by the way she clings to me. She is just getting used to me again. In the beginning, I was afraid of her a little, I must admit. As excited as I was to be a father, I hadn’t expected to be a single parent to a newborn baby girl. But then again, I’m sure Hope hadn’t expected to be left motherless before she took her first breath. We had been handed a raw deal, the two of us, no doubt about that.
It’s hard to believe the one year anniversary of her mother’s death is only a month away. I lost the love of my life on Christmas Eve as she gave birth to my daughter and the memory of it still tears me apart if I dwell on it too long. Yet never have I blamed Hope, for that would be unforgivable of me. Even in the darkest depths of grief, I knew this to be true. But that doesn’t stop others from doubting the depths of my love for this gift I hold in my arms.
I ignore the incessant buzzing of my phone in my coat pocket. I don’t even have to check to know who it is. My dearly departed wife’s mother is determined to take Hope away from me for the Christmas holidays and I am just as determined not to let that happen. I will not give her that satisfaction no matter how daunting the idea of doing this on my own is. As great is my grief, my stubborn nature will not allow me to give up. I will not give up my daughter. She is all I have left of her mother.
Hearts will break, tears will fall, but where there is hope, love conquers all.
Recently widowed composer, Lyndon Grace, has only one thing on his mind. Christmas is fast approaching, and he needs to make it as special as possible for his motherless infant daughter. Trouble is, he hasn’t a clue how to go about it. Worse yet, he fears losing his baby girl in an impending battle for custody with his estranged in-laws.
Twenty-year-old Evelyn Dawson is at the end of her rope. Taking care of her little brother is not what she expected to do at her age. Homeless, jobless, and desperate, she needs to find a solution, quick.
Brought together by fate, and a sprinkling of benign intervention, these two souls from very different worlds attempt to make the most of an unlikely yet mutually advantageous arrangement.
