Christmas Rings Read online

  Praise for Tess Thompson

  The School Mistress of Emerson Pass:

  "Sometimes we all need to step away from our lives and sink into a safe, happy place where family and love are the main ingredients for surviving. You'll find that and more in The School Mistress of Emerson Pass. I delighted in every turn of the story and when away from it found myself eager to return to Emerson Pass. I can't wait for the next book." - Kay Bratt, Bestselling author of Wish Me Home and True to Me.

  "I frequently found myself getting lost in the characters and forgetting that I was reading a book." - Camille Di Maio, Bestselling author of The Memory of Us.

  "Highly recommended." - Christine Nolfi, Award winning author of The Sweet Lake Series.

  "I loved this book!" - Karen McQuestion, Bestselling author of Hello Love and Good Man, Dalton.

  * * *

  Traded: Brody and Kara:

  "I loved the sweetness of Tess Thompson's writing - the camaraderie and long-lasting friendships make you want to move to Cliffside and become one of the gang! Rated Hallmark for romance!" - Stephanie Little BookPage

  * * *

  "This story was well written. You felt what the characters were going through. It's one of those "I got to know what happens next" books. So intriguing you won't want to put it down." - Lena Loves Books

  "This story has so much going on, but it intertwines within itself. You get second chance, lost loves, and new love. I could not put this book down! I am excited to start this series and have love for this little Bayside town that I am now fond off!" - Crystal's Book World

  "This is a small town romance story at its best and I look forward to the next book in the series." - Gillek2, Vine Voice

  "This is one of those books that make you love to be a reader and fan of the author." -Pamela Lunder, Vine Voice

  * * *

  Blue Midnight:

  "This is a beautiful book with an unexpected twist that takes the story from romance to mystery and back again. I've already started the 2nd book in the series!" - Mama O

  * * *

  "This beautiful book captured my attention and never let it go. I did not want it to end and so very much look forward to reading the next book." - Pris Shartle

  * * *

  "I enjoyed this new book cover to cover. I read it on my long flight home from Ireland and it helped the time fly by, I wish it had been longer so my whole flight could have been lost to this lovely novel about second chances and finding the truth. Written with wisdom and humor this novel shares the raw emotions a new divorce can leave behind." - J. Sorenson

  * * *

  "Tess Thompson is definitely one of my auto-buy authors! I love her writing style. Her characters are so real to life that you just can't put the book down once you start! Blue Midnight makes you believe in second chances. It makes you believe that everyone deserves an HEA. I loved the twists and turns in this book, the mystery and suspense, the family dynamics and the restoration of trust and security." - Angela MacIntyre

  * * *

  "Tess writes books with real characters in them, characters with flaws and baggage and gives them a second chance. (Real people, some remind me of myself and my girlfriends.) Then she cleverly and thoroughly develops those characters and makes you feel deeply for them. Characters are complex and multi-faceted, and the plot seems to unfold naturally, and never feels contrived." - K. Lescinsky

  * * *

  Caramel and Magnolias:

  "Nobody writes characters like Tess Thompson. It's like she looks into our lives and creates her characters based on our best friends, our lovers, and our neighbors. Caramel and Magnolias, and the authors debut novel Riversong, have some of the best characters I've ever had a chance to fall in love with. I don't like leaving spoilers in reviews so just trust me, Nicholas Sparks has nothing on Tess Thompson, her writing flows so smoothly you can't help but to want to read on!" - T. M. Frazier

  * * *

  "I love Tess Thompson's books because I love good writing. Her prose is clean and tight, which are increasingly rare qualities, and manages to evoke a full range of emotions with both subtlety and power. Her fiction goes well beyond art imitating life. Thompson's characters are alive and fully-realized, the action is believable, and the story unfolds with the right balance of tension and exuberance. CARAMEL AND MAGNOLIAS is a pleasure to read." - Tsuruoka

  * * *

  "The author has an incredible way of painting an image with her words. Her storytelling is beautiful, and leaves you wanting more! I love that the story is about friendship (2 best friends) and love. The characters are richly drawn and I found myself rooting for them from the very beginning. I think you will, too!" - Fogvision

  * * *

  "I got swept off my feet, my heartstrings were pulled, I held my breath, and tightened my muscles in suspense. Tess paints stunning scenery with her words and draws you in to the lives of her characters."- T. Bean

  * * *

  Duet For Three Hands:

  “Tears trickled down the side of my face when I reached the end of this road. Not because the story left me feeling sad or disappointed, no. Rather, because I already missed them. My friends. Though it isn't goodbye, but see you later. And so I will sit impatiently waiting, with desperate eagerness to hear where life has taken you, what burdens have you downtrodden, and what triumphs warm your heart. And in the meantime, I will go out and live, keeping your lessons and friendship and love close, the light to guide me through any darkness. And to the author I say thank you. My heart, my soul -all of me - needed these words, these friends, this love. I am forever changed by the beauty of your talent.” - Lisa M.Gott

  * * *

  “I am a great fan of Tess Thompson's books and this new one definitely shows her branching out with an engaging enjoyable historical drama/love story. She is a true pro in the way she weaves her storyline, develops true to life characters that you love! The background and setting is so picturesque and visible just from her words. Each book shows her expanding, growing and excelling in her art. Yet another one not to miss. Buy it you won't be disappointed. The ONLY disappointment is when it ends!!!” - Sparky's Last

  * * *

  “There are some definite villains in this book. Ohhhh, how I loved to hate them. But I have to give Thompson credit because they never came off as caricatures or one dimensional. They all felt authentic to me and (sadly) I could easily picture them. I loved to love some and loved to hate others.” - The Baking Bookworm

  * * *

  “I stayed up the entire night reading Duet For Three Hands and unbeknownst to myself, I fell asleep in the middle of reading the book. I literally woke up the next morning with Tyler the Kindle beside me (thankfully, still safe and intact) with no ounce of battery left. I shouldn't have worried about deadlines because, guess what? Duet For Three Hands was the epitome of unputdownable.” - The Bookish Owl

  * * *

  Miller’s Secret

  “From the very first page, I was captivated by this wonderful tale. The cast of characters amazing - very fleshed out and multi-dimensional. The descriptions were perfect - just enough to make you feel like you were transported back to the 20's and 40's.... This book was the perfect escape, filled with so many twists and turns I was on the edge of my seat for the entire read.” - Hilary Grossman

  * * *

  “The sad story of a freezing-cold orphan looking out the window at his rich benefactors on Christmas Eve started me off with Horatio-Alger expectations for this book. But I quickly got pulled into a completely different world--the complex five-character braid that the plot weaves. The three men and two women characters are so alive I felt I could walk up and start talking to any one of them, and I'd love to have lunch with Henry. Then the plot quickly turned
sinister enough to keep me turning the pages.

  Class is set against class, poor and rich struggle for happiness and security, yet it is love all but one of them are hungry for. ......Where does love come from? What do you do about it? The story kept me going, and gave me hope. For a little bonus, there are Thompson's delightful observations, like: "You'd never know we could make something this good out of the milk from an animal who eats hats." A really good read!” - Kay in Seattle

  * * *

  “She paints vivid word pictures such that I could smell the ocean and hear the doves. Then there are the stories within a story that twist and turn until they all come together in the end. I really had a hard time putting it down. Five stars aren't enough!” - M.R. Williams

  Christmas Rings

  Soul Sisters at Cedar Mountain Lodge, Book 6

  Tess Thompson

  Copyright © 2020 by Tess Thompson

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  For all the sisters out there, whether related by blood or simply by the ties of friendship.

  Also by Tess Thompson

  CLIFFSIDE BAY

  * * *

  Traded: Brody and Kara

  Deleted: Jackson and Maggie

  Jaded: Zane and Honor

  Marred: Kyle and Violet

  Tainted: Lance and Mary

  Cliffside Bay Christmas, The Season of Cats and Babies (Cliffside Bay Novella to be read after Tainted)

  Missed: Rafael and Lisa

  Cliffside Bay Christmas Wedding (Cliffside Bay Novella to be read after Missed)

  Healed: Stone and Pepper

  Chateau Wedding (Cliffside Bay Novella to be read after Healed)

  Scarred: Trey and Autumn

  Jilted: Nico and Sophie

  Kissed (Cliffside Bay Novella to be read after Jilted)

  Departed: David and Sara

  Cliffside Bay Bundle , Books 1,2,3

  * * *

  BLUE MOUNTAIN SERIES

  * * *

  Blue Mountain Bundle, Books 1,2,3

  Blue Midnight

  Blue Moon

  Blue Ink

  Blue String

  * * *

  EMERSON PASS

  * * *

  The School Mistress of Emerson Pass

  The Sugar Queen of Emerson Pass

  * * *

  RIVER VALLEY

  * * *

  Riversong

  Riverbend

  Riverstar

  Riversnow

  Riverstorm

  Tommy's Wish

  River Valley Bundle, Books 1-4

  * * *

  LEGLEY BAY

  * * *

  Caramel and Magnolias

  Tea and Primroses

  * * *

  STANDALONES

  * * *

  The Santa Trial

  Duet for Three Hands

  Miller's Secret

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Epilogue

  More Books by Tess Thompson

  About the Author

  Prologue

  This was not how her life was supposed to go.

  Alissa wasn’t supposed to be in a social worker’s office that smelled of burned coffee on a cold night in December. Alone. Without Mommy and Daddy. Please wake up, she thought. Let this be a bad dream.

  But dreams didn’t have smells. Nightmares were over faster than this. If she called out from her cozy bed in their warm house, her mother came. Not now. Her mother was dead. She would never comfort Alissa in the middle of the night ever again.

  The social worker, Mrs. Keele, had left her in the office to wait while she wrapped up some details. Alissa didn’t know what details meant, only that she was to be sent to a foster home because her mother and father were dead.

  Shaking, she pulled her sweater tighter around her middle. She’d had her jacket on after her school concert, but she didn’t now. Where had her jacket gone? A space heater in the corner made a humming insect sound but no heat warmed the room. Her tired, puffy eyes stung. A split in the orange plastic cushion of the chair dug into her leg as she looked around the small office. Layers of paper and folders littered a gray metal desk. A calendar with a photograph of kittens playing with a ball of string hung on the wall behind the desk.

  The scent of burned coffee reminded her of the time her mother forgot to turn the electric pot off, and the stench had filled the house. Daddy had teased Mommy, saying she was an absentminded professor. This was their joke because they were both professors and equally forgetful. They’d never forgotten Alissa though. She’d been their whole world. Hadn’t Mommy just said that to her last week?

  The accident had been at night, coming home from her school holiday recital. Her fourth-grade class had sung “Frosty the Snowman.” Alissa was the smallest in her class, so the teacher had put her on the bottom rung of the bleachers. Her parents had been in the front row with their video camera. They’d smiled and clapped extra hard when the song finished.

  Going home, the roads were icy. Daddy said not to worry. He was a great driver even with ice because he was extra careful because of the precious cargo he carried. “That’s us,” Mommy said, as she glanced back at Alissa.

  A car had lurched into their lane like a bumper car ride at the county fair they’d been to last summer. She remembered that. Mommy screamed. Then, everything went black. Alissa woke up in a hospital bed. Her head and body ached. Her mouth so dry. A nurse with hair like a mushroom and creases in her cheeks had given her ice-cold water in a plastic cup with a bendy straw. “Where’s my mommy and daddy?” she’d asked.

  The nurse with the mushroom hair zipped her lips together and avoided eye contact, then scurried away. A policeman in a blue uniform and a round stomach came to talk to her. He’d spoken softly, like they were at the library.

  Her parents hadn’t survived the accident. “They were killed instantly,” he said. “They didn’t suffer.”

  “But I heard Mommy scream,” Alissa said.

  The rims of the police officer’s eyes turned pink. “I’m sorry, Alissa.”

  She was an orphan now. She asked him what would happen to her. He said social services would come. “They’ll find a place for you to go,” he said.

  “A place?”

  “A home with a family. A foster home,” he said. “Or a relative who wants you.”

  There was no one. Her parents were only children. Alissa’s grandparents had all died before she was born. Mommy had once told her that she and Daddy had been drawn to each other because of their similar experiences, having lost their single mothers young. “We became each other’s family,” she’d said.

  So, that meant she would go to a foster home. She’d heard of those. A girl in her grade had been in one. She came to school in dirty, ragged clothes, and her eyes reminded Alissa of a dog’s eyes she’d seen in an advertisement for a pet rescue society, haunted and defeated. Mommy had once said that it was a special type of person who would offer their home to a child in need. Was she now a child in need? She didn’t want to be.

  Now, she waited for Mrs. Keele to return and tell her where she would go next. The vastness of that question made her chest burn. She would not go back to her own house with her pink room and unicorn pillows. She would no longer wake to the smell of bacon and pancakes. She would no longer fall asleep after a bedtime story. They’d only been halfway through the Harry Potter series. Would she ever know what happened
to Harry, Ron and Hermione?

  “We’ve done a search and there’s no one in either of your parents’ families who is available to take you,” Mrs. Keele had said.

  “I know,” Alissa had replied. She could have told Mrs. Keele that, but no one asked her anything. They just set her aside like leftover Chinese food going bad in the back of the refrigerator.

  “We’ll find a nice family for you,” Mrs. Keele had said, as her large hands moved papers around her desk. Her skin looked chapped and her cuticles red and irritated. Alissa wanted to offer some of Mommy’s lotions that she’d always carried in her purse. Where was Mommy’s purse? Had it been thrown from the car? Was it out on the highway somewhere? Were Mommy’s friends sending texts to a phone that would never be picked up again?