“Rebecca, next time I’ll come get you at your house, okay? I don’t want your parents to think I have no manners.”
“There’s no need for you to do that.”
“But—”
“I promise. They think you’re fine,” she said hurriedly. Leaning a little bit closer, her smile turned brighter. “Caleb, have I told you that I think it’s so sweet of you to help me work on Christmas baskets?”
That was him, Mr. Sweet. Fact was, he would have helped her pick up snakes and spiders if that’s what she wanted. “You have,” he said, taking care to sound like he couldn’t care less. “Besides, you need some help carrying everything.”
“I do.” When she paused at the top of the steps, Caleb reached out and held her elbow. Just to steady her. So she wouldn’t trip or fall, of course.
When they reached the sidewalk, he still had his hand cupped around her elbow. Actually, his hand had crept up and was carefully holding her arm. When she looked into his eyes and blushed, he dropped his hand.
“Danke,” she murmured. “The steps were a bit slick.”
They paused, standing close together. Close enough for him to notice the little flecks of silver in her blue eyes. To see that there were five freckles, not six, that dusted her nose.
Close enough that if he leaned down just a little bit, he could brush his lips against her forehead. Or maybe even her cheek. Or maybe even . . .
Clearing his throat, he stepped back. “We better get going,” he said. “It’s too cold to just stand here.”
“All right, Caleb,” she said with a hint of a smile.
As they started walking—side by side but not touching—Caleb wondered how much longer he could go before he made a complete fool of himself and told her that he really liked her.
Before he leaned in and actually did kiss her.
Before he risked getting his heart stomped on while she laughed at him.
Hopefully none of that would happen until well past Christmas Day.
About the Author
SHELLEY SHEPARD GRAY is the author of the Seasons of Sugarcreek and Sisters of the Heart series. She lives with her family in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time.
www.shelleyshepardgray.com
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Also by Shelley Shepard Gray
Sisters of the Heart series
Hidden
Wanted
Forgiven
Grace
Seasons of Sugarcreek series
Winter’s Awakening
Spring’s Renewal
Autumn’s Promise
Families of Honor
The Caregiver
The Protector
Credits
Cover design by Mary McAdam Keane
Cover photography © by Jerry Sheets/Alamy (landscape); brt PHOTO/Alamy (woman)
Copyright
Excerpt from Christmas in Sugarcreek © 2011 by Shelley Shepard Gray.
THE SURVIVOR. Copyright © 2011 by Shelley Shepard Gray. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
ISBN 9780062020635
EPub Edition SEPTEMBER 2011 ISBN: 9780062092632
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