The Christmas House
A verified Amazon review-The Christmas House is the embodiment of the Christmas Spirit. Magical, wondrous, full of the warmth generated by the company of family and friends during good times and hard. This book hits you with a healthy dose of reality, but it also takes you on a fantastical journey filled with hope and joy, grace and forgiveness. If you don't examine it too closely, but just let the words transport you on a trip that will engage your emotions and give you cause to ponder what can be real, what may be true - if "close your eyes" and open your heart, this book will bring it all to life and make you believe. I found this book engaging from the first chapter, it kept drawing me in, pulling me into the world of the house and those who live there, as well as those individuals who visit once every year at Christmas. This story is not without tragedy, but it is also infused with the glorious strength and bright light that the human spirit is capable of producing, with a little divine help and the steadfast support of the people who love you. I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, wanting to see what happened next, anxious to find out what happened to the characters in the book I had grown to care about. The story surrounds your senses and brings the sights and smells, the many textures of Christmas to your heart, as it lifts your spirit up and makes you wonder...This podcast offers the first four chapters of the novel. The entire audio book will not be available on Amazon until Thanksgiving 2022. More episodes (chapters) will be added in the future.
The Christmas House
Chapter Nineteen- A Test of Faith
May 2nd
148 Festive Lane
10:00 a.m.
As Sharon drove up to the front of the house and parked across the street, she noticed Michael’s red pickup truck was parked in the driveway. A smile came to her face as she pulled down the visor and checked her makeup in the vanity mirror. As she opened the car door and placed her long bare legs on the street, several male workers at the job site couldn’t help but notice her allure.
Sharon exited the car, grabbed her briefcase from the back seat, and strolled toward the house like a peacock performing a mating dance. Her sensuality was ever-present and turned the head of every man within view.
She greeted many of them by name.
“Morning Joe, how are you doing, Kenny? A beautiful day isn’t Bob?” she said as she walked through the house's front door. The men acknowledged her greetings. A few added “come on” phrases such as, “Looking good today, Sharon,” and “Hey, if those legs were any longer, we wouldn’t need ladders around here.”
Sharon just smiled, for she knew she was beautiful. She could lure almost any man into her lair, but her sights were set on a challenging man who ignored her advances.
Michael was leaning over a worktable covered with blueprints in the middle of the dining room. Sharon walked up behind him and purposely rubbed her briefcase across Michael’s right leg as he talked with the electrical contractor.
“Morning, Michael; did your appointment go well yesterday?” she asked as she set her case on the floor and took a seat on a sawhorse a few feet away.
Michael, startled by the brush against his leg, turned swiftly.
“Oh. Hello, Sharon. Yes, my appointment went just fine.”
Sharon crossed her bare legs and let her high-heeled shoe dangle off her toes on her right foot.
“I have some fantastic ideas for you, Michael,” she said.
The electrical contractor replied under his breath to Michael, “I’ll bet she does.”
Michael dismissed the man’s comment.