Like a Winter Snow Read online

  Praise for Lindsay Harrel

  The sumptuous sea-swept shores of Cornwall provide a unique and alluring canvas for Harrel’s Like a Winter Snow.

  Readers wishing for an arm-chair vacation for the holidays will find themselves happily accompanied by Joy and Oliver to a beguiling British setting. Borrowing the enchanting village from her reader favorite The Secrets of Paper and Ink, Harrel’s foray into Christmas romance is bolstered by a strong and empathetic look at love, faith, restoration, and the promise of love where we least expect it. I hope to revisit Port Willis for many reading adventures to come.

  Rachel McMillan, author The Three Quarter Time series

  A romantic Christmas story set in beautiful seaside England? Yes, please! Lindsay Harrel's Like a Winter Snow is the perfect mix of depth and charm. Joy and Oliver are so likable and relatable—and together, they're just plain adorable. Plus, I can't help but love that they're a little older than your average hero and heroine.

  From the Christmasy atmosphere to moments both swoony and poignant, I loved this story...and I know readers will, too!"

  Melissa Tagg, Carol Award-winning author of Now & Then & Always and the Walker Family series

  Like a Winter Snow offers all the depth of emotion Lindsay’s readers have come to expect from her books—wrapped up with a wonderful Christmas bow! A beautiful story of learning to let go of the uncontrollable and opening your heart to love. I highly recommend!

  Liz Johnson, bestselling author of The Red Door Inn

  THE SECRETS OF PAPER AND INK

  Harrel unspools a gentle, captivating narrative about women who unknowingly discover their strengths and fortitude. As they learn to let go of the heartbreaks of life, they find joy, enlightenment, and romance along the way.

  Shelf Awareness

  Harrel delivers a wonderfully unexpected and skillfully executed adventure of love, loss, and healing. The ebb and flow of perspectives between two modern-day women and the life of a mysterious Victorian woman mesmerizes and captivates. While each woman’s life is individually compelling, when intricately stitched together into the same tapestry, the result is unforgettable and breathtaking. Book lovers will be right at home in (or perhaps envious of) the quaint and cozy Cornwall bookstore and intrigued by the historical journal’s mystery. The author champions the soothing balm of friendship and community, all while exuding a spiritual strength, hope, and irrefutable faith-based identity in the face of brokenness, desperation, and betrayal.

  Hope by the Book, Gold Star Review

  This book interlaces the voices and time periods of the women as they rotate narrating chapters, creating an engaging story perfect for readers who enjoy strong women of faith, budding romantic relationships, and historical and contemporary English settings.

  Booklist

  . . . uplifting tale . . . a charming story about finding one’s voice after letting go of the past.

  Publishers Weekly

  A historical mystery and sweet modern-day story entwine to offer a message of healing, hope, and second chances set in charming Cornwall.

  Rachel Linden, bestselling author of The Enlightenment of Bees

  In a delightful weaving of past and present, Lindsay Harrel creates authentic characters around a moving story that both inspires and encourages. The Secrets of Paper and Ink is about broken people, second chances, hope, and—my personal favorite—the incredible power of story.

  Heidi Chiavaroli, Carol award-winning author of Freedom’s Ring and The Hidden Side

  THE HEART BETWEEN US

  A bucket list from the diary of an organ donor sparks a healing journey for two sisters in this poignant tale from Harrel . . . [The Heart Between Us], with many descriptions of delicious foods and famous landmarks from around the globe, will please readers of travel fiction looking for an inspirational story.

  Publishers Weekly

  Lindsay Harrel has penned a charming story that is sure to touch the hearts of her readers. Through the stories of Megan and her sister Crystal, readers get a glimpse of adventure, restoration, conquered fears, and realized dreams. Lindsay will no doubt win readers with this heartfelt story.

  Lauren K. Denton, USA TODAY bestselling author of The Hideaway and Hurricane Season

  I love this story of facing our fears. Harrel pens a clever, well-written love story between two sisters, the men in their lives, and the dreams of a heart donor. Life is more fleeting than we know and this timeless story reminds us to love well.

  Rachel Hauck, New York Times bestselling author

  Books by Lindsay Harrel

  The Joy of Falling

  The Secrets of Paper and Ink (A Port Willis Novel)

  The Heart Between Us

  One More Song to Sing

  WANT A FREE SHORT STORY?

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  Like a Winter Snow

  A Port Willis Novella

  Lindsay Harrel

  © 2019 Lindsay Harrel

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form except small excerpts used in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover by Hillary Manton Lodge Design

  Editing by Marisa Deshaies

  To the lovely readers who asked to return to the quaint village of Port Willis—this one’s for you. <3

  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

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  If it were anyone but Sophia Barrett getting married, Joy Beckman wouldn’t dream of getting on a plane tomorrow.

  She stepped from the elevator onto the polished laminate flooring of one of the top skilled nursing facilities in New Port Richey, Florida. At least if she had to leave town, she knew that her mom was getting the best care possible while recovering from her broken hip and subsequent surgery.

  “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” played softly from a speaker as Joy made her way toward her mom’s room. She flashed a smile at the few residents in wheelchairs she passed in the hall, her insides twisting at the way their faces lit at the small kindness. How she wished she had time to sit and talk with each one, especially those whose families didn’t live nearby. Any time of year, that would have gripped her, but especially now—no one should be alone at Christmas.

  Still, all her focus today was on Mom. Joy had been dreading saying goodbye for the next two weeks, but it was time. She prayed the pep she was about to force into her voice would be enough to fool her mother.

  Of course, if it were one of Mom’s bad days, it wouldn’t matter.

  “Knock, knock.” Joy peeked her head through her mom’s open doorway. The room was small but comfortable, with pale blue walls and several framed garden photos bursting with pastel colors. An essential oil diffuser in the corner dispensed a lavender scent throughout the room.

  Mom’s nurse, Linda, blocked Joy’s view of the bed as she took her patient’s vitals. She looked up at Joy’s greeting. “Good afternoon, Dr. Beckman.” She kept her drawling voice low.

  Joy approached the bed and finally
spied her sleeping mother, tucked in and looking so frail under a bright pink and yellow quilt she’d made years ago. Betty Beckman had once been as vibrant as the colors in the quilt, with thick brown hair that gleamed, high cheekbones, and green eyes that had always hinted at some secret joy within. Now, her gray hair hung limp around her shoulders, combed and neat but lacking its former luster. Her cheekbones protruded from her thin face. She’d lost so much weight just in the sixteen months since she’d received her Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

  And then there were her eyes. Instead of looking at Joy like the light of her life—the miracle baby Betty had been given forty-two years ago after so many losses—she sometimes viewed her as a stranger.

  Joy cleared her throat. “I’ve told you, Linda. You don’t have to call me Dr. Beckman. Joy is fine.” Though she’d once taken such a thrill at the title bestowed upon her when she’d received her PhD more than ten years ago, her work in counseling women from all walks of life had ended when she’d sold her practice in Arizona last year and moved here to help Dad care for Mom.

  She’d made the right call then. Was she making the right call now, traveling so far away a week and a half before Christmas to perform maid of honor duties?

  But the plans were made. Her flights booked. And Sophia was counting on her to help with some last-minute details. Joy couldn’t abandon her best friend.

  Then again, she was needed here too. She’d already failed her parents once. And potentially doing it again . . . not an option.

  “All right then, Joy.” Linda finished her observations and draped her stethoscope over her neck. The plump woman angled a look at her. “I hear you’re leaving town for a spell.”

  “Yes, for a wedding.” Had Dad told her, or had Mom had one of her lucid moments? “How is she today?”

  Linda’s brows knit together. “Her recovery from surgery is going well, though it will most likely be another two to three weeks before she’s released. As you know, it was a bad fall.”

  Joy tried not to let the words bring a sense of utter devastation, but no matter how hard she fought, they bulldozed her heart. Because if only she’d been doing her duty instead of sleeping . . .

  No. Negative self-talk did no good.

  She straightened her spine. “And her memory? How’s that been today?” Joy sat in the chair next to the bed and took Mom’s wrinkled hand, running her thumb over two veins rippling across the top. Mom’s simple one-carat circle diamond winked from her ring finger.

  “You know how it is. Good moments mixed with the bad. She was telling me about your trip, and when I asked a question about your friend—Sophia, is it?—she suddenly didn’t know who I was referring to.”

  “Sounds about right.” Joy had counseled several women through the loss of parents after dementia and Alzheimer’s had consumed their loved ones’ minds, so she’d known what to expect from the progression of the disease. But her heart hadn’t been prepared to experience it herself.

  Working to control the tears beginning to gather in her eyes, Joy blinked quickly then changed the subject. “I expected Dad to be here.”

  “He left, maybe an hour ago or so. Went to lunch but said he’d be back in a jiffy.” Linda gathered a few empty containers of Jell-O and plastic spoons from Mom’s movable bedside table and tossed them into the small trashcan under the nearby sink. “He told me about the assisted living facility he’s considering. I told him I know many patients who live there and love it.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Linda’s cheeks paled. “Oh, dear. I . . . never mind. Please forget I said anything.” She started for the door.

  “Linda.”

  The nurse turned, frowning. “I figured you knew. I shouldn’t say anything else. Talk to him about it. But . . .” She studied Joy. “Get all the facts before you form an opinion one way or the other.”

  Turning on her heel, Linda left. Joy slumped in her chair.

  Dad was thinking of moving Mom into a full-time facility after rehab was complete?

  She needed to talk to him. Now. Joy dug in her purse and pulled her phone from within, noticing a text from Sophia on the lock screen.

  Less than thirty-six hours! Eek!

  Joy dismissed the notification, unlocked her phone, and dialed Dad’s number. It went straight to voicemail. When was the man going to learn to keep his phone turned on? At nearly eighty, Dwight Beckman hadn’t seen the need for a cell phone, but Joy had convinced him of its necessity. After all, she had to be able to communicate with him about Mom twenty-four seven.

  She shoved the phone back into her purse, hopped up, and paced.

  Fifteen minutes of fretting later, her father walked in sipping on a fifty-ounce Big Gulp. “Don’t worry, it’s diet.”

  “I wasn’t going to say anything.” She’d learned to hold her tongue when it came to her diabetic father and his eating habits. All she could do was provide good meal options and ensure he regularly saw his doctor. And pray. A lot.

  Dad lowered himself into the chair Joy had vacated, his belly hanging over his belted pants. He set his drink on the ground, wincing a bit at the movement. “Did you finish packing?”

  “Yeah. I came to tell Mom goodbye, but she’s been asleep since I arrived.”

  “We had a good chat this morning before she dozed off.” He turned and gazed at Mom with the most loving eyes.

  Once upon a time, Joy had dreamed of a love like her parents had. Devoted despite heartaches. On the same page in all the ways that mattered. Individual and allowed to thrive in the areas where they were different.

  But she’d come to realize that it wasn’t the plan for her life. That, instead, she was meant to be a friend and helper to all. And she had found peace in her place.

  Still . . . in times like this, when life seemed so fragile, it would be nice to share the burden with someone else. To have a shoulder to lean on. Yes, she had Sophia, but her best friend had moved to England more than a year ago after meeting the love of her life, William Rose.

  And of course, Joy had God, who would never leave her. But sometimes, having a flesh-and-blood partner in life sounded appealing.

  Appealing . . . but not likely.

  “What did you chat about?”

  When Dad didn’t answer right away, Joy moved to the opposite side of the bed and pulled up a second chair. “Linda mentioned something about an assisted living facility.”

  He frowned and pushed his large plastic frames up the bridge of his nose. “She shouldn’t have done that.”

  “She thought I knew.” Mom stirred, and Joy lowered her voice. “Why didn’t I know?”

  But the answer was obvious. Dad didn’t feel like Joy could be trusted to help them anymore.

  “Nothing is decided, JoJo.” His voice softened at the use of his nickname for her. “Your mom and I are just evaluating our options.” He fiddled with some papers on the side table. Pulling a brochure from the bottom of the stack, he held it out to her.

  She reached across the bed and took it. The glossy cover read Glenn River Assisted Living and Memory Care, and beneath the title, several grinning elderly residents played cards around a table.

  “At this place, we’d be able to live in the same apartment. Your mother would receive the elevated care she needs, and I could pay room and board until I get to a point where I need more assistance as well. They’d cook and clean for us and take care of all of our needs.”

  “But I do all of that for you.” Joy couldn’t help the tremble that had crept into her voice. “You want to leave your home?”

  “You’ve done a wonderful job, and we couldn’t be more grateful, but maybe it’s time for you to get back to doing what you love.”

  All of his kind words couldn’t erase the truth—Dad wouldn’t even be considering this move if Joy hadn’t, literally, fallen asleep on the job.

  She set the brochure down on the quilt and eyed her father once more. “I am doing what I love—taking care of you guys.”


  “As I said, it’s just one of many options we’re considering. I don’t want you to worry about it. Go and enjoy your trip.”

  “Sure. Okay.” She’d endure the time away for Sophia’s sake.

  And when she returned in two weeks, Joy would get right back to where she was supposed to be—helping Mom and Dad in the difficult days to come.

  Chapter 2

  A piercing squeal met Joy’s ears as she exited the gated area of Cornwall Airport Newquay.

  Following the group of passengers into the airport’s main lobby, she raised up on her tiptoes to try to catch a glimpse of Sophia. Some days, being five two had its advantages. Today was not that day.

  Finally, the person in front of her broke off to the left, and Joy had a clear view of the room just in time to see a pair of arms closing around her.

  “You’re here, you’re here!” Sophia let go and pulled away, her grin carefree and strong.

  Joy laughed. “I am.”

  “Did you have a good flight?”

  “Long”—she exhaled some of the stress from her shoulders—“but good.” She’d actually managed to sleep a bit on the long stretch from Tampa to London—a miracle considering the man next to her snoring the entire way as well as her stormy conscience hurling accusations at her. The moment she’d landed, she’d called to check on Mom. Linda had chided her, said they’d take good care of her mother in her absence.