inspiration behind the book
For ten years, each time I skimmed through my ideas file,
I’d hesitate at a saved article. The tale is a survivor’s story of how a woman
and her four siblings lived in a ten-by-twenty-foot storage unit. The woman’s
courage and determination to overcome haunted me. I don’t know how she managed
without the Lord’s guidance, except that God obviously looked out for her. She
came to life as Pepper, who meets our Lord and the love of her life in Christmas
House.
Pepper Rainwater has just bought the first real home she' s
ever had, and she' s decorating and celebrating Christmas with everything she
has. The neighbor' s miniature donkeys and meeting Foxx interrupt her life. Can
she turn from all she' d been taught and trust strangers?
A startling discovery after his father' s death
forces Foxx Haven to face an unknown past. His life has been a lie. He' s
distra
cted from work for the first time— by his heritage and his new neighbor.
Can he fight his attraction to an unbeliever and discover his new life chapter
at the same time?
Miniature donkeys and learning about Christ have
a profound impact on Pepper. But God has a mighty work to bring her hurting
soul and Foxx' s new perspective into alignment. Can hope override hurting
souls and enable a happily-ever-after?
Amz
link https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-House-Holiday-Extravaganza-ebook/dp/B0BDHDZZ82/ref
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you
were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
“Are you lost?”
Pepper jerked her hand off the gentle
donkey’s face.
“I didn’t mean to startle you. Can I help you?”
The man’s pleasant baritone voice drew her
gaze upward. His inviting smile held no malice or threat, only open curiosity.
“I’m Foxx.” The warmth in his voice grabbed
her attention as much as his words.
“Excuse me?”
“My name.” He grinned. “Foxx with two
exes.”
She dropped her shoulders. Not a threat.
Just Nebraska nice.
The man around her age waved a hand. The
donkey pricked its ears, swiveled, and nudged the man’s side. He laughed and ran
the animal’s ear between his fingers. “Please, no comments about my name. I’ve
heard them all. Foxx Haven.”
Her head reared back and she denied her
twitching lips their smile. “Oh, I like it. A pleasure to meet you.”
“Really? Most people come back with Foxx den
or ask if I’ve pounced on a mouse lately.”
“I’m not most people.” She couldn’t fight
the twitch of her lips, and offered a small upturn. “And I’m Pepper Rainwater,
by the way.”
He patted the donkey’s neck. “This guy is
going to bother me until I feed him. Wanna join me?”
Pepper looked for a gate.
“No gate. Come around to the door of the
shed.” Man and donkey walked with her as she followed outside the fence. “Around
the corner, to the back side.”
The donkey crowded Foxx from the fence and
gained closer access to Pepper.
Another donkey, a female, was eating hay
from a trough made of crisscrossed wood.
“Where’d you come from?” His voice welcomed
her.
“Up the road.”
“What brought you here?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“How else am I going to get to know such a
pretty lady?”
Had anyone ever called her pretty? “I was arranging
decorations in my new place and heard the strangest sound ever. Followed by a hee
haw. I had to check it out to see if I’d imagined a donkey’s bray.”
“Understood. What―”
“Enough.
You’re giving me the third degree.” She waited while he unlatched the wooden
door and swung it open just enough for her to squeeze through. The donkey pair
nudged her hands and thighs, clearly the reason Foxx hadn’t opened the door farther.
“My turn. Why the name Foxx?”
His
chuckle raised his shoulders. “That’s a question for my parents. Mom always
said they were curious and cute with their fluffy tails as long as their
bodies, their curiosity and their quickness. Why’d your folks call you Pepper?”
“I never asked.”
He nodded at the donkeys in turn. “Meet Rex
and Rhoda.”
She gave each a pat and headed into the
fenced enclosure. “My parents didn’t like questions. Pink and I learned early
to stay out of their way as much as possible.
He stalled her with a hand on her elbow.
“Say again?”
“Doesn’t matter. My parents should have
never had children.”
“Hunh. Did you say Pink?”
“My younger sister. Pink left Nebraska as
soon as possible.” I’ve never been badgered for, or so forthcoming with
personal info. Except at job interviews, few as they were. The way Dad had
drilled it into them not to trust anyone, especially the government, remained
instilled deep within.
The donkeys ignored their fresh hay and
stayed at her side. “Are they waiting for something?”
“Just to be near another being. They’re
pack animals and crave company. I like to run a bit with them so they don’t
stand like lumps. Come you two, catch me.” Foxx ran full out and burst into
laughter when the donkeys sandwiched him.
Pepper soon caught up, and studied the
masculine features. He must smile a lot, judging by the grooves near his mouth
and lines fanned from his eyes. Was he happy? His face was more interesting
than handsome, not that she’d ever noted handsome men other than on the screen.
Light brown, tannish eyes and dark brown hair with mahogany highlights.
“Your turn to take ’em for a romp.”
Running belonged to the past, but it felt
great to stretch her legs. Pepper jogged the opposite direction. From that new
perspective, she noted the patch of fallow earth between the donkey fence and
her yard. Ownership made her smile. The smile turned to rare laughter as Rex
and Rhoda vied for her attention. “Good thing there’s only two of them, one for
each hand.”
Foxx approached. “When Fred introduced me to
these two, I was thankful there weren’t three. Guess it’s a good thing God gave
us two hands.”
“Who’s Fred?”
“Their owner, Fred Olmsted.”
“Oh, so you aren’t my neighbor?”
He chuckled. “We’re all neighbors in
Garland. But, no, I live toward the center of town. I’m spending a bit of time
with these fine beauties while Fred is fishing in South Dakota.”
She wasn’t used to casual conversation, but
turn-about seemed fair. “So, who are you, Foxx Haven? Why don’t I see a vehicle?”
“My house is at the other end of Main Street.
My dad―well, my step-dad, but he might as well have been my real dad―he just passed and now the place is mine. I rode my bike over. I work as
facilities maintenance tech for over a thousand apartments in several buildings
in Lincoln.” He took a breath.
“I also attend church in Lincoln. I love
animals, but never had any, especially after what they can do to living quarters.”
He gave that heh huh chuckle
from his chest that she already identified as unique to him. “I’m single. No
significant other, nor has there ever been one.”
Criminently. She’d asked for all that? Ask
a question and expect to receive information.
A buzz sounded from his pocket. He held up
a finger and answered. “Got it. Be right there.” He returned the phone and
walked backwards. “That was work. I’m on call this weekend. Stay with our
friends as long as you like. Make double sure the door hinge locks. See you
around.”
Pepper nonchalantly followed him, running
her fingers over two soft, long ears. The heat of the animals at her sides
warmed her with four-legged welcome. A moment later, Foxx whizzed by on a sleek
yellow bicycle, which explained why no motor sound had passed earlier. She kept
him in sight until he turned onto another street.
“Nice to meet you two.” The donkey’s backs
were warm underneath her sliding, farewell hands. “I’ll be back.”
What a day of intrigue. By early evening,
all the moving boxes were in from her car. Most of the Christmas garlands of
greenery and ornaments were sorted. Ready to grace doorways and enhance her
meager furnishings. She’d met a man who triggered her attraction meter, and
made friends with miniature donkeys that were bound to be a comfort in her new
residence.
Could tomorrow, Sunday, be nearly as interesting
as today?
~*~
Foxx pedaled hard the few blocks to Dad’s―no―his home now. Pepper was a beauty. He relived the meeting with her.
Pert and pretty, but way too serious. And secretive. He grinned. She hadn’t
liked it, but he’d drawn her out to talk about herself. Her caution made him
more curious, but he wanted to know all about Ms. Pepper Rainwater. Unusual,
the way both their names weren’t common to the human race.
His life had been so crazy lately,
following all those months of caring for Dad. Lack of sleep and more apartments
to clear before the next tenant. He almost regretted that Dad hadn’t lived in
Lincoln, where proximity and traffic kept his driving thoughts turned to his
surroundings. Traveling the bike trails in the city, he concentrated on the
exercise. Greeted others with a nod, and gloried in the passing air currents he
created.
He secured the house and garage, hopped in
his oversized SUV, and left for the job. During the commute from northwest of
Lincoln, life and people and the past kept hitting him as distractions. Where did
Pepper work? Somewhere on this side, or did she head into traffic for a busy
commute?
It was much easier to let his mind go blank
while on two wheels. Thoughts wove from Fred’s donkeys back to pretty Pepper.
Where had she come from, what was her story? Why was he so drawn to her?
And all those months with Dad. Mesothelioma
was a killer. Watching him go downhill hurt. It was over. Why relive it? But his
memory was relentless. Shortness of breath had led to
oxygen tanks. The pain in Dad’s chest hurt Foxx as his elder fought for life.
The cough, fatigue, weight loss, swollen abdomen.
“Stop!” He loosened his grip on the
steering wheel. “Oh Lord, take it away. It’s over. Dad’s full of joy in Your
presence now.”
No sooner than he’d asked, a racing
motorcycle cut into his lane from the right. And the light changed. He hit the
brake pedal. From then on, Foxx concentrated on his surroundings as he pictured
his route to the apartment building where a water heater element needed reset.
Yet Pepper returned to the foremost
presence of his mind. The serious woman was a mystery he wanted to unfold.
Bio:
Nebraska country girl LoRee Peery writes fiction that
hopefully appeals to adult readers who enjoy stories written from a Christian
perspective, focusing on the romance. These include novels and novellas for
women and men in the Contemporary, Romance, Historical, Time Travel, and
Mystery/Suspense categories. She
writes of redeeming grace with a sense of place. Her Frivolities Series launched
her releases, and the book based on her father’s unsolved homicide, Touches
of Time, was a personal relief. She is who she is by the grace of God:
Christian, country girl, wife, mother, grandmother and great-, sister, friend,
and author.
Connect
with LoRee: www.loreepeery.com
https://www.facebook.com/LoReePeery
Find
her publications at Pelican http://tinyurl.com/kwz9enk
And
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/LoRee-Peery/e/B004UAGL2W/ref
Comments