Sarah Jane (Countdown to Christmas Book 1) Read online

  Sarah Jane

  Countdown to Christmas

  by Kirsten Osbourne

  Trifecta Books

  Book design and layout copyright © 2015 by Trifecta Books

  Cover design copyright © 2015 by Jenni James

  This is a work of fiction, and the views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author. Likewise, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are represented fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, or actual events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Copyright© 2015 by Kirsten Osbourne

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Epilogue

  Author Bio

  Chapter One

  Sarah Jane Jefferson sat in church, listening to the new preacher with half an ear. Usually she was more attentive during Sunday services, but she had to find someone to play Santa Claus for the orphanage, and she was running out of ideas. No one wanted to don the suit and padding required to play the part. She really couldn't blame them, because she wouldn't want to do it either, but she still needed someone.

  Her eyes landed on the new preacher yet again. He was so young and handsome. She'd heard some of her "sisters" talking about him, but she wouldn't lower herself to fawn over the new preacher in the small town of Nowhere, Texas. No, he was there as God's representative, and there was no way she'd stoop so low. Now, asking him to play Santa Claus? That she could do!

  He'd only been in town for a month or so, and already all the young ladies in the congregation were flummoxed. She couldn't deny the man was handsome. Well, sort of. He needed a haircut badly. He certainly didn't look like a preacher to her—more like a cowboy. Why, there was even a cowboy hat on a chair near him. She knew he'd plop it back on his head as soon as he was out of church. Now, what kind of preacher wore a cowboy hat?

  Sarah Jane had been an orphan for as long as she could remember, but there was a short time, when she was nine and ten, when she'd lived with a preacher and his wife, and it was the happiest time she could remember. Ever since then, she'd made it her goal in life to do everything she could to be a good Christian, hoping that someday, they'd be proud of her.

  They'd only been able to keep her for two years, and she'd cried wretchedly when they'd taken her back to the orphanage with all the other children. She'd been sure they'd come back for her, but five years later, she and all the other girls in the orphanage in Orlan, New York, had been ejected from their home.

  Sarah Jane had to admit that her circumstances in Nowhere, Texas, were much better than they'd been back in New York, because she and all of her friends had been adopted by an eccentric old couple who loved them dearly.

  She fidgeted a bit in her seat, and Edna Petunia, her new "mother," pulled a peppermint stick from her cleavage and offered it to her. "No, thank you," Sarah Jane whispered. "I don't think we should eat candy in church."

  Edna Petunia shrugged her shoulders and popped the peppermint stick into her own mouth. "A little bubby sweat never hurt anyone," she whispered to Sarah Jane.

  Sarah Jane closed her eyes. She didn't think the word "bubby" was appropriate for church either, but Edna Petunia had never worried about what was appropriate for anything. She just didn't seem to care.

  Sarah Jane's eyes went back to the new preacher, Pastor Micah Barton. He was a man of God, dedicating his life to serving Him. Surely he'd be willing to dress up as Santa for a bunch of orphans. If he wouldn't, who would?

  When the sermon was over, Sarah Jane waited until most people had finished shaking the pastor's hand before she took her turn. "I have a question to ask you, Pastor Barton."

  Micah Barton looked at the pretty girl standing before him. She looked like she was fresh from the schoolroom. He'd rarely seen her smile, though, and that worried him. He knew she was one of the orphans who lived with the Sanders, but wasn't certain which one, other than she was the one he wanted to get to know better. There was something about her eyes that mesmerized him. "What can I help you with, Miss Sanders?"

  Sarah Jane bristled at the sound of her adoptive parents' last name. She'd been given permission to keep the name she'd been born with. "It's Miss Jefferson," she corrected. "Sarah Jane Jefferson."

  "Oh, pardon me. Miss Jefferson. How may I help you?" Micah wanted to laugh at the girl. She seemed so proper to him, as if she thought she was above everyone else. She'd learn as she got older not to judge everyone by her own narrow view of Christianity.

  "I volunteer at the orphanage," she told him. It had been established shortly after she and her sisters came to town. "We're organizing a Christmas party for the orphans, but we've been unable to find someone who is willing to play the part of Santa Claus."

  "And you think I'd make a good Santa Claus?" He stared at her in open disbelief. "Becoming a pastor must have changed my appearance more than I realized!"

  Sarah Jane shook her head. "I'm not saying you look old, because of course you don't. The young ladies my age wouldn't be acting crazed trying to get your attention if you did. No, I just need someone, and I hope you have it in your heart to do this for the orphans."

  If she'd phrased it any other way, it would have been easy to say no. "I suppose I can. Do you have the suit? When is the party?"

  "Saturday night. We have gifts for each child that are all wrapped and ready to be given to them. All you have to do is pull them out and read the names on the tag. Then each child will sit on your lap and tell you what they want, and you give them the gift."

  "What if I don't give them what they want?" He had a mental image of one of the children crying hysterically because he gave them a pair of socks when they wanted a toy train. He didn't want to be responsible for that!

  "The gifts the children get at this party will simply be special toys they've asked for. Nothing else. They'll get clothing and boring gifts at the orphanage on Christmas morning."

  Micah nodded. "Yes, I'll do it. Where can I pick up the suit?"

  "Come to the orphanage tomorrow morning. I have it in a box, and I'll give it to you while the children are at school. I don't want them to have any idea it's you. Most of them are still young enough to believe there's a Santa."

  He raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you don't believe, Miss Jefferson?"

  Sarah Jane scoffed. "I've known better for many years, Pastor Barton. Some of us learn the truth at a very young age." She looked out the door to where Edna Petunia was making odd hand motions at her. "Whatever are you doing, Edna Petunia?"

  Micah turned to look at the older woman who quickly hid her hands behind her back as if she were innocent. "I was trying to get you to ask the pastor for Sunday dinner!"

  Sarah Jane looked at the pastor, wondering vaguely if Edna Petunia had him in mind for one of the girls to marry. She hoped not. "Would you like to come to Sunday dinner with my... family?" She hesitated to use the word, because her household was like no other.

  He had not been looking forward to another Sunday meal alone. He was surprised how much he missed the camaraderie of the seminary in Dallas. "I'd like that a lot."

  She smiled sweetly, wanting to grit
her teeth. She had no desire to see him with her sisters. She had too much respect for any man of God to want that. "Do you know how to get out to the house, or do you need directions?"

  "Sarah Jane, stop being so uptight and just offer to ride with him. There's no sin in being in a buggy with a man if you can be seen the whole time." Edna Petunia shook her head.

  Sarah Jane blushed. "I guess I can ride with you. If you don't mind, that is."

  "Not at all." Micah looked around the church and saw that everyone else had left while he talked to her. "My buggy is at the house. Can you wait a minute while I hitch up the horses?"

  Sarah Jane turned pleading eyes on Edna Petunia. No matter what the older woman said, Sarah Jane knew it wasn't a good idea to be alone in the company of an attractive member of the opposite sex. She wouldn't be alone with him. "Do you want to wait for us, Edna Petunia? Or do you want to leave one of the younger girls to ride with us?"

  "Well, I really don't really see that you're in any danger from the pastor, but why don't you take Theresa with you? She'll keep you company." Edna Petunia didn't wait for an argument, which she certainly would have gotten.

  Theresa was there a moment later. "Oh, I'm so excited that I get to ride with you, Pastor Barton. I really like going on rides with the older girls, but they always choose Katie because she's so quiet and meek, and that's just not who I am." She linked her arm through Sarah Jane's, tugging her along after the pastor, who was walking briskly toward the stable that was next to the parsonage. "Thanks for asking for me, Sarah Jane. I didn't even know you liked me. Sometimes you're hard to read, you know."

  As they walked, Theresa chattered on and on about a new book she had read and enjoyed, and all about school. She was a very bright girl, but she never quit talking! It made Sarah Jane want to snatch her bald-headed at times.

  They stood and talked quietly while the pastor hitched up his buggy. Well, Theresa talked while Sarah Jane listened. As usual.

  When the buggy was ready, Pastor Barton handed first Sarah Jane and then Theresa up and made certain the lap robe was tucked around their legs. "Are you warm enough?"

  Sarah Jane laughed softly. "Texas winters are very mild compared to the winters we saw in New York State. We're fine."

  Theresa nodded. "Of course, some hot chocolate wouldn't be amiss, but we'll be fine."

  "How long have you lived in Texas?" Micah asked.

  Sarah Jane waited a moment for Theresa to respond, but when she didn't, she answered. "Three years. Our orphanage was purchased by a church whose leadership committee didn't think boys and girls should live together under one roof, so we were sent here to Texas. Do you know Tino and Cassie Hayes?"

  Micah nodded after a moment. "I think so. They have two small children?" He pictured a couple in their late thirties, hoping it was them.

  "Yes, that's the Hayes. Mrs. Hayes was the matron of our orphanage, and she traveled here with us. Mr. Hayes drove us down here in a bus."

  "A bus? Really? That's a long drive!"

  "It was. We camped on the side of the road every night. It was long and difficult. When we arrived, there was no house waiting for us like we'd been promised. That's why Edna Petunia and Cletus took us in, even though they were newlyweds." Sarah Jane didn't add that Edna had always wanted a houseful of bastard children because she hated that word. She knew Edna Petunia said it with love, but others didn't.

  "Those two were newlyweds three years ago? Really?" The elderly couple seemed as though they'd been married for many years to Micah. Why, she was constantly calling her husband an old coot, which Micah had rarely seen even in couples who had been married for fifty years, let alone three.

  Sarah Jane nodded. "They're an odd couple, I'll admit. They are very loving and generous, though, so I can't complain." Well, she could, and often did in her prayers, but deep down, she knew they loved her more than anyone else ever had—except maybe Cassie Hayes.

  "They seem to care for all of you."

  "They do. They make it very clear." Sarah Jane sighed. "They treat us like we're special to them, and that's all that really matters. You don't get much of that in an orphanage." She pointed ahead. "You need to turn there, off to the right."

  He turned where she indicated, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She was a pretty little thing, but so serious. He wondered if she ever laughed or showed any kind of emotion. She'd seemed very intense when she'd asked him to play Santa Claus, but he'd watched her adopted sisters, and they all seemed to laugh and joke with ease.

  "How many of you were adopted by the Sanders?" he asked.

  "Fifteen total. There are still thirteen of us at home. The two oldest have married and moved out. Opal and Ruby."

  "Were they related? Someone obviously liked gemstone names."

  "Yes, they're twins, but not identical."

  "So there are thirteen young women living together in one house?" He couldn't imagine a house big enough for that many girls. He was the lone boy in a family of seven children. Sometimes he was shocked his sisters had never killed one another.

  Sarah Jane nodded. "It's just as loud as you're imagining. Some of the girls are . . . chatty." If Theresa hadn't been there, she'd have mentioned her frustration with one girl in particular who just couldn't seem to stop talking, but she didn't want to hurt her feelings.

  "I'm sure it's a loud place to live." He shook his head. "I have six sisters, and they never shut up."

  "Do you like quiet?" From what she'd seen, she was usually the odd one, preferring to be alone in the quiet rather than surrounded by sound. She'd been thrilled when the twins had married, and she'd gotten her own room. It was so much easier for her without the constant chatter.

  He shrugged. "Most of the time. I've had very little of it, though. I went straight from a houseful of sisters to the dormitory at the seminary. I was given this assignment right after I graduated in August."

  "Have you been here that long?" she asked in surprise. It seemed like it had only been a couple of weeks.

  "I went home for a month first. To visit with my family. I've been here since the beginning of October."

  "So two months."

  He nodded. "I'm doing my best to get to know everyone, but it's hard. Nowhere's a small town, but people come to church from all over the area."

  "Do you do home visits?" She remembered when she'd lived with Pastor Brown and his wife. They'd gone to the home of a different parishioner every Sunday evening.

  "I'm trying to give everyone time to invite me rather than just showing up at their homes, but so far, I've only been invited by a few families. After the first of the year, I'm going to start inviting myself." He leaned toward Sarah Jane and whispered, "I'm sick of my own cooking."

  Sarah Jane looked at him for a moment, trying to determine if he was serious. Finally, she forced a laugh, deciding he must be joking. "They didn't teach you to cook at seminary?"

  "Not one of the classes I was blessed to take." He shrugged. "I get by, but I sure do miss my mother's cooking. She was a true genius in the kitchen."

  "You need to stop by anytime you're hungry. I enjoy cooking, and Edna Petunia and I always make enough to feed an army." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Sarah Jane regretted them. Would he think she was like all the other young ladies in the congregation, just wanting to show off her cooking skills for the new pastor? She hoped not. With her upbringing, she simply believed in having a generous spirit, especially toward those called to the ministry.

  He nodded with a smile, liking the idea of dropping in on occasion. "I'd be very happy to do that."

  She directed him to a large white house located about fifteen minutes out of town. He looked at it with surprise, not having expected something quite so nice or so big.

  He got down and helped both girls to the ground. Theresa ran into the house, and he fell into step beside Sarah Jane. "How much time do you spend at the orphanage?"

  "I go there every day except Sunday, but sometimes I go on Sunda
y as well. I know what it's like to live in an orphanage, and I want every child there to realize that God loves them."

  "Your orphanage must have been very devout," he said, following her into the house.

  She shrugged. "Not particularly, but I lived with a minister and his wife for two years during my childhood. They taught me well."

  Edna Petunia popped her head out of the kitchen. "Sarah Jane, throw on an apron and help me. None of the other girls can make a gravy half as good as yours."

  Sarah Jane blushed as she hurried into the kitchen to obey. She knew Edna Petunia's words were because Pastor Barton was there. No other reason. They were true, but she didn't need to be told that. She knew she was the best cook in the house, except for maybe Edna Petunia, but she was at least as good as the older woman.

  Micah stepped into the kitchen behind her. "Is there something I can help with, Mrs. Sanders?"

  Edna shooed him out of the kitchen with her hand. "Have one of the girls take you to see the old coot. I think he's sitting in the formal parlor with his feet up. It's what he does."

  Theresa was standing watching them. "I'll take you, Pastor."

  He followed her through the house, and she chattered on about how nice it was to have someone other than all of the girls there for a meal. "Cletus, Edna Petunia says you need to entertain the pastor for a while."

  Cletus glanced up from the book he was reading, and Micah looked at the title with astonishment. "Modern Law in Texas? Are you studying to be a lawyer, Mr. Sanders?"

  Cletus shrugged. "I was a banker and studying to be a lawyer before the War of Northern Aggression, and I'm fascinated by it. I just have a bit more studying to do before I have a law degree. I might do it."

  Micah was surprised. The man had to be in his sixties. "Would you practice law?" He didn't wait to be asked to sit, but instead sat across from Cletus on the other sofa.

  "I'd probably run for judge. I spent a lot of years not caring about anyone or anything around me. Edna Petunia changed all that, though."