Shirley, Goodness and Mercy Read online

  “Well, as you can see he’s mending fences with Tess,” Gabriel said. Greg had his arm around his wife as they stood and talked to Matthias, Phil and Sandy.

  “So their settlement meeting went well,” Shirley murmured.

  “Really well,” Mercy said, grinning widely. “Okay, okay, so I joined them for a few minutes. Trust me, the meeting went better than either of them expected.”

  “They’re getting back together,” Gabriel continued, “and are determined to make a real effort to give their marriage another chance.”

  “Do they last?”

  “With ups and downs over the next few years, but they always manage to work things out. They both decide that love, like most everything else in life, is a decision and they’ve decided to stay together.”

  “What about the winery?” Shirley asked.

  “Greg does replant with the vines Matthias sells him, and in a few years Bennett Wines will once again be known as some of the area’s best.”

  “Matthias and his grandson?”

  “The boy makes a full recovery and Matthias takes frequent trips to California. When the grapes mature, Greg gives Matthias a percentage of the profits as a means of thanking him for his forgiveness and for his help through the early years. That small percentage is enough for Matthias to retire completely. And Gloria meets a good man, a new assistant winemaker hired by Greg. They eventually get married.”

  “I’m glad,” Mercy said. “For all of them.”

  “What about Greg and Edward?” Goodness asked. “Does he ever find out that Greg’s his biological father?”

  Gabriel shook his head. “Edward doesn’t change his mind about not wanting to know him, and Greg respects his decision. However, he is deeply grateful for the opportunity to have met the son he fathered.”

  Mercy smiled sadly as the carolers began singing “What Child Is This?” Shirley nodded in understanding.

  “Now, are you three ready to return to heaven?” Gabriel asked.

  Goodness and Mercy agreed, but with obvious reluctance.

  “Can we come back next year?” Goodness asked as they drifted upward.

  “We’ll have to wait and see,” Gabriel told her.

  “Yes.” Shirley linked hands with her two friends. “We’ll just have to see who needs our help most,” she whispered to Goodness and Mercy.

  Debbie Macomber is a number one New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author. Her books include 1225 Christmas Tree Lane, 1105 Yakima Street, A Turn in the Road, Hannah’s List and Debbie Macomber’s Christmas Cookbook, as well as Twenty Wishes, Summer on Blossom Street and Call Me Mrs. Miracle. She has become a leading voice in women’s fiction worldwide and her work has appeared on every major bestseller list, including those of the New York Times, USA TODAY, Publishers Weekly and Entertainment Weekly. She is a multiple award winner, and won the 2005 Quill Award for Best Romance. There are more than 100 million copies of her books in print. Two of her MIRA Christmas titles have been made into Hallmark Channel Original Movies, and the Hallmark Channel has recently launched a series based on her bestselling Cedar Cove series. For more information on Debbie and her books, visit her website, www.DebbieMacomber.com.

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  ISBN: 978-1-4603-1474-6

  Shirley, Goodness and Mercy

  Copyright © 1999 by Debbie Macomber

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