Rainey's Christmas Miracle by R. E. Bradshaw Read Free Book Online Page A

first time in thirty-one years, Rainey thought she really meant it when she said, “I love you, Rainey. I’m sorry I forced you away. Can you forgive me? Can we just start over?”
    “Yes, you can,” Katie said, from the bed.
    Rainey felt the ice begin to crack around the place where she stored all of her feelings for her mother. Rainey cleared her throat. “Well, I’ve never believed in miracles until today, so one more can’t hurt, but before you make up your mind to accept me for who I am, I need you to understand this completely. These are my children and Katie is going to be my wife in every sense of the word, if she’ll have me.”
    Rainey pulled out the little red box from her pocket and crossed to Katie. She opened the box, because Katie’s arms were full, and pulled out the ring she had made. Two white diamonds twinkled on either side of a blue diamond sparkling in the middle. Rainey held up the ring so Katie could see it.
    “The color for December gems is blue for the babies' birth month and the white diamonds represent us. I love you, Katherine Anne Meyers. I’d like to make an honest woman out of you and if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to marry you.”
    “I would have never pegged you for the dramatic mushy type, Rainey Bell,” Katie said, grinning. “Yes, I’ll marry you, you old softy.”
    There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when Rainey slipped the ring on her finger. Even Constance, who Rainey never thought would come around, had tears streaming down her cheeks. Rainey heard tapping on the glass that looked into the room from the private viewing area and saw the entire extended family beaming on the other side of the glass. Everyone was crying. Tim and Kenneth held up hands full of cigars, as tears trailed down their faces. Even Mackie was crying as he hugged Ernie and Henry to his sides. Ernie smiled and blew a kiss to Rainey and Katie. Helena was hugging Rainey’s stepfather, balling into his sleeve.
    That’s when Rainey saw Maria hugging Clarissa, both of them smiling and crying along with everyone else. Rainey wasn’t very religious, but she’d prayed often in her life when she needed extra help from somewhere. She looked around at her new family, taking in each face one by one. She turned back to Katie, who was holding their future in her arms. She leaned down to kiss Katie on the lips.
    Rainey whispered, “Now, I do believe in miracles.”
    Katie smiled up at her. “You’re my miracle Rainey Bell and I will love you, always.”
    “Always,” Rainey repeated.
    Rainey heard one of the nurses say, “And God bless us, every one!”
    Merry Christmas from Bell-Meyers family - Rainey, Katie, Mack, Timothy (not Tim, soon to be shortened to whatever Rainey can come up with that won’t send Katie into orbit,) and Weather.