The Seven Days of Christmas

  An Emerson Pass Historicals Novella

  Tess Thompson

  Praise for Tess Thompson

  "I frequently found myself getting lost in the characters and forgetting that I was reading a book." - Camille Di Maio, Bestselling author of The Memory of Us.

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  "Highly recommended." - Christine Nolfi, Award winning author of The Sweet Lake Series.

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  "I loved this book!" - Karen McQuestion, Bestselling author of Hello Love and Good Man, Dalton.

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  Traded: Brody and Kara:

  "I loved the sweetness of Tess Thompson's writing - the camaraderie and long-lasting friendships make you want to move to Cliffside and become one of the gang! Rated Hallmark for romance!" - Stephanie Little BookPage

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  "This story was well written. You felt what the characters were going through. It's one of those "I got to know what happens next" books. So intriguing you won't want to put it down." - Lena Loves Books

  "This story has so much going on, but it intertwines within itself. You get second chance, lost loves, and new love. I could not put this book down! I am excited to start this series and have love for this little Bayside town that I am now fond off!" - Crystal's Book World

  "This is a small town romance story at its best and I look forward to the next book in the series." - Gillek2, Vine Voice

  "This is one of those books that make you love to be a reader and fan of the author." -Pamela Lunder, Vine Voice

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  Blue Midnight:

  "This is a beautiful book with an unexpected twist that takes the story from romance to mystery and back again. I've already started the 2nd book in the series!" - Mama O

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  "This beautiful book captured my attention and never let it go. I did not want it to end and so very much look forward to reading the next book." - Pris Shartle

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  "I enjoyed this new book cover to cover. I read it on my long flight home from Ireland and it helped the time fly by, I wish it had been longer so my whole flight could have been lost to this lovely novel about second chances and finding the truth. Written with wisdom and humor this novel shares the raw emotions a new divorce can leave behind." - J. Sorenson

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  "Tess Thompson is definitely one of my auto-buy authors! I love her writing style. Her characters are so real to life that you just can't put the book down once you start! Blue Midnight makes you believe in second chances. It makes you believe that everyone deserves an HEA. I loved the twists and turns in this book, the mystery and suspense, the family dynamics and the restoration of trust and security." - Angela MacIntyre

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  "Tess writes books with real characters in them, characters with flaws and baggage and gives them a second chance. (Real people, some remind me of myself and my girlfriends.) Then she cleverly and thoroughly develops those characters and makes you feel deeply for them. Characters are complex and multi-faceted, and the plot seems to unfold naturally, and never feels contrived." - K. Lescinsky

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  Caramel and Magnolias:

  "Nobody writes characters like Tess Thompson. It's like she looks into our lives and creates her characters based on our best friends, our lovers, and our neighbors. Caramel and Magnolias, and the authors debut novel Riversong, have some of the best characters I've ever had a chance to fall in love with. I don't like leaving spoilers in reviews so just trust me, Nicholas Sparks has nothing on Tess Thompson, her writing flows so smoothly you can't help but to want to read on!" - T. M. Frazier

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  "I love Tess Thompson's books because I love good writing. Her prose is clean and tight, which are increasingly rare qualities, and manages to evoke a full range of emotions with both subtlety and power. Her fiction goes well beyond art imitating life. Thompson's characters are alive and fully-realized, the action is believable, and the story unfolds with the right balance of tension and exuberance. CARAMEL AND MAGNOLIAS is a pleasure to read." - Tsuruoka

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  "The author has an incredible way of painting an image with her words. Her storytelling is beautiful, and leaves you wanting more! I love that the story is about friendship (2 best friends) and love. The characters are richly drawn and I found myself rooting for them from the very beginning. I think you will, too!" - Fogvision

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  "I got swept off my feet, my heartstrings were pulled, I held my breath, and tightened my muscles in suspense. Tess paints stunning scenery with her words and draws you in to the lives of her characters."- T. Bean

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  Duet For Three Hands:

  “Tears trickled down the side of my face when I reached the end of this road. Not because the story left me feeling sad or disappointed, no. Rather, because I already missed them. My friends. Though it isn't goodbye, but see you later. And so I will sit impatiently waiting, with desperate eagerness to hear where life has taken you, what burdens have you downtrodden, and what triumphs warm your heart. And in the meantime, I will go out and live, keeping your lessons and friendship and love close, the light to guide me through any darkness. And to the author I say thank you. My heart, my soul -all of me - needed these words, these friends, this love. I am forever changed by the beauty of your talent.” - Lisa M.Gott

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  “I am a great fan of Tess Thompson's books and this new one definitely shows her branching out with an engaging enjoyable historical drama/love story. She is a true pro in the way she weaves her storyline, develops true to life characters that you love! The background and setting is so picturesque and visible just from her words. Each book shows her expanding, growing and excelling in her art. Yet another one not to miss. Buy it you won't be disappointed. The ONLY disappointment is when it ends!!!” - Sparky's Last

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  “There are some definite villains in this book. Ohhhh, how I loved to hate them. But I have to give Thompson credit because they never came off as caricatures or one dimensional. They all felt authentic to me and (sadly) I could easily picture them. I loved to love some and loved to hate others.” - The Baking Bookworm

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  “I stayed up the entire night reading Duet For Three Hands and unbeknownst to myself, I fell asleep in the middle of reading the book. I literally woke up the next morning with Tyler the Kindle beside me (thankfully, still safe and intact) with no ounce of battery left. I shouldn't have worried about deadlines because, guess what? Duet For Three Hands was the epitome of unputdownable.” - The Bookish Owl

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  Miller’s Secret

  “From the very first page, I was captivated by this wonderful tale. The cast of characters amazing - very fleshed out and multi-dimensional. The descriptions were perfect - just enough to make you feel like you were transported back to the 20's and 40's.... This book was the perfect escape, filled with so many twists and turns I was on the edge of my seat for the entire read.” - Hilary Grossman

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  “The sad story of a freezing-cold orphan looking out the window at his rich benefactors on Christmas Eve started me off with Horatio-Alger expectations for this book. But I quickly got pulled into a completely different world--the complex five-character braid that the plot weaves. The three men and two women characters are so alive I felt I could walk up and start talking to any one of them, and I'd love to have lunch with Henry. Then the plot quickly turned sinister enough to keep me turning the pages.

  Class is set against class, poor and rich struggle for happiness and security, yet it is love all but one of them are hungry for. ......Where does love come from? What do you do about it? The story kept me going, and gave me hope. For a little bonus, there are Thompson's delightful observations, like: "You'd never know we could make something this good out of the milk from an animal who eats hats." A really good read!” - Kay in Seattle

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  “She paints vivid word pictures such that I could smell the ocean and hear the doves. Then there are the stories within a story that twist and turn until they all come together in the end. I really had a hard time putting it down. Five stars aren't enough!” - M.R. Williams

  Also by Tess Thompson

  CLIFFSIDE BAY

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  Traded: Brody and Kara

  Deleted: Jackson and Maggie

  Jaded: Zane and Honor

  Marred: Kyle and Violet

  Tainted: Lance and Mary

  Cliffside Bay Christmas, The Season of Cats and Babies (Cliffside Bay Novella to be read after Tainted)

  Missed: Rafael and Lisa

  Cliffside Bay Christmas Wedding (Cliffside Bay Novella to be read after Missed)

  Healed: Stone and Pepper

  Chateau Wedding (Cliffside Bay Novella to be read after Healed)

  Scarred: Trey and Autumn

  Jilted: Nico and Sophie

  Kissed (Cliffside Bay Novella to be read after Jilted)

  Departed: David and Sara

  Cliffside Bay Bundle , Books 1,2,3

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  BLUE MOUNTAIN SERIES

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  Blue Mountain Bundle, Books 1,2,3

  Blue Midnight

  Blue Moon

  Blue Ink

  Blue String

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  EMERSON PASS

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  The School Mistress of Emerson Pass

  The Sugar Queen of Emerson Pass


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  RIVER VALLEY

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  Riversong

  Riverbend

  Riverstar

  Riversnow

  Riverstorm

  Tommy's Wish

  River Valley Bundle, Books 1-4

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  LEGLEY BAY

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  Caramel and Magnolias

  Tea and Primroses

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  STANDALONES

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  The Santa Trial

  Duet for Three Hands

  Miller's Secret

  Contents

  1. Flynn

  2. Shannon

  3. Flynn

  4. Shannon

  5. Flynn

  6. Shannon

  More Emerson Pass!

  Also by Tess Thompson

  About the Author

  1

  Flynn

  There are two things a man knows when he's from a large family. They're equal parts a curse and a blessing. Perhaps men from a family of all boys or at least a better margin of men to women would have less troubles than I. However, with five sisters, a sister-in-law, and a stepmother, a man like me doesn't have a chance of getting away with much. Add to that a wife and two little daughters, and it's impossible to survive without full surrender.

  That was my mistake from the outset. I should never have gone against the wishes of my wife. The problem? I didn't know her wishes. In this particular matter, anyway. If I had known the trouble it would cause my family and our town, I would never have been so foolish. However, that's the problem with mistakes. One doesn't know they're making one until after it’s all over and the mess is done. Splashed all over the floor like milk from a baby's bottle.

  My sisters, in all their womanly wisdom, had advised an onslaught of public remorse. Apologies and the begging of forgiveness and the like. How better to do it, they reasoned, than in the seven days leading up to Christmas. Surely my Shannon would be unable to resist my sorrow, my utterances of shame and embarrassment, especially around the holiday. If I stayed the course, by Christmas Eve, she would have forgiven me.

  However, as sweet as my wife had always been, she was also as resolute in her anger toward me.

  This is how it came to be that I was behind closed doors the week before Christmas of 1925 with four of my six siblings in a meeting of the Barnes family minds. This was also how the couch in my office had become my new sleeping quarters, instead of the warm bed next to my beautiful but rather unforgiving wife.

  “What you need to do,” Josephine said, “is beg for forgiveness and promise never to do something like that without her permission.” As the eldest, she'd always been the voice of maturity during any of the Barnes children's antics. Cymbeline, my second sister, and I were usually the instigators of the aforementioned antics.

  I bristled at the word permission. Who was I to ask permission for anything I did? Especially when it came to business. And from my wife no less! Fine, this attitude was what had gotten me into the current mess. If I’d respected her opinion and wishes, I might not be sleeping in my office. I’d like to blame it on a family tradition, but my father never did anything without first consulting my stepmother. My twin, Theo, had such an open mind about the equality of women that his wife was now a midwife in his medical practice. My sisters had accomplishments of their own, none traditional. I should have known better. My excuse? I wanted to be a hero. Stupid. I could see that now.

  I’d gotten myself into this tangle of marital woes, and it was going to take a Christmas miracle to get me out of it. Which meant I must humbly accept my fate.

  “I’d suggest you adjust your thinking,” Cymbeline said pointedly. She still hadn’t quite forgiven me for declaring our recent mountain competition for men only. “If you’re going to have a happy marriage with a modern woman like Shannon, you’re going to have to understand that she’s not some wilting flower waiting for your instruction on how to perk back to life.”

  “Perhaps this could be bigger than a mere apology to Shannon.” Words of advice from my twin, Theo. The better half of the two of us. Smarter, wiser, gentler, and all around perfectly perfect man, as Fiona was prone to say. I'd never had any chance with much of anything compared to Theo.

  “What do you mean?” Fiona tapped her long fingers against her pointy chin. The youngest of the original set of Barnes children, she was eighteen and had grown into this absolute beauty of a girl, with black curls and dark blue eyes that peered from a face that seemed chiseled from the finest white stone.

  “I mean, there are a few things Flynn should make amends for,” Theo said. “If he were to do so, perhaps Shannon would be softened.”

  “We can only hope,” Cym said. “Shannon’s tougher than she looks, though. She may be pretty, but don’t let those cute freckles fool you.” Cym, too, was beautiful with the same black curls and blue eyes as Fiona. However, she possessed such a ferocity compared to Fiona’s tender nature that most thought they looked nothing alike. Muscular from her outside activities and quite possibly the smartest of all of us, impatience and rebellion ran strong in Cym’s blood. She constantly pushed the world to conform to her wishes. A lot of the time it did. Still, her intelligence did not do her much good. Mostly it got her into trouble. Much like me, Cym was full of ideas. Not always good ones, but ideas nonetheless.

  “And perhaps reminded why she loves Flynn so much,” Josephine said.

  “As much as that eludes us,” Theo said.

  “I’m still in the room,” I said drily. “No need to speak of me as if I left.”

  “We’re trying to help you.” Cym tossed a small ball she’d been passing back and forth between her hands right at my face.

  I caught it and tossed it back, a little higher than my aim at her forehead. Regardless, she snatched it just as it sailed over her head.

  The night before, Cymbeline had surprised us all by winning a ski-jump competition on the Emerson Pass slopes while dressed up as a boy. That was another whole story that I didn't have time to concern myself with at the moment. Suffice it to say, Cym was now the town hero, or heroine as the case may be, and I the villain. Who knew that opening a distillery—from which folks were only too happy to suck down the inventory—would cause such trouble?

  “What kind of amends did you have in mind, Theo?” Josephine crossed her arms over her narrow torso as she leaned against the windowsill. She peered at me for a second before returning her gaze to Theo. My eldest sister had the kind of eyes that penetrated a person's soul. There was no hope in trying to hide from such a gaze. She saw everything. As a girl, she’d been serious and cerebral, preferring to have her nose in a book than do anything else. She had started the town’s first library and ran it with a joyous precision I admired. As the mother of two and married to my business partner, Phillip, she did more in a day than most people did in a week.