The Christmas Vow Read Online Free PDF Page A

never, not even for one day, possessed her heart.
    Sad but true, she’d never been in love with her husband. Patrick was a dozen years her senior when they met the summer she was eighteen. She’d gone to Portland to visit her great aunt and never came back to Hardman.
    The day before she planned to leave Portland to return home, she’d taken a walk to the park and bumped into Patrick Devereux.
    Handsome, wealthy, and charismatic, he’d swept her off her feet, treating her like a princess.
    Infatuated with all a life with him would offer, she accepted his proposal when he asked her to wed just two weeks after their initial meeting.
    Even as she committed her life to his, the only feelings she’d ever held for Patrick were those of a friend. It was impossible to give him her heart when Adam Guthry owned her love.
    Determined her husband would never know the truth, she did her best to be the wife Patrick wanted and expected. She fulfilled the role of a doting wife, made every effort to be beautiful and charming, and turned his house into a comfortable home.
    Patrick was a popular attorney, the son of a high-powered judge in Portland. His mother was a socially sought-after woman everyone vied to please. His brother worked in real estate when he wasn’t breaking girlish hearts.
    Together, the Devereux family amassed a small fortune and created a name held in high regard.
    However, Tia hated the endless parties, the way Patrick’s mother politely criticized her every move.
    Then Toby arrived and all her regrets about marrying Patrick vanished. The adorable baby boy made everything wrong in her world suddenly right.
    She might never have loved Patrick, might spend a lifetime wishing she’d made different choices, but she couldn’t regret the path that placed Toby in her life.
    Upon his death, Patrick had left Tia a wealthy woman. She could go anywhere she wanted in the world. However, the place she needed to be was in Hardman, back in the house where she’d grown up.
    For now, it was the best place to raise her son.

Chapter Four
     
    “Toby, come eat your breakfast while it’s hot.” Tia set a bowl of oatmeal on the table along with a glass of milk.
    “But, Mama, it’s so pretty outside. Can’t we go out and play?” Toby turned from where he stared out the window. Snow had fallen throughout the night while a coating of frost on every surface created a winter wonderland of glistening white.
    “I need to see to several errands this morning, so we’ll go out then.” Tia smiled at Toby as she wiped her hands on a dishtowel. “First, there’s a certain young man who needs to eat his breakfast then comb his hair and make his bed.”
    “I already made my bed.” Toby skipped across the kitchen and climbed onto his chair. He folded his little hands beneath his chin, ready for his mother to ask a blessing on their meal.
    “That’s wonderful, sweetheart.” Tia smiled at him then bowed her head and offered a simple prayer. When she lifted her head, Toby grinned at the boat she’d created in his bowl of oatmeal using an apple slice and raisins.
    “Mama! It’s a boat! I love boats!” Toby beamed as he picked up his spoon and fished out the apple slice.
    “I know you love boats, baby, that’s why I made it. Don’t dawdle, though. We’ve got a busy day ahead of us.” Tia watched her little boy enthusiastically eat his cereal and drink his milk.
    “I’m all done.” Toby started to wipe his mouth on his sleeve, caught his mother’s glare, and lifted a napkin to his lips. When he finished, he grinned at Tia. “After I comb my hair, may we go outside?”
    Tia reached out and cupped his chin, gazing into his dear face. He looked like a replica of his father. Her heart pinched as she thought of how much she loved her son and how little she missed Patrick and the life she’d lived with him.
    “I’ll do the dishes while you feed Crabby and give him some attention.” Tia tipped her head toward a fluffy white cat