Upon a Midnight Clear (Legend, Colorado 2)

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JUDE DEVERAUX is the author of twenty-two New York Times bestsellers, including An Angel for Emily, Legend, The Heiress, Remembrance, Sweet Liar, A Knight in Shining Armor, and The Duchess. She began writing in 1976, and to date there are more than thirty million copies of her books in print. Ms. Deveraux lives in a 300-year-old house in England, and is currently at work on her next novel.

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Margaret Allison

Christmas Magic

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For my parents… Merry Christmas.

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Chapter One

Kim leaned back in her chair and studded the abstract oil painting in front of her. Strong bold red lines accented a deep green background. She picked up her paintbrush and hesitated. She tilted her head, as though trying to get a different perspective. She had been working on this painting for months, but she just couldn't finish it. The painting needed something. Unfortunately, she was having trouble determining what it was lacking.

Frustrated, she set her brush back down and glanced out the window. The house she rented was small and old, but the location had made her fall in love with it immediately. It was perched on a small grassy hill overlooking a large stretch of beach in Hudson, Florida. She walked over to the window and opened it, allowing a warm breeze to flow through the room. It was November twenty-seventh, the day before Thanksgiving, but the temperature gave no indication that winter was right around the corner.

"Deck the halls with balls of holly, fa la la, la la…" Barbara, Kim's friend, burst through the door singing her own rendition of a Christmas carol.

"Hey!" Kim yelled out.

Barbara set down her bag of groceries. "What's the matter? Do you have a headache?"

"No. I just don

't feel like hearing Christmas carols. I'd like to get through Thanksgiving first. And besides. It's boughs, not balls."

"Balls, boughs, big dif. You get the gist. And Thanksgiving is tomorrow. As everyone knows, Thanksgiving is the official beginning of the Christmas season." She looked at Kim accusingly as she put her hands on her hips. "Are you always such a scrooge?"

"Most of the time," Kim admitted. Christmas was one of those holidays that reminded her of everything she didn't have. "What did you bring?" Kim asked, motioning toward the bag.

"Stuff for tomorrow."

Barbara and Kim had volunteered to make Thanksgiving dinner for several of their friends who had decided to forgo having turkey with their families. "But I've already got everything," Kim said.

"Nope. Not hors d'oeuvres."

"Hors d'oeuvres?"

"Yeah. I went all out. I was missing my family so I needed some comfort food." Barbara began pulling the groceries out of the bag. "Cheez Doodles. Chips. Dip. Salsa. Bugles… God, I love Bugles. Assorted nuts. Cheez Whiz for inside the celery sticks, which I… forgot. Oh, shoot," she said, slapping her forehead.

Kim looked at the snacks in front of her and smiled as she shook her head. "Don't worry," she joked. "We'll just dip the Bugles in the Cheez Whiz."

Barbara's eyes opened wide and she nodded. "Excellent idea!" She opened the refrigerator, admiring the feast Kim had already purchased. "Everything looks beautiful. Cranberry salad. A giant turkey. And this?" she said, opening up a casserole dish and peering inside.

"Green bean casserole."

"God! You're so organized," she said, slamming the refrigerator door. She opened up the bag of Bugles and tramped toward Kim's painting. "I like it," she said, nodding as she popped a Bugle into her mouth. "It's very Christmassy."

"Christmassy?" Kim asked, walking over beside her as she opened up the jar of Cheez Whiz. She took a Bugle from Barbara and dipped it inside. "How do you figure?"

"Green and red. Looks kind of like a big, weird wreath," Barbara said, following Kim's lead and dipping the Bugle in the Cheez Whiz. "Don't you think?"

Kim tilted her head and looked at it again. "I don't know. Right now it doesn't look like much of anything to me." She shrugged. "I'm sorry. I woke up in a lousy mood. I think it's the holiday." She nodded toward the jar of Cheez Whiz. "We better put that stuff away. It's addictive."