Love Finds You in Frost Minnesota by Judy Baer Page A

was fourteen, Merry decided to do something about it. She would bring Christmas to others. Or she would bring others to Christmas. Suddenly Christmases at their home were changed. Merry acted like an undercover spy for six weeks before December 25. If she heard of anyone who didn’t have a place to go for dinner, she told her mother, who dutifully invited the individual, often someone she didn’t even know, to their home.
    As the parties grew, so did Merry’s joy. At seventeen, she made up her mind—she would do everything in her power to make sure everyone had a family for Christmas.
    That had led, in a roundabout way, to the store. She’d volunteered to set up a Christmas shopping event for families of children who came to the local food shelf with their parents. Each child could “spend” a penny, a nickel, or a quarter—whatever they had—on a gift for each parent. Businesses began donating gifts, and the event turned into a huge party.
    That success as a teenager ultimately emboldened her to open a small Christmas store in Frost. And the rest was history.
    She wouldn’t let Jack’s hurtful comments stop her. He thought she was crazy. She thought he was an iceman emotionally.
    Who knew? Merry thought. Maybe she was the one meant to thaw his frozen heart.

Chapter Seven
    • • • • • • • • • • • •
    Breakfast was destined to be a quiet affair. Even Peppy knew enough not to start ringing the bells at the back door.
    Jack trudged into the kitchen wearing a wary expression, as if he were afraid a frying pan or an airborne egg strata might come flying his way.
    Merry, however, kept her back to him, turning only briefly to plop a bowl of homemade granola and a toasted bagel slathered with butter in front of him. She’d filled a carafe with coffee so she wouldn’t have to serve it and made sure cream cheese, honey, and jam were already on the table.
    She wasn’t angry, just hurt. She tried so hard to make her home and store a joyous place, but, ironically, she’d failed miserably with Jack Frost. Surely someone with that name should be pro-Christmas!
    Finally Merry had to turn toward the table with a platter of hickory-smoked bacon. When she placed the plate in front of Frost, his fingers closed around her wrist.
    “So you heard me talking on the phone?”
    “I didn’t intentionally eavesdrop. I was putting away towels and . . .”
    “I’m sure you weren’t. It’s me that owes you an apology. I was out of line. I was talking to Vince, my best friend. I was tired and it made me stupid. You aren’t silly, and the store isn’t kitschy. Vince would tell you I have a problem with Christmas. What I said says more about me than it does about you. I hope you’ll accept my apology.”
    She could almost physically feel his regret. Jack wasn’t a bad guy. He was just, in her opinion, really messed up about Christmas. He seemed to have faith—he prayed willingly and comfortably at meals and had a solemn respect for the holiday but complete intolerance for anyone else’s vision.
    Merry knew what she had to do: show him grace. She’d received enough of that herself to know she was not the one to withhold it from others.
    “It’s okay. I am silly sometimes, and everyone has a right to their own opinion about what I do.”
    “No one has a right to belittle another human being. It wasn’t even about you, not really. Any attitudes I have about this season are mine and mine alone.”
    She dropped into the chair next to him. He was still holding her wrist, but it was a very gentle touch and she didn’t mind. In fact, to her surprise, she rather liked it. “Apology accepted.”
    She was surprised when his shoulders drooped with relief. So he didn’t have an impenetrable fortress built around his heart. Though a rich, successful, and handsome man, he had his share of issues as well.
    Merry found herself liking him better. He was very, very human, just like her.
    After that, breakfast was a