Page 132 of Mistletoe and Mischief

Emily had heard Kent was staying at the Beldons’ B and B. Rumor had it that he hadn’t arrived alone, but if so, whoever he’d brought hadn’t been at the church.

The front door opened and Beth stepped onto the porch to greet them. “Welcome, welcome! Please, come inside.”

Dave held Emily’s hand as they walked into the gaily decorated house.

“The girls have hot cocoa on the stove. I hope we’ll be able to interest you in a mug.”

“With whipped cream,” Kent added, joining Beth.

He extended his hand to Dave. “We met in church earlier. Kent Morehouse.”

“Dave Flemming, and my wife, Emily.”

“Hi, Emily. Good to see you again, Dave.”

Beth led the way into the kitchen. She opened the door leading to the laundry room and returned a moment later with two beautiful black puppies. They wore the saddest, most forlorn looks Emily could imagine.

“These two are the last of the litter, both males.” Beth handed one to Emily.

“They’re gorgeous,” Emily said, falling hard and fast. All it had taken was one look, and she was convinced these puppies needed to be part of their family.

She sat on one of the kitchen chairs, holding the puppy on her lap. The little creature licked her hand, then immediately curled up and went to sleep. Yup, Emily was lost. Mark would love this dog and she felt confident he’d do a good job of feeding, training and caring for this puppy. Matthew, too, would love and train his dog.

When Emily glanced up she saw that Dave was holding the other puppy, all the while engaged in conversation with Kent Morehouse.

“The sermon tonight really touched me,” Beth said. “I’ve heard the Christmas story all my life. But I’d never really considered the role Joseph played. How he must have loved Mary.”

Emily agreed. “It’s a beautiful love story and one that’s often overlooked.” This was Dave’s gift. He looked at Biblical stories in ways that stirred people’s hearts and brought them closer to God. He could take familiar passages and study them from a different point of view, bringing contemporary relevance and new insight.

Beth returned to the stove, and removed the pan from the burner. Bailey and Sophie, who’d poked their heads in to say hello, were playing a computer game in the family room.

“Girls! Cocoa,” Beth called out.

Neither seemed to hear her, too engrossed in their game. Shaking her head, Beth finished filling the mugs and brought two of them to Emily and Dave, both sitting at the kitchen table.

Kent picked up the other two, then he and Beth sat down with her guests.

“I see they’ve taken a liking to us,” Dave said, motioning to the puppy on his lap. The second one was asleep, too, chin now resting on Emily’s arm.

“You know what a soft touch I am,” she complained laughingly.

“Yeah, I guess we’re a two-dog family now.”

“Dave was telling me he likes to golf,” Kent said to Beth a moment later.

“It’s a prerequisite for pastors,” Dave joked. “A lot of men bond over the sport.”

“There was a time not so long ago when Dave gave it up, though,” Emily said. “We were going through a difficult financial period and he didn’t want me to know how bad things were. The idiot let me think he was out golfing when he was actually working at a second job.” Emily wasn’t sure about confiding anything so personal, but she felt this was something Beth and Kent might benefit from hearing.

“How did you find out?” Beth asked.

“Peggy Beldon casually mentioned that Bob missed seeing Dave on the golf course.”

“Of course, Emily didn’t say anything at the time. She just waited for me to come back to the house. She was cool as a cucumber—until I walked in the front door.”

“Was that before or after I dyed my hair blond?”

Beth stared at her. “You went blond?”

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