Chapter 1

"Can you believe it? Only twenty more days until Christmas!" Grace announced in a sing-song voice as she walked into Granny Josephine's room. "I can hardly wait!"

She set the tray she had been carrying on the bed next to her granny, careful not to spill the contents. "I brought you your favorite: chicken soup, grilled cheese, and a nice hot cup of chamomile tea," she said cheerfully.

"Thank you, dear girl," Granny said, reaching for the cup of tea with shaky hands. "You spoil me."

Grace watched as Granny struggled to eat, desperately wishing there was something she could do to help. They had been to numerous doctors over the last few months, but none had answers. Granny's health was obviously deteriorating, but no one could figure out why. Yes, she was up there in age, but eighty-five was not an automatic death sentence.

The last doctor they had seen had pulled Grace aside and explained that unless a miracle occurred, this Christmas was likely to be Granny's last. Devastated at losing her granny, the only family she had left, Grace had vowed to make this Christmas the best one they ever had. The only problem was she needed to figure out how to do that.

When Granny finished her food, Grace removed the tray and sat beside her on the bed. Taking her cold hands in hers, she asked. "Granny, will you tell me a story from your childhood?"

Granny smiled up at her. "Of course, my dear. I never could say no to you," she said, squeezing Grace's hands.

"My grandparents built this house in eighteen ninety-five when Winterwood was a booming railroad town. I know it's hard to imagine that a town of only two thousand was once a booming metropolis, but it was."

Grace watched as Granny's face took on a dreamy expression, as if she was picturing the past in her mind as she spoke.

"Grandpa Arthur built this house for my grandma, Ellen, and their six children. At that time, it was truly something special. This old place could have rivaled the Vanderbilt's or Rockefeller's mansions up north!" she chuckled.

"By the time I came along, forty years later, this old house had seen its share of love and loss. The six children had their own children, filling this place to the brim at holidays. We didn't mind, though; we loved it, in fact. Us kids had so much fun running around together, causing mischief."

Grace smiled at the twinkle in Granny's eyes. "It's hard to imagine you causing trouble," Grace laughed.

"Oh, you know how kids can be. There were over twenty cousins, all driving our mama's crazy. They used to come up with ideas to keep us busy and out of their hair."

"What kind of ideas?"

"Well, they used to let us decorate the Christmas cookies. That would keep us busy for at least ten minutes. Then the food fight would start, and we all ended up with more icing on us than on the cookies! Our mamas did not find it funny one bit, but we would just laugh and laugh. You would think they would have learned their lesson after the first time, but it became a tradition we did every year."

"And every year, it ended in a food fight?"

"Of course! We kids were not one to break with tradition! Although, I suspect our mamas weren't quite as upset with us as they claimed to be," she said with a wink.

Grace could see Granny getting a little color in her usually pale cheeks. Her voice got stronger as she reminisced. For the first time in months, she started to feel a little bit of hope. Which gave her an idea. "What other kinds of things did you do?"

"Oh, let's see. Each year, we were allowed to choose one ornament for the Christmas tree and decorate it however we liked. When it snowed, they sent us outside to go sledding, which usually ended in a snowball fight! And, of course, there was the annual snowman competition. The winner got to place the angel on the top of the Christmas tree," she said wistfully.

"That all sounds wonderful, Granny!" Grace said, clapping her hands together gleefully.

Granny chuckled. "That's only half of it. Winterwood was so magical back then. Each year, the town would transform into a real Christmas wonderland. There was an ice skating rink, a tree-lighting ceremony, and a parade. All the business owners down Main Street would dress their shops like something out of Santa's village. And, of course, Santa himself would show up to talk to all of us boys and girls. I do so miss those days," she sighed.

Grace tried to picture all of that in her mind. She had come to live with Granny twenty years ago, her parents having died in a car accident when she was five. In all those years, she had never seen her town come close to the image Granny described. It was time for things to change.

"Granny, I need to go out for a little bit tonight. I'll have Gladys from next door come over and watch Wheel of Fortune with you, okay?"

"You don't have to do that. I'll be fine by myself. It's good to see you getting out of here for a while. You spend way too much time caring for this old bag of bones!"

"Granny! Don't say things like that!" Grace exclaimed. "I know you can take care of yourself, but I also know that you like to have friendly little competitions with Gladys to see who can solve the puzzles first! You'll have much more fun if she's here while I'm gone."

Granny appeared to think about it. "I suppose...yes, go ahead and ask Gladys to come over. I'm in the mood for a little competition!"

Grace smiled, thrilled at the flash of spark she could see in Granny's attitude. If she kept this up, she might just get that Christmas miracle.

Grace walked into the town hall/community center/fire department just in time for the monthly town hall meeting. While it was true there were a little over two thousand residents in Winterwood, only a handful showed up for these meetings. Because of that, the mayor, the town council, and the few residents who came usually just sat in a circle.

Taking a seat in one of the few available chairs, Grace sighed and looked around. This was a little more intimidating than she thought it would be.

Mayor Allen looked up and smiled when he noticed her. "Grace, it's so good to see one of our younger residents taking an interest in town politics! How's Granny Parker doing?"

"That's actually why I'm here," she replied, taking a deep breath.

"Oh?" The mayor raised his eyebrows. "I sure hope you aren't here to give us bad news."

The room went silent, all eyes now on her. Realizing what he meant, Grace hurried to assure them. "No, no, she's still alive," she said. "Unfortunately, the doctors don't think she'll make it much longer. This could be her last Christmas with us."

Her voice broke on that last part, and she struggled to hold back tears. Looking around the room, she could see the sadness and concern on all their faces. These people had known Granny all their lives. Her death would be hard for them, too.

Swallowing the knot in her throat, she continued. "If this is going to be her last Christmas, I want to make it the best she's ever had."

Mayor Allen cleared his throat. "I'm very sorry to hear about Granny, as I'm sure we all are," heads nodded in agreement around the room, "And what you want to do for your granny is truly admirable. I'm not sure I understand how this fits into our town hall meeting, though?"

She took a deep breath. "Granny told me a story today about Christmas in Winterwood when she was young. I want to recreate those memories for her and need your help. All of your help," she said, looking around the room.

Bea, the owner of Bea's Bakery, patted her hand. "Honey, we would love to help you, but if you're talking about what I think you're talking about, I just don't see how it's possible,"

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree," Mr. Wilkins, the owner of Wilkins Five and Dime, said. "There's only twenty days till Christmas. What you're asking us to do takes months to plan."

"Not to mention the fact it takes money. Lots of money. Our little town already struggles financially," Mayor Allen said sadly. "I'm sorry, Grace, I just don't see how we could help."

"I realize what I'm asking is...ambitious," Grace said with a quick glance around the room. "But what if I told you I had a plan that would not only make this Christmas special for Granny but would also bring in a bunch of much-needed tourists and revenue? It would be a win-win."

She sighed in relief when she saw that interest had replaced the confusion and doubt on most of their faces.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to at least hear her out," Mayor Allen replied.

Grace beamed at him. "You all know that Granny's house is huge. I'm thinking, what if I sold all-inclusive packages for a real-life, old-fashioned Christmas to people up in the city? I bet they would pay a lot of money for the chance to unplug and return to a time when things were simpler. A time when Christmas had meaning and magic."

"I'm not sure I'm following you, dear," Bea interrupted, a frown on her face.

"I want to turn Granny's house into an inn for ten days. Bea can provide breakfast and desserts, while Addie can provide lunch and dinner at her diner. We will bring back the ice skating rink and the tree-lighting ceremony, and if we find time, we can set up a little village for Santa in the park.

"You need a business license for that," Mayor Allen said.

"I can help her with that," Katie, the town manager, said, raising her hand.

"We can't afford to be donating all that food, darlin', even if it is for a good cause," said Addie.

"Thank you, Katie," Grace replied, smiling at the woman.

She turned to Addie. "The cost of the food would be prepaid and included in the package price. I plan to rent out five rooms, so you will have guaranteed money up front for at least five people for those ten days. I would just need you and Bea to create a price list based on a family size of one, two, and four."

"I like the sound of that!" Bea exclaimed.

"I have other ideas, too. Ideas that could draw people in from the neighboring towns. People who might be willing to spend money at our stores and cafes. I know this is crazy, but we can pull this off if we work together."

"I'd be willing to offer sleigh rides," Junior Wilhelm, a farmer and Bea's husband, chimed in. "For a small fee, of course."

"I think the town still has some of its old decorations somewhere in the basement," Katie said. "I'd be willing to go down and check after the meeting."

Mayor Allen cleared his throat. "If we're going to do this, we must do it right. Tonight, I want everyone willing to participate to make a list of what you can do. We will all meet here each morning for the next two weeks to plan and coordinate our efforts. Questions?"

"What if we meet at my bakery instead? I can have coffee and doughnuts ready," Bea volunteered.

"That's wonderful, Bea, thank you. I will see all of you tomorrow morning at Bea's Bakery at eight o'clock."

"Shouldn't we discuss the regular town business before we go?" Junior asked.

"We have enough on our plate. Let's see how this goes and if it affects things for next month," Mayor Allen replied.

"I cannot thank you all enough," Grace said through tears.

Bea walked over and gave her a hug. "We all love Josephine, darlin', and you too. Let's just hope this works," she said, patting her back.

Grace smiled and gathered up her things. She intended to go down to the basement with Katie to help look for decorations and didn't want the spirited woman to take off without her. After thanking the rest of the townsfolk, she took off for the basement, a new hope springing to life in her chest.

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