Biltmore Christmas Read online

  Ned was talking to a group of men, his arms waving about as he described something.

  She moved closer to listen.

  “… in Asheville. We’ll soon be producing motorcars like mine. Purchasing one will change your life. You won’t have to rely on slow, jaw-cracking rides on the back of some old nag. This morning I drove my carriage over here from Asheville in a matter of minutes.”

  One of the men whistled. “I thought your horseless carriage was wrecked.”

  “Not a bit. It runs like a dream. It just got a good washing in the river.”

  The men laughed at that, and one of them slapped him on the back. “Glad to hear you’ll be staying near.” The others nodded.

  “Thank you, gentlemen.” He turned back toward the church as the men sauntered away.

  Melissa caught her breath when their gazes met. “Happy Christmas.”

  “Happy Christmas to you, too.” His smile was so dear, more familiar to her than her own. “I’m glad to see you this morning. I have a proposition for you.”

  The happiness welling up inside her brought a giggle. “Do you need help with your horseless carriage?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “It’s all repaired, and I’m about to sell it.”

  Surprise drowned her mirth. “Why?”

  “Remember the man in Asheville who helped me get the part we needed?”

  She nodded.

  “I went to him after the accident and talked to him about opening a manufactory. We’re going into business together. My investment will come from the proceeds of my sale.”

  “I see. I’m happy for you.” She started to turn away.

  “Melissa, don’t leave. I have something to ask you. Right after the accident, Robert came to see me and explained why you refused my proposal.”

  She stopped and looked over her shoulder. “Why would he do that?”

  “Because he cares about your happiness.”

  They had discussed her? Embarrassment made her cheeks flood with color.

  Ned took a step toward her and turned her around to face him. “I need you in my life, Melissa. You are the helpmeet God created to make my future rich.”

  She stared at his shoes. She might have a talent for practicality, but it wasn’t enough to make her a good candidate for him. She didn’t want to hinder his success. “I’m a disaster. Catastrophe follows me wherever I go.”

  “Hmmm. I wonder if I can purchase wife insurance to cover any contingencies.”

  Her gaze flew upward at his words. He was teasing her? About this most serious issue? Couldn’t he see she was trying to save him from making a big mistake? “But I can’t do any of the things wives should—”

  Her words were cut off when he put a finger across her lips. “Don’t you see, Melissa? I don’t need someone who can cook or clean. Once we get the manufactory running, we’ll be able to hire those services. What I need is a woman who can fix things, like motorcars, for example.”

  Her gaze searched his face. “You want a mechanic?”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “I suppose that’s one way to look at it. But what I really want is to marry you, to love you, to spend the rest of my days with you. When I was thrown off the estate, I thought my dreams had ended. But the past few days have been filled with unbelievablethings. First Brother Martin helped me see how I’d driven away from my faith. As soon as I surrendered to Him once more, God took over. He’s opened so many opportunities I can hardly believe it. The only piece missing is you.”

  She tried once more to make him see reason. “But I don’t want to hold you back, Ned.”

  Ned put his hand under her arm and helped her into the horseless carriage. “I have something to show you.” He cranked the motor and climbed into the front seat. She watched the road as he drove out of the village. He pulled over beside a sunny field overlooking a bend in the Swannanoa River. “Are you cold?”

  Melissa shook her head. The air was cool, but the warmth of the sun counteracted any discomfort.

  Ned reached under the seat and pulled out his Bible. “When Robert told me how you felt, I turned to God’s Word. Do you want to hear what I found?”

  He opened the book without waiting for her answer. “I didn’t have to look far. ‘But for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ “

  As soon as he stopped reading, Melissa felt like a curtain had been lifted away, allowing the warm sunlight to flood her soul. Was Ned right? Was she the helpmeet God had createdfor him? Was that why she had a talent for practicality and an ability to fix mechanical things? Could it be so simple?

  “Melissa, I love you so much, and I want you to share your future with me. Please say you’ll marry me.”

  She had missed him desperately when she thought he was gone from her life. She could not bear to consider losing him again. Suddenly she knew what answer she had to give. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  The joy her words brought to his face was a wonder to behold. As Ned pulled her into his embrace, she realized God had not made a mistake when he’d made her a woman. He’d known exactly what He was doing.

  Diane Ashley, a “town girl” born and raised in Mississippi, has worked more than twenty years for the House of Representatives. She rediscovered a thirst for writing, was led to a class taught by Aaron McCarver, and became a founding member of the Bards of Faith. Visit her at www.bardsoffaith.homestead.com.

  Aaron McCarver is a transplanted Mississippian who was raised in the mountains near Dunlap, Tennessee. He loves his jobs of teaching at Belhaven University and editing for Barbour Publishing and Summerside Press. A member of ACFW, he is coauthor with Gilbert Morris of the bestselling series, The Spirit of Appalachia. He now coauthors with Diane Ashley on several historical series.

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  A QUAKER CHRISTMAS

  by Lauralee Bliss, Ramona K. Cecil, Rachael Phillips, and Claire Sanders

  Christmas is a simple matter among the Quakers of the historic Ohio River Valley, but can it be time to welcome love into four households?