Who's Who in the Zoo
Hanging Around in Hearts
The Hiding Place
An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving
The Last Chance Christmas
The Wishing Curse
One-Thing-at-a-Time Christmas
The Ghost Who Stayed for Lunch
The Summer of the Gypsy Moths
When Mysteries Happen
Nancy D. Thayer Mysteries by Nancy D. Thayer
Fog Spinner
The Thirteenth Bear
Mouseprint
Published by Charlesbridge
12265 Oracle Boulevard
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516-1696
www.charlesbridge.com
Copyright © 2010 by Nancy D. Thayer
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
eISBN : 978-1-5-925006-3-6
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2010939551
All of the stories in this collection were previously published by various publishers.
The stories "Nanny's Daughters" and "The Last Chance Christmas" have been previously published in A Nancy D. Thayer Christmas Story Collection (Penguin Group, 2003). "A Little Bit of Home" has been previously published in A Nancy D. Thayer Thanksgiving Story Collection (Penguin Group, 2004). "Nancy's Sisters" has been previously published in The Last Chance Book (Pocket Books, 2004).
eISBN : 978-1-5-925006-3-6
[1. Sisters—Fiction. 2. Mystery and detective stories.] I. Title.
PZ7.T3229Gln 2010
[Fic]—dc22
2010028916
Manufactured in the United States of America
Distributed by
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Thayer, Nancy D.
A Nancy D. Thayer Christmas story collection / Nancy D. Thayer.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-5-925006-3 (alk. paper)
1. Sisters—Fiction. 2. Christmas stories, American—21st century—Fiction.
I. Title.
PS3603.H4885S57 2010
813'.6—dc22
2010004845
CIP
AC
The Library of Congress has cataloged the first edition as follows:
Thayer, Nancy D., date.
A Nancy D. Thayer Christmas story collection / Nancy D. Thayer.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-5-925006-3 (alk. paper)
1. Sisters—Fiction. 2. Christmas stories, American—21st century—Fiction.
I. Title.
PS3603.H4885S57 2010
813'.6—dc22
2010004845
17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
A Note from the Author
Included in the collection are a number of previously published holiday stories that all feature the Thayers, Nancy's daughters Kate, Jane, and Meg, and their little dog Missy (in three previous books and in another in progress).
The stories here are intended to take you back to a certain time and place—a time and place when the Christmas season is in full swing, before the arrival of the new baby, and when the girls have yet to enter their senior years and must learn to negotiate the world of adulthood.
For anyone who has ever been a child in a family with a parent who is a writer, who has a sibling or cousins or friends who are writers, this collection has something to offer you. Because there are siblings, sisters, cousins, and friends who have or are becoming writers. And they face the same challenges as you. So let the stories in this book become just as familiar as the stories you told your siblings, your cousins, and your friends. Because sometimes we just need to hear the same old stories in a new way, and this collection will offer you just that.
Nancy D. Thayer
Cincinnati, Ohio
Summer 2009
# Chapter 1
A Little Bit of Home
It was a cool, gray evening in autumn, but the air held the promise of winter to come. Meg, standing outside the door to her family's large Victorian house, hugged herself as if she could keep herself warm simply by that gesture. Inside, the living room was bright with lights and buzzing with activity. There was no place she'd rather be than home with her family, but it was late, and she felt a vague sense of unease about being out after dark. It would be so much better to be tucked in bed in her old room with the stuffed animals and the special storybook she liked to read every night before sleep. Or lying on the couch, with Missy cuddled close, reading Nancy Drew mysteries.
Meg sighed as she thought of what awaited her in the house: cookies, coffee, talking, and lots of help with homework. Her mother would be in the kitchen, making sure she had everything she needed. When her father returned from work, they'd eat supper together, while her grandmother watched TV in the den. Meg wanted to hug all the generations of her family, but in the end she'd be left alone.
Maybe that was what she missed—to know there were people waiting for her, who knew how to treat her special. Maybe that's why she loved being around her little brother and sister. Even if Meg was usually the one giving the hugs, and the one doing the sharing.
Meg was looking down at the sidewalk when her father called from the car. "Meg?" he called again. "You comin' or not?"
She shook herself and turned, heading toward the car where the chilly November air felt almost arctic. The car door opened as she approached. "Sorry I took so long, Dad. I was . . ."
But what? She'd been sitting on the curb, hugging herself and feeling sorry for herself. The truth was, she'd been standing at the corner for a couple of minutes, just waiting for him to call out, hoping he'd be able to wait for her. But he hadn't, so here she was.
"You were what?" her father asked.
Meg's smile spread. "I was just thinking. That's all."
He nodded, not convinced that was all she'd been doing, but clearly not about to argue. He just looked at her with that loving, knowing gaze, and smiled back. Then his eyes moved beyond her to someone he knew was waiting in the shadows.
"We're late," he said. "You can join
