Christmas at North Hill — Jan Scarbrough

The small town of Dickens is alive with Christmas activity. Joni Smith shares the infectious joy spreading through the shoppers. There had been a time when she'd been desperate to be loved and had nearly lost her mind when it didn't work out. Thanks to insight gained in a Sunday church service, she's found contentment. Joni's happy working as a home health aide for wealthy Mrs. Northrop. She doesn't need a man in her life. She's done looking for love. But Mrs. Northrop's grandson, Christopher Northrop the Third, sets Joni's heart fluttering in a way that says that maybe love isn't done looking for her.  Chris Northrup has always done what his mother wanted. He's worked in the shipping part of his family's company, even though there's no chance of him inheriting the family estate, North Hill. But he has dreams of his own. One of them is to be a writer. The other is to marry Joni Smith.   Sparks flew from the moment they met, but Joni's independence has Chris wondering if he could ever be enough for her. Joni knows God loves her, but is she ready for a different kind of love? Together Joni and Chris might discover that, just like Christmas presents, love comes wrapped in all kinds of different packages. But they must be willing to open the gift that's offered and open their hearts to each other. Author Note ***This is a small-town sweet Christmas romance. It can be read as a stand-alone but features cameo appearances of characters from other Dickens Holiday Romance series written by other authors in this anthology. ***