The First Day of Christmas — Carolyn Nash

To impress her boss, Linda Rogers eagerly volunteers to take in a foster child for the holiday season. She's well-organized in and outside the office; the addition of a child? A simple matter of blocking out the hours in her day planner and laying in a few supplies. Never mind that she's single. Never mind that she's never cared to have a lasting relationship or build a family. Housing seven-year-old Lucy Green for Christmas is simply to boost Linda up the next career step, nothing more. At least, that was the plan. But when Lucy's presence triggers long-hidden memories that challenge the carefully constructed foundation of Linda's life, will the emotions awakened by this little girl's harrowing experiences bring these two injured souls together, or tear them irrevocably apart?