Upon a Midnight Clear Read online

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  UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR

  By

  Jude Deveraux, Linda Howard, Margaret Allison, Stef Ann Holm, Mariah Stewart

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  Contents

  The Teacher

  Jude Deveraux

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Christmas Magic

  Margaret Allison

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Jolly Holly

  Stef Ann Holm

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Epilogue

  If Only in My Dreams

  Mariah Stewart

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  White Out

  Linda Howard

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

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  Praise for

  UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR

  "Delightful, charming…"

  —Philadelphia Inquirer

  "Christmas stories from some of the best romance novelists around."

  —The Pilot (Southern Pines, NC)

  "Heartwarming, unforgettable tales from five of today's most talented romance authors."

  —The Literary Times

  "[A] masterly anthology… fans of holiday short-story collections will want to read and keep as a treasure to be reread next Christmas."

  —Paintedrock.com

  "UPON A MIDNIGHT CLEAR celebrates this season with the joy of good reading."

  —Romancing the Web

  "Original stories by five bestselling authors… which will brighten the holidays and warm the hearts and souls of readers… A great holiday anthology."

  —Abilene Reporter-News (TX)

  "These fictional stories are delightful to read and leave the reader with warm and enduring memories."

  —Pocono Record (Stroudsburg, PA)

  "Heartwarming."

  —Chattanooga Free Press (TN)

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  UPON A

  MIDNIGHT CLEAR

  Jude Deveraux

  Linda Howards

  Margaret Allison

  Stef Ann Holm

  Mariah Stewart

  POCKET BOOKS

  New York London Toronto Sydney Tokyo Singapore

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  This book consists of works of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Originally published in hardcover in 1997 by Pocket Books

  POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY

  "The Teacher" copyright © 1997 by Deveraux, Inc.

  "Christmas Magic" copyright © 1997 by Cheryl Klam

  "Jolly Holly" copyright © 1997 by Stef Ann Holm

  "If Only in My Dreams" copyright © 1997 by Marti Robb

  "White Out" copyright © 1997 by Linda Howington

  ISBN: 0-671-01988-0

  First Pocket Books paperback printing December

  POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc.

  Cover design by Gina DiMarco

  Cover art by Lina Levy

  Printed in the U.S.A.

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  UPON A

  MlDNIGHT CLEAR

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  Jude Deveraux

  The Teacher

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  Chapter One

  Legend, Colorado

  "I don't see why—"

  "Please don't say it again, Jeremy," his mother said, then had to grab the side of the stagecoach to keep from slamming into the fat, snoring man beside her. Or perhaps beside wasn't the correct word. Even before the man had fallen asleep he'd been trying to get even closer to her than the tiny seat forced on them. It didn't help matters that the man kept swearing that she was "the prettiest little thing I ever seen in my whole dad-gummed life," as he put it. When Jeremy had closed his eyes, looking as though he'd fallen asleep, the man had offered Kathryn an extraordinary amount of money to spend just one hour alone with him. "If you know what I mean."

  Kathryn certainly did know, and her instinct demanded she tell him she'd rather be boiled in oil than have him touch her, but instead she'd smiled and murmured that she was already "promised."

  The man had patted her knee and said he "understood." Maybe he did, but Kathryn didn't have any idea what he meant. Was the American Wild West so without morals that women did spend "just one hour" with a man? As much as she wanted to know, she wasn't about to ask. However, the man's intimate interest in Kathryn de Longe and her son was why they were now speaking in French.

  "We could have stayed and fought," Jeremy said, looking up at his mother with eyes much too old for his mere nine years.

  Kathryn had no answer for him because over the last weeks she'd exhausted her supply of words. What could she tell him that she hadn't already said? For his entire nine years they had been running. Actually, since Kathryn had had to escape Ireland when she was pregnant, maybe she could say he'd been running since before he was born. But no matter where they went or how well they disguised themselves, the O'Connor money always found them.

  Now, Kathryn looked out at the steep mountainside that fell away from the narrow road the stagecoach was trying to climb. This barren, isolated place was their last chance. Their very, very last chance.

  Turning, she forced herself to smile at her son. Since he was born she'd tried to protect him. Perhaps she hadn't done a very good job, but she knew she'd done her best. And maybe this time they could settle down. Maybe this time they could stay in one place for longer than three months.

  When she'd bought her stage ticket (through a third party so no one would remember a lone woman buying a ticket), she'd asked a man about the isolation of Legend, Colorado, and he'd laughed. "Lady, there are places up in the Rockies that not even God can find. And I figure Legend heads that list." She hadn't smiled as he'd meant her to, but had nodded solemnly. Yes, that sounded like the place she needed.

  It hadn't been so easy to persuade Jeremy to the idea of living in an isolated mountain town, as he'd liked Philadelphia very much. He was a quiet child and studious. Like his father's people, Kathryn thought with a melting of her heart. He was very much like his father's uncle with his love of books and music. And he had his father's taste in clothes. And his father's good looks, she thought with a heavy sigh. One look at Jeremy and there was no doubt whose son he was.

  "I'm sure there was some other way," Jeremy said for the thousandth time. "We could have—"

  "No!" Kathryn said sharp