Debbie Macomber - Angels at Christmas: Those Christmas Angels; Where Angels Go

In memory of Sandy Canfield,
talented writer and dear friend.
And to Charles Canfield with affection and thanks
for the 38 years of love and support
he gave Sandy.

A nne Fletcher pulled the last box of Christmas decorations from the closet in the spare bedroom. She loved Christmasalways had and always would, regardless of her circumstances. It was a bit early yet, a few days before Thanksgiving, but some Christmas cheer was exactly what she needed to get her mind off her problems. The grief that had been hounding her since the divorce five years agoThe financial uncertainty she now facedThe betrayal she still felt

No, she said aloud, refusing to allow herself to step closer to that swamp of regrets. It often happened like this. Shed start thinking about everything shed lost, and before she knew it, shed collapse emotionally, drowning in pain.

Carrying the plastic container down the hallway, she glanced inside her art room and let her gaze drift over to her easel and her latest project. The bold colors of the setting sun against the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean pleased her. Yes, she was divorced, but thered been compensations, too. Her art had fulfilled her in ways she hadnt even realized were possible.

How different her life was at fifty-nine than she wouldve imagined even five years agobefore the divorce. What Burton had done was unforgivable. Hed hurt her, and hed cheated her out of funds that were rightfully hers.

Once again she stopped herself, not wanting to indulge those bitter memories and regrets. Shed done plenty of that in the beginning, when shed first learned hed found someone else and wanted out of their thirty-year marriage. It was a fling, or so shed managed to convince herself. A midlife crisis. Lots of men had them. Any day Burton would come to his senses and see what he was doing to her and to Roy, their son.

Only he hadnt, and Anne walked out of divorce court numb with shock and disbelief. Not until the judges gavel echoed through the room had she fully believed her husband was capable of such treachery. She shouldve known, shouldve been prepared. Burton was a top-notch divorce attorney, a persuasive man who knew all the ploys. But despite everything, shed trusted him.

Her friends had been stunned, tooless by Burtons deception than by Annes apparent acceptance of what hed done to her. It wasnt in her to fight, to drag her marriage and her life through the courts. Burton had recommended an attorney, whom shed obediently retained, never suspecting that the man whod represented her in court would apply to Burtons law firm as soon as the divorce was final. Of course, hed been hired.

Burton had promised to treat her fairly. Because she was convinced that hed soon recognize what a terrible mistake he was making, shed blindly followed his lead. Without a quibble and on her attorneys advice, shed accepted the settlement offerone that had turned out to be grossly unfair. Although she hadnt been aware of it at the time, Anne was cheated out of at least two hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth of assets.

Burtons ploy in this particular case had been simple: hed strung her along. Twice hed come to her in tears, begging her forgiveness, talking about reconciliation, and all the while hed been shifting their assets to offshore accounts. All the while, hed been lying, stealing and cheating. Shed loved him and shed believed him, and so had taken her husband at his word. Never had she dreamed he could betray her like this. After thirty years, shed walked away with only a pittance. And, needless to say, no alimony.