Shadows on a Maine Christmas (Antique Print Mystery Series Book 7) by Lea Wait

her. It’s hard to find a competent and caring nurse you can trust in your home.”
    “You have a beautiful home.”
    “Thank you. I’m so glad you could come this afternoon.”
    The baby’s screams interrupted them. “There Jonas goes again. I swear, if any of my children had cried like that I wouldn’t have had three.” Ruth smiled. “But here I am, telling you how I’d discipline Carrie’s son, or my grandson. Poor Jonas has colic. I think he just needs to be burped a little more, and perhaps he shouldn’t have been put on the bottle so early. But he’s not my child. Do you have children, Maggie?”
    Maggie swallowed. Hard. “Not yet.”
    “Well, once you do, you’ll know. You want to raise your children your way, even if you know you’re not doing a perfect job. It hurts when anyone gives you advice. So I try not to. With Brian and Jenny, I keep reminding myself I’m just the grandmother. Last night I think his mother was crying more than little Jonas was. And when she’s tense and upset, Jonas senses that and cries more. Brian left and went out walking in the middle of the night. If I hadn’t had to look after Betty I would’ve been tempted to join him, even in the snow and at my age.”
    “How long are they staying?” Maggie asked.
    “Until New Year’s,” Ruth answered. She lowered her voice. “I love my family dearly, but I really hope that baby stops crying. For all our sakes.”
    At about 6:30 people began to leave the party, many saying they were going to the community sing.
    “It’s not far,” said Will to Maggie. “Would you like to go?”
    “What about Aunt Nettie?” Maggie said, quietly.
    “Aunt Nettie is going to stay right here if you young folks want to go along,” Aunt Nettie put in. “Ruth’s invited me to stay and chat while she has a little to eat and starts to clean up. Go ahead, you two. Brian and Jenny are taking the baby to the carol sing, and Carrie’s going to put Betty to bed. I’ll be fine here.”
    “You’re sure?”
    “I’m sure. Just don’t have such a good time you forget to come back for me.”
    “I haven’t been to one of these in years,” Will admitted, as they pulled their coats on. “But why not? It’s part of small-town Christmas.”
    “Oh good! It’s snowing, too,” Maggie said as they joined others walking down the street toward the center of town. A few people carried candles or flashlights, but most houses had turned their outside lights on, so the whole town seemed bright in the snow.
    Maggie and Will held hands as they walked through the night toward the Green. “It’s perfect.”
    Will squeezed her hand. “It is.”
    The high school band had assembled in front of the Congregational church and choirs from several churches in town were gathering, their long robes flapping over their heavy sweaters and boots. Townspeople as young as baby Jonas were there, bundled up warmly. One wizened man wrapped in blankets in a wheelchair on one of the shoveled walkways around the Green was smiling and chatting, ignoring the cold and snow.
    “Can we get a little closer?” asked Maggie. “I’m curious. Which of the girls in the choir is Zelda?”
    Will guided her around the center crowd until they found a place where they could see the sopranos assembling, checking music and looking around for friends and family.
    He peered through the snow, which had begun to fall more heavily again. “See the second girl from the end? She’s wearing a red turtleneck under her robe. I think that’s Zelda.”
    Maggie stood on her toes. “You mean the girl talking to the blonde with really short hair? The one who just waved to the tall, skinny young man over near the pine tree.”
    “That’s the one. And the boy she waved at is Jon Snow, the one Nick doesn’t want her to see.”
    “Clearly she isn’t paying too much attention to that rule,” said Maggie.
    “Obviously. And she has a lot of makeup on for a choir girl. No wonder Nick gets upset with