Betty smiled. “Dear, you're not losing your home. I'm not asking you to give up your life in Pine Snow. All I'm asking you to do is help me save the toys. And dear, I know your heart. You want to save the toys just as badly as I do...if not more.”
“I do, Betty. Oh, I do!” Candy promised. “I love the toys. I'll miss the toy factory and all the years I spent there, but I made a promise to God tonight.” Candy drew in a trembling breath. “If I won the lottery, I would save the toys. And now here you are, wanting to buy an island and turn it into a sanctuary for the toys. All of this has to be from God...it just has to be.”
Betty watched tears of shock and happiness begin to leave Candy's beautiful glowing eyes. She reached out and hugged the woman. “I knew you were special from the moment I first saw you twenty-two years ago. Hiring you was the best choice I ever made. You've become like my own daughter.”
“When my mother died, you became my second mother,” Candy spoke through her tears as she hugged Betty. “I was nineteen when my mother died. My dad left us when I was only three, and he died of a heart attack a few years ago. I never knew him. His new wife sent me a letter in the mail.” Candy closed her eyes. She rested her head on Betty's shoulder. “You're the only family I've ever had...you and all the girls at the toy factory. I can't lose you...or the toys.”
“You're not going to lose us, dear, and we're not going to lose you...or the toys.” Betty placed a loving, warm, caring hand onthe back of Candy's head. “I'll always be right here for you. I know you'll always be right here for me. We're a family.”
“Yes, we are a family,” Candy insisted. She lifted her head up, looked into Betty's loving eyes, and smiled. “And you know what?” she asked in a voice that turned brave and excited. Betty asked what. “We're going to buy that island and save our toys!” Candy exclaimed. “We're going to build a toy island. Not just a toy island...aChristmas Toy Island! And we're going to turn the mansion...no, the castle you mentioned into the...North Pole Castle! We're going to build a Christmas wonderland! People will come from all over to see our new toy factory...the castle...the island...everything!”
“Now you're talking!” Betty excitedly clapped her hands together. “Partner?” she asked.
Candy hugged Betty as tight as she could. “That would be a dream come true, Betty...oh, a dream come true. Having you at my side is what I need the most.”
Far away, sitting out on a cold, icy lake, a small island awaited Candy like an unwrapped present waiting to be discovered on Christmas morning.
Chapter 4
Life can be really amazing. Candy had expected a long, difficult road to travel—a road filled with many legal battles. Surely, Bob Vance, who had become a heartless, angry, bitter man, wasn't going to just sell Candy the rights to his parents’ toys. The man wasn't simply going to let Betty push him into a corner. On top of that difficult issue, Candy worried that her lottery ticket would somehow turn up void. Even if the lottery ticket was valid, Betty's cousin, the wealthy banker, surely wasn't going to sell his island at a reasonable price. Candy worried the man might demand every penny she had won.
However, instead of facing a fierce battle full of legal hurdles, a lottery ticket that might turn up void, and a greedy banker, Candy found that the future looked so much more promising than she previously thought. To begin with, Bob Vance died of a heart attack while hunting in the deep woods. Because he died before he could change his legal papers, everything he owned—including the toys—went straight to Betty. What a miracle that was. The only problem was that the toy factory was still going to be torn down. That fact could not be changed, and in a strange, almost peaceful sense, that fact was actually being welcomed.The idea of creating aChristmas Toy Islandwas becoming more real by the day.
Second, the winning lottery ticket turned out to be very, very—very—valid. A kind and cheerful woman named Charlene Greenstone happily validated the ticket. “Ten percent will be deducted from the winnings,” Charlene had explained as she sipped delicious hot chocolate. “That's the normal fee. Deduct the ten percent from your winnings, and the balance will be deposited into your bank account in exactly seven days from today.” Charlene went on to explain that if Candy wanted, she could speak with the media. Candy quickly objected, and Charlene understood. A single woman winning so much money made for an easy target. “Well, congratulations, Candy. I'm so happy for you, and I'll be praying thatChristmas Toy Islandcomes to life.”
After confirming her winnings and spending a wonderful day with Charlene, Candy turned her attention to buying the island. Again, she expected a hurdle. Instead, to her absolute shock, Betty showed up at her house right before dinner carrying a present bag full of amazing—if not astounding—news. “Not a penny.”
“Not a penny?” Candy could barely believe her ears as she carried a green and red plate holding a stack of pancakes, eggs, and turkey sausage over to the kitchen table. She sat the plate down before Betty. Having abreakfastdinner felt cozy and right, and Candy wasn't in the mood to cook anything complicated. Cooking was one of Candy's passions—but she was just too plum-worn out to focus on cooking anything other than a few breakfast foods.
“My cousin has cancer, Candy,” Betty explained, accepting her plate. “As I mentioned, he's not married to a very nice woman. As a matter of fact, he's in the middle of a very ugly divorce that I wasn't aware of.” Betty took a sip of coffee. “Mycousin wants us to have the island before his wife can get her hands on it. He loves the idea of us turning the island into a Christmas toy island. My cousin believes that by giving us the island, maybe he can make amends for living a hard and selfish life. When a man realizes he is dying, he begins to do a life review, and when his life shows nothing but negative marks, he tries to change the report card.”
Candy could barely believe her ears. It certainly seemed like God's mighty and invisible hand was at work. “So...we don't pay a penny for anything? The rights to the toys...the island...nothing?”
“Bob died before he could change all of the legal papers,” Betty explained. “Legally, I inherit everything Bob owns if he ever dies, which he did. My attorney told me Bob was going to have all of his legal papers changed as soon as he returned from his hunting trip. It seems that God had other plans.”
Candy brought her own dinner plate to the table and sat down. Snowball was eating his dinner under the table. “Are you okay about—”
“Bob's death?” Betty asked. Candy said yes. “Dear, I stopped loving Bob years ago. I remained with him because that's what God demanded of me. I worked hard to try and find the Bob I once loved so many years ago. Sadly, the Bob I once loved died long ago. The man who died out in the woods holding a rifle was a man...I didn't know.”
Candy understood. “I don't think I ever loved the man I married, either, Betty. I thought I did, but the man I married turned into a monster.”
“Yes, dear...but perhaps God still has two angels waiting for us?” Betty smiled some and then began talking about the island. “We have lots of work ahead of us. The first thing I have to do is make you my business partner. I'm having my attorney draw upthe papers as we speak. If anything ever happens to me, you will make sure the toys live on.”
“Betty, nothing is ever going to happen to you.”
“Dear, I'm nearly seventy. I won't live forever and neither will you. But the toys can live on forever...in the hearts of countless children. That is our mission. We can never let the toys die.” Betty took a sip of her coffee. “Do you hear that wind outside?” Candy nodded. “That is Christmas wind...and the snow is Christmas snow...and soon we'll build a Christmas island full of wonderful toys.”
Candy received one miracle after another. Before she knew it, her bank account was filled with millions and millions of dollars, and she was signing legal papers that officially made her half-owner ofPine Snow Toys. A few days later, she met with a very sick man who showed up with his legal team at the toy factory. The man, Betty's cousin, happily signed over his island to Candy and Betty, smiled, and left without saying very many words.
Candy was sure the bag of miracles she was carrying had run empty. But then, as she drove home through a heavy snow, Betty called her. “The toy factory won't be torn down, dear!” Betty cried. “The man who wants to build the recycling plant was arrested on tax evasion charges. Also, one of the county commissioners was just arrested as well for aiding the man in question. The contract Bob signed is now null and void!”
“So, does this mean we won't go to the island?”
“No, dear, this means that the toy factory will remain open forever...but we're still going to buildChristmas Toy Island!” Betty answered in a determined voice. “I'm going to make Fran the manager at the toy factory here in town. She's calling all the workers back. Everyone will receive a nice raise in pay. You and I, on the other hand, have an island to build!”
Tears began falling from Candy's eyes. She quickly pulled the jeep she was driving over to the side of the snowy road. The toyfactory wasn't going to be torn down! “Oh, thank you, God...my heart was breaking so much. Thank you for all the miracles and your love.”
“I'll meet you at your home at ten sharp. We'll drive to the island together and start making plans. By this time next year, our island should be fully operational!” Betty told Candy goodnight in an excited voice and ended the call.
