A Bride for Sam (A Red Maple Falls Christmas Wedding Novella)

by Theresa Paolo

  Emotion clogged Sam’s throat as he fought back tears. In all the years he knew Harold, he had never once admitted he was wrong, nor thought anyone would ever be good enough for his granddaughter.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Sam said.

  “That’s a first,” Cooper chimed in, and they all laughed, bringing a much needed lightness to the moment.

  “Don’t say anything,” Harold said. “Just know cliché or not, you hurt my baby girl and I will hunt you down and mount your head on my wall.”

  There was the old man Sam knew and loved. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

  “Sorry to break up the party,” Jonathon Hayes said, “but we need to start getting into our suits and heading down to the farm to make sure everything is in order.

  Sam looked at his watch and couldn’t believe how fast time was ticking by. He couldn’t wait to marry Hadley, but a part of him wanted to slow down time so he could live this day as long as possible. It was already shaping up to be one of, if not the best, days of his life.

  Just as he was about to heed Jonathon’s words both his and Matt’s radios went off. He had prayed that today would be free of emergencies, but he should have known better. There were two guys at the station, and Miguel and Chase were also on standby to head out if needed. Most days in Red Maple Falls that was unnecessary, and Sam took a deep breath as he listened to the static voice on the other end, hoping it was something silly, like a cat stuck in a tree or a fender bender.

  As the words came over the radio the fire chief in him kicked into action.

  “What’s going on?” Chase asked.

  “Multiple alarm fire all surrounding units are being called in.”

  “I’ll head down to the station and call Miguel. You stay here.”

  It was his wedding day, but he made a vow when he became a firefighter to protect his community, and though he was needed now to make his vows to Hadley in front of their family and friends, he couldn’t ignore the vow he made twenty years ago.

  “You know I can’t do that. I can’t send my men into a fire without me on the scene. Not when I can be there. Hadley will understand if I’m a little late. We still have two hours before the ceremony starts.”

  “I’m going with you,” Matt said. “My deputies are heading there now.”

  Sam turned to Jonathon Hayes, the man who was the only father figure he had ever known. “Don’t tell Hadley anything unless you absolutely have to. If we’re lucky, we’ll be back before you’re set to walk her down the aisle.”

  “And if you’re not?” Jonathon asked.

  “If we’re not, I know you’ll know exactly what to say.”

  Jonathon pulled him in for a hug and held on a little tighter than usual. “Be careful. I plan on seeing you marry my daughter today.”

  “Trust me, nothing will keep me from marrying her.”

  With that Sam, Matt, and Chase ran out the door.

  Chapter 12

  The Eagles rendition of Please Come Home for Christmas played softly in the background as Daisy finished applying Hadley’s makeup. As someone who didn’t wear much makeup other than her cherry Chapstick, Hadley didn’t want to walk down the aisle looking like a completely different person. She warned Daisy to take it easy with the foundation and mascara before she even agreed to sit down.

  Kate was currently putting the finishing touches on her hair. As long as Hadley didn’t have any hay tangled up in her dirty blonde strands then she didn’t care what it looked like.

  The smell of cinnamon roll French toast casserole floated through the air, causing a tinge of nostalgia. Every Christmas since she was a little girl her mother baked that casserole for the whole family, and while the wedding took away a lot of their traditions, she was happy this one didn’t get lost amongst the chaos.

  Though, if she knew her mother, she wouldn’t doubt that tomorrow when the whole family finally gathered around the Christmas tree to celebrate the holiday a day late, the delicious smelling casserole would be on the menu again.

  Daisy bent down, her blonde curls falling in her face as she grabbed Hadley’s chin and turned it from side to side. “I think I’m done. Just need to add color to your lips.”

  “Not necessary,” Hadley said, reaching down to her bag and giving Lady a quick pat before pulling out her cherry Chapstick.

  “Chapstick, really? I was thinking a pop of red to match the flannel.”

  “Lipstick is messy. I don’t need Sam to kiss me and then walk away looking like he was making out with Pennywise the clown.”

  Kate snorted. “I’m all for a pop of color, but I have to agree with Hads on this. Though I still can’t believe you’re going to cover that gorgeous dress up with a flannel shirt.”

  “I know it sounds weird, but I saw a picture in a bridal magazine, and it was just so perfect. Besides, Sam fell in love with the girl who wears jeans and flannel, and that’s the girl I want to be when I’m standing at the altar.”

  “Fine, Chapstick it is.” Daisy plucked it from her hand and applied it for her. She then took a step back, admiring her work. “Perfection.”

  “Does that mean I’m allowed to look now?”

  “Not until I’m done with your hair,” Kate said. “You have to see it all done together to get the full visual.”

  “Whatever you guys say. You’re the experts here.”

  Daisy pushed her curls out of her face and smiled. “Damn right we are.”

  Kate finished up her hair, and then she and Daisy helped Hadley get into her dress. She pulled on the flannel shirt, noticing Kate’s look of disgust morph into awe.

  “Oh my god, Hads.” Kate placed her hand over her mouth and tears shined in her eyes. “You were right. You look amazing.”

  Warmth wrapped around Hadley’s heart, and she forced back tears, refusing to mess up the makeup that Daisy just spent forever on. “Can I look now?”

  “Absolutely.” Daisy carried over a full-length mirror Daisy had lived in front of in high school and placed it in front of Hadley.

  Hadley gasped when she saw her reflection. She always had a vision in her mind of what she wanted to look like on her wedding day and somehow her sisters made it a reality. Her hair was loosely pulled back, a single braid draped from front to back, all pinned at the nape of her neck in a full bun filled with loose dirty blonde waves and topped with a small diamond encrusted snowflake.

  A suggestive whistle came from behind her followed by loud screeches. In the mirror she spotted Shay, Sarah, and Cassie coming out of the kitchen.

  “You look absolutely stunning,” Shay said, pulling her in for a hug.

  “Sam’s not going to know what hit him,” Sarah added.

  Hadley looked at the big clock above the fireplace where their childhood stockings were hung and garland draped in and out of the picture frames filled with family memories. “We should head out.”

  “In a moment but first,” her grandmother said as she stepped into the room looking radiant in her merlot chiffon dress with a beaded bodice and a matching long sleeved lace bolero. Her white pixie hair sleek and shiny framed her face and made her blue eyes stand out like two perfectly round sapphires.

  Behind Betty, Carol Hayes followed and stopped short when her gaze landed on Hadley. Tears welled in her eyes. “My beautiful baby girl.”

  “I thought I was the baby.” Daisy said, and Kate nudged her shoulder.

  “You can never let anyone else have it, can you?”

  “I’m just saying.”

  “You two hush,” Betty warned. It didn’t matter how old they were; they would be ninety in nursing homes and they’d still be arguing with each other. Hadley would never want it any other way. Carol Hayes embraced Hadley and held her tight before pulling away and reaching for the tissue Cassie held out for her.

  “Thank you,” Carol said as she blotted the tears.

  Betty stepped up next, taking Hadley’s hand in hers. “I have something for you,” she said, slipping her
hand into her clutch and retrieving a black box.

  She handed it to Hadley and Hadley opened it with a gasp. Staring back at her was a gorgeous single diamond on a thin gold chain. “Grandma, it’s beautiful.”

  “It was my mother’s. She wore it on her wedding day, and I wore it mine.” Betty took the necklace out of the box and brought it around Hadley’s neck securing it in place. “And now you will wear it on yours. It can be your something old.”

  “Thank you,” Hadley said as she hugged Betty.

  “You have something old now, your dress is new… Do you have anything blue?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “That’s where I come in,” Sarah said, walking over to her with a box.

  “Are those my earrings and bracelet?”

  Sarah nodded as she opened the box and held up the beautiful three tier chandelier earrings and a matching bracelet that had several blue stones as accents. “Your something blue,” Sarah said.

  Tears pooled in her eyes and Daisy jumped forward waving her hand at Hadley’s face. “Don’t let those tears fall and ruin my makeup.”

  Hadley laughed, dipping her head back and letting the emotion dissipate before looking back down at the beautiful pieces Sarah created.

  “These are so beautiful.”

  Sarah helped her put the bracelet on and Hadley put the earrings in, pulling together the entire look. “I’m glad you guys thought about this because I totally forgot. Thank you.” She stood in front of the mirror again just staring. She couldn’t wait for Sam to see her. “Let’s get me married,” she said.

  Everyone clapped and ran in different directions to grab their things. Just as they were about to walk out the door her father pulled up in the driveway.

  “Dad!” Hadley exclaimed. “What are you doing here? We’re supposed to meet you at the farm.”

  He stood in place, his lip quivering as he took a deep breath. “Wow. Hadley. Wow.” He went to her, kissing her cheek and holding her arms as he looked her over. “Wow.”

  “Not bad for a farm girl, huh?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Jonathon, what’s wrong?” Carol asked, looking him over, concern visible in her gaze.

  Her father’s hold on her arm tightened before he moved them to her hands. “Sam’s running a little late.”

  Hadley’s heart stuttered to a stop. “He didn’t get cold feet, did he?” For the first time since she agreed to marry him she panicked, afraid that she wasn’t enough for him.

  No. She shook the insane thought straight from her mind. Sam loved her and there was nothing he wanted more than to make her his wife.

  “No, nothing like that. There was a fire.”

  “What?” Hadley exclaimed. “He has a crew at the station, and Chase and Miguel were on call, just in case.”

  “They called in all surrounding units. You know Sam. He couldn’t send his men on without him. He promised he would be back in time.”

  “But he’s not.” Despite her attempt to stay calm, her voice rose. Memories of Sam broken down in a hospital bed after a horrible fire left him injured and another man dead flashed in her mind. It was the worst day of her life, not knowing how hurt he was, sitting by his hospital bed waiting for him to wake up. She couldn’t go through that again.

  She closed her eyes and cleared her head. Sam was a firefighter; it’s what he did. It’s something he’d been doing since he was only sixteen years old. The events of last year weren’t the norm so there was no reason for her to panic.

  At least not yet.

  Chapter 13

  Heat radiated from the inferno in front of Sam. Sweat dripped down his face, and he swiped it away with the back of his hand. He should be getting ready to marry Hadley, but instead, he was battling one of the worst fires he had seen in ages.

  He had coordinated with the other chiefs, and he and his crew were working the south side of the building where the fire had recently spread. It was a shopping center with seven store fronts and currently four of them were completely engulfed. Luckily, as far as they knew, nobody was inside. But to be safe, his crew was making a quick check before pulling back and controlling the fire.

  These stores were people’s livelihoods, some a life’s work, and it was all gone in the matter of minutes. He loved his job, but sometimes the thoughts weighed heavily on him if he allowed it.

  With a deep breath Sam pushed the thoughts from his mind. He couldn’t focus on anything but the task at hand. His men needed him to be their eyes and make sure they got out exactly as they went in—alive and well.

  “Is everything clear so far?” Sam asked into his radio.

  Chase’s voice came through. “Affirmative, but we haven’t checked a back room yet, heading there now.”

  “Be quick but be careful.”

  “Don’t worry, Chief; we’ll get to the wedding on time.”

  Sam laughed. “That obvious?”

  “Maybe, but I wouldn’t want to keep a girl like Hadley waiting either.”

  Damn, he couldn’t wait to see her walking toward him in a long white dress, knowing that she would be his forever. He thought about her dirty blonde hair and wondered if she’d wear it up or down, if she’d let Daisy put too much makeup on her face.

  Just then, the fire leapt from the north side to the south side. Sam fumbled for his radio. “Chase!” he called into the speaker. “You need to pull back. Do you copy? Pull back.”

  There was silence on the other end, and Sam’s heart slammed against his chest.

  “Chase!” he tried again but nothing. “Shit,” he muttered under his breath.

  “What’s going on?” Matt asked.

  “The fire jumped. Chase isn’t answering. Something’s wrong.”

  Sam grabbed his hat and ran toward the burning building. He heard Matt calling after him, but he ignored him. He couldn’t look back. Matt had always accused him of being reckless but he never looked at it that way. He needed to make sure his men were okay.

  The fire crackled and the heat intensified. He was running out of time and so were his men. If they were trapped inside, they only had a few minutes before their tanks ran out of oxygen. He needed to get to them, and he needed to get to them now.

  He hesitated and reached for the lucky charm Hadley had given him over a decade ago. He brushed against it with his fingertips and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Hads. I have to,” he said as if she was there with him. Though it may have seemed silly to some, the truth was a part of her was always with him.

  He closed his eyes and cleared his head, focusing on the task at hand, and ran closer to the fire with nothing more than a hope and a prayer as Chase’s voice came back over the radio.

  “Hey Chief you have to see this.”

  Chapter 14

  “What time is it?” Hadley asked for what she knew had to be the hundredth time in the past hour.

  “Ten minutes from the last time you asked dear,” Betty said, sitting down next to her on a wooden bench hidden in the back of Santa’s Village.

  Lady was at her feet where she had been from the second she received the news that Sam was off risking his life on their wedding day. He didn’t plan on being late, but he was.

  The guests started arriving thirty minutes ago, and though the weather was hovering just above forty, it was too cold for them to stay at their seats. Hal built a large fire in the fire pit across from a basket of blankets with a sign saying, to have and to hold in case you get cold, turned out to be the best idea Hadley ever had. The basket was nearly empty, and Mason and Cooper left to gather a few more.

  Her sisters tried to persuade her to go out by the bonfire, but the last thing she wanted to look at was flames. It only reminded her that instead of standing at the altar waiting for her, Sam was battling a fire, and she had no idea if he was okay.

  Normally, she wouldn’t panic, but after the constant mishaps leading up to this day, she couldn’t ignore the uncomfortable, nagging pit in her stomach, the bone shakin
g fear that was trying to consume her every thoughts.

  “He’ll be here,” Betty assured her, and while Hadley wanted to believe her, the irrational voice in her head said it was a lie.

  What if she was a widow before she even got married? Would she even be a widow then? No! She would not think about that. She would focus on Sam’s smile and the adorable gap between his teeth, his aquamarine eyes that could never decide if they wanted to be blue or green, the sprinkling of gray in his dark hair and the way she fit perfectly in his arms, how he never went to sleep without kissing her goodnight or never left the house without holding her for a moment or three.

  Hadley’s leg shook on its own accord as the tender thoughts segued to more panic. What if he could never do those things again?

  Kate walked over and rested a hand on her shoulder. “How you holding up?”

  “Do you want me to lie and say I’m great or do you want me to tell you I’m an absolute mess, my heart’s racing, and I’m having trouble swallowing?”

  “Grandma, do you mind?” Kate asked.

  “Not at all.” Betty got up and took Hadley’s hand. “Call me if you need me.”

  When Betty walked away, Kate took her spot on the bench. She hooked her arm around Hadley, and Hadley rested her head on her shoulder.

  “He’ll be okay, you know that, right?”

  “My head and my heart don’t seem to be on the same page. They keep duking it out, but I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Distract me. Let’s talk about you.”

  “About me? I have nothing going on.”

  “I saw you when Shay announced she was pregnant. You looked sad, and it made me realize that I’ve been so caught up in planning this wedding and with Sam that for the first time in my life, I didn’t know what was going through your head.”