Holly for Christmas

by Lisa Prysock

  The drive worked wonders nearly at once. They both sighed with relief when Joshua stopped crying during the first mile of their excursion. Calvin reached across the Miata to rest his hand on her knee as she drove them toward the Lander city limits while they admired the Christmas lights. It gave both of them a chance to think about the joys of the season. When they returned to his cabin, it was late, but the baby remained sound asleep even after they were back inside the cozy surroundings.

  “We should call the police,” he insisted as he stirred some hot cocoa and glanced over at Joshua, resting peacefully in his carrier. They’d let him sleep in the seat rather than risk disturbing him.

  “Not yet, Calvin. I’m sure I’ve seen the mother before. I just have to figure out where...” Holly’s voice trailed off. “If we could talk to her, we might be able to make an impact on the outcome of this situation.”

  “What if she left the state already?” he asked, sounding exasperated. “I can’t babysit a child who isn’t mine all day long,” Cal argued. “We haven’t even been able to go out on a date, until tonight. I never realized how much work these little ones are until now.”

  “It’s all right,” Holly replied, trying to stave off a chuckle. “I have a feeling she’s going to turn up again soon. I know this is going to sound weird, but I have that same feeling again like when Cole was following me. I feel like your cabin is being watched. I think the mom will return here a few times to see how her baby is doing, and probably has already.”

  Then her eyes brightened. Why hadn’t she remembered before now?

  “What?” he asked as he slid a mug of hot cocoa toward her.

  “I think I remember where I’ve seen the mother before. Her name is LuAnne and she was working as a waitress at Bubba’s Burgers, remember? We added her to our prayer lists.” Holly clasped her hands around the cup. “All this time, I’ve been going over the guests and employees on the ranch trying to figure out who it could be, but as far as I know, that first morning is the only time I’ve ever seen her on the ranch. No wonder I couldn’t remember where I’d seen her before.”

  Calvin added some marshmallows to their hot cocoa. “I never saw her, so I’m relying on your memory. It’s definitely worth trying to find her. Tomorrow night is the tree lighting in Lander, so maybe we could stop in for a burger after. You could see if she’s still working there. I’m beginning to feel like one of those reverse role stay at home dad-moms, and it’s just not me. As much as I have come to like this little guy, I’m not a nanny.”

  “Maybe we should hire one,” Holly suggested, a half smile curving one of the corners of her mouth.

  “We can’t hire a nanny until we figure out where we stand legally and what we want to do.” Calvin had a good point.

  She nodded. “You’re right. We’ll go to the burger place tomorrow and ask some questions. If she’s not there anymore, Reece might know where she went. Maybe she can tell us how to find her.”

  “HEY GUYS, IT’S NICE to see you two again. Oh, and look at you two with your baby. You three make the cutest little family.” Reece gushed without looking at the baby since Holly had a blanket over the carrier to keep the cold air away from Joshua’s face.

  “Thanks,” Holly replied with a smile. Calvin stared at her like she should have corrected the impression, but she merely shrugged and ignored his concern. For now, she didn’t want Reece to know more than necessary, and she’d have to determine what was necessary in order to find the truth as they went along. Her reporter instincts told her that much. Then she reconsidered and added, “We’re just babysitting for a friend.”

  “Oh, that’s sweet,” Reece said as she led them to a table and then took their orders.

  When the waitress returned with their drinks, Holly tried to start another conversation with her since there were plenty of other staff working to care for the other customers.

  “How’s LuAnne? We’ve been praying for her,” Holly began. Calvin nodded and leaned forward after removing his coat.

  “I don’t really know. The boss let her go.” Reece sighed. “I miss her, and I’m still really worried about her.”

  “We are too.” Holly nodded. “Is she from around here?”

  Reece shook her head. “No, she’s from Idaho. I guess I can share a little more with you now that she’s not employed here anymore. She became an unwed teen mother who went away from her home voluntarily. Hopped on a bus to Wyoming and came here all by herself to have her baby. I don’t know where she lived, but when the boss didn’t give her enough hours, she couldn’t pay her rent. However, I think the landlady has been working with her, but she has no money for diapers or formula. She’s really depressed about it.”

  “What about the father? Isn’t he helping?” Calvin asked.

  Reece shook her head again. “No, I’m afraid not. He’s not in the picture at all and doesn’t even know he has a son. She’s had a little help from her landlady who rented her a room. That’s about it as far as I know. I helped her every chance I could.”

  “That shows what a compassionate heart you have,” Holly remarked as tears welled in her eyes, thinking about LuAnne’s situation. How frightened the young girl must be.

  “Do you think LuAnne is still in the area?” Calvin asked.

  “Any idea how we could get in touch with her to offer some assistance?” Holly inquired.

  A LITTLE WHILE LATER, they were knocking on the front door of the address Reece had given them. Apparently, LuAnne had been living in a rented room in an old Victorian on the corner of a residential historical neighborhood on the northeast side of Lander. An elderly lady answered moments after their knock and peeked her head out into the dark night.

  “Hello, ma’am,” Calvin began. “Is LuAnne at home?”

  “That depends. Who is calling?” The lady studied them with her blue eyes, peering through her eyeglasses. At the same time, she reached up to her white hair to tuck a stray strand back in place.

  “Sister Holly and brother Calvin, with baby Joshua,” Holly answered before Cal could respond.

  “Aw, family. Okay, I’ll tell her you’re here. I’ll see if she’s up to having company or not. Sister Holly, brother Calvin, and baby nephew named Joshua. How nice. It’s getting kind of late, but maybe.” The elderly lady flashed them a smile and went upstairs, leaving them to stand outside for a few minutes.

  Calvin leaned closer to her and whispered, “I had no idea how heavy these baby carriers are.”

  Holly laughed, nodding. “They sure are. I hope LuAnne will agree to speak with us.”

  He looked through the glass squares at the top of the door a few moments later. “Here comes the landlady. At least I think that’s who she is.”

  The door opened all the way. “Come in. Please have a seat in my sitting room. She’ll be downstairs in a minute.”

  They were ushered into an old-fashioned private sitting room with a Christmas tree situated in front of a trio of bay windows and a window seat wrapping around the tree. The tree was lit up by all white lights, a gold star on top, and many ornaments hanging from it, including stringed popcorn and cranberries. They sat down on a Victorian loveseat with Joshua between them. Thankfully, the baby was still sleeping from the car ride to the address.

  A grandfather clock in the hall ticked away the next minute while they waited. Finally, LuAnne appeared, closing the door to the room. She wore jeans, a tee-shirt, cowboy boots, a leather braided belt, and her brown hair in a ponytail.

  She sat down in a Queen Anne wingback chair and drew in a breath before speaking. “I suppose you’re here because you traced my son to me through a waitress friend at work. I don’t have a sister or a brother, so I figured it was you. Reece is the only person in this town, other than my former boss, who knows where I am. Not even my parents know where I am.” She sighed and looked away. Then she turned back toward them, her eyes focused on the baby carrier.

  “Would you like to hold him?” Holly asked. She couldn’t imagine ho
w broken her heart must be to have resorted to giving up her baby to complete strangers.

  LuAnne shook her head. “No, it’s too hard to give him back later. No, I don’t want to hold him. I can’t keep him. I need way too much help to be a mom. I’ve got too many problems.”

  “We’ve been feeding him well. Bought him some new clothing, diapers, and a car seat.” Holly cleared her throat, somewhat nervous to share information. What if she didn’t want anything to do with her baby? She might not care much about what they’d done.

  LuAnne smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate anything you can do for him. I’m not able to even take care of me, let alone a baby.”

  “LuAnne, tell us about you. What’s happening in your world? What’s your story?” Holly asked.

  “There’s not much to tell. I’m from a small town named Star, Idaho. It’s about seventeen miles from Boise. I found out I was pregnant and fled here to have the baby. My parents would kill me if they knew I was pregnant out of wedlock. Daddy’s a deacon in the church and I think it would embarrass him. So, here I am. The father, Sam, he doesn’t want anything to do with Andy. That’s what I named him. He wasn’t born in a hospital, and he has no birth certificate. I carried the baby so well, most people didn’t realize I was pregnant. I wore loose clothing and people couldn’t tell. I birthed him at home, upstairs, when Miss Jana wasn’t home. She thought I was babysitting for a friend, plus I’m not here that often. Miss Jana babysat him a few times when I had to go to work. I found a job here in town waitressing, but she can’t keep looking after him.”

  “Miss Jana, the landlady?” Calvin asked, leaning forward to hear her story. LuAnne nodded.

  “What are these marks on your arms from?” Holly asked.

  “I’ve got a drug problem, and it causes me all kinds of issues.” LuAnne looked down at the floor. “I can’t hold down a job, I sometimes wake up in strange places, and I am not able to afford anything. Every dime I make goes to this drug. It pains me to tell you about it. It shouldn’t be happening to me, but it is. I get it together and am almost off of it, and then I cave, every single time.”

  “Any idea why you keep going back to it?” Calvin asked gently, his voice low.

  She shook her head. “No, I don’t know. My parents gave me a great childhood. I have friends. I have, I mean I had a good future, until all this happened. The drugs, the baby, the parties, the one night stands...” Her voice trailed away. She looked at the baby then as he stirred in the car seat, shifted his position a little, and continued sleeping. “I happened to see your story in a magazine, and I know you’re a billionaire who has it all together. You would be a great dad and you can give him everything he needs.”

  “You can be a great mom, too, LuAnne,” Holly whispered. “Do you know the Lord? Have you met the King?”

  LuAnne shook her head. “No, I’ve tried to know Him. I just keep messing it up.”

  “That’s because when we try to live out the Christian life in our strength, we will mess up,” Calvin explained. “It’s the Holy Spirit who helps us walk it out after water baptism and accepting the Lord into our hearts. Two men go into the water like when Moses crossed the Red Sea fleeing from the Egyptians, but one man comes out, like when the Israelites came out of the water but the Egyptians were drowned.”

  “Wow, I’ve not heard water baptism explained like that before.” LuAnne looked up, listening. “I know all the stories. Went to church my whole life.”

  “Do you know there are two kingdoms? There is the Kingdom of God, and there is the little ‘k’ kingdom of darkness. Jesus, the King, the Son of God, gave up His throne, came to earth to die on a cross for our treason, our sins if you will. Then, after taking the keys back from the enemy so you could join Him to live life eternal in His Kingdom, Jesus rose again on the third day. The Kingdom of God has been invading earth with power and glory ever since. And He’s winning. He wants you to live with Him in His Kingdom, right now.” Calvin explained.

  “Right now?” LuAnne asked, an eyebrow raised.

  “Yes, right now. You remember Passover, how the blood of the lamb on the door posts caused the death angel to pass by. Then the Israelites were able to eat standing, ready to go. Then they were free to leave Egypt, to Passover to their Promised Land.” Holly added. “It’s like that. We Passover into His Kingdom. Jesus became the Lamb for our sins, our treason, for our freedom from drugs. He’ll help you heal, LuAnne. You see, the Kingdom of God is within each one of us. When we come to Him, His light gets inside us as we ask Him to live in us. You’ll be living in His Kingdom from this day forward. It’s all His anyways. One day, the Lord will be finished invading the earth, and He’ll be here, and He will kick out the other kingdom.”

  LuAnne nodded, her eyes beginning to understand more of what they’d explained. She began to cry, tears pouring down her face. “I need this baptism and His Kingdom. I need to be free from all of this...” She pointed to the scars on arms at the same time.

  “You remember the verse, Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. As you are baptized, and as you follow Him, seeking His Kingdom first, everything will begin to turn around,” Calvin added.

  “May we pray with you?” Holly asked. LuAnne nodded and the three of them held hands. “Let’s say this prayer out loud, together. Dear Heavenly Father, through Jesus we come. Please forgive us our treasonous trespasses. Please come and live inside our hearts. Lead us not into temptation, help us to forgive others so we can be forgiven, and help us to let Your will be done through us on earth as it is in heaven. We thank You for sending Your Son to die for us on the cross. We know that because You raised Him from the dead, we can live forever with You in Your Kingdom. Thank You that on this day, You are welcoming me into the Kingdom of God. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.”

  “Thank you. I feel a lot of peace flooding my soul right now. It’s amazing, like He is wrapping His arms around me, holding me.” LuAnne’s eyes remained closed, her head bowed as she continued to pray for a few more moments.

  When LuAnne opened her eyes, Calvin asked her a few questions. “Do you want your baby? We can send you to a rehab facility, and you can take your baby with you, but only if that’s what you want to do. They’ll help you escape from the drugs. They will come alongside you and mentor you, pray with you, and help you find God’s will for your life. They can teach you how to have a career you love, or how to put a plan together for your life as a mother.”

  “It sounds like a great program, but I don’t have that kind of money to go to it.” LuAnne looked down again at her feet, shaking her head. “I’d need a Christmas miracle for something like that.”

  “We will pay for it, LuAnne. We’ll fly you and Joshua, I mean Andy, to the program tonight on board my private jet,” Calvin explained. “It’s at a place called The Montana Mission in Billings. You’ll be taken care of entirely. All meals provided, training, a mentor, medical needs, everything. It’s a one year program. At the end of the year, you will be equipped to care for you and your baby. The best part is, you can bring Andy with you. You don’t have to give him up.”

  “What if it doesn’t work out?” LuAnne asked.

  “You’re free to leave at any time,” Calvin answered.

  LuAnne smiled and stood up, swiping tears from her cheeks. “It’s worth a try. I’ll pack my bags and let my landlady know I’m leaving. Just give me ten minutes. I don’t have much to bring except my clothes, but if I can keep my baby, yes, I’d like to go.”

  “Great. I’ll call my pilot, Leon, and have him fire up the plane. We’ll wait for you here, but bring a winter coat if you have one. It looks like it’s snowing outside,” Cal added as the baby stirred again. LuAnne nodded and then went upstairs to pack her belongings, a look of relief appearing in her eyes.

  When he finished calling Leon, Holly smiled up into Cal’s eyes. “We make a great team.” They stood beside the Christmas tree, his massive height and body frame dwarfing her petite one
.

  He continued looking down into her eyes, studying her, appearing to take in every detail about her, causing her to blush. “Yes, we do.” He pulled her into his arms unexpectedly. Then he kissed her, long and passionately. The kiss had been a long time in coming, but the timing couldn’t have been any more perfect.

  When they’d finished kissing, he added, “There’s a little bedroom on the jet. You can sleep on the flight if you’d like. I don’t want you to miss any work and have your boss upset with you, but I can’t do this without you.”

  “Okay, I’ll go with you. I want to see this through as much as you do, but can you have a driver from the Montana Mission meet us when we land so this is a quick turnaround? I’m still in my ninety-day probationary period, and I don’t know how well I’ll be able to sleep. It’s almost ten-thirty at night now, so if we take off within the hour, we should land in Montana in a few hours. Then LuAnne and baby Andy will be safe; although he’s always going to be baby Joshua to us, I think.”

  “I can.” He nodded. “That’s my next call. Yes, I agree. I’m still thinking of him as baby Joshua. If we had more time, I’d give you a tour of Honey Ridge Farmstead and introduce you to my dad and stepmom, Sylvia. And I’d take you to my mom’s home to meet her.”

  “Callie Davis, right?” she asked. “And didn’t you tell me your middle name is Andrew? Maybe that will help us remember the baby’s true name.”

  “You remembered my mom’s name and my middle name.” He smiled as he pressed a button on his cell to contact someone at the Montana Mission, pulling her into his arms again. “Have I told you how amazing you are, Holly Renee Williams?”

  He made her laugh and woke the baby up all at the same time as someone answered the cell on the other end, agreeing to meet them in Montana at his private airstrip on Honey Ridge Farmstead. Holly flew into action to find a bottle for baby Andy to give him his next feeding. She was so thankful the little guy would get to grow up with his mom. Truly, a Christmas miracle was unfolding before them.