Christmas Blessings: Seven Inspirational Romances of Faith, Hope, and Love

by Leah Atwood

  “I’m sure my parents would be thrilled.”

  I agreed and then thanked him for the roses. “They were the perfect centerpiece for the dinner table tonight.”

  “Terrific. I’m glad Nick was willing to do my bidding for once, but he’ll do anything for you, Sass. Was he able to get the dark pink roses you like?”

  “He did. Your brother’s a keeper, Ryan. And so are you, of course. There’s something about you Sullivan men. Your parents definitely raised you well.” I leaned my elbow on the table and twirled a long strand of hair around one finger. “I was afraid Maura would resist the idea of dating Nick since they work so closely together.”

  “They’re not dating yet, Ellie, but that’s exactly why they should be a couple,” Ryan said. “They understand each other and have similar interests. Besides, in a small town like Cade’s Corner, it doesn’t matter to anyone else if they fraternize after working hours. In a way, it’s more or less expected.”

  “Maybe,” I mused, “but not always. Speaking of which, Mom has gone out a couple of times with her new boss, Dr. Phillip Bernard. He’s a widower and has only been in town a few months. She inadvertently let it slip when I was talking to her earlier today. When I asked her if she was dating him, Mom admitted she is although she’s not sure whether the relationship will ‘go anywhere,’ as she put it.”

  “Why is that?” From Ryan’s tone, I couldn’t tell whether or not he was supportive of Mom dating Dr. Bernard.

  “Maybe because she’s still in love with Dad.” That’s how I’d feel if anything happened to Ryan. In my heart, I’d always belong to him.

  “How do you feel about your mom dating again?”

  “Honestly? I’m not sure.” I continued to twirl my hair. “Most of all, I want her to be happy. That’s my main concern. I guess I should have suspected something was up when the good doctor showed up in church last Sunday, and Mom invited him to sit with us.” I can tell she likes this man. Even over the phone, her voice goes soft when she mentions him.

  Ryan whistled under his breath. “I’d say that’s pretty significant.”

  “Mom told me she knew Dad would have liked him, so yes, I think something may eventually develop between them if not in the near future.”

  “I’ll look forward to meeting Dr. Bernard when I come home.” Ryan paused for a few seconds before speaking again. “You’re twirling your hair right now, aren’t you?”

  I laughed. “Even without seeing me, you can tell? I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.”

  “It’s more the wistfulness in your voice.”

  Yes, the man knows me so well. He can “read” me simply by the inflections in my voice.

  In another couple of minutes, we signed off after making absurd kissing noises (well, more me than Ryan) over the phone that would mortify me if Nick and Maura overheard. When I joined them in the dining room once more, they were deep in conversation, engrossed in one another. Hmm. If they angled their heads just slightly, they’d almost be kissing. Nick’s arm was casually draped over the back of Maura’s chair, and I stood in the doorway for a full ten seconds before Maura glanced my way.

  “Nick.” When he kept talking in low, hushed tones, Maura nudged his elbow with hers.

  A slow smile creased Nick’s face, reminding me a bit of Ryan. His cheeks colored with a slight flush. “Hey, Ellie.” He started to shift his arm away from Maura.

  “Hey, yourself. You leave your arm right where it is.”

  He obeyed. “Okay, we—Maura and I—have a confession.” Maura avoided my gaze and busied herself with pouring another glass of sparkling cider for Nick.

  I resisted moving one hand to my hip. “I can’t wait to hear it.” This should be good. I reclaimed my chair and eyed the remains of my pecan pie. I could forego the calories. I had a fantastic new swimsuit for the honeymoon, but even a tummy-tucking, one-piece designed to make my legs appear elongated could reveal things I wish it didn’t.

  Nick exchanged a smile with Maura and my eyes widened when he placed his hand over hers. “We’ve actually been dating for a couple of months.”

  My mouth dropped open as I stared at them. How could I not have known?

  “Why, you under-the-radar stinkers!” Balling my napkin, I tossed it across the table at him. Scooting back my chair, I ran around the table to where Maura sat next to Nick. I brought one arm around her neck and moved the other around Nick’s shoulder. I hugged and then mock-strangled them both.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t say anything, but I’m absolutely thrilled! Be honest now. If I hadn’t invited you to dinner, were you two ever planning on telling me before the wedding? Especially considering you’re both in said wedding?” I gave Nick a light swat on the back of his head. “Good thing we’ve already paired you up to walk down the aisle together.”

  “Yeah, by process of elimination,” Nick said. My two brothers-in-law were groomsmen to round out the wedding party and to escort my sisters. Maura was the only one not in the family—yet. After tonight, who knows?

  Don’t get ahead of yourself, Ellie.

  Maura looked at Nick with a smile. “We wanted to make sure things would go well before making our relationship known. If it makes you feel any better, you’re the first person we’ve told.”

  “It does. Thanks.” I moved back to my chair and looked from one to the other of them, marveling over this new development. “You think you’re so sly. You’ve been sitting over there, holding hands beneath the table at every available opportunity, haven’t you?”

  “Only a few times.” Nick shrugged. “We didn’t want to rub it in or make you feel bad.”

  “Why? Because Ryan’s not here?” I balked. “Ryan’s everywhere in this house.” I pointed to the bowl on the coffee table a few feet away. “He made that in high school art class.” I nodded to the antique chair in the corner of the living room. “That chair belonged to my Grandpa Nichols. Ryan reupholstered it before leaving on his first tour of duty. Even the clock on the bathroom wall? We picked that up at an antique fair. When I took it to be repaired, I found out it was rare and valuable. That was a shock, and I haven’t told Ryan about it yet. I can’t wait to see his surprise when he sees the clock on the wall, and I can tell him the story.”

  “We know Ryan’s here with you, Ellie.” The compassion in Nick’s voice touched me as it always does.

  Seated beside Nick, Maura’s expression held such love for me that it almost made me cry. “Ryan’s not just in this house. He’s in your eyes and in your smile.”

  “You’re part of one another,” Nick said. “Honey, your support of what Ryan’s doing overseas means everything to him.”

  Something about Nick calling me honey made me want to burst into tears. The three of us understood that—if it hadn’t been for his time spent in the Army—Ryan and I would have been married by now. All in God’s timing.

  I swallowed hard. “Thank you, Nick. Coming from you, that means a lot.”

  “It’s only the truth.” How I appreciated this man.

  “We should discuss our final plans to finish out the season with Perchance to Dream,” I said a few minutes later in the kitchen. They’d insisted on helping, so who was I to refuse? “Nick, I need you to come in and write the notes for the boys to put in the Bibles. We have about ten more.” He’d taken over that responsibility in Ryan’s absence.

  “Sure thing. What else do you need?” Nick took the plate I handed him and loaded it into the dishwasher.

  “Maura, are you still available to meet me in the office tomorrow at two o’clock to finish wrapping the gifts and write the notes for the girls?”

  “I’ll be there.” Maura stacked more dishes on the counter. “That’s everything from the table.”

  “Wyatt and Justin are coming in at four tomorrow to pick everything up,” I told Nick. “If you can stick around, they might need some help loading everything into their vehicles. If you’re available afterwards, they’re delivering them downto
wn.” From there, we had more volunteers to distribute the toys. What would we do without our faithful volunteers?

  Nick nodded. “I’m relatively free tomorrow since it’s Saturday. I’ll definitely stop by the office mid-afternoon.”

  A short time later, Nick and Maura thanked me and said their good-byes.

  “I’m sorry if you think we deceived you in some way,” Maura said after Nick went out to warm up the car. “You know how it is in the beginning of a relationship. It’s special but fragile.”

  “I understand. No worries.” I gave her a quick hug. “I really am very happy for you, and I’m praying this relationship works out between my two favorite people.”

  Maura laughed. “No pressure there. Love you, my friend.”

  “You, too.” I waved and blew a kiss to Nick as he came back to escort Maura to his car.

  A few minutes later, as I undressed and pulled on my flannel pajama bottoms with Ryan’s Cavaliers T-shirt, I ran through the mental list of things I still wanted to accomplish before Ryan’s return. Practical things like organize the linen closet and pair up the sheets. Someone had shared the ingenious tip of putting the folded sheets inside the matching pillowcase. What a great idea! The closets were small enough as it was, so that would be a great space saver.

  We’ve had a few wedding showers, but I’d attended them alone. Ryan would be coming home to so many new things, and it’d be fun showing them all to him.

  “Things are nice, and it’s generous of people to give them to us, but I don’t need fancy sheets to pull over me at night. I just need you,” Ryan said during one of our Skype sessions. “Which reminds me, didn’t you have one of those showers where the ladies gave you sexy nighties and stuff?”

  I laughed. “It’s called lingerie, but isn’t that getting a little too personal?”

  “Yeah, I guess it is. Sorry, baby. After we’re married, I hope you’ll give me a fashion show.”

  “That’s a given.” Secretly, I was glad when he said things like that. Things that got my pulse racing. When he was in a certain frame of mind, Ryan sometimes said the most wonderful, romantic things. If I stopped to think, it was only in the past month when he’d told me we shouldn’t say such things. The Lord knew how difficult this was for both of us. All over again, I missed Ryan so much, I physically ached. The evenings and nights are the worst and when I feel the most alone.

  After brushing my teeth, I ran into the bedroom and quickly slipped under the covers. Crossing my arms behind my head, I watched the shadows made by the tree branches outside the bedroom window. The glass panes were frosted over, and I shivered and snuggled farther under the blanket as I heard the sounds of the blustery wind. Our planned honeymoon in Hawaii couldn’t come soon enough—three days in Oahu, three in Maui, and four in Kauai.

  My gaze moved to the new pristine pillow next to me. I smoothed my hand over the Egyptian cotton with a thread count I’d never dreamed of having, a wedding gift courtesy of Beckett Larsen. I found it endearing, but also bittersweet, how my boss had signed the card with both his and his dearly departed wife’s names. Like Cora, Beckett missed his spouse terribly. Those two souls had truly been blessed with the love of a lifetime.

  And so have I.

  With a deep sigh, I shifted onto my side in the queen bed with the beautiful carved maple headboard inherited from Ryan’s grandparents. Our small house was filled with antiques as well as newer items. Each and every one had its own story.

  “Good night, my love,” I whispered in the darkness of the night. “See you soon.”

  Chapter 11

  ~~♥~~

  Saturday, December 16

  I haven’t slept much as the date for Ryan’s return draws near. I tossed in the bed for over an hour this morning before giving up the idea of more sleep. Finally, I pushed back the covers, slipped my feet into my warm, cozy slippers, and then padded into the kitchen at five a.m.

  It was a little chilly in the house, so I turned up the heat and then went through my exercise routine, such as it is. Okay, I cheated a little. All right—a lot. Leg lifts and sit-ups at such an early hour of the morning is pure insanity. Who does that?

  Saturdays are my “catch up” days.

  After gulping down orange juice and swallowing a few bites of granola and fruit, I tackled the mounting pile of laundry.

  “Ugh. This won’t do,” I mumbled as I began to sort the clothes into separate piles. How does one person accumulate so much laundry? Ryan teased me that I go overboard since I normally wash an article of clothing after I’d worn it only once.

  As part of our marriage counseling with Pastor Derek, we’d survived a series of Marital Tests shortly before Ryan’s deployment. Meaning we were required to do laundry together three times, cook five meals together (at least one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner, one snack—the fifth was optional), and clean the house together. In that order. Apparently, those were the household tasks that could make or break a relationship.

  At first, I wasn’t sure we’d get past The Laundry Test.

  “Three-time rule,” Ryan insisted after protesting the fact that I was adding a few of my color-fast, preshrunk tops to the laundry load. “You can get by with wearing something three times. It saves money, water, electricity, and your manpower. Womanpower,” he added after catching the look on my face.

  “What if you get all sweaty?” I said, shaking my head in disgust. “Sweat breaks down the fibers and then the…smell…gets ingrained in the fabric, thereby diminishing the life of the garment.”

  “What’s a garment?”

  I stared at him. “Are you for real? Clothing. Shirts, pants, sweaters. Things you wear.”

  “Oh, as opposed to a sheet or something?”

  “Okay, if that works for you.” I didn’t bother to bring up the topic of my delicates and his underthings. We’d tackle that another day. I love the man, but I’ll wait until I’m wearing his ring to deal with that reality.

  “Yeah, sweat is grounds for immediate dismissal to the laundry bin,” he said. “I’m talking about something you wear on a normal basis, Sass. What you wear to the office and not something you wear to the gym. The exception to the three-time rule is food stains. If you dribble, spill, pour, splat, blubber, spit, or drool, then you have to spot treat it and wash it right away. That’s a mandatory given.”

  “And your implication with that statement would be?” I shook my head, wondering if I should get a bib for Ryan as a gag gift. “Never mind. You’re incredibly weird, but you’re also very cute, so I’ll keep you.”

  Next came The Meal-Making Test.

  “That’s easy,” Ryan said. “All you need to know how to make is a fried egg sandwich with American cheese and mayo.”

  “Been there, done that. You need to know how to make that for when you’re in the doghouse and need to rely on that four letter cooking technique called F-E-N-D.”

  As he laughed and reminded me he’d been making those sandwiches almost from the time he could walk, I handed him a selection of recipe cards. “Here you go. Your mother was gracious enough to write down some of your favorites. We’re going to learn to make a few of them together.”

  “Okay, but I’m in charge of the cooked vegetables.” I threw a raw carrot at him. I’d never live down that stupid casserole.

  All in all, we had a good time together in the kitchen. His mother hadn’t taught him as much as I’d assumed. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. So, we started with a basic lesson on kitchen items, ingredients, and common cooking terms.

  “How can something called ‘mince’ be a common cooking term?” he said after I handed him an onion and a knife.

  “It just is. I didn’t make up the term out of thin air, you know.”

  “Why can’t I use that handy little gizmo you keep under the counter and just chop up the onion with that?”

  “Because that would be chopping, not mincing.”

  “It tastes the same.” He began to peel the onion in preparation o
f whatever he was going to do to it. “What’s the difference?”

  “Just do it, Ryan. I’m tired, and I don’t really know. Texture maybe. Overall blend with the rest of the ingredients. And, for future reference, a clove of garlic needs to be minced, or it’s way too strong and gag-inducing.”

  He laughed. “Are you giving me a taste of what marriage will be like? ‘I’m sorry, honey. I’m too tired tonight.’ To mince,” he added with a sly wink.

  I couldn’t help my grin and shook my head. “You are so bad.”

  “You love it.” Ryan finished the task of mincing and then, standing behind me, he wrapped his arms around my waist. Swaying from foot to foot, he dropped a light kiss on my neck. “We’re going to have a lot of fun being married, Ellie. How about after we eat, we can talk about the different terms and methods of kissing?”

  I turned around and moved my arms around his neck. “Oh, I don’t know. Kissing’s just kissing, right?” Ryan had a gleam in his eyes that I recognized.

  “Well, there’s bussing. And then you have macking. Then there’s all-out necking. A few others I can think of. I’m sure there’s many more we need to explore.”

  “Sounds dangerous,” I said, planting one hand on his firm chest. “We have to be careful, Ryan. I think it’s best if we hold off launching the exploration team until after we’re man and wife.”

  With a deep sigh, Ryan rested his forehead on mine. “Agreed. Thanks for keeping me straight, baby.”

  “We keep each other in check,” I reminded him. It worked both ways.

  The final (premarital) test was what Ryan dubbed The Toilet Test. It’s pretty much exactly like it sounds. He had me laughing hysterically when he showed up in the bathroom in scrubs and a face mask, armed with a toilet brush. “Say a prayer. I’m going in.”

  In the end, so to speak, Ryan taught me a few tricks he’d learned in latrine duty in the Army during his first deployment.