“Yes,” Noella said with a wide smile. “It’s a promise ring. We know it’s too soon for something more, but we are both committed to a future together.”
Erin’s emotions threatened to overflow. She was so happy for Noella and Finn. They were so perfect for each other, even if it had taken Noella a little longer than Finn to figure it out. She reached out and drew Noella into a tight hug. When they pulled back from the embrace, they both had tears in their eyes.
“I’m so happy for the two of you,” Erin said as she smiled while wiping away her happy tears. And she truly was. Even though her own situation was messy, she was thrilled that Noella and Finn had worked things out. “I think we’d better go back downstairs. I’m sure Finn is looking for you,
“And I’m sure James is looking for you,” Noella added with a wink, then once again linked her arm through Erin’s and pulled her toward the staircase.
James listened as the female voice spoke from his dashboard, instructing him where to make the next turn. It would have been more helpful to have someone in his passenger seat who had been there before to give him directions. He’d contemplated asking Erin if he could pick her up since Forrest had said that she’d be joining them as well, but if he was going to be her friend, he needed to keep things from seeming too date-like.
He knew he needed to show to her that he was a different man from their first meeting. That he was trying to change—and not just because of her, but because it was time. The life he’d been living so far had been somewhat exhausting, particularly in the last few months. It had started with a couple of spectacularly bad custody cases. The one had been with both parents acting horribly with absolutely no regard for their pre-teen children. He’d tried to step in like he normally did, but in the end, the only result of his efforts had been that his client had fired him.
It hadn’t been the loss of the money he would have earned from that situation that had upset him, but the sense that he had failed those two kids. That failure had only been compounded by another case that had ended up with a less than ideal outcome as well. Not to mention the conflict of the young mother he’d met with just days before Christmas. All of it had left him questioning whether there was a place for what he was trying to achieve in a conventional family law practice.
His own tense Christmas dinner was still fresh in his mind. His dad had brought a date to their family dinner. A date! James had just shaken his head and resisted the urge to roll his eyes, especially since said date was a couple of years younger than James. Kaylee hadn’t been quite as reserved with her feelings on the matter, pointedly ignoring their dad and the young woman. Nana had tried to make the best of the situation, but James could tell it was an effort for her.
All in all, the event had been a stark contrast to what had happened the previous night at the Johnsons. How he wished that Nana’s Christmas had included such a wonderful, fun-filled, meaningful time. He just hoped that they managed to give her the birthday party that she deserved. And he’d have a conversation with his dad about perhaps leaving his girlfriend at home for that event.
When the GPS woman finally announced that he was at his destination, James breathed a sigh of relief. Being alone with his thoughts went one of two ways lately. Either he was thinking about Erin or he was dwelling on all the negative stuff in his life. He definitely preferred the former over the latter.
There were quite a few cars in the parking area so James had to carefully maneuver his SUV into a tight spot. Once he’d parked, he sat for a moment trying to calm his thoughts before meeting a bunch of new people. And seeing Erin again.
The thought of her spurred him to climb out and pull his hockey bag from the back of his vehicle. He couldn’t remember the last time he had used his skates, and he had a feeling that they were going to need to be sharpened. If that was the case, he was going to be a spectator for this afternoon’s events.
“Hey, James!”
Hearing his name, James pulled the strap of his bag onto his shoulder and shut the hatch then turned to see Forrest standing on the large porch of the even larger house. He headed toward the man, glancing over at a couple of the trucks parked there that had the same logo on them. C&M Builders.
“Glad you made it,” Forrest said as he held out his hand. “I see you have your hockey stuff. Hope you’re ready for some stiff competition.”
“Only if there’s a skate sharpener around here somewhere,” James said as he followed Forrest along the wrap-around porch to the back of the house.
Forrest laughed. “No worries. They have a skate sharpener.”
“Really?” He spotted a group of people standing around a fire pit that was obviously providing warmth. “Most people don’t have one of those sitting around their house.”
“Most people don’t have a son in the NHL either.”
Before James could respond to that, a few other people called out greetings to him as they got closer. Then started the round of introductions to more people whose names he was most likely never going to remember. At least not from this one meeting.
But he felt a surge of happiness when his gaze found Erin. She stood with Noella and a few other women, and James didn’t miss the interest in their gazes as he approached them.
“Hello, James.” Noella greeted him with a smile. “Good to see you again.”
“You, too, Noella.” He turned to smile at Erin. “How are you doing, Erin?”
She smiled back at him which James figured was a step in the right direction. “I’m doing well. And you?”
Part of him wanted to tell her that he was better now that he’d seen her, but if he was going to gain her friendship first, that sort of thing would have to wait.
“I’m a little bit nervous about what’s going to happen on that.” James nodded in the direction of the skating rink. “It’s been years since I was on skates.”
“They might take it easy on you since it’s your first game with them,” Erin said, her eyes sparkling. She wore a light blue coat and black jeans with black boots. On her head, she had a slouchy knitted hat the same color as her coat with long strands of her hair peeking out from beneath it. “Van didn’t come with you today?”
“Van?” Noella asked. “Who’s Van? It’s like I’ve been in a different world the past few weeks.”
Erin laughed. “You have. Van is James’s friend. They stopped by the bakery just before Christmas.”
“He couldn’t make it today,” James said. “His family has a big get together on Boxing Day each year.”
Though James had sometimes gone with Van to the event, he’d passed this year in favor of coming out here.
“By the way,” Erin began, “This is Makayla McFadden, her sister, Sammi and their friends, Tami and Grace.”
“You already met their brothers.” Noella gestured to the group of men he’d been introduced to when he’d arrived. “They all make up the Callaghan & McFadden clan. There’s what? Ten of you kids, Makayla?”
Makayla nodded with a smile. “Yep. It wasn’t enough to try to blend two families with four kids each, Mom and Dad had to go and add two more.”
James was struck by the range of beauty in front of him. Makayla had perfectly applied makeup that accented her eyes and with her hair smoothed back and her stylish outfit, she reminded him of the women he usually dated, and yet, she held no appeal for him. Tami was a statuesque woman with black curls and warm brown eyes. Her deep brown skin was in sharp contrast to the light pink coat she wore. Grace was Tami’s opposite in pretty much every way except for the friendly expression on her face. Where Tami was more exotic in appearance, Grace, like Erin, had a much more girl-next-door look to her. Sammi, who looked to be a bit younger than the other three women, had dark hair like her sister, but she wore hers loose and didn’t have any makeup on so far as James could tell.
“Well, let’s see what we can do about those skates of yours,” Forrest said as he tugged on the strap of James’s bag.
It wasn’t long be
fore James joined the other guys on the ice. His body immediately protested the demand on muscles that hadn’t been used like that in years. The weight of the hockey stick in his hands felt familiar and after a couple of laps around the rink, he wondered why he’d ever stopped playing. He’d played on teams all through high school and had even made the provincial team one year but hadn’t kept up with it after that since it had never been part of his plan to pursue hockey professionally, and he hadn’t needed any type of scholarships to attend university.
He had recognized Kenton Callaghan’s name as soon as Forrest had mentioned it earlier. They were close to the same age and had competed through high school and had even been on the same provincial team for a year. Focused on his own career path, James hadn’t really followed Kenton’s over the years. It was kind of cool to reconnect with him through his family, even though the guy wasn’t actually there.
As he rounded the corner of the rink, James spotted Erin and the other ladies leaning up against the boards. He flashed her a smile as he skated by then switched to skate backward around the other half of the rink. James was actually surprised that he was still able to skate so well. And he was thankful too because the last thing he wanted was to end up on his butt on the ice in front of Erin.
It just seemed so important that after having seen his bad side, she also see him in a good light. Granted his skating ability wasn’t exactly the most important thing about him, but anything he could do to impress her, he would take.
Erin was very aware of James’s presence beside her at the table. He’d been on the losing team and had taken the ribbing good naturedly. After the game had finished, they’d all come back into the house and gathered around the large table and the kitchen island. Emily Callaghan had made a huge pot of chili and had all the fixings to go along with it, including the most delicious cornbread that Erin had ever tasted.
The conversation was loud and plentiful once Steve had said grace for the meal. It had been a year since the last time Erin had been at the Callaghan-McFadden home. Forrest and Tennyson were out there much more often because of their friendship with Gabe and Mitch Callaghan. Finn was a nice addition this year, along with James.
“How was your Christmas?”
Even over the din of the conversation, Erin heard James’s question. “It was good. Christmas morning was Christmas Eve taken to a whole new level.”
James chuckled. “I didn’t think it was possible to be more…enthusiastic than what it was Christmas Eve.”
“Oh, believe me, it was possible. Thankfully, once the presents were open and the kids had each settled in with their new toys, things got quieter.” She smiled at the memory. “Then us older ones were able to sit down and enjoy our coffee. How was yours?”
James sighed. “It was one of our more memorable ones, I will say that for it.”
“Really?” Erin turned more fully to look at him. “Why’s that? It doesn’t sound like it was a positive memory.”
“No, I can’t say that it was. This was the first time my dad has brought someone to Christmas dinner.”
“Oh.” Erin wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that since she knew next to nothing about his history. “So, uh…have your parents been separated long?”
James laughed. “Oh, they’ve been divorced since I was in my teens. My mom has even remarried, but Dad has never brought a date to Christmas dinner, which wouldn’t have been a bad thing, really, except this was the first time we’d met her, and she’s about the same age as my younger sister.”
“Oh boy,” Erin said with a grimace. “I can imagine why that wouldn’t go over well.”
“Yep. Kaylee was not impressed and ignored them both for the duration of the dinner. It had to be one of the more awkward dinners we’ve had, and that includes all the ones we had while my parents were still married.”
Erin had figured out that James had some sort of baggage from his past. It sounded like his parents’ marriage and subsequent divorce might well have been what had spurred him to have no interest in marriage. She was grateful for the good example she’d had in Kay and Don. Watching them together was what had made her want to fall in love and get married.
It was once again a stark reminder of how different her and James’s perspectives were when it came to love and marriage.
CHAPTER TEN
James couldn’t say that he wasn’t enjoying the day out at the Callaghan place, but even though he was able to talk with Erin, he sensed that he wasn’t making any headway with her. Well, maybe he was in the friendship department, but he wanted something more. He wanted to believe what Forrest and the others had said about her wanting friendship first, but it seemed to James that it would take forever to get beyond that point.
All he wanted was the opportunity to share his feelings for her, and he really felt that in order to do that, they needed to go out—just the two of them. She might diss those dinners he usually took his dates out on, but they were the best way to actually talk to someone. Granted, the conversation he wanted to have with Erin wasn’t like anything he’d had with previous dates. He actually wanted to get to know her on a much deeper level than he ever had with any other woman.
How had she become so important to him in such a short period of time? He’d gone from avoiding relationships at all costs to contemplating a future with a woman after barely knowing her a month. While it hadn’t been love at first sight, he couldn’t deny that his emotions were now engaged in a way they never had been before.
As he helped Erin clear away dishes from the large table, James thought back to the stories Nana had told him about her relationship with his grandfather. Neither of them had been young—in fact, at thirty-five, Nana had just about given up on the idea of getting married—but once she’d met his grandfather that had all changed. They’d been married within six months of that first meeting and had been happy together for almost thirty years before cancer had claimed his grandfather.
So what had happened between his father and mother? Their relationship had definitely been a train wreck almost from the start. What were his chances of ending up like his grandparents versus his parents? Could you start out feeling the way he did and with the best of intentions and still have it all go bad?
That wasn’t something he wanted to contemplate. He really wanted to believe that he would be able to make a relationship work if he set his mind and heart to it. But was that realistic?
“Let’s head back out to skate some more,” Bennett McFadden said once their supper had been cleared up. “Everyone gets to skate this time.”
James was grateful to let go of his heavy thoughts and joined in the chorus of cheers as they made their way back to where they’d left their winter clothes earlier. It wasn’t long before people were heading out to the rink again.
Now that the sun had set, it looked like a completely different place. He hadn’t noticed the lights that were draped in the trees around the rink. There were also a couple of soft spotlights that cast enough light on the rink so that people could see where they were going. There was a definite chill in the air, but the lack of wind made it bearable, as did keeping active on the ice.
Christmas music floated from speakers that must have been mounted on the back porch. James watched as a pre-teen boy, who—if he remembered correctly—was one of the Callaghan children, took to the ice. While his brothers were hockey players, this boy had clearly taken figure skating lessons. He flew around the ice before going into a long glide and then popping up into a rotation. James knew there were terms for all of that, but as a hockey player, he hadn’t paid much attention to them.
One by one, people stepped out onto the ice and began to skate in time to the music. James waited by the entrance to the rink until Erin had finished lacing up her skates. She glanced up as she came to where he stood. He let her go first and then followed behind her, quickly matching his strokes to hers. While the Christmas music over the past few days had focused on the story of Christ’s birth, the m
usic drifting over the rink now was more of the fun variety.
James had to smile when Michael Bublé’s song Winter Wonderland came on. He took a couple of powerful strokes that put him in front of Erin then turned to skate backward in front of her. Taking a chance, he held out his hands to her. He saw her hesitation. She looked from his hands up to his face then back down to his hands.
He was just about to give up when she reached out and placed her hands in his. They were both wearing gloves so he couldn’t feel her skin against his, and he didn’t make any attempt to draw her closer. He just held her hands as they moved around the rink in time to the music. With quick glances over his shoulder, he was able to make sure that they didn’t run into anyone as he continued to skate backwards.
After that song had finished, Bing Crosby began to sing It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas. Whoever had picked the playlist had made sure that it included music that could be skated to with relative ease. James appreciated that as he continued to glide around the ice with Erin. He’d thought she might pull away after the first song, but she kept a tight grip on his hands so he didn’t let go either.
James grinned when he spotted Steve and Emily Callaghan skating hand in hand around the rink. Noella and Finn were also paired up together, and Forrest spent time skating beside Makayla before chasing after Gabe. The two guys wove around the slower people on the ice, obviously not at all concerned with skating in time with the music.
The preteen boy continued to show them all up when it came to doing tricks, but eventually, Gabe and Forrest talked everyone into playing some games on the ice. Steve had some small orange cones that they set up on the ice as part of an obstacle course. Then they split up into teams, and each had a go at skating around the cones.
The Sweetness of Her Love: A Christian Romance (Fostered by Love Book 2) Page 8
