* * *
Merett and Kirsten arrived at Gracie’s at noon on Christmas Day. Kirsten was wearing blue jeans, a red-and-green striped sweater, and a baseball capJinglebell was wearing a red bow adorned with gold jingle bells. “I borrowed them from the stairway decorations,” Kirsten whispered behind her hand before heading straight for the tree.
“Merry Christmas, sweetheart.” Pulling Gracie into his arms, Merett nuzzled her hair. “Mmm, honeysuckle.”
“I expected a comment on the savory smell of turkey roasting in the oven,” she said, raising her lips for a quick kiss.
“That, too,” he said, inhaling deeply as he hugged her close.
Gracie leaned away from him to twist the diamond ring on her finger. “Merett, Kirsten doesn’t know about us, does she?”
He shook his head. He’d gone back and bought the ring later, alone. “I thought we’d tell her together.”
Gracie led the way to the parlor, where Kirsten was talking to Jingle Bell. Hands behind her back, Gracie looked to Merett who stood beside her. “We have a surprise, Princess.”
“You’re going to get married, aren’t you?” Kirsten shouted, jumping up.
Arf! Jingle protested, as she stepped on his tail.
“Sorry.” Kirsten gave him a quick pat. “Are you?”
“Yes,” Merett said, and Gracie held out her hand to show her the diamond.
“All right!” Throwing an arm around each of them, Kirsten pulled them together in a hug. Jingle forgivingly joined them, sticking his nose in Gracie’s ribs, and Spook appeared from somewhere to hiss at Jingle.
“Let’s open presents now, okay?” Kirsten asked, breaking the clinch.
“So much for sentimentality,” Merett said, smiling as Gracie handed over Kirsten’s first gift.
“What’s cinnamon tallity?” Kirsten asked. “Wow! An art set. Just what I wanted. Santa Claus gave me some great stuff, too, and so did Grampa and Daddy.”
After she finished opening, Merett and Gracie exchanged presents. “It’s beautiful,” Gracie said, fingering the silkiness of the red dress, and gasping with pleasure over the matching sequined jacket.
Kirsten glanced over from where she was drawing. “Why didn’t you wait until today to give her the ring, Daddy?”
“When you give a woman an engagement ring and ask her to marry you, princess, the two of you should be alone.”
“Well, okay, but I think she should know…” She grinned at Gracie. “Buying you a diamond was my idea.”
“Thank you,” Grace said, hugging her future stepdaughter. “That’s nice to know.”
Merett opened his gifts next, and was especially elated with his paperweight. After kissing his bride-to-be in deep appreciation, he rose. “Dad’s really pleased you invited him to dinner. Just wait until we tell him our big news.”
“When we visit your mother afterward, she may not understand, but I’d like us to tell her, too.”
Merett pulled Gracie close. “You are one helluva great woman.”
Harry agreed later, but in different words, when he gave a toast at dinner. “To my son, who’s made me very proud, and to the brave, beautiful woman he loves.”
Kirsten raised her Shirley Temple. Jingle Bell thumped his tail against the table.
It was—without a doubt—Gracie’s best Christmas ever. She’d found love with her holiday hero and a warm loving family, with promises of a baby boy with a dimpled smile--all her wishes come true. As she clinked glasses with Merett, she wondered how he knew to whisper, “Merriest Christmas ever, Gracie.”
Epilogue
Gracie sank into the depths of the feather mattress, next to her husband, happier than she had ever been. Their short, but oh-so-sweet, honeymoon was over, during which they’d started trying to make a little brother for Kirsten.
The diamond on her left finger caught the sparkle of light coming in the window, and next to it, nestled a plain gold band. Once, Merett had given her the gift of hope. Now he’d given her the gift of certainty that happiness lay ahead.
A breeze whooshed unmistakably across her bed, and Gracie half-sat up. The window was open, but she didn’t remember Merett raising it. A blur of white crossed the room and paused on the windowsill. Gracie blinked once, twice, and the window was closed! But outside, a blur of white crossed the dark night sky, headed directly upward.
Was Mirabelle headed home, at peace at last, now that she’d brought love and marriage to hers and Jonathon’s earthly home?
The End
Also by Betty Jo Schuler from Books We Love
Love in a Small Town
Heart Strings
Impossible Dreams
Male Wanted
Finding Freedom
No Rain, No Rainbows
Dare to Dream
How Not to Date a Hollywood Star
Mystic Mansion
Take My Family, Please
Merriest Christmas Ever Page 26
