Isabelle stood at the back of the church, while Katie insisted she take her mother's pearl ring. "Something borrowed, love. You must wear the ring."
Isabelle smiled. Her dress was light blue silk, her undergarments were very old, and her love... her love was new. She was all set to become a bride.
"I wonder what's taking them so long!" she said, looking toward the back of the church. Travis was outside in the snow, along with half his men. He turned around suddenly, saw her and ran into the church. To her amazement, he dragged her out into the snow. "Isabelle! Do you believe in Christmas?"
"What are you talking about?" she demanded. "Travis, you're behaving like a madman."
He started to laugh, then he shoved her around in front of him. "Isabelle, all we were lacking was the proper person to give you away. Now, well, we have that, too:"
For long moments she stared at the man in the gray uniform standing in front of her. Then she screamed with happiness and tore away from her prospective groom to catapult into the newcomer's arms. Travis, tolerant of her display of affection for another man, watched the dazzling happiness with which she greeted her brother.
"Isabelle!" James hugged her, then looked around at the blue uniforms surrounding them.
"Well, Yanks, is it a truce, then, for a wedding?"
Hats were ripped off and went flying into the air. A cheer went up.
Moments later they were all inside the church. James led her down the aisle and handed her over to Travis. The chaplain began the service, and she and Travis stated their vows. And when they were solemnly promised to one another, the chaplain stated, "On this date, Christmas of 1864, with the power invested in me by God and the state of Virginia, I declare Travis and Isabelle husband and wife. Captain, kiss your bride."
He kissed her and kissed her. And kissed her.
Sikes had found rice to throw at them, and James was quick to join in. Laughing, the newlyweds ran from the shower of rice to the supply buggy that had brought them, then headed to the house.
Peter had made the most sumptuous Christmas and wedding dinner imaginable, given the state of their larder, and though his feelings would change with the coming of the new year, James seemed willing enough to ignore the fact that the men in his house were Yankees, and the Yanks were more than willing to accept him as one of their own.
It was Christmas.
* * *
Later, when most of the soldiers had gone to their sleeping quarters, when Sikes and James were half asleep in front of the parlor fire, Isabelle realized that her new husband was nowhere around.
She found him out on the chilly porch, looking up at the sky. She hooked her arm through his, and he smiled at her.
"What are you doing out here?" she whispered.
"Following a star," he told her softly. He brushed her hair from her face. "I thought I was far away from home for Christmas, but now I know I'm not. I am home. Wherever you are, love, that's where I live. Forever, within your heart."
She said nothing, and he lifted her into his arms, preparing to carry her from the cold porch into the warmth of the house, and then to their room.
But he paused just before he stepped through the floor, and he stared at the North Star, whispering a silent prayer.
Thank you, God! Thank you so much. For Isabelle... for Christmas.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 125 novels, HEATHER GRAHAM has been featured in the Double Day Book Club and the Literary Guild. She has won numerous awards as both a romance writer and an author of thrillers, including: The Romance Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award and the Thriller Writers Silver Bullet Award.
Heather hosts the Writers for New Orleans Conference each year in the city that she loves NOLA.
Find more information and links on Heather Graham and 13Thirty Books, and be sure to sign up for the 13Thrity Newsletter at 13Thirtybooks.com
Heather Graham's Christmas Treasures Page 25
