Wish Upon a Christmas Star

by Darlene Gardner

  “What’s important is that you’re here now.” Her mother craned her neck to see past her. “Is Logan with you? Annalise said he was helping you on your case.”

  Maria closed her eyes briefly. First Jack, now her mother. Annalise, it seemed, hadn’t been entirely discreet with the information she’d relayed.

  “No, Logan isn’t with me,” Maria said. “I’m pretty sure he’s back in New York by now.”

  Her mom frowned. “Then you two aren’t getting back together?”

  “Celeste...!” Now her father sounded chastising. “You said you wouldn’t bombard her with questions.”

  “I can’t help it,” her mother said. “I was so hoping they’d work things out.”

  “Hey, Maria. How about you scram?” Her dad made a shooing motion with his hand. She got the impression he wanted to cut off her mother’s nosy questions as much as he wanted her out of the kitchen. “We’re cooking up a surprise in here.”

  She went willingly, following the raucous sound of what was decidedly not Christmas music to the basement game room. Annalise’s husband and two sons were gathered around a television displaying a video game. The older of Maria’s nephews, fifteen-year-old Ryan, strummed a plastic guitar. His younger brother, Bart, pounded a set of drums that were a cross between a toy and the real thing. Scott, Maria’s brother-in-law, was singing.

  “Hey, Aunt Maria!” Ryan called to her over the amateur band music. “Isn’t it cool that we can play rock band? We got an early Christmas present.”

  Scott turned to Maria, belting out a line from a rock song—was it a Van Halen tune?—in perfect disharmony.

  Annalise stood off to the side, watching her family. She covered her ears and made a face, then gestured for Maria to accompany her to the opposite side of the room.

  When they were away from the worst of the noise, Annalise hugged Maria. She held on tight the way she used to when they were kids and Maria was upset about something. Maria clung to her big sister.

  “You looked like you needed that,” Annalise said when they drew apart. “You barely cracked a smile at Scott’s horrible singing.”

  “I guess I’ve had a tough couple days,” Maria said.

  Annalise nodded. “I’m glad Logan was in Key West with you. Is he upstairs?”

  “Why does everybody think we’re together?” Maria glowered at her. “And by the way, thanks so much for telling Mom he was with me in Florida.”

  “Hey, there are only so many secrets I can keep,” Annalise retorted. “Besides, Mom and I have been hoping for years that you and Logan would get back together.”

  “Not gonna happen.” Maria tried to sound flippant. Instead, her voice shook. She cleared her throat. “If I seem sad, it’s because of what I found out about Mike.”

  Even as Maria uttered the sentence, she knew it wasn’t entirely accurate. Yes, it hurt to know her younger brother was irrevocably gone. But it also hurt to know Logan was in New York when he could have chosen to spend Christmas with her.

  “You really thought Mike might be alive?” Annalise asked.

  Maria nodded. “I really did.”

  “I didn’t. Not even for a second.” Annalise looked over to where the males in her family were attempting to perform another rock song, then back at Maria. “When the North Tower fell, it was like I could feel Mike’s spirit leave. I’ve had years to come to terms with his death.”

  Maria reached for her sister’s hand and squeezed it. “Why did you never tell me that before?”

  Annalise shrugged. “I guess because I was afraid you might think it sounded silly.”

  “No sillier than believing the wishes I made on shooting stars would come true,” Maria said wryly.

  “That’s what Mom always claims,” Annalise said. “But I didn’t know you’d seen a shooting star.”

  “Two of them,” Maria told her. “The first outside my office and the second when I was in Key West with Logan.”

  “And you wished the same thing both times?”

  Maria nodded.

  “Let me guess.” Annalise’s voice was so quiet Maria could barely hear it over the rock song. “You wished for Mike to be alive.”

  That made sense. Maria had spotted the first shooting star shortly after Caroline Webb had visited her office and told her about the strange phone calls and letter.

  Except Maria hadn’t wished for Mike to be alive. Not exactly. She’d formulated her wish in much broader terms.

  Maria had believed it hadn’t come true when the search for Mike ended badly.

  But maybe it had.

  The band played on, the beat of the drums reverberating inside Maria. Her mother often said all things happened for a reason. Maybe there had been a compelling reason for Maria to be drawn into the drama with Caroline Webb and Billy Tillman.

  “What are you thinking about?” her sister asked gently.

  “About Logan.” Maria figured she might as well confide in Annalise. Her sister would get the information out of her eventually, anyway. “I wanted to run away to Vegas and get married. He wanted a long-distance relationship.”

  “Then why did you say things were over between you?”

  “Because I told Logan they were,” Maria said. “I was angry that he wouldn’t take a chance on us, just like he wouldn’t the first time we broke up.”

  “Oh, really? Logan wouldn’t take a chance?” Annalise put emphasis on his name.

  Understanding dawned on Maria like a Key West sunrise. “I wouldn’t take a chance, either. I could have offered to move to New York to be with him.”

  “You could have,” Annalise agreed.

  “Oh, my gosh. How could I have let him go a second time?” Maria brought both hands to her cheeks.

  Her mind raced. If she got a flight out tonight, she could spend Christmas with Logan. That is, if he forgave her for being bullheaded. She would max out her credit card paying for another last-minute flight, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was Logan. “I’ve gotta go.”

  She dashed away from her sister and past her brother-in-law and nephews. Then she grabbed the handrail and pounded up the steps.

  “Who’s running on the stairs?” her father shouted. “It sounds like an earthquake.”

  Maria kept moving. Her parents’ computer was upstairs in their office. A doorbell rang. She headed for the staircase to the second floor and started climbing, vaguely aware that somebody, probably Jack, had answered the door.

  It was strange to get a visitor on Christmas Eve. At another time, Maria would be curious as to who it was. Not tonight. Her entire focus was on getting to a computer to check airline flights.

  She’d reached the halfway point when she heard the visitor greet Jack. She froze.

  It was Logan.

  * * *

  MARIA KEPT PERFECTLY still in the stairwell, straining to hear what Logan might say next. Why was he here in Lexington instead of in New York City? Dare she hope he’d come for her?

  The rush of blood in her ears was so loud, Maria was afraid she might miss his next words.

  “Forget this,” she muttered, dashing down the steps and hurrying to the entryway.

  Logan was in the process of following Jack and Tara into the living room.

  “Logan!” she called.

  He turned, his eyes crinkling in a smile. A burgundy sweater that made his brown hair appear burnished peeked out from the collar of his black jacket. He did look tall, dar
k and dishy.

  Above his head, in the archway between the foyer and the living room, dangled a sprig of mistletoe. Perfect!

  Maria closed the distance between them, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

  The feeling that swept through her was electric, as though somebody had switched on an entire bank of Christmas lights. She’d kissed Logan mere days ago, yet it felt as though it had been years, maybe because she’d feared she would never be this close to him again. His arms came around her and his mouth captured hers until she felt as dizzy as when Jack had spun her around.

  Finally, Logan lifted his head and smiled into her eyes. “What was that for?”

  “I was taking a chance,” she said.

  “Oh, no.” Logan shook his head. He smelled great. “You’re always taking chances. It’s my turn.”

  “What are you talking about?” she asked.

  “You’ll see.” He stepped back and turned her toward the front door. “But first we’re gonna have to go outside.”

  Logan stopped at the closet to pull out her coat and chose the right one on the first try. While helping her into her black pea coat, he said, “We’ll be back in a bit.”

  It took Maria a moment to realize he was talking to Jack and Tara, who’d witnessed their embrace. Maria had completely forgotten about them.

  “And here I thought there was nothing going on between you and Logan,” Jack quipped.

  Maria was so focused on what Logan might say she didn’t even have the presence of mind to reply to her brother.

  The temperature outside was probably in the low forties, but it felt frosty after the tropical weather in Key West. The moon shone down on the neighborhood, adding more light to the houses decorated for Christmas. Stars sparkled in the night sky.

  Logan kept hold of her hand, walking with her halfway down the sidewalk before stopping.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” she asked breathlessly. Her pulse was skittering, she wasn’t sure whether from being near him or from anticipation over what he might say or do.

  “I’m going to do something I should have done in Key West.” He gave a little laugh. “No, way before that. I should have done this years and years ago.”

  He reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulled out a black velvet box and snapped it open. Inside was a pear-shaped diamond nestled between two light green gemstones in a white-gold setting.

  Maria gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, her heart beating triple time.

  “I’ve loved you for a very long time, Maria DiMarco,” he said, looking deeply into her eyes. “Will you marry me?”

  Her eyes filled with tears and her throat clogged with emotion. His proposal was so unexpected she literally couldn’t speak. Long moments passed with neither of them saying a word.

  “This wouldn’t be a long-distance marriage,” Logan said hurriedly, his forehead wrinkling in consternation. “I already gave notice at my job. I’m moving back to Kentucky. I’m even going to start painting again. I can be the man you’ve always wanted me to be. I—”

  Maria placed three fingers against his lips, stopping the spate of words.

  “Yes!” She forced the reply from her throat, the word coming out louder than she’d intended. She punctuated her acceptance with a nod. “Yes! I’ll marry you.”

  The lines on his forehead smoothed. He grinned and swept her up in a kiss every bit as fervent as the one they’d shared inside the house. When they came up for air, he took the ring from the black velvet box and slid it onto her finger. His hands weren’t entirely steady, which Maria found endearing.

  “I wanted to get you something with a Key West feel, since that’s where we fell in love again,” he said. “Those green stones are the color of key lime. They’re called peridot.”

  “I love the ring.” She held out her hand to gaze at the diamond set off by the lime-colored gemstones. Blinking back happy tears, she lifted her gaze to his face. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but can you get your job back?”

  “Why would I want my job back?”

  “Because I can move to New York City,” she answered. Oh, man. She really would move away from her beloved Kentucky. For Logan.

  “I love you for making the offer,” Logan said, “but it’s better if I move home. I’ll even have a job. A friend of mine has been trying to get me to work at his financial firm for years.”

  “Were you considering it before now?”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t think it stacked up to my job in New York. But you know what? Until these last few weeks, I had my priorities all wrong. I should have taken a page from my parents’ book. Life away from work is what’s important. And you’re the most important thing in my life.”

  Maria lifted a hand and traced his cheek. “I won’t let you forget that.”

  His hold on her tightened. “Believe me, I won’t. In fact, if you still want to go to Vegas and get married, I’m game.”

  She needed to think about that only for an instant. “I’ve changed my mind. I’d like to wait, so our friends and family can see us get married.”

  “You mean, like they’ve seen us get engaged?” He nodded toward her parents’ house.

  Crowded around the two windows in the living room was Maria’s entire family. She even picked out her two teenage nephews. Annalise and Jack were giving her a thumbs-up, her mother’s smile was ear to ear and her father seemed to be whistling.

  Suddenly embarrassed, Maria buried her face against Logan’s shoulder. He laughed.

  “It’s okay with me if we wait to get married,” Logan said. “Your wish is my command. That’s why I wanted to propose out here. I thought we might see another shooting star.”

  “I thought you didn’t believe in things like miracles and wishes coming true,” she said.

  “With you in my arms, I could be persuaded into changing my way of thinking,” he said. “But I’m sorry the wish you made on those shooting stars didn’t come true.”

  “Oh, but it did.”

  “What?” His brows lifted toward his hairline. “Didn’t you wish that you’d find Mike?”

  “Not exactly,” Maria said. “I wished for a second chance. And that’s what I got. With you.”

  “A second chance. I like the sound of that.” He lowered his head to hers, with her family still watching, and the stars and the Christmas lights sparkling all around them, as bright as their future promised to be.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt of The Road to Bayou Bridge by Liz Talley!

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  CHAPTER ONE

  August 2012

  Naval Station, Rota, Spain

  THE PAPER ACTUALLY SHOOK in Darby Dufrene’s hand—that’s how shocked he was by the document he’d
discovered in a box of old papers. He’d been looking for the grief book he’d made as a small child and instead had found something that made his gut lurch against his ribs.

  “Dude, come on. The driver needs to go.” Hal Severson’s voice echoed in the half-full moving truck parked below the flat Darby had shared with the rotund navy chaplain for the past several years. His roommate had waited semi-good-naturedly while Darby climbed inside to grab the book before it was shipped to Seattle, but good humor had limits.

  “Just a sec,” Darby called, his eyes refusing to leave the elaborate font of the certificate he’d pulled from a clasped envelope trapped in the back of his Bayou Bridge Reveille yearbook. How in the hell had this escaped his attention? Albeit it had been buried in with some old school papers he’d tossed aside over ten years ago and vowed never to look at again, surely the state of Louisiana seal would have permeated his brain and screamed, Open me!

  Yet, back then he’d been in a funk—a childish, rebellious huff of craptastic proportions. He probably hadn’t thought about much else except the pity party he’d been throwing himself.

  The moving truck’s engine fired and a loud roar rumbled through the trailer, vibrating the wood floor. The driver was eager to pick up the rest of his load, presumably a navy family heading back to the States, and his patience with Darby climbing up and digging through boxes already packed was also at an end. Darby slid the certificate back into its manila envelope, tucked it into his jacket and emerged from the back end of the truck.

  Hal’s red hair glinted in the sunlight spilling over the tiled roof, and his expression had evoled to exasperation. The man was hungry. Had been hungry for hours while the movers slowly packed up Darby’s personal effects and scant pieces of furniture, and no one stood between Hal and his last chance to dine in El Puerto de Santa Maria, the city near the Rota Naval Base, with his best comrade. “Let’s go already. Saucy Terese and her crustacean friends await us.”