The Christmas Vow

by Shanna Hatfield

  “You two share the first bite,” Ginny said, giving Adam a sassy smile.

  Adam placed his hand over Tia’s as the knife glided through the cake. Carefully, she lifted out a small slice and fed him a bite then he gave one to her. The symbolic promise to provide for each other made an ache throb in Tia’s heart. She knew Adam would honor his vows, would provide for her and Toby.

  Regardless, what she really wanted was for him to love her. Even with just a smidgen of the love she thought he once held for her.

  Swiftly tamping down her disappointment over what she couldn’t have, she focused her attention on the guests. As a parting gift for all those who attended the celebration, Ginny and Filly stood at the door handing out paper cones full of spiced nuts.

  When everyone had left, except for those Tia considered family, Luke ushered a photographer into the parlor.

  The man had traveled from Heppner. He planned to stay a few days and take photos of any families who’d like to set up an appointment with him. Mrs. Ferguson at the boarding house had agreed he could use her parlor for the photograph sessions if he took one of her with her beloved cat.

  As he set up his camera equipment in Filly’s parlor, Tia turned to Adam with an expectant look.

  “Did you do this?” Tia asked.

  Adam nodded his head. “I thought it might be nice to have a photograph. We’ll send one to the judge along with a copy of our marriage certificate. There will be no doubt, legal or otherwise, that you are now a married woman.”

  Taken aback by his thoughtfulness, Tia didn’t know what to say. Before she’d adequately gathered her thoughts, the photographer moved her and Adam into position and took three photos, then he took a few of them with Toby.

  Adam insisted Arlan and Alex join them for a photo, and one included them with the Granger, Stratton, and Dodd families.

  Toby begged to have one with just him and Erin, so Adam agreed and asked the photographer to make two copies of it.

  Adam paid the man and arranged to pick up the photographs from him Monday afternoon at the boarding house.

  After the photographer left, Adam turned to Luke and Filly. “Thank you both for opening your home to us this afternoon. We appreciate your kindness and generosity.”

  “It was our pleasure, Adam.” Luke thumped him on the back. “It’s not every day there’s a wedding in town. Besides, my sister and my partner’s phantasmagorical wife joined forces with Filly, insisting this is the way things had to be.”

  Alex cocked an amused eyebrow at Luke. “Are you ever going to grow weary of saying phantasmagorical?”

  Unabashed, he grinned. “Nope. Most likely not. In fact, someone needs to make sure it’s engraved on my headstone.” Luke straightened and slapped a hand to his chest. “‘Here lies Luke Granger, a phantasmagorical wonder of a banker, husband, father, and friend.’”

  Everyone laughed and Ginny tossed her gloves at him. “You forgot egotistical brother.”

  Luke handed her gloves back to her and reached out to muss her hair. Expertly, she ducked away from him.

  “Now, Ginny Lou, that’s no way to talk about your favorite sibling,” Luke goaded her, using the nickname she hated.

  “I’m fortunate you’re my only sibling because I don’t believe I could handle two of you.” Ginny slipped her arms into the sleeves of the coat Blake held for her.

  Alex and Arlan donned their outerwear while Chauncy and Abby put on their coats. Erin and Toby played with Maura in the foyer among the adults gathered there.

  “Thank you all for everything you did to make our wedding so special and memorable,” Tia said, ready to go home. The evening shadows had started to lengthen, chasing away the sun that warmed the December air earlier in the day.

  “You’re welcome.” Alex hugged her shoulders and stepped outside with Arlan. The rest of them followed.

  As the cold nipped at her cheeks and made goose bumps break out on her skin, Tia remembered she’d left her coat at the house, not wanting to wrinkle her gown before the wedding.

  Now, she wished she could wrap up in its warmth.

  Adam stepped beside her on the porch, recalled she’d not had a coat earlier, and swept her into his arms again.

  “Adam, you can’t carry me all the way home.” Tia wrapped one hand around his neck, since the other held her bouquet.

  “I can and I will. Those shoes you’re wearing aren’t fit for this kind of weather, although they are mighty fetching.” Adam’s eyes twinkled in the light from the street lamps as they reached the end of the walk. Toby skipped ahead of them with Erin, blissfully ignorant to anything else going on around him.

  “Toby, it’s time to go home, sweetheart,” Tia called to him as they approached the Dodd family.

  “We’d be happy to have him spend the night with us,” Abby offered with a hopeful nod at Tia.

  “No, that won’t be necessary. You’ve done so much already. He’ll be fine coming home with us.” Tia smiled at her friend.

  Toby scuffed his toes as he slowly moved to stand beside Adam. Erin’s little lip puckered in a becoming pout.

  “Maybe he can spend the night with you another time, Erin,” Adam suggested.

  Both children brightened and Chauncy winked at Adam. “I think that would be a great idea. You just let us know when. Toby’s welcome anytime.”

  “Thank you. I better get my bride and boy home since she’s trying to turn into an icicle out here.” Adam smiled at the pastor and his wife. “Come on, Toby. Let’s see how fast we can get back to the house.”

  The little boy trotted beside Adam as he hastened his pace, anxious to get Tia out of the freezing temperatures before she caught cold.

  He also needed her out of his arms. The warmth of her body pressed against his chest while her scent invaded his senses made any number of thoughts flit through his head that would cause her to blush to the roots of her hair.

  In record time, they hurried up the front steps of their home. Adam set Tia down long enough to unlock the door then swept her up again, carrying her over the threshold.

  Reluctant to let her go, yet also relieved, he set her down in the parlor. While she helped Toby remove his coat and boots, Adam built a roaring fire in the fireplace and added wood to the stove in the kitchen.

  Earlier that morning, he’d dropped off his things. Now, Tia showed him the room that would be his for the remainder of his stay in Hardman. While he’d much rather share the bed in her room, he knew that line of thinking would only get him into trouble and cause more heartache.

  “Will this be comfortable for you, Adam?” she asked, waiting in the doorway as he stepped into the simply furnished room.

  In addition to the bed, there was a washstand, a chest of drawers with a mirror, and a rocking chair beneath the window.

  “It’ll be fine, Tia. I don’t need much more than a place to rest my head at night and the bed looks plenty comfortable.”

  She nodded and backed into the hallway. “If you need more blankets, let me know.”

  “I’ll be fine. I sleep warm most of the time and end up tossing off my covers.”

  The vision of a tousle-haired, bare-chested Adam in her bed entered her head and made her step back so fast, she tripped on her skirt.

  He reached out to steady her, and the touch of his hands on her arms seared her skin. From the way he dropped his hands and fastened his gaze on the floor, she wondered if he felt it, too.

  Desperate to escape before she acted on her surging emotions, she cleared her throat. “I think I better change out of this gown. If you’ll please excuse me…”

  She’d taken one step down the hall when Adam’s hand pulled her to a stop.

  When she glanced back over her shoulder, she couldn’t tell if mischief or longing made his eyes such a vibrant shade of blue. The reaction it stirred created a trembling in her knees and a quivering in her stomach that made her wish he’d take her in his arms and kiss her senseless.

  For what seemed like
half an eternity, his gaze held hers. Finally, he stepped back, breaking the spell they both seemed to be under. “Need any help?” he asked, flashing his dimples.

  “No, sir. I do not.” Marching down the hall, she shut her bedroom door with a firm click.

  Adam chuckled as he returned to his room and removed his finery, changing into a soft flannel shirt and a pair of denims. He made his way back to the kitchen where Toby sat on the floor by the stove, petting Crabby and telling the cat all about the wedding and reception.

  When Adam pulled out a chair at the table and took a seat, Toby wandered over and leaned against his leg. “Mr. Adam? Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure, Toby. What’s on your mind?” Adam asked, lifting the boy to sit on his thigh.

  “You married my mama today, didn’t you?”

  “Yep, I did.” Adam glanced down at Toby’s earnest little face. “Is that okay with you?”

  Enthusiastically, the child nodded his head. “Mmm, hmm. My mama gets all moony when she sees you.”

  “Moony?” Unsure what Toby meant, Adam kept his expression amicable. “How does she get all moony?”

  “Well…” Toby wiggled one foot and pulled a string from his pocket, wrapping it around two fingers. “When Mama sees you she’s happy, and smiles, and she looks like this.” Toby fluttered his eyelashes and affected a smoochy face that made Adam hold back a laugh.

  A grin lifted the corners of his mouth upward as he bounced Toby on his leg. “Is that so?”

  “Yep!” Toby giggled as Adam added a few wild movements to the bounces.

  “What do you think it means — your mama being all moony over me?” Adam stopped bouncing his leg.

  Toby quieted and crooked his finger, motioning for Adam to bend closer.

  Adam leaned over until Toby’s mouth was close to his ear. The little boy smelled of sunshine and sugar, most likely from the two pieces of cake he’d eaten.

  “I think Mama loves you.” Toby sat back and smiled at Adam. “Almost as much as I love Erin.”

  Adam lifted the string from Toby’s hand and leaned over on one hip while balancing the little boy on his leg.

  After taking a knife from his pocket, he cut the string in half then tied it into a reef knot. Intrigued, Toby watched his movements then took the string when Adam finished.

  “Golly, Mr. Adam! Can you do that again?” Toby held the string out to him.

  “I sure can. How about you call me Adam without the mister attached? Since I’m going to be living here with you and your mama, you don’t need to be so formal.”

  Toby tipped his head thoughtfully to the side and studied the large albeit friendly man as he tied another knot in the string. “I forgetted. Why are you gonna live here?” The little boy liked the idea of this overgrown playmate staying at his house permanently.

  “Because I married your mama today, it’s my responsibility to take care of both of you.” Adam tweaked Toby’s nose, making him giggle.

  “Are you my daddy now?”

  Adam turned his attention from the Carrick bend knot he tied to the child on his thigh. “Would you like me to be your daddy?”

  “Oh, yes! I would!” Toby wrapped his little arms around Adam’s neck while wrapping himself around the sailor’s heart.

  Adam wrapped Toby in a loving embrace and held him for a long moment, thinking he’d never experienced anything quite so unabashedly superb as the youngster’s hug.

  The sound of a sniffle near the doorway drew their gazes to Tia as she dabbed at her eyes with a lace-trimmed handkerchief.

  Adam and Toby both grinned at her.

  “Hi, Mama!” Toby jumped down from Adam’s lap and ran over to her, throwing his arms around her waist. “Adam showed me how to tie knots and he’s gonna stay with us and take care of us and be my daddy!”

  “My goodness. You two had quite a conversation while I changed my clothes, didn’t you.”

  Adam expected Tia to be upset or disapprove of Toby’s eagerness to have him fill the role of a father.

  The ability for him to speak fled when Tia picked up Toby and winked at him. “I think that’s grand, Toby. Why don’t you call him daddy from now on?” Tia looked to Adam for agreement. “If that’s okay with you?”

  He nodded his head.

  Occasionally, he’d imagined what life would have been like if Tia had married him instead of running off to Portland and marrying the attorney. In his dreams, he pictured them having a son, but nothing lived up to the reality of the sweet little boy Tia so willingly shared with him. Touched by her kindness, his heart ached with what might have been, what might still be.

  Perhaps she’d never love him, but she had married him. That fact alone gave him hope.

  “From now on, Toby, you can call me daddy or papa, if you like.” Adam stood and ruffled the boy’s golden hair.

  “Hooray!” Toby cheered. “I have a new daddy!”

  “You certainly do, baby.” Tia kissed his cheek again then set him down. When she raised her eyes to Adam’s, they held gratitude, warmth, and something else he was afraid to define.

  The dark purple dress she wore brought out almost violet flecks in her ever-changing eyes. In the years he’d been away from her, he’d forgotten his fascination with the varying hues of her eyes.

  Subconsciously, Adam leaned toward her, drawn to the amethyst color. Tia sucked in a gulp of air and stepped back, bumping into the wall. “I, um… I suppose I should fix something for supper, if you boys are hungry.”

  “I’m not hungry,” Toby said, flopping down by the stove to pet Crabby. He puffed out his tummy, making it look full and causing Adam to chuckle.

  Lighthearted and full of devilish charm, Adam moved closer to Tia. “I’m starving, but not for dinner.”

  Shocked by his implied suggestion, her eyes widened. While her heart encouraged her to explore his meaning, her head overruled. She playfully smacked his arm and stepped around him to make a cup of tea.

  Adam let her go, wondering how much effort it would take on his part to woo his wife.

  Later that evening, after Tia made popcorn for them to munch while they played a simple guessing game with Toby, Adam watched as she tucked the boy into bed. She read the little boy a story from Granny’s Wonderful Chair by Frances Browne. He recalled his own mother reading the book to him and Arlan when they were young.

  Leaning against the doorframe, he listened as Tia read one of the adventurous tales. Toby’s eyes grew sleepy and drifted closed.

  Softly humming a lullaby, Tia set aside the book, kissed her son’s cheek, and adjusted his covers.

  “Night, Mama,” Toby whispered.

  “Good night, baby. Have wonderful dreams.” Tia rose to her feet from where she’d sat on the bed.

  Toby opened his eyes and smiled at Adam. “Night, Daddy.”

  A lump lodged in Adam’s throat as he pushed away from the doorframe and stepped across the room. He bent down and brushed his hand over Toby’s head. “Good night, son. Sleep tight.”

  “I will.” Toby’s eyes fluttered closed and Adam started to stand, but a pair of little arms latched around his neck, hugging him tightly.

  “I’m glad you’re my daddy now.”

  Adam hugged the child then settled him back beneath the covers. “I’m glad I am, too, Toby. Rest well.”

  Content, Toby released a sigh and shut his eyes, rolling onto his side.

  Adam studied him for a moment before silently walking across the room to join Tia in the hall. She partially shut Toby’s door then motioned for Adam to follow her into the parlor.

  “I need to thank you, Adam.” Tia squeezed his hand as she sank onto the sofa.

  Puzzled, he took a seat beside her. “For what?”

  “For marrying me. For making it difficult for Cedric to take Toby away. Most of all, for being so kind to my son. He often mentions his longing for a father. He’s chattered non-stop about you since the day the two of you met. You can’t begin to know how much it mean
s to him — to both of us — for you to allow him to think of you as his father.” Tia’s eyes burned as she spoke, overwhelmed by the emotions of the day and her love for the gentle giant of a man holding her hand so tenderly in his own. “If you never do another kind thing in your life, Adam, you’ve filled the quota today.”

  Warmed by her gratitude, Adam lifted the back of her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her soft skin. “I’m just getting started, Mrs. Guthry.”

  Tia sat back and sighed. “It might take me a while to get used to hearing that.”

  Adam stiffened, thinking she preferred the name of Devereux. As though she read his thoughts, she placed a hand on his arm and smiled. “I meant that I’ve been Tia Devereux for such a long time and this has happened so fast, I’ve hardly had a moment to think about anything.”

  Reflective, she stared into the flames of the fire before the flicker of firelight in the stone of her wedding ring captured her interest.

  She held out her hand and studied the rose-gold band set with a stunning oval opal. She’d never seen one so perfect and admired the delicate scrolls encircling the stone.

  “It’s a beautiful ring, Adam. Where did you find such a lovely one on short notice?”

  Adam lifted her hand and stared at the ring for a moment, pleased by how right it looked on Tia’s finger, how perfectly it fit, as he knew it would.

  He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the ring, then the tips of each finger, fastening his gaze to hers.

  Heat pooled in his belly and he fought to maintain his control, but he didn’t let go of her hand.

  After delivering a moist kiss to her palm, he gently set it on her lap and slid back against the cushions of the sofa. Before he surrendered to his longing to take her in his arms and never let her go, he needed to put some space between them.

  “I’ve had that ring since a month before we graduated from school.”

  “What?” Tia sat up straight, seeming to shake off the trance Adam had so easily put her under. “You mean to tell me you’ve had this ring for eleven years?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Adam leaned further into the cushions and settled an arm along the back of the sofa, turning slightly to look at her. “Remember when Arlan and I went to Portland with Mother the spring before we graduated?”