Miracle Under The Mistletoe (The Foster Brothers #1)

by Tracy Madison

  “Not more beautiful than you.” Then, all at once, his demeanor changed from jubilant to somber. Wistful, even. Her stomach cramped as a new bout of worry crawled in.

  “What’s wrong, Grady?”

  “Nothing, sweetheart. I promise,” he said in a raw, ragged sort of way. “But I have a present in this bag. For you from Cody. It’s—” He stopped speaking abruptly, as if trying to get a grip on his emotions. “It’s from the year he died, sweetheart. I’ve been holding on to this, waiting until you were ready, waiting until the day I could give this to you.”

  Her chin trembled in shock, in emotion, in wondrous disbelief. Yes, her son had definitely heard her this morning. And now… “You have a gift for me from Cody?”

  “Yes. Would you like to open it?”

  There was no hesitation, no doubt, just a sweet exhilaration that overrode all else. “Yes, Grady. Very much so.”

  Grady reached into the bag and pulled out a small box that was clumsily wrapped in reindeer paper. He placed the gift gently in her lap. “For you,” he said simply.

  Her gaze dropped to the present wrapped by her son’s hands. A tag was taped to the top that said, “To Mommy, From Cody.” At the bottom of the tag was one row of Xs and Os. Hugs and kisses from her baby.

  A tiny sob curled in the back of her throat and a tremble whisked through her body. She slowly picked off the five layers of tape her son had used to seal the wrapping paper. She laughed through her tears when she saw the box. He’d colored the entirety of it with red, blue and green crayons.

  “Cody must have thought plain white was too plain, huh?” she said quietly, looking at her husband. “Always the artist.”

  There were tears in Grady’s eyes, too. But he nodded and gestured for her to continue. So, she slowly removed the lid and pulled out the top, thick cotton layer to reveal what lay beneath. Her heart blew up like a huge, overfilled balloon, and her trembles turned to shivers. Goose bumps rode her arms, her back, her legs.

  “Oh, Grady. Oh…” She couldn’t talk anymore then. Not when she was crying so very hard. Harder than she ever had before, possibly. For her son—likely with his father’s help—had given her a gold necklace with three charms suspended on the fragile chain. Three tiny gold figures: a mommy, a daddy and a little boy. And the faces of each figure were the birthstones for the person they represented.

  Now she understood why Grady had waited to give this precious gift to her. This would’ve hurt her too much before now—before today—for her to find any pleasure in receiving it, in wearing it. But now…now, this necklace, the colored box it came in and the tag addressed to her was a miracle. Pure and simple. A miracle from Cody.

  “This is so beautiful.” She lifted the necklace out of the box. “Will you help me put it on?” she asked her husband. “Please?”

  “Of course.” Grady gently removed the necklace from her grip and unclasped it. “Lift your hair, sweetheart.” She swiveled around and did as he asked. His warm fingers brushed against the base of her neck as he fastened the necklace. “There you go.”

  With her hand clutching the three figures resting against her skin, she turned to look at the picture of her son. He stood there with his snowman, proud and smiling. Mischievous brown eyes filled with light and happiness stared back at her. “Thank you for my gift, Cody. I love the necklace, baby.”

  “You okay?” Grady asked, stroking her hair off of her tear-streaked face. “This is good, right? You’re happy, right?”

  “This is very good.” She pulled the necklace away from her neck, so the chain was taut and fingered the charms. “There is a problem, though,” she said lightly, her heart cracking with the want to share her news with her husband. “We’ll need to buy another one of these in August, for when the baby comes. Do you know the birthstone for August, Grady?”

  “Peridot,” he replied instantly. She counted to five before his hand stilled. Before what she’d said made an impact. His voice, gruff and disbelieving, but so filled with hope that she could feel it sparkling in the air, whispered into her ears. “What did you say, Olly?”

  She touched his hair, his cheek, his lips and the very strong line of his jaw. “We’re having a baby, my love. In August.”

  Grady’s face crinkled into myriad lines. His jaw worked as he tried to talk, but she didn’t need to hear his words. She saw the strength of his emotions in his eyes. And like before, they mirrored hers. This time, though, on this day, that emotion was sweet, pure joy.

  “I love you,” he said. “I have always loved you, Olivia.”

  “And I will always love you,” she said. “Merry Christmas, Grady.”

  His mouth found hers in a deep, smoldering kiss that seemed to last an eternity. A kiss that she felt to her toes. A kiss that spoke of their past, their present and their future. Happily ever after, she decided as her husband carried her upstairs to their bedroom, was a state of mind, a meeting of hearts and a joining of souls.

  And Lord, did she have all three of those in spades.

  Epilogue

  Olivia woke in the early hours of Christmas morning with Grady’s arms wrapped securely around her and a warm, purring ball of cat wedged against her chest. Outside their bedroom window, snow fell in a lazy hushed whisper that, once again, made her believe in magic. In miracles.

  If Cody were here, he’d have had them awake hours ago. The presents would likely already be opened, and she’d be preparing breakfast. Grady, she thought with a smile, would be peering over an instruction manual for one of Cody’s new toys. A few hours later, they’d be on their way to John and Karen’s, where there would be more presents to open and more instruction manuals to make sense of. There would be laughter and love, family and togetherness.

  Olivia sighed, snuggled closer to her husband, and waited for the familiar ache of loss to gather beneath her breastbone, for the anger of her life being forever altered by a twist of fate to sweep in. She closed her eyes and pictured Cody’s face, his smile. She heard his voice in her mind, as fluttery and whispery as the snow falling outside.

  Yes, the ache was there. A dull, throbbing sensation that would probably never leave completely, but there was also joy in remembering her son. And the anger, she was surprised to find, had vanished, replaced by a sweet surety that her life still had meaning and that her future could be filled with happiness.

  Today truly was the first day of the rest of her life. A life she’d share with Grady, with the child growing inside of her, and possibly more children down the line. One Christmas from now…just one…there would be a child in this house again. The thought was startling and wondrous and…there was that word again—miraculous—all at once.

  What better time to begin this new chapter of their lives than on Christmas Day, with their family surrounding them? That thought put an idea into her head, and the more she considered it, the more she liked it. Today should have meaning. Today should be a true beginning for her, for Grady, for everyone who loved them and had been rooting for them all along.

  Carefully, so she wouldn’t wake Grady or disturb the cat, Olivia slid out of her husband’s hold and crawled to the end of the bed. Memories, whether good or bad, stayed with you—in one form or another—forever. And she wanted to create a memory for today, for this Christmas, that she and Grady would cherish for the rest of their lives.

  She silently made her way to the kitchen, where she dialed her mother-in-law’s number first, knowing that Karen and John would be thrilled to jump on board. Next was Samantha, and then, even though Olivia knew she’d wake him, she phoned Jace. Seth couldn’t be with them, but maybe they’d be able to talk to him at some point during the day. And her parents were celebrating the holidays in Europe, so there was no reason to contact them.

  When the phone calls were complete, Olivia started a pot of coffee before floating to the shower. She couldn’t wait to surprise Grady with what she had planned.

  Yes, today was going to be one hell of a memory.

  Oli
via could just see the top of Grady’s head from her place at the head of the staircase, and she knew he was waiting for her with as much nervous anticipation as she felt. Silly, really, when she was already married to this man, when she’d already spent so many years loving him. Somehow, though, today was different from the first time they’d exchanged vows.

  She knew more now, she supposed. Understood more about herself and Grady, about marriage. About how precious life was and how quickly it could change. Yes, she was a stronger, wiser woman today than the innocent girl who’d stepped onto the aisle so long ago.

  And this woman wanted—no, needed—to repledge her love and devotion to the man who’d never given up on her or their marriage.

  Her father-in-law came to the bottom of the stairs and motioned for her to join him. “It’s time,” he said softly. “Everyone is here, and Grady has that flustered look he gets whenever he’s in a suit. Pretty sure the boy is about to rip off his tie if you keep him waiting much longer.”

  Olivia nodded, ran her palms down the sides of the slinky red dress she’d bought on a whim last week. A dress that was nothing like the formal princess gown with the train that went on forever she’d worn during their original ceremony, but that was okay. She didn’t want to replicate the past. Besides which, she felt good in this dress. Luscious and alive and joyful.

  She took the steps slowly until she met up with John. He gave her that twinkly eyed smile and crooked his arm. “You’re quite the picture, Olivia. Beautiful in every way.”

  “I feel beautiful. Thank you. For being here, for welcoming me back into the family. For…well, everything.”

  “What do you mean back into the family? The way I see it, you never left.” His voice turned gruff for a moment. “You needed some time, that’s all.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” Olivia agreed, slipping her arm through his. “But now…now I don’t want to waste another second.”

  “Then let’s get this show on the road.”

  Together, they walked the few short steps into the living room. The Christmas tree was ablaze with twinkling lights, soft music played in the background, the snow continued to dance in the air outside the window and the room was filled with the people she loved.

  Well, most of the people she loved.

  Karen and Samantha were off to the side, standing near the sofa. Jace stood with his back to the Christmas tree, a single sheet of paper in his hand. And Grady—her handsome, solid, sexy husband—had planted himself in front of Jace, but his body was angled toward her. Out of the three suits he owned, he’d chosen the black one, which he’d paired with a red tie. She wondered briefly if someone had clued him in on the color of her dress, or if his choice was simply one of those rare moments of serendipity.

  His gaze raked down her body and back up. His lips curved into a smile and his cinnamon eyes darkened in desire, in love. Within those eyes, she saw forever.

  A few more steps brought her to him. “Hey, there,” she said, barely noticing when John released her arm and placed her hand in Grady’s. “I—”

  Her words were cut off when Grady pulled her tight to him and met her lips with his. The somersaults in her stomach disappeared beneath the weight of her want as he deepened the kiss, as his fingers combed into the back of her hair, pulling her even closer. Heat tumbled through her body, quick and fierce and all-encompassing.

  Jace cleared his throat. “If memory serves me correctly, the kiss comes later. I printed out the vows and… Okay, they’re not listening to me. At all.”

  Grady ignored his brother and continued his slow exploration of her mouth, almost as if he’d never kissed her before. His hands slid down her back and a moan gurgled from her throat. She forgot where she was, who was there with them, why they were even there. She forgot everything but the feel of Grady’s mouth, of the sensations his kiss evoked.

  Until, that is, light laughter came from behind. Samantha’s throaty chuckle came first, followed by Karen’s. John coughed and Jace whistled a tune that Olivia didn’t recognize.

  “Should we leave you two lovebirds alone?” Jace asked. “Or…are you going to come up for air anytime soon?”

  Olivia lightly pressed on Grady’s chest to break the kiss. “No, don’t leave.” To Grady, she said, “This is important to me. There are things I want to say to you, in front of our family.”

  His expression became serious and he nodded. “Whatever you need, sweetheart. But, baby, none of this is necessary for me. We’re together. That’s all I care about.”

  She centered herself by grasping on to Grady’s hands. “I know. But I want everyone in this room to know what I told you last night. That I love you. That I promise to never give up on our marriage again. That I am so sorry for turning away when you needed me the most.” Her voice hitched, so she breathed in deeply before continuing. “I have never known a man like you, Grady Foster. You never doubted me, my love for you, or your love for me. You never stopped believing that we could make this work. Even…even when I did.”

  “Like I said last night—you’re worth every minute I waited.” With a quick shake of his head and the tiniest bit of frustration in his voice, he said, “Don’t you get it, Olly? What I feel for you…it’s every sappy love song put together. It’s the stars and the moon and the way the air smells after the rain. It’s… You give me the strength. You make me the man I am.”

  Oh. Wow. Tears blinded her vision, so she blinked. How had she been so lucky to have this amazing man fall in love with her? Forgetting the traditional vows she’d planned on reciting, she tipped her chin up so she could look directly into her husband’s eyes. “I do, Grady. I will. Beginning now, for every second of every day, I’m yours.”

  Grady closed the gap between them. He lightly stroked his thumb along the curve of her cheek. “And I’m yours. That will never change.”

  “This is what I wanted,” Olivia said quietly. “I wanted this moment for us to have. Not in replacement of our wedding, but as an…addendum, I guess. Something to mark the end of the darkest days and the beginning of whatever is ahead of us.”

  Jace cleared his throat again. “Right. I guess this is when I, being the unofficial officiator who didn’t officiate in the least, declare you as husband and wife. Now, you may kiss the bride!”

  There was whooping and cheering and clapping all around them as Grady cupped her cheeks with his hands. He leaned over, whispered, “I love you” and then brushed her lips in a soft, sweet kiss that held the promise of more to come. Later. When they were alone and could devote hours upon hours to each other.

  Olivia couldn’t wait until they were alone. They had a lot of time to make up for.

  After they separated, Jace, who was still playing the officiator role, said, “I present Mr. and Mrs. Grady Foster. Aren’t they a lovely couple?”

  “Don’t forget Baby Foster,” Grady supplied with a wide grin and a protective pat on Olivia’s still-flat belly. “But he or she won’t be making his or her official appearance until sometime in August.”

  That was when the real cheering began, along with more than a few tears being shed. Jace tried to pretend he had something stuck in his eye, but Olivia knew better.

  Hours later, after all the presents were opened, too many cookies consumed, and everyone had gone home, Olivia found Grady in the living room in front of the Christmas tree. By Cody’s tree. As before, Dean Martin was singing “Silent Night.”

  Hearing her, Grady turned and held out his hand. “Come here, sweetheart.”

  She did. And then, with her cheek on her husband’s chest, they danced. In celebration of the son they would always and forever cherish, of their love for each other and for the future that awaited them.

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-1567-2

  MIRACLE UNDER THE MISTLETOE

  Copyright © 2011 by Tracy Leigh Ritts

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  *The Foster Brothers